"Give up on conquering the Spirit this ti. Shido."
Hearing Yutsuki's words, Shido froze in an instant.
"Yutsuki... sorry, what did you just say?"
Seemingly doubting whether he had accidentally misheard, Shido asked sowhat hesitantly.
"I said, give up on conquering this Spirit nad Hoshimiya Mukuro."
Her facial expression without the slightest change, Yutsuki pronounced every word clearly. Her crisp voice was so piercing to Shido's ears.
"..."
His ears weren't hallucinating. Confirming this fact didn't make Shido breathe a sigh of relief. On the contrary, he felt a sense of floating, as if his feet couldn't touch the ground. His thoughts tangled into a ssy ball like tangled threads.
Give up? What on earth is Yutsuki talking about?
Conquering Spirits, sealing their Spirit power, allowing them to escape the pursuit of Wizards, and helping them live normal lives like ordinary people—if he didn't do this, they would forever remain in pain and loneliness.
Yutsuki should understand this better than anyone else.
"Yu..."
Looking at Yutsuki's face, Shido wanted to ask for her reason, but so part of his heart seed to be afraid of sothing. He hesitated, then closed his mouth.
"...For now, could you tell us the reason for proposing this? Yutsuki-nee."
Sighing softly, Kotori maintained a calm tone and asked the question on Shido's behalf.
"It's very simple. Because in my opinion, Hoshimiya Mukuro doesn't have the need to be sealed, right?"
Yutsuki said in a matter of fact tone.
"Doesn't need to be sealed? Why?"
Sowhat unable to understand Yutsuki's words, Kotori frowned in confusion.
"The reason is simple, Mukuro just said it herself. She has no dissatisfaction with her current living environnt, nor does she have any intention of changing it. Moreover, looking at her situation, she doesn't seem to have the problem of being unable to suppress spacequakes. Even if she did, it wouldn't affect Earth from space, right?"
After calmly stating her viewpoint, Yutsuki asked back,
"I actually find it strange. Since she has no intention of integrating into human society, and won't unconsciously cause destruction to it, why do you guys have to seal Mukuro's Spirit power?"
"Ugh—"
Faced with such an impeccably correct thought, Kotori was montarily speechless. However, she quickly adjusted, crossed her arms, and answered Yutsuki with a serious face.
"Yutsuki-nee. Indeed, before she was discovered, she didn't cause harm to anyone. But it's different now. Since DEM has discovered her, they definitely won't let it go. Moreover, if we let Mukuro throw teorites at Earth, there will eventually be casualties. To prevent such a situation, we have to seal and protect Mukuro before DEM can."
Hearing Kotori's reasoning, Yutsuki shrugged, clearly not very convinced.
"Mhm... That's not for sure. Honestly, I don't think doing that counts as protecting Mukuro. Ah—don't misunderstand, I'm not saying you lack the ability to protect Mukuro."
Noticing the slightly solemn expressions of the Fraxinus crew, Yutsuki smiled bitterly, waved her hand, and explained.
"I just an, in this operation, we don't necessarily have to proceed with the goal of sealing Mukuro's Spirit power."
"What do you an?"
Kotori asked, puzzled.
"It's simple. Didn't you say it yourself, Kotori-chan? The only reason she attacks Earth is purely to counter DEM's offense. Doesn't that make the problem simple?"
Saying this, a smile curled the corner of Yutsuki's mouth.
"As long as DEM disappears, wouldn't Mukuro's reason for attacking Earth disappear too?"
Hearing Yutsuki's words, everyone's eyes widened in unison.
"You an... use Mukuro to eliminate DEM?"
Reine asked slowly.
"My~, 'use' sounds so harsh~ I just simply want to cooperate."
After retorting with a bitter smile, Yutsuki looked around at everyone and continued,
"Since DEM has already locked onto Mukuro as a target, they won't simply give up after this one failure. Sending only drones and airships this ti was likely a probe. Next ti, DEM will probably deploy more forces to encircle Mukuro. Even if Westcott doesn't go, key Wizards like Ellen and Artemisia will definitely deploy. At that ti, as long as we cooperate with Mukuro to fight against DEM, even if we can't wipe them out completely, we have a high chance of dealing them a heavy blow."
