The orange light of dusk gently enveloped Tenguu City, casting a golden hue across every building surface. However, there was no laughter, no footsteps, no human bustle. The city was eerily silent, almost lifeless. Only the occasional wind rustled through the empty streets, carrying the remnants of life as it fled. The spatial earthquake alarm had just sounded, and as usual, the residents immediately fled to underground shelters.
On the outskirts of town, in a long-abandoned amusement park, the ground lay shattered. In its center lay a massive crater ten meters in diameter, a gash in the earth said to have been caused by spatial tremors. The surrounding grass was scorched, and several rides were badly damaged, like giant dolls abandoned in the midst of a nightmare.
Suddenly, a light blue light appeared near the crater, dazzling for a moment before slowly fading. From it emerged the figure of a young man with messy blue hair and calm yet alert eyes. He wore a casual shirt, his face slightly tense but determined.
He was Itsuka Shido.
Shido looked around, his breathing steady but his eyes wary. "This place... is kind of creepy," he muttered, staring at the rusty swing swaying by itself in the afternoon breeze. The abandoned atmosphere of the amusement park was truly eerie, lonely, cold, and as if time had stopped there.
He walked through the amusement park to find the spirit that had appeared there. Then a girl's voice came over the intercom. "This amusement park has been closed since that big incident," the girl said. The girl was none other than Itsuka Kotori.
"W-What is this?!"
Shido continued walking through the amusement park, searching for the spirit. While talking to Kotori over the intercom, he was suddenly shocked by the sight before him.
In front of him was a Halloween-themed castle-like building filled with large pumpkins shaped like scary faces. While looking around, Shido continued walking toward the building. As he was observing, he suddenly heard a seductive woman's voice.
"This is so strange... I didn't expect to see a human other than the AST sent after me."
Shido instinctively looked up at the source of the voice and saw a sexy woman in a purple and black witch's outfit with a star motif. She also had long green hair and a witch's hat. She also wore a cloak that resembled bat wings.
After saying that, the woman jumped and landed in front of Shido. Shido was slightly surprised when she landed right in front of him. Shido was captivated by her seductive appearance.
Sensing his gaze, the woman chuckled and said in a seductive voice, "Fufu... I won't eat you. You don't need to be afraid."
Before Shido could answer, the woman said again, "Hey, you're quite cute. What are you doing here? I think there's a spirit alarm, right?" The woman asked, holding Shido's chin.
"T-That..."
While Shido was confused, Kotori's voice suddenly came over the intercom.
"Shido, say the choice while looking innocent," Kotori instructed Shido. Shido, having heard the choices, immediately said them with an innocent face and puppy dog eyes.
"Umm... I-I don't know anything. I tried to run and ended up here."
Hearing Shido's answer, the woman then said, "Is that so? What's your name?"
"Itsuka Shido," Shido replied.
"Shido-kun, huh? That's a cute name," said the woman, then introduced herself.
"I'm Natsumi. But they usually call me Witch."
Then Natsumi walked closer to Shido, causing Shido to reflexively take a step back.
"Hey Shido-kun, one-san wants to ask you something, but... are you going to answer it?" Natsumi asked, now one step ahead of Shido.
"Y-yes, please," Shido replied nervously.
"Do you think I'm beautiful?" Natsumi asked in a seductive voice, her eyes staring directly into Shido's.
In the original story, Natsumi has a physiological perception disorder where she views everything negatively, including herself. She tends to envy others who have body shapes she deems attractive or beautiful, which she believes are inferior to her own. That's why she always asks others if she's beautiful.
"I think you're very beautiful," Shido replied after a moment of silence. He couldn't possibly say that Natsumi wasn't beautiful with her appearance.
"I knew it! Could you be more specific?"
"Shido-kun… what do you think makes One-san beautiful?"
Natsuni, upon hearing Shido's answer, became overjoyed and fired off a series of questions at him enthusiastically.
Shido, seeing Natsumi like this, became a little nervous, especially when he glanced at her heaving chest. He quickly calmed himself and began to examine Natsumi.
"Um... your eyes are beautiful, your body, and your face too..." Shido replied, scanning Natsumi up and down. Of course, he skipped Natsumi's chest, as that would be offensive and impolite.
"What else? What else?" Natsumi urged.
"Ah, your hair is also very soft," Shido added.
Hearing Shido's answer, Natsumi was delighted and pulled Shido into her embrace.
"That's right... Shido-kun, you understand very well," Natsumi said, hugging Shido.
Shido, embraced like that, immediately froze, unable to move.
