Chapitre 372: Walking into a Trap

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Mermaid Heel Headquarters.

June 3, x785.

Deciding she was not comfortable with being alone with Ritsu right now, Tsunade made her way back down to the first floor of the guild. Unfortunately for her, Ritsu decided to follow her. However, there was nothing she could do about that.

"Alfonzo, Wendy, and Carla should be here soon." Tsunade said as she stepped onto the first floor. "And according to Anko, they should be bringing Marin's replacement, Lucy Heartfilia, along with them to meet the members of our guild she hasn't met."

"Hopefully she'll be able to get along with the girls in our guild." Ritsu replied. "Luckily, Marin seemed to be very outgoing and was able to fit in with them quite easily."

"Yeah, I hope so, too." Tsunade said with a nod of agreement.

A few moments later, after Tsunade and Ritsu took a seat, the doors to the guild were opened. Standing in the doorway were Alfonzo, Wendy, Carla, and a young woman that no one recognized.

"That's not Lucy." Tsunade said with a slight frown.

"No, it's not." Ritsu replied with a gentle smile. Though, her aura was starting to turn dangerous.

As soon as Ritsu's aura changed, Alfonzo's head snapped in her direction with a wry smile on his face.

'Yeah, bringing an unfamiliar person with as much magic power as Virgo into another guild's guild hall without prior notice was probably a bad idea.' Alfonzo thought as he led the rest of his group towards Tsunade and Ritsu. 'But it's not my fault Lucy couldn't walk today.'

["Actually, it kinda is."] Bedlam replied.

["Yup, definitely is."] Riot added.

'Okay, fine. It may be partially my fault, but still...' Alfonzo replied while shrugging mentally. 'Still, since she came with us, there shouldn't be any reason to react like that, right?'

As Alfonzo's thoughts reached that point, he and the rest of the group arrived next to the table where Tsunade and Ritsu sat.

"Good morning, Master Tsunade, Master Unohana." Alfonzo said in a friendly tone. "How are you this morning?"

"Good morning, Master Tsunade, Master Unohana." Wendy and Carla greeted in unison.

"Good morning, you three." Tsunade replied casually. Then, she narrowed her eyes at Alfonzo as she continued. "So, would you mind introducing the new face? She's not the one you informed us about, after all."

"Sure." Alfonzo replied casually. "She's only here because Lucy isn't feeling well today. This is Virgo, one of the Celestial Spirits Lucy has a contract with."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Tsunade, Master Unohana." Virgo said with a courtesy. "As Master Alfonzo said, I am a Celestial Spirit contracted to Princess Lucy Heartfilia."

"I see." Ritsu said as she retracted her pressure. "So, that girl Lucy was a [Celestial Spirit Wizard], huh? They are quite rare. I guess she is following in the footsteps of her mother."

"Anyway, like I said, Virgo will be here to take care of Wendy today because Lucy isn't feeling well." Alfonzo reiterated. "She should probably be here tomorrow, though."

"Very well." Tsunade said. "Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, Wendy, come with me. We'll start with sparring today. After that, we'll start our practical training in regard to healing."

'Does that mean she'll be doing the same stuff she had Sakura do in the anime?' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'Like the shit with bringing the fish back to life?'

["That's not important right now."] Bedlam said, cutting off Alfonzo's train of thought. ["That woman looks so nervous that her breasts shrank by a cup size."]

Ignoring the part about her breasts shrinking, Alfonzo's gaze focused on Tsunade's face. And just as Bedlam said, although she was trying to hide it, Alfonzo could see in her micro-expressions that she was indeed nervous.

'Reading that book about reading people's expressions from the miscellaneous section in the guild's library was a good idea.' Alfonzo thought as his eyes narrowed. 'This is a skill I would have never been able to pick up in my past life.'

Meanwhile, upon feeling Alfonzo's gaze, Tsunade's nervousness grew. A moment later, however, she relaxed.

'Why am I so nervous?' Tsunade asked herself. 'Master Ritsu said she would take care of the payment, didn't she?'

A moment later, however, Tsunade's nerves returned in full force.

'But in return, I'll have to pay both her and the guild back.' Tsunade thought to herself as her face paled slightly. And as her thoughts continued, her face paled even further. 'On top of that, I'll have to train with her every night until she's satisfied with the discipline I've cultivated. What the hell does that even mean, anyway?'

