It had been quite so ti since Tokisaki Kurumi received power from the girl nad Mio and beca an Ally of Justice maintaining the city's peace.
During this period, she encountered various dangerous Spirits.
There was an Ice Spirit who could freeze everything with a terrifying chill;
A Wind Spirit who manipulated hurricanes and moved too fast to track;
A Light Spirit who fired lasers with devastating destructive power;
There was also a Sound Spirit who attacked with ultrasonic waves and used music to ss with the mind;
Kurumi had even t a Spirit who could copy the appearance of others and even mimic her Angel, Zafkiel.
Honestly, facing such bizarre and unpredictable Spirits, she couldn't help but find them incredibly troubleso. Fortunately, although their abilities were terrifying, the enemies were all mindless monsters. Relying on Zafkiel's abilities and tactical planning, Kurumi managed to successfully eliminate the Spirits with a few close calls.
(To think such dangerous monsters actually exist in this world...)
Kurumi sighed, still feeling a lingering dread.
Honestly, if any single one of those Spirits were left to rampage unchecked, they would cause incalculable damage to the city.
And this was just in her city alone. Thinking about Mio's claim that such Spirits existed all over the world, a chill ran down Kurumi's spine.
But at the sa ti, deep down, she felt an indescribable surge of excitent.
(I have to get stronger... so I can save this world.)
"Kurumi? Kurumi!"
"—Eh?"
A sudden voice snapped Kurumi out of her thoughts. She turned and saw her best friend, Yamauchi Sawa, looking at her with a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong, Kurumi? You have such a serious look on your face. Are you thinking about sothing complicated?"
"Ah... It's nothing. I just didn't do very well on the last exam, so I'm a bit worried."
Kurumi forced a bitter smile to cover it up.
"Ah... Yeah, it was really hard. I'm not confident about my score either. And if my grades drop too much, my mom is going to cut my allowance. What should I do..."
Hearing this, Sawa nodded in profound agreent, looking deeply troubled.
Turning a corner on their usual route ho, Kurumi and Sawa stopped in their tracks.
For so reason, the street ahead was occupied by bulldozers, excavators, and other construction machinery. A long fence separated the area from the outside.
"Excuse , one of the buildings here collapsed last night, so we're currently doing construction work. It's dangerous, so please take a different route."
A construction worker walked up to them and explained.
It wasn't like they absolutely had to take this path. Kurumi and Sawa nodded in understanding and took a detour to head ho.
"That shopping district was just built last year, wasn't it? To think it would suddenly collapse. How scary."
Sawa said in surprise.
"Yeah... Talk about terrible construction quality."
A cold sweat broke out on Kurumi's back as she agreed guiltily.
That was actually the aftermath of her battle with a Spirit last night. Because the opponent was a very rare Key Spirit capable of spatial teleportation and sealing abilities, Kurumi got careless and had a portion of Zafkiel's power sealed, forcing her into a bitter struggle. It was only thanks to Mio's help that she finally managed to defeat it.
"Well, it doesn't really have anything to do with us anyway."
Saying that, Sawa smiled slightly, brushing the topic aside. Kurumi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Unlike Kurumi, Sawa was a perfectly ordinary high school girl who knew absolutely nothing about these matters.
She would live a normal life, graduate normally, go to an ordinary university, get a job, and live out a peaceful, happy life.
But Kurumi, destined to save the world, would not stay in this city. She was walking a completely different path.
Realizing that she and her best friend would inevitably part ways soday, a touch of lancholy crept into Kurumi's heart.
"By the way, Kurumi. Do you want to co hang out at my place tomorrow? My aunt is bringing Kuriko's sister over!"
"I'm going!"
Hearing this, Kurumi's eyes instantly sparkled, and she answered with absolute, undeniable certainty.
As a side note, Kuriko was the cat Sawa kept at ho. Whether it was the gloss of her fur or the texture of her paw pads, she was absolute top-tier within the feline world. Just what kind of adorable creature could her sister be? For Kurumi, a massive cat lover, this was an existence she absolutely had to witness firsthand.
(Well, that ti is still a long way off. I should just enjoy the present for now.)
Kurumi told herself.
...
The next day, after school.
On the rooftop of a building in the suburbs, Kurumi stood alone, her back facing the blood-red sunset, letting the strong wind flutter the skirt of her Astral Dress.
—She's here.
Soft footsteps sounded from behind. Kurumi turned silently, gazing at the girl who had appeared out of nowhere.
Takamiya Mio. The entity who had appeared before Kurumi not long ago, granting her power and a mission.
