Date A Live Fragment: Date A Bullet - Volume 1 - Chapter 10

Chapter 10 

Empty (in capture) 

As soon as she opened her eyes, Empty saw two terrifying Quasi-Spirits in front of her. Moreover, contrary to what the two of them had said (roughly that she had no value in Kurumi’s eyes), they tied her up as a hostage. 

That amount or more was currently confirmation of her current status. 

Right now, time had already passed and night was soon approaching. That is to say the battle had come to an end for a while. 

But still, she wondered why she was kidnapped. 

“……Say, this rope is……” 

“Please rest assured. We aren’t planning on doing anything like torture for you.” 

Tonami Furue smiled at Empty. That being the case, she wasn’t asking about that right now. 

“Haah, thank you for that……in that case, can you please untie this rope, both of my hands have already gotten numb.” 

“That won’t be good?” 

Hagu, Empty sighed a little. Both of her arms were strongly tied and suspended to a pole from behind. Besides the numb soreness, it also felt itchy from the rope digging into her arms.

Although it was not torture, it was still quite the uncomfortable state. 

“If you want to think like that, isn’t interrogation via torture not out of the question?” 

In a cheerful voice, Sheri raised her magnifying glass. Then, she glanced over the focused laser beam towards Empty’s cheeks. 

“Hot……! No wait, was it really just that super-hot just a moment ago!? My face, is my face

okay!” 

“Stop, please restrain yourself from doing this to the hostage. I for one detest violence that isn’t necessary.” 

Tonami glared at Sheri. Sheri shrugged her shoulders while saying “what’s the harm of something of this level” as the slightest degree of reflecting on her own conscience flew past her head. 

“D-don’t look at me like that. Is my face okay? As a maiden in love, my face is very important.” 

“It’s fine for the time being. ……Love?” 

“For the time being!? That line is too vague and subjective; I’m begging you for a mirror right now! Also, that’s right; I am now immersed in love!” 

Tonami and Sheri looked at each other. “No way, with Tokisaki Kurumi?” “An unusual hobby?”

“I don’t have those sorts of feelings for that person!” “……Then, who is it?”

“Sorry, I don’t know his name! I wasn’t able to hear it!”

“If that’s the case! What does he look like!? Is it someone here!? Or is it someone over there!?” Empty felt her stomach rumble as she gulped. It felt strangely embarrassing to talk about him.” “It’s not a Spirit. Uh, he’s not a person in the neighboring world! A human boy! High school

student! As far as I know, he is the type of person who would talk with Spirits……!” Her words came to a stop right there. The faces of those two were full of surprise. “……Excuse me, what……?”

“Incredible. You’re actually, really, in love.” 

As Sheri spoke, there was an unmistaken envy that her eyes could not hide. 

“So……it’s true.” 

Tonami muttered out while in a daze. Until now, the two who were so robotic and terrifying suddenly formed a response consistent with a girl of their age. 

“Excuse me……what is going on?” 

Evening approached in earnest. In the factory a light, which was about to be broken faintly illuminated on those three. The outside had already been completely shrouded by darkness with no signs of people. 

“That boy is a kind of a legend for us Quasi-Spirits.” 

Although it didn’t change from being tied up, the two of them were chatting with Empty in a

more open manner than before. 

“Legend……?” 

As Empty slanted her head, Sheri opened her mouth in an amiable manner. 

“Probably it was around the time of the neighboring world compilation. You must have been

sucked into the black pillar, right?” 

The legends in the neighboring world were numerous. Rumors spread quickly in girl-specific networks, becoming legends that would sooner or later disappear. 

However, there was also a deeply ingrained legend. 

“At the beginning……it was about five years ago. It was the era when the neighboring world was still dominated by a large number of Spirits. At that time, Quasi-Spirits who were involved in the neighboring world were said to have spoken ‘I seem to be in love’ or something like that.” 

“With the large departure of many Spirits, those words have become more and more common.” 

“It seems that Spirits have gone to live in his world. However, when their hearts are deeply impacted or perhaps when experiencing some sort of supreme joy, the mental state of the Spirits still leaves an influence over the neighboring world.” 

“There are some recent events of recalling an intense past from time to time. The Quasi-Spirits caught in that all return looking……mostly like they have fallen in love.” 

“……And then, as a result of the discussion of these various rumors, it is presumably true that

the Spirits are falling in love as well.” 

“Love??wait……is it to that person? To my man!?” 

“T-to talk as if you already own him like a possession……” 

“A girl with strong desire for exclusivity will be hated; I understand that even though I have no

experience!” 

“W-why is it like that! How can it be like that??????????!” 

Despite wanting to keep her screams to her head, she couldn’t twist her body violently because

her hands were tied. Clearly, it wasn’t of much use. “Ah, yes, yes, calm down.” 

Sheri tried to soothe this lukewarm feeling. 

……For example, what would happen after to someone other than herself who would taste this experience? 

Having no clue of what to dream of, not even knowing where to go. Not being able to recall any names, the same type of Quasi-Spirit as herself. 

If you look at his delicate expression, hear his words even though they aren’t directed towards

herself. If you accept that sincerity. 

Then likely……well perhaps, she would truly fall for that. 

With a soft smile, Tonami continued on. 

“So the Quasi-Spirits who came back basically fell in love……it seemed like finding the strength to support one’s survival. It is said that there will be no more feelings of being “lost” and the

like.”’ 

“Haha??, so that’s it. No wonder my left hand was restored……” 

“So, that left hand was about to disappear. Then it couldn’t be any better to have it restored back to normal.” 

Sheri nodded in admiration as she suddenly looked up to the sky in loneliness. The crumbling ceiling of the factory was naturally full of gaps that allowed the stars to be seen through. 

Of course, these stars were nothing but fakes. As they repeatedly flickered, they were no more than an inferior substitute for a light bulb. 

No matter how far the struggle, a nighthawk flying to the stars in vain was an unreachable hope. 

“Love, is it really such a beautiful thing? I don’t understand; I don’t understand it at all.” “Sheri and I are companions on this point. I also don’t understand this very well.”

As if showing her approval, Tonami unceasingly nodded her head. 

“I feel you must come from the country that wouldn’t have the spare time for matters of love.” “Surely I think I must be the timid type that would treat falling in love as forbidden.”

The two looked on at the starry sky together. Based on this situation, Empty was absolutely helpless. The two in front of her were well-known Quasi-Spirits that were skillful at fighting. If they were inclined, it was to the extent that Empty would be wiped out from this world at a

moment’s notice. 

The difference would be choosing between being burnt to ashes or cut apart into pieces. 

……But, despite understanding that this way of thinking was out of place regardless of the situation, Empty still thought the situation was a misunderstanding beyond repair. 

Those two seemed so pitiful. 

Not because there was no love. Those two ought to have comprehended the feeling of love, yet they also could not go searching for it. 

That point couldn’t be denied. It was not a matter of being incapable of liking a person, rather there were many who have a fondness for particular objects other than people. But apart from that, they didn’t seem to be knowledgeable about that matter. 

“Falling in love, what in the world is it? Tonami.” “What exactly is it? Sheri.”

But to consider that they didn’t know anything about love in the first place. 

They didn’t know the indiscernible type of dedication to someone or something, the warm

passion that drifted here like the flow coming from the waves. 

It was because they didn’t know, they couldn’t judge whether love was a priceless jewel or a worthless block of stone. 

……As I thought that was it. Sure enough, Empty still felt a little sad towards them. 

Bzz. 

Suddenly, the factory lights were shot down in quick succession. There wasn’t even enough time for Empty to scream as the surroundings were immediately covered in darkness. 

“Sheri.” 

“Yeah.” 

In contrast to the simple words those two said, it was enough to understand that they had completely switched to a different mode. 

The girl-like atmosphere had just disappeared. Certainly, their expressions must have changed to match the proper appearance of a warrior. 

“Let me tell you this in advance. If you run away now, I will kill you.” 

“The moment you try to escape, my chakram will cut you apart from your head to your bottom.” “N-no, I won’t escape. Please rest assured I’m not going to run away.”

She could feel that both of them were slowly about to leave. ……This factory seemed to be full

of gaps and easy to invade, but it was actually full of traps. 

There seemed to be a person among the Quasi-Spirits with the ability to steal Astral Dresses and Unsigned Angels from other Quasi-Spirits to tamper and maintain them. It is said that she wanders around the neighboring world, selling those deprived items to those in need. Of course, if you use those items, even weak Quasi-Spirits could greatly enhance their combat effectiveness. 

An Astral Dress used for snaring its prey and an imitated Unsigned Angel used for a single counterattack. 

……As for those who were ripped off, it was a bit unimaginable. 

Anyhow, this factory was filled with Astral Dress type traps improved in that manner. If entered carelessly, even a Spirit would have to pay hefty price.

Additionally, both Sheri and Tonami had a precise and swift reaction time. Despite hardly having any interest, the duo pushed forward to victory with a terrifying cool-headiness. 

No matter where invaded or how attacked, they were ready to respond to any tactic. Although it was simple, it was also amazingly time consuming??but if prepared enough; they would undoubtedly come out as the winner. 

However, there was nothing that could be completely prepared. Even as a Quasi-Spirit, it didn’t necessarily mean they could transcend humanity’s thinking capabilities. Kurumi’s first move was completely unforeseeable to them. 

Tokisaki Kurumi had control over time and shadows, an invisible domain that couldn’t be seen

even by Quasi-Spirits. 

It was then when Empty noticed her faint breath touching her hair for a split second. Kurumi appeared softly from the shadow of the pillar that Empty was tied down to. Kurumi had sneaked into the factory through the shadows, almost as if she had known about the traps Tonami had set up. The two Quasi-Spirits on alert outside wouldn’t have noticed this. 

Kurumi softly whispered close to Empty’s ear. “??Please be quiet and don’t make any noise.” “……!” 

When hearing those words, Empty was so stunned by Kurumi that she could hardly even breathe. 

“If it is convenient, I am going to kill you next. Please do your best to die.” (What do you mean? That’s??!)

“Yes, please be obediently killed by me.” 

It was useless to keep asking questions as she threw some liquid with an astringent smell onto

Empty’s clothes. 

(S-smells fishy…… this smell is rust or something……what the hell is this!?) There was no reply. Kurumi vanished quickly as she had appeared. “……Hm? This smell……”

Immediately after Sheri responded, a gunshot screamed near Empty. Or perhaps it would better to say Empty had been shot. “Ah……gu……?”

Blood spurted from her mouth. A hole opened in her chest from the shock. 

“Eh……?” 

Both Tonami and Sheri looked at the girl who was just struck. When seeing Empty’s neck bend

back a little, both of them stood up in alarm. Tonami ran over to raise Empty’s face. “Achoo!”

With this exaggerating sneeze, Tonami was sprayed with ketchup. From this, she immediately understood everything and gave out a warning. 

“It’s a trap!” 

Sheri made the judgment to instantly use <Sekhmet> to sweep around the surroundings. The sunlight stored during daytime tore through the darkness. 

“Found it……up above, at the direction of 1 o’clock.” 

Following Sheri’s voice, Tonami looked up. From a steal beam that supported the ceiling??a

black shadow dwelled over there. 

As if bewitchingly dissolving into the darkness, Tonami lost her voice for a split second. It was

as if there weren’t any traps at all. How did she move so silently to that place? An ability of her Astral Dress……or was it the power of a Spirit?

Kurumi overlooked the two with a proud expression. 

“The idea of a hostage was wonderful. But the location chosen was too poor. It’s appealing that you didn’t have any countermeasures besides standing ready and waiting.” 

Silence. Although there was no lighting, there were no issues with eye contact due to the

illumination brought by Sheri’s sunlight. 

Not far from Kurumi’s location, there was a manufactured Astral Dress type snare set. Through usage of the ninth Spirit-genus’s sound vibration, it caused a temporary paralysis effect. Even for Tokisaki Kurumi, it would produce several momentary openings. 

And those two would never let go of that opportunity. 

“Now!” 

At the same time Sheri screamed and tightly clenched onto <Sekhmet>, Tonami threw her

<Silphid>. 

“Ara, ara.” 

As expected, it was like being suckered into it. Kurumi fell into the effective range of the trap. Tonami pressed on a switch. After on a fraction of a second, the shockwaves ran simultaneously with the explosion. 

At the moment she stopped moving, Sheri would release all of the sunshine energy stored in her Unsigned Angel. Until her reserves ran zero, she would give all of her strength into a single blow. 

However. “Kya……aaaaaaaah!?”

Sheri screamed at the same time the explosion occurred. Looking closely, it wasn’t Kurumi who

was paralyzed by the sound vibrations. 

“Why!?” 

“Just around the time you two rushed over to check up on Empty.” 

“A-at that moment, you saw through and removed the trap!? Impossible……you’re lying……” 

“No, seeing the trap was from the very beginning. Going a step further, I already know when you

set up traps here.” 

“Beginning from ten days ago!?” 

There was a lot of time before the start of the killing game. Before teaming up with Sheri, Tonami Furue had planned on using this factory as a fortress for laying traps. 

There were many traps, devices, and even Astral Dresses that she didn’t even tell Sheri about. 

“Since you are a very strong person. Very, very strong. You were likely to draw your opponents into a trap. You’re the type of person who would scatter bait and smash the enemy from the top of the abyss. Therefore, it would be impossible for me not take such rigorous precautions first.” 

No matter how many traps set, the last 90% or more will be in vain. 

To be cautious enough to be ridiculed as a coward, to be laughed at for being paranoid, such was

Tonami Furue’s method for survival??a very difficult way of living. 

The Quasi-Spirits, whom all fell into such traps, screamed curses at her without exception. 

Cursing her as a ‘despicable coward’. But if one asked Tonami, the Quasi-Spirits who fell into such traps were the ‘despicable cowards’. Their behavior was simply not reflecting their own mistakes and shirking the responsibility onto others. 

Even so, when criticized by others, Tonami’s heart still felt a little bit stung. 

“??So. You don’t think I am a despicable coward?” 

“Isn’t that obvious. If you want to smear your own efforts for victory, then you are

despicable??in battle there is only the strong outmatching the weak in order to prevail.” 

Those words were not a lie. Kurumi truly thought of that for Tonami. 

(??Ah, I’ve always felt that was enough.) 

Likely, the true cause of her defeat was not that her traps had been seen through. Rather it was because of her praise that her heart felt charmed. Even though in the past she was fed up of malicious words spoken behind her back, hearing those words today made it feel like everything had been rewarded. 