'What the hell is wrong with her?' Alfonzo asked himself. 'At first, she seemed nervous. Then, when I glared at her, she got even more nervous. A moment later, she completely relaxed, though. And after that she got all afraid.'

["Maybe she drank too much."] Bedlam replied, sounding just as confused as Alfonzo.

["Who cares?"] Riot asked in an irritated tone. ["You just better hope she didn't gamble away all the money they were supposed to pay you."]

'Come on, Cuzz. Stop saying shit like that.' Alfonzo replied. 'You're raising flags, and I don't like it.'

If Alfonzo had known that Riot's words were correct, he would be handling this situation differently. Lucky for him, however, he had no idea. On top of that, he really wanted to believe in Tsunade. So, he was trying his best to push all Riot's speculations to the back of his mind.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the negative thoughts, Alfonzo patted Wendy on her head.

"Alright, Wendy. Work hard, and I'll see you after I finish working." Alfonzo said with a smile.

"Okay." Wendy replied while clenching her fists in front of her chest. "I won't let you and the guild down."

Hearing that, Alfonzo smiled brightly while Wendy, Carla, and Virgo followed Tsunade out to the training field.

Meanwhile, Ritsu watched the entire exchange with an amused smile on her face.

'It looks like Alfonzo must have known that Tsunade left the headquarters last night.' Ritsu mused. 'And considering that he had already gambled with Tsunade before and seen her abysmal talent, he probably guessed that she gambled away his money. Luckily, I've decided to take responsibility to not tarnish the guild's honor. I really didn't want anything to happen that could sour relations between our guilds any further after the mess Yoruichi caused.'

"Well..." Ritsu said as she stood from her seat. "I think we should get going, too. There's still a lot of work for you to do, right, Alfonzo?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Alfonzo replied as Ritsu's words pulled his attention away from Tsunade. "Let's go."

"Let's." Ritsu replied with a gentle smile. "And since you said Lucy isn't feeling well today, I would assume you plan to visit and check on her at some point during the day, correct."

"That's right." Alfonzo replied with a nod as he turned towards his work site. "When I break for lunch, I'll go check on her and make her something to eat."

"Well then, perhaps I should accompany you." Ritsu said, her gentle smile turning slightly mischievous. "I'm a pretty good healer in my own right, you know. Perhaps I could help her recover."

Hearing that, Alfonzo's eyes widened in surprise. Although he knew what Ritsu said was true, he could not let her see Lucy. Even though she could definitely help Lucy recover faster with her [Healing Kido].

"That won't be necessary, Master Unohana." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "It's only fatigue from that long drive she made yesterday. She said that was the first time she had ever driven that far. So, she just needs some time to rest."

'Now that I think about it, how does [Healing Kido] even work in this world?' Alfonzo wondered as he and Ritsu walked side by side. 'I mean, in Bleach, it was used to help restore spiritual power, which basically constituted a Soul Reaper's body. And with that, it would heal wounds... At least, I think that's how it worked. But let's assume it worked on the same principals in this world, restoring someone's magic power doesn't automatically heal their body.'

["Why do you even care?"] Riot asked in an irritated tone. ["As long as they can patch up an unwanted hole, does it really fucking matter?"]

["He's right, you know."] Bedlam added. ["Does the principal even matter?]

'Fuck off, you two.' Alfonzo replied. 'I was just curious. It's not like I was gonna dive in to all the details.'

"I see." Ritsu replied with a knowing smile. "Well, you should take good care of her, then. And tell her not to overdo it."

In response, Alfonzo turned his head to give Ritsu a reply. However, when he saw her smile, his own smile cramped slightly.

'Fuck, she knows.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'What am I talking about, of course she knows. It's not like none of the girls talked about their sex lives during the time she and the other four visited the guild. And there's no way they didn't hear them. It's not like they're as quiet as they think they are when they start their girl talk.'

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Shirotsume.

While Alfonzo and Wendy were getting to work for the day, Marin was walking out of town with the crew from Sorcerer Weekly for her photo shoot. And like most Fairy Tail wizards do while outside of Magnolia, she had her [Magic Power Detection] spread to monitor her surroundings. However, that's when she realized something was off about the newly hired make-up artist.

'That woman doesn't have a magic power signature. Marin thought to herself as she glanced at the make-up artist. 'I remember Fonzie telling us all to be careful about that. But for some reason, I can't remember why.'

While trying to remember what Alfonzo and Elicia told her about those without magic power signatures, she heard a voice in her head.

