Chapter 185 Shidou meeting Phantom

About five minutes later, Katsu and Shidou were hiding in the grass at the park, with Shidou staring at the swing.

Sitting on the swing was a girl with her hair tied into two ponytails, she was probably seven or eight years old at most. Her cute face showed a melancholy expression, and she swung on the swing as if she was bored, causing the swing to make a squeaking sound.

No matter which one of them was, there was no way they could have been wrong - that was Kotori from five years ago.

"Kotori..." Shidou couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he saw her listless expression. He remembered that this day should be Kotori's birthday, but he had no memory of what happened specifically...

"Shidou... Now you are a complete perverted sister-con!"

"…You have no right to say that to me!" Shidou responded with a humming voice, as he was touched on a point that was so important to him.

But in fact, if someone saw a high school boy hiding in the bushes of the park and staring at an elementary school girl, it would immediately cause trouble. I guess flyers with suspicious person information will be distributed throughout the town tomorrow to remind residents to be vigilant.

However, Shidou did not want to imprint the fleeting brilliance of young Kotori on his retina.

He is--waiting.

Waiting for the [phantom] to appear next to Kotori.

"That being said, this is indeed a good idea. It's a rare opportunity for you to use your rusty head."

"… …" Shidou was speechless.

At this time, Kurumi's voice appeared in Katsu and Shidou's minds at the same time: "It is indeed a good idea. If we can drive away the [Phantom] before Origami appears, she will lose her original target..."

"--If it's possible... I want to talk to him." Subconsciously, Shidou blurted out as if talking to himself.

"Talk? With [Phantom]?" Katsu turned his head and looked at Shidou in surprise.

"Oh? Katsu-san has realized that his life is worthless, so he chooses to die?" Kurumi also expressed some surprise, but her words were not so polite.

"… …" Shidou's face suddenly turned dark.

"Ahahaha... Kurumi is just joking, don't take it seriously." Katsu came out to smooth things over and tilted his head to look at Shidou: "But speaking of which, Shidou, you have no hostility towards [Phantom]...?"

"...Of course, he's the one who turned Kotori and the others into spirits. I don't deny that I have hostility towards him... But the point is that I know nothing about the [Phantom]. If I were to conclude that he's evil at this stage, wouldn't that be the same as someone who only sees Kotori and the others as a disaster?"

After Shidou finished speaking, Katsu beside him and Kurumi in his mind fell silent.

After a while --- "Haha! Ahahaha!" Kurumi couldn't help laughing. Then Katsu also shook his head and laughed.

"What...what happened?"

"Nothing... I just feel that you are too kind sometime"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kurumi in his mind immediately said: "However, I don't recommend you do this. His personality is unpredictable. It's okay for a good guy like Shidou-san, but it would be bad if he drags down Katsu-kun."

"… …" Shidou's face darkened even more. This couple teamed up to bully him… …

"Tsk, what? Even if it is..." Shidou stopped talking halfway. The reason was simple. Because in front of him, a strange visitor appeared beside Kotori who was playing alone in the park.

"Something" of unknown age, gender, and body shape.

However, that was only natural, because "that thing" seemed to be hiding the information on the surface, and was covered with something like noise.

──[Phantom], turns Kotori, Miku and Origami into spirits.

And now, he appeared in front of Kotori.

"..." Seeing his posture, Shidou felt a tingling sensation on his skin, because the painful expression of Kotori when she turned into the spirit [Flame Demon] appeared in Shidou's mind---

Katsu's eyes widened even more - this was the first time he saw [Phantom]... ...or rather, it was the first time he saw in person. Strictly speaking, this was the second time he saw him - because the first time was when Tengu City was facing the crisis of seven satellites falling...

Katsu felt a little confused.

"Katsu-kun? Are you okay?" Kurumi's voice sounded in his mind at the right time.

"Ah... I'm fine." Katsu took a deep breath, indicating that he was fine, and at the same time grabbed Shidou's wrist with one hand: "Shidou, don't be anxious, at least, you can't stop Kotori's spirit transformation---"

"Yeah...I know."

Shidou let out a long breath to keep calm, and crossed his arms to suppress his trembling body. His nails dug into his upper arms, and blood oozed slightly. He couldn't stop Kotori from becoming a spirit---both Katsu and he knew this.

… …

From the perspective of Katsu and Shidou.

──[Phantom] talked to Kotori for a few words, then took out something that looked like a ruby ​​and gave it to Kotori.

Then, the moment Kotori touched the gem, a faint light emanated from her body.

"Ah…Ah…Ah…Ah…Ah…Ah…!" Kotori screamed in pain. At the same time, a fierce heat wave rolled up around her, and a vortex of flames rose up.

"… …" Katsu's pupils shrank slightly, he clenched his fists, and his veins bulged slightly… If it weren't for the reason in his heart and the fact that [Phantom] had helped him before, he would definitely rush out and give her a piece of his mind.

And Shidou was not much better than Katsu. He lowered his body and held his breath. He couldn't bear to see Kotori in pain, so he closed his eyes---

Then, a heat wave came, and soon it disappeared.

Shidou opened his eyes tremblingly, and saw Kotori. She was wearing a spiritual outfit that looked like a kimono.

That's right──Kotori turned into the fire spirit [Flame].

"Kotori... I'm sorry." Shidou murmured bitterly, revealing a sharp gaze.

Katsu also took a few deep breaths and suppressed the urge to kill the mosaic.

At this time, Shidou first glanced at Katsu who was supporting himself on the ground with his weak hands, and then seemed to have made up his mind.

"Katsu, wait for me for a moment---"

"Hmm?" Katsu looked at Shidou in confusion, but Shidou stood up and rushed in the direction where the [Phantom] left---

"Shidou!" Katsu was startled and called out Shidou's name. He wanted to get up and chase after him, but he felt a pain and staggered, unable to stand up.

"That guy!" Katsu gritted his teeth. Of course, he could guess why Shidou rushed over alone. It was simply because he wanted to know why [Phantom] did all of this and wanted to test his reaction. 

On the other side, Shidou rushed behind his [Phantom] which was some distance away from the park.

"--Hey!" Shidou yelled at the top of his lungs.

"…Hmm—?" Then, a distorted voice that could not be distinguished as male or female rang out from the Phantom.

At this moment, the blurred mosaic-shaped outline standing in the field of vision seemed to move slightly.

Apparently, the [Phantom] turned its neck and looked towards Shidou.

Shidou followed his movements, exhaled a long breath, and glared fiercely at the part of the [Phantom] that corresponded to its face.

"Hi, I've been wanting to see you for a long time──[Phantom]." Then he called the name of the noise in front of him in a calm voice.

There was no sarcasm or other meaning in this sentence. Shidou really wanted to meet this [Phantom] once. Since he learned that this monster could use the power beyond common sense and absurdity of [turning humans into spirits] without any concern for others, he did not know what to do.

This is the culprit who turned Kotori, Miku, and Origami into spirits and spread chaos and destruction to the world.

However, the [Phantom] responded to Shidou's words, surprising him.

"Huh?" [Phantom] made a small sound and shook its body slightly.

Of course, the body of the phantom was still shrouded in noise. From Shidou's perspective, he could only see the mosaic-shaped distorted space shaking.

"... No way──You... Why didn't you have a single spirit on you... did my plan change"

"...What?" Shidou looked puzzled upon seeing the unexpected reaction of the [Phantom].

"Do you…know…me…?"