Kurumi’s muzzle pointed towards Tonami. If she used <Silphid> to block the shot, then she should be able to continue fighting. However, Tonami had no such intentions at all. 

The trap was seen through, and she was made a fool by having it used against herself, this was more of a one-sided devastation than a battle. 

However, Tonami truly thought it was a time of fulfillment. 

Next, she felt a little sorry for her partner Sheri as her last wishes left her mouth. Speaking it out, it felt more embarrassing and joyful than she had imagined. 

“Ah~ ah, I also want to fall in love too.” 

The gunfire echoed as the Sephira Crystal was crushed. 

However, Tonami Furue smiled happily while accepting the bullet. The remaining one.

Kurumi shifted her gaze to Sheri, who was still paralyzed. 

“……You, this….……!” 

Sheri glared at Kurumi with a look brimming with hatred. In a few seconds, she would soon recover from the paralysis. 

There was no time to hesitate. Kurumi, who made that judgment call, immediately turned her pistol towards her. 

The sound of coughing. This time, it was Kurumi rather than Sheri who showed a chance opening. Rather than hesitating on pulling the trigger, Kurumi turned towards Empty. 

The most terrifying thing about Sheri Musika was likely her willpower to keep surviving. 

To survive for even a second longer, even if it was only ten seconds. Keep thinking about survival until just before she dies. 

Sheri realized at that moment that Kurumi had turned away from her and towards Empty. 

There was only this instant, wanting to live, it took less than a second for her to gamble everything. 

Sheri forcibly advanced the recovery that should have taken a few more seconds. She focused all of her nerves and reiryoku into her right arm to release <Sekhmet> towards Empty. 

“Eh???” 

The dazzling sunshine poured out at a great speed. Empty and Sheri’s eyes also coincided at that instant. 

Sheri felt a little apologetic. But even then, she still wanted to live. Since that girl who should have been empty without a name had enthusiastically shown her the brilliance of life. 

Not only just fighting, not only just killing, at the end of all of this there must be someone waiting for her after working so hard so far. 

So??she must survive by any means possible. Because of the confusion, a drastic change in the

situation was necessary. 

Therefore, the choice of this attack was Empty. Of course, it was also true that her paralyzed arm

couldn’t take any further action. 

It seemed that good fortune had rained down on Sheri. Kurumi, with a stunned expression that didn’t match her, adopted a reckless act. Stretching out his arms and feet, a moment’s worth of hesitation separated life or death for her. Therefore, Kurumi didn’t hesitate in the slightest. 

Empty widened his eyes. After a moment of it being unclear of what had happened, she saw Kurumi standing in front her??blood flowed from her lost right arm. 

“……You are really a troublesome labor.” “S-so……rry?”

No, now was not the time to speak calmly and without stress. As Empty was thinking of that, Kurumi smiled. 

“No, this is my responsibility. My own negligence was to blame for this.” 

Kurumi cut the rope that was tying Empty. Then, she threw her detached right arm towards her. 

“……Ha, gross. Wait a moment, why are you giving this to me for safekeeping!?” 

“Please hold on to it. I have to go end that child??. Also what do you mean by gross? My right arm should be beautiful, right?” 

“No, but it’s disgusting to walk around with a broken limb like that!’ 

Kurumi didn’t respond to Empty’s sharp criticism. Instead, she grabbed the shot gun with her left

hand. Originally, no matter with which hand used, Kurumi could use her pistol skillfully. 

But??by that moment Sheri had already arrived at the entrance of the factory. Sheri, who was

running away and displaying her back, turned to Kurumi. 

A strong wind blew. 

“I won’t let you escape.” 

“I didn’t plan on running.” 

Consequently, she understood that victory would go to the one with the faster attack. 

Sheri revealed a sly smile as she spurred on her paralyzed body. Even during a conversation like this, the paralysis gradually eased. The damage she received from the explosion was not too deep. If she continued like this, her power would soon return. 

In contrast, the damage Kurumi received was very serious. In any case, her right arm was disconnected. Her right arm being disconnected from being burnt off, but to be more precise, it was a direct blow to the back of her right arm. Even though she was relying on the protection from her Astral Dress, her back was still bleeding. 

It was Sheri, not Kurumi, who would benefit from more time being spent. 

However, it was because of this that Sheri had chosen to act quickly. She wouldn’t allow Kurumi to get back up. This was war. If she continued to move slowly, the remaining Quasi-Spirits may invade this battle. 

That was the most dangerous possibility right now. After all, there were two remaining Quasi- Spirits. There wasn’t much issue with one of them; a sham like False Proxy would be massacred without much trouble. 

The problem was with the other one. 

Biscuit Smasher. The Quasi-Spirit they had scheduled to kill after Tokisaki Kurumi. 

But now that Tonami is dead, there was no chance of winning unless she returned back to a completely perfect state. Therefore, Sheri set up her Unsigned Angel to decide this match. 

Is it a bullet, or is it a ray of light. 

(I’m faster……I’m quicker……I’m better!) 

Recovery from paralysis, damage to opponent, weight of weapon, and rate of fire, if all of that considered together, Sheri believed herself to have the advantage. 

Still. 

This was like walking on a tightrope. 

She wanted to live. Sheri continued to want to hold onto that wish. 

She couldn’t die, Kurumi likewise also held that obsession. 

In that moment. 

Not knowing what the signal came from, both of them set up their respective weapons at the same time. 

“Focus, <Sekhmet>??!!” 

“<Zafkiel>??the First Bullet <Aleph>!!” 

Even without aiming, the light from <Sekhmet> was about to run through Kurumi’s Sephira Crystal??just before that, Kurumi retreated to outside the factory with Empty. A moment later,

<Sekhmet>’s ray passed through the position where Kurumi was just located. 

“Eh……?” 

Kurumi didn’t aim her muzzle at Sheri. Her goal was to shoot herself. It was the same bullet used during the battle against Nogi Aiai to improve physical abilities. 

……Anyhow, she survived. She??somehow managed to survive.

It couldn’t be denied that the chance of victory had diminished. But even so, she had brought Tokisaki Kurumi to the point of retreating. 

She couldn’t beat biscuit smasher. At the same time, it was impossible now to team up with

Tokisaki Kurumi. 

Anyway, she was very tired today. 

Go take a shower. Have a meal. Take a break in a warm bed. Then pray that Tonami would be able to ascend to heaven. The next time she is reborn, Sheri hoped she could live a happy life in the other world?? 

Suddenly, Sheri’s feet lost its strength. “Wh……at……”

There was a sharp pain coming from her knee. While thinking over what had happened, she found there was a small arrow there. 

“W-why……who……!? It should be over for today!!” 

Even while panicking, Sheri held up <Sekhmet>. 

“Nobody said anything about that. Isn’t that right?” 

Seeing the appearance of that Quasi-Spirit, Sheri was at a loss for words. Even her willingness to fight was uprooted by her shock. 

“……Hey……why……how come……!?” 

At the girl’s side was another Quasi-Spirit. The bandaged woman that Sheri despised. 

“This is not a game. There is no God with strictly defined rules. The flow of penalties is without meaning. If you can’t understand something of that level, it’s no wonder you can only serve as bait.” 

She made a big announcement with her hands wide open. As a result, Sheri also understood. 

“There were two people this time……!?” “Smile!”

The sound of a finger echoed. 

Kusukusu, kusukusukusu, kusukusukusukusukusukusukusukusukusukusukusukusukusukusu kusukusukusukusukusukusukusukusuku ukusukusukusukusukusukusukusukusu????. 

That laughter resonated all at once from the surroundings. 

Seeing that thing emerge from the darkness, Sheri felt despair from the bottom of her heart. 

Returning back to Kurumi’s house, Empty finally breathed a sigh of relief. “B-bandages, bandages……”

“Not……necessary……” 

Leaning on the front door, Kurumi prompted Empty to hand over her right arm. Frightened, Empty presented the carelessly amputated arm for her to reattach. 

“And also, a needle and thread……” 

After Empty vaguely imagined the creation of a needle and some thread, Kurumi squeezed the collar of her clothes and forcibly sewed the arm back on. 

“Wait, is that really okay!?” 

“Do you think there’s the risk of infection in the neighboring world? Even the laws of physics

are weird here.” 

“But……at least, you should go to bed to sleep.” “No need……please……let go……”

Kurumi closed her eyelids. It seemed her fatigue had reached its limit. Empty didn’t lay her down by the entrance as she held onto Kurumi’s left hand. 

“……You should sleep at your own convenience.” “That’s impossible……really.”

After Empty was done speaking, Kurumi let out a fake-like cheerful laugh??a rather lonesome

laugh. 

“Your personality will be similar if the container changes.” “Eh?”

Kurumi gave a lonely smile as she reached out with her left hand to touch Empty’s forehead. But, perhaps it was because her consciousness was beginning to blur, it didn’t look like her eyes were staring at Empty. 

“I used to be, once you. Even if there are memories, if the container is different, you can be different. What’s more, even without memories, if the container remains the same??sure enough, you are the same as before.” 

Empty saw Kurumi’s tears for a second time. 

“What a stupid existence, what a stupid concept, what a stupid……me.” 

“What the hell are you talking about”, Empty was just about to ask that. However, Kurumi

stopped her by continuing to weave her words. 

“You are not you. I am not me. If so, what is my meaning, what is the meaning of this existence?

These impulses, this determination, everything……perhaps may all be a hallucination.” The words she spun out were loathsome enough to let a person’s blood run cold. 

“I’m tired……really……tired.” 

With a sigh, her life gradually began to fade away. Softly, the fingers on her right hand disappeared. 

“Kurumi-san!” 

Empty hurried and shouted as she shook Kurumi’s shoulders. 

“Kurumi-san! No! You can’t disappear! Please come back! Kurumi-san! Kuru??mi??san??!” 

“……From the very beginning……you are so noisy…..you’re not allowed to call me Kurumi……Empty……” 

Empty widened her eyes. Just by a little, the pigment of Kurumi’s black hair began to lose its

color. 

Something fatal was occurring. 

“Open your eyes! Wake up! Wake up! You still have something to do!” “That matter…… must be done……”

“Don’t you want to win this war (game)!? If you want to win, isn’t that something you want to do!? Even though I don’t know if that’s right or not, I can only say this! I don’t want you to die!” 

In a world full of unknown, the one who gave me the guideline to live a little was?? “……Yes. You don’t want me to die.”

“I don’t want you to not exist!” 

“I’ve had so many disputes with you, used you as bait, perhaps……even intending to finish you

off at the very end? And you still don’t want me to die?” 

“……If you decided to get rid of me, you would have already done so long ago. Although for me to be used as bait before was exceedingly painful!” 

Since her relationship with Kurumi felt just like gunpowder, generally speaking it was volatile dream-like state despite the chance from likely losing consciousness due to the impact. 

“……Really……” 

Kurumi staggered she stood up. The wound on her back was no longer bleeding and was beginning to heal. 

“The power of the Sephira Crystal will restore if left alone. Although, it will take some time.” “Um, do you want to take a shower……”

“No. There’s no problem, I will not disappear, I still can’t disappear, I just remembered that.” 

Looking back, Kurumi smiled. It wasn’t a lonely smile but rather a smile where devotion could

be felt. 

“Likely, tomorrow will be the last. The last remaining Quasi-Spirit is a super strong enemy.” 

Empty slanted her head to the side.

“……Eh? Um, even excluding Sheri-san, aren’t there two enemies still remaining?” “It doesn’t matter if you count one more. There is a Quasi-Spirit that exists to be

defeated……Yes, even if it just a decoy.” 

After saying that, Kurumi swayed herself towards the bedroom. 

“Then, the super strong enemy is??” 

“Tsuan. Or rather the Quasi-Spirit called……Biscuit Smasher.” “Biscuit? What, that’s a little bit cute.”

“She can crush the enemy as easily as a biscuit, so that’s how she got that name.” 

“I want to take back what I said. That’s not cute at all, that’s something straight from a horror movie.” 

Kurumi didn’t respond back to Empty. Instead, she continued to walk to the bedroom with unsteady footsteps. 

Smelling her clothes……it reeked of gunpowder and blood. Most of which was Kurumi’s own

blood. 

It couldn’t be worn anymore. Feeling a sense of pity, Empty took off her clothes. 

After entering the bathroom, she also took off her underwear. She then took a bath to wash away the stains. 

Bathing under the water, the girl thought about the end. 

As Kurumi had said, tomorrow would be the last. It was between being caught, killed, or continuing to live like this. 

Why did they want to kill each other? Even if asking for the root cause, they would only answer

back with “it’s just because it’s like this”. For them, living was the same as fighting. 

……But, Tonami-san wanted to be in love. Sheri-san also yearned for love. Her heart, which ought to be hollow, scorched by his words, his appearance. That person.

A boy from the other world whom all of the Spirits fell in love with. 

Then, the idea suddenly came to Empty. If it was all of the Spirits??then, Tokisaki Kurumi

should also be the same. 

She was so overwhelmed that she completely forgot. Does Kurumi know anything regarding that person? 

Perhaps he was a lover, perhaps she liked him, and perhaps they went out on a date, either way she had to know! 

A maiden in love would basically be unable to care for anything besides the object of her love. No, maybe such a person was out there, but at least Empty was not like that. 

After finishing the shower, she wiped her body and left the bathroom. While changing her underwear, Empty walked across the hallway and rushed into the bedroom. 

“Um??, Kurumi-san! I want to talk a little about……” 

The smell of blood struck her nose alongside the sight of Kurumi’s pale face. “Gu……ah……ku……!”

Kurumi squatted on the bed, desperately pressing her head with her right arm while letting out an agonizing groan. 

“A-are you alright!?” 

“……Hand still……connected……rest assured.” 

Kurumi groaned as she struggled to speak. 

The nerves were being forcibly reconnected. The pain from the amputation was overwhelming, but she still needed to deal with this pain in order to restore the arm. She couldn’t lose consciousness; there was no choice but to continue to endure for a few more hours. 

“W-what can I do……” 

As Empty trembled while asking, Kurumi merely shook her head. There was nothing. She could do nothing for her or for even herself. 

“……You wanted to talk about something……right? Can we talk about that?” “Oh, but. Now is not the time to ask Kurumi-san…...”

“It’s fine. Now, I want to listen……this can……distract the pain, right?” 

Kurumi laughed weakly, but still??wrinkles distorted her face from the sharp pain that still occasionally struck as she reached her left hand out to Empty. 

This was by no means a testimony of trust. 

