At this moment, Kurumi felt as if the entire world in front of her eyes was spinning. Being a smart girl, it was because of this that she understood the meaning behind Mio Suginomiya’s words almost instantly.
The Flame Sprite she had defeated earlier was her dear friend Sawa, and she... she had killed her with her own hands!
Not only that, aside from her classmate Sawa, the over fifty elves that she had defeated and eradicated while acting alongside Mio Suginomiya... they had all once been... human!!
"Uh...!!"
Her stomach began to spasm, and her heart beat fiercely as Kurumi staggered backward and fell to the ground. She clutched her mouth tightly with both hands, at a loss for what to do.
"Ah... AHHHHHH!!"
Kurumi could feel a pitch-black, terrifying emotion gradually eroding her heart, as if her entire being was turning inside out.
"...Chronos... Fourth Bullet!"
Enduring that terror and erosion, Kurumi barely summoned her angel and then raised her weapon to her head and pulled the trigger. The Fourth Bullet had the power to reverse the time of whoever it hit, and with this power, Kurumi finally broke free from the pitch-black erosion and successfully returned to the state "before despair."
"Oh my..."
Seeing this, Mio Suginomiya’s eyes widened as if she had witnessed something very rare.
"I truly didn’t expect that you could overcome inversion by your own strength—however, this really does help me out. It would have been troublesome if the finely refined Spirit Crystal returned to its original state."
"...Inversion? Finely refined...?"
Kurumi stared blankly at Mio Suginomiya, seemingly completely clueless about what she was saying. When Kurumi asked her question, Mio Suginomiya smiled and nodded slightly.
"Yes, I think you’ve already noticed, haven’t you? Elves are humans who received a Spirit Crystal—no, rather, they are humans to whom I distributed my power. Originally, the term ’elf’ was used only to refer to the original elves, mine."
"What... are you saying...?"
At this moment, Kurumi was completely at a loss for words, while Mio Suginomiya seemed unconcerned with Kurumi’s reaction and continued on her own.
"However, the original Spirit Crystals are incompatible with human Attribute Levels. If humans are forcibly endowed with those things, they would go berserk from being unable to control the power. Thus, to make the Spirit Crystals compatible with humans, refinement is necessary. After refinement, if you give a Spirit Crystal to a person with adaptability, they can become an elf while completely maintaining their sense of self... just like you, right?"
At this point, Kurumi no longer cared about elves or not being elves; instead, she was more concerned about another word in Mio Suginomiya’s speech.
"Refinement... could it be...?"
"That’s right."
Mio Suginomiya’s expression remained unchanged as if what she had done was nothing noteworthy.
"It’s through the bodies of humans, of course. Naturally, humans who initially receive a Spirit Crystal will go berserk, but after repeating the process several times, the Spirit Crystals that are filtered and recycled from the bodies at the end become very clean. But honestly, recycling Spirit Crystals is really troublesome; having you around was truly a big help."
Having heard this, Kurumi finally understood.
No, she no longer had room to escape.
If Kurumi had ever held a sliver of Fantasy, thinking there might be some misunderstanding in all this, now she was certain—the girl before her eyes was the prime culprit behind everything. She created the berserk elves, then manipulated her into becoming one, and then repeated the cycle of killing over and over again, and all of this...
"Why? Why all of this!!" Kurumi’s question was nearly one of despair.
In response to Kurumi’s question, Mio Suginomiya simply shook her head.
"I’m sorry, I don’t bear you any malice, but I can’t stop now, not until I entrust all the Spirit Crystals to humans."
After saying this, Mio Suginomiya raised her hand.
"So, goodnight, Kurumi, thank you for everything up until now."
"Wait..."
But Kurumi’s words were cut off, for in the next instance, she suddenly lost consciousness.
When Kurumi woke up again, she had forgotten everything. She had lost her memories, remembering only her name, her angel, and her abilities. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the center of a street in ruins and the attack of the Magician that followed.
"Ah...!"
Startled by the sudden attack, Kurumi nearly instinctively dived into the shadows, escaping from the Magicians’ assault. However, even so, Kurumi could not remember, she knew nothing, understood nothing. But that did not mean she had no way out.
"Chronos... Tenth Bullet."
With the Tenth Bullet, one could obtain memories of the target’s past. That meant...
At this thought, Kurumi aimed at herself and then fired.
"Bang!"
The next moment, all the lost memories came back.
The girl she had once met—Mio Suginomiya.
The humans she had been deceived into killing.
And her dear friend... that she had killed with her own hands...
"AAAAHHHH!!"
