A/N: Salutations! Long time no see…
I think this is the second time this fic goes for more than half a year without an update. And that renders any sort of excuse I have to become flimsy at best and meaningless at worst. So I will not say anything apart from: College nurse life sucks up time, and it gets worse as the semester goes up higher.
Enough about that. I must thank you readers who still stick around and wait for me despite me being extremely irregular with the updates. And I intend to pay that in full through this chapter and the ones next, it's the least I could do.
Edit: I almost forgot to tell you, but a few of my older chapters have also been updated. The ones with the most significant changes are Chapter 5 and Chapter 12.
The changes are mostly in the narration style, but there are new details which slightly affect the plot which also double as, you can guess, foreshadowing. Please give them a re-read~
Now then, this chapter and the ones coming up next will be about Mayuri… needless to say, it is going to be a bit packed. Are you ready? Here is Chapter 19, "Bringing Light into the Darkness"
Mayuri felt her heartbeat raise, ever so slightly.
It was a strange, familiar feeling. One which she almost forgot.
Ever since she had been trapped in her dreams, her heartbeat had never raised or dropped.
It had remained constant without fail throughout the last four years.
Its unchanging nature eventually made her wonder if it even existed in the first place.
"But now…"
Slowly, gradually, the beat in her heart grew, faster than it had ever been for a long time.
"Is it my joy and excitement, anticipating for my release from this unlife?"
"Is it my fear and nervousness, heeding for my uncertain future?"
"Is it my anger and resentment, thirsting for my revenge?"
"Is it my curiosity and loneliness, seeking for my savior?"
The one who could free her was so near now – so much, it felt aching.
It was strange. Hope was such a strange feeling to ponder.
"If it is this close…"
She couldn't do anything to help this Spirit. Not with her actions, anyway.
"Then my voice alone could reach you…"
And that was enough for her.
"I hope, you can begin to hope, too."
It was the least she could do. Mayuri owed this Spirit, that much.
"…Ara?"
Kurumi halted, immediately turning her gaze around.
There was nothing in this particular dark hallway. She had stalled the Marinas in the upper and the current floors with her clones, and she was careful to ensure none had followed her.
"What was that?"
She was sure she had heard a voice… and it was the familiar feeling it brought that made Kurumi sure it was not just her imagination.
It was similar to that of a certain woman Kurumi had hated… the enigmatic Spirit codenamed [Phantom], one who called herself 'mother of Spirits'.
As in, it was heard directly inside her head as opposed to reaching her ears, something which was could even be called its signature quality.
"But this one… felt different."
Phantom's voice felt distorted, and it brought discomfort just hearing it. It could not be recognized as belonging to a human. This one, on the other hand…
"I couldn't make out the words completely, but I think I heard… 'hope'?"
The quality of this voice she heard just now was far from uncomfortable. It was unmistakably feminine, full of mirth and warmth – and Kurumi was surprised at how pleasant it was.
Several questions popped in her head, but her quick mind was able to formulate an answer.
"It is probably her… [Material B]."
It was a bit of a stretch of logic, but it definitely wasn't a coincidence Kurumi began hearing voices just after she had skipped sixteen floors without searching them in order to reach the bottom.
If her hunch was correct, she was getting closer to one of her two objectives.
"…"
Kurumi didn't fancy herself as some sort of heroine of justice coming to rescue a princess in captive, but for some reason, it was an appropriate analogy to describe her situation now.
The only thing about herself which made that metaphor inappropriate was that Tokisaki Kurumi was a villain…
"…No, don't. Don't hate yourself."
"…!"
The voice was heard again, and this time, it made Kurumi jump.
"What…? You can hear me?"
She expected a reply to confirm her suspicions, but there was no response.
The silence made her frown. It was the same as earlier, but this time, it was much clearer.
"Don't hate yourself… she said?"
That was so ridiculous, she wouldn't even dignify that thought. She wasn't… she wasn't that kind of tragic villain.
In any case, it was definitely a Spirit. Very likely to be Material B, though it wasn't certain. It could also be a trick, done by the Marinas. Still, no matter which, she definitely shouldn't be standing still.
"I must make haste, regardless."
Inhaling a deep breath to focus her mana, Kurumi once again blasted the floor with the full power of her dual guns to force a pathway.
The now repetitive sound of her bullets tearing through steel rang in her ears, and quickly, Kurumi looked down on her supposed entrance.
"Ara?"
The hole was considerably deeper than the ones she had made above. Kurumi couldn't see very clearly what was on the floor below.
Instantly, her mind went to think. That meant, the floor below had a different construction model than the ones she had bypassed earlier; its ceiling was thicker and had more mass.
"Then the purpose of this floor might be different than the ones above…"
Kurumi braced herself. 'Look before you leap,' the saying went, but there was also time and situation to consider.
