This is not the date I wanted.

"You did it?"

"Is there a problem?"

"No, I think it's very good."

Allen obviously didn't take Shidou's hostility seriously, and said after slowly walking around the living room and kitchen.

"Although it's small, it's very clean. You can imagine that there is a happy family gathering here every night. Who are they? You - Itsuka Kotori, Yoshino, Yatogami Tohka, and the Yamai sisters. Everyone enjoys your craftsmanship together. It's a beautiful and happy scene like a painting. Please protect it well."

"……what do you want to say?"

Eren's inexplicable words made Shidao feel a little uneasy.

"Hey, Gokawa Shidou, do you know why you can gather here so calmly?"

Since Alan was facing away from the window at this moment, Shidou couldn't see Alan's expression at this moment, but he could feel the malice from him.

"That's because of Kotori and Ratatoskr's help..."

"That's not right." Allen denied without hesitation, "The reason why it exists until now is entirely due to me and Ike. Because we have always let you go and never killed you. That's why you can enjoy this moment of peace."

Cold sweat broke out on Shidou's forehead.

"This is nonsense..."

“That’s not nonsense.”

As if to prove this absurd and crude theory, Allen increased the pressure on Shidao with the random field. Shidao fell to his knees as if he was carrying a thousand-pound lead block, and his expression twisted.

Alan took out a knife handle without a blade.

Then, a sharp laser blade emerged from the front end of the hilt, and it was placed almost millimeter away from Shidou's neck.

"Let's make a deal. Gokawa Shido, in exchange for a few of your limbs, and the safety of Princess, Efreet, Hermit, Berserk, and Diva. Tell me where the witch and Ryougi Yumezuki are."

“Is this the attitude to do business with others?”

Shidou forced a smile and asked provocatively.

"Trade is just a nice way of saying it. You don't think you really have a choice, do you?" Allen chuckled and persuaded, "This is the biggest concession I can make. A minority in exchange for a majority. This kind of arithmetic should be easy for you."

"I'm sorry. I'm greedy. Whether it's Nanashi or Mengyue, I can't accept the loss of one of my family members. Ugh——"

As Eren further strengthened his Random Field, Shidou couldn't help but let out a scream of pain.

Allen frowned slightly. Just now, Shido Gokawa saw her retreat without hesitation, and she was watching him while retreating. It was totally unlike the reaction of an ordinary high school student. For a moment, Allen felt a strange sense of danger from Shido Gokawa. This was also one of the reasons why Allen used force on Shido Gokawa.

(Is it an illusion?)

……

Allen is very strong. Gokawa Shido is aware of this clearly.

He did not feel complacent because he had become stronger after some training. On the contrary, after stepping into the battlefield that Meng Yue and the others had experienced before, Shidao realized more clearly how terrifying Alan Mathers was as a magician.

Meng Yue and Shi Xiang actually fought against such a monster...

Sweat flowed down his cheeks, and a light salty taste spread in Shidou's mouth.

However, there is still a chance.

Allen did not put on his CR-Unit, but only used the random field of the small display device he carried with him to restrain himself. Obviously, the other party still regarded him as an "ordinary high school student who simply obtained the power of the elves" and did not regard him as a threat.

[There are many factors that determine victory or defeat in a battle. But in my opinion, the most important thing is not strength, but the amount of intelligence you have.]

Silently repeating Mengyue's teachings in his mind, Shidao did not resist, but deliberately endured the pressure of Alan's random field, waiting for the opportunity for Alan to relax his guard.

"I'll ask you one last time. Are you really not going to tell me where the witch and Liang Yi Meng Yue are?"

As he said this, Alan moved the laser sword to the side of Shidou's head, as if he wanted to cut off Shidou's ear.

Of course, Shidou, who had been pierced through the chest by her before, knew very well that the other party was not joking.

Even if the healing flame can heal Shidou's wounds, the pain is definitely not to be ignored.

"…Just right, my ears are a little itchy."

"Yeah."

After hearing Shidou's answer, Alan's expression remained unchanged. After saying something calmly, he tightened the handle of the laser sword.

File——

Suddenly, something fell from Shidou's pocket to the ground.

"Lollipop?"

The sudden sound instantly drew Allen's attention, and the pressure on the random area around Shidao also dropped sharply.

Now is the time! Shidou seized this golden opportunity without hesitation.

"Ratziel (Sage of the Dawn)!"

Following Shidou's order, the dark blue arm guard hidden in Shidou's cuffs flashed with a faint light.

[Received. Partial expansion - Gabriel (Pojun Songstress)! ]

Silently, the sound of an orchestra appeared out of nowhere beside Allen's ears.

Solo - Rondo.

The next moment, a deep, low hum echoed in the small living room.

……

[Shidao, remember. A magician needs to control the manifestation device, and although a large part of it depends on the assistance of the line clothes and various weapons, there is a more important key factor.]

What is that factor?

[here.]

In the virtual world, Mengyue pointed at her head as she accompanied her explanation.

[Brain, all magicians have undergone special processing on their brains. Because of these modifications, they can use the manifestation device to generate magic power, and can also manipulate the random field to realize the fantasy constructed in the mind in reality.]

[Turning imagination into reality... isn't that invincible?]

[How is that possible? If he were truly invincible, we would have been wiped out by AST long ago.]

Shrugging his shoulders to show disdain, Meng Yue said to Shidao.

