The two women in mechanical armor guarding the entrance of the DEM branch office vigilantly looked around. They didn't know why the feeling of guarding tonight felt more dangerous than usual. Now, they felt as if they were being watched by some fierce beast, making them uncomfortable all over.
"Hey, do you feel anything is wrong? This feeling is really uncomfortable." She activated the reconnaissance system on her equipment, but the reconnaissance results showed no abnormalities. However, her heart didn't relax, because the feeling of being watched just now became even stronger.
"So you felt it too, I thought I was overthinking it. Should we report it? We've both been in battle. Our instincts are very accurate. Better safe than sorry." She picked up the communicator in her hand. The ability to sense danger was a basic skill. Now that both of them had this feeling, it couldn't be ignored.
"That won't do, everyone hasn't reached their respective positions yet. If you talk so much, I'll be very troubled." Suddenly, a voice came from behind, making both of their faces change. When? They actually managed to get behind them without any reaction from them. Even the Realizer units hadn't detected it.
"Who exactly are you?! Wh—!" Looking at the two slowly freezing, their eyes showed panic. For such a sudden situation, their equipment had emergency functions. Just as they were about to use the device to emit strong vibrations to crack the ice on their bodies, they realized this method was useless. "H-how can this be? It's just ice, why?"
"I'm sorry, though this is regrettable. But for now, I need you two to rest. Please, both of you, go to sleep now." The Sleeping Magic Formula was pressed onto their heads by Yoshino. Their pupils dilated the moment they saw Yoshino.
"Her... Hermit, I didn't expect it to be Hermit invading. This is truly a surprise; the Spirit with the lowest danger rating, I didn't expect her to..." Seeing the person wearing a green cloak adorned with rabbit ears, they immediately recognized her as a Spirit already present in their data. However, the situation completely contradicted their information, so it seemed their intel was flawed.
"It would be bad if the satellite accidentally saw this scene, wouldn't it? Now, the time until the operation begins is... 3... 2... 1... Barrier deployment!!" Hearing two explosions simultaneously from the DEM branch, Yoshino channeled the spiritual power within her body, and the building was enveloped in a blue barrier. With this barrier, external satellites couldn't know what was happening inside, and calls from within couldn't reach the outside.
"W-Why!? Why is Nightmare here!? Where is the support now?" Looking at the numerous personnel already collapsed on the ground, their lives unknown, the members gazed in fear at Tokisaki Kurumi, known as the "Most Evil Spirit." They knew they were no match for her!
"Hahaha~ This is truly delightful now. The fear on your faces makes me so happy. It seems you're quite 'satisfied' with my hospitality. Indeed, 'repaying' your DEM company for all the 'care' you've shown us Spirits during this time is an excellent idea. So, now... we!" Tokisaki Kurumi, standing at the explosion's mouth, had her shadow spread out in a blood-red hue, like a tide of blood. Then, Tokisaki Kurumis from different time periods emerged from the ground, looking at the wary DEM members before her and letting out intermittent giggles, appearing incredibly eerie.
"I wonder how the situations on the other two sides are?"
"But we can't lose to the other two sides, can we~"
"For our adorable sister, we must work harder." All of the Tokisaki Kurumis raised the Zafkiel in their hands, aiming at the cautious members. Seeing their nervous expressions, the Tokisaki Kurumis once again let out pleasant laughter, causing the opponents' moods to become agitated. However, due to the clear numerical disadvantage, they dared not act rashly.
"Our mission now is to cause as much chaos as possible, attracting as many people as possible. And this time, we have plenty of time. Now we can properly 'entertain' you all." After speaking, all the Tokisaki Kurumis aimed their Zafkiel at their own heads, "Now let's see who can incapacitate more people."
"Aleph" * n
"Captain, the opponent is currently using a very strange protective shield. Our current attacks cannot penetrate this rain shield." A DEM company employee said to the girl next to her, looking at the still sturdy defensive shield.
"Cough! If it doesn't work, keep attacking! I don't believe this protective shield has no limits! Other parts of the base are also under attack, we need to quickly finish things here and go support them elsewhere." The woman gritted her teeth, looking at the three people inside the protective shield. They couldn't find any information about these people in their database. How was that possible? DEM company had information on everyone in the world. Where did these three people come from?
"Oh my, it seems we've truly been underestimated. You want to resolve things here and then immediately go support other places? That decision of yours is a bit irritating." A soft voice drifted over, and as the voice sounded, the gunfire ceased. This wasn't because the DEM company members decided to stop shooting; they suddenly found strange cards stuck to their gun barrels. The power emanating from the cards caused the beam rifles to lose their function.
"Oh my, it seems your weapons can't be used. That won't do, you should take them for repair on time." Among the members, a girl wearing a pink hoodie appeared in front of the protective shield, with a large number of cards floating around her, constantly revolving. This eerie scene made the members drop their rifles and draw their beam sabers.
"Oh my, let's see what card I've drawn. Ah, Lady Luck is smiling~ It seems today is my lucky day." Toujou Nozomi said cheerfully, holding a tarot card, "But your luck today doesn't seem to be so good. Oh, you. You must be the captain, right? Now almost all your team members have lost their combat ability. Sleeping on the ground like this, you'll catch a cold tomorrow, you know."
"What!?" The opponent turned and saw the other members lying on the ground, and a person in an orange hoodie who had just disappeared was playing with a dagger in her hand. "You, what did you do to my team members?"
"Look at you, I just let them have a good sleep. There's no danger at all, meow~" Hoshizora Rin saw the opponent's relieved expression and her lips curled up. "It's just that I hit them on the head, so they might forget some things when they wake up tomorrow." Rin, you've become mischievous.
"Hmm? It seems more people are coming to support you now. I wonder if you can quickly resolve things here and then go support other places." Hearing the approaching footsteps, Toujou Nozomi maliciously laughed, looking at the enemy captain's gloomy face. She had no good feelings at all towards organizations that constantly harmed Spirits.
"Don't you dare be arrogant! You should know that 'Strongest Magician' Ellen is currently in our base. Just hold on a little longer, and you will all be annihilated by Ellen!" The opponent now had a combination of defense, sneak attacks, and Magic Formulas, making them impossible for her and her team to deal with. Now, all their hope rested on Ellen.
However, she didn't notice the smile on Toujou Nozomi's face. After all, Ellen being in this base could be considered a good thing.
On Yoshino's side, everywhere she went turned into a world of ice. And at this moment, Yoshino's eyes shone even brighter as she looked at the person who appeared before her.
"It seems you are Ellen Mira Mathers, known as the 'Strongest Magician.'"
Now, the strongest individuals from both sides met.
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