If she didn't immediately jump, then the Marinas down below would be ready to ambush her around the hole she had made.
Therefore, it was better to jump now and leave them with no time to prepare.
Her flintlock and musket ready in both hands, Kurumi leaped.
"Now, let's see what kind of floor this is…"
She was inside the hole for almost three seconds before light bathed her; the first bright room after several floors of dark, empty hallways and chambers.
It was another chamber, though its sheer size surprised her – it was probably five times larger than any of the one above, which was quite large indeed – since one of the above chambers would have been enough to house [Ratatoskr]'s airship [Fraxinus].
As expected, there were proportionately far more Marinas surrounding her in this chamber than in the floors above, their energy swords and guns ready at their hands. Their expressions were generally identical – an angry scowl, as if they were not expecting her to breach this far.
"This is as far as you go, [Nightmare]!"
One of them shouted, but Kurumi ignored them when she noticed there was a large, gate-like entrance on all sides of the chamber; far to the front, to the right, to the left, and behind, with herself being roughly at the center of the chamber.
All four entrances were blocked with green forcefields formed of [Territories] though – and it seemed to be tough ones. She doubted she could destroy those on her own when severely outnumbered from all sides.
There was also… a deactivated long-belt conveyor system? It stretched across the length of the entire room, connecting the entrance on the left to the entrance on the right, though which direction the conveyor belt was supposed to go was beyond her.
Kurumi narrowed her eyes. What use would a conveyor belt serve for the [Deus Ex Machina Industries]?
"Wait… conveyor belts are used for… manufactory."
It was moments like these Kurumi hated her own quick and imaginative mind.
The conveyor belt was used to deliver the bodies of Marinas. Probably from the laboratory where Material B was imprisoned and harvested, body parts were transported through this conveyor belt into another facility to be arranged into a Marina and installed with Realizers.
If that was the case, the gigantic but mostly empty chamber made sense – in the unlikely possibility the Spirit they imprisoned broke free, there wouldn't suffer too much damage if they made a room large enough for a Spirit to battle comfortably without property damage.
It was efficient and careful. Kurumi had to give Westcott that. It didn't make things any less repulsive… that man really viewed Material B as nothing more than a resource to be exploited.
Still, she supposed that was that. If her assumption about the purpose behind the conveyor belt was correct, that would mean both of her objectives were close.
No matter which way she went, she would either reach Material B's prison or a Realizer laboratory, the former containing the Spirit she wished to free for Shido and the Ratatoskr, the latter likely storing the mind-operating Realizer for Rinne's purposes.
"Now, which way should I go first?"
Either way, she would be killing a lot of things. How joyful.
"Come, [Mes]!"
In an instant, shadow splashed out like waves on the sea from under her dress – and once more, dozens upon dozens, hundreds followed by hundreds of her past selves emerged from them.
Kurumi smirked. "Show them exactly what the word [Nightmare] means."
And with that single command, her army of clones began attacking the surrounding Marinas, their guns blazing. However, she was far from done.
"[Zafkiel]! [Aleph]! [Zayin]!"
The golden clock which embodied her powers appeared behind her, obedient as ever. The time acceleration bullets manifested in her flintlock and the time freezing bullets loaded themselves into her musket.
Time for the banquet to begin-
"Come. You are there, right? Just outside my prison."
Kurumi widened her eyes, but she didn't halt her movements. She didn't need full concentration to multitask, after all.
Immediately, she began firing her Aleph bullets to her clones – accelerating their movements – and her Zayin bullets to the Marinas – freezing them in place.
"You can sense me and send your thoughts to me. What else can you do, Material B?"
She tried to taunt the source of this voice, but there was no response, again. A small frown found its way to her lips. Who exactly was speaking to her?
"You are curious, now. Are you trying to deduce my identity?"
That, was spot on, Kurumi had to admit that. Could this Spirit hear her thoughts?
…No. If the Spirit could sense thoughts, then there was no need to ask that question.
"The curiosity persists, I see. Well, I am not sure if this will answer your questions specifically, but I can't see nor hear you."
That much Kurumi could already tell. Material B was supposed to be imprisoned and in coma, after all.
However, it was fact the owner of this voice could detect her and could respond to her, to an extent. But, how?
"Anticipation… and curiosity, still? Strange. What questions are you pondering about, I wonder?"
She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. This Spirit was beginning to test her patience.
"…Eh, are you frustrated? …No, please be patient, I will keep guessing."
"…"
Kurumi had to admit, how the voice managed to be simultaneously calm and frantic was quite amusing. Somehow, it also reminded her of Shido and Rinne when she teased them.
"…Maybe she is curious about how this telepathy works? Yes, that's it. I am sending this through my Spirit wavelengths."
Duh, that was obvious. Kurumi could already tell that was the case since the moment she heard the voice. Elaborate more, Spirit!