In any case, it could merely be from the uneasiness in her heart. Regardless, Empty didn’t

hesitate in grabbing her hand. 

No matter how powerful a Spirit may be, sure enough a single person will likely still suffer from loneliness. 

“T-then……from the beginning.” 

Empty timidly opened her mouth. 

“The boy who the Spirits fell in love with……do you know him?” Kurumi’s expression remained completely unchanged.

“……No, nothing in particular.” 

While feeling something strangely out of place, Empty continued on. 

“It’s the boy that all the Spirits love. Do you really not know anything?” 

“……I don’t know…….you……saw……aah, that’s right……you were……taken in……” 

“Yes. Was it called the neighboring world compilation? I saw it during that time. The world over there……and also that person.” 

“You……fell in love……?” 

“……Probably. No……not probably……I love him.” 

As Empty spoke, Kurumi’s face changed to complicated look. 

“Because it’s the first time I’ve ever felt this way????huh?” 

Her heart was trembling. Her cheeks were getting warmer. Her heartbeat raced, there was a wonderful itchy feeling spread across her body that made her feel as light as a feather. 

Why was she so certain that this was love? 

“……Perhaps, this isn’t the first time.” “Eh, that’s???”

That’s. 

This was??something different, Empty felt that something was out of sorts. To consider that she used to have these feelings for other men. No, wait a minute, calm down. The counterpoint would also seem too fastidiousness. 

“Just kidding.” “Huh?”

“You surely must have loved the same person. It’s just that this is only the second time.” Kurumi’s riddle felt just like a puzzle piece falling exactly into place.

“I haven’t been in love. But, I know something close to it. No, if it is close or not??I don’t know. But it should almost be the same.” 

Kurumi’s breathing became disheveled. Painful wrinkles marked her face as she continued to

whisper. 

“……That’s……” 

Speaking of a feeling close to love. 

“……I have a friend. I??for me it is an important friend.” 

Kurumi’s soliloquy seemed to even lower the temperature of the room. 

With a calm look, Empty quietly looking into Kurumi’s eyes. “Do you think……it’s surprising?”

“No, I somehow knew.” 

At that time, the one who Kurumi was looking for while stretching out her hand was not her. 

Her hand was not for Empty, but rather for someone in Kurumi’s memories. 

Although she felt a little lonely after thinking it over……but at the same time it couldn’t be helped. No, it was because of the traces of those memories that she was able to be saved in the very beginning. 

“Is that so?” 

Kurumi seemed to be hesitant. That act did not match her at all, Empty thought. Empty hoped she would reveal her usual devilish smile and not this small fiendish giggle. 

“Please laugh at me as unusual with your kakakakaka laugh.” “No, I don’t remember ever laughing like that!?”

“Is that right? Maybe it was an ohohohohoho laugh.” “……Hold on; wait until my right arm is fully reconnected.” Kurumi spoke while openly harboring a grudge.

In that regard, Empty felt a little bit happy. 

“So Kurumi-san, let’s continue.” 

Upon Empty’s urging, Kurumi began to speak once again. 

“In the tenth region Malkuth, there are many Quasi-Spirits who use survival as the motivation for living. However, that is by no means everyone. There are also Quasi-Spirits that can continue

living just through a desire of enjoying life.” 

In a nostalgic and pitiful tone, she recalled her memories. 

“I was happy just being with that child. She encouraged and supported me who had lost everything. Laughing and just living together was enough to make me satisfied. But??” 

Kurumi’s expression changed from nostalgic to being engraved with hatred. “She was killed.”

“Eh……killed……?” 

“She was involved in this game, fighting, fighting, fighting frantically??until she was cruelly killed. No, it can’t be regarded as killing. She was toyed with. She was ravaged, insulted,

trampled on until there was nothing of her human dignity left.” 

“Eh, who in the world did that……!?” 

Kurumi said that unclear name with a disgusted expression brimming with malice. 

“??Doll Master, the Dominion of the tenth region Malkuth.” 

The moment she uttered that name Kurumi seemed to even forget her pain. What existed there was a lone wolf sharped its fangs through its hatred. 

“……T-then. The reason you participated in this battle was to defeat Doll Master?” 

Yes, indeed the reward for this war was a powerful Sephira Crystal. After listening to what Empty had said, Kurumi smiled. 

“Fu~. You really are an idiot huh? ……Do you really think that such a thing would be given as a reward?” 

Empty felt a fierce chill run behind her back. 

“……Then, everyone has been deceived……” 

“Yes. After all, all of this killing is just a trick. Quite the uncouth farce. A farce??that one must embrace otherwise the Dominion won’t appear.” 

Cautious, crafty, paranoid. 

The Dominion of the tenth region Malkuth is that sort of Quasi-Spirit. 

Even with the overwhelming power surpassing all others, she will never show up. It was always the Quasi-Spirits under her control that appeared. 

“False Proxy is one of them. I have already confirmed this. In the first place, False

Proxy……there’s a limit of how much you can make a fool of others.” “Ah??……!”

Empty patted the palm of her hand with her other fist. 

“Maybe some of the other Quasi-Spirits have already noticed it. No, even if noticed, they wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation. Besides, it wouldn’t be predictable that the Dominion would take the lead in smashing apart the rules.” 

As if a red-hot iron battles, a thunderous battlefield, a raging inferno of a war. 

By being able to chip away at life, the Quasi-Spirits in this region are the granted a real sense of survival. Believing in that, they would continue to fight if as in a dream. 

Likewise, the Dominion was also the same, secretly participating in the battle in order to experience the same sensation of life. 

However, Tokisaki Kurumi knew. Evil was always omnipresent in this world and common sense will easily be subverted by such malice. 

If a Quasi-Spirit lost their dreams, they would disappear. 

And there certainly existed an evil that wanted to manipulate those dreams for the sake of personal survival. 

“So, Kurumi-san is??” 

“It’s just as you think, I’m fighting the enemy in order avenge her.” “That’s??something??”

Empty thought that this was a good motive. However, there was still a subtle sense of unease. However, she felt that if she pointed this out something was likely to end.

“……That’s quite the interesting expression, you.” “Isn’t there a limit to your rudeness, Kurumi-san!?” “I’m obviously praising you.”

“There’s no boast. That’s not a compliment.” 

“I’m a girl in love. Please be a little more considerate.” 

“Oh dear. Do you want to make red bean rice manifest?” (TL: note red bean rice is usually eaten on celebratory occasions for girls) 

“After all this time……and you’re still not considerate……” 

It should be no good to put red bean rice on the dining table unless a young maiden was going through puberty or at least Empty thought so. 

“Um……that friend, what kind of person was she?” 

“If you wanted to retreat, she was the type that would push you forward even if it meant snapping your neck.” 

“A savage woman!?” 

“Go forward, go forward, and just keep going forward. Even if it hurts and you want to cry, just keep moving on ahead for the time being. That habit was very naïve and easy for her to get hurt. Since she was often crying, so I would go comfort her……often.” 

In the tenth region Malkuth, one had to fight, kill, and survive to become stronger. That is what it took to have a dream and not fade away.

“But that girl had the same dream as myself. Seeing someone with the same dream fade away, I realize I was embracing onto an incurable transient fantasy.” 

A dream was never something that one could hold and complete alone. 

In the shadows of one girl’s dreams being achieved, there will be over ten girls crying over their

dreams being shattered. Such a theory was a logical and natural conclusion. 

“The same is true of love. When your love is realized, someone who also likes that person will definitely cry. It will make her deeply heart-broken. Perhaps, it will make her unable to fall in love again.” 

“……Yes.” 

She knew. Empty had already known this. 

And surely, she knew that her love would never be fulfilled. 

If all the Spirits are falling in love, then she must have fallen the farthest behind. There were limits to even an illicit love. Not to mention, she was neither beautiful nor strong. 

She was empty, nothing, nothing at all. 

Therefore, she was already aware of the conclusion brought by this love. 

……Despite that. “Even so, it’s fine.”

Empty’s voice was calmer than she expected. 

“I’m sure that it will be sad to be rejected, but I feel alive now. Just thinking about that person makes my heart feel warmer??right now that is enough.” 

I am satisfied enough with being in love. 

Kurumi narrowed her eyes with both pity and kindness. 

“……Helping you achieve……your love……wouldn’t be bad……” 

Hearing those scripted lines made Empty feel doubtful. 

“……T-thank you……uh, are there no other meaning behind those words……?” 

Frankly, those words sounded like a jinx permitted her to fail, Empty considered the meaning to be like that. 

“Should I shoot you?” 

Kurumi took out her short pistol from somewhere as Empty hurried to explain. 

“S-sorry. I thought that you really weren’t going to help!” “…..Well, then it can’t be helped.”

“Compared to that, are there no problems with being here?” “What do you mean?”

“Uh, since Doll Master will calmly break rules and launch attacks, won’t she also do it again this time?” 

The chime signaling the end of today’s battle had already surely rung, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be any more attacks. 

“Yes, that’s why I’ve carefully designed traps. About 40% of the houses in this town have my traces and traps. I’m well aware of her tricks. Notice how this house isn’t the same as the one from yesterday?” 

Empty wasn’t aware of it at all. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of it being uncomfortable. If the exterior and interior appearances were the same, it would be impossible to find no matter how she searched. 

“Hey, weren’t we followed yesterday?” 

“Of course, that was intentional. Doll Master is only involved in the war from the second day. On the first day, she is merely overlooking the situation, so there’s no need to vigilant. By the next day, we must be wary of her.” 

Boom, the sound of explosion rang. It wasn’t at this house. But it seemed that something had

exploded at a distance. 

“……Just now……” 

Kurumi placed her finger against her lips. 

“It appears that they were fooled. It would be quite loathsome to be consumed by a subordinate.

It should be okay for today……though there’s nothing to do but pray.” “Pray??right.”

There was no choice but to leave their chances to the heavens. But still, the anxiety remained. If a subordinate found this residence, it would all be over. 

“I’ll have to endure for a few more hours. There will definitely be continuous battles tomorrow.” 

Endure the pain, endure the fear, and just continue waiting for tomorrow to come. 

On top of that, she had to prepare for continuous battles. One of the last remaining was the

powerful enemy??Tsuan. The other was the Dominion of this region, Doll Master. This conviction was just like a cold chill freezing Empty’s body.

No matter who it is, everyone will want to live for happiness. 

The problem lies in how, even if it brings misery to others, no one but herself can understand this happiness as long as she still feels this happiness. 

For a third party, inferences can only be made through ethical judgment and common sense. 

Empty was a third party. It was unclear how much Kurumi missed her friend. However, there was only one thing that can be said with certainty. 

“Good luck……” 

Kurumi must have thought that if this wish could be granted, she wouldn’t even mind dying. “Please try your best……”

From Empty’s encouragement, Kurumi’s voice began to shake. 

“If you think so, continue talking to me. Also please don’t fall asleep earlier than me??” 

Kurumi smiled after saying that. 

Empty nodded as she began to speak. Although she lacked memories, there were an infinite number of things she could talk about. 

After all, Empty was in love. Although Kurumi occasionally intervened to snark, her expression remained smooth that it was unimaginable that she was still enduring the pain. 

In the few days spent together, this was the longest and calmest time these two shared together. 

“??Mu, mu, mu. Mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumumu mumu……fu.” 

Doll Master sighed. After smashing in, the subordinates and the house were blown away by a trap made from remodeling the fifth type Spirit’s Astral Dress. Two highly-priced, important, and lovely dolls were completely burnt to the point where they could never be brought back. 

Only two. Despite it only being two, Doll Master’s heart was deeply, deeply hurt. Just like a

mother who had lost her beloved child. 

The image shifted as Lycos’s face appeared. Doll Master thought to boast that it looked lovely today as well. 

“What do you want to do?” 

Listening to Lycos, Doll Master spoke after careful consideration. 

“How many responses are left?” 

“136 houses have been detected with a spirit wave response. I am afraid that all except one have set snares of this level.” 

“How thoughtfully prepared. This isn’t something that would take two or three days to get ready.” 

“According to the calculations, this would take three months at the latest. Another three months should be included in order to move unnoticed, so it should take a total of half a year.” 

“Well, perhaps there are traps in other places as well. Although this annoys me, withdrawal.

Let’s fight with Tokisaki Kurumi tomorrow.” “Understood, Akako Machi, master is requesting for you.” “Understood.” 

The image of Lycos was cut off. 

“Today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, for an eternity??this region is ours.” 

Although fighting battles was silly, victory was correct. 

So the most important thing was to win before fighting. This foolish war, before it even began, Doll Master was victorious. 

“My master, my master, I have returned now.” 

Shaking back and forth, two dolls had come back. With clothes mimicking an angel, there was a wing on their back which was a self-made work of Doll Master. 

“What happened?” 

As Akako Machi called out, the angel doll’s party was wriggling as if deeply overcome with emotion. 

“This was my first time going into the sixth region (Tiphereth).” “How dreadful??”

“Hey??” 

“……Is there a harvest?” 

In response, to Ayako Machi’s question, the angel puppet nodded its head. “Of course. We were ordered to not come back until finding something!” “That means we had the possibility of never coming back!”

“I was scared??” 

Ayako Machi slammed the fan in its hand against the angel doll. 

“……Alright, please explain.” “Yes”. “Yes, yes.”

The angel dolls began to explain the information gathered. Soon after, Doll Master’s expression

turned smug in the blink of an eye. 

“Yes, sure enough you’ve worked. You can step back now.” 

The angel dolls joyfully exited out of the room. 

“What to do about Tokisaki Kurumi?” 

Hearing Ayako Machi’s words, Doll Master exhaled a sigh of relief. 

“It’s fine that can be taken care of at any time now. But, there’s still the need to be cautious. There’s one more problem besides that. How is Tsuan?” 

Ayako Machi read the report it just received. 

“Asleep, in the wilderness.” 

“Is she not considering being attacked?” 

Doll Master spoke out in surprise. 

“Or perhaps she must be confident in her own strength.” 

“……Well, forget about it. Tomorrow is the last day. Although there are more irregulars than usual, the result will be the same. Here is the hunting ground for Doll Master; there is no room for anyone else to step in.” 

Not knowing when she went to sleep??Empty opened her eyes to find Kurumi closing and opening her right hand. 

“Are you……okay?” 

As Empty timidly asked, Kurumi laughed. 

“Yes, there seems to be no problems.” “That’s a relief……”

Empty sincerely felt relieved from the bottom of her heart. 

Kurumi, who was bathing in the morning sunlight, still had imprints and marks left from

yesterday’s battle. 