"Will it go that smoothly? I don't think Mukuro will agree to cooperate with us."
Regarding Yutsuki's idea, "Company President" Mikimoto raised his doubt.
"Judging from Shido-kun's conversation with Mukuro, Mukuro's attitude towards us can't be called friendly. Furthermore, she's sealed her emotions using her Angel, making even communication extrely difficult. I don't think she'll agree to our request for cooperation."
"She will."
Yutsuki answered firmly.
"Actually, my view is exactly the opposite. It's precisely because Mukuro has sealed her emotions that when faced with the question of cooperation, she will weigh the pros and cons from a more objective perspective, without any bias."
Mukuro's goal is to shake off DEM's entanglent so she can sleep peacefully in space. Kotori's side, on the other hand, doesn't want the Spirits to be endangered by DEM's attacks. Their interests are aligned.
Moreover, if she knows Westcott possesses the omniscient Demon King "Beelzebub," even with an Angel as powerful as "Michael," Mukuro will definitely be wary and won't be arrogant enough to choose to face them head on recklessly.
Rather, the emotion of arrogance has definitely long been sealed away by her.
"As long as we tell her we have a way to deal with Beelzebub, I believe Mukuro won't refuse so flatly. Furthermore, if we truly establish a cooperative relationship, we can also propose the condition of 'no destroying Earth.' Then we won't have to worry about Mukuro dropping teorites on Earth, nor about her stopping Earth's rotation, right?"
Saying this, Yutsuki smiled faintly at Kotori,
"Of course, these are just theoretical discussions for now, but it's still worth a try, isn't it?"
"Mhm..."
Sucking on a Chupa Chups that was already just a stick, Kotori fell into deep thought.
She understood what Yutsuki ant. Rather than sealing Mukuro's Spirit power, turning her into a powerless target needing protection, keeping her at full combat strength as a cooperative ally would undoubtedly be more advantageous.
Very practical, very reasonable, and nothing in the plan violated Kotori's moral bottom line. Considering how DEM always interfered during their previous Spirit conquests, Yutsuki's proposal wasn't a bad plan for a permanent solution. Actually, she was indeed sowhat moved by it.
(However...)
Kotori turned her gaze to Shido, who had remained silent since earlier. From his expression, Kotori clearly didn't see him being convinced by Yutsuki's proposal.
"I can't make the decision... the person who conquers Spirits is primarily Shido. Whether to seal the Spirit power or not, let Shido make the final decision."
Kotori sighed helplessly and said this.
"That's true."
Hearing this, Yutsuki wasn't surprised and turned her gaze to Shido.
"So, Shido, do you agree with this approach?"
"I..."
Feeling everyone's gazes turning to him, Shido took a slow, deep breath, his tone appearing sowhat hesitant.
Obviously, after hearing Yutsuki's proposal, although no one said it explicitly, they had already silently expressed their agreent. One could even say an atmosphere of "not sealing is also a good choice" had ford in the command room.
To go against the flow in such an atmosphere, Shido felt an unimaginable pressure.
The sweat seeping from his palms brought an unpleasant stickiness. His throat was dry as if inflad, unable to produce a clear sound.
Yutsuki's proposal was perfect and very well thought out. Compared to her, Itsuka Shido felt his own insistence was as childish as a kid throwing a tantrum.
But even so, he had reasons why he couldn't just give up.
"Yutsuki... if we defeat DEM according to your idea, what do you plan to do after the cooperative relationship is dissolved?"
"Do nothing. If we interfere with her after the cooperation ends, we'd be no different from DEM to her. She doesn't want to live a human life anyway. If we don't bother her, she won't cause destruction to Earth. In that case, following her original plan and letting her drift leisurely in space like an immortal being isn't bad, is it?"
"Is that why you told to give up on conquering Mukuro?"
Staring into Yutsuki's pupils, Shido gritted his teeth and said,
"Sorry, Yutsuki... I do not agree with your idea."
Hearing Shido's words, Yutsuki raised her eyebrows slightly.
"...Why?"
