"This is... the kabbalah tree of life? Ahahaha~ I didn't expect such a pleasant surprise. To let me see something so interesting, it seems that the immense pressure we put on Hermit has caused a powerful change in her. Let me see how things will develop, and whether you are worthy of me going to such great lengths." Westcott looked at the changes happening to Yoshino without any sense of urgency, instead laughing loudly, seemingly feeling very pleased.
"Ah~ what a beautiful tree. The ten particles on it refer to the ten confirmed Spirits, and the twenty-two paths are the path to godhood, right? If I'm not mistaken, those nine light points that just flew towards Hermit should be the powers of the other nine Spirits. Now with the power of the kabbalah tree of life, she should have a chance to destroy the satellite, right?" Westcott looked at the ancient yet sacred tree shadow, momentarily tempted by the power it contained. He was now eager to capture Yoshino.
"Lord Westcott, do we need to activate our plan immediately? The deployment is complete, and Ratatoskr's people have not discovered our plan. I repeat, do we need to activate our plan ahead of schedule?" The detector asked Westcott. She had already placed her hand on the pre-prepared red button; as soon as Westcott said yes, she would press it immediately. This would activate DEM's final plan in just a few seconds.
"No, the current situation of the opponent is not suitable for activating the plan. You must know that even the kabbalah tree of life has appeared now; using it in this situation would be absolutely useless." Shaking his head, Westcott stopped her satellite. Although he was crazy, that didn't mean he was an idiot. In this situation, it was clear that any attack made by his side would have no effect on her. You must know that it was the legendary kabbalah tree of life, an existence that human technology could not contend with at its current level.
"Then... are we canceling this operation, Lord Westcott? We've been preparing for this plan for so long... If we cancel, I'm afraid other high-ranking DEM personnel will have opinions about you." The detector frowned and said. You must know that this operation was carried out by Westcott against the opposition of all high-ranking personnel. For this operation, DEM lost two satellites and a large number of large Realizers. If they chose to give up now, those high-ranking officials who had opinions about Westcott would definitely use this to speak out, and his position might then be in danger.
"No, there's no need to cancel. It's just a gamble! I'm betting that this is Hermit's first time acquiring this power, and she can't master it skillfully. Even if she is a Spirit, it's impossible for her to master this 'god's' power! I'll bet that after she uses this power, she will fall into a weakened state for a period of time, and that will be our good opportunity to act! Now, give the order to all members to constantly monitor Hermit's situation, and not miss any opportunity!" Westcott commanded. To be honest, he wasn't worried about what she said. He wasn't one of those high-ranking officials who only knew how to sit in their positions and order others around. And he was indeed gambling. If he could obtain the power of a Spirit, then everything would be worth it. If he failed, then he would be hostile to the Spirits, and no one would be able to save him then.
"Yes!" Hearing Westcott's order, the detector quickly relayed it. Westcott kept observing the changes happening to Yoshino on the screen. The white light appearing on her body should have nothing to do with the kabbalah tree of life. What exactly was it? And what meaning did it hold?
"Zadkiel? Why did you come out?" Yoshino looked at Zadkiel, who appeared before her, and asked in confusion. She hadn't summoned Zadkiel for help, so why did she come out on her own? The feeling Zadkiel gave Yoshino now was like the Main Body appearing; that sacred power slowly calmed Yoshino's anxious heart. The black and red Spirit Power on her body also slowly receded due to the surrounding white light.
Because Zadkiel concealed her figure, neither DEM, who was monitoring the area, nor Ratatoskr saw her appearance. All they could see was Yoshino glowing, as if the energy on Yoshino's body was resonating with the kabbalah tree of life.
"Hehe~ I appeared this time so that you can be in a good enough state to accept the power of the kabbalah tree of life, my cute guardian. If you hadn't used forbidden sorcery to drain all your spirit power before, you would have been able to withstand the energy of the kabbalah tree of life even without my appearance. But because you used forbidden sorcery, the moment the energy of the kabbalah tree of life enters your body, your damaged body wouldn't be able to support it. So I'm here now to help you resolve this situation."
Zadkiel said to Yoshino with a smile, feeling a bit helpless about her using forbidden sorcery to fight the satellite. But this was exactly what the fourth sephirah: mercy would do. As her Guardian Angel, she had no reason to blame her; her task was to silently protect her from behind.
"I'm sorry, Yoshino was willful and used forbidden sorcery to increase her spirit power. But Yoshino doesn't regret it! If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have been able to stop the satellite from falling! If I hadn't done that, there would have been no hope at all!" At that time, the entire Tengu City would be razed to the ground by the meteor impact, leading to widespread devastation!
"You don't need to apologize, guardian. My task as your Guardian Angel has always been to silently protect you from behind, and it's my only task. Time is running out now; the kabbalah tree of life is about to gather energy for you. Although this isn't the original Tree of Life, the energy contained within it is more than what you can currently bear. guardian, you must cooperate with me well in a moment, and then I will be able to temporarily grant you my power." Looking at the increasingly bright kabbalah tree of life, Zadkiel realized that time was short, and now was not the time for talking. Action must be taken immediately.
