I Am Honkai

Onboard the Airship Battleship, Fraxinus.

"Commander! Emergency alert—Spirit identified as Snowstorm has reappeared!"

The bridge was awash in the pulsing red glow of alarm lights, and every member of Ratatoskr displayed a mix of panic and apprehension.

It was too soon.

Snowstorm's reemergence had come far too close on the heels of her last appearance, leaving them unprepared with no strategy for her capture.

And who could blame them for being afraid? Esdeath's first appearance had shown her as lethally aggressive and unhesitatingly willing to kill.

Even compared to Nightmare, the "Worst Spirit" known to have killed over ten thousand people, Esdeath's destructive capacity surpassed all precedent.

Reluctantly, they had to admit that the spirit databases shared globally by AST and other spirit countermeasure forces… all pointed to a stark difference.

Nightmare's earliest recorded emergence had shown her to be almost passive, even evasive. It was after numerous hostile encounters and attacks by human forces that her attitude shifted drastically. Whatever caused that change in her remained a mystery.

In Ratatoskr's assessment, it was humanity's aggressors who had created the monster known as Nightmare.

But Snowstorm was different. She seemed primed for slaughter from the moment she materialized and was attacked, as if her very nature demanded it.

"What's going on? Why is the same Spirit reemerging so quickly?"

Kotori Itsuka, who had just been about to return to the ground, rushed back to her command seat.

"Confirm her location immediately…" She paused, her brow furrowing. "Wait—why didn't her reemergence trigger a Spacequake alert?"

"Quickly—provide a detailed report!" Kotori commanded, tapping her foot anxiously from her seat.

"Commander, just now, Snowstorm appeared above the impact crater in the southern sector of Tengu City. Her spirit energy is stable—no Spacequake has been detected."

Faced with such an urgent situation, Kyouhei Kannazuki suppressed his usual quirks, focusing intensely on collecting the Fraxinus's latest spirit signals.

"Commander, we aren't fully prepared. Shall I notify Shido?" Kyouhei asked gravely.

"Not yet—" Kotori began, but suddenly stopped, her face paling as she recalled a certain Spirit with a golden-clocked eye, a certain woman with notorious intent.

"Is it possible that Snowstorm, like Kurumi Tokisaki, can trigger Spacequakes at will?"

Thinking of Nightmare, currently unsealed by her brother, Shido, Kyouhei nodded in agreement.

"Likely, yes. Ah…what a nightmare. Spirits who can control their appearances at will are almost impossible to capture effectively."

"Indeed…" Kotori murmured.

"Commander, Snowstorm has started moving… Bad news! She's heading straight for the Itsuka residence!"

A Ratatoskr member's voice rose in alarm.

"What?!" Kotori's face darkened at the news, instantly recalling how Kurumi had once sought Shido, trying to devour his spirit power.

And now Snowstorm, a Spirit with autonomous control over her appearances, was making a beeline for her brother's location. The possibility that Snowstorm was seeking out other Spirits' powers was becoming unavoidable.

"This is bad!" Desperately, Kotori activated her headset, attempting to connect to Shido. "Shido, Shido—are you there? Answer me, please!"

But before Kotori could get far, a new alert cut through the bridge's chaos.

"Commander! The AST's Tengu City base is under attack!"

"What?!" Kotori scanned the bridge, searching for her Spirit analysis officer. "Damn it! Why is this happening now? And where on earth is Reine?"

Finally, she heard a faint crackling over the communicator and immediately raised her voice, "Shido! Get out of there, quickly!"

"Get out?!"

The sound of his sister's panicked voice in his earpiece startled Shido Itsuka, who had been examining a piece of the purplish-red glowing ice with Tohka by his side.

Noting the eerie sirens echoing across the city, Shido's voice quickened. "Kotori, is it the new Spirit reappearing…?"

Before he could finish, Kotori interrupted him, her tone abruptly harsh.

"Forget about that Spirit, Shido! Get out of there right now! Snowstorm has reappeared, and she's headed straight for you, just five kilometers away. She's after you, aiming to steal your Spirit powers!"

"Go to an open area, quickly—I'll have Fraxinus's teleportation system bring you back! Shido, please, get out of there!" Kotori's voice was thick with worry, nearly breaking into sobs.

"No."

But Shido's voice was steady as he replied, "If she's coming for me, then I can't just run away. Besides, Tohka and Yoshino are still nearby."

Taking Tohka's hand, he glanced back towards his home, standing just down the street. "Don't worry, Kotori. I'll do my best."

Although Shido might often seem a passive figure, pushed along by Ratatoskr's whims, he had a core of true determination when it counted.

Without a certain "Spirit Mother" pulling strings from beyond, Shido likely would have lived out a simple, peaceful life, content with his existence.

But that was all wishful thinking. Shido's very existence had a deliberate purpose, and his life was never his own.

"Onii-chan…"

For a Herrscher, the remaining five thousand meters would take mere seconds. By now, the chance for Fraxinus to teleport Shido away had all but vanished.

Whoosh—!

Boom!

A cold wind swept over the area, and a shockwave obliterated the surrounding scenery. Concrete rubble and shattered glass flew toward the two of them like shrapnel.

"Shido, stand back!"

Tohka dropped the piece of ice, jumping in front of Shido as her arms crossed and purple energy flared up around her.

The whirlwind of debris forced Shido to shield his eyes. Crack crack…

Step, crunch.

Amid the silence, the light sound of boots crunching on gravel was eerily distinct.

