Chapter 5

Imitation Nightmare

“Reine.”

On the bridge of Fraxinus, Kotori called out to the analyst whose seat was relatively close to her own captain’s chair.

But she got no response. Thinking this strange, she peeked over at Reine’s hands, trying to figure it out. For some reason, Mana’s face was enlarged to fill the screen in front of Reine. Staring at this, Reine looked unusually troubled.

“Reine? Is something going on with Mana?”

“…!” Perhaps finally noticing Kotori, Reine turned eyes with dark circles under them toward her. “…Kotori? Mm, it’s just a little thing.”

She operated her console with a practiced hand, the screen zoomed out, and Mana’s face became smaller.

“…Anyway, how’s Shin?”

“I was a little worried, but he talked with Tohka, and I guess that got through to him.”

“…Oh, good.” Reine abruptly lifted her face. “Right. I finished the analysis you asked for.”

Kotori arched an eyebrow. She had given Reine the hair and saliva she’d obtained from Mana the other day and asked her to conduct a DNA test.

“So what’d you find?”

“…Mm, Mana is unmistakably Shin’s biological sister.”

“…! O-oh…” Kotori swallowed hard and put a hand to her chest. It wasn’t that she hadn’t been expecting it, but this confirmation made her heart pound a little. “His biological…sister. So what exactly is a girl like that doing with the AST…?”

“…Oh,” Reine said. “I did a little digging, and she’s not actually with them.”

“What do you mean?”

“…She’s not a member of the SDF. She’s a contract employee from DEM Industries.”

“You mean, Deus Ex Machina…?”

DEM Industries. A global leader headquartered in the UK, the sole manufacturer in the world besides Ratatoskr’s parent company that could produce Realizers. All the Realizers secretly in place with the SDF, the AST, and the armies and police forces around the world were assumed to be DEM products. Because DEM was extremely active in hunting Spirits, they were rivals to Kotori and Ratatoskr. Naturally, they also had wizards equipped with CR units on their roster, and these wizards were said to be even more proficient with the devices than any nation’s elite forces.

“Hang on a minute. I’ve seriously lost the connection here. You mean Shido’s baby sister is a wizard with the DEM?”

“…I don’t know that yet, but…” Reine stopped, gritted her teeth, and clenched her fists, as though trembling with anger.

Kotori frowned. She had known Reine for years, but this was the first time she’d seen her like this. “What exactly happened?”

“…Take a look at this.” Reine tapped her console to bring up a picture of Mana and some detailed numbers.

“…! This is…”

“…Yes, her body has been treated with magic. This is the source of her abnormal strength… But the price she pays is serious. She’ll probably only live another ten years.”

“…! What?! Then—” Kotori groaned.

DEM Realizers were not perfect. Their core processing powers still lagged, so the human brain was forced to compensate. To amplify brain waves for this purpose, a small part had to be implanted into the head via surgery. Origami and the other AST members would also have had an angular protrusion hidden beneath their hair.

But what had been done to Mana went far beyond this. A percentage of her body had essentially been made into a Spirit.

“…I don’t know what was going through her mind when she agreed to this. But…it’s better not to tell Shin just yet,” Reine reasoned, her tone somber.

Kotori swallowed hard and bit her lip.

The next morning, when Shido walked into the classroom, he saw that Kurumi was already at her desk.

This was clearly abnormal. Although he had experienced this once before, he still felt weird. The idea that this girl who was supposed to be dead would come to school looking like nothing had happened was unbelievable.

When she caught sight of him, she smiled gently and bowed neatly. “Oh my, Shido! What a pleasure!”

She looked exactly as she had the day before. If he were to insist that she had had both legs crushed, her stomach pierced, and her head cut off on the road the previous day, there was no doubt that it would be Shido’s mental health that people questioned.

“…Hey. Morning,” he whispered. He wasn’t too surprised. He had expected this.

“I had so much fun yesterday. Please do invite me out again.”

“Oh…yeah? You had fun?”

“Yes, quite a bit.” She grinned once more, and he couldn’t tell if she was talking about their date or what happened on the street. Whether she was aware of this thought or not, she continued to speak, a cute smile plastered on her face. “But I was a tiny bit surprised.”

“…? About what?” he asked.

She narrowed her eyes. “I assumed that you would be absent from school today.”

He was at a loss for words for a second, but he recovered. “Oh, well… Sorry about that. Should I not have come?”

“No, I’m very happy that you made it to school,” she told him with a carefree smile.

He patted his chest to try and get his heartbeat under control before moving to stand in front of her. “—Kurumi.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve decided to save you.”

“…? Save me?” Her face lost its color. “…You say the strangest things, Shido.”

“Let’s stop with that stuff. I won’t let you kill anyone else. I won’t let Mana kill you anymore. I came to that conclusion yesterday.”

“Would you mind not pushing your morals upon me? I really dislike naive ideals.”

“Yeah? That’s too bad. Sorry, though, I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to save you. Whatever it takes.”

Kurumi frowned. After a few seconds’ thought, she opened her mouth again. “Then allow me to confirm whether or not what you’re saying is indeed true.”

“Huh?”

“Please come to the roof after school today,” she said and looked away from him.

Standing on the roof of Raizen High, Kurumi smiled coquettishly and tapped her foot lightly.

The weather was fine, not a cloud in the sky. The intense midsummer sun poured down on her, projecting a shadow even blacker than usual onto the ground. The time was 9:10. Perhaps because first period had already begun, the chatter from the school building had mostly died down. In its place, she could hear the scattered sounds of instruments from the music room and balls bouncing from the gym.

She took a dancing step—spinning around to draw out a circle on the ground.

“It would have been nice to spend a little more time enjoying this school life with Shido.”

If someone were to look down on this scene from above, they might have noticed the strangeness of it. The place where Kurumi was dancing had grown dark—almost like the shadow was not disappearing from her orbit.

“It’s almost time, hmm?”

She thrust a heel into the ground. The circle drawn in dusky lines began to creep outward. It covered the entire roof, moved onto the exterior walls of the school, and ate into the building as if to eventually blanket the area of the city centered on the school itself.

“Kee-hee-hee. Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee.” Her lips twisted up in a half smile. “Aah, aah, Shido. My dear Shido. Dear, precious Shido. Will you still say that you’ll save me? Would you say you would rescue me?”

“Mm?” Shido looked out the window in the middle of first period, World History. It felt like it had suddenly grown a little darker, so he figured some clouds must have been drifting by.

The sky outside was still clear, however. He couldn’t see even a trace of a cloud.

“It couldn’t be.” He looked over at Kurumi. She had sounded so ominous earlier, so he thought just maybe.

