When Kurumi awoke from her unconsciousness, the world before her eyes had undergone an earth shattering transformation.
Ruins of collapsed buildings, streets as empty and desolate as a ghost town, and a massive, bowl shaped crater gouged into the earth, as if a chunk of space had simply been erased.
And she was right in the center of this absolute devastation.
"Where... is this..."
Looking at the scenery before her, Kurumi's mind was in total chaos. She tried to analyze her current situation, but the more she thought, the more questions piled up in her head.
Where is this? Who am I? Why am I here?
In the end, aside from knowing her na was "Tokisaki Kurumi" and that she possessed an Angel nad "Zafkiel", Kurumi realized she had completely lost all her past mories.
Is there no one around?
Kurumi looked around, trying to find any trace of human presence in the ruins to figure out what was going on.
Soon enough, she found people, but the situation was entirely different from what she had imagined.
The other party was a squad of humans equipped with bizarre cha suits. Not only could they fly freely in the air, but they also wielded laser swords and homing missiles—weapons you'd only expect to see in ani or movies.
And the target they were aiming at was none other than Kurumi herself.
"Hey! Wait!"
Seeing them launch an attack without a single word of explanation, Kurumi panicked and could only flee wretchedly under their relentless bombardnt.
Finally, a stroke of inspiration hit her. Kurumi used her ability to hide inside her own shadow, barely escaping their pursuit.
"Hah... Hah... That scared to death."
Her forehead covered in a cold sweat born of pure terror, Kurumi felt her breathing grow ragged.
"Honestly. Why are they attacking ... Did I do sothing wrong?"
Kurumi couldn't help but mutter in frustration. But obviously, there was no one here to answer her questions.
(I need to gather intelligence.)
Once she cald down, Kurumi began to think of a way out of her predicant. Finally, her gaze landed on the flintlock pistol in her hand, her Angel—Zafkiel.
If the knowledge in her mory wasn't wrong, by using the Tenth Bullet, she could transmit the mories of the target she shot to herself or soone else.
"...Zafkiel... Yud (Tenth Bullet)?"
Following the knowledge in her head, Kurumi mimicked the process, loading the bullet into the gun and pressing the muzzle against her temple.
Gulp.
Kurumi instinctively swallowed hard. Although she intellectually knew this bullet had no lethal force, pointing a gun at her own head and pulling the trigger still required a considerable amount of courage and resolve.
After about ten seconds, Kurumi finally gritted her teeth, tightly squeezed her eyes shut, and pulled the trigger.
—BANG!
Accompanied by the gunshot, what flooded into Kurumi's mind were cruel, nightmarish mories.
Her encounter with the devil nad Takamiya Mio.
The atrocities she committed under her deception.
And—the truth of murdering her precious best friend with her own hands.
"Ah... ah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah..."
The flintlock pistol slipped from her grasp. Kurumi clutched her trembling body and collapsed to her knees. Huge teardrops spilled from her eyes like a broken dam. The only sound escaping her lips was a hoarse, agonizing wail.
"Why... why did I... have to experience this?"
Was it because I had bad luck and ran into Takamiya Mio?
Was it because I was too stupid to see through Takamiya Mio's sches sooner?
Or was it because my dream of becoming an 'Ally of Justice' was too childish and laughable?
Reluctance, regret, sorrow—bottomless emotions constantly fernted in Tokisaki Kurumi's heart, finally twisting into pure hatred and wrath.
The dream was over. Ally of Justice did not exist in this world. Or rather, a fool like her never had the right to call herself one in the first place.
To realize this truth, she had lost her peaceful everyday life, lost her precious best friend, lost her parents, lost her place to belong.
In the end, she had been reduced to the very Spirit she had always hunted, chased down by humanity as a disaster.
"I will make you regret not killing ... Takamiya Mio."
Clenching her fists with enough force to pierce her own skin, Kurumi swore a venomous oath in her heart.
Although she didn't understand what Mio's true goal was, Kurumi was still alive right now, and she still possessed Zafkiel, the ultimate Angel capable of interfering with ti.
Then, it wasn't over yet.
No matter the cost, no matter how many sacrifices it took, even if she had to beco the Worst Spirit, even if this body marched toward destruction... she was going to erase Takamiya Mio, along with the power of the Spirits, from history—completely and utterly!!
This was what Shido saw. The past belonging to the girl nad "Tokisaki Kurumi."
——————————
Shido slowly opened his eyes, staring at a dim, unfamiliar ceiling.
(...Am I back?)
Shido sighed internally.
It felt like an illusion, like a daydream. Just now, Shido felt as if he had beco "Tokisaki Kurumi" herself, living through an entirely different life from her perspective.
This was probably the power of Yud. Fortunately, this wasn't Shido's first ti experiencing this, so he quickly adjusted to the contrast between the dream and reality.