“Time to take a shower??” 

“Yes, there should still be some time left.” 

“Then, I’m going to prepare clothes to change, eh, where are the spare clothes?” “I’ll make the replacement now. Please leave it aside.”

Kurumi threw the clothes she weaved out of reiryoku at Empty. 

“Understood. I’m going to make coffee then.” “Please add three pieces of sugar for mine.”

After Kurumi entered the bathroom for a while, the sound of the shower starting could be heard. Listening to that sound, Empty placed the replacement clothes in the bathroom. Suddenly, Kurumi unintentionally entered Empty’s line of sight. While she couldn’t see through the polished glass, but there was a subtle allure coming from her hazy white back. Feeling that she was acting strange, Empty quickly looked away. 

Empty picked up the dirty clothes to place in the washing machine. 

In hindsight, this dress was woven through reiryoku, it should be meant to be thrown away

afterwards. Kurumi wouldn’t expect Empty to wash it. 

Therefore, it was truly a coincidence that Empty found this photo. 

Picking up the clothes, it fell onto the bathroom mat. Was it a note or something similar, as she

was considering that??Empty froze in place after taking a peek. The sound of the shower as well as everything else felt so far away.

If it was Kurumi on the photo, she would smile. If it was Kurumi together with someone else in the picture, she would wonder if it was the friend that Kurumi felt uneasy describing. 

Kurumi wasn’t on the photo. On them was a girl with short blue hair. The other girl was

someone she was familiar with as much as Kurumi. It was Empty.

It was herself, Empty, who had no memories and was completely powerless. She was holding hands with the short-haired girl, while smiling shyly.

“This is……me……?” 

Instances like this are where memories could be recovered by an electric shock from seeing this. If such a thing occurred, perhaps Empty would have raised a scream. 

But Empty didn’t feel anything. Seeing someone identical as herself in a photo, she wondered

how much of it was truly a joke. 

Empty stood motionless in astonishment. But??nothing like her true emotions or the sort had resurfaced. 

It was clear that the relationship in the photo was close. But there wasn’t even the faintest hint of memories flashing through her mind. 

Empty quietly placed the photo back in the clothes. She put the fresh clothes to the side and left the bathroom. 

There was one question remaining .Why did Kurumi possessed and hid of photo with her on it? 

Hiding……perhaps it would be better to say cherish. 

Could it be that. 

“Kurumi-san and I……didn’t happen to meet by chance?” 

If so, was that encounter also calculated? …..She didn’t know. The more she thought about it the dizzier she became. It was a miserable feeling just like frantically searching for something on a shelf with nothing left. 

Empty tried to recall while sipping some coffee. But, sure enough??she could feel anything but surprise coming from that photo. 

“……I am, so callous, so insensible to this degree. No, it feels like becoming insensitive, but??” 

A friend who should be cherished can be forgotten this easily. I am such a useless good for nothing. 

“Fu……so refreshing.” Empty took in a deep breath. Turning around, she smiled.

“I’ve made the coffee. Three pieces of sugar, right?” “Yes, thank you.”

Likely, she would laugh at her as well, Empty thought. 

“Now, let’s head out.” “Alright!”

Empty decided to make the bed in the bedroom. It was a house that no one used, but it was still necessary to have the bare minimum of proper etiquette. 

Kurumi forced a smile while waiting for her. 

“I’ve kept you waiting, Kurumi-san, now??” 

That sound was very loud. Moreover, it was the sort that would be heard daily. Ding dong, it such a brisk electronic sound. But it was not a sound that should have ringed. 

Kurumi already grasped her short pistol as Empty looked stunned at the front door. Kurumi slowly opened the entrance door.

“……” 

A single girl guarded in silence. On her back was a long halberd. Her Extreme Death Spirit Dress, Number 15 <Brinicle> was almost like a knight’s armor??Tsuan, the only surviving Quasi- Spirit besides the fake. 

“Why are you here?” 

“The sound of the shower. The odor of reiryoku can be deceived, but it is impossible to falsify pure sound.” 

Empty couldn’t suppress the shudders caused by Tsuan’s words. 

The sound of a faint shower in a closed home. How could she even hear that? 

“Well, you have quite the good ears.” 

Tsuan nodded her head. Perhaps it was from Kurumi’s compliment, but there was little reddish

tinge shining on her pure white face. 

“U-um. Your goal is……” “You’re the only one left alive.” Tsuan calmly looked at Kurumi. 

“Ara, isn’t there one more person left with the same name as baked buns?” (TL: baked buns (Pirozhki) have a similar pronunciation to False Proxy) 

“That’s meaningless.” 

Of course, in an indifferent tone, Tsuan tossed her words aside. Meaningless, which also meant

to say??she, also knew. “U-um, Tsuan-san.” “……?”

Tsuan glared at Empty. Her eyes were obviously different from when she was talking to Kurumi; they were filled with murderous intent. 

“Hii, w-why are you glaring at me?” 

As Empty became frightened, Tsuan’s expression soon turned apologetic. “Sorry, it wasn’t meant to be done consciously. So what is it?”

“Um, can you help us? Can we fight against the Dominion together?” “Out of the question.”

Tsuan flatly rejected Empty’s proposal. Then, she pointed her finger in assertion to Kurumi. “That person will likely plot against from behind.”

Empty cried out indignantly. 

“That sort of thing! Won’t happen! There’s no reason! There’s no need! Perhaps!” “Contrary to what one might expect, you sure have a breakpoint.”

Kurumi chose to ridicule them both. 

Well, to be honest, Empty was convinced that Kurumi would likely plot against her. And Kurumi was also aware that. Even Tsuan was convinced to be suspicious towards that. 

“Everybody seems to know each other very well!” “Exactly.”

“Location, where?” 

It seemed that Tsuan didn’t have any preference to where the duel occurred. 

“I’ll be thankful if we can head a little farther from here…….” 

Tsuan nodded back in response. 

Against the dazzling sun, Empty narrowed her eyes. Kurumi walked in front with Tsuan following her and Empty trailing from the end. 

Kurumi suddenly stopped walking. The duel was in the middle of a residential area as Empty tried to hide behind a telephone pole. 

“……What are you doing?” 

Kurumi looked to the top of the pole that Empty was hiding behind. As Empty looked towards the sky, she saw that one of Doll Master’s puppets was hanging on the top of the pole. 

“No, no??. Just watching, please don’t mind.” 

Without looking back, she causally grabbed the halberd axe on her back and swung vertically into the sky. 

The telephone poll and doll shattered. Just as the name Biscuit Smasher would suggest, it was pulverized into tiny pieces. The broken doll’s head rolled towards Empty, who let out a “fugyaa” scream. 

“In the way.” 

Tsuan glared at the empty space. Perhaps they were hidden through some form of optical camouflage, but several dolls appeared in fear and fled in a panic. 

“Well done.” 

“Un. Well, despite fighting, they still appeared anyway, come……” 

While responding to Kurumi’s praise, Tsuan suddenly stopped talking as she was replying back. 

Kurumi’s figure had disappeared. “What happened……?”

It occurred in a matter of seconds. Kurumi had vanished right in front of Tsuan and Empty. 

“Where…...!?” 

Tsuan searched around in a panic. Despite this residential area being near an intersection, it was still abnormal to abruptly vanish. 

But Empty knew how she disappeared. 

(It’s the shadow……) 

Tokisaki Kurumi had sneaked into the shadows. If you removed your eyes from Kurumi for even just a moment, she could likely immediately activate this to disappear. 

Tsuan stared at Empty. 

“Ah, I-I don’t know anything, I don’t know anything at all!” 

Empty hurriedly shook her hands to deny any claims. Tsuan was unable to judge if this was because she was lying or if this was done purely from fear. 

Tsuan leaped up to position her body into the sky. She looked into her surroundings from a bird’s eye view??there were neither any signs of her figure nor any sounds heard. 

However, there was one more supernatural talent she was proud of. It was her keen sense of smell. 

With her extraordinary level of smell that was on the level of a hound dog, she sniffed to search

for Kurumi’s scent from just a moment ago. The slight smell tickled her nostrils. Direction detected??distance detected??calculating correct coordinates. (Found it??!!)

Facing that direction, Tsuan released her murderous intent. If it had been an ordinary person, their movements would freeze in an instant like ice. 

However, there was nothing there. There were only garbage bags and utility poles stacked within the shadow. 

“……!?” 

The strange occurrences happening one after the other caused Tsuan’s mind to fall into chaos.

Believe in your instincts, the Quasi-Spirit that had taught her how to fight had once said so. 

Becoming wiser meant becoming stronger. 

But until then, you have to think nothing else but fighting. 

It is weak to consider too many extraneous things, which is why your physical body has grown stronger and stronger. 

Follow your instincts to kill the enemy, this way you can even outmatch the Dominion. 

But if there were any enemies that couldn’t be defeated in this manner. 

If the compatibility is bad and the worst match for your abilities, then the most loathsome enemy for you has appeared. 

Then, there can only be one thing left to do. 

From the shadow of the garbage bag, a sneaky white arm jumped out. 

“! !” 

The bullets were fired. Along with the sound of breaking the air barrier, the jet-black bullets flew over. The distance to the target was about 200 meters. At such a distance it would be a miracle for a pistol to land a shot, but for Kurumi this was child’s play. 

But being given a distance of 200 meters also gave Tsuan enough time to respond. While a bit frustrating for her, it was also a little joyful as well. 

She was so terrifying that even all of her friends had abandoned her. 

Was it righteous indignation, or poorly placed anger without reason? Regardless, she felt somewhat happy that her strength had been recognized. 

Of course, the bullets were bounced off. 

As long as her <Zafkiel> was the short pistol, her defense would not be broken. Needless to say, the ability of her bullets had also long been known. 

She was vigilant towards the surprise attack by firing at herself to multiply her physical ability. 

To reach the distance of 200 meters, Tsuan decided to bolster her Astral Dress with her full power to traverse in a split second. 

A second to pull her out of the shadow, another second to render her unconscious through a head blow, and a final second to crush her body with < Lailaps>. 

A total of four seconds. 

As long as there was that much time, it would be enough to kill Kurumi. She wasn’t afraid of

getting injured in the process. The only fear was that of defeat??no, not only that. Tsuan was aware that she was frightened. 

Although she didn’t know what it was specifically, there was one thing that was certain. This fear was surely caused by Tokisaki Kurumi.

So Tsuan let out a roar. Howling, intimidating, she glared to convey all of her killing intent. 

GO, GO, GO! 

Giving orders to herself, her Extreme Death Spirit Dress, Number 15 <Brinicle> greedily consumed her reiryoku to literally shoot out Tsuan at an insane speed. 

If Kurumi shoot out a bullet, it would be the special attack fired at herself. 

It was hardly an exaggeration to say that she had no concern for her own safety. Since the opponent was the Spirit Tokisaki Kurumi, Tsuan decided that the price was worth it. 

One second to reach the side of the shadow. One second to pull her out of the shadow.

One second, she should have delivered a strong head strike. 

A gunshot. 

However, the damage to her Astral Dress was minimal. If she ignored it, she could land the heavy blow to her head??yet, that couldn’t be delivered. 

Sluggish, heavy, painful. 

Her body felt heavy as if trapped in quicksand. Her movements were sluggish like a turtle, but since the speed of her thought process remained the same, Tsuan realized that it was undeniable fact that she had slowed down. 

“<Zafkiel>??the Second Bullet <Bet>.” 

It was another one of Tokisaki Kurumi’s certain kill skills. Slowing the progress of time so that even the greatest speed would come to halt, it was a wretched fairy tale where a rabbit transformed into a turtle. 

Kurumi let out a sinister laugh. 

Tsuan now had no more means of dealing with the high-speed constant barrage. In quick succession, because of the bullets that passed through, her Astral Dress let out a creaking sound as it began to crumble. 

It was the other party’s turn to be completely crushed. 

Tokisaki Kurumi struck with all of her strength. She knew that if she missed this opportunity, she understood that she wouldn’t be able to defeat her. She also realized that she couldn’t stop until killing her. 

Even between a rebel army victory and a rebel army defeat, there was no neither evil nor justice for her. In that case, it was her manner to plan out any unscrupulous measures possible. 

Truly a desperate act, Kurumi thought to herself self-deprecatingly. 

Countless dreams, her goal meant trampling countless Quasi-Spirits under the soles of her feet. How worthless would this appear to the eyes of another? 

Even so. 

Even so, this body, mind couldn’t suppress what began to stir restlessly. 

After breaking Tsuan’s Astral Dress, the bullets finally landed a direct hit. After that, all that remained was keep shooting bullets into her body until the effects of the Second Bullet <Bet> ended. 

Shooting. 

Keep shooting until she dies, kept killing until she dies. Shooting.

Crushing through the Astral Dress, the bullets struck her body. Shooting.

Suddenly, Kurumi remembered something about her Astral Dress. 

Unlike those of other Quasi-Spirits, her Astral Dress was considered in the minority of being one of the best heretics. (Of course, this was excluding the majesty of God worn by the Spirits) 

Hersey meant being crafty. And crafty meant being strong.

According to rumors spread by Quasi-Spirits, the strength of an Astral Dress is closely related to strength of that person’s mental power. 

But it was only the Astral Dress that conformed to this rule. 

Endurance was exceptional, speed was unusually precise, and maneuverability was excellent.

However, that wasn’t why it was crafty. 

The true essence of Extreme Death Spirit Dress, Number 15 <Brinicle> was to kill the enemy by just approaching. 

Therefore, when becoming her opponent, a distance must be kept to without getting close in order to uniformly crush it. 

There was a thirty second delay before Tsuan traverse the entire 200 meters in a single second. Empty was finally at a point where she could see their fight. 

“Kurumi-sa??” 

Empty was at a loss for words. 

For Kurumi, who was close enough to touch Tsuan’s Astral Dress, it happened in an instant. The left arm holding the gun and her right foot began freeze. 

“……This……Astral Dress……!!” 

Despite the hollow expression, Tsuan’s hand slowly approached Kurumi, who had an anguished

look on her face. The electrical poles, walls, and even roads also began to freeze. Standing at the center was the girl called Tsuan.

“Kurumi-san, hang in there……!” 

Did her consciousness revitalize from Empty’s encouragement? 

Or was she simply still unconsciousness? 

In any case, the trigger was pulled. The ice was shattered into pieces as the Astral Dress was crushed. 

“`Gu, u ~u~u~u~u……!” 

Tsuan reached out to grab Kurumi’s slender neck. “Aren’t you going to smash me into dust……!?”

