Intel mission - Kirifuren

Kirifuren waited for Yukari in the forest. Looking at the large fire slowly starting to cover the new base, she let out a sigh. This is not really a base; it's more like a warehouse that Arma Caeli has built. But it's not a matter; as long as she can destroy something, then her efforts definitely didn't go to waste. There are no fuel barrels or explosive bombs in this place; Yukari has been overthinking when she was worrying to death for that. It's just a normal large fire, and Kirifuren is staying far enough away to be safe.

Two hours ago, she successfully landed in the rear of this forest. Scared that the enemy might be chasing her, she runs into the woods and hides when the aliens pass the spot. She walks deeper into the forest while trying to connect with any signal using her radio. Sadly, that attempt failed. While Yukari was panicking out of worry, Kirifuren just walked around to search for anything that was helpful, and she found this warehouse.

Unlike others, the Arma Caeli guarding this place looks quite peaceful. They talked to each other calmly and didn't show signs of rushing. She gathered some information by eavesdropping on their conversations, like that their wave of reinforcement will come in the next 2 days if nothing bad happens to interrupt it. It seems like the Fauns and humans only expect the aliens to fly in the sky, so all of their forces are out to fight aerial battles. That's why this place is so peaceful, with nobody but two Arma Caelis. In this house, they store and maintain important devices. She plans to get them all destroyed, but it's not an easy task. The Arma Caelis there might seem harmless, but she never underestimates her enemy. They can be highly skilled and vigilant, making it difficult for anyone to infiltrate their house undetected. She knew she had to come up with a meticulous plan to ensure their destruction. Even though Kirifuren thinks she can be fast enough to escape, she still prefers not bugging their attention.

As she observed their routines, she noticed they took shifts looking at the cameras to detect any small movements inside the device's storage. They may seem reckless, but they never leave the machines unattended. Kirifuren doesn't want to take a dangerous step yet, so she just silently walks outside, looking for places to hang chains of explosive powder. She doesn't bring those by herself; she just got some on the captured ship before going off. In the war, she has had rich experiences with gun powder, at least enough to handle this stuff properly. Kirifuren searches all the pockets on her clothes; there are barely any suitable bags, so she sneaks back into the woods to pluck some leaves and use them as the powder's hold.

One hour later, she noticed the aliens were receiving signals from the mother ship. Before that, they were printing something that looked like a bunch of profiles or notes. She saw the faces of the human squad. The aliens debate something in a low voice; Kirifuren can't hear it. She feels a bit worried and plans to steal the papers instead, but then she hesitates because the mother ship's signal is something more important. Especially when the aliens put those profiles to the side and talked about the vault key, she immediately took out her notebook.

- These humans are none of our business. I think the flying ships are enough to send them down to their graves. And as such, who thinks we'll reside here? It's a shame we don't have access to much intel. I think this is the perfect place to store secrets.

- I don't care. I don't understand how the bosses think, but maybe they were sure that their big ship was much safer. Pardon me, they look like giant moving targets.

They laughed. It seems like nobody was on their guard. Kirifuren creates a small fire, then puts it at the start of her prepared powder line. She usually doesn't want to take risky moves so early like this, but she has watched them for a long time and calculates when will be the best moment to light a fire that burns down this place. Kirifuren watches the aliens conversation without their guard on, and the fire slowly burns down the rope. But that's when she realizes something was wrong. A powerful wind gusts by, forcing the string from its perch. She nearly reached out to put it back where it belonged, but her reaction was fast enough to stop her. The string is half-burning; it's surely very hot. She has no choice but to watch where it lands. Maybe the nature gods of Ihrutia were also offended by these invaders when the rope fell into an electric box. The lights came off with a loud bang. Kirifuren heard the sounds of two Arma Caeli that they made in anger or surprise. She retreats to hide in a bush nearby, only observing them through tiny leaf holes. Her vision is blurry, but she can see that some emergency lights have been turned on. Of course, the camera room is useless now because they can't turn on the CCTV without electricity. One of them went off to check if something was wrong with the generator. Maybe they'll check the electric box later. One another heads to the warehouse to watch the devices herself. Did they fear an onslaught from robbers? Kirifuren grins; she can find no better opportunity than this, a camera room left unattended.

- Your mission is to gather information. Don't cause unnecessary fights.

That's what Tsukino told her. Maybe these words were a little too harsh or unnecessary for a careful person like her, but Kirifuren doesn't mind them. The fire she put on was already growing, and the aliens won't realize it soon. She doesn't know how, but that male Arma Caeli never came out to check, but the lights are already on. Right now, they're returning, and she's inside the camera room, stealing the codes and secret letters from the mother ship. The scene of two aliens talking about the vault key reappears inside her head. She closes her eyes to calm down, and she doesn't let her hands struggle by rushing. She calms herself through the walking sounds of the aliens, knowing that they'll be more careful after this little light-off moment. She has no chance to try again. Hmm, when they talk about it, where are the papers they receive at that moment?

She has to use a special spell that was popular among monks of her same kind that sounds erasing. Kirifuren found the papers; she hid them under layers of her baggy clothes, jumped out of the window, and ran into the forest. With all those heavy actions, she made no sound at all. Her focus hangs very high; she looks up to face the sky and keeps that direction still while her whole body is moving. If there's any chance of losing focus or balance in this pose, she can face the risk of dying. That's how the monk's magic works; it's not something one can mess with.

She heard a loud, explosive noise and felt strong heat coming from behind her. The fire is a true monster; it can spread wide within a blink. If this is going to become a forest fire, she couldn't help but feel guilty. That's when Yukari arrives.

They spend the next few minutes talking about where Kirifuren has been. She simply explained the situation when she landed on the enemy ship that captured Tamao, shortly after Yukari. But then she saw both of them jump out of the ship, and Yukari followed the prisoner. They didn't bring parachutes, except Yukari! They just recklessly fell down without preparing anything. The enemy doesn't seem like they'll let that slide. They commanded the ship navigator to shoot after two girls. Kirifuren puts herself in a dangerous state to climb down and destroy one of the flying engines of that ship, which immediately draws more of their attention. She jumped down a second later, and then the human ship quickly provided support fire. The Arma Caeli let them escape to deal with the Fauns and humans flying battleships. Kirifuren didn't know how they landed. They have been separated since then.

- I'm glad you're okay! But that's so dangerous!

Yukari holds Kirifuren's wide sleeves; her face is full of relief and a little bit sulky. They saw no one escape from the fire that now consumes this whole warehouse. But then Kirifuren gave Yukari a file of papers in a strange language.

- I need to go find Kiriko. Can you please take this and bring it to somewhere safe?