Ti went back to a short while earlier.
After Mikoto successfully captured Shido, the banquet reached its final part—Tohka's turn to capture Shido.
However, an accident happened at that mont.
Just as Tohka and Shido were feeding each other and the mood was getting better and better, Shido suddenly collapsed to the ground.
Boom—!
Then a huge shockwave exploded. Shido's body shone with spiritual power and blasted through the banquet hall ceiling.
"Cough, cough. Shido… where's Shido?"
When the dust cleared, what they saw through the broken ceiling was Shido going berserk like a mad warrior.
At the sa ti, the earpiece Mikoto had turned on the instant the abnormality appeared and connected to Ratatoskr let out an alarm sound she had never heard before.
To cooperate with Fraxinus's missions, Mikoto had spent so ti learning basic knowledge about alarms and other things. However…
No!
That was an alarm she had never heard before. It was not a spacequake alarm, not an enemy attack alarm, and not an alarm for a Spirit's affection level dropping.
It was an even more ominous sound, like the horn of the end.
"Kotori…"
Mikoto looked at Kotori, wanting to ask what the alarm ant. She had a very bad feeling.
"Everyone, stay here and wait. I'll find a way to do sothing."
Kotori did not turn back. She only said that.
"!!!"
Her voice was very calm, just like usual, carrying the cool and steady tone of Kotori in commander mode. However—Mikoto sohow felt that there was sothing completely different inside it.
"You're telling us to wait? Let us do sothing too."
"Agreent. That is not like Kotori."
The Spirits also seed to feel sothing and spoke up one after another.
"Please, everyone. Leave it to . Ratatoskr had prepared for this kind of situation."
Kotori said.
In the end, she left everyone behind and went downstairs alone.
"Origami…"
"Mm."
Mikoto and Origami looked at each other. Both of them had noticed one fact—Kotori was hiding sothing very, very important. If they did nothing, then not only Shido, even Kotori herself might suffer damage that could never be healed.
Under the surprised eyes of the Spirits, the two of them ran after Kotori.
"I really can't leave Kotori like that."
As they rushed down the stairs, Mikoto said anxiously.
"Agreed."
When they reached downstairs, the two saw a girl trembling, filled with helplessness and despair. She was holding a small device with a button on it.
Kotori was trying to press it. Although it was only a simple movent, it looked as if she needed to bet her very life to do it.
Click!
Without saying a word, Origami pulled a handgun from under her dress and pressed it against Kotori's temple.
"What exactly is going on, Kotori?"
Mikoto did not stop Origami. Sohow, she felt that pressing that button would cause sothing irreversible to happen to Shido.
This was not just simple intuition. Shido's current condition was terrible. If that button could solve the situation, Kotori would have used it already. If she had not chosen to use it, then it had to be because—that thod would have an even worse effect on Shido than the current situation.
For example—death.
"What are you holding? What are you going to do to Shido, Itsuka Kotori… you…"
Origami stopped halfway through her words. Because she and Mikoto could both see the expression on Kotori's face when she turned around.
It was filled with sorrow.
Filled with pain.
"...I have to kill Shido."
Kotori squeezed out those words as if she had used all her strength.
According to Kotori, that device was the activation button for an orbital magical cannon-Dainsleif. Once she pressed it, a powerful magical cannon that even Shido's regeneration could not heal from would strike him.
And the reason was simple.
Sealing the Spirits's power was never risk free. Starting five years ago, when Shido sealed Kotori's spiritual power, he had already beco a ticking ti bomb. There was always a risk that he would go berserk.
Because that seed of disaster had already been planted five years ago, there was no way to reverse it except with Zafkiel's Yud Bet. After that, the decision to use Shido's power to seal the other Spirits was also based on the fact that, whether they sealed them or not, Shido's body had already beco impossible to restore him back to a normal human.
No, rather, there was only one way to save Shido—seal all the Spirits, then use that powerful spiritual power to turn all the spiritual power into Sephira Crystals and expel it from his body.
But now it was already too late. Shido had begun going berserk and was about to cause a grand self destruction on the sa scale as the South Kanto Great Disaster, killing tens of millions of people.
And Kotori had only one goal—to kill Shido before he self destructed.
Even though she loved Shido so much, even though she wanted Shido to be happy more than anything, it was too late now.
No, precisely because she loved Shido, the girl understood that if Shido still had his reason, he would choose that path without hesitation.
Mikoto understood Kotori's feelings.
She also understood Kotori's resolve.
But…
"I can't agree."
She shook her head.
"But… at this point, it's already too late."
Kotori shook her head and pressed harder with her finger. Even Origami could not stop her, because she understood that right now, there was no way to let Shido live.
"Even if you kill Shido, I don't think that ans disaster won't co. Hey, Kotori, do you think what we entrusted to Shido was only our spiritual power?"
Mikoto looked at Kotori and spoke with a sad expression.
"What… do you an…"
Kotori loosened her finger and asked in confusion.
"What everyone placed inside Shido wasn't only spiritual power. It was much, much more than that…"
Shido was the Spirits's emotional support. He was their friend, their family, and even their love.
"Maybe Dainsleif can destroy Shido. But if the spiritual power stored inside Shido doesn't disappear because of that, Kotori, how many inverse forms do you think this world will gain?"
This was not impossible. Killing Shido did not necessarily an the spiritual power would disappear. There was a chance that when Shido died, the Spirits would regain all of their power.
Mikoto herself, Origami, Miku, Tohka, and even Kotori, who would have personally killed Shido. Perhaps even more of them…
All of them might inverse.
Kotori understood even without Mikoto saying it how much of a threat inverse forms were to humanity. That was an ending no weaker than Shido's self destruction.
No, it might even be far more terrifying.
"How could…"
Kotori's hand loosened, and the device carrying Dainsleif's activation switch slipped from her grasp.
Mikoto did not tell Kotori empty words like Shido was more important than the whole world, or that Shido had to live even if tens of millions of people died.
She simply gave Kotori a reason.
A reason strong enough for her not to kill Shido.
And that—was enough.
"Please, everyone… save Onii-chan with …"
Dainsleif's activation device fell to the floor. Kotori looked at Origami, Mikoto, and the Spirits who had arrived, and said through her tears.
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