Chapter 27: Objective Acquired!

The cold, emotionless face burned itself into Origami's vision, dragging up memories she had long suppressed.

"Objective acquired," the machine stated. "Commencing analysis."

The Spirit Hunter.

Why? Why did you have to take it?

She remembered the stories. The mysterious being that had appeared, challenging the Spirits one by one, stealing the very essence of their power. Then, it had vanished without a trace, becoming a ghost, a legend.

And now it was back. Of course it would be here for this. For this power that should have been hers.

She was so close.

To have her only hope snatched away, while she lay broken and helpless... it was too much.

Origami's spirit, forged in loss and tempered by years of relentless training, finally shattered. Tears streamed from her eyes, and the stoic, unwavering soldier wept like a lost child.

The clone regarded her breakdown with detached indifference, its focus solely on its task.

[Notice: Command Unit. Data acquisition complete. Analysis complete. Mission accomplished.]

A new directive came through the network.

"Acknowledged."

With its task finished, the clone tossed the glowing crystal back onto Origami's chest.

"Eh?"

Origami's heartbroken sobs hitched in her throat. She stared at the crystal, then at the machine, then back at the crystal.

What was happening?

The Spirit Hunter stole her hope... and then just... gave it back?

Her mind failed to compute. The tears stopped, frozen on her face. She just stared blankly at the clone, her expression one of utter, system-crashing confusion.

The clone paid her no further mind. It simply turned, launched itself into the sky, and vanished at incredible speed.

….

While one of my clones was busy giving Origami an existential crisis, others were paying a visit to the rest of the Spirits.

Tohka saw the familiar figure descend from the sky and immediately assumed a combat stance. She remembered this being, now known to the world as the Spirit Hunter. A creature that had challenged every Spirit, defeated them, and copied their powers, only to disappear for years.

It, and the mysterious organization behind it, were a shadow that loomed over the entire world.

Then, for some unknown reason, the Spirit Hunter and its masters had vanished. For years, there had been no sign of them, no new information. They had become a ghost story.

And now, suddenly, it was back. Tohka had no idea what it wanted. She gripped the hilt of Sandalphon, her knuckles white, and stared at the machine. It looked exactly the same as she remembered. The same face, the same empty expression.

"Why are you here?" she demanded.

The clone ignored her. Its golden eyes swept over the assembled Spirits.

"Princess... Diva... Berserker..." its synthesized voice stated, cataloging them. Its gaze lingered for a moment on Miku, who was trembling so violently that if the Yamai sisters weren't holding her up, she would have collapsed.

"Records updated. Syncing data... Sync complete."

Finally, its eyes came to rest on Sandalphon. The analytical light within them faded.

Having completed its primary task, the clone ignored Tohka completely and looked up at a different point in the sky.

Tohka, feeling slighted, was about to press her attack. But a strange intuition made her follow the machine's gaze.

A brilliant flash of light appeared in the sky. When it faded, a figure in white was revealed.

It was Origami. The same girl Tohka had just defeated. But she was different now.

She was clad in a luminous astral dress, as pure and white as a wedding gown. A halo of light floated above her head, from which shimmering strands of light cascaded down like a bridal veil. She looked like an angel descended from heaven.

Origami had become a Spirit. And she had returned for one reason.

She raised her hand above her head.

"Metatron!"

Countless golden, feather-like cannons of light materialized from thin air, surrounding her like a celestial crown. To prevent the other Spirits from escaping, she attacked immediately.

"Shemesh!"

The floating cannons took aim, and the sky lit up with a thousand points of light. A rain of energy beams descended, a merciless, indiscriminate bombardment that tore the ground apart.

My clone, standing close to the other Spirits, was caught in the blast radius. But while Tohka and the others scrambled to dodge the onslaught, it remained perfectly still.

It simply deployed Aeterna Defensio, enveloping itself in a golden shield, and began to analyze the new data.

Inside the dome of its impenetrable defense, as the world burned outside, the machine spoke to itself, its voice unheard by any other.

Data acquisition complete. Analysis successful.

….

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the forest...

"Shido, look out!"

Yoshino stood protectively in front of Shido, her gaze fixed on the figure blocking their path. She was no longer the timid girl she once was. She would protect him.

Shido stared in disbelief. The Spirit Hunter, gone for so long, had reappeared now, of all times.

"It's you," he said, his voice tight. "What do you want this time?!"

The clone coolly observed the three of them: Yoshino, bravely standing her ground; Shido, anxious and desperate behind her; and Natsumi, peeking out from behind the massive form of Zadkiel, trembling.

"Answer: My mission is to delay you."

"Why are you doing this?!" Shido demanded, gesturing towards the sound of explosions echoing from deeper in the forest. Origami and the others were fighting. He had to get to them.

The clone remained silent, its silence only fueling Shido's growing panic. Natsumi was useless in a fight against this thing, and Yoshino, for all her bravery, was no match for it either. To protect Shido, they couldn't risk a direct confrontation.

"Announcement: Remain here. This unit will permit you to pass when the time is right."

Knowing they couldn't force their way through, Shido and the others could only wait, watching the distant flashes of light and praying that their friends would be okay.

….

"Sandalphon—Halvanhelev!"

"Metatron—Artelif!"

The final, ultimate forms of their Angels manifested. Sandalphon, fused with the fragments of its throne, became a colossal blade of pure energy. Metatron's feather-cannons converged, forming a massive crown of light, a single, devastating cannon.

The two weapons, aimed at each other, charged with unimaginable power.

And my clone stood directly between them, calmly gathering data at point-blank range.

Neither combatant paid it any mind.

Their attacks collided.

The resulting explosion obliterated everything for a kilometer in every direction, scouring the land clean. When the light faded, a massive crater was all that remained.

And at its center, my clone stood, completely unharmed inside its Aeterna Defensio shield.

[Notice: Data acquisition complete. Analysis successful. Mission accomplished.]

Ignoring the two defeated Spirits lying at the bottom of the crater, the clone launched itself into the sky and vanished.

….

Back with Shido's group...

The clone blocking their path lowered its head, as if receiving a signal.

[Notice: Mission complete. Target acquired.]

….

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