"Aiyaa, aiyaa, not bad at all. You actually broke through the protection of my astral dress, but this time I won't be defeated by you." Smiling as she glanced at the suddenly appearing Mana Takamiya, Kurumi Tokisaki calmly looked at her bare arm.
"Nightmare, today I will defeat you completely so you can never resurrect again." Coldly staring at Kurumi before her, Mana didn't say anything more and instead drew her energy greatsword and charged forward.
"Dalet." Seeing Mana rushing toward her, Kurumi didn't attack right away but instead activated her angel again. Instantly, the corresponding number on Zafkiel glowed with black-purple light. Then she pointed her gun at her own head and fired. In a moment, her severed arm flew back and reattached to her shoulder.
"What incredible regeneration!" Mana exclaimed in awe at the sight, but she still rushed forward.
"Aiyaa, this isn't healing, you know." Kurumi smiled as she glanced at Mana, who was slashing her sword toward Kurumi's head. Then she instantly vanished from the spot and fired a shot before Mana could react.
"Ah!" With a pained cry, Mana was knocked backward by the shot. But the bullet didn't cause much damage, it only broke her spatial field. Even so, Mana had no intention of retreating and immediately charged again, in a flash arriving in front of Kurumi once more.
"Ara, ara, you're such a stubborn little girl, aren't you? Hehe, ahahaha." Watching Mana rush up again, Kurumi let out a loud, arrogant laugh. Then she disappeared again, reappeared behind Mana, and kicked her hard. Then she vanished and reappeared in the path Mana was flying through the air and kicked again. Just like when Lee opened the Eight Gates against Gaara, Mana was smacked repeatedly in the air without touching the ground. Of course, Kurumi wasn't relying on physical speed like Lee, but the acceleration of Aleph.
"Aiyaa, you're really weak." Perhaps growing bored, Kurumi appeared in front of Mana again.
"Seventh Bullet (Zayin)." Mana was not like Tohka and knew nothing of Kurumi's angel powers. Even if she had known, she likely didn't have Tohka's reflexes. So, facing this attack, she didn't manage to dodge and was struck by the bullet, her body instantly turning black and white.
"Ahahaha." Kurumi burst into crazed laughter at the sight of Mana, then raised her gun and aimed it at her.
Bang, bang, bang. Several bullets hit Mana's limbs, and Kurumi calmly landed. Mana fell from the air and collapsed near Tohka, unconscious.
"As I thought, this little girl is still too green." Although everything happened very fast, only a few seconds had passed. Tohka hadn't even had time to come to her aid before Mana was defeated. Still, she let out a breath of relief, because Kurumi hadn't killed her. Though Mana was badly injured, her life wasn't in danger.
"Ara, ara, it looks like you're just too weak right now, Tohka." Ignoring Mana on the ground, Kurumi aimed her weapon at Tohka again, her red and golden eyes shining brilliantly. "Come now, come—let's merge into one, then my wish can be fulfilled and we can always be together."
"Don't be ridiculous. Do you really think you can kill the First Spirit? You probably don't even know the full information about the Origin Spirit. So how can you speak of revenge? And you likely have no idea how powerful she really is. Without knowing that, you think you can beat her?" Facing Kurumi's weapon, Tohka wasn't nervous. Instead, she smiled back at Kurumi.
"What are you saying? How much do you know?" Kurumi's movements instantly froze. She stared at Tohka in disbelief, realizing she might know even more than she'd ever imagined.
"I know your Tenth Bullet can peep into my memories, but I advise you not to do that." Tohka swayed as she stood. Because she had expended so much power earlier, she truly had no strength left to fight Kurumi. And she didn't think her words alone could persuade her. So, she had no choice but to drop a bombshell. She knew that compared to all the usual nonsense about wanting a normal life, this was what mattered most to Kurumi. But seeing Kurumi blinking her big eyes, Tohka quickly added another warning.
If she were hit by the Tenth Bullet, she would absolutely reverse in seconds right in front of her. Her Inverse self was already awake and closely watching the situation outside. If Tohka weren't suppressing her, she'd have rushed out to stretch her limbs long ago.
"Kurumi Tokisaki, take this!" Just as Kurumi hadn't replied yet, the door to the rooftop burst open. Origami Tobiichi and Shido Itsuka, wearing their combat equipment, rushed inside. They immediately saw Tohka facing off with Kurumi and Mana collapsed on the ground. But Origami, ever the Spirit-hater, didn't hesitate—she charged straight for Kurumi.
"Mana, are you okay?" Shido, however, had a different focus. Seeing Tohka battered but not seriously hurt, he sighed in relief. Then he noticed Mana lying on the ground and rushed over.
