"Are you okay, Shidou?"
"Tohka!" Shidou called out the girl's name. Yes, the one who had appeared was Tohka, the girl who was supposed to be staying in the apartment.
But she wasn't alone. Following behind her, spirits dressed in Astral dresses began appearing in the park one after another. Yoshino, riding on the back of a giant rabbit puppet; Natsumi, who had transformed into an adult; Miku, surrounded by a keyboard of light; and the Yamai sisters, who had just created a hurricane to save Fraxinus from danger, hovered in the sky.
"Why are you all here?!"
"That... that's..."
"Because we detected an inverse spiritual wave appearing here—"
"Hey, I just followed Tohka."
"So──Shidou." Tohka raised the angel [Sandalphon] to protect Shidou, staring at Origami without letting up, and opened her lips: "...I feel a strong spiritual power. Who is she?" Tohka asked Shidou. Shidou clenched his fists tightly, and the force was so strong that his nails seemed to dig into his flesh. He answered:
"She is... Origami."
"What...? The transfer student?" Tohka asked with a puzzled expression.
It was understandable. In this world, Tohka had only known Origami for a few days. More importantly, even if she was told that the figure floating in the air in a jet-black spirit outfit was her classmate, it would be impossible to believe it right away.
The overwhelming aura, the sheer pressure it made people shrink in fear just by looking at her.If they let Origami fly up to the sky, the expanding Tengu City would become the ruins in Shidou's memory, and Origami would never be able to return to her normal state. This was the only thing that had to be stopped.
But... ...if it's me---I can't do it...If it's Katsu... ...Shidou subconsciously thought of Katsu.
"Damn it..." Shidou gritted his teeth. Even if he went forward...what could he do? Origami didn't like him. Even if he rushed forward and approached her, it wouldn't have any effect... ...He would just be sending himself to die... ...
"I don't know if Kurumi-san brought Katsu back... ...probably not, otherwise, with Katsu's personality, he should have rushed over immediately."
Swallowing slightly, Katsu turned around, looked at the elves, and shouted: "Everyone! Please lend me a hand - stop Origami here! We must hold her back until Katsu comes back! Otherwise, this city will be doomed!"
When Tohka, Yuzuru Miku, Kaguya, Yoshino, and Natsumi heard those two words, their hearts skipped a beat.
A strong and unknown emotion surged from the bottom of their heart.
However, at this moment---
The front ends of all the "feathers" of the [Demon Savior] condensed a dark purple light---
"Everyone be careful!"
Everyone was shocked and no longer had time to wonder who "Katsu" was... The important thing now was to hold Origami back!
Origami felt deeply confused. She saw a floating girl… and then, as usual, her consciousness began to blur.
When she regained awareness, she found herself standing in an unfamiliar space.
It was a vast white expanse, completely empty.
She couldn't tell whether the surface above her was the sky or a ceiling, or whether the space before her was the horizon.
Although she seemed to be "standing," even that sensation felt vague. If she let her focus drift for a moment, it felt like she might float into the air.
It was like accidentally stepping into a blank comic panel.
"What is this place..." Origami muttered as she looked around in a daze.
"This has to be a dream... right?" she concluded quickly.
It made sense, this kind of space couldn't exist in reality.
But then
"...Huh?" Origami's eyes widened.
Because right in front of her—where there had been nothing moments before, a girl had suddenly appeared.
She was a slender girl wearing a dark dress. She was curled up with her legs hugged, with a blank expression.
"You are..." Before she could finish her words, Origami suddenly discovered that
"Me—?" That's right. The scene was so absurd that Origami didn't recognize it for a moment, but the person standing there was Origami herself, no matter how you looked at it.
No—there were differences. The girl's hair only reached her shoulders, while Origami's hair now flowed down her back. And besides the clothes they wore, that was the only real distinction.
It was like looking into a mirror, and the uncanny sensation made Origami break into a sweat.
"What... is going on?"
Even though she had decided this was a dream, she couldn't help but frown in confusion.
Then suddenly—
Her mind was overwhelmed with scenes and voices she had never seen or heard before.
As the information flooded in, Origami felt a strange sense of familiarity.
"This is... my memory...?"
Yes, these were memories of a different Origami. One who had walked a slightly different path.
Memories she had forgotten of her original world.
Five years ago.
That summer.
Origami's parents had been killed right in front of her.
And the spirit who had taken their lives... was Origami herself.
