"Yes! We will do everything in our power to save Senior Sergeant Origami Tobiichi!"
"I don't care what her name is. Not 'everything in your power'—I want certainty! We need her firsthand information on Snowstorm."
The high-ranking AST official was clearly dissatisfied with his subordinate's evasive wording and barked the order sharply. 'Do everything in your power'? If she died, that would still count as having tried.
"B-But, sir... Senior Sergeant Origami Tobiichi's injuries are too severe. Massive penetrating trauma to the abdomen, heavy internal bleeding... and the fall from high altitude onto the ice surface caused multiple fractures..."
Clutching the MRI scans in his hand, the chief surgeon responsible for Origami's emergency treatment spoke with sweat pouring down his face. "If she hadn't been equipped with the Combat Realizer Unit, she would already be dead..."
"Right now... I've done everything that can be done. The rest depends on her will to survive."
As he finished, the doctor's voice grew quieter and quieter.
The will to survive was not something that could be quantified.
Some people, riddled with bullet holes and drenched in blood, could crawl out from piles of corpses and even stuff their own intestines back in to keep fighting.
Others might die from a simple fall. There was no measuring it.
"Isn't there some kind of drug that can bring about a last surge of consciousness? Even if it has severe side effects. As long as it keeps her alive temporarily so we can extract critical information, that's enough."
Dressed impeccably in a tailored suit, polished and refined in appearance, the words spoken by the AST executive were chillingly cold—perfectly in line with his identity as a politician and bureaucrat.
"...Understood." The chief physician opened his mouth to protest, but in the end he merely nodded. "Yes, sir."
He turned and walked back into the emergency room.
"Ha..."
The senior official steadied his breathing, adjusted his expression, and turned toward the AST Tengu City Garrison Base commander waiting stiffly at the side.
"What exactly happened? A standard AST squad was wiped out in less than a minute. Not a single Combat Realizer Unit was recovered. All destroyed. Do you realize how much taxpayer money that is?"
Looking at his subordinate's grim expression—like a man waiting for a death sentence—the official felt his anger rising again. This happened in your jurisdiction. At least think of a solution!
Standing there with that funeral-face—who are you showing it to? Do you expect me to solve it for you?
Taking a deep breath, the official suppressed the urge to dismiss him on the spot. Not yet. The mess in Tengu City still required someone to handle it. When the higher authorities demanded accountability and the public outrage exploded, someone would need to take the fall.
In his mind, once the storm passed, the garrison commander's career was already over.
"Explain this. Snowstorm had an outstanding record before. For years there were no fatalities. Why were the casualties so catastrophic this time? Were you negligent in your duties?"
Negligent? Negligent my ass! This was a disaster falling out of the sky. How was I supposed to know Spirits would keep clustering in Tengu City?
As for those so-called outstanding records—how inflated they were. The higher-ups might not know, but as the frontline commander in a city constantly plagued by Spirit activity, how could he not?
Even with Combat Realizer Units manufactured by D.E.M. Industries, defeating a Spirit with a human body... was simply too difficult.
In over twenty years, he had never heard of a single Spirit being killed by humans.
Those Spirits that 'retreated' weren't because they were weak. It was because they lacked the will to fight.
And now they had encountered one filled with killing intent. You attack her—and she reduces you to dust.
Of course, he couldn't speak so brazenly to his superior. Even if he would likely be made the scapegoat and see his career ended, at least his pension would remain.
"Sir, this newly appeared Spirit is different. The scale of her Spacequake was second only to the Eurasian Sky Disaster. It may already surpass the South Kanto Sky Disaster."
He did not state it outright, but the implication was clear: It's not that we didn't try—the enemy has a battleship.
The official did not refute him. The excuse was, admittedly, airtight.
His expression turned grave as he examined the footage recorded by various monitoring devices.
Tengu City, built atop the ruins of the South Kanto Sky Disaster, had lost nearly half its area in what could now be called the Second South Kanto Sky Disaster. And that was only because the Spacequake's epicenter had struck the sea. Had it landed on land, the destruction would have been even greater.