She wasn’t doing anything as far as he could tell. She was sitting and paying attention to the teacher.

“Maybe I’m overthinking things.” He let out a sigh and sat up straighter.

At any rate, the moment of truth would be after school. He took a deep breath to psych himself up.

She turned the rusted knob and pushed the door open. Flecks of paint peeled off and fell to the ground while the decrepit door squealed in protest.

“…Tch.” Kotori clicked her tongue, frowning, and stepped out onto the roof of the abandoned building on the southern edge of Tengu City. She didn’t make a hobby out of exploring abandoned buildings. She had a reason for coming to this remote area.

“—I’ve been awaiting you, Kotori.” The girl who had arrived at the rooftop first—Mana—called out to her.

Yes. When Kotori returned to her house that morning, there had been a piece of paper on the window of her bedroom with a time and place and Mana’s name on it.

Kotori snorted, not bothering to disguise her displeasure. “…Honestly. What’s with this place? If you’re going to call me out, make it to somewhere with tea and cake at least.”

“My apologies. I simply assumed that a place with no prying eyes or ears would be best for both of us.”

“…Hmm. So what exactly do you want?”

“I merely wished to talk a moment.” Mana pulled something out of her pocket and tossed it in Kotori’s direction.

It gently circled toward her, and Kotori caught it in both hands. “This is…” She frowned as she looked down at a supersensitive, small earpiece, the kind used by Ratatoskr. It was the one Shido had lost the previous day.

“Ratatoskr.”

“…Ngh.” Kotori jerked an eyebrow up.

“I’ve heard the rumors. Rather than eliminating the Spirits by force, this organization aims to win them over through conversation. Although I assumed it was an urban legend when first I heard of it.” Mana glared at Kotori. “I can’t believe you and my brother…”

Kotori tucked the earpiece into her pocket and flicked the stick of her Chupa Chups around. “I see. So that transmission yesterday was your work.”

Before it had been made clear that Shido had lost the earpiece, Fraxinus received a strange message. Although it had indeed been Shido’s voice, after he confirmed Kotori’s name and a number of things about the current situation, the line closed abruptly, and they hadn’t heard anything after that.

Kotori clicked her tongue too quietly for Mana to hear. She’d been careless. Her replies had likely confirmed the existence of the organization Ratatoskr for Mana.

Mana shrugged. “It’s a simple thing to change one’s voice within one’s Territory.”

“…Mm-hmm.” Kotori pushed her hair back and narrowed her eyes. “What’s your endgame? You must want something if you went to all the trouble of getting me out here, right?”

Eyes still trained on Kotori, Mana opened her mouth. “I have no intention of reporting this to my superiors.”

“…Oh?”

“In exchange, please release my brother from Ratatoskr immediately.”

Kotori frowned. “Meaning?”

“Meaning nothing. How could you allow my brother to be exposed to such danger? It’s a far cry from reasonable to allow him to face Spirits without so much as a weapon, much less a Realizer.”

“So you’re saying from now on, he should hold a gun to the Spirits’ heads and make them talk? That would make him no different from a rapist. Or are you a masochist?”

“Please do not joke with me.” Mana’s gaze grew even sharper, her tone firm. “What exactly do you believe Shido is? If I hadn’t been there, Nightmare would have killed him.”

“…” Kotori pinched her lips shut. She was under no obligation to share any further information.

Mana clenched her teeth. “Kotori. Kotori Itsuka. It’s very regrettable. You are not fit to be my brother’s sister. I cannot entrust him to a person such as yourself.”

“…!” Kotori’s expression stiffened, and she flicked her Chupa Chups stick upward. “Oh really? So if I’m not fit, what’re you going to do about it?”

“I must consider taking in my brother’s person.”

“You can’t be serious.” Kotori grimaced. “You’re saying hand Shido over to a corrupt company like DEM?”

Mana uncrossed her arms, shocked, shoulders shaking. “…! How did you—?!”

“Got a friend who’s in the know. Looks like we both got each other by the throat,” Kotori declared.

Mana exhaled slowly. “Well, if you’ve discovered that, there’s no need to hide it. Yes, it is not the case that I was originally with the SDF. When I was sent by DEM Industries, I was merely assigned an appropriate rank.” Her gaze became sharp again. “However, I cannot simply let pass you saying DEM is corrupt. They took me in after I lost my memory and gave me a reason for existence. I cannot thank them enough.”

“…Seriously? Then you’re clearly insane.”

“How rude. Do you even hear yourself?”

Kotori sensed something off in Mana’s tone. Does she…?

“Hey, do you not know…? About your body, I mean.”

“My body? What are you talking about?” Mana looked at her, baffled.

“…!” Kotori gulped, a shiver running up her spine. “…What?”

This wasn’t entirely unexpected. Reine had worried that this was the case, but Kotori couldn’t believe she was right. She frowned, walked over to Mana, and grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Wh-what do you think you’re doing?”

“…You have to listen to me. You of all people need to leave DEM. Ratatoskr will take care of you.”

“Excuse me…? Why are you suddenly—?” Mana furrowed her brow.

Before she could finish, her cell phone began to ring, along with Kotori’s at almost the same moment.

Kotori frowned in annoyance before picking up. “It’s me. What?”

“C-Commander! There’s a powerful Spirit signal at Raizen High School!”

“What…?” She glanced over at Mana. From the look on her face, it seemed that she was receiving similar news.

Shido took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He tried to replace all the air in his lungs to reset his body.

“Wohkay.”

The time was 4:30 PM. Around him, he could hear the voices of students heading off to practice and other extracurricular activities.

He hadn’t spoken with Kurumi again after their earlier exchange. When last homeroom ended, she had quickly slipped out of the classroom without so much as a glance in his direction.

“…You’re okay, right, Shin?” an excessively sleepy voice asked over the earpiece in his right ear. Reine.

“Yeah. I’m surprisingly calm.”

“…That’s the most important thing. But make sure you’re very careful.”

“I know.” He swallowed hard. And then a question popped into his mind. “Reine? I just realized I’m not hearing Kotori’s voice…”

“…Oh, Kotori stepped out for a minute.”

“Wait. Why would she step out at an important time like now…?”

“…She is very aware of how important it is. But after taking that into consideration, she decided that this would increase the chances of success for the mission… External interference would cause the most trouble.”

“Huh…? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“…You concentrate on Kurumi. She’s not so weak that you’ll be able to seduce her without being completely focused on the job.”

“…! Y-you’re right.” He was curious about this “interference,” but Reine was correct. He had to keep his mind on Kurumi and Kurumi alone. She was probably already waiting for him on the roof. He turned toward the stairs.

