Chapter 196 History repeating itself

In the dimly lit space, Katsu sat quietly leaning on Kisara. Not far away, a faint light flickered.

Shota Katsu appeared.

Katsu's eyes lit up slightly. "Ah! Is Kurumi here?"

Shota let out a sigh and shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no."

"… …" Katsu's expression fell immediately.

"It's not that easy," Shota said. "There are so many timelines. Finding the one you're in is more about luck than skill."

Katsu spread his hands, looking helpless.

"Yeah… I guess you're right."

But just as he finished, his eyes narrowed.

"Wait a second… I almost forgot—"

"What?" Katsu asked, puzzled.

"We need to locate you. Give Kurumi a coordinate. Back then, I was supposed to…"

"… …" Katsu went quiet, then his face darkened.

"Why didn't you say that earlier?!"

"I forgot. It has been a long time, you know—"

Katsu took a deep breath, trying to suppress the urge to punch him. He knew it was pointless—he couldn't win in a fight anyway.

"Huh… So now what? How do we locate her?"

"Resonance."

"Resonance?"

"Exactly. You've got spirit power from the Spirits inside you. Spirit energy transcends space and time, not only that the bond you build can not be erased so easily. If you release your full power, those connected to it should be able to sense you. If Kurumi is near them, she can track the signal and find you."

"Ugh…" Katsu hesitated. "But won't that destroy my body? Even with Mana and Kisara's fusion, I've never dared to go all out. I've sealed half of each Spirit's energy, and even then, it's like I've got seven nukes inside me. I pass out just from trying to channel them."

"Tsk. Useless," the younger version of Katsu clicked his tongue.

"… …" Katsu was speechless. This brat really enjoyed insulting him.

"Oh, whatever. I am going to die anyway. I'll push you into extreme distress using my illusion."

"That way, you'll be forced to tap into your full potential—even the spiritual power you can't normally access."

"… …" Katsu's brow twitched. Since he said it…

Still, the thought of the side effects made his stomach turn. He had already experienced the aftershocks of previous uses, and the pain wasn't exactly something he wanted to repeat.

But… thinking of everyone… and of Kurumi, possibly wandering across timelines to find him…

Katsu let out a long breath.

"…Alright. I understand."

… …

… …

"Cough cough..." As soon as she moved up to the high building, Kurumi coughed a few times, and then gasped for breath. Her pale face was covered with sweat. She had consumed a lot of "time" by using [Twelfth Bullet] continuously. Similarly, her physical strength had been overdrawn, and the most important spiritual power was also running out - but she still did not find Katsu.

She took a long breath, her pretty face became even more gloomy, and her voice sounded a little lonely---

"It seems that I can only ask Itsuka Shidou to borrow spiritual power..."

… …

… …

"Cough, cough..."

Kurumi staggered as she arrived on top of the tall building. She coughed several times, gasping for air, her pale face drenched in sweat. She had consumed an immense amount of "time" by repeatedly using the [Twelfth Bullet]. Her physical strength was nearly depleted, and—most critically—her spiritual power was close to running dry.

And still, Katsu was nowhere to be found.

Taking a long breath, her beautiful face turned even gloomier, and her voice held a trace of sorrow.

"It seems... I'll have to borrow spiritual power from Itsuka Shidou... I will find you no matter what."

…

…

"Spiritual power levels are critically low! Tobiichi Origami has gone inverse!"

"...So Reine's theory was right after all!"

Kotori's voice, along with those of the Fraxinus crew and the blaring alarm, echoed through the earpiece in Shidou's right ear.

"..."

He listened to their voices as he stared silently at Origami.

His thoughts were a mess—Origami, whom he had fought so hard to save, had fallen back into darkness. It made his heart tremble.

But even amidst that inner chaos, a part of his mind remained terrifyingly calm. Shidou clenched his jaw, kicked off the ground, and charged at Origami.

Yet, before he could get close, he was blown away again—repelled by the swirling spiritual barrier that surrounded her.

"Ugh—!"

"Shidou! What are you doing?!"

"If I don't stop Origami now, things will spiral out of control!"

He was right. Origami's inversion was caused by the spirit power of Nibelcole. As long as Nibelcole remained within her sight, the inverse couldn't be undone.

But unlike Katsu, Shidou had no means to suppress her.

Which meant: until Nibelcole was completely eliminated, Origami would remain on a rampage. And with how many clones Nibelcole had scattered, the city could be reduced to rubble before that happened.

"…Origami!"Shidou shouted her name, recalling the vision of the future he once saw—

The inverse Origami raining destruction from the sky, reducing the city to ruins.

He couldn't allow that to happen again. Never again.

Clenching his fists, he prepared to rush forward once more.

"Wait, Shidou! Get away from Origami, now!" Kotori's scream pierced through his headset, halting him in place.

"What are you talking about?! If I don't stop her, the city will—!"