Then Shido heard Kotori's voice in his earphones.
"Shido, the AST is coming," Kotori said, warning Shido.
Hearing this, Shido immediately looked up and saw the AST heading this way. Natsumi, sensing someone coming, also looked up to see the AST coming.
The AST, seeing the witch, immediately launched a massive missile attack. Seeing the missiles heading his way made Shido panic and sweat. However, Natsumi, beside him, remained calm and smiled.
"Don't worry, Shido-kun," Natsumi said confidently.
After saying that, Natsumi immediately summoned her angel, Haniel. A flying angel with the ability to transform themselves or a target object into anything. The transformed object or subject, including themselves if they transform, will become a near-perfect replica of whatever they have transformed into. However, the memories and personality of the transformed object or subject will remain the same. Haniel can also be used for aerial transportation, with its broom capable of floating in the air, supporting the user's weight, and propelling the user forward.
In an instant, Natsumi swung her broom toward the ground. A large magic circle appeared beneath her feet, emitting a dazzling light. The AST, who were preparing to fire missiles, were suddenly startled when their navigation system detected a large amount of spiritual energy beneath them. But it was too late.
With an elegant movement, Natsumi stomped Haniel to the ground.
"Poof~"
A strange sound was heard along with a puff of thin smoke. The missiles hurtling toward them suddenly transformed in midair into… giant carrots. In an instant, the previously menacing sky transformed into an absurd sight, hundreds of carrots raining down onto the playground, causing light explosions and sending dust flying.
Shido's jaw dropped. "W-what… are they all carrots?"
But Natsumi only chuckled, the corners of her lips quirking up in a mischievous smile.
"I guess that wasn't enough. Now it's their turn."
She raised Haniel high and swung it like a magic wand. From its tip, a rainbow-colored, star-shaped light shot into the sky. The light struck the AST formation with astonishing precision. In a matter of seconds, the entire air force emitted a soft light... then suddenly transformed into a group of girls dressed as bunnies, complete with ears and tails, floating helplessly before crashing to the ground with a thud.
"Look, they're so cute~," Natsumi said with a satisfied laugh, placing one hand on her hip.
Meanwhile, Shido stood there, stunned. He didn't know whether to laugh or worry. But before he could say anything, one of the large carrots nearby fell and exploded, sending up a wave of dust and a strong wind.
"Ugh!" Shido closed his eyes, trying to block out the gust of wind. The thick dust completely obscured his vision. He could only hear Natsumi coughing softly next to him.
But something happened. Amidst the cloud of dust, Natsumi's body emitted a brief, soft but strange light. Then the light disappeared again just as quickly, as if it had never existed.
As the dust began to settle, Shido opened his eyes and rubbed his face. "Natsumi! Are you okay?"
But before he could get a response, Kotori's voice rang out again, urgently.
"Shido! Emergency! Natsumi's emotions are suddenly unstable!"
Shido immediately looked at Natsumi, and sure enough, she was standing with her head down, her shoulders trembling. Her breathing was heavy, almost as if she were holding back tears or anger.
"Y-you saw that, right?" Natsumi asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"Unforgivable!"
"You must pay for it!"
Natsumi's series of words confused Shido. Then Natsumi raised her hand and pointed at Shido.
"Itsuka, Shido! You will pay for it later!" Natsumi said, pointing at Shido.
But before Shido could respond, his instincts screamed danger. After fighting the Noir Blade and experiencing defeat, his sense of danger had significantly increased.
Suddenly, the space around Natsumi's head twisted and distorted. Shido quickly pulled her toward him.
The air where Natsumi had been standing spun like a whirlpool, sucking in so hard that Natsumi's witch's hat was sucked in and shattered into fragments of light. If Shido had been even a second slower, what had been sucked in might not have been her hat, but her head.
Natsumi's body was now on top of Shido. She looked shocked, her eyes wide. For a moment, their faces were so close that their breaths touched. Natsumi was about to be angry at being pulled away so suddenly, but once she realized what had just happened, her face flushed red to her ears.
Shido looked at her gently, his tone filled with concern. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
The gentle gaze and tone made Natsumi's chest feel warm, as if something inside her was melting. "I-I'm... fine," she replied softly, looking down to hide her red face.
"Hmph... just because of this doesn't mean I won't get back at you, Itsuka Shido!" Natsumi immediately stood up and returned to her previous self. Then, Natsumi immediately flew away using her angel.
Shido watched this, slightly speechless, not because of Natsumi's behavior, but because of what had just happened. The spatial suction was more like an attack than a natural disaster like a spatial quake.