"Taking advantage of the deep night to launch a night raid on Yutsuki-san, only to unfortunately fail~"
"...Are you serious?"
Hearing Kurumi's words, the corner of Yutsuki's mouth twitched slightly.
"My, who knows?"
Kurumi said, deliberately veiling her words in mystery.
"But judging by this situation, perhaps the one being assaulted is little old . If Yutsuki-san wishes to be the active one..."
As she spoke, Kurumi curled her shoulders inward. The shoulder strap of her Astral Dress loosened, slipping down slightly. Her skin, as smooth and flawless as white porcelain, and her chest rising and falling with her breath, reflected a faint, alluring glow under the moonlight. It was a picturesque scene laced with a lethal dose of sensuality.
Acting exactly like a frail maiden being forcefully taken against her will, Kurumi turned her face away. Her fair cheeks flushed slightly pink as she spoke in a breathless tone that seed to invite the very thing it feigned to refuse.
"...Please be gentle."
"...That is enough out of you."
Staring speechlessly at Kurumi for a long ti, Yutsuki finally squeezed out this sentence, rubbing her aching temples.
It had to be said, if a virgin boy experiencing his first stirrings of romance were faced with Kurumi's lethal teasing, he would probably have long lost his mind by now, reverting to primal monkey instincts. Even Yutsuki, if this were her first ti eting Kurumi, would probably feel her mouth go dry right now.
But unfortunately, Yutsuki had already dealt with this girl on several other occasions. Naturally, she knew exactly how dangerous of a man eating flower this entity was. If she lost her judgnt simply by being srized by the other party's beauty, the best case scenario was getting shot in the head; the worst case scenario ant not even a single bone would remain.
"Sorry, Kurumi, but I'm a bit tired today and I want to catch up on sleep as soon as possible. If you just want to find a lesbian partner to roll in the sheets with, couldn't you just directly order one of your clones?"
"How overly cruel! Not only dumping ! But also calling an ugly woman whom no one but herself could ever love?! I am so heartbroken! I am going to cry!"
A glint of theatrical tears flashed in the corners of Kurumi's eyes.
"I didn't go that far..."
Looking at Kurumi acting wronged and pretending to cry, Yutsuki couldn't help but drop a sweat.
(Well, it seems like she doesn't hold any hostility, at least.)
Quietly scanning her surroundings, Yutsuki didn't detect any of Kurumi's clones lurking in the room. Considering that the other party hadn't resisted from beginning to end, Yutsuki ruled out the possibility of an assassination attempt.
(But trouble is still trouble, huh.)
Slightly relaxing the tension in her shoulders, Yutsuki released Kurumi's joints and stood up, stepping off her.
"Alright. Now I will ask you one more ti, what are you doing here? Let make this clear: if you are going to continue that boring acting of yours, please leave this place imdiately."
"Ara~, how cold, Yutsuki-san. I rely wanted to lighten the mood and make a little joke."
Kurumi nimbly stood up from the floor, elegantly brushing the invisible dust off her skirt, and answered with a flawless smile.
"I respectfully decline jokes coming from the mouth of soone illegally breaking and entering in the middle of the night."
Yutsuki said grumpily. While maintaining her vigilance and keeping a safe distance from Kurumi, she shifted her peripheral vision toward the balcony—specifically, toward the direction of the Itsuka residence.
(I wonder if Shido is alright over there?)
Yutsuki felt a creeping sense of unease. Even though she didn't sense hostility from Kurumi, ultimately, the Spirit's end goal had always been the massive reservoir of Spirit power inside Shido. Sending the original body to stall for ti here while a clone took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack on Shido was highly probable.
"Rest assured, Yutsuki-san, I have not laid a single hand on Shido-san."
Seemingly seeing right through Yutsuki's thoughts, Kurumi shook her head and clarified.
"Besides, if I truly wanted to lay a hand on Shido-san, there would be absolutely no need to specifically co to this room and do sothing that would only alert the most dangerous person in the house."
"...Fair point."
Yutsuki exhaled, slightly lowering her internal guard. She sat down on the chair by the desk, crossing her arms as she looked at Kurumi.
"In other words, you ca out of your way specifically to find tonight?"
"Mhm. Exactly." To Yutsuki's question, Kurumi nodded affirmatively. "I ca here because I have a very important matter to tell you."
"An important matter?"
Yutsuki couldn't help but furrow her brows. She noticed that the Kurumi standing before her had completely shed the flippant, teasing deanor from their earlier exchange. Replacing it was a solemn, dead-serious expression she had never witnessed on the her face before.
"Yes. Perhaps what I am about to say will be difficult to believe, but please trust that everything I say is the absolute truth."
Taking a deep breath, Kurumi spoke the chilling prophecy:
"Today, after school, Shido-san will be murdered by DEM Wizards on the rooftop of Raizen High School."
——————————
"...Hah."
Hauling his schoolbag into the school building, Shido couldn't help but let out a long, exhausted yawn.
"What is wrong? Shido, you look incredibly tired."
Tohka, walking beside Shido, asked with genuine worry.