[This ability has its limits. The brain's ability to process information will affect the accuracy of the random field, that is, the magician's strength. In other words, even if an excellent magician does not rely on the line suit, as long as he maintains a high level of mental concentration, he can use a small manifestation device to summon a random field to fight. At the same time, it interferes with the magician's brain, which is also the most effective way to harm the magician.]

……

"not good--"

Alan had never expected that Gokawa Shido would use the power of the spirits to attack him, and was caught off guard and hit head-on by the sonic wave.

Since only a part of the angel was deployed, the sound could not have the same enchanting effect as Miku. Even so, the volume that exceeded the limit directly hit the semicircular canals in the ears and affected the brain, just like putting the ears directly on the super-large speakers at a concert. The strong dizziness made Alan walk unsteadily like a drunk.

Just when Shidao was about to escape, suddenly, something unexpected happened.

“It’s so noisy—”

"Eh?"

Under Shidou's confused gaze, the lollipop that had fallen to the ground let out a whine, and after a flash of light, the candy suddenly disappeared. Instead, what appeared in front of him was a girl with long green hair wearing a witch costume and covering her ears - Nanashi.

"Witch...Itsuka...Shidou..."

Alan held his ears, shook his head, and spoke incoherently.

He is truly worthy of being the strongest magician. Although he was directly affected by the sound waves of the Pojun singer, Alan recovered faster than the Seven Sins and was mostly awake in just a few seconds.

When Alan fully wakes up, he will definitely put on the CR-Unit without hesitation. By then, he and Seven Sins will be doomed.

After making this judgment, Shidao decisively took advantage of the fact that Alan had not yet recovered, pressed his hands on Alan's shoulders, and pushed him forward.

"Eh?"

Unexpectedly, perhaps because the opponent's center of gravity was unstable, Shidao did not use much strength, but Allen stumbled back several steps, and accidentally tripped over the chairs next to the dining table, and fell to the ground with the table and chairs.

"Mmm...X﹏X"

There seemed to be some strange and worrying sound coming from behind, but Shidao did not dare to stay any longer. He picked up Nanashi, who had not yet recovered from the sonic attack, and turned around and ran away.

24 Breaking through the sky (Part )

==============================

"Huh... Great. Looks like he didn't catch up."

Shidao hid in an inconspicuous alley, stuck his head out and secretly observed the surroundings for a long time, until he confirmed that Alan was not chasing him, he slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then - next."

Turning around, Shidou saw Nanashi, who had just regained consciousness and immediately broke away from him. At this time, he was hiding behind a big tree, half of his face was exposed, looking at him vigilantly, and he couldn't help but scratched his cheek with a wry smile.

"That... Seven Sins."

"What is it, stupid Shidou?"

Nanashi stared at Shidou and replied coldly.

"Forehead……"

Shidou was inexplicably given a strange title by the other party, and he couldn't help but frown. But to be honest, Shidou had a rough idea of ​​who had instilled such an impression on him by Nanashi.

"Thank you, Seven Sins."

"what?"

"Seven Sins, did you want to come out and save me at that time?"

His pockets were not very shallow, and the possibility that something in his pocket accidentally fell out and attracted Allen's attention was very low. It was obvious that the Seven Sins were trying to help him at that time.

It was obvious that it would have been safer for Seven Sins if they had chosen to stand by and watch.

Shidou's words left Nanashi speechless for a moment. She hid behind a tree with a red face and hurriedly explained.

"That time, it was just an accident! Who wanted to save you? Don't be so conceited. I was just afraid that the guy might accidentally hurt me when attacking you, so I hurriedly ran out of your pocket. I didn't want to save you."

"But, as for the result. I was indeed saved because of you."

If Seven Sins hadn't attracted Allen's attention at that time, to be honest, Shidao really didn't have the confidence that he could hold out until the other party let down his guard under the torture.

Exhaling lightly, Shidou bowed to Nanashi and spoke from the bottom of his heart.

"Thank you, Seven Sins. I was saved thanks to you!"

"..."

Perhaps because he was not used to being thanked by others, Nanashi's cheeks turned red. After a moment's silence, he slowly exhaled and walked out from behind the tree.

"You are a hopeless idiot."

Scratching his hair irritably, Nanashi lowered his head awkwardly and whispered.

"...Obviously, we should be the ones to say thank you..."

"Hmm? Did you say anything, Seven Sins?"

"Nothing at all."

Nanashi shook her head, as if to hide her emotions, and suddenly glared at Shidou with an accusing look.

"Besides, since you have the means to deal with that magician, why didn't you use it right from the start? I thought you were going to be killed and was so anxious. But just when I was about to make a move, I was dizzy by that strange noise. Did you do that on purpose?!"

It seems that Nanashi is still quite dissatisfied with the fact that innocent people were affected by Shidao's AOE attack.

"Um, I'm so sorry about that!"

Although he really wanted to explain that he didn't mean it, he suddenly remembered the teaching that "explanation is not as effective as apology" that he had heard somewhere before, so Shidao shut his mouth and apologized honestly.

"Hmph~ It's good to know."

After hearing Shidou's apology, Nana Sin felt much better.

"Itsuka Shidou. Consider this as a return gift for saving me last time. Even if you say I am meddling in other people's business and forcing a favor on you, I don't care. Now that you have seen my true face, I will stop playing pranks on you. From now on, we will each live our own lives and have nothing to do with each other."

Having said that, Nanashi turned around and prepared to leave.

"and many more!"

Shidou hurriedly called out to Nanazin.