["Seriously, I'm starting to really think you're a moron."] An androgynous voice said from Marin's inner world. ["How do you forget something so important? Especially something that Fonzie told you?"]

"Whoa!" Marin exclaimed as she stumbled over her feet.

Naturally, that caused all the Sorcerer Weekly personnel to look in her direction.

"Sorry, sorry, I just lost my balance." Marin replied to the questioning stares.

'Hey, are you my [Armament Spirit]?' Marin replied excitedly. 'But I thought Fonzie said I probably wouldn't be able to hear you for a few more months.'

["You really don't listen to him when he says anything, do you?"] The [Armament Spirit] replied disdainfully. ["Seriously, you should stop everything when he starts talking."]

'OMG! You're just like his [Armament Spirit], Riot.' Marin replied. 'You're made from my feelings for Fonzie. Then, bumped up a few notches, right?'

["So? That doesn't change the fact that you should listen more closely."] The Armament Spirit] reiterated. ["He said you should be able to hear my voice BY the end of the summer. Not AT the end of the summer."]

'Yeah, I know that.' Marin replied. 'But I just changed you from an [Embryo] last month. ['Not even Fonzie heard his [Spirit's] voices that fast.'

["So what?"] The [Armament Spirit] asked. ["You're not Fonzie. Besides, he already told you, stop comparing yourself to everyone else. You're you, and you'll do things at your own pace."]

'Yeah, I guess you're right.' Marin replied with realization in her tone. 'Anyway, what did Alfonzo say about people with no magic power signatures.'

["He said you should be careful because only homunculi have no magic power signature."] The [Armament Spirit] replied in a solemn tone. ["In other words, they somehow knew you would be here. This is definitely a trap."]

Hearing that, it took all of Marin's will power to not let her eyes widen in surprise. She did, however, make the best possible choice in her current situation. Pretending to adjust one of the bracelets she was wearing, Marin injected a tiny amount of magic power into a crystal, which happened to be a lacrima, before continuing forward as if nothing happened.

The lacrima on Marin's bracelet was not just any lacrima. In fact, it was a communications lacrima. Though, it was not like other communications lacrima. Since its only function was to inform the lacrima connected to it of the sender's location. Meaning, it worked well as an emergency beacon.

Eventually, Marin and the Sorcerer Weekly crew reached their desired location for the shoot. And immediately, the photo team got to work setting up the necessary tents, umbrellas, and other things necessary for a successful photo shoot. And the make-up tent was one of the first tents they got set up.

"Alright, Miss Kitagawa, let's go and get you made up." The make-up artist, Lust in disguise, said with a smile. "By the time I'm done, the changing tent should be ready, as well."

Marin, however, did not move to follow Lust, which caused Lust to look at her in feigned confusion while the rest of the crew who noticed looked at her with genuine confusion.

Instead, Marin stood in place with her arms crossed while glaring at Lust. At the same time, she had placed herself between the homunculus and the rest of the crew.

"Miss Kitagawa, is there something wrong?" Lust asked.

"You can drop the act, homunculus." Marin said sternly as she separated her arms slowly. "Do you really think I had no idea who you are? You tried to kill Lici not that long ago, after all."

["Hmph!"] Marin's [Armament Spirit] Snorted. ["I was the one who knew who she was. You couldn't even remember why you should be wary, remember?"]

'Now's not the time for that.' Marin replied internally while continuing to glare at Lust.

At the same time, when Marin slid her arms apart, she hooked her fingers around the bracelets on her wrists. Then, they transformed into the two daggers Alfonzo created for her as she took her fighting stance.

["And why the hell aren't you using me?"] The [Armament Spirit] asked, sounding a bit jealous. ["Even though Fonzie created those, too. I'm better in every conceivable way."]

"Miss Kitagawa, what are you talking about?" The photographer for this photo shoot, a middle-aged man with slicked back dark green hair and a perpetually lecherous gaze, asked angrily. "Just because she's a new hire, doesn't mean I'll allow you to bully her like that."

In fact, the only reason Lust was able to join the crew of this particular photo shoot was because she seduced the photographer. Which did not take much effort. This photographer was well known for playing "the game" in the entertainment industry. His only saving graces were the fact that he was an amazing photographer and that he always kept his promises to the young women he slept with.

"*Sigh* Even though it's a little earlier than I had hoped, it would seem my identity has been revealed." Lust said with a malicious grin. "If you had just come with me obediently, no one else would have had to die. Unfortunately, you decided all their fates."

