Taitō District.
No falling snowflakes, no biting winds.
Yet the moment she set foot on this land – under the alias Yui Tsuchimikado – Yuiyui Gokadoin felt a bone-chilling cold permeating the ground.
Despite wearing thick black cotton coats and professional-grade thermal black stockings that covered her slender legs, Yuiyui Gokadoin still felt as exposed and frozen as if she were standing naked in the Arctic.
Completely defying the laws of nature, interfering with nature through sheer personal power.
"Conceptual manipulation... And judging by the circumstances, likely concepts related to freezing or cold..."
Beneath Yuiyui Gokadoin's heavily made-up face lay an indescribable gravity:
"The perpetrator is unlikely to be Hero Rank... At the very least, no ordinary Hero Rank Class practitioner could unleash power of this scale..."
Yuiyui surveyed the apartment, barely coated in ice, scanned the endless road blanketed in what appeared to be a meter-thick layer of snow, observed the traffic lights wrapped in white, and gazed out at the snow-white world stretching into the distance.
Beyond sensing what seemed like two colossal entities colliding in the spiritual realm, Yuiyui could discern nothing resembling combat.
There were no terrifyingly powerful explosions, no deafening roars, no visible crossing of blades.
All Yuiyui could see was the frozen wasteland before her:
"A Demigod perhaps?"
"Or perhaps a Top Tier Class Hero Rank as described in Chō-Senjiryakketsu?"
"To freeze all of Taitō Ward and maintain it this long... Even if not quite Demigod level, the perpetrator must be close..."
"And whoever stands as their opponent must be equally formidable. Otherwise, this cold-related concept wouldn't persist so consistently..."
Having reached this conclusion, Yuiyui addressed the Onmyou Agency subordinates she'd brought:
"For this support operation, prioritise self-preservation. Remember, we operate only on the periphery."
"Disregard all else. I'll handle any pressure from above!"
Hearing this, the junior Onmyou Agency members grew visibly excited:
"As you command, Lady Yuiyui!"
While the Onmyou Agency members chose to slack off...
From another direction...
Standing impassively in the frozen world, Tatsuya Shiba, in his white trench coat with firearms at his waist, gazed northward and murmured:
"A sustained Strategic Magic?"
"And this overwhelming sense of danger..."
"It appears our criminal this time is quite the troublesome individual."
Tatsuya's muttered words were captured by the specialised earpiece he wore.
In an apartment somewhere in Chiyoda...
Maya Yotsuba, who'd been listening to Tatsuya's musings, set down her coffee cup in surprise:
"For even you to sense danger... It seems our assignment's target is genuinely problematic."
Tatsuya closed his eyes briefly. When they reopened, they gleamed with an eerie blue light:
"I recommend aborting the mission."
"In terms of magical energy, the weaker of those two combatants possesses at least ten times my total magical data capacity."
"Alone, I cannot contain their rampage. Unless... you lift restrictions and permit my use of Strategic Magic within city limits."
Maya sighed at this: "That would obliterate all of Taitō Ward."
"I've no desire to become an international fugitive with you and Miyuki."
"But for even emotionless Tatsuya to say this... It confirms those combatants must be the so-called Demigods..."
"More dangerous than imagined, it seems... It appears declining Director Luo's invitation was somewhat the right decision..."
Maya Yotsuba murmured to herself before shaking her head and issuing an order:
"Tatsuya, stand by at your current position. Of course, you may put on an act - at least make the Cabinet's commission fee worthwhile."
"Understood." Tatsuya Shiba responded before falling silent.
Though just before quieting down, his gaze fleetingly drifted towards the eighteen-storey apartment building to the west, his eyes seeming slightly unsettled.
...
On the snow-covered apartment rooftop.
Kazuma Yagami, draped in a black trench coat with hands in pockets, stood with closed eyes, sensing the distant battlefield through the wind.
After a moment, he opened his pale blue eyes - the mark of his contract with the Spirit King of Wind:
"Oi oi... what kind of monsters are clashing at ground zero over there..."
"Even the wind freezes solid when it gets close... absolutely ridiculous."
"If I hadn't made a contract with the Spirit King of Wind, even reconnaissance would be impossible..."
"Turning all of Taito Ward into a frozen wasteland while concentrating all that freezing power at the epicentre... artificially increasing conceptual density..."
"I see. By gathering massive amounts of Freezing Concepts, they're simulating a Demigod's conceptual manipulation to counter Concept Entanglement's first-strike advantage while creating favourable terrain."
"Not bad at all, this ice-controlling Demigod... no, using methods like this means they probably aren't a full Demigod yet..."
"When quality can't surpass a Demigod, compensate with overwhelming quantity?"
"Quite creative."
"But speaking of which, this scale of cryokinetic control rivals my Spirit King contract activation... and their opponent... that silhouette, Europe's Witch of the Notaria?"
Kazuma clicked his tongue as he observed the combatants at the battlefield's heart:
"Thank goodness the Security Bureau only commissioned me to investigate. If they'd ordered me to stop these two, would I even survive?"
"The only one who could stop these madwomen is probably that freak from the Hidden Management Department - the suspected Demigod."
At this thought, Kazuma felt somewhat relieved.
Yet simultaneously, due to his Wind Arts' reconnaissance capabilities, the feedback made him glance oddly towards the street:
"That expressionless guy from the Cabinet's Direct Action Team isn't moving either?"
"Between the Onmyou Agency, Bujin-shū, and that spectating Nura Clan heir... none of the invited parties dares approach the central conflict?"
As wind-carried information reached him, Kazuma watched helplessly as everyone skirted around the battlefield's heart.
Rescuing civilians, apprehending looters, erasing witnesses' memories.
They handled all these tasks yet stubbornly avoided the central conflict.
Japan's government really outdid itself with these hires!
What kind of people did they recruit?!
Ignoring the root cause while fussing over trivialities?
The thought made Kazuma unable to resist muttering:
"Every last one of them... cunning as bloody ghosts..."
Halfway through his complaint, Kazuma Yagami's expression suddenly changed as he sharply turned his gaze towards the centre of the battlefield, looking as if he'd seen a ghost.
Bloody hell!!!
The centre of the battlefield was moving!!
These two demonic women had actually started fighting while on the move!
"We're doomed, this direction..."
"It's heading straight towards me."
Kazuma Yagami's face instantly turned green:
"Stay the hell away from me!!!"