Tale of Discovery

Truly, the place we're at is entirely unfit for conflict. On one hand, there is numerous interesting-looking machinery that I would rather not damage, and on the other, the outermost section of the floor happens to be only a somewhat thick pane of glass.

Obviously, whatever these pieces of machinery do require to be seen by the naked eye, hence why the glass pane is there instead of any other material.

Unfortunately, I don't have much time to inspect the place properly, as the woman with pale-blond hair has lifted her right arm and has the tip of her index and middle fingers pressed against her head.

The next moment, a bright light shines from the woman's body and illuminates the whole place up before fading and revealing a platinum-colored assemblage of combat realizer unit used by the AST and the organization affiliated with it.

Seeing all this, I realize that we're going to be clashing directly. However, there is a problem with that, and that consists of the three girls who had retreated earlier.

Why did they do that and where are they headed right now? The key to solving the puzzle, which is this 'ambush' is none other than the woman in front of me.

Releasing a sigh, I take a moment to glimpse at Origami and the other two, only to find Origami already in her combat form while standing in a defensive stance.

When did she…?

Shaking my head, I shift my focus over to the woman and ask her, "Are you going to be introducing yourself anytime soon?"

Hearing my words, which she seems to have taken as me mocking her, the woman scoffs and flexes her right arm before whatever a certain palm-sized in her thing begins to extend and change shape into what seems to be a weak incomplete sword.

Just as I'm about to make a remark regarding the 'sword', a bright yellow light shines from the hilt of the 'sword' before potent energy runs through the blade and forms a complete image of a futuristic-looking sword.

"Nice blade you got there," I say with a grin before accessing my database and creating the most ordinary steel sword I could find.

Seeing this, the woman squints her eyes for a few seconds before adopting a confident expression and saying, "Forget about that. It's good to finally meet you properly, Prophet."

"Miss me with the weird name," I reply exasperatedly, "Who even is the one coming up with these anyway?"

To my honest question, the woman only decides to make no further remarks as she simply states, "My name is Ellen Mira Mathers, and I have been tasked with capturing you."

What a fancy name. She sounds like a noblewoman more than anything. Her demeanor doesn't help much with that either.

"Dream on," I respond along with a shrug.

"We will see about that," she mutters before leaning forth in preparation for a dash.

I take this moment to think of ways I could deal with this woman, who identifies herself as Ellen, while preparing for any possible sudden attacks on the girls who are still in the elevator. At least, that was how it was supposed to be, but upon using my senses to check on the girls who were supposed to behind me, I find three of them standing right outside the elevator which has now begun ascending for some reason.

Releasing a sigh, I lock eyes with Ellen before I find myself frowning a moment later.

Something is wrong with her…

{Father, I am detecting similarities with a Binary Factor from the entity's physical body.}

Huh? Are you telling me that she is a Binary Factor, or more precisely, partially one?

{Affirmative.}

What's up with this scenario? Was the one who 'powered her up' too stingy with their energy reservoir or something? It's rather sad to think of her being limited by such a thing…

My thoughts don't last long, as the woman abruptly dashes toward me at a pace that's simply incomparable to that of those I have fought properly in this Platform.

Even so, her speed is 'very fast' at most, while my own is nothing less than that.

Deciding that it would be for the better to play around with her mind a little first, I adopt a wry smile as I move toward her at a speed that's equal to hers.

The following moment, our blades clash against one another, of which mine would've definitely gotten cut through like butter had I not used Vector Manipulation to prevent damage from her sword's energy.

Reacting quickly, Ellen immediately moves back a few meters before focusing her gaze on the sword in my hand with a dubious look on her face.

It's apparent that she hadn't expected the plain metal to block her 'parry' her strike successfully.

At this moment, I hear a shrill scream behind me, causing me to split my attention for a moment in order to check in on the situation, only to find Origami slicing through an odd-looking robot. Surrounding the three of them are a dozen or so of the same robot, all of which are equipped with ranged weapons by judging from their appearance.

Focusing on Tohka, I will for her to make use of her powers, which seems to somehow work as her eyes widen for a brief moment before a bright smile forms on her lips.

Following that, Tohka raises her right arm and yells out, "Sandalphon!"

Knowing that the two girls should be able to take care of themselves, I shift my focus back to Ellen who still seems to be lost in trance.

"What, is that all it took for you to realize the difference in our abilities?" I mock in a loud voice while casually flipping the sword in my hand.

Immediately after that, Ellen's expression of deliberation changes to that of fury with a touch of annoyance as she glares at me.

How disappointing. And here I was thinking that they would actually make an effort in capturing me…

Surprisingly, Ellen doesn't rush at me again, but instead closes her eyes and exhales slowly, as if trying to calm herself down.

"Now I understand," she murmurs, "Only true insanity can take him down, huh?"

Oh? What an interesting thing to say. I suppose it's safe to assume that whoever has made this claim knows about 'me'. The question is, which one. Shido Itsuka and whatever it was about him that stood out in the past, or me?

Before I can make a comment in regard to what she just muttered, Ellen suddenly plunges the sword into the ground, effectively melting the metal and lodging it properly.

Then, she spreads her arms out before slowly floating some energy begins to swirl around her back around what seems to be a metallic spear.

All of a sudden, the tip of the spear shifts away and reveals the head of a hollow tube that's brimming with the same energy endued in the blade.

What is she- Oh, shit.

Having finally understood that she actually meant what she said, I hastily circulate Holy Essence throughout my arms, hoping to release a Holy Slash and split the woman in half before she can do anything stupid.

Alas, a burst of energy gets released from the spear and spreads out evenly, destroying everything nearby, including bits of the combat realizer she has on.

That's not the end of it, as the energy continues to spread out in all directions, including ours.

Making use of my extreme speed, I hastily move backward until I am within a meter's range from Origami before making use of Vector Manipulation to form a reflective barrier.

Shortly, the energy makes contact with the barrier I have created and easily gets 'absorbed' for a brief moment before getting sent back to the source.

As if having seen this coming, the now-exhausted Ellen swiftly moves away from the energy wave's trajectory.

And so, the energy wave continues, destroying parts of every machinery on its path while showing no signs of slowing down before, in the end, making contact with the damaged glass pane and practically shattering it.

"Great," I mutter before quickly turning around and dashing forth, following which I wrap my arms around Origami and Tohka's bodies.

Tohka simply lets out a cry of surprise as she drops the gigantic sword in her hand onto the small pile of metal 'corpses' on the ground, while Origami simply remains silent as she lets me carry her without much trouble.

A short distance away from us, I find a teary-eyed Miina with an aghast expression on her face as she stares past me at the upcoming flood of water.

Releasing a quick sigh, I use telekinesis to lift the entranced girl off the ground before moving toward the elevator and breaking the metallic door with a kick.

Following that, I utilize Flight to soar up through the elevator shaft while preparing a burst of Destructive energy for the elevator itself.

After a few seconds, we reach the elevator and directly obliterate the damn thing.

Continuing to fly upward, we soon reach the empty building through which we passed much earlier and proceed to land on the ground shortly after.

Miina, whom I no longer support with telekinesis, instantly falls to her knees and hands while panting heavily.

Unlike her, Tohka and Origami are relatively fine, with the only thing 'feeling off' about them being the realizer that Origami has equipped right now.

"Are you going to leave her there?" Origami asks me with her expression remaining unchanged.

Before I can answer her, two voices coincide with one another, one in my head, and the other in my right ear.

"Shido, we are detecting signs of space quake in your area!"

{Father, unstable Code waves detected.}

As if this much wasn't enough, the already somewhat dim sky darkens much further as a storm seemingly begins to brew up.