Hearing that, the rest of the crew was completely dumbfounded. Marin, on the other hand, did not reply. Instead, she pointed her daggers at Lust in preparation for the inevitable clash.

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SixthSense1029

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commentaire Commentaire 6

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Chapitre 373: A Desperate Situation

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Shirotsume.

June 3, x785.

Although Marin took her fighting stance after Lust admitted to her accusations, her first thought was actually to do something different. Instead of fighting immediately, she wanted to run away and put some distance between the Sorcerer Weekly crew and the battle. Unfortunately, she doubted that Lust would allow that.

"It looks like you've already realized it." Lust said, her malicious smile widening. At the same time, she pointed a finger at Marin as she continued. "I know Fairy Tail's reputation. Although it was liable to cause large amounts of property damage in the past, they always tried to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. So, unless you want all these people to end up like him, I would suggest you surrender."

As she neared the end of her speech, Lust's finger that was pointing at Marin, slowly shifted to the crew's photographer. And when she saw that, Marin's eyes opened wide as she started channeling magic power into her daggers.

'Please make it.' Marin thought as she increased the weight of her daggers to the limit that she could handle.

In the next instant, Lust's fingernail sharpened as it extended at high speed towards the photographer's forehead.

"[Transformation Magic: Shoot to Kill]." Marin chanted simultaneously.

With Marin's chant, the blades of her daggers extended at an even higher speed. At the same time, she blunted the tips of her daggers, as well.

*Bang!*

An instant before Lust's [Ultimate Spear] could penetrate the photographer's head, Marin's daggers impacted Lust's chest, causing her to slide backwards along with the blades of Marin's daggers.

"Gah!" Lust grunted as the wind was knocked out of her.

At the same time, after realizing just how close to death he was, the photographer's legs gave out and he fell to the ground while a wet patch appeared on the crotch of his pants.

"All of you need to get out of here, now!" Marin shouted as she retracted her daggers after they could not be extended any further without the fear of being easily broken. "She won't be gone for long!"

Hearing Marin's shout, the photo shoot crew finally snapped back to their senses. Then, without caring for any of the supplies they brought out to the shoot's location, they turned back towards Shirotsume Town and ran as fast as they could.

"Hey, someone help me!" The photographer shouted in a panic. "I can't move my legs! Don't leave me behind! Please!"

Hearing that, most of the crew continued to run. However, a few men and women, with comparatively kinder hearts, hesitated for a moment before eventually coming back to help the photographer escape as well.

Seeing that everyone had escaped, Marin could not help but sigh in relief.

["Don't drop your guard too early, she'll be back soon."] Marin's [Armament Spirit] warned.

"I know." Marin replied as she took a deep breath to prepare for battle.

A few moments later, after a tense silence, Marin shifted her body slightly to the left while swiping up with the dagger in her right hand to parry an incoming attack.

"It looks like I under estimated you." Lust said as she returned. "Even so, you have no chance of escaping. And once I've captured you, I'll make sure to slaughter all those insignificant insects you allowed to escape."

"Yeah, I don't think so." Marin replied before dashing forward.

While running, Marin tossed the dagger in her left hand into the air.

"[Dagger Magic: Flying Dagger Barrage]." Marin chanted.

In the next instant, eleven copies of the dagger she just threw into the air were created with Marin's magic power. Then, the eleven copies were all sent flying towards lust. Meanwhile, the original dagger fell back into Marin's outstretched hand.

"You expect to defeat me with such petty tricks?" Lust asked disdainfully.

A moment later, just as the daggers were about to pierce through her body, Lust extended the nails on both hands before rapidly slashing them at the incoming daggers.

*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* * Clang!* *Clang!*

As a result, all eleven copies were deflected before dispersing into magic power.

At the same time, Marin had drawn closer to Lust. Then, once she was within range, she slashed the dagger in her right hand at Lust's neck.

*Clang!*

Unfortunately, Lust was able to easily defend herself. Yet, Marin's offensive did not stop.

"Transformation Magic: Claws and Fangs of Violation]." Marin chanted as she stepped back.

In the next instant, though she was clearly out of range, Marin slashed the dagger in her left hand diagonally upwards from Lust's right waist. At the same time, the blade of the dagger elongated.

"Clang!*

Still, just like with all the previous attacks, Lust was able to block it with her [Ultimate Spear].

