Unaware of Hinata’s inner screams, his hands moved away.
Reflexively, she pressed her own hands against her unbearably hot cheeks.
As if she didn’t want to let the heat from ■■■ person escape.
She slipped out of Ibuki’s arms and ran towards a nearby stall as if escaping.
Her stomach was still empty, but she needed to look at something, anything, or she felt she might lose her mind.
Without the luxury of choosing a store, she jumped at the nearest one, which turned out to be an accessory shop.
She just wanted to distract herself.
She couldn’t look at Ibuki.
With that single-minded focus, she browsed the accessories with unusual enthusiasm.
“Ah……”
This one is cute.
That one would suit Rui-chan.
This one looks good for Kushina-chan.
As she thought about such things, the heat finally started to subside.
“Hah……, thank good—”
“—Excuse me for a moment”
“Fueeeee!?!?”
She was about to say “thank goodness,” but…
She was trying to say it, but…!
Hinata’s small body was embraced from behind by ■■■ person.
As if hiding her from something, Hinata was completely enveloped in his arms.
“W-Wait, wait, onii san—”
“I’m sorry. But I want to stay like this for a little longer.”
“∼∼∼!!???!”
Whispered in her ear, Hinata went limp.
—It’s warm. It feels safe. I might melt.
—Ah, the smell of onii san’s house…….
Rendered helpless without much resistance, soon even her brain started to melt.
The stall owner’s eyes widened and his face turned red, but her own cheeks were probably even more flushed.
She didn’t know how many seconds had passed anymore.
She didn’t know.
How could she know, idiot.
Just as the old, surly Hinata started to show her face, he slowly pulled away.
“Phew, that was close.”
“∼∼∼∼! ∼∼∼!!!”
—This is more dangerous! W-What are you trying to do…!!
She twisted her body to escape from the loosened arms of ■■■ person.
Hinata pressed both hands against her chest, trying to calm her noisy heartbeat.
(I, I’m not…… I’m different……)
As she was struggling to hold back the ‘something’ welling up inside her,
“—Ah, they’re back already!?”
“Huh?”
“This way!”
With a panicked voice, he grabbed Hinata’s hand and started running.
—What now!? What’s going on!?
Already in a state of confusion, she was led into a nearby ■■■ building—.
And she saw the sign.
A sign for a hotel, with a somewhat stylish name written in garish pink letters.
“!!?!?!? T-This is, a L-Love…!?”
“………? Hinata-chan, what’s wro—”
“onii san, you idiooooot!!”
“Why!?”
Hinata ran away from the “hotel” with all her might.
“………………Why?”
Left behind, Ibuki looked at the sign Hinata had been staring at.
And he realized.
“Eek───!? This place…!”
Letting out a strained voice, he hurriedly left the building, chasing after Hinata’s retreating back.
And then,
“Wait, Hinata-chan! This is a misunderstand—”
“Oh, Is That So”
“——”
He remembered who he had been trying to escape from.
Stiffly, like a machine that had forgotten to be oiled, he looked up.
(Wow, I’ve never seen such a beautiful smile even in manga∼)
As the one-winged angel smiled, Ibuki tried to smile back.
“I’ll Kill You”
“——”
Ibuki ran away at full speed.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
“Alright, right on time”
At that moment, Shindou Isana finished clearing all the documents on her desk.
She then turned her chair around to look at the view outside the window, below.
“The Centennial Festival is in full swing. The time is noon, the witching hour when everyone’s guard is down. In other words—”
A cold smile, different from the one she shows her subordinates, appeared on her lips.
“Today, this very hour is the perfect time for an attack. —All personnel, focus!”
Her loud voice echoed through the conference room that occupied most of the floor.
In an instant, all the squad members present turned their eyes towards Isana—the Vice Branch Chief.
Facing their gazes, she turned around with a defiant, yet slightly soft smile.
“From now on, we’re entering a special alert status. Open communications with all squad members, including those on leave. —The festival is over.”
Almost simultaneously with this call to justice…
“Alright, it’s festival time, you bastards”
In a corner of a dark underground passage, a large man grinned ferociously.
“This time, our target is—Exia, the Winged Guardian”
In the previous attack at the shopping mall, they had suffered a bitter defeat trying to harm civilians with a small number of people.
