A/N: Hello again! It's been quite a while, isn't it? Sorry, I have been busy last month. There were… unexpected problems in my life, that left me more than a bit pissed.
But forget about that. Now it's chapter 14, "A Glimpse of Eden". It's way longer than any chapter before, and for good reason: the battle with DEM begins! I have been excited to write this chapter! So let's not waste any time!
"Let's begin. How about we start by confirming the legitimacy of your offer?"
Kannazuki began the meeting with that question.
It was not that Kannazuki doubted the opposition. The vice-commander had thought that it was highly unlikely for Nightmare and Ruler-to be bluffing at this point.
Especially seeing as the Ruler's Angel, [Cassiel] was active.
Because of Rio's presence -as her Spirit mana had flooded the entire room- it was difficult for Kannazuki to precisely determine the thickness of Rinne's mana surrounding the ten strings of her lyre.
However, it was not enough to blind the experienced Wizard's senses. He could tell that as faint as it was, Cassiel's strings possessed enough power to tear apart not just the Territory of [Hrasvelgr], but likely the entire aircraft as well.
And yet, despite the overwhelming advantage they had in an enclosed space of the aircraft, the opposition didn't display any hostile intent. It was probably because of Rio, but that also meant they were willing to go through with their offer.
Still, he went through and asked the question anyway. Being cautious against everything, except in regards to Kotori, was natural for Kannazuki.
"Yes, I should only drop my guard when I am around the Commander."
As he waited for a response, his question was replied with a giggle.
It came from the Nightmare Spirit, the one who didn't take a seat and stood behind the Ruler's chair like a bodyguard.
"You are still in doubt about that? It can't be helped then."
Kurumi opened her hands as a flintlock pistol flung itself out of her shadow, and into her hand.
"I'll explain."
Shido -who was sitting next to himself- tensed. However, Kannazuki himself kept his composure. There was no reason to panic, no matter what situation you were in. Much less, a situation where your opposition wouldn't attack you.
Sensing what happened despite not seeing it directly, 'the other Kurumi' who took a seat turned her head to the Kurumi who summoned a gun.
"Ara, you don't mean to…"
"Yes, I do. He doesn't seem to mind all that much, anyway."
And with that said, the gun-wielding Kurumi stared Kannazuki down with a challenging grin.
"As Shido-san might have told you, the [Tenth Bullet] of my [Zafkiel] is capable of reading the past of objects it has pierced. Therefore, gathering information is relatively easy."
Kurumi touched her lips as she paused. The Nightmare obviously enjoyed what she was about to say.
"I shoot a Wizard, then I know about their branches. I shoot a superior officer, then I know about their secrets and more important branches."
As she explained with glee, Kurumi pointed the gun at Kannazuki's direction.
"I can confirm it here and now by transferring the memories I have received to you. Do you want to give it a shot?"
"I don't mind, so long as it can confirm your stance in your offer."
Kannazuki replied easily.
Shido glanced at him with some anxiety, but Kannazuki paid no heed. Seeing this, Kurumi let out an amused snicker.
"Hihihi. No hesitation at all? What confidence… I don't dislike that."
The Nightmare Spirit moved around the circular table, slowly approaching Kannazuki. As soon as she could reach him, Kurumi gently put her hand on his shoulder, and put her gun on top of it.
As their eyes met, Kannazuki gave Kurumi an aside glance, while she seemed to be evaluating him with her eyes.
It was then followed by a grin. The Nightmare seemed satisfied with what she saw.
"Zafkiel, Yod."
That instant, Kannazuki felt… something alien just assaulted his mind.
For a moment, just an instant, Kannazuki felt like he was a different person. The memory of someone he didn't know suddenly became one of his own.
It came from the Spirit next to him, of course.
"This is…"
The first thing he could see within the memory was the numerous blood red lights that glowed brightly in the midst of darkness.
"Are we all gathered, yet?"
It was followed by a familiar voice.
"Ten, eleven, twelve… okay. All thirteen one of us has gathered."
Listening to the phantasmal conversation in his head, Kannazuki realized that the glowing red orbs were the eyes of Kurumi's clones. That meant this memory too, belonged to one of them.
As he paid attention to the surroundings, it seemed that they were on the deck of a large ship- they had infiltrated a harbor in the middle of night.
"Rinne said that it is East from here, right?"
"Yes. This will probably take hours. Brace yourself, [Mes]!"
Not too long after, he could hear several identical voices saying something along those lines.
Then one by one, including the one whose memories were shared to Kannazuki, the gothic girls leaped off the ship, and into the waters below.
The suicidal action only made Kannazuki more aware that this memory truly didn't belong to an ordinary human. Even as he -or rather, this Kurumi clone- hit the body of water, he couldn't feel any kind of unpleasant sensation.
It seemed that the Astral Dress really served to protect the Spirit's body from everything.
"Mobilize!"
