At the very moment Kurumi's final strike was released, the effect of the Seventh Bullet ended, and Kotori's body regained movement.
"...!"
In that instant when time began to flow again, the countless wounds covering Kotori's body erupted with blood all at once.
However, before she could even react to the pain, a bullet fired from Kurumi's flintlock at point-blank range pierced between her brows. Her small body fell backward, and scarlet blood dyed the icy rooftop red.
Perhaps due to the power of the Spirit of Flame, the ice layer on the rooftop began to melt rapidly as Kotori's blood seeped into it.
"Kotori...!"
Shido cried out in anguish and tried to rush forward to hold his fallen sister in his arms.
But he couldn't.
Not only were there two Kurumis restraining his movements from behind, but even if there weren't, he simply couldn't move forward.
Right now, Kotori's entire body—pierced full of bullets while time was stopped—was in tatters despite her Astral Dress's protection. Her delicate frame looked utterly ruined, like a leaf withering in autumn wind, as if it could collapse into dust at any moment.
It was a sight that gave no hope of survival.
Seeing his sister's disfigured form, Shido blankly placed both hands on the ground, his eyes empty, tears falling without end.
"Kotori... ah..."
"...So that's how it is."
For an instant, Tianqi Sanluo (Apocalypse Sanluo) fell into a daze.
Normally, with her usual temperament, she would have mocked him mercilessly at such a sight.
But looking at the ruined body of Itsuka Kotori lying on the ground, she suddenly recalled something — her own sister's corpse in her previous life, lying on a snowfield, the flesh completely devoured by wolves, her hollow body filled only by drifting snow.
If not for the iconic hair ribbon atop that skull, Sanluo might never have believed that it was her sister.
She remembered how, with her last bit of warmth, she had cried frozen tears as she used her frostbitten hands to rebuild her sister's outline from snow, shaping her body to resemble a human once more before burying her hastily.
After that, she lost her way in the snowfield and was killed — only to be reborn into this world.
Though this world was different, the grief engraved deep in her heart was reborn with her into this strange new life.
"My sister... she also tied her long hair into twin tails with a ribbon she picked up..."
As she thought that, the cold, blurry figure of her sister—whose face she could no longer recall—began to overlap with the image of this red-clad Spirit girl before her.
In her trance, Sanluo took a step forward.
"No... what am I thinking?"
Realizing how uncharacteristically shaken she was, Sanluo quickly shook her head, forcibly pulling herself out of the pain of the past.
"She's dead. It's all over."
"Hehehe... hehehehe, ahahaha... ahh... ahhh... it's over, isn't it? To think I finally met a strong opponent. The world is heartless! The world is impermanent!"
Kurumi spun in circles like an actress performing on stage, laughing mockingly all the while.
Normally, Sanluo would've said something sarcastic to match Kurumi's theatrics, but upon hearing that laugh, she felt only disgust — which, after a moment, faded away.
"Well, it's all over... huh? That Spirit's mana... something's off."
Sanluo's brow furrowed as she suddenly sensed the abnormal flow of Kotori's spiritual energy.
"Alright then, next up is you, Shido-san. I—"
But Kurumi abruptly stopped talking.
She froze, staring in astonishment at Kotori's body lying on the ground.
Not only Kurumi — Shido too was stunned by what he saw.
"Th-this is..."
Blue-and-red intertwined flames burst from all over Kotori's wounds, licking across her entire body. Wherever the flames touched, her flesh visibly regenerated before their eyes.
Shido had seen this before — no, he had experienced it himself.
Now, he finally understood why Kotori had said she needed to temporarily reclaim her power.
"...Honestly, you didn't hold back at all, did you?"
Using the strength of her heels, Kotori unnaturally pushed herself upright.
In mere moments, all of her wounds — and even her Astral Dress — had been restored completely, as if her near-death moments earlier had been nothing but a dream.
"Wha—"
Kurumi, frightened by the sight, stepped back with a frown.