“I, don’t intend, to be tied up, by this sort of thing……!! Basically, with me as the opponent, can you still decide your strategy……!” 

Be killed when killing. 

Let people die when they die. 

Slowly, Kurumi approached death step by step. But even then, she didn’t know if it was because

of her strong will or perhaps it was due to Tokisaki Kurumi being such an existence. 

Kurumi mercilessly pulled the trigger. Each time a bullet was shot, Tsuan’s grip had loosened.

Just from that loose opening, a pistol flowed out from the shadow. 

As the two struggled to the very end with the goal of killing the other, it was neither an Angel nor Astral Dress that determined the difference. 

There was a difference in killing intent. 

Tsuan had not consciously wanted to kill until now. 

Swinging her Unsigned Angel <Lailaps>, smashing her opponent was just the consequence of that. Under the circumstances where there are no more hands to play, she was willing to fight to the death for the sake of victory. 

However, Tokisaki Kurumi was different. 

She must be victorious, with the realization that her path ahead will be full of blood; she would never allow the corpses stepped under her feet to lose its meaning. 

No matter how many people, no matter how many people. 

Even if it was less than Doll Master, the number of corpses she piled up was also huge. In order to continually kill, there must be an awareness that can be fully sustained. 

Forcing her nearly collapsed heart to move, a creature that only dreamt of revenge. Consequently, Tsuan wanted to defeat Tokisaki Kurumi.

Tokisaki Kurumi also understood that she must kill Tsuan. 

Under these circumstances, power or ability was no longer meaningful. 

There was a difference in killing intent, a difference in a determination to face death. Each time a

bullet struck, Tsuan’s memories of the past woke up. 

Even if there’s a guy, there’s no one who can handle your strength anyway. 

It’s the end of childhood to fight without thinking. 

Move your rusted head. Even if heart collapses because of the fear of death, use at least 30% of your brain to start thinking. 

You’re an idiot, but there are no laws that idiots can’t think. 

Well, if you’re dead, everything will be over! 

Just like that, Tsuan realized. 

This was the end of childhood. She was no longer a beast that considered nothing else during combat. Rather, she was now a Quasi-Spirit that could accurately reflect over the act of killing. 

She loosened the strength in her hand. 

There were no less than 28 gunshots fired altogether, which was sufficient enough to tear through her body. 

Faced with these bullets, Tsuan let go of her consciousness??????although it was just for a brief moment. 

The ice instantly turned into water as Kurumi regained her freedom. 

“Ka, ha……!” 

She couldn’t breathe as her wind pipe felt chocked, but in actuality this wasn’t too serious. 

In the neighboring world, death was the death of the soul. It didn’t have much to do with a physical death. So, rather than be killed by suffocation, much of the desperate breathlessness would be due to the soul choosing death. 

“Kurumi-san!” 

Empty ran over in a panic??recklessly from a bad premonition. 

“Please hang in there??bugya!?” 

From the melted ice, a large amount of water accumulated with the mud from the lower part of the road. It was a murky puddle; moreover, a relatively deep one had temporarily formed. 

And of course, Empty didn’t notice this as she stepped forward. And of course, the puddle was in front of Kurumi.

And of course, the answer that could be derived from this above situation was?? “……Is it really good to splash muddy water on someone else’s face?”

With her finger already at the trigger, Tokisaki Kurumi-sama was furious. The white handkerchief was instantly soiled by mud. 

“S-sorry, sorry, I am really, really sorry. I didn’t do that on purpose. Um, it was involuntary! It was involuntary!” 

“Even if that was involuntary, that just means it was vile in another sense.” “B-but. With this you have defeated everyone!”

Hearing those words, Kurumi took in a deep breath. 

But that didn’t mean she could relax her vigilance. Kurumi also understood that as she regrouped her thoughts to fight once again. Listening to Empty’s words, she couldn’t allow her mind to tremble now. 

Despite this. 

If she had taken one more step forward at that moment, her ankle would have been caught in the

trap at a moment’s notice just as her back would be literally frozen. 

Standing. 

After bearing more than 30 rounds of bullets, the girl still stood up. Even the slightest hint of pain couldn’t be seen, a very serene expression??only her abdomen was covered in blood. It was like mangled flesh so to speak. 

It was impossible to not feel any pain. 

Even so, the girl was wearing her Astral Dress again. Her hands clenched onto her halberd. Then, she said this to Kurumi.

“??Thank you.” 

The crisp, clean voice was both relaxed and cheerful. But it was also a line of unknown meaning.

“Thank……um……what are you talking about?” 

Empty’s voice trembled as she asked. Tsuan, as if seemed no matter how times she was asked for

a reply, continued to nod before speaking. 

“Thank you very much. Thanks to you, I can grow stronger.” 

Ah, so that was it. 

Kurumi and Empty looked at each other while nodding slightly. 

In this world, there were opponents that must not be fought. Not just because they are strong, but because they are simply too frightening and brutal. 

A battle junkie that enjoyed it for fun. 

An opponent fighting with this mentality was both strong and scary, but above all a land mind to be avoided. 

Because of this, it was inevitable that their way of thinking led them to seek opponents in order to ascend to greater heights. 

Tokisaki Kurumi had overcome all of her opponents up until now by considering them as obstacles to Doll Master. 

However, when an obstacle returned and was happy to see her??it was no longer an obstacle but an even more bothersome matter. In this situation it could be fatal. 

It was an existence that could be called a rival. 

“……So, more, more, more. I want to fight with you.” 

Indeed, her stomach was bleeding. However, this pain should have been pleasurable for her to the point of ecstasy. 

“Kurumi-san……” 

Even though she had called out, Kurumi didn’t notice Empty at all. The sense of urgency here

had risen to such an extent. 

“You’re fun, interesting, and exciting. I want you to damage me more and more. Then, I’ll get

even stronger from each hit.” 

“Please don’t force someone to do something.” 

Even if her heart was beaten and broken, even if a fatal wound had been given, she would stand up again and again, surviving until finally winning. 

……In general, there was a name given to such an idiosyncrasy. 

Hero??a girl with the power to defeat all irrationality while trembling from the excitement of battle. 

The air felt frosty. Empty rushed to take a step back, but felt that she couldn’t move under the

heavy pressure. 

However, even if she had no memories of fighting, she knew that this situation was disadvantageous for Kurumi. 

Tokisaki Kurumi had been basically using the weakness of her opponents. Although it wasn’t as precise as a shogi problem, she had been cheating with her special bullets and using tricks in hiding within the shadows to completely defeat the opponent on the board. 

In other words, it was a sign that she wasn’t good at a head-to-head confrontation. 

……No, although she had never said so before……it had already been completely exposed. For her, the best type of match up would be with a Quasi-Spirit like Tsuan, who knew nothing else but a confrontation style match. 

For Kurumi, it would be like animal willingly jumping into a trap. However, a problem occurred here.

Very rarely, it existed. 

An animal that broke through the trap, it was a beast with power that couldn’t be countered by superficial human wisdom.??We would describe it like this??no; we would call her a concept like this. 

“You really are a monster??” 

Tsuan gave a gentle smile as she stepped forward. Kurumi let out a sigh, appearing exhausted in front of Empty. 

The gesture was strangely human, it gave Empty a peculiar feeling. Even now, Kurumi was still holding onto her pistol. 

The matchlock of the deceive battle was quiet. And then, it slowly cut off. 

And at the same time. 

This was also a chance for her to start moving. 

The classroom was now a stage as her dolls crowded the entire room. The dolls reported the bad news about Tokisaki Kurumi to Doll Master, while the angel doll conveyed the good news.

There were also all sorts of other dolls that were whispering to each other. 

“There are only two left at the very end.” “One of them is Tsuan.” “The other is Tokisaki Kurumi.” 

“Let them crush and kill each other.” “I have to secure it before it disappears.” “In the worst case, it doesn’t matter to give up on Tsuan.” “Tokisaki Kurumi” “She’s not like our existence.” “A 

genuine Spirit.” “Really?” “Nonsense.” “But it is true that there is a portion of that power.” “If that is the case.” “If to not kill.” “If to not end.” “This world.” “This region.” “If it does not become mine.” “Please, I ask” “You.” 

Without the mouth opening, False replied back. 

“No.” “If we are not capable.” “Even stronger ones” “The reconnaissance team can’t do it.” “The battle has intensified.” “Even more powerful” “Need” 

From the throat, from the heart, from the abdomen, from the calf, the voice leaked out. As the

dolls listened to that complaint, they glanced at each other’s faces while rustling nosily. “Who is going?” “Who is coming?” “Who is going to do it?”

“Me.” “Me.” “Me.” (TL: Note. The first person pronoun (me) here is different for each doll in Japanese, going from left to right it is

(atashi)?? (watashi) ???(boku)) 

One of them was a doll with a long Japanese sword. One of them was doll holding a bow.

One of them was a doll possessing a huge magnifying glass. 

The puppets squatted, walking over to climb onto False’s body. False was immovable, completely ignoring their actions. Afterwards, using both hands to disregard joints of her jaw, she opened her mouth. 

The three dolls jumped into the mouth one by one. Gufu, False’s abdomen swelled up. “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah……”

False let out a hoarse voice in pain. 

“No good.” “Someone is coming back.” “Three is too much.” 

The dolls let out a panicked voice. From the wide open mouth, another doll had slipped out. 

“Dead?” “Disappointed” “Worthless” 

The dolls saw that one of them was not moving, so they tossed it out the window. 

“Now, let’s get ready.” “Break them apart, False Proxy” “Go kill them” 

Fixing the strange distorted face from the dolls entering, False slowly nodded. 

……As one can see from this horrific sight, False Proxy was neither a Quasi-Spirit nor anything resembling a living creature. 

It was a collection of dolls pasted with human skin. So, it was a fake, so it couldn’t die. 

This doll has participated in many killing games, sometimes fighting, defeated, and then resurrected. There were very few people who knew the truth. Tokisaki Kurumi was one of them. 

And needless to say, it was Doll Master who was the commander of these dolls. Yes, this game had been a farce from the very beginning.

“Ignorance is terrible.” “Very terrible.” “A sacrificial ceremony” “Misunderstanding” “Very regrettable” 

A wide variety of miscellaneous inorganic sounds intertwined. 

Doll Master was cautious, crafty, prudent, unscrupulous, relentless, cruel, and cowardly. 

Even now, there had never been a Quasi-Spirit that defeated her. Although she remained unbeaten, there were several people who could achieve a reversal. 

But as long as she left everything to the doll, never reveal her own appearance, and never let anyone know of her position, then she would definitely invincible. 

False flew out the window. 

The messily wrapped bandages danced wildly like a spider’s legs. The two dolls in charge of False’s sight at last caught Tsuan and Tokisaki Kurumi outside the field of vision. 

“According to the surveillance report (Right eye)” “Those two are still fighting. (Left eye)” “Is it better to wait a little longer?” “That’s wise.” “Let’s do it!”

“Since those two are very strong.” “Competing against each other.” “Wearing each other down.” “But that girl” “Surely, all sorts of matters” “Everything was heard from Tokisaki Kurumi.”

“Then kill it.” “Don’t leave it behind.” “No one will bother.” “Empty!” “Empty!” “Empty!”

“That girl Empty!” “It’s inconceivable that she’s struggling without her memories!” “Let’s kill!” 

The sound of cheers swirled, the dolls encased in False brandished their favorite weapons. 

Gun, sword, lance, bow, Japanese sword, magnifying glass, chakram?? The monsters in that colony (False Proxy) laughed all over. 

The battle had turned into an uncouth brawl. 

Using the First Bullet <Aleph> to accelerate herself to the limit, an attack from every direction was carried out by Tokisaki Kurumi. 

And then, receiving every blow with her tenacious Astral Dress, Tsuan slamming her down with a kick before catching Kurumi with a single hand. 

“H-hurry, and run away????????????!” 

Seeing this battle unfold, Empty issued out a reasonable scream. The moment Kurumi was caught; she realized the truth behind the nickname of being called Biscuit Smasher. 

Once caught, you could definitely not escape. You will definitely be killed. You will absolutely be crushed. 

Tsuan, who was flinging Kurumi around like a stick, smashed her against the stone wall. However, that choice was not wise. 

Tsuan’s eyes widened as she didn’t feel the sense of impact being transmitted to her fist. Immediately afterwards she understood why this had occurred, there was a shadow on the stone wall which Kurumi had half-burrowed inside. 

“Now, please come here……!” 

With that said, Kurumi forcibly dragged Tsuan into the shadow. In a space where it was impossible to breathe or determining up, down, left, and right, Tsuan flailed both of her arms??meaninglessly. 

The halberd, which she should have been holding, had disappeared. 

Accelerated by the First Bullet <Aleph>’s invisible combo, finally there was a crack in Tsuan’s

Extreme Death Spirit Dress, Number 15 <Brinicle>. 

At the very end, a strange sound resounded in that space just like a trumpet signaling demise. Kusukusu, the sound of laughter.

Tsuan kept silent. But that was not from fear. Delight crawled up her spine as her spirits were too excited to be controlled. 

Fun! 

Fighting against her was so much fun! She couldn’t even predict what was going to happen to

her in the next second! 

It could be said that she was already accustomed to the sound of this impact. When struck again, Tsuan had thought that. She had built this logic while thinking it over. Fortunately, there was one useful thing about this shadowy space. 

There was no noise in this reality. Size of sound, direction, deviation from landing, she could

sniff them all to explore Kurumi’s whereabouts somewhere in this shadow??and locate her. 

“Caught you??!” 

Without hesitating, Tsuan vigorously grabbed onto Kurumi’s neck. Instantly, she returned back

to a world full of light. 

Her vision momentarily became fuzzy because of the sudden return. 

Empty looked at herself in a resolute manner??no hostility, no threat, no problem. 

On the ground, Tokisaki Kurumi was on the ground. Blood poured from her forehead as she groaned in pain from hazy consciousness……but she still kept her antique pistol at Tsuan’s throat. 

If she could endure this bullet, then victory was hers. 

But at the same time, she didn’t feel confident that she could endure it. 

Extreme Death Spirit Dress, Number 15 <Brinicle> had all but destroyed. Her current defense was the equivalent to a single sheet of countertop paper. 

However, as long as that bullet was endured, Tsuan could strike Kurumi’s head again and win.

Tsuan had the self-confidence in that. 

……Of course, she also had the inconsiderate gamble of pulling back to gain some distance. However, Tsuan’s instincts were screaming. If she did that, there was no chance for victory. 