"Her abilities resemble those of Hermit. Could they be the same Spirit?" the official asked.
The garrison commander paused before pulling out his tablet.
"No. Impossible. Their personalities and the scale of destruction are worlds apart."
"Although her abilities appear similar to Hermit's, spiritual wave analysis shows vast differences. Snowstorm has never been recorded in the database."
As he spoke, he found himself unexpectedly missing Hermit.
A petite, delicate little thing—soft and adorable. When surrounded by AST, she never fought back. She let them farm their combat records.
AST's best-looking statistics always came from driving off Hermit.
But fake records were fake records. Facing the mature, imposing Snowstorm in a real fight, their true colors had been exposed instantly.
On the screen, Captain Ryouko Kusakabe's squad faced the ice-blue figure with no resistance whatsoever. They were swallowed by a blizzard in an instant. The camera feed cut to static.
"The ability to freeze the sea... similar to Hermit, yes. But her personality... is the complete opposite."
The official's eyelids twitched as he spoke through clenched teeth.
As the government official in charge of the Ground Self-Defense Force's AST division, he was not completely ignorant. He had heard that Hermit was considered the weakest Spirit.
After a long silence, he continued, "That will be all. Compile her data, along with AST's experience eliminating the ice creatures in the city, and submit the report."
"The moment Senior Sergeant Origami regains consciousness, inform me immediately."
...
Identification Code: Snowstorm
Spacequake Scale: S+
Astral Dress: S (Pending)
Angel: S (Pending)
Overall Threat Level: SS (Note: As far as I know, the only SSS is Mio Takamiya)
Angel abilities currently unknown. Initial observation of the Astral Dress indicates a blue-and-white formal gown style. Possesses extremely powerful cryokinetic control, capable of freezing dozens of kilometers of ocean in a short time (Note: Predicted not to be the upper limit).
Activation and manipulation of ice—suspected to be the ability of her Angel.
The very first Spacequake triggered upon her manifestation caused hundreds of thousands of casualties among Tengu City's residents and personally resulted in the deaths of thirty-five AST members, including Captain Ryouko Kusakabe.
(Note: Hiss... Considering Tengu City is next to Tokyo, based on Tokyo's population density, that number seems a bit low.)
After withdrawing from this manifestation, she left behind—or created—thousands upon thousands of ice monsters. Their rampage once again caused tens of thousands of casualties in both Tengu City and Tokyo.
Assessment: Snowstorm is extremely dangerous. Personality violent and tyrannical. Shows no goodwill toward humanity. Methods cruel. Capable of initiating large-scale slaughter without hesitation.
"...She killed that many people? Isn't that exaggerated?"
On the bridge of the Fraxinus airship, Kotori Itsuka stared in shock at the report AST had submitted to the Tokyo government displayed on the screen.
There was nothing surprising about it. When a government's technological level lagged so far behind that even private organizations surpassed it—and had to purchase high-tech equipment from them—being infiltrated like a sieve was hardly strange.
And the organization Kotori belonged to, Ratatoskr, was precisely such an entity, possessing technological capabilities second only to D.E.M. Industries.
"Shido, after seeing this, do you still want to save a Spirit who slaughtered so freely?"
Yes. Kotori was wavering. Did such a Spirit truly possess the capacity for love? Would it be too dangerous for her brother to approach her?
Thanks to the Fraxinus' far-ahead-of-its-time technology, they had not been affected by the Spacequake or the extreme cold. They had clearly observed the massacre Snowstorm inflicted upon AST.
Although AST had attacked first, the undisguised contempt for life Snowstorm displayed sent a chill down Kotori's spine.
This was the first time she had ever seen a Spirit of this type. On her very first manifestation, she had caused hundreds of thousands of human casualties.
Aside from the Eurasian Sky Disaster caused by the First Spirit, even the long-standing worst Spirit, Nightmare, had not accumulated such a death toll in a single incident over so many years.
Most Spirits did not initially harbor destructive impulses. The Spacequakes that accompanied their appearance were beyond their control and inadvertently damaged human society.
