------Origami POV------

At present, Origami was standing with Captain Ryouko and waiting for orders to be acted upon.

While the Defense Minister and the Chief of the General Staff were still meeting to discuss the action, Origami could only wait.

In the meantime, Origami could feel an uneasy feeling inside her.

Even though she didn't show it, she was very stressed.

This wasn't her first time-fighting spirits, but Origami was nervous.

Last time, the AST team had ambushed <Princess>

And at that time...

Origami's bullet hit Shidou...

---If Shidou didn't suddenly push that spirit out of the bullet's trajectory.

The bullet that Origami fired—wouldn't have hit Shidou.

Just remembering that was enough to make Origami's fingers tremble.

If it weren't for Captain Ryouko, she would've died in the wrath of <Princess>.

After that, Origami did not stop blaming herself for killing the person she loved.

But-----

The next day, the person Origami thought was dead suddenly appeared in the classroom as if nothing had happened.

Even though Origami could see irregularities, she didn't care.

But now, once again.

Shidou was walking with another Spirit.

But this time is not as simple as last time.

This time it wasn't just a single shot from the <Cry Cry Cry> anti-spirit rifle, but an energy beam from the D.E.M satellite.

D.E.M., the company that produces the equipment for AST to fight off the spirits.

After JGSDF tells D.E.M. about <Destroyer>. They took a great interest in it and give JGSDF a hand.

No matter how, Shidou was still safe after Origami's shot, but this time---

The JGSDF decided to destroy it on a large scale.

The aftermath will then be covered up with a 'military training'.

Origami could now only wait in the hope of canceling the order to attack.

At this moment, a small noise came from Ryouko's ears.

"This is the alpha point, and the final decision is..."

Ryouko spoke and paused for a moment as if waiting for the next sentence to come out of it.

The noise continued, but Origami couldn't hear their conversation, so she could only watch and wait.

And after a while, Ryouko spoke up.

"Understood!"

Ryouko said and disconnected from the communication device.

After a moment of silence, Ryouko turned to the entire AST team and announced.

"We have the order to attack, D.E.M satellite will fire after a minute! All Team members prepare"

"Roger!"

The AST team members spoke at the same time except for Origami.

Origami felt like all her strength had left her body.

She didn't want to fight anymore. She doesn't want to see Shidou being----

"Origami!"

Suddenly, someone shouted Origami's name, bringing her back to reality and looking at the person who called her name.

Captain Ryouko seemed to have noticed Origami's mood, so she came closer and asked.

"What's wrong, Origami? Are you okay?"

Ryouko asked with a worried voice.

Origami wanted to answer 'nothing' but there was something more important that she wanted to know.

"Did they give the order to attack?"

In response to Origami's question, Ryouko just nodded.

"What about Shi--- What about the other boy?"

Ryouko made an annoyed face and then spoke with a sigh.

"They said, sacrifice one individual to avoid more deaths later on."

Hearing Ryouko's answer, Origami felt like at any moment, she wanted to rush out to fight off the spirit and bring Shidou back to safety.

But she knew one thing---

"Origami, remember, don't do anything without permission. Otherwise, everyone will have to remove you from the Team."

Ryouko warned Origami of what she already knew.

At Ryouko's words, Origami just kept silent. And Ryouko continued.

"Is that boy some one you know?"

Origami just nodded.

After a nod from Origami, Ryouko made a face as if feeling sorry for Origami and Shidou.

The two were just silent, neither of them said a word.

But suddenly, a sound from one of the AST members broke the silence.

"The spirit is leaving its positions."

Those words quickly caught the attention of Ryouko and Origami.

Both of them turned their gazes to the direction where the Spirit and Shidou were.

And what was happening there made Origami's eyes widen and her heart started to beat faster.

The spirit had moved away from Shidou, and in her hand, a small light was emitting and could be observed from the night sky.

The entire AST team immediately became tense when they saw what was in that Spirit's hand---

Angel. The weapons of the Spirits.