"I'm sorry, but attacks like that can't completely take me down. Of course, if my recovery frightens you enough to make you lose the will to fight, that would be even better."
Noticing Kurumi's reaction, Kotori raised Camael (the Flaming Angel) toward her, speaking with a light tone.
"...Hmph! Don't—mock me!"
Kurumi shouted and turned both gun barrels behind her.
Her left eye's clock face spun wildly, and from the Roman numeral "Ⅰ" on Zafkiel's (Clockwork Emperor's) dial, countless shadows seeped out, all being absorbed into her guns.
At that moment, Sanluo opened her mouth slightly as if to say something — but ultimately stayed silent.
"—[First Bullet]!"
A storm of shadow bullets struck the remaining Kurumi clones hovering near the rooftop.
Dozens of bullets fired in rapid succession — and Kurumi saved the last one for herself.
Apparently, she planned to use her numbers and speed advantage to overwhelm Kotori.
But no matter how fast she became, the power of her bullets had a limit. There was no way to kill a Spirit like Kotori in one blow — unless she engaged in close combat... which was basically suicide.
"—Tch!"
Kotori clicked her tongue in annoyance and kicked backward — only to hit empty air.
Turning her head, she saw a bewildered Shido being dragged by Sanluo toward the far edge of the rooftop, away from the battlefield.
"Oh my, Miss Tianqi really is dependable."
"!! Tianqi Sanluo, you—"
"Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't lay a finger on Shido. I just cleared some space so the unrelated personnel could evacuate."
Saying that, Sanluo casually dealt with the two Kurumi clones who had been restraining Shido, twisting off their heads and tossing them down the building. Then she pressed Shido against the wire fence, forcing him to watch the battle with her.
"Let go of me! Let—"
"You talk too much."
Sanluo delivered a karate chop to Shido's neck, knocking him out cold.
Having learned from the last time she dealt with the "Ma Ji washing stockings trio," she estimated he'd be unconscious for several hours this time.
"...Tch."
Kotori didn't have time to care whether Sanluo was telling the truth or not — Kurumi's attacks were becoming fiercer by the second. She couldn't afford to be distracted.
And since Shido had been moved to a safe zone at the edge of the rooftop, under Sanluo's "protection," Kurumi wouldn't dare attack recklessly and risk killing him.
Thus, Kotori chose to trust Sanluo for now and focused entirely on Kurumi.
As for Kurumi, she didn't respond to Sanluo's interference — she, too, didn't want to risk killing Shido by mistake while fighting the Spirit of Flame.
"Come, Camael (Flaming Angel)!"
Kotori roared, and the blade of her massive axe swelled several times in size. The arc of fire widened, sweeping across a vast range.
One after another, Kurumi's clones were slashed, split, and pierced by the fiery blade, their bodies turning to ash.
"Ugh..."
With a groan of pain, the real Kurumi managed to retreat from Kotori's vicinity — but a massive burn stretched from her shoulder down to her abdomen.
"You! You—!"
Kurumi seemed truly furious now, instantly activating the Fourth Bullet to heal her wound.
Meanwhile, all the remaining clones flying around Kotori were consumed by fire and vanished into ash, carried away by the wind.
The situation was now overwhelmingly unfavorable for Kurumi.
Kotori's close-combat strength and regeneration made her unstoppable. Kurumi's attacks could no longer deal effective damage, while Kotori's every strike left her gravely injured.
No matter how you looked at it, the outcome was already decided.
"My my, is it over already? That was even easier than I expected! I wouldn't have minded if you'd taken this a bit more seriously, you know?"
With a scoff, Kotori rested her giant axe on her shoulder.
Hearing that, Kurumi's facial muscles twisted violently, her teeth grinding.
Her left eye's clock face began to spin faster than ever before.
Sensing something wrong, Kotori raised her enormous axe high above her head. But—
"—Ah!"
A faint cry escaped her throat as Kotori suddenly dropped to her knees.