"…Not that? I apologize. Please, don't abandon me out of frustration. I can't sense your thoughts, all I can do is sense is your Spirit energy, and the emotions carried within it."
"Ara… I see."
That was a surprisingly enlightening answer. Then, this Spirit could only tell what other Spirits were feeling, but had to guess the reason for them. It was somewhat similar to Ratatoskr's scanning of Spirit energy to determine their mental state, then.
No, it was probably more accurate than Ratatoskr's scan. Kurumi had made it her constant habit to keep her Spirit signatures hidden from both Realizers and fellow Spirits. Not even the newly reborn Origami was able to sense her, after all.
"And yet, this Spirit could detect me in spite of that. Quite impressive…"
The only other Spirits who could reliably sense her was Rinne and Phantom, though those two didn't do so through their innate Spirit detection ability. After all, Rinne had [Web of Causality] and Phantom could somehow find her no matter where she was.
"Ah, your curiosity fades… and you are amused?"
Kurumi almost chuckled. The Spirit only realized that just now?
"…Please refrain from messing with me."
A smile tugged on her lips. Kurumi could practically hear the pout in that voice. It was both amusing and adorable.
"Is this Spirit going to be anything like those two? Fufu."
If Material B was a goody two shoes like Shido and Rinne were… it would be too much for her sanity.
It would be entertaining, Kurumi had no doubt of that, but it would definitely be maddening… of the good kind, but it was madness all the same.
"Now you are happy all of a sudden. That's fine, but shouldn't you be careful? You are surrounded by puppets made from my flesh, you know?"
That snapped her back to attention; her body gracefully twirled to the side to avoid an energy bullet by a rifle-wielding Marina through reflex alone.
"Che!"
The Spirit was right, she couldn't afford to let her guard down or distracted.
But, did the voice just say 'puppets made from my flesh'?
That only meant one thing. "Ara… so, you are her!"
If that was the case-
She glanced to the gate at the right side of the chamber, then toward the gate at the other end of the conveyor belt on the left side.
Her Spirit senses were a bit confused because of the sheer number of sources around her – the Marinas did possess some Spirit mana, after all – but the Spirit wave of Material B felt like it came from…
…The left gate, it seemed.
"Zafkiel!"
The golden clock behind her began to produce loud, mechanical screeches as she poured large quantities of her 'time' into the Angel. It was ironic, but to avoid wasting more time, she had to spend more of her 'time'.
The Territory which protected the gate to Material B herself would surely be top-class. While breaking through with force wasn't impossible, it would be more efficient if she used-
"[Dalet]!"
The fourth bullet, the bullet which could rewind time, loaded itself to her musket.
It could reverse any change which occurred to an object by rewinding their internal time, including things like physical damage.
As such, she only used this bullet for the sake of health.
"Though it doesn't affect that which is intangible, such as mental damage, Spirit energy or someone's life…"
She pushed the memory of that day far, far to the dark corners of her mind. Now was not the time to think about it.
Dalet could not only affect living beings, it could affect any objects affected by the phenomenon known as time.
With that in mind, Kurumi took aim with her musket, her eyes focusing past all the Marinas on her field of vision.
"…There."
The time reversal bullet launched with a bang, she smiled as her bullet travelled through the air unimpeded to its target.
Its target was the entire wall of the left side of the chamber.
Even though Territories created by Realizers were formed out of magical energy and therefore unaffected by Dalet, their generators – the Realizers themselves – were physical objects and thus could be affected by Dalet.
Naturally, the Territories on these gates were powered by Realizers installed within the walls. The generators were activated at this moment, so she simply had to return them to a state when they were not activated.
Kurumi didn't know when exactly the Realizers were activated, but it obviously couldn't have been active a few hours ago before she, Rinne and Shido invaded this island. Otherwise, how could the conveyor belt transport Material B's body parts through the gates?
"Checkmate, Westcott."
As soon as her bullet hit the wall, she watched as time reversed itself before her very eyes. The Territory protecting the entrance gate faded from existence, revealing a somewhat dim hallway.
"Wh-what? Why did the barrier disappear?! Did something happen!?"
"Who the hell deactivated the Realizers of the gate!? We are still in combat, damn it!"
"That bitch did it! I saw one of those Nightmares fire a bullet to the wall!"
As she expected, the Marinas quickly degenerated into a screaming contest. What a bunch of inexperienced amateurs…
"An experienced fighter acts first and asks questions second."
"Zafkiel, Aleph."
The time acceleration bullet inserted itself to her flintlock, and without hesitation Kurumi fired it to her temple.
Even for her, what happened next could only be described as a blur.
In a span of time needed for blinking twice, Kurumi had smoothly blitzed past the crowds of Marinas and her own clones, entering the dimmed hallway behind the gate without resistance.
"Wha- one of them just slipped past us!"
"What!? Don't let her go further! Beyond that gate is her room!"