Hence, the change in target.
This time, they would bring down both the scales and the angel.
“I haven’t been able to talk to 〈Divergence〉 since then, but it doesn’t matter if he’s not here. After all, this time—it’s everyone”
His low voice was transmitted through the communication device to the ears of all 50 members under 〈Gouki〉 throughout the city.
For them, it was indeed a festival.
However, that festival was—.
“The beginning of a bloodbath, you winged insects”
Sakuramura, Northeast District.
This area, usually a high-class residential district, was caught up in the excitement of the Centennial Festival.
The main streets were lined with relatively expensive shops, and the people walking by were dressed accordingly well.
Six Exia, were watching over this cityscape.
They were patrolling with three times the usual number of personnel.
The six people, each patrolling separate positions, simultaneously received a communication.
[Orders from the Vice Branch Chief, please transition to special alert status effective immediately. I repeat—]
“Orders… now…?”
Looking around, all they could see were peaceful scenes.
While questioning the timing, they were about to regroup into pairs for the alert status—which meant avoiding solo action—when suddenly…
“………..?”
Two person had just passed by. The moment they went behind the exia, she felt a strange sensation, as if her body was being pulled backward without any wind, or as if she was being drawn into a distorted space.
When she turned around without thinking,
“Wha…!?”
There stood the two men in black robes, her sworn enemies.
Before she could even prepare herself, she felt an impact as if she had been struck by something.
In an instant, she was blown away and slammed against a wall.
“Gah…ah!”
Unable to brace herself, she lost consciousness.
The area erupted into chaos as people saw the fallen champion of justice crumple to the ground.
The two men who had done this smirked and vanished amidst the confusion.
Similar incidents were occurring throughout the city.
In one location, one Exia, was suddenly engulfed in a water sphere and collapsed, unable to breathe.
In almost the opposite district, another Exia was trapped by flames and buried alive under falling debris.
Those who immediately followed orders were able to confront the attackers head-on, but most were slow to react, caught up in the festive atmosphere.
In the command room, where damage reports were pouring in incessantly, Vice Commander Isana frowned.
“…They’re only targeting one half of each pair.”
The partners system of Exia, weren’t just paired for show.
While some pairs, like the genius duo Hinata and Rui, were formed with minimal weaknesses and a focus on personal compatibility, they were the minority.
Usually, pairs were formed to complement each other’s Lux (divine gift) and Umbra (sacrifice) abilities in battle.
Normally, the [Prim Libra] operated in strict pairs, but the newly established Tenth Branch had fewer members.
Additionally, due to the ongoing festival, patrol areas had been expanded, forcing them to split up the pairs and assign six people to cover each district.
“The enemy consists of pairs of men. With over 20 locations attacked, they must be members of the ‘Iron Demon’ Gouki faction. It’s fortunate they’re not cooperating with other factions. However, if the attacks drag on, other factions may join in. Especially the smaller splinter factions, they certainly will. In that case—”
Isana closed her eyes, muttering to herself as she assessed the situation.
Then, with a single nod, she said:
“Open communications between the six members assigned to each district. And—order them not to regroup.”
“Not to regroup, ma’am?”
“That’s right. Tell them to maintain an appropriate distance as they move. The moment the enemy takes the bait, the remaining four or five members will strike. There’s no need to rush. We still have the numerical advantage. Calmly, coldly, ruthlessly, we’ll defeat them with certainty using our superior numbers.”
“…!”
The staff members gasped at the Vice Commander’s unwavering instructions,
given barely a minute after the first large-scale attack since the branch’s establishment.
It was far beyond what they could have imagined from her usual demeanor.
“Relay the orders immediately.”
“—Understood!”
The communication staff began to move in unison, filled with a strange sense of exhilaration.
And so, the large-scale attack on Sakuramura began to take on a back-and-forth dynamic.
For every Exia that fell, several Exia would subdue the two villains responsible, albeit with some casualties.
This situation was also communicated to the off-duty Exia members, with real-time battle reports being relayed.
—Of course, this included Hinata Soehi.
[Due to the emergency, off-duty members are also requested to engage—Soehi, do you copy?]
“………..”
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