As one of the Kurumis shouted, he felt a sensation as though gravity suddenly didn't affect his body. Soon after, all the Kurumis used their flight powers underwater, all going to the same direction.
It was a very long journey. Kannazuki felt like the group of Kurumis were under the sea for over two hours.
And yet, it was only a memory. The passaged of time seemed like an instant, and by the end of it all-
"There it was!"
The clones popped their heads out of the water. And then, Kannazuki could see an island -very small, due to the distance- at the horizon.
It looked like a natural island. However, neither Kannazuki's senses or the Kurumis were fooled. The invisible Territory surrounding the island was clear to them.
"Hmm… is that the [Cage of Judgment], where [Material B] is imprisoned?"
"It doesn't look well-defended. Could Rinne be mistaken?"
"No, the DEM isn't so stupid as to surround their branches with obvious weapons. Well then, what should we do, [Mes]?"
"Our original and Rinne will invade this place tomorrow. So we have to give them the sense of direction, no?"
All of a sudden, all of the Kurumis around him suddenly turned their heads to look at him. Kannazuki's instincts was immediately alerted, even though he knew that this was just a memory.
Probably because all of them was looking at him with a devious smile. Maybe because their blood red eyes were glaring at him with murderous intent.
Or perhaps, it was both of them.
Then- he could feel a cold sensation at the back of his head.
Kannazuki was caught off-guard. Could it be, they-
"Sorry, [Me]. We don't have time for a rock-paper-scissors~"
It was the last words he heard from the memory, as it ended abruptly with the sound of a trigger being pulled.
"...!"
Regaining his normal senses, Kannazuki opened his eyes, only to see that he was still in the room. Reflexively, his hand reached for the back of his head, as if it was hurt.
"This is…"
His head was intact, of course. Otherwise he wouldn't have been alive. And Kannazuki was not the one getting shot, it was the Kurumi in the memory.
Yet… he couldn't help but do that out of reflex.
"Ara ara."
Seeing his reaction, the Nightmare Spirit -who still stood right next to him- snickered, not hiding her amusement at all.
"Not counting Rinne, you are the first to ever receive a memory of mine, Kannazuki Kyouhei. How does it feel?"
Kurumi asked with a condescending tone. It was obvious that her question was less curiousity and more of a mockery.
That being said, the memory was informative. It did give him the feel of the direction to where this [Cage] was.
"It was fascinating. The branch is called [Cage of Judgment]… is it? Thank you for the confirmation."
Kannazuki spoke calmly in return. Kurumi's grin grew even wider at that, before she turned around and moved back to her original position behind Rinne.
He expected her to continue the discussion, but it was the 'other Kurumi' who spoke in her place.
"Now that we have given you confirmation and the direction, what else do you want to confirm before we begin the strategy discussion, Ratatoskr?"
The vice-commander leaned on his chair and crossed his arms, keeping his expression neutral as he prepared to answer.
"Nothing more. Now that we know the location, we shall formulate an invasion strategy."
Kannazuki paused himself, as his eyes gauged the reaction of the Spirits across the table.
The 'Kurumi' who was sitting down widened her eyes slightly, but only for an instant. Meanwhile, the Kurumi who transferred her memory still kept her smile on her face. For Rinne, her expression was unreadable underneath the veil.
It seemed that one of them didn't expect Kannazuki to change topics and agree with them so soon. This meant that they were prepared to argue, and didn't trust the Ratatoskr.
"Nightmare and Ruler certainly know how to handle a negotiation…"
Keeping this in his mind, Kannazuki decided to continue.
"Since you intend to do this invasion with or without our assistance, are we correct to assume that you already have a strategy planned?"
To his surprise, the three Spirits across the table nodded their heads in perfect sync. Then, the Ruler Spirit -who had been silent since the start of discussion- finally spoke.
"Indeed, we have. It would be easier if Kurumi just shared her memory about the strategy we devised, but that way you won't be satisfied, I suppose?"
Rinne said calmly as she pointed her finger to the wall around them, as if saying that 'the walls had ears'
Kannazuki narrowed his eyes slightly.
These two Spirits were clearly aware that other members of the Ratatoskr and the Fraxinus needed to know about their strategy, as it surely had hints about their abilities.
"Considering their intelligence, they could easily come up with some fake plan on the spot, and it won't even count as a lie."
However, Kannazuki had to give them the benefit of doubt. He had no choice but to trust whatever they would say from this point on.
"Yes. Please elaborate."
"We are here."
Origami let out a sigh at Mana's words.
Indeed, their car had finally entered the basement of the Ratatoskr's warehouse. However, it had taken much longer than expected, nearly fourty minutes if she estimated correctly.
Still, Origami couldn't complain. It was not that Takamiya Mana was an unskilled driver and had to drive slowly -on the contrary, even- but they had to take a complex route to avoid surveillance by the AST and DEM.
Ratatoskr didn't own every security cameras in the city, so this was necessary.
