Spirito had been regretting it. Qualia broke her out of her arrogance, but she could not repay him. He just kept pushing himself for their sake.
The black halo on his head was also stirring up anxiety in her. When she saw the dark humanoid weapon Shutdown overlaid with Qualia, she felt as though something was starting that could not be taken back.
Spirito could not see the drawbacks yet, but felt as though Qualia would cease to be human, even if he still appeared to be one.
Just before that happened, Qualia saw a face he could not forgive, and punched himself in the window’s reflection.
She should have said something then. The signs were there.
Maybe what she was doing was too late.
Maybe she could not call herself Qualia’s master anymore, other than as a formality.
So… No, still…
Spirito threw words at him with all she had.
“Qualia. I’m sure I would feel the same regret if I lost my sister, and I would be ready to strike at the cost of my own life. So I won’t say I don’t know how you feel. But that’s why I’ll say this as your master. Learn how to rely on others. We want to see your ‘tasty’ too!”
“Analyzing situation. However…”
He was about to say there was still a risk.
If he were human, this is where he would say he was scared of her dying.
But despite losing her weapon, and despite her opponent being a seasoned assassin, seeing the small girl standing at attention did not make him think of death at all.
His calculations as an artificial intelligence calculated the risk of Spirito’s vital activities ceasing.
But something inside as a human told him to trust her.
“You have people. People who can fight alongside you without having to look at them. Learn that first. If you don’t, how much of your humanity are you going to throw away on your own? I don’t care about you needing to be the strongest, just make sure your heart stays human.”
“Heart.”
“Trust your master. I’m stronger than you, according to you.”
She faced Krengel again as he approached, and got close to him herself through Shukuchi.
Despite taking damage, she was even faster.
She dodged three of Krengel’s slashes, and took some distance.
“I’ll take this guy down and regain my dignity, so admit you lost already, big-head.”
Spirito was simply trying to teach Qualia he was not alone.
“It’s all right! I’m not gonna die!”
She put out her right fist towards Qualia from afar.
“Detecting ‘tasty’ like values.”
He felt it was harder than the Diamond of Rocky, who was facing him, and hot.
It was not the healing ‘tasty’ that came from seeing Ina’s smile, but it was reassuring.
Seeing the small Spirito continue fighting felt stronger and more reliable than the hardware of weapons of destruction jostling.
But Krengel broke up this atmosphere with a small sneer.
“…Thanks for the little farce… I really enjoyed it, but seeing you bloody makes me tremble more. You can graduate from being a boy and girl, and from life.”
“Sorry for making you see our little conflict.”
The right fist pointed at Qualia turned to Krengel, and it called out to him as a provocation.
“Come on, swordsman killer. The little girl that didn’t quite become a swordsman will defy your wisdom as a gift for you to take to the afterlife”
“Fine. That arrogance is hard to overlook. Especially when I have the magic stone Rei! Watch the dance of the stronger Shukuchi user of Zero Division, and die as you regret being born!”
Krengel lowered his posture. It was a pattern Qualia had already learned.
“Analyzing situation. Detecting the position that precedes ten Ranma.”
“I thought you were strangely good at Shukuchi, but you can use Ranma too.”
“You can’t evade or defend. Ten of me will torture you to death.”
And just before Krengel disappeared with light steps, Qualia activated the 5D printer.
“Spirito, request that you accept.”
Qualia was not choosing to bear everything. He believed in her, so he gave it to her.
“Type SWORD. Execute Teleportation.”
A photon weapon appeared in front of Spirito.
A special made handle, with a beam for a blade. Spirito knew what Qualia was doing, and grabbed it with a small smile on her face.
“I’ll take that much! Thanks!”
“Existence, auth, success! Hello, Spirito!!”
It was made especially for her, so it was very well adapted.
When she grabbed it for the first time, the blade stretched like a wing, and she lowered her posture while spreading her arms.
“Secret technique.”
“Secret technique.”
Spirito disappeared.
And reappeared.
There were ten, the maximum. Both for Spirito, and Krengel.
Twenty blades of light crossed, separated into ten on each side, and cut at their opponents like meteors.
“Ranma tenth speed.”
“Ranma tenth speed.”
After the twenty blades crossed, they passed by each other.
Spirito’s left shoulder was the first to bleed, and she staggered for a moment.
But she did not go down.
“…A-ah…”
On the other hand, Krengel trembled.
His great sword was broken. The blade that was several meters long, shattered along with the magic stone Rei.
“No… It can’t.. My… My… Strongest…”
“The age where that’s the strongest is over. My pupil’s gone above it. There’s no reason why I can’t handle it.”
He could not even hold the handle. After all, Krengel’s big body was severed. His arms, legs, and head. It all fell like building blocks.
And as Qualia realized he could fully face forward, he turned to the charging Diamond armor and spoke.
“Calculating optimal solution.”
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