When faced with AST units sent to eliminate them, they often appeared confused, even guilty, and inclined to avoid combat.
Snowstorm's aggressiveness, however, shattered that pattern entirely.
Faced with attack, she showed no intention of dialogue or negotiation. She retaliated without hesitation—piercing chests, grinding bones to ash. The killing intent was overwhelming.
"I..."
Hearing this, Shido Itsuka, dressed in his school uniform, lowered his head gloomily.
"True."
With a faintly concealed maternal radiance, the 'human' known as Reine Murasame raised her eyebrows slightly. She shifted her gaze from Shido and looked thoughtfully at the ice-blue figure on the screen, murmuring softly.
"That's certain. Her birth did not originate from me. Is it the self-corrective consciousness of Earth's spiritual vein ritual... or..."
But just as she was deep in thought—
"I've decided!"
"Ah?" Startled from her concentration, Reine's figure trembled slightly.
"I've decided, Kotori, Reine..." Shido raised his head, clenching his fists. "I'm going to save her."
"The reason we gathered together—why Ratatoskr was founded—was to save Spirits, wasn't it? If even we turn a blind eye, then what's the difference between us and AST—or D.E.M.?"
"That's the Shido I know. I support you!"
Munching on soybean flour bread, Tohka Yatogami—who had been playing the mascot—quickly raised her hand to declare her support for her beloved.
"Hey, just eat your bread. Why are you talking so much?"
Clicking her tongue in mild jealousy, Kotori maintained her sharp-tongued Commander mode, but she still nodded in agreement.
Then her eyebrows lifted. "We'll discuss strategy for now. The sealing operation will have to wait until her next manifestation."
"Remember, Shido. This Spirit's aggressiveness far exceeds any you've encountered before. Be extremely careful."
"Hehe, Commander, no need to worry. With masters like us here, she'll be easy to handle. And a super-S queen with that explosive figure? I absolutely love it!"
Dressed in a white military uniform, a handsome blond man swayed exaggeratedly as he moved beside Shido in support.
"Shido-san, in terms of conquest—ah♂~"
But in the next instant—
Thud!
Kotori kicked Kannazuki Kyouhei to the ground and proceeded to stomp on him repeatedly, cursing in disgust amid his philosophically suggestive moans.
"Explosive figure, huh? Super-S queen, huh? You haven't even met her. How does a pervert like you already know that?!"
"Ah♂ oh~ It's intuition! Just one glance—even from a photo—her measurements, her aura... ah♂ oh~"
"Um, Tohka and I are heading home first."
Seeing this, Shido grabbed Tohka and ran toward the teleportation device.
He had to check on things. After such a massive incident, if the Spirits at home were upset, that would be a disaster.
Buzz—
A flash of white light enveloped them. When their vision returned, Shido and Tohka were already on the ground.
No recording could compare to witnessing it firsthand. Craters from missile explosions littered the area. The stench of blood and gunpowder filled their nostrils.
As far as the eye could see, the remnants of the city echoed with the cries of those who had lost loved ones. Shattered ice fragments were scattered everywhere.
"Huh, Shido, are these ice chunks the remains of those ice monsters? Why haven't they melted yet? That's strange."
Squatting down, Tohka picked up a larger conical shard of ice and held it up to the sunlight. Dense cross-shaped patterns were visible within, faintly glowing with a purplish-red hue under the light.
"Hey, Shido, look! The patterns inside the ice are so pretty."
...
At that very moment, on the other side of Tengu City, purplish-red Honkai energy particles gathered once more like a storm, coalescing into an ice-blue figure.
"So my waiting here wasn't in vain. Spirit—the transcendent lifeform of this world has finally appeared... Cornelia, Akame, no need to wait any longer. Act immediately!"
"You're hiding here, are you?"
Gazing toward the remaining structures in northern Tengu City, Esdeath grinned. Her figure shifted from stillness to motion in an instant, breaking the sound barrier. The violent sonic boom cloud obliterated everything along her path.
In that instant, as Esdeath reappeared and made no attempt to conceal her aura, shrill alarms once again echoed throughout the entire city.
"Shido, watch out!"