Chapter 26: Bullet!

Nia was intrigued. She could use her Angel to find out what I was planning, but where was the fun in that? Forgoing her manga drawing for the afternoon, she decided to simply wait and see what I had in store.

And so they waited.

Nia idly browsed the internet with Rasiel while I sat quietly, watching cartoons. An unknown amount of time passed.

"She's here," I said suddenly.

"Huh? Who's here?"

Before Nia could get an answer, a pool of shadow coalesced on the living room floor. As a being with virtually no combat ability, Nia's first instinct was to dive behind me for cover.

A girl in a black-and-red gothic lolita dress rose from the shadows. Her eyes were closed, a serene smile on her face.

"Nia Honjou, 'The Nun,'" the girl began, her voice a smooth melody. "I require your assistance..."

She slowly opened her eyes, her words trailing off.

She saw Nia, cowering defensively. And standing in front of her... a familiar girl with long, violet-blue hair.

I looked back at her, my face a perfect mask of indifference. But in my eyes, she saw the unmistakable glint of a predator that had just cornered its prey.

...

"Hello there," I said, my voice calm and even.

"I was just about to look for you."

Recognition, followed by pure terror, flashed across Kurumi's face. It's... her!

The thought of escape had barely formed in her mind when a gust of wind filled the room. Faster than anyone could see, I was in front of her. In my hand was a small, ornate key, its tip already pressed against her chest.

I gave it a gentle twist. There was an audible click, like a lock snapping shut.

" Endo Armament: Activate "

" Pseudo-Endo: Michael Segva "

Using the very Angel I had just acquired, I sealed her power. There would be no escape this time.

….

My powers... I can't feel my powers.

Kurumi's mind reeled. The moment the key, adorned with intricate gold filigree, had touched her, her connection to her spiritual energy had been severed. It felt as though her very soul had been locked away in a box.

She looked up, her eyes wide with terror, into those hauntingly familiar mechanical eyes the star of her most recent nightmares.

"What do you want…?!"

Her question was cut off as I clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Be quiet," I whispered, my voice calm and low. "This will be over soon. It won't hurt."

The words, meant to be reassuring, sounded like a demonic promise. Kurumi's eyes darted to Nia, who was still standing by the sofa. What is going on?! she screamed internally. Why is the Spirit Hunter here? What is your relationship? Why are you just standing there?!

She had so many questions, but no time to ask them. She had already dismissed my human-like speech patterns as another layer of deception. If it could mimic a human body, surely it could mimic human emotion and speech.

I gave her no more time to think.

A small component on my head-mounted processor extended.

Pseudo-Gavelet, activate.

"Please use the Eleventh Bullet, and send me to the future."

With her spiritual power sealed, Kurumi had no defense against the hypnotic power of my voice. The light in her eyes dimmed.

"...Yes," she replied, her voice a hollow echo.

Satisfied that she was under my control, I released the seal from her powers.

Nia, who had been watching the entire exchange with a mixture of fascination and alarm, finally spoke up. "Is that the new ability you got? Hypnosis?"

"No," I replied without turning. "I had this one before I met you. I just didn't need to use it."

"Dealing with you requires no armaments."

Nia's eye twitched. She knew she wasn't a fighter, but having it pointed out so bluntly was still a little humiliating. Sorry for being so weak, I guess.

I ignored her internal monologue, opened a portal, and stepped through, taking the now-compliant Kurumi with me.

….

Under my command, Kurumi summoned Zafkiel.

The Eleventh Bullet. The power to send a target forward in time. It consumed a massive amount of "time," the life energy she harvested and stored. I was forcing her to expend the very resource she valued most.

As she aimed the flintlock, now loaded with the power of the future, at me, I prepared myself.

Before I had ambushed Kurumi, I had tasked Nia with one final job. While she couldn't find information on Mio, she could use Rasiel to observe the near future. With it, I had pinpointed the exact date and time Origami Tobiichi would receive her Spirit Crystal. It was a simple matter of looking up an event that was, from a temporal perspective, not far off.

Why doesn't she use this incredible power more often? I wondered briefly. It's so useful.

BANG.

The power of the Eleventh Bullet struck me, and my vision dissolved into light.

The world around me dissolved and then reformed.

….

So this was the future. It looked... mostly the same. A few architectural changes here and there, but nothing dramatic. The transition itself had been instantaneous, no special effects. Just a seamless jump forward.

[Data acquisition successful. Commencing analysis.]

The analysis of the Eleventh Bullet began.

[Analysis successful.]

Another piece added to the collection. My Pseudo-Zafkiel was now one step closer to completion.

Now, for the main event. According to Nia's vision, this was the exact moment Origami Tobiichi would receive her power. I immediately tapped into the national network, seizing control of every camera, every screen, every device capable of generating an image.

" Endo Armament: Activate "

" Pseudo-Endo: Zafkiel Chet "

To expedite the process, I summoned my clones. A dozen identical copies of myself appeared at my back. I issued my directives, and they scattered, flying off in different directions to monitor key locations.

….

Origami lay broken on the forest floor.

She had challenged the Spirits. All of them. In the end, it was Tohka, her power partially unsealed, who had defeated her.

"I have... nothing left..." she whispered, reaching a trembling hand towards the sky.

Memories flashed through her mind. Her training. Her losses. Her parents. Her eyes, bloodshot and wild, filled with a desperate, burning frustration.

And then, as if in answer to a prayer she didn't know she had made, a miracle occurred.

A soft glow appeared before her. From the light, a single, brilliant crystal emerged, hovering just within her reach.

Origami's eyes widened. She knew what this was. A Sephira Crystal. The source of a Spirit's power. It was the only thing that could give her the strength she needed to defeat them, to finally get her revenge.

"I..."

With the last of her strength, she reached for it. It was her only hope.

But just as her fingers were about to brush against its surface, another hand darted into her field of vision. It snatched the crystal from the air.

"What...?"

Her hope. It had been stolen.

Her exhausted, battered mind couldn't process what had just happened. She followed the hand with her eyes, trying to see who had taken everything from her.

….

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