This is not the date I wanted.

Located at the bottom of the bridge, Kawagoe, who was in the "premature fatigue period", patted his chest and said with lingering fear.

Of course, it’s not that he doubted (but he didn’t trust) Kannazuki’s operating skills either, but the feeling of a bullet shooting through the skin of his cheek was definitely not a pleasant experience.

"Be careful, Kawagoe. The monsters on the other side can do the same thing as easily as drinking water."

Staring closely at Goetia's figure on the screen, Kotori answered with a serious expression.

Not long ago, Goetia dodged two magic-focusing cannons from Kotori in the same way.

In order to cause clear damage to the enemy, launching artillery fire at the moment when the two sides close the distance is obviously the most effective means. But this premise is that it can hit the target, because the mobility of each other is amazing, and Fraxinus EX and Goetia's artillery fire has not actually hit the other side yet.

Without absolute certainty of hitting the target, blind bombardment is just a waste of magic power.

but--

"It's not good, little sister. We won't be able to keep up at this rate."

Looking at the platinum-colored warship that turned around and flew towards this side again, Erya couldn't help but frowned and said.

"Yes, I know."

Without Niya's reminder, Kotori also sensed the problem.

Goetia's speed was still increasing. If Fraxinus EX could keep up with her at the beginning, now Goetia's speed was gradually approaching a level that they could not catch up with.

The maneuverability of Fraxinus EX is achieved by deploying another random field that wraps around the ship within the random field, and the reaction force generated by mutual repulsion is used to achieve driving. The inspiration for this design comes from the enemy Goetia in front of it.

However, the high-speed mobile ship Goetia is different from ordinary ships. There is only a 9-cubic-meter cabin in the entire ship for Allen to connect to the body, and the rest of the ship is composed of magic generators, controllers, and artillery weapons. The monotonous and extreme design of Goetia makes it just a useless large piece of scrap metal when Allen is not driving it, but it also means that even if it has the same technology, no other aerial ship can reach the same level as it.

Unlike Goetia, Fraxinus is a comprehensive battleship with many functions. Although its technological level and performance are among the best in the world, there is still a certain gap between it and Goetia in terms of combat alone.

Furthermore, Allen's superb high-end operation of Goetia cannot be compensated by technology alone.

Although Kannazuki is an excellent magus, he can only avoid being at a disadvantage. If this continues, Alan will sooner or later seize Kotori's weakness and launch a fierce attack, but Kotori does not have the ability to break this stalemate.

In order to defeat Goetia, she now needs a killer move that can surprise Alan.

"Ju Ya, how is the progress of your mission? How long will it take for Sister Meng Yue to return from the computer world?"

Kotori asked Maria.

[Seventy-two percent of the work has been completed. Sister Mengyue will wake up in three minutes.]

"three minutes……"

In other words, the fight between her and Allen lasted less than seven minutes. But to be honest, Kotori felt like she had spent almost an hour.

The head-on confrontation with Goetia was more stressful than expected.

"How about Commander, why don't we just give up the offensive option and switch to defense? Set the 'Leaves of the World Tree' to mine mode and deploy them around the ship?"

"President" Kanmoto put forward his own ideas.

This tactic was exactly what Fraxinus used to deal with Goetia's attack in the previous world.

However, after thinking for a while, Qinli shook her head and rejected it.

"No, it's different from last time. Eren's target is not us. If we stop following up, the enemy will just ignore us and attack Shidou and Rokuko."

In the last world, Kotori only needed to ensure that her airship would not be shot down. But this time, she had to entangle Alan to ensure that he would not disturb Shidao.

Moreover, unless it was absolutely necessary, Kotori didn't want to use that tactic which could easily affect morale a second time.

[Hey, Kotori-chan. Did you hear that? ]

Just when Qin Li was in distress, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in her ears.

"Sister Mengyue?!"

Seeing Mengyue waving at her in front of the computer screen, Qinli showed a surprised expression.

"Aren't you supposed to be back from the computer world in three minutes? Are you forcing yourself by adjusting the speed of time without permission again?"