"She's fine, just unconscious. You'd better leave quickly—don't stay here any longer." Glancing at Shido kneeling beside his sister, Tohka spoke calmly. Then she looked toward Origami and muttered, "This girl always has to rush in first. Does she really want to be First-Blood Origami?"
She wasn't joking. She really didn't want to fight Kurumi to the death. She only wanted to negotiate. But these two had ruined her plan by barging in.
"Ara, ara, another one with no sense of self-preservation?" Frowning at Origami charging at her, Kurumi was growing impatient. All she wanted now was to get more information from Tohka, but this woman was getting in the way.
Kurumi's shadow spread out under her feet, and dozens of Kurumi clones leaped forth. Some blocked Origami, and others surrounded Tohka and Shido. Shadowy hands reached out and pinned Shido, who was holding Mana, in place. Around Tohka, several Kurumi aimed their guns at her, trapping her in the center.
"...This Origami is really looking for trouble, dragging me into this too." Tohka was exasperated, glancing around at the circle of Kurumi clones. She was so annoyed—Origami really was a useless teammate. Now even Kurumi's big moves were coming out, and in no time, Origami had been beaten to the ground by the clones. She lay there helpless, unable to stand up.
"Ara, ara, little Tohka, don't be so anxious." Kurumi looked pleased as she watched everyone being easily subdued. She nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Shido and slowly walked over. "Ara, ara, I originally wasn't interested in you, but since you couldn't stay put and came to me, don't blame me—hehehe. Since it's come to this, let me consume you. Though you're worth much less than Tohka, it's still enough to fulfill my goal."
"Damn it—why is she suddenly targeting Shido?" Tohka frowned. She hadn't expected this development. She knew she couldn't just stand by any longer. If Kurumi kept this up, who knew what would happen? If she hurt the people upstairs, it would be trouble.
"Hmph, hey—don't bother reclaiming your power. Let me out to stretch. My sword is practically rusting." Just as Tohka prepared to retrieve her powers from Shido's body, her inverse self-spoke up.
"Hey—are you just planning to come out here to eat?" Tohka knew her other self too well. Compared to herself, this one was even closer to the original Tohka. She might look like a cool queen, but in reality, she was a lazy glutton—just a bit more aloof than the canon version. In Tohka's eyes, she was basically the same.
"Haha, what are you talking about? Pay attention—this is a battlefield." The Inverse Tohka stammered, trying to change the topic. But Tohka could already imagine her other self-blushing.
"Fine—are you ready... Wait a second." Just as she was about to release her, Tohka sensed an intense, burning aura rapidly approaching. Knowing who it was, she quickly stopped her inverse self.
Boom. As expected, a pillar of flame fell from the sky, crashing toward Kurumi. But Kurumi reacted swiftly, nimbly dodging the attack. Everyone present—except Tohka and the unconscious Mana—stared in shock toward the source of the flames.
They saw a girl descending from the sky, wearing a red kimono like a feathered robe and a white horned headdress, carrying a massive flaming axe. Flames swirled around her, and even from this distance Tohka could feel the searing heat.
"This Kotori really is a half-finished product—always on the verge of losing control." Watching Kotori descend, Tohka frowned. Compared to herself, Yoshino, Kurumi, and Miku, Kotori gave off a wild, unstable aura. She knew Kotori was half out of control, though she was still managing to restrain it. Otherwise, Reine would have already intervened to eliminate her.
She wasn't making that up. Reine had given the Sephira Crystals to others before, and whenever they lost control, she would find a way to kill them. The previous Fire Spirit had been Kurumi's good friend, and Kurumi herself and Reine had taken her down. That was one of the reasons Kurumi was so desperate to go back. In a way, it was funny—Kurumi really was a lot like Emiya Shirou, dreaming of becoming a champion of justice.
One person in particular was staring wide-eyed—Origami Tobiichi. She locked her gaze on Kotori, killing intent spilling from her eyes. But wounded as she was, she could do nothing. Otherwise, she would have charged right in. She still remembered clearly that the fire five years ago had been caused by this Spirit.
"…Kotori." Staring blankly at Kotori descending from the sky, Shido could hardly believe his eyes. In his mind, Spirits were all otherworldly girls.
"Hmph, don't get in my way." Kurumi's eyes flickered, remembering her friend. But she quickly suppressed her feelings and snorted coldly.
"Zafkiel." The giant clock appeared behind Kurumi again, and she raised her gun to aim at Kotori.
"Fourth Bullet (Dalet)." A bullet struck Kotori, and time around her nearly froze.