The Spirit!

I dashed forward and soon found myself in front of a hotel.

"Brother?"

As I got closer, I heard a familiar voice on my left.

Shido, who was standing around the corner with a panicked expression, caught my attention as I turned my head.

"There is no one here. What happened to Kotori and Emily?"

It was expected that he would become anxious, but there was something much more terrible.

I looked up, and noticed that the void kept getting progressively larger, as if something were going to emerge from it.

"Wh-what is that, exactly?"

Shido asked in a quivering voice. It appeared that he too had noticed it by this point.

I was confident that an unforeseen event would certainly strike.

"Kotori and Emily aren't here, so. Let's return."

I remarked as I turned around.

"No, we can't. We hadn't found them yet!"

Shido grabbed my right arm and yelled.

"You–?!"

I started to speak, but my voice faltered as I became aware of some glistening from above.

I raised my gaze and noticed a massive beam emerging from the emptiness and darting over the ground.

"Move!!!"

I propelled him forward, however,

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

In front of us, a huge hole appeared, sending us flying back. Fortunately, I grabbed Shido and jumped behind a destroyed building.

"What in the world is going on?!"

With a terrified expression, Shido gasped.

"Shh, be quiet."

I sat him down and made a small attempt to calm him down.

Then, I slowly peered into the crater. It was emitting blue mist, which I saw.

My eyes suddenly grew wide as I spotted a female figure standing in the crater's middle.

Her skin was as white as snow, and she had long, silver-shining hair that fell to her waist. She had blue eyes that sparkled like blue pearls. She was donning a blue frill-encircled white astral dress. She had a bright blue sword in her hand that had a dark blue grip. Despite being so thin, her sword had a menacing appearance.

She was just so stunningly gorgeous that I was left speechless.

"What's wrong?"

Shido inquired when he observed my silence.

"Huh? A girl?"

He blurted out as he noticed her as well.

My focus instantly turned to Shido. Shido may or may not have had his power. That was a question I had.

So, considering his safety, I grasped his hand.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

Shido flinched and raised his eyebrows.

"Shhh, be quiet."

While telling him to be quiet, I created a transparent barrier around him that he was unaware of.

'It's better to be on the safe side. But why on earth is this brat flinching? Is he getting any wrong ideas or what?'

I quickly let go of his hands and returned my focus to the Spirit.

I noticed her looking at the sky with a distraught expression, and as I looked carefully, I started to notice her lips quivering mildly as if she were mumbling something.

'What's the matter with her?'

I mumbled as I stared at her.

For some reason, I felt a strange sensation in my chest. The feeling of longing appeared unexpectedly.

*Ding!*

A screen unexpectedly appeared in front of me.

'System?!'

I realized it at a glance.

<Master, if you want to take advantage of this opportunity to seize some of her power, you must encounter her alone.>

'Master? Alright, I get it, but wait, why is your voice so feminine?'

I mumbled back.

<Because I am a girl, that's why. Anyway, as I previously stated, try to meet her alone.>

"O-okay."

I nodded, but I was somewhat slightly perplexed by the fact that my system was a girl!

However, unexpected events are somewhat intended to occur in an Anime verse.

"We have to leave here."

My attention was drawn to Shido's words. When I looked at him, I noticed a slightly uneasy expression on his face.

"What's the matter?"

I inquired.

"She is extremely dangerous. Don't you see the blade she's wielding? We need to get out of here fast before she attacks us."

He spoke in hushed tones.

I didn't say anything but nodded, however, deep within,

'Yes, she's dangerous because she's not Tohka; I'm certain that if Tohka were here, your words would have been completely different!'

"?!"

I suddenly realized something important.

'AST! They'll be here shortly. I don't have much time; I need to move forward, but how? Shido is right next to me. I can't let him know about my power because it will raise suspicions.'

Shido's presence was interfering with my plans to meet her.

At such a critical juncture, my mind failed to provide me with something like a suitable solution.

"!"

Fortunately, an idea came to me: if I could use my wind power to push Shido away from here, my plan to encounter her would be successful. The real issue, however, was how? I can't just simply use it.

*Sizzle* *Sizzle*

"What the?"

I took a look at the spirit after hearing some sparks from behind. Unfortunately, our gazes collided.

As she noticed my presence, her eyes became enraged as she tightened her grip and swung her blade at us, unleashing a massive shockwave!

"Watch out!"

I shoved Shido while screaming.

That's my chance!

'Wind smiting!'

I cried inwardly as the wind flashed at Shido.

"What?!"

He shouted as he flew backward at a high rate of speed.

I didn't have to worry about him because the barrier would keep him safe wherever he fell.

That was pretty savage of me, eh?

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

However, the building behind me was struck by the shockwave, which caused a great deal of dust and glass to fly into the air.

"God…so destructive–?!"

I remarked, though, my voice faltered when I felt a tickling sensation on my nape.

I turned my head and saw that the spirit was aiming her blade's point directly at me.

"What is your name? Are you here to kill me?"

She spoke in an icy tone that made me shiver slightly.

"I…my name is Aryan Itsuka."

I replied, adding,

"A-also, do you think that a weakling like me can kill you?"

I spoke in a fearful voice, showing that I was afraid of her.

She frowned as if she became suspicious of me after hearing my words.

"So, if you have no ill intentions, why are you here?"

"W-well, because I was looking for my little sisters, but unfortunately, they're not here."

"Is that so?"

She pulled back her blade.

"Y-yes,"

When I nodded, I noticed a blue aura erupting from her body and surrounding me.

Nonetheless, she did not respond as if she had failed to notice this.

<It may take some time for you to absorb some of her energy; try to converse with her until that time.>

I could hear the system's voice.

So I tried to follow her instructions.

"H-hey, by the way, what's your name?"

I retrieved the conversation.

"What is my name? I don't have one, and I don't believe I need one."

"What? Seriously?"

Well, I expected she didn't have one, but why didn't she want one?

"What makes you think that?"

I inquired.

After hearing my question, a pitiful expression shaped down her face as she replied, "Because-"

*BOOOOOM* 

Unfortunately, before she could finish her sentence, an explosion occurred in front of us, and an outcry was heard.

"I found her!"

As I heard that cry, I shifted my gaze to the front and noticed a group of sergeants.

"AST?!"

I exclaimed after recognizing them.

<Absorption is complete.>

I heard the system's voice.

Fortunately, the absorption was complete, however, I didn't even have time to hear her response.

I was curious as to why she thought she didn't deserve a name. But, given the circumstances here, I was sure I'd never be able to find out why.

"Tch!"

After seeing the ASTs, she clicked her tongue and tightened her blade in rage.

"Aryan, correct?"

But for some reason, her attention was drawn to me.

"Huh? Y-yeah,"

I agreed by nodding.

"I would like to see you again."

Saying this, she flew into the sky.

"Haaaa!"

The AST forces launched missiles at her as she approached them.

"Hmph."

She snorted and swung her blade at the missiles, disintegrating them into ashes.

Soon after, a familiar figure appeared among the crew and flew towards her.

It was Origami.

*Clink!*

Shortly, they collided, and sparks began to erupt from their blades.

Meanwhile, I just stood there watching them fight and mumbled, "Damn, that's so epic!"

Sure, of course! It was a million times better to watch fighting in person rather than on a smartphone!

"What exactly are you doing here? It's dangerous!"

Suddenly, I heard a voice from behind me.

When I turned around, I noticed a familiar figure.

Recognizing that person, I frowned, saying,

"Wait, what? You're..."