'Where is this place?'
This time, Inaba Tsukiyo did not descend into a specific world as she usually did, but instead arrived in a special space.
It was pitch black all around, and although there was no ground, she could stand steadily on it. At the same time, this space gave her a sense of security.
'What exactly is this place? What world did alaya send me to?'
Inaba Tsukiyo thought alaya had deliberately sent her to this world as revenge for her making Hozumi a Servant, but after walking in this world for a while, she found that it wasn't as completely dark as she had imagined.
Not far ahead, a brilliant blue space appeared before her eyes.
The moment she approached this space, Inaba Tsukiyo's heart began to beat faster, as if something there was responding to her, forming a connection with her.
This inexplicable feeling made Inaba Tsukiyo quicken her pace and enter this brilliant blue space.
The moment she entered this space, a chill ran over her skin, but the chill quickly dissipated, and her body soon adapted to the temperature.
'Is there... something calling me here?'
Perplexed, she walked deeper into this space. After about ten seconds, Inaba Tsukiyo found the source of the connection she felt.
It was a cute Little Loli, with an adorable appearance that was no less charming than her own, just like a doll.
With brilliant blue hair and a rabbit hand puppet on her left hand, she seemed to be in a deep slumber, like someone dreaming.
As Inaba Tsukiyo approached, the Little Loli slowly opened her eyes, looking at Inaba Tsukiyo with a hint of confusion.
"Why? Why are you here?"
Her voice was very pleasant, soft and fluffy like cotton. This was a lovable Little Loli.
While Inaba Tsukiyo observed the other party, the Little Loli also observed Inaba Tsukiyo.
Her personality was quite timid, so timid that she couldn't even speak normally to people, blushing whenever she did.
But when facing Inaba Tsukiyo, she felt no fear at all; a strange thought appeared in her mind.
She felt that the other party would not harm her, that she was another version of herself, and that no matter what, the other party would stand by her side and protect her.
Not only the Little Loli, but Inaba Tsukiyo also had this thought, feeling that the Little Loli was a part of herself, as if the Little Loli could fill the missing parts of her.
A blue light bloomed around Inaba Tsukiyo, and at the same time the light appeared, the same light also appeared around the Little Loli.
As the light bloomed, a line connected them, causing them both to extend their right hands, and two soft, delicate little hands clasped together.
[Thump!]
Their hearts suddenly beat, and the Little Loli and Inaba Tsukiyo opened their eyes, seemingly sensing something, and they smiled at each other.
"My name is Inaba Tsukiyo. Although I don't know what this feeling is, I'm very happy to meet you, my other half."
"Other... other half? That feels so strange. But... Yoshino is also very happy to meet you, Inaba-san."
"Inaba-san? No, you should call me Tsukiyo or Tsukiyo-chan. Given our relationship, that's the correct way to address me, isn't it?"
"Tsu... Tsukiyo... chan. Waaah~ So... so embarrassing."
Yoshino lowered her head shyly. Such a slightly intimate address made her so embarrassed that Inaba Tsukiyo couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to stroke her hooded head.
"Tsu... Tsukiyo-chan?"
Feeling Inaba Tsukiyo's caress, Yoshino looked up. Although still a bit shy, she didn't reject this intimate gesture.
Every time she descended, she faced human malice. This was the first time she had been treated so kindly, and she was very happy.
Just as Inaba Tsukiyo was about to ask Yoshino where they were, the space burst into dazzling light, and the light swallowed their consciousness.
Above Amamiya City, a red alarm suddenly blared on an aerial battleship named Fraxinus.
"Commander! A spatial quake has occurred in Amamiya City! Another Spirit has appeared!"
"Oh? Another spatial quake so soon? Spirits appearing recently aren't exactly common, are they?"
Inside this aerial battleship, a cute Little Loli with red hair in twin tails was sucking on a Chupa Chups lollipop, commenting nonchalantly.
"What's the intensity of this spatial quake? Have there been any injuries? And which Spirit has descended?"
"Due to the prior evacuation of the populace, there were no casualties. The intensity is very low, so it should be the Hermit (The Recluse) who has descended."
"Hoh-oh~ The Hermit (The Recluse), huh? Shiori hasn't joined us yet, so let the AST play hide-and-seek with the Hermit for now. They won't catch the Spirit in the end anyway."
The red-haired Little Loli had grown accustomed to the AST appearing every time a Spirit showed up.
With their combat power, it was impossible for them to harm or capture a Spirit, so there was no need to worry about these people harming the Spirit.
Furthermore, the Spirit that appeared this time was the Hermit (The Recluse), who had the lowest danger level, so they could just let them handle it.
"W-wait a minute! Commander! Something's not right! The Hermit (The Recluse) doesn't seem to be alone this time!"
"What did you say? Not alone? Display her image on the main screen! Quickly!"
"Yes!"
Although the people on the Bridge often slacked off, they were useful in critical moments. To earn their salaries, the Spirit's image quickly appeared on the main screen.
Besides the familiar Hermit (The Recluse) who appeared this time, there was another girl next to her, almost as cute, but wearing a miko outfit and carrying a long katana.
"What's going on?"