Still, it took longer than Origami would like. At this rate, Shido certainly had departed to deal with whoever Spirit had summoned the Spacequake, be it Nightmare, Ruler, or someone else.
Origami felt bad for the other passengers in the car. When she had said that Shido had recovered, they certainly look forward to seeing him in person.
Especially-
"Unseal the gate or else I shall break it with force!"
"Demand. Please unlock the car."
"Mana-san, please!"
…If they were this excited.
Even Origami found it hard not to smile at the naked emotions that the other awake Spirits -the Yamai twins and Izayoi Miku- had been displaying since she dropped the news about Shido's recovery earlier.
Of course, Origami too was looking forward to see Shido again. But there was no need to be too excited about it when he was busy, no?
She didn't say that, though. Good mood and excitement would help Itsuka Kotori as well as Shido himself, after all.
In response to Miku's request, Mana turned to Origami.
"Tobiichi-san, you know your way around the base, right? Please lead them on."
"What about those three?"
Origami was referring to the Spirits who were still sleeping in the back of the car- Yoshino, Natsumi, and Yatogami Tohka. Not that she cared much for one of them, but she was sure that all three of them wanted to meet Shido as well.
Mana merely smiled.
"I will wake up the sleepyheads. Go ahead."
"Very well. My thanks."
As Mana unlocked the car's door, the three Spirits in the mid-row immediately went out of the car.
"Come, sister, Diva! Let's go!"
"Scoff. Yuzuru doesn't need Kaguya to remind her."
Miku didn't even pay attention to the exchange between the twins and just straight up ran to the hallway leading to a lift's entrance.
Seeing all of this, Origami sighed as she too exited the car.
"Don't get lost."
Origami was not sure whether the three Spirits ahead of her actually listened to her warning, so she decided to move quicker.
The Chupa Chups on her mouth was very sweet.
However, Kotori couldn't really enjoy its tastes, as she was in deep thought.
Even though she and her crew were in the hangar where the under-repairs Fraxinus was, everything happening within the Hrasvelgr were directly transmitted here.
On the conrol room, the screen was displaying Shido on one side of a circular table. On the other side, there were Rinne, and two Kurumis.
Rio wasn't around because the discussion was already over, and she had returned within Shido. Kannazuki was also piloting the aircraft, so he had to be in the cockpit.
Honestly, Kotori didn't know what to expect from this meeting at first. Two powerful, enigmatic Spirits had approached them and offered them a Spirit to secure, and a chance to be observed. So, the Commander had expected to be surprised.
But what Nightmare and Ruler had in store of them were almost beyond her expectations.
Their strategy was very simple, but relative to the enemy's strength, it could be very effective. For example, if the target was one of Ratatoskr's facility, it would be taken down for sure.
Kotori shuddered at the thought of these two Spirits tracking down, and destroying the Fraxinus. However, that was not all.
Rio -the [Irregular] Spirit- was dangerous beyond belief.
When Rinne asked Rio to describe what she could do with her powers, the little Spirit had revealed something beyond her wildest imaginations.
[Aspect of the Sephiroth].
From its name alone, Kotori knew what it meant. She didn't even need Reine's analysis just now to know what it implied.
What Rio had shown them a few minutes ago was just a glimpse of her true power.
Forget about Shido when he went berserk, Rio could singlehandedly annihilate millions of people, even without calling forth a Spacequake, if she wanted to. Simply because she could command the immense power contained within her 'father'
It was unbelievable that she could carry so much power and her body didn't begin to overheat like Shido did. And yet, that was the fact of the matter.
"Is it because her body is made from Spirit mana itself?"
If Reine's previous check on Rio was correct, then that would be the reason. So long as her mental state was stable, her powers would never go out of control.
The Commander made a mental note to observe the Irregular Spirit's behavior more closely from now on. They needed that for future plans.
As Kotori was thinking however, she heard the automatic door of the control room opened.
"Eh?"
"Ah, it's you girls."
Kotori let out a confused sound as four beautiful young girls entered the room, while Reine welcomed them.
Of course, the Commander knew them all -they were Origami, Kaguya, Yuzuru and Miku- Spirits whom Shido had sealed, and the Ratatoskr had secured. The reason why Kotori was surprised was not their arrival.
But rather, their appearance and state. Origami was clad in Raizen High's winter uniform; the Yamai sisters were still in their pajamas -and with their hairs down, they now truly looked identical- one in pink and one in blue; only Miku was wearing something casual, with her dark purple dress.
"What the… Kaguya, Yuzuru! Why are you dressed like that?"
The twins merely glanced at each other for a moment, before returning their gaze on Kotori.
"As soon as we heard from the White Devil that our Prince has awoken, we ran here as fast as the wind itself to see him."
"Translation. We heard from Master Origami that Shido has recovered from his coma. We want to see him."
Kotori smiled a bit at that.
"It seems that they are not that upset…"
The Commander was honestly pretty anxious when Shido collapsed last night. Not just for her brother, but for the other Spirits.
