While the Spirits were at a loss, the barrier in the sky began to slowly move.
And its direction was—Tengu City.
[Could it be…]
A chill rose in Shido's heart. Mikoto was expanding her divine realm while advancing toward Tengu City. Without a doubt, that barrier would destroy the entire city. Even the spacequake shelters would not be able to protect anyone.
"We have to stop senpai!"
Shido gritted his teeth and ran toward the blazing sun.
But reality was cruel.
He had neither a way to approach the barrier in midair nor a way to defend against that "sun."
[What exactly should I do?]
Shido desperately racked his brain.
"Natsumi! Can you turn that barrier into sothing else?"
If they could not break through it head-on, then they could try transforming it.
"I-I already tried! It's completely useless!"
The little witch circling near the "sun" said in a flustered voice.
"No good… Solo doesn't work either!"
Even if she tried to confuse it with sound, the songstress's beautiful lody could not reach Mikoto's ears at all.
[I need a stronger power!]
Shido clenched his teeth.
What he needed was the power to defend against everything, the power to safely bring him to Mikoto's side.
Yes, just like when that girl had protected him and sent him to Origami's side.
Ironically, the only Angel that could be useful right now—Tsukuyomi—belonged to the inverted girl herself.
[!!!]
At that mont, Shido's eyes widened.
He suddenly rembered that when Tohka inverted, Sandalphon had protected him beneath the blade of the Demon King Nahemah. In other words, even if a Spirit inverted, he could still use that Spirit's Angel.
"Please!"
Shido prayed in his heart, then reached out his hand.
Unexpectedly, the night descended before him without any resistance.
It was as if he had already used that Angel countless tis before. Everything felt so natural.
"All right!"
He gritted his teeth, stepped onto the divine realm created from night, and ran toward the sun in the sky.
"Shido!"
Seeing Shido's sudden movent, Tohka and the others cried out in shock, unable to react in ti.
But it was already too late. At this mont, protected by the night, Shido had already charged into the divine realm.
"Uwaaaaaaaah!"
The mont he entered, he felt a tearing pain that seed to rip through his heart and lungs. Shido understood. That was the price of using an Angel with a human body.
The divine realm was being consud every single mont, while the healing flas licked at his skin, bones, and organs every single second.
Enduring a pain like being thrown into a burning hell, Shido advanced step by step.
Finally, he arrived at Mikoto's side.
"Hmm?"
As if she had never expected anyone to co in, "Mikoto" revealed a surprised expression.
But soon, the girl seed to understand.
"It's you? That makes sense. Other than you, who can use Tsukuyomi, no one could co here."
She said this calmly.
"Please wake up! I'm begging you, Yakumo-senpai!"
Since he did not know what to do, Shido tried to use his experience from saving Tohka to awaken Mikoto's consciousness.
"Hmph."
However, "Mikoto" showed no hesitation or confusion at all. Her reaction was completely different from Tohka's back then.
"Give up. Since you have already forgotten everything about Mikoto, the current you cannot awaken her."
Hearing "Mikoto's" words, Shido froze.
She was right. About Mikoto—he knew nothing at all.
How could a call like that possibly receive Mikoto's response?
"Annoying."
"Mikoto" waved her hand. Golden spiritual power swept over the night colored barrier, and a trendous impact blasted Shido away.
"Uwaaaaah!"
The night shattered like glass. Scorching light poured in and pierced through Shido's body.
"Shido!"
Tohka hurriedly flew forward and caught Shido as he fell.
At this mont, the boy was covered in blood. No matter how one looked at him, he seed like he was about to die.
"Calm down, Tohka! Shido will be fine! If you invert too, that would really be trouble!"
Kotori, who had arrived late, shouted at Tohka. Having obtained mories from the first worldline, Kotori understood that one careless step right now could cause another inverted being to appear in Tengu City.
Fortunately, before Tsukuyomi vanished, it had barely protected Shido's body. As long as he had not been completely vaporized, the healing flas would save Shido.
After placing Shido in a safe location, Kotori looked at the sun in the sky, not even noticing that she had completely bitten through the lollipop in her mouth.
Right now, the most important thing was to stop Mikoto from entering Tengu City.
There was a fatal difference between Mikoto's inversion and Tohka's inversion. Inverted Tohka only attacked those she viewed as enemies. But Mikoto… though Kotori was not completely certain, the girl seed to hold clear hostility toward Tengu City, or rather, toward all of humanity.
It was as if she wanted humanity to feel the wrath of the gods, as if she was bringing divine punishnt down upon the world.
[What should we do?]
The best thod was for Shido to awaken Mikoto's consciousness, but right now, Shido had already forgotten Mikoto. There was no way to carry out thod two.
Then… the only choice was thod one—destroy her by force.
