Syouji slowly regained his consciousness, as he was being shook from his shoulders. He snorted before opening his eyes slowly, as he felt a sensation of wetness running down his cheeks. Syouji widened his eyes as he caught the sight of Kotori who had a concerned expression. Next to him was Shidou who had sat up and wiping his face.
"What's going on, Kotori?"
"God, you finally woke up! Why are you crying? And where's Shinji?" Kotori questioned as Syouji looked around. That's right. As he surveyed his surroundings, the Spirits huddled around but Shinji was nowhere to be seen.
—[....I'm right here Syouji]
—Oh... I thought you got left behind.
—[I won't ever be left behind again. Anyway, you should go. She's waiting for you.]
When Syouji heard that, he sat up and slowly stood from the ground and gave Kotori a pat on the head as if to reassure her and motioned his hands to urge everyone.
"Shinji will be just fine, you can't see him, but he's here. Shi-bro, everyone we must make haste. We have to go quickly. The war isn't over yet."
"Umu, let's go!"
"Understood."
The Spirits shouted in agreement as Syouji nodded at Kotori who was staring at him inquisitively. Wondering how her older brother suddenly recovered all of his resolve and confidence, Kotori had her mouth agape. But this was not the time to think about such things.
Kotori nodded back and ran through the corridor with resolution as Syouji and the others followed behind. Shidou wasn't far behind either as he ran together with Syouji as loud explosions and ear-piercing gunshots were heard.
At that point, Syouji walked forward eliminating and decimating any Bandernatch that came around their way until they reached the entrance of Fraxinus' hangar as Syouji scanned his bracelet in one swift movement allowing them entry as Kannazuki's voice was heard from the loudspeaker.
[—Syouji! Commander! You're safe!]
"Yeah, sorry to keep you guys waiting. Commander and I were occupied with something."
As Syouji said that, Kotori nodded in response, walking towards the airship's as the otheers followed behind her before being teleported directly to the ship's bridge.
"—What's the situation?"
Once Kotori and Syouji arrived at the bridge, Syouji immediately moved forward, swiftly undoing the button on her military-uniform jacket, hanging it loosely around her shoulders. She abruptly extended her bare right hand to one side as Kannazuki advanced forward while holding an opened case of lollipops.
Kotori gratefully nodded, tearing the candy wrapper before putting the sweet treat into her mouth while sitting down in her captain seat. Whereupon, Shidou couldn't help but admire the swift and graceful flow of their movements.
Kannazuki then explained what happened during their absence. Apparently they were invaded by enemies and were able to use the items present in the bridge. Moreover, it seems Syouji's picture of the young Itsuka Kotori served as an inspiration for them to not lose the battle so naturally, they were able to fend of the invaders causing Maria to reasses.
"And the situation in the field?" Kotori asked with a lollipop in her mouth.
"At the moment, one Arbatel-type aerial warship is hovering above the base. Approximately 120 wizards have infiltrated the base. 21 confirmed casualties have been confirmed, which include technical personel and 182 have taken refuge."
"...I see" Kotori whispered mournfully as the figure of a young girl who looked eerily similar to Syouji hovered on the main monitor.
[This is no time to become crestfallen, Kotori. You must carry out your duties.]
"Yeah, I know." Kotori took a deep breath and reaffirmed her resolutions before nodding. "We will finish what we started. Prepare for takeoff. I trust that the maintenance has been complete?"
—[Naturally. I hate to admit it, but Maria and I make a great team.] Marina said as a faint glow was seen on the monitor.
"However, it seems that the power in the hangar has been disrupted by the enemy. We're unable to operate the gate." Kannazuki said that while looking at a monitor screen that showed a bar that was in the red.
"You can leave that to me. This isn't the first time I tried to teleport something huge, after all." Syouji said as Natsumi shrank, slouching her shoulder she remembered that time when Syouji teleported a satellite away.
"Launching basic Realizer unit and engine juxtaposition."
"We're ready to depart."
The electronic beeps and tones of starting machinery coming from within the ship were accompanied by the crews voices of exaltation. As their voice gradually grew louder, Syouji took a deep breath and close his eyes as if to concentrate his power.
Then, he planted both his feet on the floor as he formed a small transparent ball that distorted and rippled in between his hands. Syouji then spread his arms wider as the small orb of distorted space grew larger until it enveloped the entire ship.