Without a doubt, they were all worried about him. However, she couldn't allow the other Spirits to push themselves too much- hence why Kotori ordered them all to go back while Shido was handled here.
Everyone in the Fraxinus was busy with the task of repairing the ship. Therefore, they couldn't watch over the other Spirits' mood levels consistently. Even now, they had to stop working as they had to watch over Shido and Kannazuki.
So, Kotori hoped it was the correct decision to send them back to home.
"But they certainly had missed Shido, in more ways than one."
"Look at that."
Kotori then pointed her Chupa Chups at the screen with Shido, Rinne, and Kurumi in it. As she did so, the eyes of the four Spirit guests were immediately glued to the screen.
Kotori gauged their reactions. Seeing Shido on the screen, the Yamai sisters looked positively happy, and Miku's eyes grew wide, clearly shocked. Meanwhile, Origami didn't change her expression.
Kaguya was the first to comment. "Humph. So it was them, eh? Did those two summon you for a Round Table Meeting?"
"Curious. Where are they?" Yuzuru, being the sharper twin, quickly asked what was not obvious.
"They are within one of our stealth aircraft, Hraesvelgr. And Kaguya, you are right. Kurumi was the one who alerted the Spacequake alarm to call us for a deal."
Origami narrowed her eyes slightly. "Deal, huh? Ruler already made Shido promise to date her… what more could she want?"
Kotori could sense the agitation in Origami's voice. To be honest, she was right… but Shido had already made her promise about that too.
"She wants to-"
"Hik"
Suddenly, a strange sound cut her off. Kotori was caught off-guard and stopped speaking, and even the three Spirits she was talking with looked surprised.
Even the other crew members, whose concentration were fixated on the monitor they were working on, also stopped. It seemed that everyone was able to recognize what sound it was, and whom it belonged to.
Miku was crying.
"Thank goodness… I still have a chance… Shido-san is okay…"
Her legs were trembling, she looked barely able to stand. Her voice was also very faint, nothing more than a hoarse whisper.
She was also not looking anywhere but down, allowing her hair to cast a shadow over her eyes. However, the tears flowing down to her cheeks were not hidden.
Seeing this, Kotori couldn't even express her shock.
Before anyone could say anything, all of a sudden Miku turned around, and ran to the door she came from.
"Wa-wait! Miku!"
Kotori called out to her, but Miku didn't respond. As everyone else was too surprised to react, the diva left the room without impedence.
"What the- Why did she run away?"
Kotori forced her brain to think as quick as it could.
Judging from Miku's words, she was not just relieved. Kotori could tell that much, simply from the fact that she didn't call Shido 'darling' like usual.
But Kotori couldn't quite figure out what else Miku meant. It was unclear, due to how weak her voice was.
"The whisper was too weak… wait. It can't be!"
Kotori nearly dropped the Chupa Chups in her mouth as a realization struck in. Miku's mental state was unstable, and her Spirit powers were returning.
To be precise, her [Gabriel]'s [Solo], the [voice] that could compel absolute obedience. Miku ran away because she didn't want to affect the people in this room with her crying voice, which would carry similar -if less stable- effect.
She couldn't be left alone now. Someone had to calm her down.
Kotori wanted to be the one to do so, but she had no way to counter Miku's Solo. She needed something to neutralize sounds.
The Commander turned to her crew.
"All of you! Do you have any noise-filters for your ears?!"
The crews were startled by her panicked voice, but judging from their lack of reply, no one seemed to have it.
Fortunately for them, one person did reply to Kotori.
"I do."
Kotori was almost relieved that it was Reine who answered her. She could be trusted with this task.
The Commander really wanted to thank the analyst now, but that could wait. There was no time.
"Please, follow her. Her powers are unstable."
"Understood."
Reine didn't waste any time as she quickly moved to the door and exited the room.
As she saw the analyst left, Kotori let out a sigh as she leaned on her chair.
"Kuh. What correct decision? I am a cruel Commander."
The Commander didn't even need to guess how did Miku become unstable. It was obvious that she didn't take Shido's coma well.
And Kotori's order for them to return certainly had made it worse.
In hindsight, Kotori should have seen it coming… Miku was the one who instigated the reckless operation last night, so it was possible for her to blame herself for Shido's condition.
"I didn't think it would go that far, though… I am so stupid!"
The redhead glanced at the three Spirits who remained in the room -Kaguya, Yuzuru, Origami- the first two looked uneasy, as if not knowing how to react to the scene. Origami looked troubled, but not as obvious.
Kotori could pretty much guess what they were thinking from that.
"That was because of my ridiculous order, wasn't it? Do you blame me?"
Two of them flinched at Kotori's very blunt question.
Not surprisingly, it was the Yamai sisters who did. It was not hard to see that they understood what Kotori meant.
