Yoshino's eyes glowed blue. If she hadn't appeared in time to block in front of Itsuka Miku, that powerful attack would have severely injured the defenseless Itsuka Miku! And if it hadn't been blocked, that beam of light would have destroyed all objects within the attack range. You see, Jessica's attack just now was aimed directly at Itsuka Miku. If that attack hadn't been blocked, the aftermath would have also pierced through the walls of the venue, damaging the buildings outside. It might even have affected innocent people on the street.
"Choosing to perfectly complete the mission to gain others' attention? That is indeed a method. But what do you guys take Spirits for? Your experimental guinea pigs?" Shiina looked at Jessica, whose excited face was flushed; this was already a pathological belief. Because she had Ellen, who was more capable than herself, above her, was she just disregarding everything to make Westcott pay more attention to her? Although she knew the DEM Company's attitude towards Spirits, Shiina still couldn't help but ask.
"Hmph! Not of our kind, their hearts must be different! The powerful strength of you Spirits is a huge threat to humans. And 30 years ago, the Spatial Quake caused nearly 150 million casualties, hasn't that already proven the threat you Spirits pose to humanity? Our DEM Company does this for the safety of humanity." Faced with Shiina's questioning, Jessica merely sneered dismissively; such words were just a joke in her ears.
You see, their DEM Company had always been in an antagonistic relationship with Spirits, to the point of a fight to the death. And besides Westcott, Jessica didn't care about anything or anyone else! As long as it could make Westcott happy, what did it matter how cruel the act was?
"That sounds very noble. Is that why you captured Spirits five years ago and subjected them to abusive research? By treating Spirits so cruelly, does your DEM Company want to see Spirits become enemies with all of humanity?" Toujou Nozomi stepped forward. What Jessica said sounded like the kind of rhetoric used by high-ranking officials to incite the populace.
Moreover, are Spirits not human? You should know that all Spirits were once human! It seems Spirits are just too kind, which is why they've been bullied to this extent!
"Hmph! It seems the attack on the DEM branch last time must have been by you. It looks like you know quite a lot. But so what?" Jessica reacted to Toujou Nozomi's words, recalling the previous attack on the DEM branch. The perpetrators of that attack had never been found; all surveillance cameras were destroyed! And everyone's memory of that night was erased, even the most powerful Ellen. Now it seems these guys attacked the DEM Company!
"The reason we do this is also to research the most effective way to deal with Spirits, to prevent what you said about Spirits becoming enemies with humans, isn't it? Now, the CR-UNIT equipment developed by our DEM Company can effectively counter Spirits, can't it? For the future of humanity, a little sacrifice is necessary.
But those sacrifices only need to be paid by you Spirits." In Jessica's eyes, Spirits were nothing more than slightly more advanced guinea pigs. You see, in these five years, she had witnessed many Sister being researched, and guinea pigs certainly didn't have that rapid healing ability.
While dealing with Spirits, we collect data from them, then develop stronger equipment to deal with Spirits. This way, sooner or later, humanity will stand above Spirits. Then, there will be no need to worry about the existence of Spirits.
"You guy! You guy!?"
Yoshino, who had been looking down, suddenly looked up at Jessica when she heard her words, and a strong hurricane erupted from Yoshino's body. The powerful pressure of the hurricane forced everyone present to use their abilities to resist it.
The Magicians present also opened their Arbitrary Fields, and as the hurricane touched them, ripples immediately spread out. They could see that the energy of their Arbitrary Fields was being consumed, which showed that even the aura alone possessed such power. Jessica looked at Yoshino, whom she had previously disregarded, and finally felt what she had just ignored.
"Although I don't want to hurt you all, if I don't do something, you'll really treat Spirits as soft persimmons that you can manipulate at will. Let me show you the weakness of your Manifestation Devices, which you've always been so proud of." Yoshino, at the center of the hurricane, looked at Jessica, whose face was covered in cold sweat, and said in a cold tone. Although she was angry, she hadn't lost her composure. She had learned to control her emotions well during this time.
"Oh, it seems my adorable Master is very angry now? Has someone provoked her again?" Astaroth, inside Yoshino, asked. Her powers were sealed, so she couldn't observe the outside situation. However, such obvious anger could still be felt.
"Hmm, someone just angered my adorable guardian." Looking at the scene in the light sphere, Zadkiel breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Astaroth had been sealed earlier. Otherwise, in this situation, Yoshino would definitely have reversed due to anger.
"And you! Don't cling to me! Get off me, now!?" Looking at Astaroth clinging to her shoulder, Zadkiel shouted, her face red! This guy, ever since she was sealed last time, she's become a bit clingy! It's really unbearable!
"Eh~ What's the big deal~ Didn't you say you'd take good care of me anyway? There's no problem with just letting me lean on you, right?" Looking at the blushing Zadkiel, Astaroth smiled. She's really pure, isn't she? Although she's lost her power, now that she's clinging to her, Zadkiel can't use her power to get her off. This is the advantage now.