"You...what are you talking about! If I leave and no one stops her now, the city will--"

"That's exactly why I told you to get away! Are you planning to punch through a spiritual barrier with your bare hands?!"

"—Huh?"

Shidou's eyes widened. At Kotori's words, faint lights began to form around Origami. Sharp, diamond-shaped metal structures emerged, resembling massive "leaves" that surrounded her and pointed inward.

"This is…"

"Deploying [Leaves of the World Tree] — Yggd Folium!"

As Kotori spoke, the invisible barriers surrounding the metallic leaves expanded, squeezing Origami's black-clad form from all directions and restricting her movements.

"What—"

"Each 'leaf' can expand its area of influence. They're general-purpose autonomous units of Fraxinus. I set them up earlier—though I didn't expect to actually use them."

Kotori let out a dry snort.

Then—light shimmered in the sky far above the park where Shidou and Origami stood. Like a veil being pulled away, the airship Fraxinus revealed itself, descending to a visible altitude.

Normally, Fraxinus would remain cloaked using its manifestation device. It only appeared when activating external functions—like teleportation, or the deployment of the Leaves of the World Tree.

Or—when preparing to fire its main cannon, Mystletainn.This ship will only appear when you want to use the effect of the Realizers device beyond the area around the ship.

In general, it is when using the teleportation device to retrieve people or materials from the outside, or when──[Leaves of the World Tree]are sent to the outside. And──when firing the main cannon[Mystletainn].

"Kotori, don't tell me—!"

Shidou shouted, watching as Fraxinus slowly angled its bow toward Origami. Then, the magical light gradually filled the gun port.

The cannon began to charge, glowing with condensed magical energy.

"Don't worry. It'll be calibrated to break the barrier and restrain her with a field. …If she held you in higher regard, we could've sealed her directly."

"…I'm sorry… I understand!"

""I'm not blaming you. I don't want to resort to extreme measures, but we can't let the city fall."

"Commander, energy charge complete. Ready to fire!" The crew member's voice echoed through the bridge.

"Very good. The target is Tobiichi Origami on the ground! Don't miss, Kannazuki!"

"Please leave it to me."

The calm voice of Fraxinus's deputy commander, Kannazuki Kyouhei, vibrated the eardrum of Shidou's right ear.

Fire──" However, just as Kotori was about to give the order, Shidou involuntarily held his breath.

"Kotori! Get out of there—!"

He screamed as loud as he could.

Why? Because just above Fraxinus, Nibelcole standing on the ship, surrounded in the night sky were countless black-glowing "feathers"—like the same kind trapping Origami.

He realized she wanted to make Origami attack her with the ship.

"Eh—?"

The danger alarm and Kotori's surprised voice came through the headset.

The [Metatron] feathers locked onto Fraxinus. Then—they fired. A torrent of black light, like compressed darkness, rained down. Darkness attacked the white hull of the Fraxinus from all directions, and the hull either exploded or was cut or pierced. The earphone in Shidou's right ear rang with deafening explosions and the screams of Kotori and others.

"Ah!"

Explosions tore through the white hull. Pierced and shattered, Fraxinus was engulfed in fire and smoke. Shidou's headset rang with deafening crashes and panicked screams.

"Kotori! Kotori...!"

Shidou cried out, but no reply came. Fraxinus smoldered, its structure crumbling mid-air. The [Leaves of the World Tree] that had bound Origami flickered weakly and dropped.

"Ah…"

Shidou could only watch, horrified.

It was just like before. The same scene from the original timeline. Fraxinus, shot down by Origami once more.

"Why... Ahhh!"

Shidou screamed, nearly incoherent. History, once thought changed, was now repeating itself—dragging everything back to its destined collapse.

Origami, freed from restraint, floated silently. Her body curled inwards like a fetus, as if sealing herself off from the world.

Meanwhile, the dark "feathers" began glowing again—preparing to fire at the falling Fraxinus.

"…! Origami!"

Shidou cried her name, trying to rush toward her.

But the barrier still blocked him—he couldn't even touch her.

"You need to try harder to hit me" Nibelcole said from afar laughing with a sadistic look trying to provoke Origami.

The black feathers glimmered with power. A second volley would obliterate Fraxinus completely.

"Stop it, Origami! Please!"

His voice didn't reach her.

Just then—

A gale blew through the park, disturbing the trajectory of the feathers. The beam from [Devil] veered off-course, grazing Fraxinus's hull and vanishing into the void.

A wind… strong enough to alter their course?

But mere wind couldn't shake the [Devil].

Realization dawned on Shidou. His shoulders trembled.

"This… This wind is—!"

At that moment, new feathers appeared near Origami—this time aiming directly at Shidou thinking he was the one who attacked her.

"Ugh...!"

There were too many to dodge. Shidou braced himself.

But before they could fire—

A spirit, donning a partial astral dress, descended with a massive sword in hand. With one powerful swing, they cleaved through the dark feathers.