Kamen Rider Date A Live

Page 20

In fact, Ms. Xiaozhu's clumsy actions not only did not increase the students' anxiety, but also eased their tension.

At that moment, Shido suddenly remembered something, then took his phone out of his pocket. Seeing this, Tonomachi couldn't help but ask him a question.

"What's wrong, Itsuki?"

"It's nothing, I just suddenly thought of something."

He gave a vague answer, selecting "Kotori Itsuka" from his list of answered calls and dialing the number. But he couldn't get through, no matter how many times he tried.

"...I can't get through. Did that guy obediently go to take refuge?"

As long as she hasn't left the school, there shouldn't be any problems, but... if she has already left the school and is on her way to the family restaurant, then there is danger.

No! There should be a public shelter nearby. Logically speaking, Kotori should be fine, but... Shido couldn't shake the unease in his heart.

'That Kotori girl, she's probably taken refuge properly, she probably won't keep that promise...'

"Absolutely! Absolutely! It's a promise! Even if a spacequake occurs, I absolutely have to come!"

That morning, Kotori's words to herself—"You absolutely have to keep your promise!"—echoed in her mind, continuing to reverberate.

"Oh...oh dear! Although she said she would keep her promise even if a spacequake occurred...she shouldn't be that stupid...Hmm! That's right, there's this trick too!"

If I remember correctly, Kotori's phone should have a service that supports GPS location confirmation. When you turn on the phone, a street map and a red icon will appear on the screen.

"—!!!"

Upon seeing this, Shido couldn't help but gasp! The icon representing Kotori's location was now directly in front of the agreed-upon family restaurant!

"That idiot..."

Shido cursed under his breath, turned off his phone without clearing the image, and slipped out of the student line.

"Hey, hey! Where are you going? Gokho!"

"Sorry, I forgot to bring something! You can go ahead!"

Shido ignored Tonomachi's voice and ran against the flow of the group towards the exit. He quickly changed into his outdoor shoes and, almost stumbling forward, ran out of the school gate, his steps unsteady as he descended the slope in front of the school.

"...Tsk, most ordinary people would probably seek refuge in this situation...!"

Shido ran at top speed, shouting as if he wanted to shout out all the unease in his heart.

The Fifth Covenant: The Awakening of Light (1)

A chilling scene unfolded before my eyes: roads without vehicles, streets without pedestrians, roads, parks, convenience stores—completely devoid of any human presence.

Until just now, there were clearly signs of human activity, but now only the sense of life remains, and people have disappeared into the streets... It's like a scene from a horror movie.

Since the major air disaster thirty years ago, Tiangong City has been cautiously replanning its urban development in response to the problem of space earthquakes, to the point of almost being neurotic! Not to mention the undergrounding of public facilities, the rate of shelter coverage for ordinary families is also the highest in the country.

Furthermore… due to the recent frequent space earthquakes—the speed of residents' evacuation has become even faster, however…

"How can there be such an idiot who stays in the same place?!"

Shido ran while cursing, and opened his phone again. The icon showing Kotori's location was still in front of the family restaurant, without moving at all.

Shido made up his mind to punish Kotori with "flicking her forehead" and continued to move quickly toward the family restaurant.

Without conserving any energy, I just kept running as fast as I could towards the family restaurant. My feet started to ache, my fingers started to go numb, I felt something stuck in my throat, I was dizzy, and my mouth became dry. It felt like my body would collapse on the road at any moment.

But Shido didn't stop! Completely oblivious to danger and fatigue, he only wanted to get to Kotori's side as quickly as possible, so he ran nonstop—

Then--

"……Well--?"

As Shido ran, he looked up at the sky. In the farthest distance of his vision, there seemed to be something moving.

"What is that...?"

Shido frowned.

Are there three in total... or four? Something that looks like a human figure gradually appears in the sky.

However, Shido didn't immediately realize that the thing flying in the sky was actually a human figure, because...

"Whoa!!"

