One-way traffic

"Mana...why? Why can you be so indifferent to taking someone's life!"

That's what's troubling him.

Is it even possible for a girl who is only a teenager to talk about murder so casually?

"It's just a habit."

"What did you say…?"

"Hmm, this is something that my brother doesn't know, and for my brother now... he has done this kind of thing many times already."

The girl's expression remained unchanged throughout.

They have always been so ruthless and indifferent.

"This is the most evil elf in front of me. I don't know how many times I've killed it. Today's incident is just a tiny fraction of that huge number. This kind of thing is commonplace for me."

"So, brother, you don't need to worry about me at all. In fact, for an ordinary person like you, encountering so many things all of a sudden is really not right."

"Have you... been living like that all this time?!"

In order to kill Kurumi Tokisaki, Mana has been fighting her relentlessly.

This is the way of life of the girl in front of him, who looks to be no more than a teenager and is also his younger sister, Takamiya Mana.

"It seems we've gone a bit too far in our conversation, brother."

They probably realized that continuing the conversation would be pointless.

The girl shook her head and walked directly toward Itsuka Shido.

“From now on, brother, you should leave here first. Soon, the people from AST will be coming this way. If they see you, your memories will definitely be erased as an ordinary person.”

“Mana also wants to do that, but Mana understands that you definitely don’t want to accept that kind of outcome, so I respect your choice… but this kind of place is no longer a place for you to stay.”

“…!!”

Itsuka Shido's eyes widened instantly.

He stared wide-eyed at Takamiya Mana, and Takamiya Mana understood the meaning behind that look.

The other party is definitely resisting this.

However, she wouldn't give him a chance to think. She immediately raised her hand and created a dark blue, casual domain around Itsuka Shido.

Sudden.

Just as Takamiya Mana was about to send the other party out of there in one go, she seemed to notice something unusual.

The Itsuka Shido before them was violently pounding on the barrier of the Free Domain.

Is this action a way of expressing resistance?

She walked slowly toward him, and their eyes met.

then.

She noticed that the other person's gaze was directed toward what was behind her.

"…Huh?"

Realizing this, Takamiya Mana turned her head with curiosity.

A shooting star flashed across the distant horizon.

It was golden-red, with a luster like that of a meteorite.

The moment Takamiya Mana realized this, the light was already rapidly descending towards them.

The ground shattered upon impact.

What followed was a scene that shocked the entire park.

"Varied--?!"

The terrifying impact even traveled through the ground to reach Takamiya Mana herself.

She looked surprised, and in an instant, she prepared the weaponry displayed on her body.

The girl looked warily in the direction where the object had fallen.

From there, a figure slowly emerged.

"What...what is this?"

Upon seeing the shadow behind her, Takamiya Mana revealed an expression of utter astonishment.

It was a shadow like a demon.

Its entire body was enveloped in golden-red light, making it appear slightly transparent, and it had two pairs of huge, folded wings on its back.

That wasn't human at all, not even an elf.

Its unusual pupils flickered with an eerie light, and then...

It raised its hand towards Mana.

"No! Get out of the way!!"

Only at this moment did Mana finally hear Itsuka Shido's call from behind.

A faint flame flickered at the very tip of the monster's fingertip.

Squeak——!!

At that very moment, the ground beneath Takamiya Mana's feet completely shattered.

Something like magma erupted and engulfed the girl's body.

Itsuka Shido stared wide-eyed in disbelief as he witnessed the entire process of the girl being engulfed by flames.

But then, a deep blue shadow burst forth once again from the lava.

"Mana!"

In the critical moment, Takamiya Mana enveloped her entire body in her Free Domain to defend against the sudden attack.

even so.

With just that one basic strike, she already understood the true level of her enemy's strength.

and so.

Boom! Behind him, the engine's power was increased to its maximum, and the lightsaber in his hand had also reached an excessive output.

This was the full force she could muster.

"Drink it all!!!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the ace-level combatant, equivalent to one of the world's top five, raised his sword and slashed at the monster's forehead.

The blade fell in that instant.

However, its path forward was blocked by an arm.

The monster used only one hand to grab the girl's lightsaber at full power.

Subsequently.

click-

Under the watchful eyes of Takamiya Mana, the lightsaber shattered.

She stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

The light particles transformed into eerie blue fragments with an effect that was originally impossible, almost as if mocking its own overestimation of its own abilities.

When she came to her senses again, she had already noticed something else.

The other person's hand, like a demonic claw, pressed directly onto his abdomen.

boom----! ! !

Mana Takamiya's body transformed into a cannonball, piercing directly into the distant forest.

"Shenna!!"

The arbitrary domain surrounding Itsuka Shido was thus dispelled.

This alone is enough to show just how badly Takamiya Mana is in her current situation.

Thump! The earth was forcibly torn apart, and then forcibly restored to its original state.

Countless cracks gushing from the depths of the earth trapped Itsuka Shido's body in place.

"Oh, damn it!"

He struggled desperately, trying to get out of it as soon as possible.

But someone was one step ahead of him.

It wasn't until the next second that Itsuka Shido realized what kind of situation he was in.

"Ugh...!"

His breathing became very labored.

I didn't know when my neck had been completely grabbed by the other person.

“Guwaa ...

Realizing this, he didn't even have a chance to struggle before being forcibly pulled out of the mud.

My legs felt like they were being torn apart, a result of being forcibly pulled out of the thick mud.

But more than anything, it stems from the pain of not being able to breathe.

He tried his best, but could only open his eyes and helplessly watch the scene before him.

Those eyes, seemingly shining from the depths of hell, stared mercilessly at him.

At this moment.

A future filled with despair and death permeated Itsuka Shido's heart.

————————————————————————————————————

"Now, that demon is preparing to make his move. If this continues, Shido's life will be in danger!!"

"Tsk... Where is that place? How far is it from here?"

"No... the last sound we managed to capture is no longer valid, and the strange magnetic field effects there also prevent us from capturing it with our cameras!"

Kotori Itsuka's voice grew increasingly anxious.

One can imagine just how critical the situation had become.

"One party...!"

"...This is not a good situation."

Based on Kotori Itsuka's words, it can be deduced that the other party is DO Apis.

Accelerator's time-stopping ability is ineffective against that guy; in fact, it might even exacerbate the danger he's in.

Meanwhile, Itsuka Shido was in imminent danger, and he didn't even know where the other party was.

Using mental power to conduct a comprehensive search might be possible, but that would only exacerbate the harm DO Apis could inflict on him further.

They were caught in a dilemma.

If Accelerator were present, there would be no problem, but now... given the various unique characteristics of that demon, is it really possible for him to stop it even if he wants to?

If he fails, Itsuka Shido will be completely destroyed.

The system's prompts kept appearing around him, and it was impossible to determine what would happen to the system's mission if he died.

In the worst-case scenario, he and Hatsune Miku could very well be trapped in this world forever.

"That damn thing, he's really given me a terrible mess...!"

That must be DO Apis's clone, but even if we know that, what can we do?

Accelerator alone cannot completely deal with the unique nature of DO Abis. Even with Hatsune Miku and Advisari, they can only barely contend with it.

If only we had more helpers.

Thinking about this impossible situation, Accelerator secretly realized that he had to make a decision as soon as possible.