At first, it was just a tiny, insignificant sense of incongruity.
It was like walking ho on your usual route, only to suddenly wonder the mont you reached your door, "Did I take a detour?"
It wasn't dangerous, ignoring it wouldn't cause any harm, and there were more important things to do—these thoughts subconsciously influenced Shido's judgnt, leading him to dismiss the feeling as a simple illusion.
However, as ti passed, this tiny sense of incongruity didn't fade from Shido's heart. Instead, like a planted seed, it took root and slowly began to sprout.
Of course, even so, it was only at the level of slightly bothering him. Even if he wanted to explain it to soone else, Shido himself had no idea what this incongruity was and couldn't put it into words.
It wasn't until just now, when he learned about Kurumi's bizarre emotional shifts from Kotori, that he inexplicably thought of what happened after he changed Origami's past. At that ti, his own emotional shifts must have seed equally baffling in the eyes of others.
(Could it be that Kurumi has already traveled through ti?)
Shido wondered in confusion.
This hypothesis wasn't impossible. After all, the only reason he was able to return to the past back then was entirely thanks to the power of the girl standing right in front of him.
Therefore—
"So, will you tell ? The reason you want to defeat the Origin Spirit—and the truth about the ti loops you've experienced over the past few days."
Hearing Shido's request, Kurumi widened her eyes, her expression filled with surprise.
"I traveled through ti... Why would you think that? Shido-san."
"Well... how should I put it, just a bit of intuition. Recently, I've had this illusion that I've forgotten sothing. And if I think about what has happened around lately, the only thing is that you showed up, Kurumi."
Saying that, Shido scratched his cheek and let out a wry smile,
"Well, honestly, it's just a bluff with zero evidence. I figured even if I said it out loud, the worst that could happen is you'd laugh at for having chuunibyou delusions, so there was nothing to lose. —But, it looks like I got lucky."
He didn't need Kurumi to confess. Just seeing her reaction was enough to confirm his theory.
After a mont of silence, Kurumi let out a long sigh, speaking with genuine resignation.
"Ara ara... I truly did not expect this. To think I was led into a trap by Shido-san. I didn't expect soone who looks as harmless and honest as Shido-san to use such a cunning trick."
"Well... I get scolded by Yutsuki for being too rigid all the ti... By the way, was that supposed to be a complint just now?"
Shido said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"I see, so you did not hear it from Yutsuki-san, but rather, you changed because of Yutsuki-san..."
After sighing in realization, Kurumi stood up from the park bench, walked a few steps forward, and then turned to face Shido.
At this mont, standing right in the spotlight of the streetlamp with the dark night as her backdrop, Kurumi looked as if she were standing on a grand opera stage.
"Although I always thought it would be Yutsuki-san who asked this question, since Shido-san asked, as a reward, this humble maiden will tell you the truth. However—"
In a flash, the look in Kurumi's eyes changed drastically. Her icy gaze pierced right through his body like a volley of arrows.
"Do you have the resolve for this? Shido-san. Once you know, there is no turning back."
A right eye as crimson as fresh blood.
A golden left eye engraved with the relentless ticking of ti.
As if the pitiful, moving girl from just monts ago was nothing but an illusion, the Kurumi standing before him now displayed her true face as the Worst Spirit.
"...Yeah, of course I do!!"
Quietly swallowing hard, Shido banished the fear in his heart and answered loudly.
"Just like I said at the beginning, I want to know everything about you, save you, and make you fall completely for !"
"—A-Alright."
Seemingly thrown off balance by Shido's overly direct declaration, Kurumi beca slightly flustered. She took a deep breath before finally calming down.
"Zafkiel—Aleph (First Bullet)."
Kurumi suddenly drew her flintlock pistol, pressed it against her temple, and pulled the trigger.
The next second, Kurumi vanished from Shido's sight. The rustling sound of leaves swaying violently in the wind echoed around him.
[...!? What is—]
[The feed has been cut!]
[What's going on?]
[The autonomous caras seem to have been destroyed!]
[Onii—]
Kotori's panicked voice rang in his ear, but before Shido could even react, the vanished Kurumi reappeared right in front of him. A pale finger traced along his cheek and deftly plucked the earpiece from his right ear.
"I do not wish for too many people to know what I am about to say next. So this... should be fine, right?"
Saying that, Kurumi crushed the wireless earpiece in her hand.
At this mont, Shido was completely cut off from the Fraxinus. With the speed she just displayed, if Kurumi wanted to 'eat' him, it would probably be incredibly easy.
"...Yeah, that's fine."
Shido took a deep breath and answered firmly.
"Is that so... Then please, follow ."
Hearing Shido's answer, Kurumi smiled faintly, retracted Zafkiel into her shadow, turned around, and walked down the dimly lit path.
Shido hurried to keep up.
And so, about twenty minutes later, after weaving through a maze of winding alleyways, Shido arrived in front of a dilapidated building.
Shido took a quick look around. It appeared to be an abandoned, unused structure. Even though the exterior was battered and covered in graffiti, it surprisingly still had electricity. Following the flickering lights, the two walked up the stairs and arrived at a room on the third floor.
"Please co in, Shido-san."
"Where is this?"
Shido looked around the room. Unlike the corridor outside, although it only had a simple bed and curtains, the room was remarkably clean.
"One of the safehouses I set up in the city. Although it has nothing to offer, please make yourself comfortable."
"I see. Being invited into a girl's room, what an honor."
"Hehe~ You certainly have a smooth tongue today, Shido-san."
Hearing Shido's response, Kurumi couldn't help but chuckle.
"Now then—down to business. First, to answer Shido-san's first question: the reason I want to kill the Origin Spirit."
Saying that, Kurumi summoned her Angel once again.
"Zafkiel—Yud (Tenth Bullet)."
Following Kurumi's summons, a massive clock materialized behind her. From the position marked with the Roman nural "X", pitch-black smoke billowed out, condensing into a bullet that loaded itself into the barrel.
"Kurumi?"
Shido looked at Kurumi in confusion.
"This is the 'Tenth Bullet.' It transmits the mories of the first target it hits into the mind of the second target. Shido-san has seen it once before, hasn't he? Rather than explaining it with words, this will give you a much more visceral experience."
After a brief explanation, the black shadow at Kurumi's feet slowly stretched out. Then, a Kurumi wearing a Gothic Lolita dress, with her hair down and a rose eyepatch covering her left eye, erged from the shadow and stood before Shido.
"You're... the Kurumi from back then?"
Shido looked at this Kurumi in surprise.
"Mhm. It has been five years, hasn't it? —Or rather, it will be. Shido-san."
Kurumi nodded gently, lifting her skirt in a slight curtsy to Shido.
"Let us begin. I leave it to you, ''."
"Mhm, understood."
With that, Kurumi handed her Zafkiel to the eyepatch Kurumi.
"Now then, Shido-san. Please join ~ and plunge into hell."
Suddenly, Kurumi flashed a brilliant, triumphant smile.
"Eh? Wait, Kurumi—"
Before Shido could react, Kurumi threw herself into his chest, hugging him tightly.
"My, my, the current '' is truly..."
Witnessing this, the eyepatch Kurumi sighed with a wry smile, raised Zafkiel, and aid it at the two of them.
—BANG!
Accompanied by a crisp gunshot, the bullet rcilessly pierced straight through Kurumi's head and shot directly into Shido's chest.
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