Kurumi couldn't help but feel amused at these pathetic fake Spirits.
"Fools. Zafkiel, [Het]!"
The eighth bullet – the one which gave life to her past selves – was quickly prepared for the flintlock, one with thousands of hours of her lifespan offered for its power.
The instant the bullet connected to her temple, countless clones materialized themselves from the shadows of her Astral Dress, quickly filling the hallway and blocking the gate entrance.
Kurumi glanced at her newly made clones. "I trust you all know what to do, Mes?"
One of them tilted their head and nodded to her. "Of course. We just need to prevent these clowns from following you. We shall make use of this narrow entrance to our advantage."
A giggle escaped her lips. "Fufu. Well then, I shall depart for the sleeping beauty."
"Hum, you seem satisfied. Could it be… could it be, you are now past that gate…?"
Kurumi couldn't help but halt her steps. The voice carried so much emotion, so much hope, that she was almost afraid of it.
"Could I live up to this Spirit's expectations…?"
Even if Kurumi freed the Spirit from the prison, she might not be able to 'wake' the sleeping beauty.
…No. She was the Nightmare Spirit. She had more experience with Spiritual powers than any other Spirit, barring the accursed First Spirit and perhaps the Second Spirit.
There was no reason Kurumi couldn't awaken Material B from her self-inflicted coma.
"Besides… if I cannot even change the present on my own, there is no way I could change the past."
It felt like it had been a very long time… since she allowed her conviction to answer the hope of someone else.
As Kurumi had expected, the hallway beyond the gate was not as long as the dark hallways in the above floors.
She couldn't see where the hallway ended at first, but after about a minute, she came across the literal light at the end of the tunnel.
Kurumi had braced herself for gruesome sceneries which would be worthy of her codename. However, when she looked around… perhaps she could say it was both disappointing and relieving.
The laboratory was much smaller than the chamber before it, and the majority of the room was filled with complex machineries incorporating Realizers, as well as the conveyor belt from the chamber.
The room was startlingly clean, for a slaughterhouse. Perhaps it was to be expected from magical technology, she supposed. Efficiency included cleanliness.
But, what truly caught Kurumi's eyes was the prisoner of the room.
An energy sphere with a diameter of about 3 meters and composed of pure Territories levitated in the center of the laboratory, roughly 7 meters above the floor. Its energy was so dense to a degree Kurumi was sure she had never seen a greener Territory before.
Of course, it didn't prevent her from seeing what… or rather who, was inside the sphere. There was a young girl was suspended horizontally at the center of the sphere, one which looked vaguely familiar.
"This familiar feeling… it feels the same as that time I first met Rinne."
It seemed her assumption that Material B and her friend were of similar nature was in fact, the truth.
Her appearance was definitely different, though. The green barrier encompassing the girl distorted her complexion, but even with that Kurumi could see her long and reflective golden hair spread like wings around her head, her hands neatly folded into her bare chest.
From Kurumi's perspective, it was almost as if the young girl was a naked corpse put on a display, ready to be buried for a funeral. It was such a repulsive way to treat a human being, even if Spirits were not humans anymore. And worse, she knew this Spirit was still conscious.
"You are here… you are really here."
Kurumi really wanted to smile at the sheer disbelief, and relief, she felt from that voice. Perhaps the Spirit had trouble believing that her freedom was just around the corner?
Still, allowing the poor girl to be trapped inside that ball for any second longer was not desirable.
"This cannot stand."
Obedient as ever, both her flintlock and musket flung themselves to her hands from her shadow, ready to feed her targets with bullets.
A smirk found its way to her lips. Destroying the sphere directly might be difficult. But the same couldn't be said for machines powering it.
Her fingers twitched more times than she cared to count, her bullets absolutely demolishing every machine in the room.
…It felt pretty cathartic.
In a few seconds flat, the machines around her were full of holes, and the energy sphere in the room flickered like a lightbulb had its power source suddenly cut.
Two seconds, and then the sphere disappeared completely. Suddenly objected to the laws of gravity, the girl's body fell. Kurumi didn't even hesitate to catch her mid-fall, princess-style.
"Ara."
The girl's face was as youthful as it was beautiful, her locks of golden hair framing her face perfectly. Her expression was peaceful, as if her deep sleep was pleasant.
Kurumi was sure her sleep had been anything but, though.
"Can you hear me, now?"
"Yes, I can. You are… you are truly here. You are touching me."
As expected, the girl in her arms remained unconscious, and the mental voice became stronger from their close proximity.
Her choice of words was humorous, but Kurumi was far more concerned by the implications of her words.
"She still feels sensations from her physical body…"
The last four years clearly hadn't been pleasant to this Spirit. However, Kurumi was curious about something.
If this Spirit was still able to send her thoughts to nearby Spirits and sense her surroundings…
"You are self-aware. Why didn't you wake up from your slumber and fight your way out of this miserable place?"