Finally, as the airship approached the hangar's inner walls drawing closer and closer, as expected,the Spirits along with Shidou couldn't help but scream out in terror as they approached the wall at a terrifying speed.
Whereupon, Kotori and the other crewmembers of <Fraxinus> stayed quiet, with a firm belief in Syouji's abilities.
Upon that, Syouji finally opened his eyes, revealing a single glowing eye as he concentrated, before taking a deep breath and opened his mouth.
"—<Banishment>." Syouji uttered in a calm demeanor planting both his feet and crossed his arms, as the ship narrowly inched closer to the hangar's inner walls.
At the same time, a rather tingling, rippling and floating sensation enveloped the entire bridge as time seemed to stop around them, the ship stopping an inch away from the wall causing the Shidou and the Spirits to bounce forward a little as Nia held onto Syouji's back. Whereupon as if to protest to that, Origami mimicked the same movement and pried Nia's arms off of Syoujii.
Then, Syouji spread his arm to his side before lifting them up as though he was pushing the airship and its entire weight upwards as the <space> distorted around the airship and the image displayed on the large screen transformed into the blue sky in an instant.
"Uohh...."
Shidou exclaimed softly whilst exerting force into his legs in order to stabilize his body. Shidou then shifted his sights towards Syouji who was breathing heavily with a small self-satisfied smirk.
"Damn... I am good." Syouji muttered to himself as he felt his legs give out.
However, before his body could hit the ground, Shidou came to his side and caught him. Seeing that, Syouji couldn't help but think back to the other Syouji's words. Perhaps he really should rely more on Shidou and stop taking all the burdens to himself.
"Thanks..." Syouji said, clutching his head in pain.
"Yeah... are you okay? Rest a bit, Syouji." Shidou said, helping his brother sit on the chair and console specifically for Syouji.
At that moment, a huge silhouette was confirmed to be flying in the sky and was shown on the monitor, resulting in an alarm being set off on the bridge.
[The enemy warship hovering over the base has been confirmed. What should we do?]
Maria's voice emitted from the loudspeaker. Kotori furrowed her eyebrows at that and pulled out the stick of her lollipop and pointed upwards.
"We must proceed to space as soon as possible."
[Affirmative.]
"Even though we'll be subjected to further harm, we mustn't slow down."
[Affirmative.]
"You know the rest Maria."
[Affirmative.]
As Maria replied, Kotori held up one finger.
"Sort it out within one minute."
[As expected from Kotori.] Maria said that rather happily as Kotori then issued orders to the crew.
"Discharge <Yggdrafolium> numbers one to three. Set the territory to obstruct any intruders and change its attribute to explosive afterwards."
"Roger, <Yggdrafolium> units one to three on standby for launch— ouch." Syouji said as Shidou turned to him in concern. Over there, Syouji sat in front of a console while wearing headphones. He seemed to be operating a Realizer unit.
"Hey, don't push yourself Syouji..." Shidou said with a worried look.
"I appreciate the concern, but I can't just relax. Thhis ship was made to weaponize my powers and use it to its potential."
The monitors displayed in front of Syouji displayed an outline of Fraxinus, showing its rear which resembled a giant tree glowing brightly. The next instant, some unknown distortions in <space> flew towards the endless sky.
Shidou's naked eyes were unable to see them due to it blending into <space>. It was the perfect camouflage as it couldn't even be detected by Realizer units.
Assuming the transparent <Yggdrafolium> was to come into contact with the enemy ship, its assigned trajectory would slightly distort <space>. A few seconds later, they arrived in front of DEM's warships and detonated. Not even the enemy expected that to happen as the airship emitted billows of thick smoke and began its descent towards the surface.
"Whew... it's done. I leave the rest to you guys." Syouji exhaled, taking off the console.
"Time elapse, 33 seconds." Kotori showed a thumbs up. "It's good enough. Leave the rest to us. Elevate altitude and rocked through the atmosphere in one go."
"Roger!"
The crew responded as the Fraxinus body faintly vibrated and the picture on the main screen switched to the view underneath at an unprecedented speed. The mesmerizing scene resembled that of one taken by a camera attached to a rising balloon.
"Wow, look at that view..." Syouji said while looking at the blue globe.
"Aren't you afraid of heights?" Shidou said with a raised eyebrows.
"Seriously?" Syouji scoffed. "I literally faced off with a Spirit that tried to kill me and you still think I would be afraid of height?s"
"Good point..."