If she endured this, it was her victory. If she succumbed, it was Kurumi’s victory. 

“My, victory……!” 

“No, it’s your defeat……!” 

The first one to notice something unusual was Tokisaki Kurumi. It was because she was laying on the ground, with the humiliating condition of being concealed by Tsuan looming over her. 

The Quasi-Spirit that had descended from the sky??False Proxy. In her hollow mouth, she had six hands stretched out. 

The moment she saw that figure, something broke within Tokisaki Kurumi’s mind. No matter how brutal the fight to the death with Tsuan had been until now, even the kill or be killed mentality, everything had been driven out of her mind. 

She shifted the pistol that was aimed at Tsuan’s throat and pulled the trigger towards the sky. 

False tried to reach out to catch the bullet. Naturally, that failed. A booming screech, the flesh splattered??small cracks spread over the body in an instant. 

False exploded. At the same time, dolls hidden inside emerged on after the other. The sound of a high-pitched battle cry.

Tsuan noticed this and turned around. Because of this inconvenience, Kurumi jumped up and kept shooting from her antiquated pistol in rapid succession towards the sky. 

Astonishingly, all of the bullets had been avoided. 

“Let’s gooooooooooo!” Accompanied by that loud voice, a Japanese sword was brandished upward. 

“Target confirmation. Fire????!” With a high pitch voice, the bow was set. “Burn up????!” Along with a brash voice, a magnifying glass was lifted up.” Magnifying glass.

The moment she noticed this, Kurumi gritted her teeth. If looked closely, these dolls shared a similar impression with other people that she could recall. 

Tsuan raised her fist to intercept the attack. The doll merely laughed. 

“Slow” “Too slow” “Too sluggish” “It can’t be helped” “Since” “She must be exhausted!” 

Even with that in mind, the doll’s movements were very nimble. The doll waving the Japanese sword impaled Tsuan’s chest with its blade. A small arrow pierced her throat. Rays of condensed sunlight scorched her body. 

Seeing Tsuan toppled over, Empty let out a mournful cry. 

Was it because Tsuan was knocked down again and they were surrounded by dolls? No.

“……These, dolls……are……” 

Empty quivered while pointing her finger at the doll. It was the splitting image of Hijikata Isami. The one next to her looked exactly like Takeshita Ayame. And lastly, the doll that had attacked Tsuan with the magnifying glass was definitely the same as Sheri Musika. 

The dolls screamed, when listened carefully it was indeed their voices. 

Already standing up, Tokisaki Kurumi dreadfully muttered as she was oozing with the intent to murder. 

“Everyone has turned into a doll. No, it would be better to say that they were turned into one.” “B-being turned into……?”

All Quasi-Spirits are based on the fragments of the Sephira Crystal. So if you die, the Sephira

Crystal will become someone else’s property. 

Doll Master had plundered pieces of Sephira shards from more than 100 Quasi-Spirits and turned them into dolls. 

Isami, Ayame, and Sheri’s dolls began to dance. 

They found it extremely enjoyable and humorous, but for Empty it felt on the contrary to be intolerably repulsive. 

Such a ridiculous caricature, it seemed to the vilest and blasphemous end for those defeated due to a lack of strength. 

“So this is your worst. Doll Master.” 

She wasn’t just satisfied with turning them into dolls. 

Keeping as much of the original personality and abilities as possible on top of them being made into cute dolls. Moreover, a fatal portion of the personality had been altered??no matter how arrogant the original personality, they will become a faithful servant to Doll Master. 

“Fun, it’s fun.” “Everyone gets along so well, so beautifully” “Ah, it’s so good to be a doll.” “Shut up!!”

For the first time, she saw Tokisaki Kurumi truly enraged. 

When hearing this, the dolls began to laugh more and more cheerfully. 

“Angry, you got angry!” “Crumple and collapse!” “Let’s kill, let’s kill!” “This Spirit is a doll!” “Can make this Spirit into a doll!” “Join our family!” 

The old-fashioned gun blew away one of the frolicking dolls. The cheers quickly turned silent for a moment. 

“What noisy chatter. Does that annoying person think she’s some sort of king by manipulating these uncanny dolls?” 

There was a silent anger contained within Kurumi’s words. But Empty thought at the same time. 

She couldn’t afford that right now. Acting on pure anger towards the attitudes of those disappeared from being eaten. 

On the contrary, it could be because the situation had turned into a crisis. Or?? 

“Anyway, is Doll Master just looking on from somewhere? If so, I will destroy every single doll.

That will make it quick and easy.” 

The dolls laughed at once at the same time. 

“Impossible!” “Impossible!” “Impossible means that it is unmanageable!” “Because we are!” “Many!” “An unlimited insignificance!” “A legion, a legion!” “A one thousand strong army!” “Even for a Spirit, it is impossible to defeat us!!” 

Just as those words were said, they were surrounded by the dolls. Empty fell softly onto the ground. 

Those inorganic pupils, more than 2000 of those glass eyes were staring at Tokisaki Kurumi. She was not afraid, not trembling, not crying??. 

Her expression was full of rage, but there was no fear. But even so, she wasn’t smiling as usual. 

Calmly, she took in a gentle breath as she turned to look at Empty. 

“Empty.” 

There was no tremor in the sound of her voice. 

“Y-yes. What is it?” 

“I’m really sorry for getting you caught up in my revenge. You’re not really Empty”.” “Eh, then……!?”

Kurumi smiled while pointing to the ground. She was referring to a manhole cover, which she kicked open to reveal an entrance. 

“Run away. You’ll be a hindrance if you stay here.” “Eh, but……!”

Although she intended to say some heroic line of not wanting to abandon her, but?? “Saying anything else is worthless.”

Empty’s nape was suddenly grabbed as she was thrown into the sewer. Fortunately, there was no such thing as an unpleasant odor due to the lack of human activity in the neighboring world. 

“Kurumi?sa” 

“Like I said, saying anything more is worthless.” 

Kurumi said with a smile as she gently waved to Empty from above. “You’re sheltering her!” “Important? Important?” “That girl Empty?” The dolls held their stomach while laughing.

Seeing this ugly scene, Tokisaki Kurumi smiled. There was already enough pleasure and enjoyment to smile from this. 

“No, just??as expected, I’m neither cruel nor shallow enough to get her involved in this matter.

That’s all.” 

The dolls slanted their heads in confusion. 

Kurumi raised her antique pistol??aiming not at the dolls??but at the window of a residential home. 

Then. 

A flash of light filled the eyes as a boom sound burst into the ears. 

However, that was only if……those dolls had eyes and ears. 

Burning, bursting, and erupting. 

With her at the center, one square kilometer had transformed into an empty lot. 

“A nitro dress that was a combination of roughly over 200 Astral Dresses and Sephira Crystal fragments. How difficult was it to collect only that much?” 

Kurumi had truly struggled. 

First of all, collecting over 200 was not something a sane person could accomplish. But this nitro dress was a single shot that had the power to reverse the battle. Therefore, under normal circumstances it would be impossible, but as long as the single explosion was needed, she was able to reach an agreement no matter how irrational the transaction was. 

At the time of collecting all 200, others would no doubt begin to suspect her motives. And once she is suspected, Doll Master would definitely analyze that information and begin developing the corresponding countermeasures. 

First of all, in order to prevent that, she changed her appearance when she was negotiating with others. She transformed her voice, body shape, and even her personality. 

It took a long time, but in order to not be discovered by Doll Master, she little by little installed them in temporary houses. 

……Tokisaki Kurumi had already expected her use the dolls when she survived. 

And being a Spirit, she would be more cautious and invest as much of her forces as possible. In order to kill 1000 dolls, Kurumi arrived at the conclusion of a wide area explosion.

Naturally, this was a gamble that put herself at a disadvantage. Frustrated by the sense of hopelessness, there was once or twice where she couldn’t go to sleep. 

But, she won. 

Kurumi peacefully sat on the ground??sparing no effort to recover. 

Just a little bit more, victory was in sight. I can get revenge. I can get rid of her. 

“Yue, Yue, just a little bit more, a little bit more……” 

The words stopped. In front of Kurumi’s eyes was Ibusuki Panie. Ibusuki Panie, a person who should have been dead. 

“Yes, you just said Yue-chan. I understand, I finally understand!” “……You’re still alive? How surprising.”

Kurumi’s finger was on the trigger of her pistol. Ibusuki Panie denied that with an innocent smile just like an angel. 

“No, no, not alive. Because Panie is already dead.” 

“Ah, so that’s it. Then, you are the same as False? Is your little body full of dolls?” 

When she heard Kurumi, Panie smiled and nodded. 

“That’s right! Umm, there’s about 400 in Panie (storage house). So, I have around another 1400

bodies to be kept aside!” 

Kurumi couldn’t understand the numbers for a moment. 

“Ha……?” 

“Like I said, I have around 1800 bodies! Yeah, no one has ever been able to get past 1000 bodies before! Panie was so moved! So there are about two-thirds still remaining, please try your best!” 

“……You’re bluffing? You’re being driven to that extent, right?” 

It was a miracle that Kurumi’s voice was not shaking. There were 1800 dolls left? So much, there was no chance of winning……!

“Does it really matter? Aren’t you a Spirit? Can’t you easily crush anything on a level that a

Quasi-Spirit can’t compare?” 

Silence. 

Kurumi restrained the fear that was held closely to her heart. 

“……I am Tokisaki Kurumi.” 

Ibusuki Panie opened its mouth as wide as False Proxy and took out a doll from within. A familiar Astral Dress, a familiar weapon, and a familiar face.

The moment she saw it, Kurumi’s will to fight burst and faded away. “Hmm, what was this one’s name? Y…Yuei……?” 

“It’s Hiriyu Yue, Ibusuki-san.” “Ah yes, that’s right!” “Y…ue……”

Blueish short hair, clear eyes, and a giant claymore sword that didn’t match her size. Even in the current state as a bad caricature, she would never forget that face.

“Tokisaki Kurumi has nothing to do with Yue, right?” “Yes! She has nothing to do with me!”

“If?that’s?the?case??” 

Ibusuki Panie glanced over at Kurumi, revealing a faint sadistic smile. 

“Hiriyu-san is your friend?” “Best friend is a Quasi-Spirit!”

The air froze. 

Everything was known, everything was sealed. Even if the pieces could move freely on the board, they still would never reach the game master. 

“Now then, please kill that Spirit-san.” 

“I understand, Ibusuki-san! I’ll go kill it!” 

The doll turned this way. Those glassy eyes were unable to tell even the tiniest hint of emotion. 

“……Yes, that’s it.” 

Tokisaki Kurumi, the girl who kept inspiring herself, lowered her head. 

The doll rushed over with great excitement. It was reminiscent of how she used to run. Lost, lost, everything was lost. But even, she still lived on for her sake.

But in the end, it was meaningless. The innocent doll set up its favorite claymore. Somedays, it felt like a nostalgic dream. 

Victory, sometimes she would shout that when greeting her back home. I hated fighting, I also hated being hurt, even more so if it was a friend hurt. 

However, I didn’t want to disturb how happy she looked talking. 

And so, I have always, always been waiting for that day and time again. 

“……I’ve been waiting for you all this time.” 

Welcome back, the girl whispered to herself. 

She spread her arms out to greet her as the doll’s sword was embedded in her chest. 

Looking at the fallen girl, Ibusuki Panie??the dolls hidden inside began to snicker. 

This war (date) had also ended quite meaningfully. Although it was a pity that the Spirit was a

fake, it didn’t mean that she fancy the idea of having a real Spirit as an opponent. 

They are a disaster that should not exist in the neighboring world. They must be living happily in the other world. 

However, the neighboring world was theirs. The tenth region was hers. Doll Master nodded with satisfaction as she wanted to praise her puppets. 

The dolls, following the order, happily planned to chop apart Kurumi’s body. As Doll Master

tried to add a command to not damage the Sephira Crystal??she witnessed the doll blown away. 

The huge explosion could be felt even in the sewer. Empty screamed with her back pressed against wall, trembling from the fear of not knowing if the ceiling would collapse. 

A short silence. 

……After confirming she was still alive and unharmed, Empty stood back up to her feet. 

It didn’t fit the image she had of herself to remain crouching here. The cause of this explosion was definitely Kurumi. In that case, it would better to head out to see the results. 

Empty didn’t think that she would die. Although she didn’t think that she would die, she still had

a bad feeling about this. 

Following the light coming in, she climbed up the ladder. 

The temperature likely had risen from the explosion earlier. And then, she didn’t even know if Tsuan was still alive after being engulfed in the explosion. Despite the frightening image of minced meat, she still felt the urge to eat hamburgers today. 

……No, it wasn’t good to let her thoughts wander off into such worthless matters right now. 

But while climbing this ladder, she only felt an uneasiness that made her heart feel faint. The last thing seen was that lonely smile??.

She prayed for herself to be wrong. 

Perhaps it was her intention to die regardless of failure or success. 

It was so full of sorrow that it seemed like that, a smile that quietly accepted the destruction. 

Such a smile was not suitable for her. Tokisaki Kurumi should be more magnificent, illusory, cruelly laughing and trampling over her opponent. 

Arrive above ground; Empty was stunned at the tremendous sight. The surrounding area had been reduced to rubble; the place where house were supposed to be lined up was now a free lot. 

This ought to have been Tokisaki Kurumi’s hidden card. 

In order to deal with the notorious Doll Master, there must have been no other way but this large- scale explosion. 

But……in this explosion. She didn’t know if Kurumi had survived. Even if there was an Astral Dress……

As she was about to call her name, Empty realized that she was right in front of her. Even if she turned back, there was no way that she could miss this view now. “Kurumi-sa?”

The sound of the puncture was quite light; the blood splatter was also minuscule. But from the chest to the back, a steel-sharpened blade had run through. 

But that wasn’t strange. It was in the middle of a battle, so it wasn’t strange. 

Yet, Empty was unable to comprehend this. At this moment, Tokisaki Kurumi had actually shed blood and fell down. 

“……Kurumi-san?” 

She couldn’t understand what was happening at all. She wouldn’t die; Tokisaki Kurumi had an unfathomably absurd invulnerability. 

Don’t die, don’t die to something as trivial as this, absolutely don’t die. 

However, the blood would not stop. Whether if it was a Quasi-Spirit or Spirit, she would die if blood continued to be lost. The mind would give in before the body. 

Nevertheless, the blue-haired doll gladly prepared to cut off the shoulders, arms, and legs. 