"So, a supernatural lifeform… a Spirit. It really took some effort to track you down."

Shido stiffened at the icy female voice, steeling himself as a tall, ice-blue figure stepped into view from the settling dust.

She stood well over one hundred seventy centimeters, wearing a white crown and a dark blue veil. Her attire consisted of a black and blue formal gown decorated with white hexagonal accents that deepened into a rich blue at the sleeves.

A dark blue cloak that gradually faded to white draped over her shoulders, with two ice-forged chains suspended from it. She wore white thigh-high stockings featuring intricate blue and white designs and finished the look with high heels.

Around her, snowflakes and icy shards filled the air, creating a swirling curtain of white and ice-blue that cloaked the city in frost. Frozen, shattered high-rises jutted out from the ground like an eerie "forest" of icy trees.

"Snowstorm…" whispered Shido Itsuka as he took in Esdeath's figure up close.

"Snowstorm? Is that what people of this world call me?" She scoffed. "Awful name. My name is Esdeath. Remember it well."

Ignoring the hostile gaze of the black-haired girl with the regal, dark-purple hair, Esdeath crushed the icy shard in her hand.

"If I hadn't left a few tricks in place with scattered ice crystals, finding you hiding types would have been much harder," she remarked.

"Esdeath… A beautiful name. May I ask why you've come looking for Tohka and me, Miss Esdeath? Why are you so intent on destroying the city?"

"Why else—other than for battle!"

Swish!

With that, Esdeath flicked her hand, sending a fine, razor-sharp blade of ice slicing past Shido, leaving a thin, blood-red line across his cheek.

Slash!

The blade didn't stop there, slicing through the street behind him and the shop façades beyond, which collapsed moments later with a booming crash.

"Show me your true power! I can feel it—the tremendous energy within you!" Esdeath demanded, retracting her hand.

Whether to satisfy her own craving for combat or to test the strength of this world's supernatural fighters for her report to Commander Robert, Esdeath would never consider a sneak attack.

"Next time, I won't miss."

Only after Esdeath's words sunk in did Shido break out in a cold sweat, realizing how close he'd come to being sliced open himself. Unlike Yoshino, this ice-wielding Spirit was at least a hundred times more dangerous!

"Shido! Damn you—you dare…!"

Seeing Shido injured, Tohka's body radiated with fierce energy.

"Sandalphon—Manifest!"

With a flash, her black school uniform vanished, replaced by glimmering purple armor.

A battle-ready dress encased her, part armor, part regal gown, with skirts and inner layers composed of iridescent light. Her majestic battle attire, called Sandalphon, appeared in the form of an elegantly armored princess dress, and in her hands, a massive broadsword materialized.

Her battle skirt and greatsword formed a striking combination, somehow oddly harmonious.

"Prepare for battle—!"

"Now that's more like it. Come at me!"

Seeing Tohka prepared for combat, Esdeath grinned, leaning forward with a glint in her eyes.

A faint purple aura erupted around her, pulsing outward with the boom of crackling air. Esdeath noted with slight curiosity how Tohka's power seemed to flow from the boy she was protecting. Strange as it was, Esdeath made a mental note to investigate it further after the fight.

"Tohka! Wait!"

Placing a hand on Tohka's shoulder, Shido, despite his fear, forced a smile to steady her.

"I'm fine… Relax, leave this to me."

"But…"

"There's no need to fight. You're both spirits—sisters, in a sense. I'd rather you didn't have to fight one another. If we can avoid battle, why not at least try to talk?"

Shido cut off Tohka's protest, stepping forward, trying to display as much confidence as he could manage, giving her a thumbs-up and smiling. "Trust me, Tohka."

"Talk? Very well, I'm actually interested in hearing what you have to say."

Esdeath crossed her arms, her posture relaxed but eyes still sharp, as she watched Shido approach her, exuding a schoolboy's courage.

Growing up beside Selene, under the Empress's influence for over ten years, Esdeath had developed an unexpected tolerance—if not affection—for those with a pure heart and resilient spirit. Though she wasn't remotely interested in romance, she certainly didn't find the boy standing before her annoying.

In fact, Shido's qualities matched some of Esdeath's most liked traits, a fitting echo of her past preferences in companions, which was enough to indulge him in conversation.

"Miss Esdeath, while it's true that AST attacked you the moment you arrived, I hope you won't judge humanity too harshly. There are many among us who bear goodwill toward spirits."

Listening to the so-called "expert advice" buzzing in his earpiece, Shido found none of it helpful. Trying his best, he cautiously said, "I want to save you."

"Save… me?" Esdeath tilted her head, bewildered.

Save me, an invader of this world? Next, will he attempt to "save" Robert and his ten thousand Astartes warriors?

Clearly, he's mistaken me for one of this world's native supernatural beings, she thought. Even though Shido spoke sincerely, they were on two entirely different wavelengths.

"If that's all you have to say, then this conversation is over." Esdeath let her arms drop, her expression turning cold.

Shido knew he was out of options. Handling someone like her was beyond his usual approach. In desperation, he blurted out one of Kyouhei's "tips."

"Miss Esdeath, before we fight… would you go on a date with me?"

Crack!

Esdeath froze in place, completely stunned. Did people in this world have no sense of timing?

"A date?" she echoed, almost amused.

A brief silence fell over them until Esdeath chuckled softly, breaking the quiet.

"A date? Fine. But you'll need to beat me first."

She smiled coldly, her eyes glinting. "Victory belongs to those who seize it—that is my creed!"

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