The Element Powder Control system was a weapon developed by analyzing Boss’s abilities. The core technology was based on Boss’s previous act of normalizing spirit power. Its effect was to temporarily return all spirit power in the vicinity to normal.

It also blocked and rendered useless Harkein’s Demonization system, which distorted spirit power and turned it into demonic energy. It was a sneaky system that could cancel transformations.

“Sure, 1,200 years ago we got our tails kicked, but we’re not making the same mistake this time-usa yo! Demon Powder is a relic of the past. Eliminate all enemies-usa yo!”

Maa laughed with an ‘uhaha’, twitched its nose, and gave the order to exterminate the enemy… However, noticing that the enemy captain was still surrounded by demonic energy, Maa tilted its head in wonder and squeaked.

“Huh? Why hasn’t that demon’s demonic energy disappeared-usa? Did I not push the button hard enough? Should I hit it from a 45-degree angle-usa?”

Maa pressed the button repeatedly, using the Element Powder Control over and over, but no matter how much the power was normalized, the captain didn’t return to his human form, continuing to transform instead.

The captain’s body swelled with a creaking sound, absorbing the demon armor and fusing with it. His body became covered in jet-black fur, his ears stretched upright, and a fox tail sprouted. His hands grew claws curved like sickles, similar to those used for cutting grass.

“Kukuku, looks like you’ve made some progress too. But we haven’t just been sleeping all this time either. Do you get it, ghost runt?” 

Once the transformation was complete, a jet-black fox stood there. He clenched his fist, satisfied with his own strength, and his toothy grin stretched wide, laughing menacingly.

“Kyuuu! He turned into a demon-usa! This isn’t what we were told-usa yo!”

“It seems the staff officers have evolved from [Half-Demon Fusion] to [Demon Fusion]. Advancing the fusion with Demon Powder in just 1,200 years is quite impressive, even for Harkein.” (Mira)

Mira said this indifferently, while Maa protested with squeaks. Even though it was unexpected, Mira remained calm, as if thinking, “Well, such things happen”, and looked slightly excited.

“Demon Fusion was supposed to be general level-usa! I didn’t expect a staff officer to become a demon-usa yo. Can we retreat?”

“No. Besides, I don’t think you’d be able to escape. Do your best. If you win, Pla-san will make you a carrot cake.”

“Kyu! That’s such a cheap reward-usa!”

Maa squeaked in despair, but the enemy wasn’t going to wait. The fox man took a stance and began gathering mana after finishing his transformation.

“I am Major Chefei of the 21st Special Force. Ghosts, etch the terror into your souls as you die.”

[Foxfire Frenzy]

Chefei introduced himself and summoned foxfire around him. Nearly ten flames appeared, black and ominous in color.

“Kuh! We can’t overlook Harkein’s illegal actions-usa!”

Maa abandoned any thoughts of retreat and readied the Rabbi Rapier. There was no turning back at this point. They had to fight.

The rapier glowed as beams shot toward Chefei. He dodged them easily, but Maa kept firing, anticipating his movements.

However, Chefei evaded them with ease just as the shots were about to hit, closing in at a speed far beyond that of the previous soldiers. His ability to dodge effortlessly showed vividly the difference in power.

“Leave the soldiers to the Tagyo squad. Magyo squad, attack that demon all at once-usa!”

Maa gave orders to its subordinates. They surrounded Chefei with all units and began firing in unison.

But Chefei flew through the air like an arrow, weaving between the beams shot by Maa and the others. He spread foxfire while at it.

“Feel the power of demons!”

[Foxfire Arrows]

The foxfire transformed into arrows, flying through the air at high speeds and piercing through the Gunrabbis of the Magyo squad. Although they tried to block them with shields or dodge, the speed of the arrows was too much for the Gunrabbis, and the power easily tore through their spirit barriers like paper.

“I wasn’t a lucky rabbit after all-usa~”

“Kyu~! Pain is not fun!”