“……Hand.” 

Completely unconsciously, Empty grabbed what was in that hand. The doll looked a little surprised as it stared at Empty. 

What was in Empty’s hands was Tokisaki Kurumi’s old fashioned pistol. She understood it only through instinct, the bullets were still loaded, and afterwards she only had to make a firm resolution……just by relying on this feeling. 

“……Stop.” 

Her voice was cold, her fingertips were cold, only her heart felt warm. Pulling the

trigger??shock, boom, recoil. The right hand of the doll shattered and fell onto the ground. It was clear to Empty that now was the time to be stunned.

Ibusuki Panie stared blankly in puzzlement. But after seeing Empty try to use her shoulders to support Kurumi, both her arms began to shake while she stared at them. 

“Really??! How troublesome??!” 

Dolls were released from Panie’s mouth. There numbers were around thirty, it was a very simple act to kill two people who wanted to escape. 

Empty was not strong enough to carry a girl that had lost consciousness. If she went by foot, they would definitely be caught. Additionally, Empty’s mood right now was completely fretful.

Kurumi’s hand was annoyingly chilly from the incessant blood flowing out. “……Do…..” 

Kurumi muttered a soliloquy, but right now was not the time to listen to that. Being caught meant being killed, dying, not only herself but Kurumi as well.

There was no rescue. There was no miracle that would occur. Destiny had strictly, ruthlessly, and completely bound them. 

So, this wasn’t a miracle. 

If one were to describe it, it was a miscalculation from Doll Master. Her bad taste caused this development.

The thirty dolls caught up, they were more than enough to kill an Empty Quasi-Spirit and a Spirit that had lost consciousness. 

The doll that finally caught up and swung its sword??repelling away the others. 

“Eh?” 

The puppet let out an awkward voice. Sparing no time to cut off their arms and heads in an instant. 

“……Eh?” 

This time it was Empty who let out a voice of surprise. Their helper was neither a God nor a Quasi-Spirit.

“I see, so it was like this!” 

The one-handed puppet smiled happily. It was the doll that Empty had shot just now??. 

“Why……?” 

Empty stopped her own steps as she whispered blankly. The doll raised the huge sword with a single hand while shouting. 

“You are my friend! I am your friend! So, surely I shouldn’t kill her! Sorry! I wasn’t aware, sorry!” 

There were tears in those glassy eyelids. 

Facing Empty who was completely lost, the doll yelled out loudly. 

“I don’t know anymore. Everything. But, I remember. I can only remember the things that Hibiki liked, what Hibiki liked! So! That’s why……” 

Run away, she whispered. The doll cut apart the other dolls that had caught up. 

Nothing could be conveyed, nothing was answered. Empty fled from that place while dragging along Kurumi. 

Anyway, they first needed gain some distance. She focused nothing but on getting farther away to a place that was invisible to the eyes of the dolls. 

Empty’s choice was not the residential building but the abandoned factory. The place where she was once imprisoned. Although it had half-collapsed from the fierce attacks, it was because of

that she felt it wouldn’t attract any attention……the only thing left to do now was to pray. A cold droplet dripped down her neck.

Fortunately, there was a sudden downpour. This way, both their scent and footprints would disappear at the same time. Although she was worried about being chilly, being alive right now was more important. 

After that, if Tokisaki Kurumi could wake up. 

“……Here is……” “Kurumi-san!?”

Empty hurried to lean over. That pale expression, the loss of color in her lips, the constant flow

of blood that wouldn’t cease, but even then Kurumi was still alive. “……Ran away…..why……?”

“Yes. That doll helped us.” “Doll, but……?”

“It said that it was my friend.” 

Hearing those words, Kurumi opened her eyes??then; she began to gasp as if breathing out her soul. 

“……I-is that right.” 

Kurumi used her trembling hands to find a photo in her pocket. It was the photograph with Empty close together with the girl that became the model for that doll. 

“Aren’t you surprised?” 

“Nothing would surprise me at this point.” 

“In that case. Even if I said I wasn’t Tokisaki Kurumi, you wouldn’t be surprised?” “……Even if that’s the case. I won’t be surprised.”

Kurumi touched her chest to wipe out the blood. 

“With this much blood flowing……well, it looks like it’s hopeless. I don’t feel like I can be saved.” 

“Please don’t say that!” 

“……Do you want to hear an old story?” 

Suddenly, her tone changed. As if dissolved in water, her hair began to lose its color. It was testimony that Higoromo Hibiki had released Tokisaki Kurumi’s power. 

A story overflowed from her lips. 

By the time she noticed, she was already lost in the neighboring world. 

Mixed in with the Quasi-Spirits of all sorts of colors, Higoromo Hibiki was part of the overwhelming majority that was completely helpless. 

The title of Empty was not a false name. 

Not just memories, there was sometimes girls wandering around that would lose their personalities as well. A harmless ghost that was an eyesore to look at. 

Perhaps, they were a symbol of fear that others wanted to avoid becoming as well. That was Empty. 

It wouldn’t take long for their hands and feet to disappear completely before finally those girls

are destined to disappear completely from the neighboring world. 

Higoromo Hibiki was such a person. She didn’t know anything, she was afraid of arriving at this world, afraid of fighting, For those not fortunate enough to be able to use an Astral Dress, they were afraid of disappearing. 

There were no dreams. 

There was no hope. 

There was nothing to crave for. 

There wasn’t even a heart to crave. 

A person who was born not knowing anything should die alone. That should have been

Higoromo Hibiki’s fate. 

In this lethargy, it was a coincidence that Hibiki saw her. 

In the tenth region Malkuth communication was marked??by killing each other. There was a girl who lived happily by fighting. 

After several clashes, she had obtained a triumphant victory. With her hollow eyes, Hibiki tried to match the look of the eyes of that girl. 

The girl was full of smiles. To Hibiki who was staring at her helplessly, she made a victory sign with her two fingers. 

“I won!” 

Blankly staring at her??Hibiki slowly returned the victory gesture. 

“Thank you!” 

The girl disappeared after saying that loudly. 

Hibiki stood up. She noticed that the arm that was disappearing had been restored. In such a meaningless exchange, Hibiki had found hope. 

That girl’s name was Hiriyu Yue. Empty’s name was Higoromo Hibiki. 

Yue was a typical Quasi-Spirit that couldn’t live without fighting. And Hibiki was a Quasi-Spirit that can continue living by cuddling onto some else without needing to fight. 

It was like a calm day after a storm. 

Each time Yue came back injured her heart would ache. On the other hand, her heart would also felt relieved as long as she returned. 

Hibiki thought that she didn’t want to use the power of her Unsigned Angel. 

It has horrific power, but the cost was too great. If used recklessly, all that awaited her was becoming an invalid. 

“That’s such a waste!” 

Although Yue spoke while complaining, Hibiki just smiled as if a little troubled. The worst part of that power was being able to replace herself. 

Personality separated, memories deviated, and even the name Higoromo Hibiki needed to be forcibly thrown away. 

It was a shame to forget about Yue who was right in front of herself. 

“It’s fine Yue. I don’t care.” 

“Really? It doesn’t matter at all for your body?” 

“I don’t like fighting, so I’m okay for now. Un, it’s fine because I am happy.” Fighting wasn’t the only way to chase after a dream.

There was also a dream of being satisfied through just waiting. The days spent playing and chatting with Yue. 

So Hibiki felt satisfied living in the present.

But if she lost Yue, this sense of fulfillment would disappear. Why was it that she would always look away whenever she said that?

Why was it that she was convinced that as long as she waited, her words of “I’m coming back!” would always ring true? 

The last time she said that was after receiving an invitation to a game sponsored by Doll Master. 

“I wanted to participate since the beginning.” 

Yue spoke in an unusually calm tone. 

“But to participate in the war she’s sponsoring means staking your life. I think that’s a bit wrong.” “Great, that’s a relief……I was still wondering if you were going to defiantly go there.”

Hearing Hibiki’s reply, Yue muttered as if embarrassed from the bottom of her heart. “At the time of fighting for my life, I think that I would want to know.”

“Yue, when are you going to risk your life?” 

“If you ever encounter a pinch, I’ll definitely risk my life on the line to save you.” 

Yue had always categorically said that line. 

“Ah??……thank you. In that case, I feel relieved.” 

Very embarrassing, but only those words could describe the emotion filling up her chest. 

“Anyway, I’ll refuse it tomorrow.” 

The second day after Yue had said that, she had completely disappeared. 

It wasn’t unusual for a girl to go missing in the neighboring world. Even more so if it was a girl who liked to fight. 

Moreover, when the whereabouts are unknown, all she could do was waiting for her. 

In time, Hibiki heard a rumor about Doll Master. She was collecting dolls, these so-called dolls used to be Quasi-Spirits. If she had her eye on you, then you would absolutely be turned into a doll. 

“Doll Master, Doll Master, Doll Master!” Achieving revenge became Hibiki’s new dream.

Since the first step was fighting, she grew accustomed to battle, seeing blood, and treating wounds. The next step was collecting information. 

Luckily, the abilities of the Astral Dress were most suitable for information gathering. She made

a thorough investigation of Doll Master’s advantages, disadvantages, secrets, and weaknesses. Although many times in the process her life became targeted, her obsession didn’t permit her to die. 

The last step would mark the completion of the plan. In order to kill Doll Master, in order to defeat Doll Master, what was indispensable? 

Thinking, thinking, thinking??looking back, she found that she come quite far. To imagine that she had lived alone for such a long time.

Even if she met Yue again, that girl would surely not recognize her. Well, but. That didn’t matter

anymore. Because it was impossible for a reunion. 

Therefore, it was fine not to be Higoromo Hibiki (me) anymore. The Unsigned Angel of the seventh genus, <King Killing>. It held the power to plunder. Exchanging bodies with the target, even abilities can be plundered??the ability to reversal a law in order to murder a king. 

So far, it had been used to temporarily rob the faces of other Quasi-Spirits in order to hide herself. However, the robbery of abilities was a far more advanced use, an unknown world to herself. 

Once started, she couldn’t lift it until she died. It was power with great risk that was irretrievable afterwards. 

Consequently, Hibiki wandered around the region searching for the greatest strength and most powerful presence to plunder from. 

A Quasi-Spirit with the power to compete against Doll Master. 

And so she finally found it. Not a Quasi-Spirit, but it was a Spirit that was said to bring disaster. It was beautiful.

No matter where, it was matchless beauty. 

The girl that was falling out of the sky was about to die. Nevertheless, she could easily see that huge power. 

If there was anything that transcended both human intelligence and Spirits??it was the once in a million fortune granted to Higoromo Hibiki through this encounter. 

……Hibiki knew. Her ability stole not only both physical form and Astral Dress, but it even

robbed one’s personality as well. 

There was a high probability of discarding a stupid notion like revenge upon being able to seize this power. 

There were no countermeasures. So she strongly thought. She firmly embraced the memories she shared with Hiriyu Yue into her chest. 

Please I beg of you, it doesn’t matter if you take away anything from me. After this revenge is successful, I’ll also give up my own life. So please don’t take my dreams away. Please let me achieve my revenge. 

That is to say, it was expected that there was no spectacle of joy whatsoever in revenge. 

A dark night. In the depths of an unnamed alley devoid of any human waste. In the rain, a single girl held hands with the dying Spirit. 

“Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry……” 

She had considered it countless, countless times. The thought was already lingering in her mind.

But her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. 

With her personality altered, she wouldn’t be herself anymore. In order to kill her opponent she

needed to kill herself. 

Higoromo Hibiki was now prepared to kill two girls. 

Only in that manner, she repeated that line countless times again. Despite this, she couldn’t take

the final step forward. 

So, she remembered more strongly. 

The sight of those days; the peaceful days where it felt fulfilling just being together. A calm scene that could never be recovered again.

“Don’t forget, don’t forget, don’t forget, don’t forget, don’t forget, don’t forget!! Absolutely don’t forget that scene!!” 

She screamed. 

The Unsigned Angel <King Killing> was launched. 

A huge claw deprived everything from the Spirit girl who was there, burying it deep into Higoromo Hibiki. 

And then after being deprived of everything, the Spirit became Empty. 

At the end of the long monologue, she slowly changed back from a Spirit into a Quasi-Spirit. She discarded the filled container and returned back into being the original Empty. 

“……I’ve been lying to you all this time.” 

The girl who was just Kurumi until a moment ago had said that. Empty listened to her confession while stunned.

“I knew why you had no memories. I knew who you were. However, I didn’t tell you. I knew

that and still lied. Because I can only??lie, lie, lie constantly.” “……Why didn’t you kill me?”

The girl suddenly laughed. 

“I am selfish. I didn’t want to see myself die. That’s all.” 

Flowing out, the essence of Tokisaki Kurumi was being slowly sucked into the girl standing next to her. 

“Go. You are a Spirit; that is a fact that no one can interfere.” 

The girl standing in front of her eyes was no longer Empty. The Spirit silently raised her gun.

“??I can’t forgive you.” “……Yes, sorry.”

This ending was also very good, she thought. From the very beginning she did something terrible to her. 

“Aren’t you going to beg for mercy?” 

“Didn’t you just say it? Yue protected us. When I heard about that, it was already okay.” 

She protected me. 

Even after being turned into a doll, she tried to fulfill her promise to me. 

Not matter how or where, Yue would always be her personal hero. Just by knowing this, Higoromo Hibiki felt saved. 

A thunderous silence. 

And thus, Tokisaki Kurumi died??. And thus, Tokisaki Kurumi woke up. 

As the girl left the factory, there was a multitude of dolls surrounding her. The rain had not stopped falling.

“Found you.” 

A battered doll was thrown away into a puddle of mud. It was the doll of Hiriyu Yue. To be precise, it was only her head. The tossed torso was incised with countless scars. It should be owed to their hatred towards the traitor. 

The girl squatted down and gently stroked the face of the doll. 

She didn’t dislike such people who would firmly keep their promises, regardless of whether it was a doll or Quasi-Spirit. 

“Where is Tokisaki Kurumi? If you don’t answer, we’ll torture you.” “……”

Silence. Although it was humorous that they had the time for such a remarks, she ignored them as she continued to gently stroke the doll. Her actions caused the other dolls to become irritated. 

“Like your best friend, it’s not bad to kill you after becoming a doll.” 

No response. 

Passing this frustration, as strange chill ran through the dolls. 

“Did you……hear?” 

No response. 

Because of the downpour, visibility was poor as none of the dolls could see her face. Posture, clothing, that was certainly Empty??no, wait.