“Wha—?!” He frowned. He felt a sudden change in the world around him. He didn’t know what was happening physically, but the area abruptly grew darker, and an extraordinary feeling of weariness and lethargy came over him. A heaviness tangled his limbs, as though the air had transformed into a viscous fluid.

“Wh…at…is…?” He somehow managed to keep from dropping to his knees. But the students around him sank to the floor, groaning in agony. Frankly, it was a bizarre sight.

“Ah…! Hey! Are you okay…?!” He hurriedly shook the shoulders of a girl who’d collapsed next to him. But she must have passed out; he got no reaction.

“Reine. What is…happening…?!”

“…We’ve confirmed a strong Spirit signal in a region centered on the high school. There’s no mistake—the signal is Kurumi’s work. A large force field… Looks to be the type that weakens all humans inside of it.”

“Wh-why would she…?”

“…Faster to ask her that yourself,” Reine told him. And she was exactly right.

Shido swallowed hard and straightened up. He felt like it was a little hard to move, but not to the point where he was going to fall down. “Oh. So then why am I…?”

“…Did you forget, Shin? You’ve got Tohka’s and Yoshino’s Spirit powers locked inside of you. You might not actually feel it, but it’s basically like your body is protected by Spirits.”

“Spirit power…,” he murmured, and then his eyes flew open. Shido opened the door of the classroom he’d just come out of and shouted, “Tohka!”

She should have still been inside. He told her to go on ahead of him since he had something to do, but she had insisted on waiting until he came back.

There were about ten students left in the classroom, and all of them were passed out on the floor or at their desks. And in the midst of this…

“Oh, Shido,” Tohka said, holding her head. Although the better part of her power was sealed off, she was indeed a Spirit. It seemed she had more endurance against Spirit power than a human being.

“Are you okay?!”

“Mm.” She groaned like she was tortured by a high fever, and her head wobbled. “But I feel kinda heavy… What’s happening…?”

“…Shin.”

He heard Reine’s voice in his ear. He knew what she was going to say.

“Tohka, rest here. I’m going to do something about this right now!”

“Shi…do…?”

“It’s okay. I’ll save you.” He gently stroked her hair before bracing himself and stepping out into the hallway.

Kurumi was on the roof.

He ripped through the air that clung to him to climb the stairs. He silently yelled at his exhausted legs to keep on going and somehow made it to the door that led to the roof. It was unlocked.

Actually, to be more precise, the area beneath the knob was smashed up like it had been shot with a gun, and it no longer fulfilled its function as a lock.

He didn’t have to think too hard to know that this was Kurumi’s doing. He took a deep breath before grabbing the knob and opening the door.

“Ngh.” He grimaced. The viscous air didn’t let up in the slightest when he set foot onto the roof. In fact, he felt like the heavy blanket of lethargy covering him grew heavier.

He looked to both sides. A desolate space encircled by a tall fence. And in its center…

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you, Shido.”

Kurumi pulled up the hem of her frilly Astral Dress and curtsied.

“…!” Origami felt the abnormality when she was walking down the first-floor hallway of the east building.

It was like the world did a one-eighty in the blink of an eye. An incredible sluggishness overcame her, like her vitality was being sapped from her skin into the air. The students around her started to collapse.

“Ngh.” She couldn’t lose consciousness now. With this snap judgment, she pulled a device small enough to fit in the palm of her hand from her pocket and put a finger on the surface sensor as she moved her lips. “Identification. AST. Origami Tobiichi.”

Fingerprint and voice authentication were complete in an instant. The device deployed with an electronic beep.

“Basic Realizer launch,” she commanded and touched the device to the transmitter that protruded the tiniest bit from the back of her head.

A Territory snapped into existence around her, just large enough for her to fit neatly inside, and the weariness that tortured her faded. At the same time, she felt an intense pain in her head, like a bomb had exploded in her brain. She gritted her teeth.

“Deploy wiring suit.”

A faint light flashed inside the Territory, and in the next moment, her high school uniform turned into the AST standard wiring suit.

“…! …Ngh.” Although the headache at last went away, she still fell to her knees on the spot.

This emergency device allowed her to instantly deploy the suit she usually equipped at the base. It was all fine and good that she had permission to carry it in case of emergency, but she didn’t think she would ever get used to the way it felt to actually use it.

Equipped with a basic Realizer, this device could deploy a Territory in theory. And once she was inside that Territory, then it was a simple matter to change outfits in a flash.

To do so, however, it was necessary to deploy the Territory without a wiring suit, albeit only for an instant. It was impossible to describe the load on the brain in that moment… Well, Mana somehow managed to perform this operation without any difficulties.

“…”

Once she was breathing normally again, Origami expanded her Territory to the usual three-meter radius.

Although the Spirits and the AST were confidential matters, this was an emergency. Plus, if everyone was passed out, then she didn’t need to worry about being watched.

She didn’t know what was happening to the school. She could easily imagine that Kurumi Tokisaki was involved.

“…!” Origami issued commands in her brain, neutralizing gravity, and kicked at the floor to speed down the hallway with incredible force.

At the same time, she heard Ryouko over the transmitter equipped in her headset. “—Origami?! The fact that this line’s open means you used the emergency equip, yeah? We’re measuring a powerful Spirit signal around your school right now! Status?!”

“A range field has been put up. It’s extremely dangerous. Request back—” Origami cut herself off. “…Ngh.”

The reason was simple. A girl of concentrated shadow stood up ahead of her. She was not wearing the usual high school uniform but rather a gothic dress in red and black.

“Hee-hee-hee. Origami.” She placed a hand to her mouth, giggling. “Where could you be off to in such a hurry?”

“Kurumi Tokisaki.” Origami’s eyes sharpened, and she put a hand to her hip to grab the hilt of her laser blade.

“What on earth’s going on, Origami?!”

“—Contact with Spirit. Engaging.”

“…! What?! It’s too dangerous. Retre—”

She needed to focus. Origami gave a command in her mind, and the transmission ended abruptly.

“Hee-hee.” Still giggling, Kurumi continued. “I would rather you did not interfere just now. I can’t allow you to go any farther than this.”

“…?” She frowned slightly. She didn’t understand what Kurumi was talking about. But that, too, was only for an instant. There was no need to listen to the ravings of a Spirit on the battlefield.

Origami tightened her grip on the hilt of her No Pain laser blade.

“Shi…do… Shido!!” Tohka called after him. But there was no sign of him returning. She dragged heavy feet and started to walk. “Shido…”

The words he’d spoken echoed in her mind.

It’s okay. I’ll save you.