Shido instinctively covered his eyes. The street he was walking in was suddenly enveloped in a dazzling purple light. Immediately afterward, a deafening explosion and a violent shockwave struck Shido directly!

"What……"

Shido reflexively raised his arm to rub his face, then tried to steady himself... but it was all in vain. Sweeped by wind pressure equivalent to a strong typhoon, Shido finally lost his balance and fell backward.

"It hurts...what's going on..."

He rubbed his eyes, which were still seeing stars, and stood up.

"what--?"

Then, upon seeing the scene before him, Shido let out a short cry, because... the street, which had been within his sight until just moments before, vanished without a trace the instant Shido closed his eyes.

"Wh...what? What's going on..."

Stunned and muttering to himself—this is neither a metaphor nor a joke.

The scene was like a meteorite crash… no! Strictly speaking, it was more like the ground had been completely hollowed out! The streetscape had been carved into a shallow, narrow windowpane, a desolate expanse of light, a scene of utter devastation.

"what is that?"

Because it was viewed from a distance, it wasn't very clear—but the shape looked a lot like the throne that appears in RPG games.

But that's not the point.

The key point is that there is a girl dressed in strange clothes standing next to the throne with her feet on the armrest.

"Why...why is that girl there?"

Although one could only vaguely see the other person's deep purple hair and purple battle dress that radiated an incredible light, it was certain that the other person was indeed a girl.

Then, the girl slowly turned her head and suddenly faced Shido.

"Ok?"

It seems... they've sensed Shido's presence? Because the distance is too great, it's impossible to confirm.

However, just as Shido was deep in thought, the girl made another move. With slow and delicate movements, she grasped the handle-like object extending from the back of the throne and slowly pulled it out.

It was a... greatsword with a wide blade that shone with a dreamlike brilliance like rainbows and stars. It was as thin as a cicada's wing, and the grooves on the blade constantly flowed with liquid-like energy, making it look incredibly incredible.

The girl raised her sword high above her head, drawing a trail that shimmered with a hazy light.

Then--

"Huh...!"

The girl swung her sword vertically towards Shido, and instantly a powerful energy slash several meters high grazed Shido's body, striking a six-story building behind him that was already riddled with holes. The building instantly turned into flames and dust, and several seconds later, a thunderous sound of collapse echoed from behind Shido.

Shido was completely caught off guard by all of this, staring blankly at the girl's actions.

“Eek…!” Shido’s heart clenched with an overwhelming sense of fear that defied comprehension.

I can't understand it!

The only thing that can be confirmed is that if that slash had been slightly modified, I would have instantly turned into molecules like the building behind me!

"Are you... are you kidding me?!"

Shido dragged his limp back backward. He had to escape this place and get as far away as possible as quickly as possible!

but……

"...Are you... too?"

"...?"

A weary voice came from above, and my vision was a beat behind my thoughts. The girl who wasn't here a second ago was suddenly standing in front of me.

That's right, she is—the girl who was just standing in the center of the meteorite crater!

"what--"

Shido reflexively cried out.

The other person looked to be around the same age as Shido, or a little younger.

Her deep purple hair, almost reaching her knees, combined with her cute and innocent yet majestic appearance.

At the center of this face sits a pair of eyes that radiate an incredible light, like crystals illuminated by various colored light sources from different angles.

Her attire was also quite peculiar, a purple dress made of some unknown material, whether fabric or metal, resembling a princess gown... or more accurately, a battle dress.

As for the seams, lining, and hem of that garment, they were made of an incredible, non-material light membrane.

Then, she held in her hand a giant sword that was almost as tall as herself.

An abnormal situation.

A unique charm.

A unique existence.

Every aspect of it deeply attracted Shido's attention.

but……

Ah, but...

The reasons that attracted Shido's attention were not tainted by anything impure.

"——"

In an instant—

Shido forgot his fear of death, forgot to breathe, and stared intently at the girl in front of him.