Shidou nodded to himself as a few minutes passed by and even though the crewmembers of Fraxinus were busy shouting at each other, Syouji could only focus on Shidou at that moment.
"Shidou?"
"Yeah? What's wrong?"
"I need your help with this Spirit."
"Me? I mean, sure but why me? Wouldn't Tohka or Origami be more suitable?"
"No, well... I thought that maybe if it's Shidou... with him by my side, I could definitely do anything."
"......"
There was silence between the two twins before exchanging a brief nod as if they both understood. By now, they were surrounded by darkness as countless stars flickered luminously. It was the same scene that was taken by the automatic camera.
At that moment, the figure of a young girl sunken in tranquil sleep with fluttering golden hair appeared.
"It's her..." Syouji muttered.
"...Mukuro." Shidou tightly clenched his fist as he called out the girl's name. Syouji then pointed at her and for some reason, her eyebrows slightly quivered.
"....Huh?" Fraxinus detected sound coming from the outside. Although weak, it was definitely Mukuro's voice which was transmitted through the loudspeaker.
Under normal conditions, sound cannot travel in space. But due to the effect of her Astral Dress, her voice steadily and clearly vibrated through space.
"Thou ought to have heeded mine warnings, thou who origins art unchanged." Mukuro strtched her body and raised her right hand, lips quivering slightly.
"—<Michael>." With that, a key-shaped staff materialized in Mukuro's right hand from the hollow void. She then stabbed <Michael>'s serated end into space.
"Rataibu—Unlock." Mukuro turned the key, creating a gigantic gate. She lifted her hand, and immediately flung it down as if executing a death sentence. The innumerable pieces of garbage dispersed throughout the nearby space were all attracted towards the gate and sucked inside similar to how a black hole absorbs everything. The next moment, even more gates appeared around Fraxinus, pouring out barrages of uncountable bullets.
"W-What?!!" Shidou couldn't help but recoil when he saw the countless moving rocks of matter travelling towards the ship at considerable velocities. However, Kotori was not in the least flustered and promptly issued orders.
"Territory, defense specialization!"
"Roger!"
The auxiliary monitor screens gave out a thin light. Meanwhile, the innumerable projectiles instantly disintegrated right before contact with the ship's body.
"T-This is..."
"It's another story if we were directly attacked by an angel, but these small peas have virtually no effect on Fraxinus." Kotori explained triumphantly as she turned her her captain's chair towards the twins.
"—So, I heard you two were going together? Now's your turn now, are you ready?"
"Yeah, of course." Shidou nodded.
"I'm always ready." Syouji smirked.
From that point, Kotori widened her eyes as if she didn't expect that response from the two of them.
"Although I don't know what you two talked about with Shinji and the other world twins, this part of you isn't half-bad. Very well, let our war begin."
As she said so, Kotori used her chin to signal the crew members operating their automation consoles. Around the outline of Fraxinus displayed on the monitor, a circular field enlarged.
"We will be expanding Fraxinus territory up to Mukuro's coordinates to you, you won'tneed to worry about air or cosmic radiation. You'll be able to move your body in space. You can depend on us for your basic movement control and defense. You have to do everything in order to approach Mukuro. Begin strategy."
"Right! Begin strategy!" Syouji exclaimed, standing up. However, for some maybe like a mirage, another Syouji was left sitting down at the console.
"I'll leave it to you, me."
"Right. Good luck with Mukuro, me."
"....."
Shidou just smiled wryly at that. Perhaps that was just a thing he could do now. [Syouji] put on the console back on his head with a deep breath.
At that time—
"A-About that..." Natsumi unexpectedly spoke, confused as to who to speak to as there were now two Syouji's there.
"What's wrong, Natsumi?"
"What's wrong, Natsumi?"
The two Syouji's answered her as Natsumi shrank there as if unable to take the pressure of two Syouji's talking to her.
"N-No, it's nothing... I-It's good, but Mukuro-san looks... frightening... shouldn't we go together? It'll be... what do you think?"
Natsumi muttered hesitantly while shifting her gaze from Syouji to the other Syouji. Then, as if inspired by her, the other Spirits visibly verbalized their opinions as well.
"I-If I'm able to help... I-I'll gladly assist with <Zadkiel> ...If the territory can't hold Mukuro-san."
"Ah~ good idea~ My <Gabriel>'s songs may come in handy too."
"Ooh! me too!"
The Spirits requested with puppy eyes, to which Syouji couldn't help but sigh. But that was to be expected.