Such strong, reassuring words. Just hearing him say that blew away all the sadness and anxiety lurking in her heart.

At the same time, the face of a new anxiety peeked out.

After all, he’d said the same thing two months ago when he’d reached a hand out to her, and a month ago when he’d headed off toward Yoshino’s barrier. It had felt the same both times. She was sure he would save everyone. He wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself to that end if that was what it took. That was the kind of person who had saved her.

“Aaah!” She lost her balance, got tangled up between desk and chair, and fell to the floor. “Ngh. Gah…”

She tried to stand up once more but couldn’t get her legs under her. It was hopeless. There was no way. But she didn’t have the time to crawl. She had to get to Shido right now.

“Shido… Shido… Shido…!!” she shouted and suddenly felt something shake loose in her head. “Wh-what…?”

She knew this sensation.

Last month, when Yoshino had manifested her Angel and was about to shoot a beam of light at Shido, she’d realized that he would die if that happened. In that moment, her head had swooned. And her Astral Dress and Angel had manifested.

“…This is…!” she cried out, as she looked down at herself. Although it wasn’t complete, her Astral Dress with its films of light had wrapped itself around her body once more.

She felt lighter than she could have even thought possible a second ago. She leaped to her feet and stood up tall.

“Okay… I can do this!” She clenched her hands into fists and left the classroom. “Shido! Where did you go, Shido?!”

There was no reply.

In that case, her only option was to search the area. She raced down the hallway and then gasped and jumped backward.

“…?!”

For good reason. A bullet-like object was closing in on her from the opposite end of the hallway, drawing a black trajectory in the air.

“Wh—?! Who’s there?!” she shouted.

Slow footsteps echoed in the shadowy corridor.

Finally, she was able to make out who it was.

“…! You—”

“Hee-hee-hee. A pleasure, Tohka. Would you be so kind as to spend a moment with me?”

The girl in a dress, clutching a gun—Kurumi Tokisaki—had one corner of her mouth sliding upward in a grin.

“Kurumi… What exactly are you doing?! What’s this barrier…?!” Shido asked, standing on the roof of Raizen High, spreading his hands out.

“Hee-hee-hee, wonderful, isn’t it?” Looking pleased as punch at his reaction, Kurumi grinned even more broadly. “This is the City of Devouring Time. It’s a barrier that sucks up the time of anyone who steps into my shadow.”

“Sucks up…time…?” he parroted doubtfully.

Kurumi walked over to him, giggling, and pushed back her hair in a graceful gesture, revealing the left eye that was normally hidden by her bangs.

“Wha…?” His eyebrows knitted together when he saw it.

It was obviously wrong. Numbers and needles in an inorganic gold. Yes. Her left eye was the face of a clock. And strangely, its hands were spinning around counterclockwise.

“That’s—”

“Hee-hee, this is my time. I suppose you could also call it life or a life span,” Kurumi explained, as she whirled around. “My Angel has simply marvelous, amazing power. But the price to use it is horribly high. Each time I use its power, it devours a vast amount of my time. So I make sure to occasionally replenish it from outside like this.”

“Wh—?!” A shiver ran up his spine. After all, if what she was saying was true, then everyone collapsed inside this barrier was having what was left of their lives sucked away.

When she saw the look on his face as he came to this realization, her expression grew a little sad for some reason. But she quickly plastered over that with a lurid smile and nudged his chin up with a finger.

“That’s how it is with Spirits and humans. You’re all my pitiful, pretty food. There’s nothing more, nothing less than that.” Her face twisted up as if she were challenging him. “Aah. But, Shido. You alone are different. You alone are special.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, mm-hmm. You’re incredible. I’ve come all this way to become one with you.”

“What…?” He frowned. “Become one… What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means exactly what it sounds like. I wouldn’t kill you or anything. There would be no purpose in that. I am granting you the honor of being eaten by me.”

He couldn’t tell whether this “eat” was literal or metaphorical, but it was enough to make something churn in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t flinch now, however. He clenched his hands into fists.

“If I’m what you’re after, then you should just go after me! Why would you—?!” he shouted.

“Hee-hee-hee. It was getting closer to the hour for me to replenish my time. But…” She abruptly shot him a sharp look. “Before I eat you, I really must have you take back those words you spoke this morning.”

“This morning?”

“Yes. That nonsense about saving me or what have you.”

“…!” He unconsciously gasped at how cold her eyes were on him.

“Say, Shido? Don’t you think I’m frightening for doing these things to fulfill my agenda? Don’t you just despise me for involving people who have nothing to do with this? Isn’t it obvious that I am not the sort you could say a word like ‘save’ to?” Kurumi gestured theatrically as she continued. “Which is why I would ask that you take those words back. And I’d appreciate it if you could promise not to say them again. If you do that, I might be inclined to take down this barrier. After all, my original objective was you, Shido.”

“Wha…?” His eyes grew wide. This was too easy. To the point where he wondered if she wasn’t trying to trick him.

“…Kurumi’s serious,” Reine whispered over his earpiece, as if reading his mind. “I can’t see any sign in her mental state that she’s lying. Shin, if you agree to this condition, she really will release the barrier.”

Kurumi twisted back and forth, an eerie smile rising up onto her lips. “Kee-hee-hee! Hee-hee! Now, you really must hurry and stop me. Otherwise, there might well be some people for whom it is too late, hmm?”

“…Ngh.” Shido met her eyes.

All he had to do was take back what he said. That was it. There was nothing to it. And if he didn’t, he exposed any number of people inside the barrier to the risk of losing their lives. His back was against the wall. He made his decision.

“…Take down the barrier,” he demanded.

Kurumi sighed. Almost as if in relief. “Then you must say it. You mustn’t say you will save me or any of that nonsense anymore.”

Shido swallowed hard. “I…can’t do that.”

“What…?” Kurumi gaped, eyes and mouth wide open. She looked ridiculous. He’d never seen an expression like this on her face before. “Oh my. Oh dear.”

Her face quickly clouded over with dissatisfaction.

“Did you not hear me? So long as you do not retract your comments, I will not release my barrier.”

“…! Take it down. Right now!”

“Then say it.”

“I won’t! I can’t take back what I said!” Shido shouted and shook his head.

After all, if he took that back, nothing would change. He would never be able to extend a hand to Kurumi again.

“—I do despise unreasonable people!” she cried and stepped back to get some distance from him. She threw her right hand up above her head.

The air began to shudder around it.

Vwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnmmmmm.

“…! The spacequake alarm…?!” Shido groaned, face twisting up in fear. He had heard this sound so often it was eternally drilled into his brain—the signal that a spacequake was about to occur, the spontaneous catastrophe that devoured this world.