In fact, it would be natural for them to be irritated at me, I suppose…
Seeing as the twins hesitated to look at her, Kotori took their reactions as a 'yes.' However, Origami shook her head, signifying her rejection.
"It wasn't because of you. And I won't forgive anyone who blames you."
Kotori was slightly surprised at the surprising amount of emotion that could be felt from the usually cold Origami's voice.
That made Kotori a bit uneasy. Whenever Origami spoke like that, that meant she was more than a bit serious.
"It isn't your responsibility to decide what we feel. Shido was hurt, and none of us could prevent it. No matter what you do, all of us were hurt by that fact, including you. There is no need to blame anyone for something that we cannot do anything about."
Origami said so unhesitatingly.
Kotori couldn't hide her surprise from showing on her face.
Not only the firmness was clear on Origami's words, the words itself were very familiar to her ears. It made Kotori's heart felt comfortable, despite herself.
"Those words… it sounds like something Oni-chan would say…"
And that stopped all the arguments she was about to say.
Kotori wanted to argue: as a leader, she had responsibility to protect the Spirits Ratatoskr had secured. As the first Spirit who was sealed, she had to consider the feelings of the sealed Spirits who came after her. What was happening to Shido and Miku were marks of her failure.
And yet, Kotori didn't know what to say against Origami's defiance.
"I…"
However, before Kotori could continue, she was cut off by the sound of the automatic door opening once again.
The one who entered was a group of four girls, the same number as before. The eyes of everyone in the room were on them.
"I am sorry for being late!"
The stern voice came from Mana. Behind her, Tohka, Yoshino, and Natsumi entered the room with serious looks on their faces.
"Where is Shido? Mana, you said he is awake already!"
Tohka looked around the room, clearly searching for Shido.
Mana grinned as she glanced at the large screen ahead of them, the one displaying Shido and the two opposition Spirits.
"Uh, Tohka, it's there…"
Natsumi seemed to notice the screen's presence as well, as she pointed her finger to its direction with a giggle. Her gesture prompted Tohka and Yoshino to follow her line of sight.
Not surprisingly, Tohka's eyes practically sparkled and Yoshino smiled happily as soon as they saw Shido's figure on the screen. Kotori let out a sigh of relief at that- at least they were not too upset as well.
However-
"...!"
"T-that is…"
Yoshino closed her mouth with her hand as if to prevent herself from screaming, while Tohka's eyes grew wide as if she just saw something repulsive.
It wasn't overlooked by the other Spirits, of course.
"Hmm? You look like you have seen a ghost. What sort of apparation is scaring you, my kinsmen?"
"Concern. Tohka, Yoshino, you two look pale. May I ask what's wrong?"
"Yoshino? Are you okay?"
The Yamai twins and Natsumi showered the two of them with questions.
"Um… I, I don't know how to put this…"
"N, nothing! We are fine!"
Yoshino seemed to hesitate to answer, while Tohka flat-out denied anything was wrong. The other Spirits didn't look like they believed it, but they didn't press the two of them.
Kotori knew better, however.
It was certainly caused by fear. Recognizing Ruler on the screen certainly triggered their instinctive response.
"So it was not only Origami and myself… Tohka and Yoshino as well, eh?
The redhead took mental note of that. That proved that whatever Ruler was using to affect them, it had influenced five of them already.
"How about the others, I wonder…"
But answering that question could wait. Kotori could ask all of them later for confirmation, after Shido's mission was over.
As Kotori was deep in thought, Mana seemed to have noticed something else.
"Wait… where is Izayoi-san?"
It was Mana's turn to look around the room.
At that, the Yamai sisters glanced at each other with anxiety, while Origami turned to look at Kotori, apparently expecting the Commander to answer for them.
Kotori wanted to sigh again seeing that, but she stopped herself.
"Miku is with Reine right now. She will be back soon."
She wanted to elaborate more, but there was no need to tell the Spirits something that might upset them now.
Kotori would make sure to make up for her mistakes later though. Origami might try to say otherwise- but she couldn't let it slide. No Commander could make a mistake without being punished for it.
Understanding that Kotori didn't want to say anything more, Mana nodded as she continued.
"I see. May I ask for situation report then? What is Ni-sama doing with Nightmare and Ruler?"
Mana's concern was obvious, and it was clearly shared by every Spirit there. Knowing this, Kotori cleared her throat.
"To put it into basic terms? A deal."
Shido honestly didn't know what to do.
He wasn't confident with his sense of time, but Shido felt like he had not moved from his seat to do anything for nearly half an hour.
"What should I do?"
Kannazuki went to the cockpit to pilot the aircraft to the DEM-controlled island called 'Cage of Judgment,' while Rio returned back within him to conserve her energy for the mission. That left him with no one familiar to speak with, at least physically.
Shido would be content to speak privately with Rio in his mind, but-
"Papa, why aren't Papa talking with Mama?"
"It's… not that easy, Rio."
Even if her voice was mental, Shido could practically feel that Rio was excited for him to talk with Rinne, and she had been trying to encourage him for quite a while now.
