Still holding up the card to his face and staring at it, he thought the word 'yes' .
Instantly, another cone of light-blue light shot out of his eyes.
In his vision, he saw a large square that slowly began filling from the top with the image, like a printer.
As it did, the image in the card appeared as a light-blue, 3-D wireframe.
When it was finished, the figure rotated a few times in the square.
The System's voice rang in his head.
[Scan complete. The System will now use the host's memories and subconscious in conjunction with the scanned image to create the second Video Summon Race. Please give this race a Name.]
As the rectangle with dashes appeared, he smirked.
"Harpie" He replied, watching as the bar filled itself, displaying the word "Harpie".
The System's "confirmation" sound was heard, and a new System screen appeared.
[Registration Complete. The Summon Race Harpie has been added to your Video Summon Arsenal.]
"Open Summon Tab." Tsukuru ordered.
Instantly, the screen labeled "Summon Races" opened up in front of him.
He noticed that the screen now had two rectangles, both filled.
Each square showed the image of the face of each Video Summon Race.
As he pressed the second square, a System message appeared.
[Would you like to create a Harpie? Costs 2 Summon Points.
Summon Points: 2
[Yes] [No] ]
Tsukuru kissed his teeth in annoyance.
"The last one only cost one Summon Point!" He muttered, as he pressed "Yes".
Like before, Tsukuru's vision faded to black.
Then, he saw the same animation as before, a magic circle with a sword hovering over it.
The sword split into five, which all shot down into one of the magic circle's smaller circles.
The swords all shattered into pixels, and the magic circle began to light up.
Light-blue pixels began to appear, floating above the surface of the circle.
The pixels began to cluster together and take shape, the pixels built onto each other, building up from the bottom and going upwards, like a 3-D printer.
As they built on top of each other, a figure similar to the image in the card appeared.
As the pixels reached the very top of her head, the flash of blue light appeared, temporarily obscuring Tsukuru's vision.
When it faded, the figure came into view.
She was a few inches shorter than Layla, with pale, blue skin, and long, red hair that reached down to her waist.
She also had green eyes, and pointed ears like an elf.
Her gymnast leotard appeared to be ripped and torn in various spots, showing wear and tear, with the right strap of her leotard completely snapped, causing the leotard's top to droop down at a curve, exposing the entirety of her sternum, and the top half of her right breast.
The true "uncanny valley"-ness of Tsukuru's Summons was made apparent with this Summon.
Unlike the Haunted Knight, who was a suit of armor, the Harpie didn't look like a creature that naturally existed at all.
She looked like a 3-D model of a character from an anime video game.
She initially appeared with her arms crossed over her chest, causing her wings to fall down over her like a cloak.
She then leaped high into the air, her arms and wings spread like a soaring eagle.
She let out a cry that sounded like the combination of a humanoid and a bird.
The gravely, masculine "announcer" voice rang out.
"You have created a Harpie!" The voice announced.
Tsukuru's vision then returned to the forest.
As he looked around, a new System screen appeared in front of him.
[You have successfully created a Pawn Grade Harpie. 1 Pawn Grade Harpie has been added to your Video Summon Arsenal.]
Tsukuru stared at the System message.
'Wait, don't I normally get some Beast Gear when I make a Summon?' He thought.
He then glanced to the side.
"Though…I guess she wasn't wearing any armor to begin with." He muttered.
With the Haunted Knight, it made sense, as she was literally made of Beast Gear.
Tsukuru was broken from his musings, as he heard footsteps approaching.
He quickly put the "Harpie Lady" card back in the binder, and zipped it shut.
He then imagined placing the binder back in his System's Inventory, and it vanished, breaking apart into pixels.
A few minutes ago…
Raten walked through the base into the park with the forest connected to it.
The whole time, Raten's thoughts elsewhere.
"What was that?" Vorden asked within the dark space within his mind.
Raten glanced back at him from his spot in the chair.
"Must be a new Skill." Raten grumbled. "You can always ask him later."
Raten emphasized the word "you", as Vorden was the "designated driver" of their body.
Soon, the tall trees of the forest came into view.
As he came closer to the forest, Raten saw somebody leaning against a tree, almost as if she was waiting for him.
Raten recognized this woman instantly.
She was Tsukuru's older sister, the Sergeant, Hikiko Shizuka.
The same woman Tsukuru had taken Vorden to when they were looking into Layla.
Shizuka looked at Raten with a smirk.
"So, he invited you too, huh?" She asked, amused.
Shizuka and Raten exchanged looks, before they both walked into the clearing.
As they entered, they saw Tsukuru doing something on the floor.
However, due to his back being to them, they couldn't see what.
Soon, Tsukuru got up, and turned to face them. Raten crossed his arms.
"Alright, I'm here." He growled. "So, what's your big plan to get back at that asshole who made Quinn bleed?"
Shizuka glanced over at Raten, who she knew as "Vorden".
Tsukuru turned to Shizuka.
"Did you bring the photo?" He asked.
Shizuka flashed a predatory smirk.
"Of course." She replied.
She reached into her pocket, and pulled out a photo of Brandon.
"Right here." She replied, waving it in the air between her fingers.
Raten tried to see the photo, but Shizuka was standing in a position where he couldn't see it clearly.
Tsukuru smirked.
"Good." He replied.
He turned back around, and held his arm out, hand extended.
"Summon." He replied, imagining Summoning his new Harpie.
A System message appeared.
[Skill Video Summon activated.]
Soon, the sound of electronic interference filled the clearing, as pixels began to appear in the air in front of Tsukuru.
As they clustered together, Shizuka thought for a moment that he was summoning his Haunted Knight, until large wings began to emerge from the figure's arms.
There was a flash of light.
When it faded, his new Harpie Summon stood before him.
She towered above him, her arms crossed over her chest, her long wings draping down her front like a cloak.
However, she then kneeled down on one leg.
She held her left hand over her chest, her left wing draping over her, and extended her right arm outwards.
The sight was reminiscent of a "curtsey", with the Harpie using her wings in place of a dress.
"How many I serve you, my liege?" She asked in a melodic voice.
Tsukuru was momentarily off-put.
'Did she just talk?' He thought. 'Wait, can they ALL talk? The Haunted Knight never spoke.'
Tsukuru shook his head vigorously, trying to get back on track.
'No, that's not important now.'
He looked over at Shizuka.
Getting the idea, Shizuka approached Tsukuru.
"I need you to track down a certain individual." Tsukuru replied, motioning towards Shizuka, who held out the photo.
"Of course, my liege." The Harpie said, as she took the photo, and examined every detail of it.
She mentally recorded the image in her photographic memory.
"And what shall I do with the boy when I find him?" She asked.
Tsukuru's eyes narrowed.
"Bring him back here." He replied, as the Harpie returned the photo to Shizuka.
He jabbed his thumb at Raten standing behind them, arms crossed.
"My friend here would like to have…a few words with him."
At Tsukuru's words, a predatory smirk appeared on Raten's face.
"Oh, that's putting it mildly." Raten replied, smashing his hand into his open fist.
The Harpie nodded, and bowed again.
She then applied pressure on her foot, and jumped high into the air.
Once she was airborne, she spread her arms wide, and began flapping her wings like a bird.
The three watched, as the Harpie began to fly away, high in the sky above the base.
Tsukuru then sat back down.
"Now, all we do is wait." He replied, as Raten walked up behind him.