"Why did it summon an angel at this time?" 

Ryouko frowned and said

And as if to add more chaos to the situation. A "beep" sound from the communication device signaled that there were 10 seconds left before a beam from the D.E.M satellite launched.

To be sure the attack would hit its target, all AST team members had carefully surrounded, report the Spirit's location, and keep the Spirit from moving.

But now...

If the spirit left, the team's efforts would be in vain.

And as if having been prepared for this situation, Origami activated the realizer from the <CR-unit>.

(CR-Unit: CR-Unit is a suit of mechanical armor with weapons and a realizer)

The AST members realized that Origami had activated her CR unit, and they stared at her with surprised eyes.

Ryouko seemed to have realized what Origami was about to do and immediately stopped her.

"Origami! Don't----"

Ryouko shouted. But it was too late.

With eyes filled with anger and hands clenched on the laser blade, Origami flew away at an inhuman speed toward Shidou.

"Shidou!!!"

Origami shouted, attracting the attention of both <Destroyer> and Shidou.

When Shidou saw Origami, he was surprised and shouted.

"Wait!"

Even if Shidou shouted to stop her, Origami didn't care.

A destructive attack from a satellite is about to hit this place. 

Origami must bring Shidou to safety by all means.

When she got close enough, Origami expanded her territory and opened her mouth.

"Deploy the Territory! coordinates 5-32-46 radius 27 35"

Immediately, a small barrier was formed and wrapped around Shidou.

After setting up a barrier to protect Shidou, Origami did not change her flight trajectory and continued to rush towards <Destroyer>.

<Destroyer> used its angel in the form of a katana and lightly parried Origami's attack.

Not giving up, Origami increased her thrust, turned her body, flew into the sky, and fired a volley of rockets at the Spirit.

All the rockets fired and flew toward the Spirit's direction at high speed but were easily dodged.

Taking advantage of that moment, Origami fired another barrage of missiles toward Shidou---

and removed the barrier.

When the missiles headed towards Shidou hit the ground, a shock wave spread and sent Shidou, who was not protected by the barrier, flying down the hill.

"Ah! Origa---"

Shidou shouted overwhelmed by the explosion of the rockets.

Origami didn't just let rockets explode near Shidou.

She also used her territory to prevent the fragments from the explosion from hitting him.

Even knowing that after falling down the hill, Shidou might get injured or lose consciousness.

But at least that was better than being obliterated by the incoming attack.

After taking Shidou out of the danger zone, Origami turned her attention to <Destroyer>.

That monster seemed to be unaffected by a barrage of attacks from Origami.

Origami did not think she would be able to escape this Spirit if it wanted to kill Origami.

But at least----

A bright flash of light descended from the sky at lightning speed.

Origami only activated the barrier to protect herself and continuously fired bullets from the gun in her CR unit.

She could try to get out of here quickly, but if the Spirit left this location, her team efforts would be in vain.

D.E.M Company is the company that provided AST with this weapon when it received news that JGSDF needed help.

This satellite was designed to be able to destroy Spirits the moment they hit their target. And Origami would never be able to survive after that.

In return for its damage, this satellite can only attack if the target is stationary and within range.

Therefore, Origami would use her life to keep <Destroyer> in range.

But at that moment, someone rushed over and shouted out her name.

"Origami!"

Origami could recognize it was Captain Ryouko's voice.

But before Origami could look at her, a hand grabbed Origami's shoulder and pulled away at a rapid speed and...

*BOOM!!!!!!

A huge explosion rang out.

Origami's Territory was destroyed in just 0.5 seconds.

She would have lost her life if it weren't for Captain Ryouko using her Territory to protect them both.

After the shock wave was gone, captain Ryouko spoke up.

"Are you okay Origami?"

"I'm OK"

Origami answered quickly and focused on where the beam had just landed.

And after a while, the smoke dissipated quickly as if a strong wind had blown them away.

And inside that smoke...