"Mhm, finishing my howork took a bit of extra effort, so I went to sleep a bit late."
"Umu, I see." Tohka nodded in realization, proudly patting her chest as she said confidently, "No problem, Shido. If there are any questions you do not understand, just ask !"
"Mhm, thank you, Tohka."
"If you let Yatogami Tohka tutor you, Shido's grades will only go down further."
Right at this mont, Origami, walking on his other side, interjected coldly.
"What do you an by that? Tobiichi Origami!"
Hearing Origami's provocation, Tohka's eyebrows shot up, and she questioned her angrily.
"Exactly what it ans. You probably only finished your own howork with soone else's help anyway."
"Ugh—N-No I did not! I am studying very hard now too."
"Shido, there is no need to specifically humor this idiot. Let tutor you. Whether it's math, English, Japanese, history, or practical, hands on exercises in health and physical education, I will teach you personally."
Ignoring Tohka's protests, Origami seamlessly volunteered her services to Shido.
"Well... I appreciate the thought. If there's a chance in the future, I'll consider it."
Feeling a slight twinge of guilt in his heart, Shido answered with a bitter smile. The "howork" he was referring to wasn't the standard school assignnts Tohka and Origami thought it was, but rather the brutal training objectives Yutsuki had forced upon him.
(Well, in the end, I managed to succeed once by sheer luck.)
Shido thought helplessly. During the relentless training in the virtual world, Shido—chased by an army of Marina clones—scrambled everywhere like a rat crossing the street. The number of tis he was killed was so staggeringly high that he gave up counting. His one and only success was rely stalling until the tir ran out. If the ti Yutsuki had set had been even one second longer, the result would have been entirely different.
(Is the enemy's next target... really ?)
Shido sighed absentmindedly, feeling slightly lost in thought.
He didn't doubt Yutsuki's deductions. In fact, it made terrifying sense. Unless a new Spirit appeared, DEM rarely launched active offensives. Precisely because of this silence, he and everyone else were able to live peaceful daily lives like they were now.
But this wasn't the enemy showing rcy. They were simply treating Shido like livestock being fattened up in a farm. And now, harvest ti was approaching.
Once Shido died, Tohka, Origami, Yoshino, the Yamai sisters... all the Spirits would Inverse simultaneously, becoming apocalyptic natural disasters that would annihilate the world.
(And then, this daily life where Tohka and Origami bicker and fool around... the days where everyone laughs together... will cease to exist.)
Watching the arguing Tohka and Origami from behind, Shido silently clenched his fists.
(Don't think I'll just surrender and let myself be killed that easily.)
"Yo, good morning."
Just then, a call brought Shido back from his heavy thoughts. Turning his head, he saw Yutsuki carrying a heavy stack of books, greeting him in the hallway.
"Good morning, Yutsuki. What are you doing with those?"
"Well, I bumped into a teacher the mont I arrived, and got drafted to help carry these textbooks to the faculty office."
Yutsuki shrugged helplessly.
"Do you want to help?"
"Thanks, but I can manage on my own. Instead of worrying about , you guys should hurry up and head to your classroom, Shido."
Politely declining Shido's help with a shake of her head, Yutsuki issued a helpless warning.
"Your class seems to be exceptionally lively right now."
"?"
Shido was a bit confused, but before he could ask for clarification, Yutsuki had already turned and walked away.
"Did sothing happen in our classroom?"
Muttering softly to himself, carrying a mix of confusion and creeping unease, Shido quickened his pace slightly and arrived at the sliding door of class 2-4.
Sure enough, before even stepping into the room, Shido could hear discussion sounds inside that were magnitudes louder and livelier than usual.
"Morn—"
Sliding the door open and stepping into the classroom, Shido saw that the vast majority of the students were gathered together, chatting enthusiastically with a female student at the center.
"What the..."
Shido involuntarily froze in his tracks.
That female student was none other than the incredibly dangerous Spirit who, just like DEM, wanted to seize his life—the girl possessing peerless, striking beauty: Tokisaki Kurumi.
Seemingly sensing Shido's gaze, Kurumi smiled gracefully, stood up from her desk, and walked toward Shido with elegant, asured steps.
"Wha...!"
"Shido!"
Also recognizing Kurumi, Tohka and Origami imdiately snapped into combat readiness, taking a step forward as if to physically shield Shido.
"—Fufufu. Good day, Shido-san, as well as Tohka-san and Origami-san. It has been quite a while since I have seen the three of you."
However, Kurumi showed absolutely no hostility or caution toward the two girls' defensive actions. She simply bowed slightly, greeting the three of them with sickening cordiality.
"Kurumi, why are you here?"
To Shido's tense question, Kurumi placed a delicate finger against her lips, revealing a joyful smile tinged with a srizing hint of madness.
"Fufufu. I am resuming my studies starting today. From today onward, please take very good care of ... Shido-san~"
Looking at the Worst Spirit suddenly appearing right before him, playing the role of a transfer student, Shido couldn't help but sigh helplessly in his heart.
(Yutsuki, your premonitions... are way too damn accurate.)
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