There was silence for a few moments.
"I wish I could have done that…"
The voice sounded resigned, but the voice was not done. Kurumi frowned at that.
"Spirits like us are different from ordinary beings. Our consciousness is one with the Spirit energy we have, not within our body."
Kurumi could feel her eyes narrow sharply. She knew that already, but now she could already see where this was going.
"My consciousness is sealed within the Crystal which gave us our powers. Because of that, even though the Crystal is implanted in my body… my mind cannot reach my body."
Bitterness. Anger. Kurumi couldn't help but shiver at the raw negativity in those words, in contrast to the warmth the voice exuded earlier.
Still, that explained things. So this was how Material B's body still exhibited extreme regeneration powers, even though the Spirit herself was supposedly in a state of coma.
The Sephira Crystal empowered her body with mana, but her mind was sealed within the Crystal and prevented from actually managing the mana flow throughout the body. It was like being a prisoner within your own body.
What a terrifying prospect… Kurumi didn't miss the implication in those words. That meant any other Spirit could be rendered helpless in a similar fashion, and that Material B didn't inflict this condition on herself, but it was inflicted by something else.
The question was, who?
Still, before anything else, it was better to confirm those assumptions first.
"Ara, you seem terribly upset by that. Is this condition not something you did to yourself?"
A harsh mental scoff was her reply.
"Is that what the Deus Ex Machina think about me? That I was too weak to escape them, I resorted to putting myself into a coma?"
The voice clearly took offense to that.
"If that's not the case… am I correct to assume someone else did it to you?"
There was silence for a few moments. "…You are not wrong. But I don't want to talk about it."
Kurumi supposed she should have expected that kind of response. Well, no matter, she wasn't in any hurry to interrogate her.
To be honest, she had every intention to take advantage of the fact that Material B was under her mercy for interrogation purposes. There were a lot of things to ask this Spirit. However, doing that would destroy any possibility of building trust between them.
Normally Kurumi wouldn't care too much about building trust, even with another Spirit… but it would be better for Shido and Rinne this way. With that in mind, Kurumi should try to free this girl from her forced slumber as soon as possible.
"Hum, it seems in my excitement to see you, I forgot my manners. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Tokisaki Kurumi. What's yours?"
"Ah… my name is Mayuri."
Kurumi could feel her chest suddenly tighten the instant she heard that name.
"…Too similar. This feeling… it is too similar to the first time I heard 'Sonogami Rinne' as well."
That strong sense of déjà vu. The familiarity. The strong thought which kept telling her she definitely had heard that name before. If there was any difference between this time and that time with Rinne…
With Rinne, Kurumi's strongest feeling was fear. That primal fear which all living beings had for their life. To be honest, her fear only faded away after she came to know Rinne more personally.
But with this Spirit… with the name Mayuri, it was slightly different. Fear was not what she felt toward this girl. What she felt the strongest was…
"…Pity."
…She would investigate this later. Like with Rinne, she had to take her time.
"Then… Mayuri-san, is it? As you can probably guess already, I have come here to save you."
Gently, Kurumi lay down Mayuri's body onto her shadow – it was much better than the cold hard floor – and straighten her body up before the unconscious girl.
"I have my reasons for doing so, and I cannot force you to trust me. But if you have any idea as to how to break the seal placed upon you, would you be so kind as to tell me? Needless to say, I shall help you."
"…You are kinder than you believe you are, you know that?"
Kurumi frowned. "You don't know what you are talking about. Now, would you answer my question?"
There was a sigh before the reply came.
"I am afraid I don't know how to break the seal placed upon my Crystal. The only method I could think of is for another Spirit to touch the Crystal within me… the resulting contact with a foreign Spirit energy would result in a violent reaction and possibly break the seal, but…"
"It is extremely dangerous." Kurumi finished. "You don't know what might happen to you."
"I fear so." Mayuri seemed depressed with that admission.
It was frustrating, but Kurumi had to agree. As far as she knew, directly interacting with a Sephira Crystal while it was still inside a Spirit's body carried high risk of damage, both to the Spirit and the Crystal.
That was why that wretch had always told her to kill the body first to safely extract the Crystal… Kurumi shook her head. Now was not the time to think about that thing.
"…Wait. What about using Rinne's ability?"
With [Cassiel], even two different Spirits could safely connect and synchronize using [Fate Connection]. If Rinne synchronized with Mayuri, she would be able to connect with the Crystal without causing a violent reaction. It was not unthinkable to influence the seal.
She nodded to herself. "I think I have a solution."
"Oh?" Mayuri sounded hopeful again.
"You might not have noticed, but I am not alone in invading this facility. Two of my allies are fighting their way here from the upper floors. One of them could help us with her Angel, I believe."
"Oh, don't worry. I felt their presence coming here, too. Are they your friends?"
