"Be careful, this spirit in front of you is especially cunning." After Tohka had knocked a few people down, the others weren't stupid and realized she was trying to ambush them, so everyone moved very cautiously, afraid she would seize an opportunity to take them out. Although Tohka hadn't hit hard, even so, falling from the air was enough to keep them in the hospital for quite a while.
Like that, Tohka started a game of cat and mouse with a group of AST members through the buildings. Anyway, this city's reconstruction speed was faster than Marvel's, and she wasn't the one paying for it, so Tohka had no scruples and simply leapt around as she pleased. Although she'd already taken out more than a dozen people, the rest were all extremely wary, so for the time being she really couldn't do anything about them.
"Tch, that guy really isn't afraid to die." Glancing at Shido Itsuka, who was charging directly toward the ice spikes like swords, Tohka didn't even know what to say anymore. He'd shielded her from gunfire before—this was just unbelievable. Ordinary people couldn't possibly imitate that; in the whole world, there probably weren't many people willing to risk their lives to flirt with girls.
"But compared to that, I should be paying more attention to you all." Anyway, he had Kotori's power protecting him, and when she sealed her strength, she also sealed in the regenerative ability from the Tree of Kabbalah, meaning he was even tougher now than in the original story, so Tohka wasn't worried at all. So, at this moment, she shifted her attention to the AST troops, who had focused all their power on her because they couldn't break through Yoshino's barrier.
"Change of target, first..." Seeing that their attacks couldn't penetrate the frost domain, AST leader Ryoko Kusakabe ordered all units to switch targets. But before she could finish, Origami Tobiichi drew her energy sword and rushed in, colliding with Tohka. Naturally, that made it hard for the rest to open fire.
"Forget it, everyone attack together." Seeing this, Ryoko Kusakabe had no choice but to adjust her orders. She really couldn't sacrifice one of her own to kill a spirit.
"Tch, here they come." At that moment, Tohka also realized what they were thinking. So, she immediately shook off Origami's pursuit, turned, and kicked one of the AST soldiers who had rushed ahead, sending them flying. Then she released a blast of sword energy, carving out an opening and charging through.
"Hm, the weather cleared?" Right then, Tohka noticed the sky had turned sunny again, and the lingering spiritual energy had disappeared. Tohka knew that meant Yoshino had finished her part, so she quickly widened the gap between herself and the others, then dashed to the roof of a building and, just as the AST were about to catch up, vanished without a trace.
"Damn it, it's the same situation again. Both 'Hermit' and 'Princess' are gone. Fall back." Seeing this, Ryoko Kusakabe could only sigh in frustration before helplessly ordering everyone to withdraw. With their targets vanished, there was no point in staying. Besides, they had just received word that the city's restrictions were about to be lifted, so they had to return immediately. As for the city itself, pockmarked and damaged from all the fighting, it began to restore itself with an astonishingly "scientific" speed.
"Hey, you really dare to rush into any kind of place, huh? And isn't it a good thing you've collected another little loli?" Just then, Tohka noticed Shido had teleported up at almost the same time as her, along with Yoshino, who was now wearing Shido's coat. At that moment, Shido's face looked like he'd been through hell.
"Tohka, do you also have regenerative powers?" Reine Murasame staggered over, her eyes glinting with curiosity as she looked at Tohka.
"Yeah, so what?" Tohka wasn't making that up—her healing was actually different from Kotori's. Her regeneration was more like Wolverine's: injuries would heal even as she was hurt. Meaning that if your willpower wasn't strong enough, you'd just pass out from the pain, so Tohka could pretty much guess what had happened. That kind of simultaneous healing and damage was enough to drive someone crazy. This was exactly why she never tempted fate—she didn't have Deadpool's absurd nerve or his reckless spirit.
"Aiya, good luck to you." Tohka smirked, casting a mocking glance at Shidou, whose face twitched uncontrollably, before leaving on her own. She headed toward the command room, guessing Kotori would want a word with her.
"This aura... Kabbalah. Tohka Yatogami, just how many secrets are you hiding?" Watching Tohka go, Reine spoke in slight astonishment as she sensed the power on Shido. Her goal was to have Shido inherit the power of all the spirits and become an immortal being—a new Tree of Life. But at this point, it seemed Tohka herself had gained something connected to the Kabbalah Tree. Coupled with Tohka's earlier demands, she had a vague suspicion but wasn't yet certain. So, she decided she'd keep observing Tohka for a while before making any new plans.
"Hey, why don't we just set up a direct link to that armor of yours? Honestly, this isn't going to work. Every piece of equipment needs maintenance..." Sure enough, as soon as Tohka entered, Kotori started lecturing her.
"I..."
"Mm, hahaha. Tohka, you're truly an interesting person. Just what are you? Why is there such an intense sense of time on you—even stronger than on Shido? I'm really interested in you now." While Tohka and Kotori were bickering, somewhere in the city's shadows, a girl wearing gothic clothes with one long and one short twin-tail hairstyle emerged. She looked toward the battlefield with a faintly sick smile.
"Mm, Tohka Yatogami... truly interesting. Soon, we'll meet properly. I really want to see exactly how special you are." Narrowing her eyes as she gazed into the distance, the girl vanished back into the darkness. Tohka still didn't know she had already been targeted—and by the one spirit she would find the most troublesome of all.