The silhouette of a girl wearing a white outfit with blue-silver hair and golden pupils shine exuded a sense of holiness.

But for the AST group, that only means one thing.

They have FAILED.

In front of them was a monster.

A beautiful and elegant monster.

"I guess it's my turn then?"

<Destroyer> voice came out softly.

------Rimuru POV------

Rimuru had to acknowledge the brave act of this girl.

She risked her life to save Shidou and keep Rimuru within range of the attack.

A beam of destructive energy shone down on Rimuru.

A fierce flame erupted at the same time as the explosion.

Smoke and dust covered the entire area. The sound of the explosion was so loud that it could deafen a normal person.

"Hm....this is more convenient than I thought"

Rimuru voice came out in the middle of the explosion.

She was using her spiritual power to create a barrier to protect herself.

it is not as strong as what she can make with her skill but, at least it can do this much.

After that huge explosion, a large crater was left.

The peaceful scene of the park was destroyed.

Rimuru looked at the destruction of the explosion and sighed.

She slowly raised her left arm in front while holding the Chaos sword in her right hand.

When she  raised her hand, a gust of wind blew away all the smoke and dust from the explosion. And at the same time, her body gradually emitted light and faded.

When the light on her body disappeared and the smoke was blown away by the wind.

Rimuru's figure gradually emerged from behind the smoke, with her astral dress and a angle in hand.

Origami, who had been saved, now looked extremely tired.

Beside her, a woman who appeared to be several years older was standing guard for her.

Both of them were staring at Rimuru with wariness.

"I guess it's my turn then?"

Rimuru said with a small voice but loud enough for the people around her to hear.

Origami, hearing her words, tried to stand up but was quickly stopped by the girl who had saved her earlier.

"Origami, I'll hold <Destroyer> off. Get back for now!"

"But......"

Origami tried to say something but stopped.

Rimuru hears the word <Destroyer> and frowns.

Were they talking about her?

It seems like Origami and her team had a few disagreements.

But, Rimuru isn't the type to wait until the other party's internal affairs are resolved so---

"Phanes!"

After saying that, her angle sword glowed, causing all the members from the AST to start activating their combat suits and scattering.

They continuously fired bullets at Rimuru but were all blocked by the invisible barrier.

With a light movement, she slowly raised her right hand holding the glowing Chaos sword and---

She swung her sword down.

The blade instantly formed a line of light with tremendous destructive power.

That beam of light instantly flew away at a terrifying speed.

The members of the AST group immediately covered their eyes to avoid being blinded.

but---

Rimuru attack didn't aim at any of the AST members but---

At the airship <Fraxinus>.

"Don't you dare run away"

------Shidou POV------

---A few minutes ago---

Things turned out to be very bad.

Rimuru suddenly summoned her angel.

And then, Origami appeared and fought Rimuru.

Everything was too fast for Shidou and he was surprised by what was happened. 

And the next moment when he realized it, he was teleported back to <Fraxinus>

Immediately, Shidou ran straight to the control room.

The door leading to the control room opened and Shidou rushed in with a hurried voice.

"How's it going Kotori?"

As soon as he ran into the control room, he saw everyone with a tense expression on their faces.

Everyone is sitting in front of their work screen and constantly monitoring what is happening on the main screen.

Kotori was sitting quietly with a lollipop in her mouth.

Upon hearing Shidou's question just now, Kotori answered.

"As you can see, things are not going well" 

Kotori replied annoyed.

Shidou quickly turned his gaze to the main screen.

images of two girls can be seen fighting each other, And Shidou could recognize both of them.

Rimuru and Origami.....

And then he immediately widens his eyes.

"Origami!? How did she get here?"

"It's not just her."

Kotori grumble

He looked at the other monitors next to the main screen and he saw...

"AST!?" Shidou yells out in surprise.

"While we avoid the use of surveillance devices to avoid provoking <Destroyer>. AST somehow had detected her and proceeded to surround her."

"So that means...... Rimuru's tense attitude, The reason she summoned her angel was that..."