It was true that Shido was not alone in the room, there were two Kurumis and Rinne across the table in front of him, and if he wanted to pass the time by chatting, he could simply ask.
The problem was, he was not sure whether the three Spirits in front of him would… like it, if he talked with them.
The 'Kurumi' clone leaned on her chair with her arms crossed and her eyes closed, her expression peaceful as if she was sleeping.
Meanwhile, the real Kurumi had taken a seat to Rinne's right, and the two partners were holding Cassiel -the lyre on Rinne's hand- together.
Shido wasn't sure what the two of them were doing, but Kurumi occasionally… smiled, laughed, and glanced at her friend. Rinne returned the posture each time, although her facial features were hidden.
The two of them appeared to be chatting… somehow.
"How could they communicate without even making a sound?"
Shido was curious about that, but more than that, he didn't want to interrupt the two of them if they were chatting privately.
Especially, if the two of them looked so… happy. Shido couldn't see Rinne's face, but from the way Kurumi expressed herself -her genuine smile, her laugh- it was clear that at least one of them was enjoying whatever they were engaged in.
He never thought that Kurumi would ever show that much emotion when with someone. Shido had only ever seen that on 'Kurumi' before, and it changed Shido's opinion of her a bit.
Still, that left Shido with nothing to do and no one to talk with.
"But Papa, it doesn't have to be like that! Papa is also here, we can all talk together!"
"I don't think I can be sure about that. What should I talk about?"
That seemed to get Rio to think for a moment, as Shido heard a little 'hum' in his head.
"Rio isn't sure either… maybe ask if Mama and Kurumin really are chatting?"
"That's blunt! …But I can't think of any other way."
Shido was surprised at Rio's lack of subtlety. However, after a moment, he had to admit that it was probably the right way to start.
"Uh, Rinne…?"
"Yes?"
Even though it was only Rinne who answered him, the eyes of all three Spirits there were directed at him, including the 'Kurumi' that was supposed to sleep.
Shido was startled for a moment, but he shrugged it off as he continued.
"Are you and Kurumi… talking to each other?"
The two Spirits in question glanced at each other, before Rinne replied.
"Yes. It isn't obvious for you?"
"No, I mean yes, it is obvious, but I don't know how you two do it…"
Shido nervously scratched his cheeks. Seeing this, Rinne and Kurumi once again glanced at each other.
Kurumi followed it up with a smile.
"Ara ara, Shido-san. Are you curious about what are we talking about?"
"Can't say that I am not."
Then, the Nightmare's cheeks turned light pink, and suddenly Shido felt like it was something he didn't want to know.
"A-ah, if it's something private-"
"I don't mind, you know. And Rinne certainly won't mind either…"
Kurumi cut him off, and sent a glance to Rinne next to her, who nodded and turned to Shido.
"I don't mind. We were only talking about our last [date], after all."
"Eh?"
Rinne said that in such a casual tone that Shido believed he had misheard something.
"W, what did you just say?"
"We were talking about our last date."
It took a moment for Shido to process what Rinne just said.
"Eeehhhhhh?!"
Startled, Shido shouted in shock. The two Spirits giggled lightly in response, before speaking to each other.
"It's been a while since we last went into a date, right Kurumi?"
"Fufu. When did you become so bold, Rinne?"
The two spoke as if they were recalling a pleasant memory. Against his will, Shido's cheeks became red, even though it was not related to him.
Shaking, Shido pointed a finger at the two of them back-and-forth. "Y, y, you two went on a date!?"
"That depends on how do you define a [date] of course." Kurumi touched her lips with a finger.
Somehow, that gesture only made Shido's thoughts worse.
Rinne swung her hand to play it off. "Or to be exact, how you word it. Your sister defines a [date] as a [battle], no? Why couldn't we use the same term?"
It was then Shido remembered. Kotori did use that wordplay, the English word [date] was pronounced similarly to one alternate reading of the Kanji for [battle].
That meant, they were not actually dating… but recalling a battle they had before.
As Shido was recalling that fact however, Rinne turned her veiled face to Kurumi.
"Hee hee, you are right, Kurumi. Shido is so easy to tease! I can't believe he could be tricked like that."
"A gentleman knows how to please ladies, after all. However, Shido-san is a special case, this particular gentleman can even please others inadvertently."
"Y, you two…"
Shido wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth silent. If he said anything, these two would probably twist it against him.
But then, there was the sound of an automatic door opening.
"Shido-kun. Also, Tokisaki Kurumi and Sonogami Rinne."
The door behind Shido -the one leading to the cockpit of the aircraft- suddenly opened to reveal Kannazuki walking toward them. That prompted Shido to rise from his chair and turned around to see the blonde.
However, before he could say a thing, the 'Kurumi' clone was the one who responded to him first.
"Ara. Are we there yet?"
"Almost. I request all five- my apologies, all four of you to prepare yourself."