Unfortunately, Kotori herself did not think this thod was possible. To begin with, she could not accept it emotionally. Even if she forced her rationality forward with her resolve as commander and launched an attack on Mikoto without hesitation, unless she fired Gungir at one hundred percent spiritual power, any attack would probably have no effect.
Boom!
Just as Kotori was thinking about whether the ship's main cannon would be useful, a brilliant bombardnt shot straight in from the distance.
"That is…"
She raised her head and saw a battleship with beautiful platinum armor and a streamlined body, like a ceremonial airship.
There was no need to think. If it was not a Ratatoskr airship, then the other side could only be DEM.
Even a single strike from a battleship's main cannon vanished silently the instant it touched the surface of the barrier. It was like firing a cannon at the sun, giving everyone a crushing feeling of utter helplessness.
Kotori's guess was correct. That airship was precisely Ellen's personal vessel—Goetia.
Seeing that the first bombardnt had returned with no result, Ellen revealed an irritated expression. She controlled the main cannon and fired an even stronger second shot toward the barrier in the sky.
Then, under Ellen and Kotori's gazes, "Mikoto" summoned a small magatama from the shrine. After the brilliant cannon fire passed through the barrier, it changed direction and was absorbed into the magatama.
The next instant, a golden torrent roared toward Goetia.
"Tch!"
Having suffered once already, Ellen was not foolish enough to exhaust all her power this ti. With enough strength still left to control the warship, she maneuvered Goetia and dodged the reflected cannon fire.
However, this also proved one thing.
The inverted Mikoto still possessed the ability to reflect an enemy's attack.
In other words, if soone abandoned everything and poured all their power into firing the ultimate strike at that barrier, the result would be being blown to pieces by their own reflected bombardnt.
Right now—no one could stop that sun from raging through Tengu City, or even through this world.
"Ugh…"
After who knew how long, Shido struggled to open his eyes.
"Is it morning?"
What entered his vision was a sky as bright as day. It made him feel as if he had been unconscious for an entire night.
However, if he looked carefully, he would realize that it was the small sun hanging above Tengu City, releasing a deadly radiance.
"Ara, ara, you're awake, Shido-san."
"Kurumi?"
He turned his head and saw Kurumi smiling at him.
"Where is everyone? How is everyone?"
Looking at Tengu City, which looked as if it had encountered another spacequake and had been vaporized by the divine realm into a giant crater, Shido asked in panic.
"Please be at ease. Everyone is safe. The terrifying Fla Spirit is covering the evacuation of Tengu City's people."
Kurumi smiled.
Fortunately, the barrier's movent speed was not fast. After realizing they could not stop it, Kotori guided the citizens out before the barrier reached Tengu City.
As for that golden barrier, they announced it to the outside world as a mutated spacequake.
"Is that so… thank goodness…"
Shido placed a hand on his chest.
Although it could not have been completely without casualties, fortunately, Tengu City had been built on the ruins of a large-scale spacequake, so it had excellent counterasures for this kind of special disaster.
"Thank goodness? Think about it, Shido-san. If there is no way to stop Yakumo-san, what will happen as that barrier continues to expand?"
Kurumi asked.
"It will…"
In an instant, cold sweat soaked Shido's back.
If it really continued like that, then all of Japan—or perhaps the entire world—might eventually be erased within that divine realm.
"Where are you going, Shido-san?"
Kurumi asked when she noticed Shido begin walking.
"Of course, I'm going to stop Yakumo-senpai…"
Shido gritted his teeth and said.
"Hah… you still don't understand. If that could be stopped, then it wouldn't have developed into this situation, would it?"
Kurumi sighed.
"Ugh…"
Hearing Kurumi's words, Shido stopped weakly.
At that mont, a black shadow spread from beneath Kurumi's feet and wrapped around Shido.
"Kurumi?"
"Ehehehehehe, do you still not understand, Shido-san? The reason why the terrifying Fla Spirit left you here alone?"
Kurumi revealed a smile filled with madness.
"Could it be…"
Kotori could not possibly be angry and feed him to Kurumi. There was only one reason—Kurumi could help Shido.
"Ex-actly. Although everyone is completely helpless against that barrier, my Zafkiel is different. No matter how powerful the enemy is, as long as Shido-san returns to a ti before that enemy appeared, things can be solved easily, right?"
Kurumi stepped lightly as if dancing. The enormous clock-shaped Angel appeared behind her, and the symbol representing the twelfth number emitted powerful spiritual power.
"This ti, please don't choose the wrong route, Shido-san, who entered the Bad End."
As she said this, she pulled the trigger.
(TL:ugh...sohow these chapter were hard to translate, not just about the story, but how the author use his wording, it's so hard to translate, tried my best to make it easier to read)
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