"Hi, Kurumi. I'm counting on you again today."
"Mhm. Leave it to , Mio-san."
Kurumi nodded. At the sa ti, two antique flintlock pistols of unequal lengths—Zafkiel—materialized in her hands.
Simultaneously, the ambient noise abruptly vanished. The cars and pedestrians on the street below gradually faded away. Kurumi felt an invisible do enclose the entire area.
It seed to be a barrier Mio deployed to clear out civilians and prevent the Spirits from escaping. Although she didn't understand the chanics behind it, thanks to this barrier, Kurumi could fight the Spirits without holding back.
Then, accompanied by natural phenona that defied all logic, the Spirit appeared.
It was an aberration completely engulfed in flas. Even without direct contact, the surrounding buildings and trees spontaneously combusted simply from the intense heat radiating from its body.
Honestly, even keeping her distance, the air Kurumi breathed felt scorching hot.
"Close combat is out of the question... I don't want to get burn scars on my skin."
Muttering to herself, Kurumi raised Zafkiel and pulled the trigger at the enemy.
And so, just as usual, Tokisaki Kurumi's battle began.
However, unlike previous encounters, faced with Kurumi's attacks, the Spirit didn't display a frantic urge for destruction. Instead, it rely let out a sound similar to venting steam and slowly, step by step, approached Kurumi.
"My attacks aren't working?!"
Kurumi's eyes widened in shock.
"No... its wounds are healing rapidly?"
Kurumi said in confusion. She noticed that the wounds caused by her bullets were quickly healed by a pale white fla covering the Spirit's body.
(This is bad...)
A drop of cold sweat appeared on Kurumi's forehead. Zafkiel possessed twelve different bullets. Although each had incredible utility, the trade off was a lack of raw destructive power. This type of self-regenerating enemy was undoubtedly her worst matchup.
Watching the figure closing in step by step, Kurumi bit her lip. As if to banish the fear creeping into her heart, she roared,
"Are you kidding ! I won't be scared! I am the one protecting this city! Bring it on! Monster!"
And so, raising both guns, Kurumi unleashed a relentless barrage of lethal bullets at the enemy, firing as rapidly as a runaway Gatling gun.
—BANG! —BANG! —BANG! —BANG!
She didn't know how long it lasted, but in this war of attrition, the Spirit's healing capabilities seed to reach their limit before Kurumi's Spirit power ran out. The monster slowly collapsed before her.
"It's finally... over."
Looking at the Spirit that hadn't completely died yet, Kurumi aid Zafkiel and fired one final shot into its head to finish the job.
"Phew... It's over."
Kurumi couldn't help but let out a long sigh. For so reason, today's battle felt several tis more exhausting than usual.
"—Good work."
Mio had appeared beside her at so point. Although Kurumi was initially startled by her ghost-like entrances, she had gotten used to it over ti.
More accurately, she didn't even have the energy to roast her for it anymore. She just wanted to hurry over to Sawa's place, rub her face against Kuriko and her sister, and properly heal her exhausted soul.
"I leave the cleanup to you. I have plans with a friend today, so I'll be going now."
"Mhm... See you."
After saying goodbye to Mio, Kurumi unsummoned her Astral Dress and Angel.
"That was close... There's still a bit of ti before I'm supposed to et Sawa. Oh, right."
Realizing she had so ti to spare, a spark of inspiration hit Kurumi, and she turned around, heading back the way she ca.
There was no grand reason; she just simply wanted to invite Mio to co hang out at Sawa's place too.
After all, Kurumi had known Mio for a while now, but they had never interacted outside of combat. Even Mio, who always wore a lancholic expression, would surely crack a smile if she played with so adorable cats.
However, when she returned to the scene, what greeted her was a sight far beyond the boundaries of her comprehension.
Right where the Spirit she had just defeated was lying, the entity currently resting on the ground was no longer a Spirit engulfed in fierce flas. It was her best friend—Yamauchi Sawa.
And standing beside her, the girl nad Takamiya Mio held a gemstone glowing with a brilliant crimson light in her hand.
"...Ah, you're back, Kurumi."
Noticing Kurumi's return, Mio spoke with a hint of resignation.
"What a sha. I was hoping we could remain good friends for a little while longer."
"Wh-What is going on... Why is Sawa here... And Mio, what is that gemstone in your hand..."
Staring blankly at the scene before her, Kurumi murmured in a daze.
Then, she realized that, although the color was different, the gemstone in Mio's hand looked identical to the one Mio had given her back then.
