C2 Dancing in Battle

Lin Mu sat in his seat, bewildered and unsure of what to do next. He was clueless about this world, not even knowing what elves were, much less how to go on a date with one.

"System, aren't there any hints?" Lin Mu inquired in a hushed tone, not ready to give up just yet.

"Ding! Dimension Apostle 10086, you are advised to figure it out on your own."

"Damn!"

Just then, a jarring alarm blared throughout the city. Lost in his thoughts, Lin Mu was jolted by the unexpected noise.

"Spacequake! It's a spacequake! Everyone, get to the underground shelters now!" the petite female teacher yelled from the podium to her students.

Lin Mu, puzzled, wondered, "What's a spacequake?"

Ding! Attention, Apostle 10086, Elf: Princess is about to make an appearance. Please be prepared, Apostle 10086.

The system's notification echoed in Lin Mu's ears.

"Could this 'spacequake' be caused by elves?" Lin Mu thought, connecting the dots between the system's alert and the ongoing alarm.

"Classmate Lin Mu, why are you still standing there? Hurry to the shelter with the rest of us!" Gang Fengzhu Hui called out, noticing Lin Mu's hesitation while the other students scrambled out.

Hearing his name, Lin Mu quickly nodded and joined the students' rush to safety.

Then he heard the same voice, now fraught with urgency, calling out in another direction, "Itsuka Shido! Where are you going? Get back here, it's dangerous outside!"

Lin Mu's gaze sharpened. Itsuka Shido? He glanced at the system's mission description again.

Seal more elves than Itsuka Shido.

"Is that him, Itsuka Shido?" Lin Mu turned to see a young man with blue hair and a delicate face, running anxiously in the opposite direction of the other students.

Realization struck Lin Mu. This must be the person heading off to seal an elf, just as the system mission described!

Without a moment's hesitation, Lin Mu followed suit.

"Hey! Classmate Lin Mu! Itsuka Shido! Where are you two going? It's extremely dangerous out there!"

Gang Fengzhu Hui's voice trailed after them, but Lin Mu, as if deaf to her warnings, continued to run out of the school alongside Itsuka Shido.

As Lin Mu sprinted, he caught the sound of Itsuka Shido's voice calling out, "Itsuka, Itsuka is still at the family restaurant waiting for me!"

The moment Lin Mu heard that, realization dawned on him again. This Itsuka must be the elf referred to in the system prompt: Princess.

"Old thief!" Lin Mu silently cursed. He had no choice; this was about his own survival. If Itsuka Shido managed to seal more elves than him, wouldn't he be done for? He had to seize any opportunity to get one!

Suddenly, Itsuka Shido heard footsteps behind him and spun around, exclaiming in surprise, "Eh? Mu? What are you doing here?! Get back quickly, the spacequake is about to hit. It's dangerous!"

"Huh? Aren't you out here too?" Lin Mu was confused, still unaware of what a spacequake actually was.

"I see, you're concerned about my safety? Sorry for making you worry. My sister Itsuka and I planned to meet at the family restaurant, but with the spacequake imminent and her still there, I must go find her!" Itsuka Shido looked at Lin Mu, his eyes filled with appreciation.

Lin Mu was taken aback. Where did you get the idea I ran out here because I was worried about you? I was clearly afraid you'd seal the elf first and jeopardize my life! And wait, Itsuka is your sister?!

"Uh... Right, that makes sense. I'll come with you," Lin Mu said, his eyes darting about as a scheme took shape in his mind. He decided to follow the lead and make a covert move!

"Well... That's the only option left. The shelters are probably sealed off by now," Itsuka Shido said, his brow furrowed, not wanting to endanger others because of himself.

"Then there's nothing else we can do. We..."

Abruptly, Lin Mu felt a tremor underfoot. Looking into the distance, he saw a massive purple-black orb of light expanding. Everything it touched—houses, roads, vehicles—all vanished...

Lin Mu's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before him. Then he heard a voice yell, "Watch out!" The next thing he knew, he was tackled to the ground.

"Ah!"

After the blinding light subsided, Lin Mu squinted his eyes open to see that it was Itsuka Shido who had thrown himself on top of him, shielding him with his own body.

Lin Mu was taken aback. This wasn't what he had expected at all! Weren't he and Itsuka Shido supposed to be adversaries? Yet, what was unfolding before him?

But there was no time to ponder that now. Lin Mu quickly rose to his feet and helped Itsuka Shido stand, asking with a hint of alarm, "Are you okay? You're not injured, are you?"

Itsuka Shido coughed a couple of times before shaking his head and responding, "I'm fine... Cough, cough!"