"This is pointless." Lust said with a frown. "Just give up. If you do, you'll make it out of this without being hurt too badly."

Naturally, Marin ignored Lust's advice. Instead, she danced around Lust while continuing to alter her distance, and continuously slashed her daggers.

"Even if you were to give up, however, I'll still have to punish you for causing me so much trouble." Lust said as she swiped her arms outward to parry a pair of incoming slashes. "Maybe I'll leave a scar on that pretty face of yours. I wonder if that man of yours will still love you when he sees your new look."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lust's expression changed. Instead of parrying Marin's simultaneous downward slashes, her arms flailed ineffectively.

"Damn it..." Lust muttered as she saw the killer instinct in Marin's eyes as she pointed her daggers at her chest again.

"[Transformation Magic: Shoot to Kill]." Marin chanted.

Then, her daggers extended towards Lust's chest once again. Unlike the last time, however, Marin did not blunt their tips. As a result, the two daggers pierced through Lust's chest, skewering both of her lungs and her heart. Yet, Marin was not done with her offensive.

"[Transformation Magic: Bloom]." Marin chanted while her blades were still impaling her opponent.

In the next instant, several blades sprung out from all over Lust's torso, neck, and head. Then, without mercy, Marin swung her arms outwards, ripping Lust into chunks of flesh. On top of that, a glowing red Philosopher's Stone fell to the ground, as well.

["She's not dead."] Marin's [Armament Spirit] warned. ["Those things can regenerate as long as their stone is still intact."]

"I know." Marin replied as she threw the dagger in her left hand at the Philosopher's Stone.

Then, as soon as the dagger made contact with the Philosopher's Stone, it transformed into a metal case that enveloped the stone.

"There, that should take care of her until I can get this to Alfonzo and have him send it into space like the other one." Marin said with a smile. "My daggers may not be made of adamantine, but orichalcum isn't easy to cut through, either."

["I feel like you just raised a flag."] The [Armament Spirit] replied.

"Huh? Really?" Marin asked in disbelief.

As if to answer her question, one of Lust's fingernails punched through the orichalcum box holding the Philosopher's stone and shot towards Marin's abdomen.

"Seriously?" Marin exclaimed as she dove out of the way. "She ripped through it that easily? No, wait? How did she even do that? There shouldn't be enough room in there for her to regenerate at all."

["That's not really the important thing right now."] The [Armament Spirit] replied. ["You need to figure out how you're gonna get out of this in one piece."]

In the next instant, the extended fingernail sliced upward, bisecting the orichalcum box in the process. A moment later, Lust had completely regenerated.

"She doesn't look very happy." Marin said with a wry smile.

"Just a scar on your face will be the least of your worries." Lust said, ironically, with wrath in her tone. "My only order was to capture you alive. Other than that, the state of your body is irrelevant."

Then, without giving Marin the chance to respond, Lust dashed forward with her nails extended.

"This is bad." Marin muttered with an unprecedented level of focus.

At the same time, Marin reached for the choker around her neck. Then, as she pulled on it, it [Transformed] into her [Soul Armament], a long dagger with a slightly curved blade.

Just as the [Transformation] of her [Soul Armament] was completed, Lust was right in front of Marin with her right hand swinging at her face.

Reacting quickly, Marin parried Lust's slash with her [Sol Armament. Then, she made a quarter turn to avoid Lust's follow-up thrust. Following that, she used the dagger in her right hand to parry another thrust.

*Shing!*

Unfortunately, unlike before, Lust's nails cut right through the dagger, dividing its blade into a few pieces that fell to the ground.

'Shit!' Marin exclaimed internally as she frantically dodged the incoming slash.

Unfortunately, that resulted in her arm being slashed, leaving a pair of bloody gashes across her bicep. Even so, Lust did not slow down her assault, hellbent on maiming her prey.

Despite the pain from her injury, Marin managed to duck under another slash. Then, she lunged forward and buried her [Soul Armament] into Lust's chest, its tip coming into contact with the Philosopher's Stone.

"Gya~~~~~~~~!" Lust screamed in pain as she staggered backwards.

Taking advantage of the break in the action, Marin leapt backwards. Then, she used her [Soul Armament] to cut off a strip from the bottom of her shirt.

'I hope Lici will forgive me for ruining one of her pieces given the situation.' Marin said as she began wrapping the cut cloth around the wound on her arm.