Inaba Tsukiyo's appearance completely exceeded Fraxinus's expectations. Usually, when the Hermit (The Recluse) appeared, she was always alone. Why was someone accompanying her this time? Was it a new Spirit?
Inaba Tsukiyo was unaware of Fraxinus's situation. Having descended from the wide space into the real world, she curiously observed her surroundings.
The place where she and Yoshino appeared was a crater, as if the area had just experienced an explosion.
Besides this crater, the surrounding buildings also suffered some damage.
"Could this be due to our arrival? It seems there's a lot I need to understand."
Tilting her head, there were still many things in this new world that she needed to grasp. Judging by the condition of the buildings, it shouldn't be a post-apocalyptic world.
Finally, she could rest properly. After experiencing so many doomsday-style worlds, Inaba Tsukiyo was tired. She should be able to get some good rest in this world, right?
"Oh my~ Oh my~ So this is the person connected to Yoshino? Hmm~ As expected, she's connected to Yoshino, just a tiny bit less than Yoshino herself."
"Hmm?"
This wasn't Yoshino's voice. Inaba Tsukiyo turned around in confusion, only to find the voice coming from the puppet on Yoshino's left hand.
"Multiple personalities? Or a self-generated consciousness? How interesting."
She herself had the Herrscher Tsukiyo within her, but this was the first time she had encountered such an existence. She couldn't help but reach out, but Yoshino dodged her hand.
"Um… please don't blame Yoshinon, Tsukiyo-chan. Yoshinon is my best friend, it doesn't mean any harm."
"Oh? Yoshino can speak so fluently to others? That's quite surprising."
Yoshinon looked at Yoshino in astonishment. As someone who had always been with Yoshino, it knew Yoshino's shy nature very well.
It had always been the one to talk to others before, but it never expected Yoshino to speak so fluently this time, and with such an intimate address!
"Ugh! I don't know what this feeling is, but I just feel that Tsukiyo-chan is trustworthy. So… so…"
"Ah~ I know, I know. Don't panic, Yoshino. I'm very happy you can do this. Well done, well done."
Yoshinon patted Yoshino's head. Although this action looked strange no matter how one viewed it, Inaba Tsukiyo couldn't find anything odd about it, as if this was a perfectly normal scene.
"Don't forget about me, Yoshino. This is my first time here, can you tell me what this world is like? I'm very curious."
"Oh? Tsukiyo-chan doesn't know about this world? Hehe~ Actually, we don't know much about this world either, but I do know we'll have trouble very soon."
Yoshinon chuckled. In truth, they didn't know what this world was truly like either, as they were chased every time they appeared, leaving no time to properly observe it.
Inaba Tsukiyo tilted her head. Yoshinon's words left her a bit confused. They were in trouble? What was going on?
Inaba Tsukiyo wanted to ask further, when a whooshing sound suddenly came from the sky. Something was approaching at a very high speed.
In the northeast direction, a group of girls in special equipment were flying towards them. This high-tech gear piqued Inaba Tsukiyo's interest.
The equipment these girls wore was from a different technological domain than that of the Honkai World, but being able to fly in the sky made her want to study the principles behind it.
When Inaba Tsukiyo clearly saw the equipment these girls were wearing, her mood became somewhat complex.
Why?
Besides the armored gear, these girls only wore a layer of tight-fitting clothing underneath, which completely exposed their figures.
If there were Boys here, they would definitely be excited by this sight. These were young girls in their prime, and to see such a fan-service scene in the real world was truly stimulating.
"They're here, these annoying guys."
Yoshinon said with some displeasure. They had only just arrived a few minutes ago, and these guys had already shown up so quickly.
These girls in strange equipment did not immediately attack. The leader of these girls looked at Inaba Tsukiyo next to Yoshino with some confusion.
They had rushed here after receiving news of the Hermit (The Recluse)'s arrival, but what was with the girl next to the Hermit (The Recluse)?
"Captain, what should we do now? Is that girl a hostage taken by the Spirit?"
"The situation isn't clear yet, but the Hermit (The Recluse) seems very close to this person. Could she also be a Spirit?"
The leader looked at all this with some hesitation. She didn't want to attack ordinary people, but Yoshino was nervously hiding behind Inaba Tsukiyo. This intimate behavior made her think Inaba Tsukiyo was also a Spirit, but that shouldn't be the case.
It wasn't that Twin Spirits didn't exist, but Yoshino and Inaba Tsukiyo didn't look like Twin Spirits at all.
Could it be that other Spirits had descended at the same time? The newest Spirit?
The situation became very bad. If the one who appeared with the Hermit (The Recluse) was indeed a new Spirit, then dealing with two Spirits at once would be too difficult.
'It seems we must retreat. We need to understand this Spirit's information first…'
[Click!]
Just as the leader was hesitating, the sound of a gun being cocked suddenly came from nearby.
A silver-haired, short-haired girl with little emotion on her face was holding a gun and aiming it at Inaba Tsukiyo and Yoshino.
"Wait a minute! Origami!"
[Bang!]
The leader, who knew what the girl intended to do, wanted to stop her, but before she could, the girl fired a bullet without hesitation.
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