“We can’t catch up~”

Explosions echoed as the Gunrabbis were blown apart and destroyed. In a single move, Chefei had turned the tide of the battle, and the Magyo squad was completely wiped out.

“Kuh! Even though demons lose their minds and become nothing but raging beasts in the end! This is dangerous-usa. Shouldn’t you stop transforming-usa?” (Maa)

Maa tried to reason with him, sending a communication saying that it would forgive Chefei if he undid the demonization. However, Chefei merely snorted in contempt, looking down at Maa.

“Hah, and who are you to talk? You ghost who became an Artificial Spirit in pursuit of immortality. You’ve lost your sense of self and became mere weapons! You are the crazed ones!” (Chefei)

“We volunteered to preserve the peace of the world-usa yo! So that this world doesn’t fall to demons!” (Maa)

“Then next time, bring better gear. Later, ghost!” (Chefei)

Chefei swung his claws, closing the distance to Maa in an instant. Maa raised its rapier to counter, but in a flash, Chefei disappeared and then reappeared right in front of Maa.

“What?! Teleportation?” (Maa)

“You can’t keep up with my speed!” (Chefei)

Chefei closed the distance so fast that even the Gunrabbi’s radar couldn’t track him. Maa’s attempt to counter with the rapier was too slow, and Chefei’s claws were about to pierce the cockpit. Maa braced for death… 

But right before the claws reached the armor, Chefei suddenly spun backward.

A shimmering crystal-like beam of energy passed through the space where Chefei had just been.

Maa sniffled and pouted.

“Mimi, you’re late-usa!” (Maa)

“But~ Mimi wanted to add more parts to her Gunrabbi.” (Mimi)

A drowsy voice responded from above, as reinforcements arrived.

Mimi’s heavily armed Gunrabbi descended from the sky, wielding a massive energy cannon unlike any the others have.

◇◇

The crystal-like beam faded into the sky and Chefei glared at the new enemy.

“Tch, more ghosts? How many of you are there? You’re like annoying bugs!” (Chefei)

“Mimi isn’t a ghost, but a rabbit-usa~. And with this Mimi Custom Gunrabbi, I am going to take you down~.” (Mimi)

Mimi replied in her usual carefree tone in response to Chefei’s insults.

Her Gunrabbi was equipped with six missile pods on each shoulder, and the thrusters were not winged, but a backpack-type with a large engine. This setup gave it high acceleration but made it harder to maneuver. Something only a skilled bunny like Mimi could handle.

In her hands was the massive energy cannon, the Carrot Buster, powered by the large engine, significantly boosting its spirit-light output.

Mimi sat neatly in her seat, and quickly assessed the situation displayed on the monitor.

“The fight with the regular soldiers is fine. The problem is the demon. What kind of demon is it? If I knew the type, I could handle it better… A fox demon? Oh well.” (Mimi)

She gripped the lever, and deftly pressed the buttons on her console. The monitor displayed the remaining missiles and their attributes, and without hesitation, Mimi inputted her command.

“First, I need to take out those foxfires.” (Mimi)

[Missile Attribute Change: Blizzard]

Firing up her custom Gunrabbi’s thrusters, she moved sharply into position and locked onto the foxfires.

“Multi-lock, missile launch~” (Mimi)

Two missiles fired from her shoulders, heading straight for the foxfires attacking the Gunrabbis. The missiles exploded in midair, releasing a blizzard that scattered shimmering ice crystals. The snow, sharp like blades, extinguished the foxfires.

“Unyu~ Let’s finish off the rest~” (Mimi)

Mimi zoomed through the air at full throttle, aiming the Carrot Buster on the remaining foxfires. With a swing, she wiped them out one by one.

[Corrupted Foxfire]

Pitch-black flames rose from behind Mimi, threatening to engulf her. She glanced back, spun her Gunrabbi, and tapped the keys quickly.

She fired missiles into the approaching flames, creating a barrier of ice to block them. The clash of fire and ice produced steam, clouding the sky and filling the area with mist. The high concentration of spirit power disabled the radar, and the monitor was filled with static.