["Yeah, I think she'll forgive you in this case."] The [Armament Spirit] replied.

'More importantly, do you know what happened just now?' Marin asked, never tanking her eyes off of Lust. 'That's the first time she's had such a big reaction. On top of that, she's regenerating much slower, too.'

["It probably has something to do with the fact that I was made from a piece of your soul."] The [Armament Spirit] replied. ["I think some of the souls trapped in the [Philosopher's Stone were released. But without the proper procedure, they won't pass on. They'll just end up as wandering souls."]

'Bickslow would be happy if he was here.' Marin replied as she tied off her makeshift bandage.

["If he survived to use them."] The [Armament Spirit] replied.

Around the same time, Lust finally finished regenerating her injuries. On top of that, she looked even angrier than when Marin ripped her body into pieces.

'I don't think she's concerned with bringing me in alive anymore.' Marin muttered internally after seeing the murderous look in Lust's eyes.

Then, as if to prove her right, Lust extended the nails on her right hand at Marin's chest. And if Marin did nothing to avoid them, at least two of them would puncture her heart.

Reacting quickly, Marin swept the nails aside with her [Soul Armament], which was completely undamaged after doing so. Then, she dodged to her left to avoid the incoming slash from Lust's other hand.

'Damn it, now she's keeping her distance.' Marin complained internally. 'Not that I couldn't hit her from here. But she'd definitely be able to avoid having her Philosopher's Stone getting hit again. On top of that, because Fonzie couldn't carve sigils into my [Soul Armament], it's dangerous to extend its blade too far. Since I can't change its mass.'

["You have to stay focused, Marin"] The [Armament Spirit] scolded.

Unfortunately, Marin was finding it hard to follow that piece of advice. Due to her injury, she was losing blood quickly. As a result, her mind was wandering while her body was reacting slower over time. And that eventually led to Marin being painted into a corner.

'Oh no!' Marin exclaimed internally as she staggered after parrying another slash.

Not missing the opportunity, Lust smiled viciously as she thrust her nails towards Marin's waist, intending to damage her inner organs while simultaneously severing her spine.

'I can't avoid this.' Marin thought to herself while trying to force her body to move away from the incoming attack.

Just as that thought passed through Marin's mind, she found herself in a strange place. Although it looked like a city scape, the buildings in her surroundings were changing shape. For example, one moment the building on her left was a quaint, two-story home. A moment later, it turned into a fifty-story skyscraper only to change into an equipment shed after another moment.

The buildings were not the only strange thing about the place she found herself in, either. Marin also noticed that the sky changed quite frequently, as well. One moment it would be blue without a cloud in sight. Then, it would be covered in storm clouds before turning into a nights sky. At one point, Marin even saw that the sky had turned blood red for a moment.

Even the ground constantly shifted between terrains, as well.

"Where am I?" Marin asked in wonder.

"This is your inner world." The androgynous voice Marin recognized as her [Armament Spirit] replied.

"I see." Marin replied while looking around. "Erza said something about this when she was fighting the chief of that flock of Crow Tengu. That means you brought me here right before it was too late, right?"

"That's right." The [Armament Spirit] replied.

"But where are you?" Marin asked while continuing to look around.

A moment later, the sky lit up like a super nova had gone off in the distance. Then, all the light from the explosion began to coalesce into a humanoid form floating above the changing cityscape.

"We don't have much time." The [Armament Spirit] said after its body, a petite, female body with androgynous facial features, a pair of glowing, multi-colored eyes, chalk-white skin, constantly changing, multi-colored, shoulder-length hair, and wearing a form-fitting, black and white body suit, said as it lowered its self to the ground. "Even though you were able to hear my voice, you're not yet ready to hear my name. So, we'll have to do something a bit different to save you from the predicament you're in."

Hearing that, Marin's focus heightened. Meanwhile, the [Armament Spirit] spread its arms wide.

"Somewhere in this city that is changing to display your emotional instability, there are an uncountable number of replicas of my weapon form." The [Armament Spirit] explained. "And among those replicas, the real me is hidden. And you only have one chance to find my real weapon form. Otherwise, at the very best, you will be captured and lose the use of everything below your waist."

In response, Marin's eyes widened in surprise.

"Just remember, like Fonzie said, we are of one soul." The [Armament Spirit] continued. "You must let our connection guide you to find the real me."

With that, the [Armament Spirit's] body broke down into motes of light that dispersed into the air.