Shido raised a brow at the correction Kannazuki made. Counting Rio, there was five of them right there, excluding Kannazuki.
"I wonder why…?"
"Maybe Papa's friends are watching Papa? Didn't Papa said that Papa doesn't want to tell the others about Rio yet?"
"Oh yeah, I said that. So Kotori also wanted the same…"
Feeling embarrassment from being remined about it by his own 'daughter,' Shido mentally wanted to kick himself. However, he brushed the thought aside for now.
Shido turned to the three Spirits in the room. Rinne, and two Kurumis.
He wanted to ask if they were ready, but he supposed that it was pointless to ask these two -Nightmare and Ruler Spirits- of all people, that question.
That fact didn't stop him, though.
"Are you ready? Rinne, and both of you?"
The three of them turned to meet his gaze.
The two Kurumis appeared surprised at his question, as if saying 'are you seriously asking us?' with their expression.
Rinne however, seemed to be pleased by his question.
"We are, thank you for your concern, Shido."
Her face was hidden, but Shido didn't need to see through that veil of hers to know that Rinne was smiling.
Smiling, Shido closed his eyes, testing his own resolve.
"Alright…"
"Rio, are you ready?"
"Yes! Let's do this together, Papa!"
As a tremendous amount of power flowed through his veins, Shido opened his eyes, now with a whitened pupil of a Spirit's.
"[Aspect of the Sephiroth]! [Throne of Annihilation!]"
And with that, his Spirit mana filled the room with light.
It gave him a familiar sense of strength, one that he could remember using several times-
"I wonder… how much longer do [We] have to wait?"
"Be patient, [Me]… you already killed one of [Us] to send her memory yesterday, right? Hold back your bloodlust."
"I know, but shouldn't Rinne and our original have arrived by now?"
"Do you think Ratatoskr will give in that easily to support us? You are all naive…"
And so it went. The exchange between the twelve, once-thirteen Kurumi clones that were sent to observe the Cage of Judgment.
Eleven of them were continuously talking all night near the sea surface, their sounds completely unimpeded by the waters due to their Astral Dress. They were probably trying to erase away the needless emotion called 'boredom'
All except for one, anyway.
"Humph. These Mes sure are noisy…"
If she had her way, this Kurumi would have all the other clones alongside her killed.
They were observing one of DEM's most dangerous branch. How could they slack off by pointless chatters? They were ordered to kill another one of them immediately to report to the original if DEM made a suspicious move.
And yet, these eleven were slacking.
"Bunch of useless past selves… I would be happy to trade away these eleven for the Spirit who is locked there."
Cage of Judgment.
As it name implied, it was designed to be the ultimate Cage for the DEM, designed to hold Spirits.
Constructed on an island in Pacific, it was similar in both purpose and design to the [Neryl Island], where Kurumi once invaded, to try and meet the Second Spirit, bearer of Rasiel… Honjou Nia.
It had two main difference, however.
First was, it was rumored to contain various top-secret projects that most DEM officers didn't even know the details about. Since her original used her Zafkiel to investigate, that meant it was no false memories, although the rumor itself could be fabricated.
"What kind of surprise is waiting for us there, I wonder? Is it related to the 'big plan' Westcott is having?"
This Kurumi was curious, especially as she recalled Rinne's information she gave when she arrived in Tenguu City yesterday. However, she couldn't let that curiosity compromise her mission.
The second difference was, it was heavily defended.
It was obvious, simply from the giant Territory that surrounded the island, that was continuously active for 24 hours straight. There should be a large amount of solid defenses that couldn't be easily overrun with just numbers.
"Well… not like my original or Rinne could ever be stopped by anything."
Plus, there was Ratatoskr to help them. This battle was as good as won already. Still, slacking off, until victory was certain, couldn't be tolerated.
Still, that thought made her even more curious. How would Ratatoskr help them?
Fraxinus was damaged, so they couldn't help with that. Maybe they could use the satellite cannon they utilized against Shido, but it was unlikely for them to use such trump cards, since using it against the DEM meant revealing their ace in the hole against their rival company.
"So the only choices left are helping us with Spirit power… hum?"
Suddenly, all twelve of the Kurumis became silent. They sensed something in the distance, at the direction of the DEM Island.
After several moments of silence, they recognized it.
"This feeling…"
"This is a sign of Spirit."
"...From above the Island?"
"Let's get a closer look!"
With a single command, the twelve swam to the direction of the Island near the horizon.
As they went close enough, they immediately identified what the source of the Spirit sign was.
"That is!"
"Ara. Quite a surprise."
"Wow. Our original brought someone interesting!"
So they said. Some of them remained calm, some were pleasantly surprised, some were shocked.
It was because, they could see two people floating above the Territory of Cage of Judgment -yes, people- and the two people were someone they could recognize.
It was their original self, and-
"Yatogami… Tohka?"
Shido was shocked.