However, adjusting was one thing; it didn't an his heart was completely calm. Recalling everything that had happened in Kurumi's past, his emotions remained in turmoil for a long ti.
"Ara ara~, are you awake already? That was quite fast, Shido-san."
A regretful voice sounded near his ear. At the sa ti, for so reason, Shido heard the rustling sound of clothing being unbuttoned, accompanied by a perfectly firm, soft pressure against his abdon.
"Ku-Kurumi!?"
Shido couldn't help but cry out in shock. Only then did he realize that, at so point, he had been laid out on a bed. Kurumi, wearing only the white lingerie he had bought for her, was currently straddling his waist, her fingers in the middle of unbuttoning his shirt.
"What are you doing?"
"Mhm, trying to take advantage of the ti you were unconscious from Yud to done the deed with you~"
Kurumi explained with a smile.
"Are you Origami?!"
Frantically averting his gaze from Kurumi's body, Shido couldn't hold back a retort.
"Hehe~ Did this humble maiden not say from the very beginning? To make Shido-san fall for , I am willing to use any ans necessary."
Kurumi answered with righteous confidence.
"I swear, you..."
Shido said, breaking out in an awkward sweat. However, seeing that Shido had woken up, Kurumi stopped unbuttoning his shirt. Instead, she leaned forward, resting her entire body against Shido's chest.
"—!?"
Feeling the girl's curvy, delicate body against his, compounded by the fact that Kurumi was only wearing lingerie, even though it was only early spring, Shido felt a surge of heat rising in his body.
(Calm down... Itsuka Shido... hurry up and rember... Yutsuki's maid outfit... Yutsuki's maid outfit... Yutsuki's bikini maid outfit!!) (TL: yes, bikini maid outfit)
Shido chanted frantically in his head, even taking the liberty of ntally upgrading Yutsuki's outfit into a cooler, sumr appropriate version.
(Yutsuki: "Achoo!")
"Shido-san, you saw it, didn't you... my past."
Suddenly, burying her face into Shido's chest, Kurumi whispered softly.
"...Yeah, I saw it."
Hearing Kurumi's words, Shido fell silent for a mont before nodding slowly.
"A terrible mory, wasn't it?"
Kurumi laughed bitterly in self-mockery. Gripping Shido's shirt tightly, she spoke in a low voice.
"This is the reason I must return to the past. Shido-san, I cannot forgive the Origin Spirit. She destroyed everything I ever had, and dragged innocent people into her sches just to achieve her own goals. Although the current has no right to criticize her... it doesn't matter if I fall into hell. As long as before that, I erase that 'woman'—Takamiya Mio—from this world."
"...Takamiya... Mio."
Shido slowly mouthed the na.
Shido had first learned of this na from Mana. Supposedly, it was a na he unconsciously muttered when he lost control of his powers.
And the surna "Takamiya" undoubtedly belonged to Mana. It was also highly likely his old surna from the period before he was taken in by the Itsuka family, when he had lost his mories.
(Did I know that person?)
Shido couldn't be certain. But it was abundantly clear that his abilities—capable of absorbing and sealing Spirit power—was linked to Takamiya Mio, the one who constantly turned humans into Spirits.
However, now was not the ti to dwell on that.
"Shido-san."
Slowly exhaling, Kurumi released her grip on Shido's shirt and sat up from his chest.
"I want to do it all over again. To reset everything that has happened up until now back to zero. To achieve this goal, I need the Spirit power Shido holds. Therefore, please lend your life to for a while."
Unlike her usual teasing tone, Kurumi's words right now were filled with pure sincerity.
"Kurumi..."
Shido's voice carried a trace of bitterness. If it were his usual self, even if he understood Kurumi's original intentions, faced with a demand that required sacrificing his own life, he would still choose to refuse.
But the lingering echoes of the Tenth Bullet still reverberated in Shido's heart.
If she hadn't accepted that power;
If she hadn't hunted Spirits;
If she hadn't pulled the trigger;
If Takamiya Mio hadn't existed... all of this sorrow wouldn't exist, would it?
It wasn't rely sympathy or pity. The Tenth Bullet, while transmitting Kurumi's mories to Shido, had also engraved Kurumi's regret and sorrow directly into his heart.
Right now, he couldn't bring himself to deny Kurumi's feelings.
Seemingly seeing through Shido's hesitation, Kurumi took a deep breath, pressing her advantage.
"Of course, this is not a fair trade. Even if history is reset, I will not beco a Spirit, and the history of Shido-san being eaten by will disappear... but the fact that it happened will not. So in exchange—"
Saying that, Kurumi took Shido's hand and placed it over her own heart, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.
"—I will offer everything I possess, excluding my Spirit power, to you without any reservations."
"..."
Shido was montarily at a loss for words.
In the dim room, the cool moonlight filtered through the curtains and fell upon Kurumi's snow white skin. Like a ticulously sculpted piece of jade, she was so breathtakingly beautiful it made him lose his mind.