【No no. 】

Seeing that Kotori misunderstood, Mengyue quickly waved her hands and explained.

[I didn't adjust the flow of time. I just finished my study a few days earlier than expected. I also took a nap before coming back. I am full of energy now.]

[It's true. I can testify to this, Gokawa Kotori.]

【elder sister. 】

At this moment, Orushou Junai appeared beside Mariya, glanced at Mengyue, and sighed silently.

[Originally, it would have been a stretch for me to master the basics in half a month. But Meng Yue, in just ten days, had already mastered all the information about the warship's manifestation devices. To be honest, if she was not an elf but a magician, she could have become a monster comparable to Alan Mathers.]

[Well, I have no interest in becoming a magician. ]

Meng Yue shrugged indifferently at Junai's slightly sarcastic comment.

"Ten days..."

The corners of Kotori's mouth twitched slightly. Although she had no doubt about Sister Mengyue's learning ability, hearing this result was enough to make countless magicians and technicians doubt their lives.

Boom! At this moment, Goetia and Fraxinus EX clashed again, and the collision of their random fields caused the ships to shake slightly.

[It seems like I came at the right time. Do you need any help, Kotori-chan? ]

Seeing Mengyue's usual reliable attitude, Qinli nodded without hesitation.

"Of course. I'm counting on you, Sister Mengyue."

As she said that, Kotori took a deep breath and shouted.

"Everyone, prepare to counterattack!"

"learn."

07 Battle of Cosmos (VI)

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

"--Oh?"

Seeing the airship in front of him that could confront him, Alan couldn't help feeling a little surprised.

Whether it was defense, bombardment, or energy storage speed, Fraxinus was a level stronger than she remembered.

But what surprised it the most was the maneuverability that was enough to catch up with the Goetia. If not, Fraxinus would never have been able to tangle with her for so long.

"I see. It's a function derived from my Goetia? It seems the term "new model" is not an exaggeration."

However, despite saying this, there was no trace of panic on Allen's face.

"But that's all."

No matter how similar the imitation is, a fake is still a fake and can never surpass the real thing. Moreover, this "Goetia" is not strictly speaking an airship, but a super-giant tactical display unit designed specifically for Allen. Its operation method and principle are very different from those of an airship.

There is an insurmountable gap between the two.

For Allen, Fraxinus's evolution is at most from a turtle that only knows how to hide its head and tail to a fledgling that has just learned to fly. In the eyes of the mighty eagle, it is so clumsy and ridiculous.

"However, as someone who has just stepped into this field, you have been able to confront me for such a long time. This is quite remarkable. In return, let me use all my strength to deal with you."

Alan said softly with a gleam in his eyes.

"I hope you won't lose me so quickly, Itsuka Kotori."

After saying that, Alan took a deep breath and activated all the magic generators in the airship. The thruster power increased instantly, allowing Goetia's speed, which had already reached its limit, to be raised to a new height again.

Through the connection of the line service, Alan's perception suddenly expanded to every corner of Goetia as if he was sinking into the sea, and became one with this platinum-colored airship.

The synchronization rate exceeded 400 percent. It was no exaggeration to say that Alan could now control Goetia more flexibly than he could control his own body.

Just as the trajectory depicted in her mind was exactly the same, the huge airship shuttled through the universe unimpeded. Moreover, as the speed continued to increase, the stars in the sky drew brilliant trajectories in Allen's eyes, giving her a wonderful experience as if she was in a meteor shower.

--boom!

Just like that, Allen piloted Goetia and launched a fierce attack on Fraxinus EX.

The tactics were the same as before, a simple and rough collision. On the one hand, the defense of Fraxinus EX shield was reduced by the mutual cancellation of random field collisions. On the other hand, an attempt was made to launch an unavoidable artillery attack at zero distance.

However, the result was not as evenly matched as before. Although Fraxinus EX obviously knew what Allen was up to, as Goetia's speed continued to increase, their response became more and more hasty and passive, and the rhythm of the battle was gradually controlled by Allen.

However, at this moment, Fraxinus EX, which was originally fighting with Goetia, suddenly slowed down and finally stopped in the universe.