On that, Kurumi hesitated. Rinne certainly was her friend – her only friend, in fact. But what about Shido?
…She supposed her relationship with Shido was another thing she had to reevaluate, after this invasion was over.
"You could say that. In any case, I believe it is nigh time for us to leave this forsaken place- hum?"
All of a sudden, Kurumi could feel something large was coming – from the upper floors.
Mayuri definitely felt it too. "This is… one of the two Spirits above seem to have released a large amount of mana."
Kurumi connected the dots. Either Rinne or Shido had just unleashed their finishing move… most likely Shido, then.
DDDDDRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT-
"…!"
"Huh…?!"
All of a sudden, the room were shaken violently, though it only lasted a few brief seconds.
"Wha… what was that? An earthquake?"
It was in times like these Kurumi was grateful for her quick and imaginative mind.
"No, it was the impact of an explosion. If my hunch is right, then one of my allies had just blown a hole into this floor."
Still, among the Spirits Shido had sealed, there were several capable of destroying more than a dozen floors reinforced with Territories with a single attack.
The Throne of Annihilation [Sandalphon], the Frozen Puppet [Zadkiel], the Blazing Annihilation Demon [Camael], the Hurricane Knight [Raphael], and the Angel of Extinction [Metatron].
Which one did this attack belonged to, she wondered? In any case…
"Mayuri-san, I apologize in advance, but I will put your body within the pocket dimension in my shadow."
"That's fine with me. Do what you must. I don't want to be an inconvenience for you in battle."
As the sleeping beauty slowly sank to her enlarged shadow without resistance, Kurumi turned and went back to the hallway from which she came from.
"Umm, Tobiichi-san… are you sure about this?"
Shido could feel Origami's thoughts rolling their shared eyes at Rinne's question. She definitely thought the question was pointless.
"Of course I am. You said our destination is located at the bottommost of [Cage of Judgment]."
No matter how many times it had happened, the feeling of listening to an unfamiliar voice coming out of your mouth was fascinating, Shido supposed.
Still, Origami, why didn't you just say 'the server which controlled the Marinas'? You sounded unusually secretive.
There's a chance the walls had ears, Shido.
Oh yeah, right.
Oblivious to their internal conversation, Rinne looked exasperated.
"But I didn't say we should blast the floors! It's like diving headfirst into enemy territory!"
"True, but after seeing you and me sweeping through the Marinas in this floor, I am confident we would easily win even if we were completely surrounded and grossly outnumbered."
To emphasize, Origami moved their hands toward the ruined floor they were in, which was now only occupied by the two of them and the Kurumi clones.
Shido couldn't help but agree with Origami on this one. As far as he was concerned, their 'battle' earlier was a massacre.
If he didn't know just what the Marinas actually were, he would have stopped Origami for how brutal she was in essentially vaporizing them with light beams.
Thank you for the compliment, Shido.
That wasn't a compliment, Origami! In any case, Rinne seemed to see our point now, judging from the way she looked away.
"I suppose I can't blame you for being confident… I am just afraid you will hit Kurumi, you know?"
That moment, Shido could literally feel the exact moment Origami's thoughts controlling their body crashed into a grinding halt.
Almost immediately, he could feel her anxiety spike up.
"Eh? Origami, why are you…?"
Now, hesitance made Origami clam up. Shido could sense it. Despite that though, she replied.
"Shido, I… I am afraid. I don't want anything like that day in the old world again."
…
Now Shido felt bad for Origami – she was referring to the 3rd August of the previous timeline. When she, out of recklessness, had killed her own parents…
Origami definitely didn't want anything like that to happen again. Even toward Kurumi, who was only a temporary ally for her.
"…Oh."
Rinne widened her crimson eyes toward them, and her expression turned into one of horror.
"I am sorry! I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories!"
…Was Rinne an esper? If he was in her position, he wasn't sure he could guess Origami was reminded of her past mistake.
Then again, this was Rinne he was thinking about. In any case, he should take over for this-
No, Shido. Let me.
Ah, alright.
"There is nothing to apologize, Ruler. You are right, I should be more careful with my powers."
Origami bowed her head toward Rinne a bit. It was only slight, but Shido knew this was a genuine expression of apology for Origami.
However, Rinne frowned at them. "No, it is I who should be more sensitive. Let's go with your plan. I'll make it up to you."
"Cassiel! Web of Causality!"
With a commanding voice, Rinne swiped her left arm, and the Laharos ribbons wrapped on her hands twitched as she did.
The next moment, a black sphere roughly 1 meter wide in diameter manifested in front of Rinne – one which Shido recognized.
"This is…"
If his memory was correct, it was similar to the black circle which Rinne had summoned behind her during their meeting in the school rooftop yesterday.
The difference was, now this was a complete sphere. It was eerily similar to a miniature spacequake, in looks at least.
"What is this, Ruler?"