For a moment, he thought another Spirit had appeared somewhere else nearby. After all, it was the distortion in space-time when a Spirit appeared in this world that caused the spacequakes.

Kurumi’s mad grin, however, silently rejected this possibility.

This spacequake was one that she was deliberately trying to trigger.

He had never heard of a Spirit being able to do a thing like that. This situation, however, was proof that they could.

“Kee-hee! Kee-hee-hee! Kee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! Sooo, what shall you do? I wonder whatever would happen to all the people inside the barrier if a spacequake were to occur now, hmm?”

“…!” He didn’t know what to say.

Normally, when the foreshocks of a spacequake were detected, all residents in the area evacuated to underground shelters, but in this case the people inside Kurumi’s barrier had passed out. There was no way they’d be able to evacuate.

However…

A question abruptly popped up in his mind.

Not noticing this change in him, Kurumi licked her lips triumphantly. “Now then, Shido? What shall it be? Aren’t you terrified of me? I’m very loathsome, yes? Can you say the same thing even now? You’re weak flesh to a powerful predator!”

“…”

Why?

Even though his heart was pounding and his breathing was ragged, his mind was so calm he almost couldn’t believe it.

One question: Why was Kurumi trying so hard to make him take back what he said?

After all, it was nothing. Whatever he said, words were words. If her objective was to “eat” him, then she could just do that, regardless of his argument. So why was she so taken up with this?

Kurumi, the supposedly powerful predator. The words of the supposed weak flesh that was Shido.

“…Shin,” Reine called out in his ear. “…Kurumi’s mental state is changing. Almost like… The numbers look like she’s afraid of you.”

“What…?” he whispered, quietly enough to keep Kurumi from hearing him, and frowned slightly.

She was afraid of him?

This was so removed from reality that for a moment, he was completely baffled. But he got it soon enough.

“Ohhh. She is.” He exhaled carefully and looked at her once again.

A Spirit so afraid, so terrified she could hardly stand it.

“Now! Shido, what will you do? If you do not take back your words, many, many people will die. You do realize that, don’t you?!” Kurumi brandished her right hand high in the air and clenched it into a fist, never taking her eyes off of him.

Eeeeeeeeeeen. An earsplitting noise reverberated through the area, almost as if the air itself was shrieking.

“Ngh.” There were words that he had to say to Kurumi. There were conversations they had to have. But right now, he had to do something about this spacequake. Without taking back what he’d said.

He desperately racked his brains and then suddenly remembered something she’d said earlier. “…Kurumi.”

“What is it? Heh-heh, you’re finally inclined to retract?” she asked, breaking into an audacious smile.

He ignored this. “You said…your goal was to eat me.”

“Yes. That’s right. There would be no meaning in killing you or some such. You will live on forever inside of me. Hee-hee-hee, wonderful, hmm?”

“…” Now he was sure of it. He spoke to Reine in a quiet voice, “Reine. Even if I, I’ll be okay, right?”

“…? Mm-hmm. With your recovery ability, I think you’ll be all right as long as your luck isn’t terrible… What exactly are you planning?”

“I see.” He ran from the spot where he stood to the edge of the roof and clambered up the tall fence. He stood on top of it and turned his face toward Kurumi.

“…!” She looked perplexed. “What are you planning to do?”

“Stop the spacequake. Otherwise—” He snapped a finger out toward the courtyard. “—I’ll fall from here and die!”

“Hah… Huh…?!” she cried, stunned. She clearly had not been expecting this. “Wh-what are you saying? Have you gone mad?”

“I hate to disappoint, but I’m perfectly sane. I can’t take back what I said this morning. I wouldn’t be able to save you anymore.”

Kurumi screwed up her face, unhappy, but Shido ignored this.

“But I can’t let you cause a spacequake. So—”

“So you’re using yourself as a hostage? Honestly, there is such a thing as being too simplistic. Don’t you realize you’re not a fugitive from justice backed into a corner?!”

Shido had to laugh at this. It made him remember those scenes from movies and overseas news footage where the criminal holds a gun to their own head. It was the crazy act of a desperate person, someone with no other means left to them in the end.

Given that he himself was Kurumi’s target, however, this was absolutely not a meaningless act. She had gone to the trouble of transferring to his high school to capture him. He was fairly certain his life had value as a hostage.

Kurumi scowled and let out a short sigh. “Did you really think this sort of threat would be effective? If you are prepared to jump, then go ahead and try it!”

“…Okay,” he said in a quiet voice and threw himself off the opposite side of the fence.

Even though he was dizzyingly high up, he was strangely unafraid. Maybe he was in an excited state due to some secretion in his brain and this had numbed his terror.

“—!”

“…Shin?!”

He heard Kurumi gasp and Reine call to him.

He felt a strange buoyancy as his body plunged toward the ground.

“…! …Ngh.”

He nearly lost consciousness. It was like the sudden drop on a roller coaster. He couldn’t breathe, his limbs were numb, and his bladder threatened to let go.

In the middle of his descent, however, someone caught him, jerking him to a halt.

“…Ungh?!” The sudden jolt pushed an idiotic grunt from his throat.

Kurumi’s torso had materialized from the shadow crawling along the school wall, and she had caught him in something like a princess carry.

“H-hey, Kurumi—”

She stepped completely out of the shadow and climbed the vertical wall of the school with Shido still in her arms. Once they were back on the roof, she tossed him aside in a tangled ball.

“Ah…” He finally exhaled. “I thought I was a dead man…”

“Of! Course! You! Did!” Kurumi shouted, overwrought. “I cannot believe you! What were you thinking?! What was your thought process?! If I had not been here, you truly would have died! Don’t you know that?!”

“Aah. Right. Yeah… Thanks.”

“Do you care so little for your life?!”

“Uh, you don’t get to say that…,” he interjected.

“Aaaaaaah, honestly!” She pulled at her hair. “You are such a fool!”

“Kurumi.” He stood up and turned to her. “Why did you save me?”

“…! Because if you were to die, I would be unable to accomplish my objective.”

“Oh yeah? So then I do have value as a hostage, huh?”

“…!”

“Okay then, how about you stop the spacequake?!” He pointed a finger at her. “And take down this barrier while you’re at it! Otherwise, I’ll bite my tongue off and die!”

“Y-you’re bluff—”

“You think I’m bluffing?”

“Hngh…” She looked vexed for an instant before snapping her fingers.

The earsplitting squeal that filled the air stopped. This was followed by the disappearance of the heavy air blanketing the area.

“W-well, I don’t mind doing so. After all, my original objective was you, Shido. There is absolutely no problem with that. No issues whatsoever!” she cried, as if trying to convince herself, throwing her hands open and turning toward him.

