"Why cover up such a beautiful eye?"
Easily dodging Kurumi's attack, Ryuya instantly appeared in front of her. Before the girl could even react, he gently lifted the strands of hair that always covered her left eye, where Zafkiel resided, and spoke softly.
"You bastard..."
Never having been approached so intimately before, Kurumi felt her entire being heat up upon Ryuya's closeness.
She didn't know this was the influence of the Kabbalah Tree of Life on Spirits.
Her face slightly flushed, and she abruptly retreated.
"Just who are you?"
"Me? The prerequisite for exchanging information is that you tell me everything you know about the Spirit of Origin."
Looking at Kurumi with great interest, Ryuya's calm demeanor only made Kurumi more displeased. It was as if his earlier teasing was just casual banter, while she was the one overreacting.
"Hehehe, I see. So teasing girls is something that makes you this happy?"
"Making me angry, displaying your strength… is that your goal?"
Letting out a cold laugh, Kurumi, who trusted no humans or friends at all, was deeply aware that the only one she could trust was herself.
Recalling her past experiences, she resolved absolutely, positively, never to let anyone disturb her heart again.
"Aleph (First Bullet)."
First Bullet could accelerate the struck target, achieving an effect similar to teleportation. This time, Kurumi aimed the gun not at Ryuya, but at herself.
With the sound of the gunshot, she vanished from her spot at a speed vastly different from before, closing in on Ryuya.
Thud!
That was the sound of Kurumi's spiritual power striking Ryuya.
'This feeling... I hit him. But this sound?'
Frowning, Kurumi was sure she had hit her target, but what she struck didn't feel like flesh… it felt more like incredibly solid steel.
In that moment of hesitation, she saw a hand emerge from the smoke, aiming directly for her throat.
"You...!"
Instinctively retreating, Ryuya's hand followed Kurumi like a homing missile, impossible to evade.
"Your ability is interesting, but too slow."
Stopping his hand just a finger's breadth away from Kurumi's throat, Ryuya flicked her forehead lightly and smiled, "You're not my match yet, Kurumi."
"Don't get cocky, you bastard!"
Never having faced such a setback… this Tokisaki Kurumi, seven years before the main story, was still in her somewhat Chuunibyo Phase with a dark history… she felt extremely irritated by Ryuya's taunts and his nonchalant attitude. She activated her Shadow Domain, summoning countless clones.
"Let's see you handle this!"
Snorting coldly, following the main Kurumi's command, countless Kurumi clones charged at Ryuya.
Unfazed by the surrounding clones, Ryuya simply shifted his body slightly to dodge the attacks of two clones.
"These clones of yours, while similar in ability to you, lack Zafkiel, creating an absolute gap. They might work for confusion, but as a main offensive method, they're rather lacking."
Dodging another pincer attack from two more clones, Ryuya casually caught another clone that rushed towards him, holding her in his arms.
"Lovely lady, could you tell me how much you know about Mio?"
Each clone possessed independent consciousness and memories, which could be shared with the main body, but Kurumi usually didn't share memories with her clones, as it was a bit tiring.
Feeling her heartbeat quicken the moment Ryuya held her, the Kurumi clone's first reaction was to blush.
"Scoundrel!"
She actually wanted to say 'pervert', but sticking to her Chuunibyou character, she changed her wording at the last moment.
"Bastard, let her go!"
Seeing her clone held in Ryuya's embrace, Kurumi clearly became agitated.
"Can't handle this already?"
Releasing the Kurumi clone in his arms, Ryuya directly used his magical energy pressure to turn the surroundings into his own domain.
As the main Kurumi and the other clones were pressed to the ground by his aura, he looked at Kurumi helplessly, "I merely acted a bit lustful and frivolous, and you lost your composure. Your attack rhythm and methods were all influenced by my words. You're far too unqualified like this."
All his frivolity towards Kurumi had been deliberate. Seeing Kurumi controlled by her emotions, Ryuya sighed.
"Who are you, really?"
From their exchange, Kurumi could tell she was no match for the man, but she had no idea DEM or AST had someone this powerful.
Pursing her lips slightly, the restrained Kurumi suddenly found her body free again.
"Questions like 'who am I'... I'll tell you when you can defeat me."
During the fight, Ryuya detected that the spiritual power fluctuations on the girl were bestowed by Mio.
He was certain of Mio's spiritual signature.
He didn't understand why Mio was creating Spirits, but he knew better than to expect useful information about Mio from Kurumi, as Mio's whereabouts certainly weren't something Kurumi could know.
"When I can defeat you? You'd better be ready then."
Humming dismissively, knowing she couldn't beat Ryuya, Kurumi realized this man was indeed different from those guys at DEM.
Recalling all her clones, she sank into her Shadow Domain, preparing to leave. But before she disappeared completely...
"Hey, your name... what is it?"
Looking at Ryuya, the corner of Kurumi's mouth twitched upwards slightly, but she suppressed it.
"Takami Ryuya."
Ryuya said.
"Is that so? Then I'll remember it."
"Ryuya-san, congratulations. From now on, you are my, Tokisaki Kurumi's target. Please be prepared to be killed by me at any time."
Giving Ryuya a deep look, Kurumi's figure vanished from before him... or so it seemed!
Raising an eyebrow, Ryuya didn't bother with Kurumi watching him from afar. He felt hungry and needed to find something good to eat.