Origami asked Rinne in his place. Rinne, however, merely smiled at them.
"This is where the fates of all things converge, Tobiichi-san."
Shido could literally feel his and Origami's confusion became one in his mind. "What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I am saying. Shido, if you are still listening, I am sure you remember that I told you about my ability?"
Of course, he remembered. 'Fate Connection' – it clearly had something to do with fate.
Rinne's smile turned somewhat somber. "You might not see anything from this sphere. But from my perspective, I am literally seeing through the lives of others."
Origami was confused, and so was he, so they raised their brow together. "Seeing through the lives of others? Could you explain?"
"Hum. Why don't I just demonstrate it? Tobiichi-san, try to think up a phrase."
"I love Shido."
Wait, what? Did Origami just-
Rinne let out a hearty giggle. "You just thought, 'I love Shido', didn't you?"
What. Did Rinne just-
"How do you know?" Suddenly, Origami became defensive.
"I said it earlier, right? Through this sphere, I am seeing through the lives of others. Their fates are displayed here; what they are doing, what they are thinking, what's happening around them."
What?! That would mean Rinne had an ability similar to-
"Nope. I believe Honjou-san described her [Rasiel] as a super-powerful search engine, capable of giving any knowledge which exists, right? Unfortunately, mine is not that convenient."
Shido was sure he had never been this dumbfounded. Rinne had literally predicted his line of thought!
"The Web of Causality is where the fates of all things could be observed. However, there are countless living beings out there, each with their own fate. Even I would not be able to pick apart which fate belongs to whom, until I see the owner in the flesh."
The ribbon wrapped around Rinne's right arm divided itself into several dozens of strings as their owner spoke, and as soon as she finished, a single string moved separately from the others – and waved at both him and Origami.
"But, as you can probably guess, I have already seen you. Now, I can find which fate belongs to you, and as long as the Web of Causality is materialized, I can see through your life."
For some reason, that made more sense to him than he had thought. He supposed she was right – rather than a search engine, that ability was better described as a crystal ball. The kind used by witches to watch events from afar.
Wait, did that mean-
"No, unfortunately. The Web's sole purpose is observation, which means information is viewed on real time, and there is no way to review that which had passed. For example, I cannot even begin to guess what you were thinking five minutes ago."
…He was starting to get annoyed at the way Rinne kept cutting his thoughts off.
Origami decided to speak by that point. "So you can only observe individuals, not investigate their life. It is possible to miss information when you are not watching or when the sphere is dematerialized."
Rinne clapped her hands and smiled. "As expected from Tobiichi-san. That is completely correct."
Shido had to think about it for a moment. "Still, it is a very useful ability…"
He could hear Origami's mental hum. "Indeed. If I possess that ability, I would be able to keep watch on you with minimal breaks, Shido."
"Please drop that terrifying thought!"
Rinne let out a chuckle. "You two do realize I am still reading your minds, right?"
Origami didn't seem to mind, but she turned to face Rinne regardless. "Ruler. Though this ability of yours is impressive, I don't understand why you need to show it to us."
"Isn't it obvious?" Rinne spoke as if she was lecturing them. "Through the Web, I am able to roughly tell Kurumi's location. By comparing it to our position, we can adjust your aim to ensure it will not hit her."
His and Origami's thoughts instantly connected the dots. "Then why didn't you agree with us to destroy the floors and skip all the way to the bottom?"
Rinne actually pouted. "Do you even have to ask? I am not fond of excessive violence, much less mass destruction. But this time, I'll concede to your wishes in compensation for my insensitivity."
At that, Origami smiled. "Thank you, Ruler. Then, please show me where to aim safely."
"Give me a few moments."
The Fate Shaman then approached the sphere she summoned more closely, her crimson eyes focusing at something only she could see.
"…Found you. Please shoot directly downwards from there, Tobiichi-san."
One of her strings – the one which waved at them earlier, actually – extended in length, and pointed to a spot in the floor roughly 10 meters behind where she stood.
Not missing a beat, Origami floated to the spot directed.
"[Metatron]!"
Following her command, Origami flexed her arms wide to focus.
Immediately, the Spirit energy released by her mere presence began to gather, as the separated pieces of the Angelic Crown levitating around her moved to reform into their original form.
Massive amounts of mana were concentrated at the tip of the crown, which was also the cannon of the Angel.
"Crown Cannon - [Artelif]!"
As the tip of Metatron was aimed downwards toward the floor, Rinne and the Kurumi clones around them quickly began to clear away.
For some reason, Shido felt Origami was resisting the tug to smile.
When she returned to the entrance of Mayuri's laboratory Kurumi had expected a chaotic battlefield between two armies of clones, one which consisted of [herself] and one consisting of strangely clad puppets called Marinas.
But it seemed the attack from above was something greater than their petty fighting, as in this very moment every single combatant within the floor was shocked by the destruction of the ceiling above them.
