Above all, it was irrational.
If 25% of its capacity could allow it to easily throw a 15m giant with one hand, then the power assist it could provide was nothing short of absurd.
With the school’s exoskeletons, even Ryou, who had an AAA rank in Strength, would struggle to do the same thing at full power.
Yet Tomoe accomplished just that with her Rank C in Strength.
That’s why despite Ryou’s shallow knowledge on the subject, he could still understand that the reason behind that power wasn’t just the three engines.
Perhaps, by having each part of the exoskeleton share a single engine, which was large enough to power a single machine alone, the loss of energy was reduced and the power that each part could produce was increased. Alternatively, perhaps the three engines were directly connected to increase the overall output. Regardless, Ryou was just pondering to himself.
How could someone who insisted that he was less knowledgeable than himself produce such a thing? His common sense was being shaken so much that he felt like he was coming down with vertigo.
Meanwhile, up above, Tomoe was once again shouting by herself.
『───Attention, pilot. This is a system meant to compensate for your lack of strength. It is an emergency mode. Normally, only one or two engines should be utilized. 』
“I know! But this isn’t something that a beginner can handle!”
『 Your current Status should allow you to use 25% without problem. 』
“That’s in theory! Don’t look down on newbies!”
Perhaps it considered her yells earlier to be a question, as one of the action auxiliary systems, the voice guidance system, suddenly activated.
The emotionless artificial voice, however, only served to irritate Tomoe further and make her yell as she glared at the remaining skulls.
The look she was making was clearly that of a bully looking for someone to take out her anger on.
“D-Don’t mess with me! As if the likes of an exoskeleton could actually be a threat. A toy from another world like that could never defeat my Gashadokuro! Go, Gashadokuro! Crush her!!”
Perhaps it was because the mysteriousness that Tomoe had engendered vanished when she started yelling, or perhaps, Michizane simply couldn’t stand the humiliation of having his proud shiki destroyed by the exoskeleton, but regardless, he woke up from his stupor and started yelling.
In response, they Gashadokuros too bellowed out a distorted roar.
It was a terrible sound akin to that of someone’s fingernails scratching the blackboard, causing Tomoe’s displeasure to vanish, and in its place appear a dangerous look.
“…This is why I can’t stand these people.”
Tomoe muttered coldly as the remaining two skeletons raised their arms to crush her.
They moved quickly; a speed one wouldn’t expect from something of their size, but Tomoe didn’t move.
Perhaps, she wasn’t used to the exoskeleton or just couldn’t react, but regardless, the girls screamed and Michizane laughed, certain of his victory, while Ryou just muttered with a twitching face..
“Yep, victory.”
The skeletons swung with their arms and gave rise to an explosive impact, but Tomoe didn’t so much as budge.
The girls gulped, while Michizane stopped laughing and made a dumb voice.
The arms came at her from above and from her sides, but their efforts were in vain in the face of the output of ‘God’s Authority’.
She raised one arm and easily caught their attacks, then she turned her body and sent the giant skeletons tottering.
The historic stone lanterns on the ground were crushed, but only Ryou seemed to care about them.
“────Come, Kamunagi.”
As though she had been waiting for this opening, Tomoe called out to her beloved sword.
A yin-yang diagram appeared in the air, and from it appeared her sword with its sheathe.
She inserted it under the sleeves of her left gauntlets, and in the next moment, her entire exoskeleton lit up and illuminated the night sky. The flight unit behind her shone particularly bright.
“Spirit Particles Engine, engage! I’ll leave the controls to you, this is a test run, so don’t break it!”
『Understood.』
The main reactor of ‘Kamui’ had changed.
This was an engine that Shinichi could install into the exoskeleton after taking everything he could from that company and the Katsuragi family.
Though he could not understand the theory and the technology, he could manipulate them by feeling them out so long as he knew they existed.
He happily incorporated it into Tomoe’s exoskeleton because he believed she would need it.
In the process, he ‘somehow’ improved the immature parts of the engine.
This engine which the world was yet to know used the
With a fiery intensity that could no longer be described as phosphorescence, the otherworldly armor was clothed in spiritual power.
“I knew it! This reactor is easier to handle!”
Tomoe’s spiritual power was magnified by Kamunagi before coursing into the exoskeleton.
It circulated her whole body once, then increased it even more, and with an expressionless face she controlled it and extended her left arm.
From out of her fingertips appeared a line of spiritual power that formed a bow. As it settled into her hand, she fingered the strings, and a huge lance-like arrow was nocked.
“…I’m sorry, it must have been painful, but don’t worry, I’ll put you to sleep now.”
She drew the string to its limits, then with a gentle smile, released it,
The giant arrow shot out in a straight line, but Michizane ordered the Gashadokuro to flee to the sides.
As big as the arrow may be, in the end, it was just a single arrow. Even if it could track, Michizane believed it would only be able to chase after just one of his Gashadokuro.
But…
“Hmph.”
Tomoe snorted in mockery and snapped her fingers.
When the giant arrow was right between the two skeletons, it suddenly exploded and split into countless arrows that rained down upon the giant skeletons.
For a moment, both skeletons looked just like hedgehogs, but in the next moment, cracks ran up their entire body, then they shattered.
“What!? T-That’s impossible!”
Someone’s stunned voice resounded while the white bone fragments were floating in the air, but Tomoe didn’t care and just clapped her hands to offer a prayer.
This was a ritual of cleansing, a requiem for the dead. In the next moment, gentle vibrations of spiritual power spread out, and Bluish-white fireballs began to emerge from the fragments of the bones.
“You can go home now…”
As Tomoe moved up her hands in a scooping motion, all the fireballs slowly ascended to the heavens.
It was a scene so full of mystique and divinity that it captivated any and all who beheld it, silencing all thoughts and speech.
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