Tale of Discovery

Chapter 265: Bizarre Battle (2/2)

With my Holy Essence circulating within my arms, I raise my hand and wave it down, resulting in several 'lines' of light to escape from the tip of my fingers and move toward the girls.

Unable to react in time, two of the girls lose a leg each, while the other one has one side of the machine attached to her back cut off.

Following that, the unharmed girl falls toward the ground, probably to her death.

Just as she's about to make contact with the ground, however, a rainbow covers her before she changes into a comical form and lands on the ground safely.

Seeing this, I raise my brows as I shift my sight over to Natsumi who is currently sitting atop her broom that is floating in the air, making her truly resemble a witch.

Anyway, did she save that girl on purpose? Even if she did, I wonder if she is going to do the same for those two.

Casting a glance at the horrified girls who are trying to stabilize themselves after a loss of their limb, I let out a small sigh as I look around for the ones that were supposed to face Natsumi.

---3rd POV---

"Commander! We are detecting an absurd amount of energy!" screams a blonde-haired man as he stares at the screen of a tablet in his hands with a bewildered expression.

"This..." Kotori mutters while gazing at the numbers currently being displayed on the giant screen in a large bold red font, "Is this Shido's doing?"

"Commander, the amount of energy detected is beyond that of any spirit we have detected until now. Our equipment is barely able to keep up with it," the blonde-haired man continues.

Hearing this, Kotori's expression turns dour as she deliberates something for a moment before opening her mouth and ordering, "Disable all Analyzers!"

"Understood!" comes a response from everyone present apart from the blonde-haired man as they proceed to focus on the screens in front of them with utmost serenity.

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---1st POV---

"And that's the last one," I mutter once done with counting the last body on the pile of bodies in front of me.

"That was rather unexpected," a voice reaches my ears from behind me, "To think that you would be such a powerful spirit... No, can you even be considered one at this point?"

"What are you talking about?" I say as I turn around, "I didn't do anything too out of the ordinary, did I?"

After all, Tohka should be capable of doing something rather similar to this, if I were to leave the Vector Manipulation and Telekinesis out of the equation.

"That's not it," Natsumi responds while squinting her eyes slightly, "It's true that you made use of basic attack forms, but the energy you used was nothing like that."

Energy? Is she speaking of my Holy Essence? From the sound of it, she was able to detect it and determine its power...

"Well, that doesn't matter," she continues, startling me a little, "Let's get back to giving me compliments, alright?"

Hearing her suggestion, I turn my head to cast a glance at the assailants and take a moment to deliberate on the proper path to take Go with Natsumi and spoil her a little, or stay here and interrogate the girls.

Normally, the former would've been the proper choice to make, but I'm currently in need of information the most out of everything else. After all, it would be suicidal to face an organization blindly when I can acquire information on them.

Still... I can't let Natsumi down right now. She is rather way too keen for some 'compliments', so it's obvious there is more to the matter than that.

"Kotori," I mutter, "I need you to take these girls hostage in Ratatoskr, alright?"

"What?!" a disbelieving voice immediately bursts in my ear, "Shido, do you know what you're asking us to do?!"

Remaining composed, I continue, "This concerns a lot more than the lives of the spirits. Information is what I require, and these guys are my key to it."

Silence ensues for a few seconds before Natsumi suddenly says, "Hey, do you not want to compliment me anymore?"

Sensing the extreme displeasure in her tone, I hurriedly mutter, "Kotori, make your decision quickly. We don't have all day, you know."

Shortly after that, she responds, "Argh, fine! This is going to be the last time we're doing something like this! Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes," I dismissively mutter before turning around to face the now-frowning Natsumi and say, "Sorry about that. You were just too captivating that I needed to take a rest from looking at you for so long."

Fortunately, Natsumi is more than just pleased with my words as a bright smile covers her dainty lips while she says, "Should we go somewhere else?"

Nodding my head, I beam a smile of my own and say, "I have no problem with that."

"Do you have any place in mind to take her?" Kotori's voice resounds within my ear.

"Nope," I mutter.

What place would be suitable for her? I barely know anything about her apart from the fact that she seems to inhibit some peculiar characteristics and powers.

Now that I think about it, what are her powers exactly? I had not noticed it earlier, but there seems to be a thin layer of the same energy used on the missiles and girls around her body. But then again, when I focus my senses, I notice that the energy seems to be much denser inside her.

From first glance, it could be assumed that her powers are illusory ones, but if I were to take the fact that it altered more than just appearance, it's obviously more than just that.

I stare at Natsumi who has a wide smile on her face for a few seconds before a notion appears in my head.

No way... right?

Deciding that it's worth looking into, I use Corporikinesis to observe her body, only to be shocked by something I definitely wasn't expecting.

Natsumi's appearance seems to be... fake.

I am unable to make out her 'real' form as of now, but if there is one thing that I can tell, it would be the fact that she is much shorter and less buxom than her current form.

"Hey," Natsumi says, interrupting my thoughts, "Are we going to go anytime soon?"

"Yes... but, do you mind answering a question of mine?" I say in a casual tone.

"As long as it is an appropriate one, I have no problems," she responds while pressing her finger against her lips and winking.

"Your power," I say, which immediately results in her mood to suddenly shift to a serious one, "Is it illusion or transformation?"

Now, I wonder if she will tell the truth.

"Why do you ask?" she says with a cold smile that isn't reaching her eyes.

"Just curiosity. In return, I can inform you about one of my own powers," I respond while keeping my composure.

"One of your powers? From the way you're wording it, you are capable of using various abilities."

I don't respond to her words, but remain silent while observing her face.

"Fine then," she says after a few seconds, "This big sister can use magic to transform anything I want to whatever I imagine."

Nodding my head, I ask, "Are you using it on yourself right now?"

After all, it's strange for traces of the energy to remain around her so clearly...

Unexpectedly, I feel an odd shift in the atmosphere as Natsumi's expression seems to darken.

"I have a question," she asks shortly after that.

"Go on ahead," I say with a smile, deciding to ignore the sudden shift in her attitude for now.

"Do you have an ability that lets you see through magic?" she asks while peering into my eyes.

From the way she said it, I am certain that she is not pleased with that. Nevertheless, I already stated that I would tell her of one of my powers earlier, so it would be unbecoming of me to back out now regardless of the consequences.

"Yes," I say, which immediately results in the atmosphere to tense up, so I quickly continue, "But, it's rather limited, so I can't make out the original forms much clearly."

Unfortunately, my words seem to fall on deaf ears as Natsumi remains silent for the next ten seconds or so before murmuring in a low voice, "I won't forgive you."