Of course, as she was the Nightmare Spirit, she was above being mesmerized by such things. With graceful steps and quick movements, Kurumi went past several shocked faces, and levitated 20 meters above the floor to see past the crowd.
She needed to see the aftereffects of the attack.
"Hum… I see."
The gigantic chamber this battlefield took in was roughly five times larger than Ratatoskr's flagship Fraxinus, and the conveyor belt stretched across the entire length of the chamber from the entrance she just exited from to the opposite side.
Yet, Kurumi could no longer recognize the center of the chamber as a 'floor'.
That region was now charred black, as if it had transformed into a miniature garden of black ruins. There were no rubbles or even cinders within the roughly circular area which was probably 200 meters in diameter; only black, radiating ashes which signified the immense heat the area was scorched by.
It was natural to think it was caused by Camael. But Kurumi knew better – the flames of that Angel would have left raging inferno, not ashes which shone brightly with black light. Those ashes were what the results of transmutation when normal matter had absorbed too much light energy. Just how many Marinas were vaporized by that attack, she wondered?
But, with this it was certain. It was definitely Metatron.
Kurumi gazed up. The huge ceiling high above now had a gaping hole, displaying clear sight to what lay above – the floors above also had equally large holes in their ceilings, and now Kurumi had to squint to see how high did the holes go.
A bright dot suddenly twinkled in the distance – and that small dot was approaching closer at an alarming rate.
"Origami-san…"
Like a comet falling down upon the earth – Origami, clad in her bridal Astral Dress, was falling headfirst at such a speed that Kurumi wondered if she felt she was skydiving.
Her mismatched eyes met icy blue in the distance, and Origami's expressionless face twisted slightly.
The pieces of Origami's Angelic Crown then appeared around her shoulder, and in just an instant, they manifested a pair of swan-like wings thrice as large as Origami herself, as pure white as the light which composed its very being.
Gradually, her fall slowed down – and by the time the Spirit of Light reached the ceiling of this chamber, Origami truly resembled an angel which had descended upon the heavens with its feathery wings of light.
Kurumi couldn't help but admit. That was certainly one way to make an entrance. She was impressed.
She didn't miss Origami's gaze was on her when the Spirit of Light finally reached the same altitude as her, though.
"Tokisaki Kurumi. I see you were unharmed."
She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. Was Origami… concerned for her? She couldn't possibly miss that opportunity.
"Ara ara. My, are you worried about me?"
Origami frowned slightly, but then she shook her head.
"If you don't want your clones to die in vain… recall them."
Kurumi didn't need to be told to know what Origami was about to do.
"As you wish. [Mes]! Come to me!"
Her command echoing within the chamber, her shadow began to splash out from under her Astral Dress, opening a 6 meters wide portal behind her body for her clones below to enter mid-air.
Released from their stupor, all the Kurumis quickly leaped to the air or flew with their Spirit powers, and one by one Kurumi felt them entering her shadow again.
"Don't let them! Kill them as they fall back!"
Unfortunately, the Marinas had also recovered from their stupor. Kurumi was about to retort, but Origami beat her to it.
"Heed my call, Sun! [Shemesh]!"
Immediately, the wings of light faded as the crown pieces moved to form a ring-like formation above her head. They quickly began to spin, rapidly releasing beams of light particles toward different trajectories below.
Compared to randomness of the destructive raindrops of light Kurumi saw before, this felt more like the bullet hell genre – did Origami learn to control her powers better?
Although seemingly erratic at first glance, each shot was carefully aimed at the Marinas. Though she saw some of the beams had barely missed her clones, most of the projectiles had done their jobs well; vaporizing or at least mutilating the Marinas.
Kurumi couldn't help but praise such skill. "You have gotten better, Origami-san. Perhaps possessing Shido-san's body does wonders for your finesse?"
Origami didn't change her expression, but there was a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Maybe."
"If you are here, then I suspect your and Rinne's destination is also located here?"
"That's true."
"If so, I won't let you have all the fun." Kurumi smiled as her Spirit energy began to focus.
As her flintlock, musket, and golden clock materialized though, Kurumi saw something she didn't expect would ever see; a smirking Origami.
"Then, can you keep up with me?"
Kurumi couldn't help but return that with a smirk of her own.
"That's my line."
And… that's it! How was the chapter? As usual, leave your thoughts in the reviews!
I hope I will have more time to update more consistently… seriously, this 9-months hiatus is embarrassing. I pray I will be able to update again soon… oh dear, who am I kidding?
In this semester, I will begin my lessons in the hospital. I can't imagine how busy that will be.
But I can promise this much. This fic will never be abandoned so long as I am still breathing. And, in fact, I am quite happy to claim I have already begun working on the next chapter on the rare weekends I actually get to touch my fanfictions and not my assignments.
Now then~ thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!