"What should I do? How do I cooperate with you?" Yoshino asked, a little confused. You haven't told me what to do, so how can I cooperate?
"Well... you just need to do nothing." At this, a slight blush appeared on Zadkiel's face. Then she came in front of Yoshino, "As an angel, I've never done anything like this before. I really don't know what the angel who set up this Magic Formula was thinking at the time? But if the target is the guardian, I have no objections. Rather, it's great that the target is the guardian, you know I've always been watching when the guardian does things like this normally."
"What?" Watching me do what every day? Yoshino was confused by her words; what did she do every day that would make an angel blush? Her small mind quickly went through the things she did every day, and after quickly eliminating many options, images of her being kissed by Toujou Nozomi and the others for various reasons quickly appeared in her mind. Her pale face instantly flushed, and she also understood why Zadkiel was so close to her. But you're an angel! How can you do such a thing?
"Hehe~ It seems you've figured it out, how cute. Although this is a bit of an invasion of the guardian's privacy, because of Astaroth, she and I usually watch Master. It's just that every time it's the same scene, and after a long time, I've become curious as to why you all like to do such things." After speaking, she leaned close to Yoshino's face, the distance between them becoming only a few centimeters, filling Yoshino's vision with her figure. "The activation condition for this Magic Formula is this, so I apologize for the offense."
After she finished speaking, the distance between them became zero. Zadkiel, experiencing this sensation for the first time, trembled as if struck by electricity, and the inexplicable feeling in her heart made her feel novel. Although it was strange, she liked this feeling. However, now was not the time to experience such things; the Magic Formula had to be activated quickly. Zadkiel transformed into dazzling light and merged into Yoshino's body through her lips.
"Tsk! Although I know why this guy is doing this, I still feel very annoyed. Although I want to say I can do it too, this time it's the kabbalah tree of life that appeared. If I went out, I would be annihilated. If it were the inverse kabbalistic tree of evil, it would be great; then I could do this to Master. A bit of a pity." Astaroth, inside Yoshino's body, said somewhat unhappily when she saw this scene. But now she could only watch enviously; she would still have a chance later anyway.
This time, after Zadkiel merged into Yoshino's body, Yoshino's body began to react. It was as if time accelerated, instantly transforming from a loli figure to a maiden figure, and then immediately from a maiden figure to an older sister figure. Her temperament also became incredibly sacred after merging with Zadkiel, and her body began to emit dazzling light, illuminating the surrounding darkness.
"Yoshino, this is... growing up? Could it be..." The girls watching all this on Ratatoskr showed confused expressions, then, thinking of something, they all looked at Natsumi. They all knew that Natsumi's Guardian Angel: Haniel, the Fake Witch, had the ability to change the appearance of people or objects, including herself, with the light from its lantern. They suspected that Yoshino's growth was Natsumi's doing, and only she could do such a thing.
"You! Why are you all looking at me?! I've only done something like this to Yoshino once, last time on Mikutama Island! This isn't my doing! Don't look at me!" Natsumi, feeling creeped out by the stares, yelled at everyone. However, she didn't realize that her outburst exposed a secret she had been hiding.
"Natsumi, you just said you did something like this to Yoshino on Mikutama Island. If I'm not mistaken, the only time you two were alone together was when you went to the hot springs. Can you tell me what you did to Yoshino when you did that to her?" Minami Kotori came in front of Natsumi, holding her shoulders and looking at her with a smile. However, her aura of black energy and the ghost mask appearing behind her made Natsumi's body tremble. She felt that if she didn't answer well, she might just "GG."
'What should I do! Do I have to say: I did something very bad to Yoshino? She won't let me off.' A frightened Natsumi looked at her other accomplice, Toujou Nozomi, but this only made Minami Kotori understand more. Toujou Nozomi was already patting her forehead with a wry smile, was this a case of a useless teammate?
"Oh? I didn't expect Nozomi to participate too? Can you explain it to me? Don't the 'Muse' members have no secrets among themselves? Don't you think you should tell me properly?" Minami Kotori followed Natsumi's gaze to the uneasy Toujou Nozomi and immediately understood what had happened.
"That..."
"Wait a minute! Yoshino is starting to change, meow!" As Toujou Nozomi was about to explain, Hoshizora Rin's voice came, drawing everyone's attention to the big screen.
'Phew~ It seems I've temporarily escaped, I didn't expect the usually gentle Kotori to have such a terrifying aura when it comes to Yoshino.' Looking at the distracted Minami Kotori, Toujou Nozomi breathed a sigh of relief. Even she found it hard to explain this matter, but now with a buffer of time, she could think of many reasons to explain (or trick) Minami Kotori about that incident.
Then she looked at Yoshino on the big screen. Just as Hoshizora Rin said, the older sister-state Yoshino was undergoing changes, making everyone in the bridge widen their eyes in shock.
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