"That's not what I meant by taking care of you!?" Shaking her body, but unable to shake her off, made Zadkiel feel annoyed! She regretted it a little! Why did she say she would take care of her in the first place? Shouldn't she have dealt with her properly? Why is it not like what she thought!
Back in reality, Yoshino looked at the dozens of Magicians still present. A blue light flashed in her eyes, and a blue spiritual power appeared in her hand!
"Ice Puppet!!!"
She raised her hand above her head and then slammed it onto the ground. A dense cold light flickered on the ground, rising up and bringing forth a giant rabbit-shaped puppet, which appeared before Yoshino. Yoshino nimbly leaped onto the rabbit puppet's back, extended her hands, and with a fleeting flash, the rabbit puppet's eyes suddenly lit up, looking at the Magicians in the air, exhaling cold air from its mouth.
The giant rabbit glowed blue for a while, then gold. As if responding to Yoshino's anger, the giant rabbit roared to the sky. The sound, mixed with a hint of spiritual power, caused cracks to appear in the Magicians' Arbitrary Fields. Just as they were about to give out, the roar stopped. But this alone had already proven the opponent's strength, giving the DEM Company Magicians the idea of retreating.
"It's been a really long time since I came out like this. I remember the last time I appeared like this was when I was beating up Yuriko. It's all because the opponent was too arrogant, and now you are really arrogant, Magician. Let me teach you a good lesson and correct your twisted ideas." As Yoshino's hands entered Ice Puppet, Shiina's consciousness entered Ice Puppet. With its appearance, the temperature of the scene began to drop. However, except for the Magicians, no one else felt the cold.
"Hmph! I don't believe that with so many of us, we can't deal with you. Everyone, aim your strongest firepower at the most threatening Hermit. Our priority now is to incapacitate her!" The huge cannon barrel behind Jessica gathered energy again. This time, she injected all the energy from her Manifestation Device, and even the overload warnings from the system couldn't stop her frantic actions.
"Oh dear, oh dear~ It seems they don't plan to hold back. Such a bombardment would affect even themselves, wouldn't it?" Looking at the somewhat dazzling energy cannon, Shiina said helplessly. "Although doing this might be plagiarism, I still have to say this."
Facing an attack that seemed to possess the power to destroy the heavens and earth, Yoshino didn't even frown. She just looked at it calmly, strengthening the energy transmission to Shiina in her hand. This time, she wanted them to see the power of a Spirit.
"Freeze everything before me!" As Shiina uttered this rather chuunibyou line, everything around, except for Toujou Nozomi and others whom Yoshino deliberately protected, was completely frozen. All the DEM Company members present were encased in ice, but Yoshino did not endanger their lives; they could recover by melting the ice. They would just catch a cold for a few days.
Seeing all the Magicians in the venue frozen, Shiina nodded. Her crimson eyes suddenly brightened, as if sensing something, and she looked towards a corner of the venue.
"Now that these matters are dealt with, shouldn't it be your turn? The one who's always in the shadows." After speaking, Shiina condensed an ice pick and shot it towards a corner, and a familiar figure immediately flew out from there.
The figure that flew out of the venue was Ellen, whom Yoshino had sensed earlier. From the very beginning, she had hidden to observe everything and secretly called for reinforcements. She was now wearing the same Manifestation Device as last time, looking at Yoshino with a serious expression. This level of strength was truly too powerful. And it was clear that she hadn't used her full power.
"It really is you. I should have guessed it long ago. Since the DEM Company people showed up, how could you, their ace, not come? So, have you collected enough data?" Toujou Nozomi looked at Ellen's solemn expression, her face full of teasing.
"—You people, are you really planning to be enemies with DEM Company?" Ellen said, looking at Toujou Nozomi. As for Jessica, who was frozen in ice? In her eyes, she was nothing more than a clown. Unable to distinguish the difference in strength between allies and enemies, such an overconfident person is a waste!
"When you decided to be enemies with Spirits, didn't we already make our stance clear? You should know that Isaac from your DEM Company has always coveted the power of Spirits; did you think we wouldn't know? When we rescued the Spirits, wasn't he very unhappy? You should know that your research seemed to be almost successful, and he was just about to obtain the power of Spirits." But now Honjou Nia has been rescued. His ambition has also disappeared, and capturing Itsuka Miku also means there's no restart to the experiment.
"You DEM Company people should figure out how to resolve this matter. We will sooner or later visit your DEM Company to properly greet you about your persistent attacks on Spirits. Prepare yourselves well." After seeing Yoshino deactivate Ice Puppet's state, Toujou Nozomi knew there was no need to stay here any longer.
"All your DEM Company members are still alive; they'll recover once the ice melts. I truly look forward to what our next meeting will be like, 'the world's strongest wizard'." After speaking, she and Yoshino left the venue with Itsuka Miku.
Watching Toujou Nozomi and Yoshino's disappearing figures, Ellen sighed. This enemy seemed exceptionally powerful.
Ellen waved her hand, and a group of reinforcing Magicians left the venue with the Magicians frozen by Shiina.
Ellen took a deep look at Yoshino's retreating figure, then turned and left. This matter needed to be thoroughly discussed back at headquarters.
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