"Your view, at first glance, seems to be a perfect approach where everyone achieves happiness. But in reality, if we do that, Mukuro will never be saved."
"She herself doesn't need saving, right? Didn't she say it herself, she's content just quietly drifting in space. Shido, don't force your own values onto others."
"THAT'S WRONG!!!"
Shido denied it loudly.
"If that really is a choice Mukuro made of her own free will, I naturally wouldn't stop her. But if that truly is a wish from the bottom of her heart, then why did she use an Angel to lock away her emotions?"
If she were truly indifferent by nature, truly willing to drift in space and enjoy loneliness, Mukuro would have absolutely no need to put a lock on herself.
That kind of action, rather than calling it a wish, is more like escaping. Because she encountered insurmountable sorrow and pain in the past, and after trying everything to no avail, she despairingly built a wall between her heart and the outside world.
If Shido chose to give up, then Mukuro could only wander forever in the empty, dark universe, carrying that sorrow that even she herself had long forgotten.
"Hoh... so that's why you said you want to unlock her heart."
Nodding faintly, Yutsuki asked unmoved,
"And then? Are you done speaking?"
"...Eh?"
Shido widened his eyes in disbelief.
"Indeed... I admit. What you said makes sense. Mukuro might have locked her emotions away because she encountered sothing terrible in the past. Knowing this and turning a blind eye would indeed feel a bit guilty. But Shido, have you ever thought about what kind of person Mukuro will be after unlocking her heart back?"
"What kind of person... will Mukuro be?"
Shido repeated Yutsuki's words blankly, not understanding what she wanted to convey.
"Everything I ntioned earlier is based on the premise that Mukuro's emotions are sealed. In reality, none of us knows what kind of personality Hoshimiya Mukuro had before being sealed."
Looking at Shido, Yutsuki let out a disdainful sigh.
"Shido, if it's really as you said, that Mukuro locked her emotions because of imnse psychological trauma in the past. Then have you ever thought about the consequences of forcibly ripping open that psychological trauma?"
"I..."
"Let's make a comparison. What if Hoshimiya Mukuro is actually a woman with extrely strong possessiveness and jealousy? After unlocking the seal, she falls hopelessly in love with Shido, and then upon seeing you being affectionate with other girls, she becos dissatisfied and starts a massive fight with Tohka and the others."
"Yu... tsuki...?"
Looking at Yutsuki saying such things in a cold tone, Shido felt inexplicably estranged from her.
"Let's make another comparison. What if Mukuro's heart was actually locked by soone else, and the original her actually had extrely severe depression? What will you do if she chooses suicide right after you unlock it?"
"Stop..."
"Ah, maybe Mukuro was actually a pervert murderer with abnormal fetishes a long ti ago. Once you unlock her heart, she'll run around the world killing people..."
In a flash, Shido felt a string in his mind just snap.
"Yutsuki-nee, saying that is a bit..."
"I TOLD YOU TO STOP, DIDN'T YOU HEAR ???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Before Kotori could voice her protest, Shido interrupted Yutsuki with a roaring volu.
"I misjudged you, Yutsuki! You haven't even spoken to Mukuro once! What right do you have to maliciously evaluate others!"
Boiling anger rampaged wildly in Shido's heart like an unbridled mustang.
What exactly was this emotion? Indignation because Yutsuki maliciously slandered Mukuro? Frustration at his inability to refute Yutsuki's argunts? Or anxiety upon realizing that his and Yutsuki's beliefs had finally diverged?
Or perhaps...
However, none of this mattered anymore. The only thing Shido clearly rembered was that, influenced by an extrely irrational emotional state, he uttered words he would deeply regret.
"You don't understand anything at all, Yutsuki!!!!"
—SLAP!
A stinging sensation on his cheek left Shido dumbfounded for a mont.
"Ah—that's right. I don't understand anything at all. Then, do your best conquering Mukuro from now on."
After ruthlessly slapping Shido, Yutsuki sneered, a hint of disappointnt slipping into her tone.
"Until you apologize, I will absolutely not forgive you."
Having said that, Yutsuki turned around and left the temporary command room without looking back.
(TL:peak chapter, love this)
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