"Miku." Syouji said in a rather serious tone than usual.
"Y-Yes sir?"
"When you were trying to basically kill us, how was your reaction when I turned up with the aggressive Spirit known as Tokisaki Kurumi? You were alarmed right?"
"T-That's...!"
Upon Syouji's statement, the Spirits couldn't help but show dejected expressions, taking it as a rejection.
"Think about it, a crowd of people approaching her would definitely make it more difficult. So, I'm sorry to say, but you're gonna have to stay and help out here instead. Kotori might need you help you know? Can you all do that for me?"
When they heard Syouji heard that last thing, the dejected Spirits renewed their vigor and pumped their fists up in the air.
"I-I'll do my best!"
"Umu, leave this place to me!"
"Understood."
Shidou and Syouji steadfastly treaded towards the teleportation unit, which had previously transported them to the bridge giving a signal at Kotori who nodded.
"Begin transportation immediately—"
Just as Kotori issued the final command, a red light illuminated in the bridge and a sharp, oscillating warning siren could be heard.
"Kotori! Above the Earth are... four no, five DEM's space warships!"
As the [Syouji] who sat in the console shouted as the digital footage of many gigantesque warships appeared on the monitor. The drastic change of events caused Kotori's face to distort to rage.
"Damn... I didn't think this would actually happen. Well, they'll turn out like that small fry like before, no matter how many..."
Halfway through her words, Kotori noticed something. Her eyes looked past the four warships in the front and focused on the smallest ship at the back.
The ship's streamlined body was of a platinum finish, and its exterior appearance was different to the other warships. Without a doubt, the warships carried combat intents. But the polished ship which stood out, was obviously made for a higher ranking official.
"It's Goetia..."
"....!"
Shidou and Syouji looked at each other in shock. That's right, through bad luck or a cruel twist of fate, it seems Ellen Mira Mathers came looking for trouble. In the past world, the ship ruthlessly shot down Fraxinus.
"Rather grudgeful huh, holding a rematch the day the newly built Fraxinus sets sail."
"Can you handle it?" [Syouji] asked, looking at the monitor in front of him.
[Don't worry. This is different from the previous version. I will let them know the name of the world's number one airship.]
"That's my girl." Syouji said with a smirk. Upon that—
"Deploy the double territory! Expand the first layer to coordinates (6,2,2) set its attribute to space control, and set the second layer as defensive! Prepare for battle!"
"Roger!"
The crew members simultaneously responded to her improvisational instructions and quickly began operating their respective consoles. After Kotori observed their work, she turned towards Syouji and Shidou and gave them a thumbs up.
"You two got this. Good luck in your love endeavors. Shidou, take care of Syouji."
"Yeah, leave him to me."
"When I return I'm going to bring back Mukuro."
Following the twins quick reply, they were delivered outside the ship as their vision suddenly changed from the ship's bridge to the infinite void of the universe as a floating sensation enveloped them.
Despite being in the vacuum of space, they could breathe normally, and the temperature was appropriate. These conditions were enough of an environment in order to converse with Mukuro.
"Let's do this, Shidou." Syouji said winking at his twin.
"Alright." Shidou nodded his head gently.
The twins began to swim through space as their bodies were propelled in Mukuro's direction. They were swimming hand in hand as to not get separated.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, she finally noticed the annoying existence of the duo who were slowly nearing her. Mukuro threw her vision aside and caught sight of the approaching twins, narrowing her eyes in response.
"I recall.... thou art named Shidou and Syouji, I regrettably recall with non-reminiscence. Did Muku not bid thee an age long adieu added brimming abhorrence?"
Hearing Mukuro's voice up close for the first time, Shidou felt a hinto of tense nervousness but upon seeing Syouji facing off with her while wearing a smirk, that feeling mingled with thrilled exhileration.
"I'm honoured that you remember my name. Did thou miss me?"Syouji said with a wink.
"...huh?" Muku inclined her head, in bewilderment as Syouji said such words boldly, making her suspect that Syouji had somehow bumped his head somewhere and became stupid. Shidouu wondered the same thing as he raised his eyebrow at his twin brother. However, Syouji didn't pay attention and continued.
"Get ready, you brat. I'm about to show you the might and power of an Itsuka's lips. My hypocrisy has no end."
Syouji said as he poured reiryoku into his hand and into Shidou's body. In response to that, Shidou's body was reinforced and a blue cloak appeared over his shoulder.
"Now then... let our date begin."
End of Chapter