Date A Mysterious Being

Chapter 25 - Strongest Wizard

"What on earth is even happening here?" AST captain Kusakabe Ryouko scowled, unable to believe the scene unfolding before her eyes.

Whatever it was, the business district of Kagamiyama was packed with DEM Wizards and mechanical dolls, and countless versions of the Spirit Nightmare all wearing the same face, moving from defense to offense and back as the battle raged.
The sight almost made her forget that this was Japan, and in a sea of office towers on top of that. Bullets flew, magic light flashed, and the orderly rows of buildings were turned into piles of rubble.
After receiving orders to stand by, the AST had finally been given the order to mobilize.
But that order hadn't been to go deal with the Spirit controlling all those people at Tenguu Square. Instead, they were to provide backup for DEM because a new Spirit had shown up and was attacking DEM's Japan office.

They were ignoring the unprecedented riot at Tenguu Square to respond to the request of a favored supplier. Ryouko had some objections to the priorities on display here, but nevertheless, if there was a new Spirit in play, she couldn't exactly let the havoc unfold unchecked. Ryouko hurried with her team to the business district of Kagamiyama and the DEM Japan office.
She took a deep breath to get herself back on track and started giving instructions.

"All personnel, provide support for the DEM Industries Wizards and eliminate the Nightmare on the ground... It's not an interesting mission, but those are our orders. So get out there and do your jobs."

"Yes sir!"

The AST members in their CR units leaped into the air.
As for Ryouko herself, she would have been lying if she said she trusted DEM. Not only had they forced ten new members onto her team against her will, but they had attempted to do battle in a public place with the general population not evacuated.
That said, however, given that these orders had come down from the highest brass, she didn't have much choice about obeying them. If she let her emotions take over and stepped out of line here, she would be giving the brass an excuse for axing the AST. In the worst case, it was even possible that they would hand the members of the AST over to the DEM Wizards.
And there was also the matter of Origami. Although her conduct had been a clear violation of orders, the danger Squad 3's mission posed was also evident. Ryouko was using that fact as a weapon to reduce the disciplinary action Origami would be facing. She couldn't create any weaknesses in her case now.

Ryouko fired up her thrusters and threw herself into the thick of the melee with the rest of her team. With the enhanced vision her Territory offered her, she picked out one of the several silhouettes flying around in the raging flames and gunpowder smoke, and pulled the trigger on her laser cannon.

But Nightmare easily dodged the blast, and instead of counterattacking, she went off somewhere, making silly gestures as she left. She looked almost as if she were playing.

"What is with them? What on earth do they want?"
And then she heard a strange sound and arched an eyebrow.
"Huh?"

The roar was like standing in the middle of an intense typhoon. She thought maybe it was a plane, but she couldn't see anything like that in the sky. And as a general rule, aircraft other than SDF machines were prohibited from flying through areas with an active spacequake alert.
An instant later, something that she could only describe as a hurricane with a will of its own whipped past, kicking up fierce winds as it cut across her field of vision.

"Wha...!"

She automatically increased the density of her Territory. Blown back by this mass of wind, a number of the Wizards, dolls, and Nightmares lost their balance and tumbled backward.

"Wh-what was that..." She blinked rapidly. She hadn't been able to get a good look at the abrupt phenomenon.

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