Shido had no intention of simply sitting quietly and getting eaten. “Okay. Maybe you could do one more thing for me?”

“Th-there’s more…?!” she cried out, baffled.

He nodded. “Just one time’s enough. Kurumi. Would you let me give you just one chance to do this over?”

“What…?” Her eyes flew open in surprise, and then she quickly frowned. “Are you still talking about that? I’d ask that you refrain please. Your ‘help’ is not wanted. I love killing and being killed! You have no right whatsoever to say anything to me!” she shouted, as if to reject him.

In place of the frightening unfathomableness of her voice up to that point, he heard something like fear in it now.

Reine’s words came back to him. Yes. He was sure Kurumi was afraid. No one had ever before held a hand out to her, and she was fearful of this unfamiliar gesture.

“Kurumi. You… Have you ever had a life where you’re not killing anyone and no one’s trying to kill you?” he whispered.

“…!” She trembled. “That’s…”

“So then you don’t know, do you? You don’t know if killing and being killed every day is the best way! You just might end up liking a new kind of quiet life…!”

“But it’s—”

“You can do it! With me!” he shouted, and she gasped, overwhelmed. “I can’t forgive everything you’ve done. You’ll have to spend the rest of your life making up for it! But…! No matter how wrong you are, Kurumi! There’s no reason I can’t save you!”

“…!” She retreated a few steps.

As if chasing after her, he took a step forward.

“I—I… I—” Her eyes raced around, confused, and she cried out, “Shido, could I…really…?!”

“—No, noooo. Don’t be fooled by his words.”

A voice came from out of the blue.

Shido frowned suspiciously. After all, the voice he’d just heard was…

“Hngee…?!” Kurumi made a strange sound in front of him.

“Kurumi…?” He turned toward her…and froze.

“No. Ah. Ah…” Her eyes were wide, the orbs practically leaping from their sockets, and her pained voice echoed in the air.

He dropped his gaze. A single red hand protruded from her chest.

“Huh…” He finally understood what had happened.

Someone had popped up behind her and ripped right through her.

“I—I. Am.”

“Yes, yes, I understand. That’s why—” The hand yanked free from Kurumi’s chest, and the Astral Dress cloaking her melted into the air, exposing her pale skin. “—you can go to sleep now.”

“Ngh.” She collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut. Her body shuddered once before going completely still.

“Wha…?” Shido couldn’t move. It was all too sudden; his brain couldn’t keep up.

After all, standing behind Kurumi was…

“Oh dear me. Whatever is the matter, Shido? Your face is pale.”

…Kurumi Tokisaki herself.

“Ku…rumi…? Huh? How…?” He looked at the Kurumi he’d been talking to before turning his gaze on the new one.

There was no mistake; it was definitely Kurumi. Hair black as shadows, pearly skin, the clock shining in her left eye—all of it was the same.

He couldn’t see any of the confusion that had been on the face of the Kurumi who had collapsed. This one was wearing a bewitching, confident smile.

“Honestly. That girl really does cause all kinds of trouble.” Kurumi flicked the blood off her arm as countless hands grew up from the shadows and pulled Kurumi’s corpse into the darkness. “Getting that flustered! The version of myself from that time might have been a little young still, hmm?”

“Wh—?”

“Ohhh. But…but…! Your words were wonderful, Shido. I hope you know that.” She twisted back and forth in delight as she laughed.

He stood rooted to the spot, at a loss for words. He didn’t understand.

Just now, there had been two Kurumis before him. Kurumi killed Kurumi, and the first Kurumi was eaten by the shadow.

“What…is…?” he squeaked, dumbfounded.

“Now, now.” She laughed even more adorably. “How about we end this dull game?”

Hands sprang up from below him and grabbed tightly on to his legs.

“Whoa…?!”

“I will now…have your power, Shido.” She approached him and reached out her hand to pat his cheek. It was so cold.

And then she half screamed, “Hngee…!”

It looked to him like a white shadow dropped from the sky, and the hand Kurumi was touching him with danced up into the air before dropping down to the ground.

“—Oh dear… Oh my.” Grimacing in pain, she whirled around and leaped backward.

A second later, Shido saw another person added to the space between himself and Kurumi.

“Mana!”

“Yes. You were in another dangerous situation, it seems,” Mana commented, outfitted in her wiring suit, massive laser blade equipped in both hands, as she glanced toward him.

She quickly readied her shining blade once more and sent a sharp gaze after Kurumi. “It seems you’ve been putting on quite a show, Nightmare.”

“Ngh. Hee-hee! Hee-hee! I know it’s always like this, but I’m impressed. I can’t believe you sliced through my Elohim so easily!”

“Hmph. Sorry, but an Astral Dress is pointless against me. Be quiet and—”

Kurumi spread out her hands dramatically and whirled around on the spot. “Buuuuut… I really cannot allow you to kill this me, hmmm.”

She stamped her feet against the ground rhythmically.

“Now, then! Now, then! Come to me. Zaaaaaaafkiel—Time Emperor!”

A massive clock slowly appeared from the shadow behind her. The enormous dial was nearly twice her height, with hands in the center that were an intricately ornate ancient rifle and pistol.

“…! Is this…an Angel?!” Shido cried out.

An Angel. The miracle made manifest. A Spirit’s sole weapon, boasting absolute power.

“Hee-hee-hee…” Kurumi laughed, and the gun that was the short hand came off the face of the massive clock and made its way into her hand.

“Zafkiel. Fourth Bullet Dalet,” she chanted, and a shadow oozed from the IV carved into the clock to be sucked into the barrel of her pistol.

Shido watched this and narrowed his eyes.

The moment the shadow spilled out of the number, the clock of her left eye started to turn in the correct direction at a terrifying speed.

“Wha…?” Mana’s dubious voice reached his ears. He couldn’t see her face from this position, but he had no doubt that her expression was very similar to his own.

Kurumi placed the barrel of the pistol under her own chin.

“What the—?” Mana started.

Kurumi grinned and pulled the trigger without the slightest hesitation.

Bang! Her head flew back.

This was clearly a suicide.

Shido and Mana, however, were forced to revise that narrative in their heads a moment later.

“Huh…?” He himself was aware that he looked like a slack-jawed idiot. Anyone who witnessed this scene would no doubt have had the same look on their face.

The moment Kurumi shot herself with the gun, her severed hand danced up from the ground into the air like a movie being rewound and flew back to her. When this hand touched her arm, it connected and fused together very neatly like nothing had happened to it. Perfectly complete with the long glove.