“Enemy prediction~, take that~” (Mimi)

However, Mimi calmly predicted the enemy’s movements and fired the Carrot Buster. Guessing the enemy’s location in an environment with no visibility was one of Mimi’s special skills.

The steam was blown away by the energy of the Buster, and she caught a glimpse of Chefei being hit.

The steam quickly filled the area again, obscuring her vision, but Mimi felt a solid hit.

“I don’t think I took him down, but it should’ve been a big hit. Hm?” (Mimi)

“Not bad, ghost! You must’ve been an ace back in the day!” (Chefei)

Chefei emerged from the steam, slashing through it with his claws, sporting a vicious, amused grin. Mimi tried to evade, but the long Carrot Buster hindered her movements, and Chefei’s claws severed the barrel of the gun.

Mimi threw aside the now-useless Carrot Buster, and quickly tapped the keyboard.

[Missile attribute change: Needle Rain.]

“It’s weird that he’s unscathed…” (Mimi)

Mimi moved on to her next action even if puzzled. She launched the remaining missiles at the approaching Chefei. The missiles left behind a trail of smoke as they flew, and they scattered fine silver needles like rain upon exploding mid-air, attacking Chefei.

“What a troublesome attack!” (Chefei)

Chefei cursed as he leapt backward, accelerating just before the needles hit, using rapid speed changes and sharp maneuvers to avoid most of them.

Though most of her close-range area attacks had been dodged, Mimi, slightly disappointed, pressed a switch on the lever.

“Shoulder missile purge. Thruster angle adjustment. Elevation angle, 38 degrees. Engine output limit release.” (Mimi)

The Custom Gunrabbi’s shoulder missiles were purged, and the output limit of the backpack-like engine was released, allowing it to exceed its normal limits.

Mimi confirmed that Chefei had stopped for a moment to turn towards her, and she yanked the lever hard.

“I’ll take you down with a charge~” (Mimi)

[Striker]

Pulling out the Rabbi Rapier, spirit energy exploded from the thrusters in the form of particles, exceeding the limits of the inertia nullification system. Mimi’s body was pressed against her seat as the Custom Gunrabbi accelerated.

The Custom Gunrabbi charged toward Chefei like a speeding arrow. The engine began to explode in small bursts, and alerts flooded the monitor, signaling it was reaching its limits, but she didn’t care.

“Take that~!” (Mimi)

Chefei, never expecting her to charge while wrecking the engine, was frozen in shock as the Rabbi Rapier pierced through his body.

The energy stored in the Rabbi Rapier was released, flowing into Chefei’s body. His demon form exploded with a look of astonishment and…

Vanished like smoke.

“Hm? Hmhm?” (Mimi)

Mimi gasped, certain it hadn’t been an illusion. But Chefei’s claws suddenly pierced the Custom Gunrabbi from behind her.

“It was close, but it seems you don’t understand the power of a demon.” (Chefei)

The heavily wounded Chefei had reappeared behind her, and with sharp claws that slashed like the wind, he cut off the limbs of the Custom Gunrabbi, and…

“You can’t go around bullying my Mimi like that!”

A man’s voice rang out, and Chefei was suddenly pulled by the legs and thrown toward the ground with the force of a meteor.

Chefei, who had begun to float, crashed violently onto the deck of Forneus, letting out a pained gasp from the impact.

“Kuh! Who are you? A human?” (ChefeI)

Chefei looked up angrily and saw a man descending toward him.

“My name is Michibiki, a hunter from the Hunter Guild. It seems you are the guys that have been poaching someone else’s quest.” 

Michibiki stood coolly on the deck, flashing a fearless grin at Chefei.

Normally, this would have been a cool scene, but Mimi popped out of the heavily damaged Custom Gunrabbi and landed on Michibiki’s head, making the scene feel a bit more heartwarming.

Previous Chapter l Next Chapter