"Ok?"

Seeing this scene, Alan couldn't help but frown.

Just as Allen was wondering what the other party was doing, the branch-like tail behind Fraxinus EX suddenly burst into a transparent blue light, and then dozens of metal fragments wrapped in random fields shot out, scattered on Goetia's flight track.

"Hmph... That's what's going on..."

Understanding Gokawa Kotori's intention, Alan snorted with disdain.

Just like in the previous world, those manifestation devices called "Leaves of the World Tree" are detonators used to hinder Goetia's flight. If they are accidentally touched during rapid flight, they may explode directly and cause damage to Goetia.

Perhaps realizing that if she continued like this, Fraxinus EX would sooner or later be unable to catch up with Goetia and be defeated, Kotori Itsuka decided to change her tactics and set up roadblocks to stop Alan's rapid movement.

"Extremely stupid."

Alan made the comment with a look of disappointment.

Indeed, judging by common sense, it would be a wise choice to change tactics and find a breakthrough rather than just fighting at Alan's pace and being defeated.

In fact, if other airships want to continue moving forward, they can only use the random field to force their way through.

But they were facing the strongest magician in the world.

Faced with the mine circle laid by Fraxinus EX, Allen not only did not slow down to bypass it, but instead stepped on the accelerator to the bottom and rushed into the mine circle as if he was risking his life.

Like a conscious platinum-colored bullet, Goetia completed multiple counterintuitive parallel moves while flying forward, dodging the random area of ​​the "Leaves of the World Tree" when it was about to touch it.

Just like that, in less than a breath of time, Goetia broke through the mines laid by Fraxinus EX and came in front of Fraxinus EX.

However, facing the enemy's surprise attack, Fraxinus EX obviously did not intend to surrender, and the main gun muzzle, which had been accumulating power for a long time, spewed out a torrent of magic power towards Goetia.

"it's useless!"

Allen answered fearlessly. Her perception was stretched to the limit, and she had entered a magical state similar to bullet time. The powerful magic cannon seemed as slow as a snail in her eyes.

Manipulating the gravity distribution of the random area, Goetia rose suddenly, and as if surfing on the torrent of energy, she crossed the magic focus cannon and soared above Fraxinus EX with a domineering and arrogant posture.

"What a pity! If you had not chosen to stop me, but continued to speed up and fight with me, maybe you could still have a chance of winning, Gokawa Kotori."

As it spoke, the platinum-colored streamlined ship turned lightly and aimed its guns at the defenseless ship.

Perfect distance and timing. Even if Fraxinus EX wanted to dodge, it would be too late.

"But the chance of winning is only one in a billion."

A flash of light lit up at the muzzle of Goetia's main gun, ready to deliver a fatal blow to Fraxinus EX.

however--

boom--!

It was not Fraxinus EX that was hit by the bombardment, but Allen's Goetia.

"What!?"

Faced with the sudden violent vibration, Alan almost fell off his seat.

"The rear is under fire? What's going on?"

Seeing the alarm from the artificial intelligence on the screen, Alan frowned.

It couldn't be the reinforcements from Kotori Itsuka. Alan knew that the enemy ship sent by Ratatoskr was the Fraxinus EX.

However, the situation before him did not allow Allen to think too much. Although the previous bombardment did not cause any damage to Goetia, it interrupted the firing of the magic cannon. If he continued to maintain this distance, Allen would most likely face a situation completely opposite to his previous position.

Alan accelerated suddenly to increase the distance, while being alert to the movements of Fraxinus EX, he asked the AI ​​to play the video of the moment when it was hit.

"This is……"

Alan's eyes widened in disbelief, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

Just now, the magic focusing cannon that Allen dodged, after hitting a "World Tree Leaf", turned around like light reflected by a mirror and hit the back of Goetia.

"Tsk, what a quick reaction."

Kotori couldn't help but click her tongue in regret.

After being attacked, Allen did not panic, but kept his distance calmly and decisively. If not, Kotori would have fired a magic focusing cannon at him without hesitation.