“Hee-hee-hee. You’re a good one, hmm, Zafkiel.”

“…I haven’t seen that trick before,” Mana said, annoyed. “I see. That’s a very impressive ability to recover.”

“Kee-hee-hee! Hee-hee.” Kurumi shook her head, giggling. “That is not what it is. I just turned back time.”

“What did you say?” Mana’s brows knitted together.

Kurumi only responded with an audacious smile before brandishing her right hand high in the air. The long hand of the clock Zafkiel behind her—the rifle slipped into that hand.

“Aah, aah, Mana. Dear Mana. Today alone, I’m afraid you will have to allow me to win.” She readied the two guns in front of the hands-less clockface. Almost as though she were indicating a time. “Now then, shall we begin? I’m delighted to show you my Angel.”

“—Hmph. That’s perfectly fine with me. I will kill you just as I always do.”

Kurumi laughed like this was the funniest thing in the world. “Kee-hee! Hee-hee! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! You stiiiiiiiill don’t understand? You can neeeeeeeeever completely kill me!”

“That’s got nothing to do with anything,” Mana replied. “It’s my mission and my reason for living to keep murdering you. If you do not fall, I’ll kill you until you fall, and if you do not die, I’ll kill you until you die.”

“Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee. Aaah, is that so? I see, I see. You’re that sort of person. Heh-heh-heh! Heh-heh! Aah, oh my, that’s rich. I love this. So whatever shall you do? Will you remove my head? Pierce my chest? Sever all my limbs?”

“Hmph. I know a single creature who has come back to life from each of those attacks. I shall atomize you so that not a single particle remains.”

“Oh-ho? That will be a first indeed. How wonderful. Simply marvelous!”

“As usual, you’re completely unhinged.”

“Hee-hee-hee! Doesn’t that go for you, too? Honestly, you don’t even cause me to raise an eyebrow any longer. Sad. When you first killed me, you still had that air of innocence about you.”

“I would appreciate you shutting up. Or perhaps you wish me to send your mouth and throat flying?”

“Heh-heh-heh. Heh-heh! I wonder if you could?” Kurumi brandished the pistol in her left hand. “Zafkiel. First Bullet Aleph.”

Shadow oozed out of the I on the clockface and was absorbed into the pistol. She once again turned the barrel toward her chin and pulled the trigger.

Kurumi was erased from the spot, and Mana was knocked off to the side.

“Hngh?!”

“Ah! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I suppose. You. Didn’t. See. Me?”

“…!”

Kurumi disappeared like mist again, and in the next moment, she materialized behind Mana and brought her heel down on her back.

“Hngh!” Mana’s gaze sharpened, and Kurumi’s movements grew dull momentarily. Most likely, Mana’s Territory had caught her.

Mana slid her laser blade to the side to cut Kurumi in two, but the other girl was already dodging it and whirling around to land on the top of the water tower.

“Heh-heh! I’m impressed that you’re able to respond to my movements when my time is sped up!”

“Hmph. That’s an interesting ability, but it’s not so compatible with me and my Territory. As long as it can detect you, I’m able to read your movements.”

“Aah, aha, I suppose so. Well, then.” Once more, Kurumi moved toward Mana in a blur. “Zafkiel. Seventh Bullet Zayin!”

The shadow that began to ooze out of the VII on the clockface was sucked into her rifle. She immediately turned the barrel toward Mana and fired.

“I told you. It’s no use!”

There was no way the bullet would reach Mana within her Territory.

However…

“Huh?” Shido said, dumbfounded.

Mana froze in midair.

“Mana!” he shouted, but she didn’t move or respond in any way. It was almost like time had stopped for her.

“Aah! Ha!” Kurumi laughed and launched bullets at Mana.

Both of Kurumi’s guns were old-style, single-shot guns. Each time they fired a round, however, the shadow at her feet oozed up, became a bullet, and was loaded into the gun again.

A few seconds later, Kurumi came to stand on the ground again.

“Gaaaah?!” Mana also crashed to the ground, blood spilling out of her, after countless bullets had shot through her.

“Kee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! Oh my goodness! Whatever is the matter?”

“Wh—? Just now…”

“Mana!” Shido shouted and raced over to Mana, who was kneeling on the ground.

“Bro…ther. It’s too dangerous. Please get back…”

“Idiot, what are you talking about?!”

Bam! He heard a door being thrown open behind him.

“Shido!”

“—Shido.”

Two new voices calling his name appeared on the roof.

“Tohka—and Origami?!” He wondered why they were able to move inside of Kurumi’s barrier, but that question disappeared when he turned to look at them. Tohka was clad in her Astral Dress and Origami in her wiring suit.

“Are you okay, Shido?!”

“Any injuries?”

They spoke at the same time and then glared at each other, irritated, before turning their eyes back on Shido.

They quickly noticed Kurumi ahead of them and a bloody Mana on her knees, and they moved to stand in front of Shido, facing Kurumi with sword and laser blade at the ready.

“Master Sergeant Tobiichi… Tohka,” Mana whispered, her breathing pained. “You’re both safe? But…Tohka. What is that dress?”

“Shido sister number two. What are you wearing?” Tohka asked dubiously. “It’s almost like AST—”

Mana and Tohka exchanged suspicious looks, but they were interrupted by peals of laughter.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my! Everyone’s all here,” Kurumi cried.

“Kurumi…!” Tohka gasped. “You ran away all of a sudden! So this is where you were!”

“Your actions are incomprehensible,” Origami said. “What exactly is this?”

“Huh…?” Shido furrowed his brow. What were they talking about? “Ran away…?”

Tohka nodded, keeping her eyes on Kurumi. “She came and got in my way. But after that explosion before, she ran off somewhere.”

“That’s strange,” Origami objected. “Kurumi Tokisaki was locked in battle with me.”

“What?” Tohka looked doubtful for a moment but then quickly shook her head and turned her gaze back on Kurumi. “Too bad for you, Kurumi. I can’t show any mercy so long as you’re trying to hurt Shido.”

“I agree with that alone.” Origami, too, turned back to Kurumi.

“Heh-heh-heh! Heh-heh!” Kurumi spun around, seemingly happy. “Aah, ooh, I’m so scared. This is so frightening! Such powerful forces ready to attack poor, weak little me.” She giggled and giggled, clearly not meaning a bit of this. “But I’m also serious today. Isn’t that right, girls?”

“Huh?” Shido frowned.

“Wha—?!” Shido, Tohka, Origami, Mana—all four spoke as one.

Their shock was only natural. Countless white hands popped out from inside of Kurumi’s shadow covering the roof. And it wasn’t only hands. They had only shown themselves up to the elbow so far, but now, more of her gradually, steadily appeared aboveground.