At this moment, Kurumi finally broke down in tears, kneeling on the ground and letting the tears stream down her cheeks. Sadness and anger emerged from the depths of her heart. Regret, despair, none of it mattered now. What had happened had happened, but as long as she was still here, there was a chance to right it all.
She would make everything start over again, no matter what the cost might be.
Even if her hands were stained with blood, she would change everything that had happened.
Mr. Fang Zheng opened his eyes.
By his side, Yoshino was already kneeling on the ground, curled up and shaking, while Kurumi before him watched with sad eyes.
"So you understand now, Mr. Fang Zheng? For this goal, I’m willing to sacrifice everything."
But Fang Zheng didn’t immediately answer Kurumi’s question. Instead, he bent down and gathered Yoshino into his arms.
"Yoshino... are you alright?"
"I... I don’t know, Mr. Fang Zheng..."
Feeling Fang Zheng’s warmth, Yoshino was like a lost kitten that had finally found her family, burying her head in his embrace.
"I... am not an Elf... I used to be human... the Spirit Crystal within me... has killed so many people... I... I really don’t know what to do..."
"This is not your fault, Yoshino."
Gently stroking Yoshino’s hair, Fang Zheng whispered words of comfort.
"You and Kurumi are both victims here; none of this is your doing. Don’t worry, I’ll be by your side. I’ve told you, just trust me... okay?"
"Mmm... mmm..."
An hour had passed by the time Fang Zheng returned to the living room.
As Fang Zheng expected, Yoshino was close to breaking down after learning the truth. If not for his constant comfort, the inherently kind and fragile girl might have collapsed. With no other choice, Fang Zheng had to take her back to her room, and only after she fell asleep from exhaustion did he rejoin the others.
"That child really is kind, to think it’s not her fault at all."
"That’s Yoshino for you."
In response to Kurumi’s emotional comment, Fang Zheng replied casually, then turned his gaze to Kurumi, who was sitting on the sofa.
"So... what do you want to do now? Kurumi? Kill Mio Suginomiya for revenge?"
"No, I want to go back to the past."
Kurumi lifted her head, looking straight at Fang Zheng, and spoke word by word.
"I want to kill Mio Suginomiya at the source, make it so that all of this never happened. Only by doing so can I atone for my sins."
"So you need a large amount of Spiritual Power?"
"Exactly. Using Chronos to go back thirty years requires a lot of Spiritual Power, and even staying there will consume a significant amount of power. That’s why I’ve been collecting Spiritual Power from everywhere. And now... I’ve found a way to replenish it."
While speaking, Kurumi looked towards Fang Zheng—or more specifically, towards his Zero Hour Resurgence.
"After that, it’s just a matter of time."
"Mmm... that’s true, indeed..."
After hearing Kurumi’s explanation, Fang Zheng finally understood why she had to do all this. Still, he felt that there were some issues...
"But..."
"But what?"
"Kurumi."
At that moment, a terrifying possibility crossed Fang Zheng’s mind. He raised his head, looking at the girl before him.
"... your Fourth Bullet helps to stabilize your spirit, right?"
"Yes... you’ve seen it."
"Then I advise you to prepare yourself right now."
"Huh?"
Kurumi was slightly stunned upon hearing this.
"What do you mean?"
"No... I’ve just realized a problem, and... it might have a huge impact on you. So just in case, I think it’s better if you prepare yourself in advance."
"A problem? What problem..."
Facing Fang Zheng’s reply, Kurumi’s expression turned serious. She quickly raised her weapon and loaded another Fourth Bullet.
"Although I can use more Spiritual Power now, I hope you don’t make me waste a bullet... no, maybe it’s better if it’s wasted..."
As she spoke, Kurumi’s face showed a hint of unease. The last time she used the Fourth Bullet to stabilize her spirit was after witnessing her friend’s dead body. And now Fang Zheng was asking her to prepare herself again... could there really be something even more despairing than that?
"So Kurumi, just to confirm once more. Mio Suginomiya gives others power and abilities by bestowing them with Spirit Crystals, thus transforming them into Elves, right?"
"That’s right."
"And your plan is to go back to before Mio Suginomiya transformed anyone into an Elf and kill her, thereby erasing all of this, right?"
"Exactly."
Kurumi nodded, looking at Fang Zheng with clenched fists.
"So, what’s the problem?"
"I have just one question."
Fang Zheng stared at Kurumi and then extended a finger towards her.
"So, how can you be so sure that the Spirit Crystal inside you doesn’t come from yourself?"
"What do you mean? The Spirit Crystal inside me obviously belongs to me..."
As she spoke, Kurumi suddenly froze.
Because in that moment, she finally understood the true meaning behind Fang Zheng’s words.

Comments

Loading...