Assisted by Lin Mu, Itsuka Shido got to his feet. Then, his eyes suddenly grew wide with astonishment as he stared at the epicenter of the spatial quake. "What... is that?"

Curious, Lin Mu followed Itsuka Shido's gaze, only to find himself gaping in disbelief at the spectacle before them.

In the center of the vast circular crater left by the spatial quake, a young woman clad in resplendent purple armor stood on a metallic throne. With long purple hair, delicate features, and eyes a deeper shade of purple than Lin Mu's, she exuded an air of regal coldness.

"What in the world is..." Lin Mu's voice trailed off as he struggled to articulate his shock. In this moment, he was truly confronting the extraordinary nature of this world.

Without warning, the girl rose to stand atop the throne and swiftly drew a silver greatsword, bringing it down in a fierce arc towards Lin Mu and Itsuka Shido.

The intense purple glow of the blade's edge ripped through the earth, barreling towards them. Instinctively, Lin Mu and Itsuka Shido clenched their eyes shut.

"Uh..."

A fierce wind whipped by, and Lin Mu tentatively opened one eye, his eyelid twitching at the sight of the massive fissure that had formed between him and Itsuka Shido.

"Are you also...?" The girl's icy voice cut through the tension, reaching the ears of both Lin Mu and Itsuka Shido.

They both widened their eyes in shock, realizing that the girl had somehow materialized before them. The white greatsword she held was now pointed at them, its edge gleaming menacingly in the sunlight.

"Did you... come... to kill me too?" she asked, her voice as cold as before.

The girl advanced a step, and Lin Mu instinctively extended his hand to shield Itsuka Shido. Lin Mu had always lived by a code of repaying kindness and avenging wrongs. And now, with Itsuka Shido—the man who had once saved him—in peril, Lin Mu's instincts took over, bypassing thought and springing into action.

Shido Itsuka watched as Lin Mu instinctively reached out to shield him, and a wave of emotion surged through him. "Mu..."

"Are you here to kill me too?" The girl posed the question for the third time.

"Well then, I'll just have to take you down!"

In that instant, Shido pushed Lin Mu aside and positioned himself between the girl and his classmate. "Come at me with whatever you've got! At the very least... let him leave!"

The girl paused, visibly taken aback. She had been relentlessly pursued for as long as she could remember, yet this was the first time she had seen someone willing to sacrifice their life for another.

"You're... not here to kill me?"

Lin Mu, caught off guard by the push, stared at Shido in a mix of shock and disbelief. Could this guy be some kind of saint? To utter such words at a moment when their lives hung in the balance...

Shaking his head to clear it, Lin Mu put those thoughts aside and turned to the girl who was still brandishing her sword at Shido. "We're obviously not here to kill you! Who's talking about killing? You're the one who attacked us first!"

"Exactly, and besides, who are you really..." Shido began, backing up Lin Mu's claim, but he was cut off mid-sentence.

A whooshing sound filled the air.

All three looked up, following the noise. Five green dots appeared in Shido and the girl's line of sight, while Lin Mu saw nothing. A moment later, Lin Mu's eyes widened in alarm as a barrage of missiles hurtled towards them.

"Ah—"

Both Lin Mu and Shido cried out in unison.

But the girl merely lifted a hand, and a purple shield of light materialized, deflecting all the missiles effortlessly.

"These things are useless against me. Why don't you use your heads?" she said coolly.

With a resounding "Boom!" the missiles exploded, but Lin Mu and Shido, shielded by the girl's power, didn't receive so much as a scratch. Only the blast's shockwave tousled their not-insignificant hair.

This time, Lin Mu had a clear view. Several girls clad in mechanical exoskeletons soared across the sky, charging in his direction. From devices resembling mecha parts at their sides, they launched a barrage of missiles. The girl with the cold, purple aura took to the skies, lifting her greatsword. With a flurry of slashes, she detonated the missiles, which failed to inflict the slightest harm on her.

Amidst the explosions, the girl glanced back at Lin Mu and Itsuka Shido, her face etched with profound sorrow.

"Why... Despite her immense strength, why does she wear such an expression?" Itsuka Shido's voice was tinged with confusion, as if he were questioning Lin Mu and simultaneously lost in his own thoughts.

Lin Mu gave a slight shake of his head, his expression fluctuating with uncertainty.

As missiles launched once more, the girl's demeanor turned icy. She whirled around, cleaving through the missiles with her blade. In quick succession, she unleashed two purple arcs of energy, forming a cross-shaped slash that surged toward the girls in their mechanical garb.