“That gun, are you going to use it?” 

No response. 

The old fashioned pistol used by Tokisaki Kurumi was held tightly in her hands. 

And then finally, Empty responded. 

It was a wild laughter like coming from the pits of hell. 

Rather than frustration, as the fear reached a critical point, one of the dolls let out a strange scream and jumped up. 

Doll Master’s puppets even reproduced a pseudo copy of the Quasi-Spirits’ Astral Dress. Her

Astral Dress swirled up in flames as she propelled forward just like a rocket. 

In front of the doll that was rushing forward at a furious force, the girl, who should have been helpless, shot it down as easily as a fly. 

“……Ha?” 

The dolls roared. Watching this, Doll Master, for the first time in a while, felt an extremely unpleasant foreign object clogging her throat. 

“I hope you don’t misunderstand. I don’t have any particular strong feelings towards that doll.” 

That was true. After all, from her perspective, she was nothing more than someone completely unrelated to that doll. 

“So, I think the safest choice would be to leave here without any questions.” 

That was something that should be done regardless of how many people there were. 

“Just, well. How to describe it? I am somewhat impatient. But now, I’m already very angry. Whether it’s being caught in a troublesome manner, still everything about your existence is annoying and unbearable.” 

The tone was different. 

Even the voice was different. 

Looking closely, the reiryoku overflowing from her Astral Dress was incomparable from before. 

Calm down, the dolls told themselves. Tokisaki Kurumi was an imposter, a sham, a disguise used by Higoromo Hibiki; there were countless Quasi-Spirits that could manage this. 

Besides, even if it was one in ten thousand chance. No, the possibility of being a Spirit was one in a hundred million. With these numbers, it would be unmanageable to lose. 

Doll Master desperately tried to convince herself.

It was impossible to lose. Being that she was the Dominion of the Tenth Region?? At most it was feeling hesitant about a single person?? 

That can never be allowed! 

“All members commence the assault! Do it!” 

Without leaving or moving away, the girl greeted the assault by stretching her arms out. On one hand was a pistol while on the other was a long rifle. 

And behind her, a huge clock appeared. 

It was her Angel??the ruler of time and shadows <Zafkiel>. 

“No, just being annoyed isn’t enough to describe it. Sorry, I’ll use more concise and succinct

words??I want to kill you all.” 

Black and white began to change. 

Rather than mixing, it changed without stagnating. Swishing, rustling, as if making light of the surroundings. 

The soft bones of the various soldiers felt resigned to their death. Standing before their eyes was a beast that was a harbinger of death. 

What awaited them was a blood-soaked death. 

Setting the ancient pistol, devouring the shadowy bullet, that silhouette stood prominent among the shudders. 

Something that was difficult to distinguish, an inhuman outsider. 

Now come, scream in distress at this calamity. 

There was only an unshakable talent, the Dominion of time and shadows. That which comprised of one-tenth of the neighboring world. 

Her name was Tokisaki Kurumi. 

A lovely maiden who strived to be the worst and greatest Spirit in history. 

“I’ll carefully trample on (play with) you all. Riffraff.” 

Despair had begun. 

It wasn’t the case of Tokisaki Kurumi seriously fighting by herself?? Having the Worst Spirit as an opponent, these dolls weren’t even qualified.

Bullets were fired in quick succession from each hand. Each bullet accurately shot out the dolls’

Sephira fragments. After violently laughing, she once again reloaded her bullets. 

“First is the warm-up. <Zafkiel>??the First Bullet <Aleph>!” 

Kurumi shot the bullet at herself, charging in with the same momentum as a storm. 

The dolls approaching to slash at her fell into a panic at Kurumi’s sudden disappearance. “Where the hell is????!?”

A doll that should have been at the rear was blown apart and launched into the sky. 

The doll responsible for Ibusuki Panie’s vision was able to look back only a few moments later 

“……What, is this.” 

Accompanied by a bang, the doll was crushed on the floor. Kurumi slammed the doll under her feet. Aiming at its squirming head, Kurumi pulled the trigger. 

“What the hell!? What the hell is this!? This……monster!!” 

One after the other, the dolls were being minced and crushed. 

The dolls were neither singular nor plural but rather a collective army. An approaching doll waved a huge razor not for shaving off hair or a beard, but to cut open her arteries. 

Kurumi looked at her and smiled??biting the sharp blade with her teeth. 

“Kihi!” 

Blowing away the skull of the astonished doll, she spat out the razor from her mouth and kicked off against the ground. 

Flying at out a furious momentum, the razor pierced the forehead of a doll aiming at her with a rifle. 

“Say, didn’t I mention that? I’m playing around, that is what it means to fight against me, you

riffraff. So??hey? I hope that you can be more tenacious.” 

A doll crawled from behind unnoticed, silently to pierce her chest with a long spear. 

“Ara, ara.” 

“Kill!” “No, not yet!” “Collection!” “All members!” “Gather your power together!” 

With long handle angels (weapons) in their hands, the dolls approached forward. Long spears and sword constantly skewered Kurumi’s body. There was the feeling of her Sephira Crystal being crushed. 

“Got it!” 

The roar of joy??disappeared in an instant. 

“W, h……y……” 

What they had joyfully pierced was the doll that had tried to pierce Kurumi with a long spear from the very beginning. 

The dolls fell into a panic. The dolls that made up Ibusuki Panie suddenly remembered something. 

“Shadows……!” 

Yes, they had forgotten. Her ability allowed her to freely jump through space by using the shadows. 

“Disappeared!” “Where!?” “Not here!” “Not here as well!” “Not even here!” 

Not found, she was hidden somewhere in the shadows. 

“Don’t hesitate! Search, search, searc??” 

Kihihihihihihihihihi. 

Once again, Kurumi laughed. 

A chill pierced through their spines like a long spear. If the dolls had sweat glands, the cold sweat sprouted would have frozen from the mental pressure. 

That one doll had been dragged into shadows??it should have been like this after they excavated the Sephira Crystal and tossed it to the side. 

Crushing, shooting, harming, twisting, cutting, tearing, dismantling, beheading, striking, breaking, beating, collapsing, destroying, exploding, and trampling. 

Visually it was miserable to see, the dolls were constantly being destroyed. 

A single bullet was all that was needed completely stop a doll. Even if slipping through the shower of bullets and throwing down the gauntlet, they would only be dragged into the shadows. The same result would occur if they tried attacking from a distance. 

Can’t kill. Absolutely can’t kill that. 

For the dolls that make up an army that wouldn’t fear death as long as Doll Master’s instructions

were made, death was by no means a matter not to be concerned about. 

Still, they were proud of being the strongest, the strongest quantitative force. They believed so

long as hundreds of dolls attacked at once, there was no enemy that couldn’t be defeated. 

Even for a Spirit??Tokisaki Kurumi was no exception. Of course, it would be troublesome if she had some sort of tyrannical and unreasonable power like the other Spirits, but that obviously wasn’t the case. 

At most it was just manipulating the shadows……and using her gun to improve her physical

abilities. 

Wrong, completely wrong. 

It was fundamentally something not of that degree. 

Her ability was positioned much closer to the origin??it was the ability to rule over the world itself??!! 

Emerging from the shadows, Kurumi appeared. The fact that her abdomen was bleeding was source of comfort for the dolls. 

However, Kurumi enthusiastically shot herself with the short gun, the wound instantly recovered as if time had rerolled back. 

What is this? That recovery speed is ridiculous. 

Kurumi stared at Panie……or more specifically she peeped into the dolls hiding inside Panie’s

body. 

The dolls raised a shriek. 

“??Kihi.” 

A mocking laugh. 

Not being able to be seen until now, there was a clock in one of her eyes. Her expression seemed to reveal a wonderful delight. No, it was leaking out her delight right now. It was the type of joyful delight from the bottom of her heart that she was unable to stop herself from expressing. 

“Isn’t this fun? So much fun that it’s unbearable, right? After all, this is the same that you’ve done so far. Use overwhelming force to crush the enemy and enjoy the sight of them struggling and begging for mercy. ??Yes, yes, I don’t deny that this very fun.” 

The doll that slowly lurked behind her back??was shot down without her even turning around. Its skull and Sephira fragment were simultaneously shot just as Kurumi had finished speaking. 

“Only, well you didn’t seem to think you would become the target being trampled upon. Ah, ah, this can’t be done. That is terrible recognition. Anything done will be repudiated, that is heaven’s law for karma.” 

“……S-Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! There are only 300 dolls that you’ve defeated! There are

more than over 1500 Panie dolls left! You! Can’t! Win!” 

“Kihihihihihi! Don’t be so scared. Hey, adorable Panie-san. ??Let me inform you of something

good.” 

Pointing to the abandoned factory, Kurumi spoke. 

“Not long ago, the one who was using my powers as a skin was there.” “Wha??!?”

“But it doesn’t matter for me. If you want to get rid of her, please feel free.” While saying so, Kurumi jumped. Tap, she landed on top of the telephone poll. “……What are you thinking?”

As Panie asked with a timid expression, Kurumi let out a remarkably loud, loud laugh. 

“I want to head to Doll Master as soon as possible. But doing this, you might try to use her as a hostage and give some grandiose speech. I detest such troublesome things. If you want to kill her, please do so as soon as possible. For her, if she’s taken as hostage, she’ll probably want to

commit suicide.” 

Panie understood the real horror of what Kurumi had said. 

Using her ability and wearing it like skin?? “Then, then……don’t tell me you’re real?”

“Say, whether if that is true. Perhaps you’ll understand if you trying killing me some more? Even so, but……you’re boring me now. I’ll let you run away. Please escape with your tail tucked

between your legs.” 

“Don’t screw around!” “Kill her.” “Kill??” 

She shot it down. 

The doll whose head was shattered fell to the ground. The power to fight back no longer existed in these dolls. 

“Please be prepared to meet me. Or do you still think that the 100 dolls still here are enough to

destroy me?” 

The fighting spirit in these dolls had vanished. That also included the dolls still lurking inside Ibusuki Panie. She was a Spirit. It was only possible to defeat her by deploying the entire army. 

“Please choose your favorite option. ??To die here or to die by your master’s hand. Although there’s not much difference in terms of the end result.” 

Kihihihihihi, with that high pitched laughed, Kurumi smiled while disappearing into the rain. 

“Must head back!” “Must head back!” “Must hurry back quickly!” “She’ll be killed, she’ll be killed!” 

Ibusuki Panie could no longer decide. But, staying here meant certain death.” “Retreat! Protect the master! All remaining forces return to protect the master!” After all of them had left, Kurumi finally breathed out a sigh of relief.

Her legs were shaking. Suppressing her fierce heartbeat??she resisted the fatigue rushing into her body. Feeling disoriented, she could only avoid losing consciousness. 

“……It’s great that the IQ of a doll is so low.” 

The words from just now, most it had been entirely a bluff. The angel Kurumi used, <Zafkiel>,

had a terrifying power, but at the cost of the consumption of “time” being necessary. That is to say, it was also Tokisaki Kurumi’s lifespan.

For her, this consumption is fatal. 

“Although I’m used to eating human time……I didn’t expect to be eating the time of dolls on the verge of death.” 

Of the 280 dolls, only around 50 had their Sephira fragments completely crushed. The rest were preserved as much as possible during the state of battle. 

……Having said that, this was by no means benevolent. “Now…… itadakimasu. Safe travels, everyone.”

Kurumi invoked her terrifying ability. The <City of Devouring Time>, a boundary that absorbed

the “time” of anyone who stepped into her shadow. 

Kurumi didn’t hesitate as she mercilessly to absorb the time of the half-dead dolls. 

The poor feeling was even more than expected, so much so that she felt nauseous. This was not a doll, but a former human. A Quasi-Spirit to be exact, but for Kurumi who understood their creation, she still viewed them as a former human. 

So right now, she was killing 280 people. 

Of course, there were many excuses that could be made. Firstly, if she didn’t kill, she would be killed. Secondly, in order to survive, additional time was necessary. Thirdly, they could only live on in this wretched form with a distorted personality in blind servitude to Doll Master. 

For these reasons, Kurumi thought they should be killed. For these reasons, Kurumi hoped that they will be killed. Then. That was all. But there was still one problem.

“If that person sees this……what would he think?” 

The sight of being surrounded by a group of corpses. 

Anger??that shouldn’t be it Kurumi thought. Although he had a strong sense of ethics and

justice, I imagine he could determine that this situation couldn’t be helped. 

It would be better to say that he would even try to comfort her with a sad look. Not because of the death of the dolls, but because of the sadness in the choice Kurumi had chosen. 

If he did such a thing, he would surely be crying…… “I want to see you……”

That soliloquy faded away alongside the wind. Afterwards, Kurumi temporarily sealed away her own weak voice. Anyway, the number of deceased would continue to rise. 

She looked towards the abandoned factory that had been quiet. This place was no longer useful. 

She had retrieved her abilities, retrieved her appearance, retrieved her memories??no, wait a minute. 

“……Ara, ara, ara. How strange.” 

There was a lack of memories. I only know that I am Tokisaki Kurumi. I don’t even know the name of that person. Strange. I obviously like him, I like him very much, but I can’t even remember anything that he said. 

And why was she in the neighboring world? It was clear that she should have been in the living in the other world, the world that the Quasi-Spirits described as the world of humans. 

Dead??that wasn’t impossible. 

However, this was still very strange. Can a Spirit return to the neighboring world after death? 

That being said now was not the time for Kurumi to carefully consider that over. Fortunately, there was no part of the memory loss that served as an obstacle to fighting. 

It was better to describe this as further motivation necessary to achieve victory. 

……Speaking of which, Kurumi would also consider herself to be ruthless. It was in her nature

to take advantage of others believing her to be callous and brutal. 

However, because of this, she was absolutely unable to vilify their thoughts. 

They had provoked this battle of their own will and there was no room for Kurumi’s intervention. However, that girl had treated them as worthless. She not only regarded the wishes and hopes of those Quasi-Spirits as insignificant, she also made a mockery of them. 

That was something that couldn’t be forgiven. 

Because it couldn’t be forgiven, she was obliged to do this. 

“I’ll tear you to pieces little by little until the end of the very end.” 

She temporarily locked those memories in an important box. 

She prepared her resolution, now was the time to fight against the enemy that was out of touch with reality, to smash and make mincemeat out of the mistaken Dominion. 

“Let’s start now Doll Master.” 

A smile appeared on Tokisaki Kurumi’s face as the surrounding air was distorted by her low

voice. 

“Now??let’s begin our war (date).”