"That's right. She must have known about the AST and thought we were trying to kill her" 

Kotori said and sighed.

"It's all just a misunderstanding, right? Let's help Rimuru and explain it to her!"

Hearing Shidou's suggestion, Kotori turned to look at him with a face that said 'Are you stupid?'

But then, a voice came out.

"It's impossible."

That voice wasn't Kotori's but --- Reine voice.

"Why?"

Shidou spoke up, louder this time as his patience has run out.

Rimuru was being attacked, and the attacker was none other than Shidou's classmate, Origami.

He doesn't want any of them being hurt but at this rate...

"Calm down Shin"

Reine spoke up, making Shidou leave his thoughts.

Shidou looked up at Kotori with a pleading look, Kotori just sighed.

"It's impossible. Rimuru is now warier of you than ever."

"But..." Shidou was at a loss for words.

Indeed, this was no longer within Shidou's capability. Rimuru now considers him an enemy.

"If you go down there now, she'll kill you immediately, so we should retreat for now."

"But we can't just leave Rimuru like that."

"That's----"

Kotori wanted to explain something to Shidou but was interrupted by Kannazuki, vice-captain of the Fraxinus.

"We are detecting a large flow of energy."

Kannazuki's report came unexpectedly and completely caught off guard the entire crew.

"Kotori! Hurry up. Do something!" Shidou panicked.

"There's no need."

Reine suddenly spoke, her words caused everyone to be silent before...

*BOOM!!!!

A loud explosion was heard and echoed to the inside of the airship.

Shidou felt like his heart stopped beating for a few seconds. His whole body was stiff, and it wasn't just him.

Everyone aboard the <Fraxinus> remained silent and focused on the main screen.

The place where Rimuru was standing was covered with a cloud of thick smoke and dust.

Origami was pulled out of the blasts by her teammates from the AST.

The smoke layer was blown away like there was a strong wind.

And from there... Rimuru's figure could be seen.

She was now covered in her Astral dress and holding her angel <Chaos>.

Even though he couldn't see it clearly, Shidou still felt relieved knowing that Rimuru was safe.

"How did you know that Rimuru will be unharmed, Reine?" 

Kotori asked Reine after she had confirmed that Rimuru was safe.

"Rimuru can sense the space around her so she must have known the existence of such things before us, but she didn't try to avoid it so there must be some kind of plan."

"That's true... she can teleport out of there if she wants... Well done Reine"

Kotori said that with a look of satisfaction with Reine's explanation.

Shidou was impressed, As an analyst of Ratatoskr. Reine was able to stay calm and analyze the situation even in this situation.

"Okay, let's get out of here quickly."

Hearing Kotori's words, Shidou froze.

"Wait! But it's not over yet!"

Hearing Shidou's words, Kotori frowned and looked at him as if he had just said something strange.

"If a Spirit appeared and fought with AST, then how would you approach them?" Kotori suddenly asked with a serious face.

"Wait for the AST to be defeated, or charge in the middle of the fight..."

After Shidou's answer, Kotori nodded slightly, but her face remained serious.

"But--- Both of those things only work as long as the spirits don't see you as a danger. If you rush in now, there's a high chance you'll be in danger from both sides."

Kotori's words caused Shidou to narrow his eyes.

After Kotori made sure Shidou understood the situation he was in, she turned around and gave an order.

"Start the thruster, it's time for us to leave"

"Roger!"

The crew members answered in unison.

The crew of <Fraxinus> immediately returned to their control screens.

Shidou looked up at the main screen displaying Rimuru's image.

Suddenly something caught his attention.

The <Chaos> Angel in Rimuru's hand was... glowing?

The atmosphere on the <Fraxinus> suddenly became tense. It looks like others have noticed as well.

On the screen, Rimuru slowly swung her sword down. A flash of light quickly flew out with blinding brightness.

But what no one expected was...

That destructive light was heading toward them.

---END CHAP 7---