“What…is this…?!” Shido cried out, his throat tightening.

The pale hands… They were all Kurumi. All of them, so many, practically filling the spacious rooftop.

Kurumi Tokisaki crawled out of the shadow in her Astral Dress.

“Hmm hmm!”“My goodness.”“Heh-heh-heh.”

“Oh my, oh my.”“Surprised?”

“Shido.”“Now, whatever shall we do?”“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

“Hee-hee-hee-hee!”“You look quite tasty.”

“Now, then.”“Shall we play?”

“What do you think?”“Heh-heh!”“Hee-hee-hee!”

“Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh.”“What shall we do?”

Countless Kurumis laughed and chattered.

“Wh-what?!” Mana cried.

“Heh-heh-heh! Heh-heh!” Kurumi jerked her chin up as she spread her arms out, guns in either hand. “What do you think? Beautiful, isn’t it? This is my past. My history. These are the mes from various time axes.”

“Wh—?”

“Heh-heh-heh. That said, these girls are nothing more than copies of me, recreations. They don’t have as much power as I do, rest assured. So?” she continued. “Mana, do you see now the reason you cannot completely kill me?”

“…!” Mana gasped. As did Tohka, Origami, and Shido.

“Now, then.” Kurumi whirled around. “I shall put an end to this.”

“…! Don’t…underestimate me…!” Mana shouted.

Using her Territory, she forced herself to her feet and danced up into the air before making her equipment transform and firing multiple beams of light.

The light pierced several of the Kurumis squirming nearby, and they dropped to their knees. But the surrounding Kurumis evaded the attack and leaped into the air after Mana.

“Hmph!” Mana transformed her equipment once more and sliced at the assaulting Kurumis’ necks, arms, torsos. Scattered Kurumi “parts” tumbled across the roof.

When the gun-toting Kurumi in front of Zafkiel equipped Zayin, the Seventh Bullet, and launched it at Mana, she stopped for an instant in midair once again.

Taking advantage of this, a crowd of Kurumis clustered around her.

“Mana—!” Shido cried. But there was nothing he could do.

Tohka and Origami had set themselves up to protect him and were swinging their swords, but the difference in numbers was just too great. Kurumis swarmed from all sides and held them back.

There was nothing Shido could do. Kurumis grabbed his hands and pinned him down.

It all happened in less than five minutes.

This was the expected outcome. Tohka was unable to manifest her full powers, and Origami didn’t have her usual range of equipment. The battle had been decided the moment the Angel neutralized Mana, the only one who could likely resist the complete Spirit.

“Tohka… Origami… Mana…!” Shido managed to shout from where he was pressed to the ground.

“Ngh.”

“—”

Tohka and Origami were similarly pinned down nearby. They were both injured, and their breathing was labored.

He couldn’t see Mana from where he was. He only knew that she had fallen to the roof, but an overwhelming number of Kurumis blocked his view.

“Heh-heh-heh! Heh-heh!” Laughing lazily, the Kurumi with the gun approached him. “Aah, aah, it’s taken a long time. But now I can finally have Shido.”

“St-stop, Kurumi! Stay away from him!”

“…! Let go—”

Tohka and Origami struggled but couldn’t break free of the Kurumis’ grasp.

Kurumi giggled and came to a stop in front of him. Then her eyebrows twitched like she had just remembered something.

“Hee-hee. That’s right.” She shifted her gun to her left hand and raised her right above her head.

As it had before, the spacequake alarm began to squeal.

“Wha—?! Kurumi, what are you—?”

“Heh-heh-heh! Heh-heh! I’m accomplishing what I was unable to before. I believe everyone is still unconscious. Heh-heh-heh! I’m positive a great number of them will die, hmm?”

“St-stop…! If you do that, my tongue—”

The Kurumis holding him down pushed slender fingers into his mouth from either side and pressed down his jaw and tongue.

“Hrngh?!”

“Your tongue…? What is it you would do with it?” Kurumi laughed and clenched her hand. The earsplitting alarm echoed around them. “Heh-heh. Hee-hee-hee! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! Now! I shall carve despair into your heart so that you cannot deceive me ever again!”

“Schoooop—!” He couldn’t pronounce stop properly, but he couldn’t help himself from crying out.

Kurumi ignored his plea and brought her hand down.

She laughed. Snickered. Guffawed. “Aaaaaaaah! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaaa!!”

The world around Raizen High School roared, and the air shook like in an earthquake.

However…

“Ah-ha?”

A few seconds later, the laughter was overwritten by a question mark.

Kurumi looked around doubtfully.

And no wonder. There had indeed been an earsplitting noise like time and space had scraped against each other. The air had shaken like a bomb had gone off nearby. But that was it.

“…?” Shido, too, frowned at the discrepancy.

He’d seen the aftermath of a spacequake any number of times, everything gone like space itself had been gouged away. But the town spread out as usual around Raizen High.

“What…is the meaning of this…?” Kurumi frowned.

“Oh, didn’t you know?” a new voice asked. “So when a spacequake comes up against a shaking of space on a similar scale happening at the same time, they cancel each other out.”

“…! And who would you be?” Kurumi’s face stiffened as she looked upward, gripping a gun in her right hand once again.

Shido also lifted his face, and his eyes grew wide.

The sky was red.

That was his first impression.

A ball of flames was floating above the roof, above the heads of Shido and the Kurumis. And inside the flames was a girl.

She was dressed in a traditional Japanese style. Kimono sleeves fluttered in the wind and shimmered as though they were almost one with the flames, and the flaming obi belt that wound around her waist and arms was like the raiment of an angel. Two inorganic horns grew out of her head. The look of a princess—or a demon.

But that wasn’t the reason Shido couldn’t take his eyes off of this girl. Dumbfounded, he opened his mouth.

“Ko…tori?”

Yes. Shido’s little sister, and the commander of Ratatoskr. The girl clad in flames looked to be none other than Kotori Itsuka.

Kotori gradually descended and glanced down at him. “I’m just taking this back for a bit, Shido.”

“Huh…?” He frowned, unable to parse the meaning of this statement.

“…! That’s—” For some reason, Origami was colored with more shock than Shido had ever seen.

“—Burn, Camael,” Kotori ordered.

Flames flared up around her once more and formed a cylinder, an enormous staff.

When Kotori took this staff in hand, a bright red blade materialized from its side.

It was an impossibly large battle-ax.

Shido was stunned into silence as Kotori nimbly brandished this massive battle-ax and turned to Kurumi.

“Now, then. How about we start our ‘war’—a date?”

To be continued.