Honestly, even if he had to throw his life away just to have her, it would be worth it. That thought began to echo in Shido's mind.
But—
"Sorry... Kurumi."
Biting down hard on his own tongue, using the pain and the taste of blood as a stimulant, Shido's rationality triumphed over his lust. He slowly pulled his hand away from Kurumi.
"Why... Shido-san?"
Seeing Shido reject her, Kurumi asked in disbelief.
Looking at Kurumi's pained expression, Shido's heart ached, but he still spoke with unshakeable resolve.
"Because I made a promise to soone... I have to cherish my own life, and put my own safety first above all else. It's because of that promise that I was able to make it here to see you. I want to respond to that person's trust..."
These words, Shido was speaking to both Kurumi and himself.
"Moreover, I don't believe actions driven by revenge can truly change history... Even if you actually succeed... Kurumi, you won't find salvation."
Even if history was altered and everything happening now was treated as if it never occurred, the "cause" that changed history would remain.
When that ti ca, Kurumi would have to face a completely unfamiliar world, bearing the crushing guilt of murder all alone for the rest of her life.
Shido had changed history once before. It was precisely because of that experience that he could say these words.
Pulling Kurumi into a gentle embrace, Shido stroked her soft black hair, speaking softly yet firmly.
"I won't fall into hell with you. I ca here... to drag you out of hell."
"Drag ... out of hell?"
Repeating Shido's words in a daze, after a mont, Kurumi let out a long sigh as if she could no longer bear it.
However, she didn't resist Shido's embrace. Instead, she silently hugged him a little tighter.
"Truly, is Shido-san a hopelessly irredeemable person... Did you not see it... exactly how many people I have killed... including my most precious best friend... Sotis I even want to ask myself... 'Kurumi, why do you still have the guts to live in this world?'... I had already resolved myself... to end my own life once everything is over... Why... can Shido-san still say such things? Why are you all... so gentle to ..."
Before he knew it, Shido could hear the faint sound of sobbing in Kurumi's voice.
This, perhaps, was the truest side of the girl nad "Tokisaki Kurumi", after shedding the disguise of the "Worst Spirit."
After an unknown amount of ti passed, Kurumi finally seed to calm down, gently pulling away from Shido's embrace.
"My apologies, Shido-san... for letting you see such a disgraceful side of ."
Wiping her slightly red and swollen eyes, Kurumi said, looking sowhat embarrassed.
"It's fine. Getting to see an unexpected side of Kurumi, I actually feel like I hit the jackpot."
Shido said, feigning a relaxed tone.
"Hehe, I truly cannot win against you, Shido-san."
Sighing with a light chuckle, Kurumi said helplessly,
"Then, moving on. I will answer Shido-san's next question. Regarding what has happened during my ti loops over the past few days."
"Hm? Oh... oh, right, that."
Freezing for a second, Shido finally rembered and hurriedly nodded.
Honestly, affected by Kurumi's mories and the intimate atmosphere earlier, Shido had almost completely forgotten about that.
"By the way, Kurumi. You didn't actually plan on answering that question from the very beginning, did you?"
Shido couldn't help but ask. At this, Kurumi flashed an ambiguous smile.
"Ara, if Shido-san had agreed to my request and been 'eaten' just now, I wouldn't have anyone left to answer to, would I?"
"Haha..."
Hearing Kurumi's response, a drop of cold sweat slid down Shido's face.
"Then, I will start from the conclusion, Shido-san—"
Right then, a loud crash from the ceiling interrupted Kurumi's words.
Subsequently, a hole opened up in the ceiling, and Ryougi Yutsuki plumted from the sky, pinning a Nibelcole to the floor.
"Forty-two... That should be the last one."
Lightning surged, and the pinned Nibelcole instantly dissolved into particles of light and vanished. Having eliminated all the Nibelcole lying in ambush in the area, Yutsuki let out a long sigh of relief.
Then, Yutsuki looked up. The scene before her eyes instantly made her freeze.
She saw that, on a dark and windy night, Shido and Kurumi, a lone man and woman, were alone in a room. The girl was already stripped down to her lingerie. The boy had also taken off his jacket, and his shirt was unbuttoned down to his chest. A sweet, intimate atmosphere swirled between the two of them.
(I see.)
In a flash of lightning, Yutsuki grasped the current situation.
"Sorry for the intrusion. Please, continue."
Yutsuki gave a deep, solemn bow and tactfully walked out of the room before the sheer awkwardness could set in.
"Wait! Yutsuki, it's a misunderstanding! it's a misunderstanding!"
Although she had zero intention of listening to Shido's excuses, right before closing the door, Yutsuki seed to suddenly rember sothing. She turned her head back and offered a deadly serious reminder.
"By the way, you two are still students. Don't forget to use protection before you start."
"Are you my mother?!"
—SLAM!!
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