Sawa appearing in place of the Fire Spirit. The Sephira Crystal in Mio's hand. All the pieces of information clicked together like a puzzle, and a terrifying possibility surfaced in Kurumi's mind.
It was a possibility she absolutely did not want to believe, a truth she could absolutely never accept.
"That Spirit... was Sawa...?"
"Ah, could it be this is soone you know? In that case... I've done sothing truly awful."
Mio's apologetic words utterly shattered the very last sliver of hope in Kurumi's heart.
"You're lying... This can't be real..."
It wasn't just Sawa... Kurumi's rationality was screaming at her: the "Spirits" she had killed up until now were very likely all entirely innocent humans.
And she herself was precisely the entity she believed was the enemy of humanity—a Spirit.
"Ah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Tears stread uncontrollably from her eyes. Her brain, her chest, her limbs—an indescribable, excruciating agony erupted from every part of her body. Pitch black emotions were eroding her heart bit by bit, making her collapse to the ground, wailing in tornt.
(No. If this continues, it's bad. I can't break down here.)
Her instincts blared alarm bells in her mind. Relying on her final shred of consciousness, Kurumi raised her right hand.
...Zafkiel...Dalet (Fourth Bullet)...
"Hoh..."
Watching Kurumi revert to her pre-despair state using the power of the Fourth Bullet, a look of surprise flashed in Mio's eyes.
"How unexpected. To think you managed to break free from Inversion using your own power. But that saves a lot of trouble. It would be highly annoying to return a ticulously refined Sephira Crystal back to its original state."
"Inversion... Re-Refined...?"
Breathing raggedly, Kurumi glared fiercely at Mio and asked in confusion.
To this, Mio kindly explained.
"Mhm. I think you've already guessed it. 'Spirit' refers to a human who has obtained a Sephira Crystal. —Or rather, it's sharing my power with a human. Originally, the word 'Spirit' only referred to , the Origin Spirit."
"What..."
"However, an unrefined Sephira Crystal is completely incompatible with human physiology. If a human forcefully accepts it, they will simply lose control of the power and rampage."
Therefore—Mio continued,
"For a Sephira Crystal to be absorbed by a human, refinent is necessary. And the refinent process..."
"Implant the Sephira Crystal into a human body... let it rampage... then kill them and recover the crystal... and repeat... Simply put, 'refinent' ans... using humans as filtering devices, doesn't it...?"
Before Mio could finish her explanation, Kurumi gritted her teeth and voiced her horrifying deduction.
To this, Mio nodded with absolute calm.
"Correct. You truly are exceptionally outstanding. Ah—but you don't need to worry. The Sephira Crystal you absorbed is already fully refined. Unless you Inverse, there is no need to refine it again. So, I will not kill you."
In an instant, Kurumi felt a thread snap in her mind.
Everything beca crystal clear.
From the very beginning, Tokisaki Kurumi was nothing more than an ignorant clown manipulated by Takamiya Mio.
Monsters destroying the world, a crisis threatening humanity, an Ally of Justice saving the world. She had ticulously packaged a stage a young girl had always yearned for, deceiving her, and using her to achieve her own goals.
And so, Tokisaki Kurumi had faithfully executed the "Justice" she believed in, brutally murdering innocent humans one by one—even killing her own best friend.
Thinking of this, Kurumi's body trembled with uncontainable fury.
"I see... Hahaha, HAHAHAHA! ARE YOU KIDDING ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
With a roar of pure hatred, Kurumi aid Zafkiel straight at Mio.
However, the very mont Kurumi drew her gun, Mio was already standing right in front of her.
It was a speed that Kurumi couldn't match even if she used the "First Bullet."
"...I am sorry. I truly am sorry. It is not that I harbor any hatred toward humans. But no matter what, I cannot stop. Not until the mont I entrust all the Sephira Crystals to humanity."
Gently stroking Kurumi's forehead, Mio spoke in a sorrowful, yet incredibly gentle tone.
Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of drowsiness washed over Kurumi. No matter how desperately she tried to stay awake, her consciousness helplessly sank into the dark abyss.
(Takamiya Mio—I will absolutely—)
"—Thank you for everything you have done so far. Goodnight, Kurumi."
(I WILL ABSOLUTELY NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!!!!!!!!)
TL:I swear when I start listening to the audiobook of this novel, I had only watched up to ss3 of DAL, and sohow I experienced the rest of the show's story through this fanfic, like ss4 ss5 stuff, Nia, Mukuro, Kurumi's backstory, Mio, Shinji and all the stuff , is from this fanfic lmao.
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