His body, his mind, his mana, his everything- all felt different.
For an instant, when he shouted the name of the ability Rio demonstrated earlier- he felt like his body was reconfigured.
Not just transformed; it felt different to Natsumi's transformation ability. The change on his body, the change on his mind, all felt very vivid.
Because… it felt like Tohka.
Tohka's presence, Tohka's power- even Tohka's feelings. He felt like he had infused with all of those, like he had owned them himself.
When he opened his eyes, he realized why, he felt all of those.
"..."
Shido looked down on his body.
Gone was the body of a male high-schooler, the body he had was now a girl's.
'He' was clad in a strange dress that 'he' recognized. As 'he' examined 'his' body and moved 'his' head around, 'he' could feel 'his' long hair flowing behind 'his' back.
Yes, [Shido] was now [Tohka], complete with her Astral Dress, [Adonai Melek].
Strangely, 'he' didn't feel embarrassed. 'He' didn't even feel that any of this was unnatural. It felt like 'he' was supposed to be in this form.
"So this is how it feels…"
Even 'his' voice was hers, now.
"Do you feel anything unpleasant, Papa?"
Only Rio's voice was the same before and after his transformation. Shido couldn't help but smile at that.
"Not at all, my daughter."
As 'he' mentally answered Rio, the other people in the room spoke.
"...Impressive."
"Hihihi, how magnificent, Shido-san."
"How are you feeling with all that power, Shido?"
Kannazuki complimented him with hand claps, while Kurumi and Rinne sounded amused and awestruck respectively, seeing his current state.
Usually, Shido would thank them for such compliments. He would even tell them to praise Rio, instead. However-
"Is that so?"
…Shido could feel that he was not talking like himself.
Kannazuki didn't seem to pay attention to the way he acted, and opened the door of Hraesvelgr with a press of button on a remote in his hand.
"The Cage is just down there. Stop your descent as soon as you walked out of the helicopter. Don't forget about the plan, and here are the communicators for both of you."
Kannazuki handed Kurumi and Rinne the communicator he already had. Seeing this, the now raven-haired Spirit decided to exit the aircraft through the opened door.
Shido didn't feel any fear of falling at all- as soon as his feet could no longer step on something, he felt his power automatically acting up to keep him mid-air.
Yes, it was the feeling of a Spirit's power.
Then, Shido turned his sights to gaze upon on the land below him.
He was floating above a large island- more specifically, Shido was right above the Territory that surrounded the island like a dome.
The dome that was supposed to make the island invisible meant nothing for Shido's eyes now- it was a beautiful-looking island with nothing but forests and a beach that surrounded the island like a ring.
Seeing all of this, he smiled.
"Tohka… so this is how you view the world…"
"Shall we start, Shido-san?"
Behind him, Kurumi too stepped out of the invisible aircraft, and levitated herself a few meters away from Shido. For bystanders, she looked like she had appeared out of thin air- but he knew better.
Shido's thoughts told him to answer as he usually did, but for some reason, there was some other thought who told him not to reply like that.
It felt like hostility- the hostility Tohka had against Kurumi. It was not a strong one, but it felt… quite unpleasant for Shido.
In the end, all he could say was-
"Don't get in my way, Kurumi."
The Nightmare Spirit appeared surprised for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by a devious grin.
"Ara ara. Is that so? Then, show me your strength, [Tohka-san]."
Shido wanted to say that it was not [his name], but his mind told him otherwise. Not knowing what to do, he simply didn't reply.
Mentally worried, Shido asked Rio in his mind.
"Is this how it is supposed to work, Rio?"
"Yes it is. Rio wants to apologize to Papa… but Papa's thoughts will be influenced from now on."
Shido was a bit frightened that his mind would be influenced by something, but at the same time, he wasn't.
In this moment, [Shido] truly felt [Tohka] within him.
"Very well then-"
Shido answered both Kurumi and Rio at the same time with a single sentence, while calling out to his power.
"[Sandalphon] (Throne of Annihilation)!"
That instant, his -or rather, Tohka's- Spirit mana concentrated in his right hand, into the form of an Angel that he had grown used to, both as himself before… and he was now.
A wide blade glowing with light. With a handguard with intricate designs.
Usually Tohka pulled her sword from a throne she summoned, but Shido was able to summon it directly in his hand before. Now, he simply did what he had done as [Itsuka Shido], as [Yatogami Tohka].
Wielding the large sword as if it was as light as a feather, Shido raised Sandalphon high into the sky, and stared down his target with a piercing look that didn't belong to him, but rather the tyrannous king that sat on the Throne of Annihilation.
"Kurumi… prepare yourself. I am going to carve open your path."
How was it? Drop your thoughts in the reviews!
If it feels unnatural, or something in this chapter is wrong, just say so! Changing things at this point is not easy, but not exactly hard either.
I WILL try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible, since this chapter is late, right? I am trying my best to catch up, so wait for me!
And as always… thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!