When she remembered that, her mind went completely blank.
Perhaps it was an instinctive defense mechanism—to shield herself from complete destruction.
The past defines who we are. The meaning of our lives is rooted in the paths we've walked.
But when those memories bring nothing but despair, the mind tries to cut them off to isolate them.
That's the law of this world.
When a spirit's power is awakened in the Origami of this world, her current consciousness is sealed away, and the Origami who holds the memories of the original world takes control.
Perhaps it is a defensive instinct to protect oneself.
This new Origami has no thoughts, no emotions, no desires.
She has only one goal: to kill the spirit before her.
But then a small light flickered in her mind.
Even though she should've lost everything, something deep inside was still alive.
She didn't understand what it was. Even when she tried to grasp it, it slipped through her fingers.
Logically, it shouldn't be there.
And yet... the light spread.
It became a memory.
A memory of a world where her parents had not died that day.
"...Ah..." A soft sound escaped Origami's lips.
And in that moment—
"Origami" and "Origami's" consciousness began to merge, drawn together like a whirlpool—
Their minds blend into one.
… …
"Haha! We are the Hurricane Princesses, blessed by the wind!"
Suppressing the strange feelings stirring in her heart, Kaguya made her usual chuunibyou-style declaration.
"Echo—no one in this world can catch up with Yui and Kaguya!"
As they shouted, Kaguya and Yui kicked downward in unison, soaring lightly into the sky.
In the very next moment, a beam of light pierced through the spot where they had just been.
It seemed the [Demon] who had attacked Fraxinus now deemed the two of them a threat.
"Hmph! No matter how powerful it is, it's no big deal if it misses!"
Kaguya shouted defiantly, continuing to perform aerial acrobatics, evading the incoming beams with hair's-breadth precision.
Meanwhile, Origami, freed from the restraints of the [Leaves of the World Tree], slowly ascended into the air.
""We can't let Origami escape into the sky!"
Tohka's voice rang out from the other side.
"Miku!"
"Yes, yes~ Leave it to me!"
Still caught up in the swirl of unfamiliar emotions, Miku forced herself to focus on the battle. She extended her hands, and a radiant keyboard of light unfolded around her.
"[Gabriel] — [Rondo]!"
As her fingers danced across the keys, golden pillars materialized around Origami, their tips pointed at her. Miku's music transformed into waves of invisible force, pressing down on Origami and preventing her ascent.
"Haha, you're pretty good, Miku." Watching the scene unfold, Natsumi smiled charmingly.
"But it looks a bit tough with just Miku alone..."
She raised her right hand, and an angel resembling a broom appeared in her grasp.
At Natsumi's call, the angel twisted and reshaped itself like soft clay, morphing into a yellow cylinder and a keyboard—nearly identical to Miku's [Pojun Songstress].
"Eh?! This is...!"
Miku, still typing on her keyboard, looked up in surprise. It was no wonder Natsumi's angel was an exact replica of hers.
"Borrowing it for a bit, Miku. I've been dying to 'imitate' it ever since I saw it last time."
Then another surge of music joined in. The twin [Rondos] merged into a powerful duet, suppressing Origami with increasing force.
"Uuuhhhhhhh!!!"
As if to resist, Origami let out a raw, anguished scream. The space around her twisted violently, and countless "feathers" burst forth, flying in erratic patterns and firing beams of light toward Shidou and the others.
"Hah!"
Yoshino and "Yoshinon," now transformed into the angel [Ice Puppet], stepped forward to defend the unarmed Shidou. They swiftly gathered the moisture in the air, freezing it into a shield to divert the incoming beams.
They gather and freeze the moisture in the air in an instant, changing the path of light emitted by the origami.
"Thank you—Yoshino, Yoshinon! I really owe you!"
"No... it's okay. But please be careful. She's going to attack again!"
Yoshino's voice was serious as she kept her eyes on the "feathers" circling overhead.
She was right. Even though Origami herself was being forced back, the multitude of small "feathers" surrounding her remained active.
If the spirits were equipped with their full Astral dresses, it wouldn't be a major issue.
But in their limited Astral dresses, even a single hit could prove fatal.
The Yamai sisters and Yoshino continued to dodge or deflect the attacks with finesse, but Shidou knew this couldn't last forever. He had to reach Origami—fast.
Just then, as if sensing Shidou's resolve, a "feather" locked onto him, its tip glowing ominously.
"Ah...!"
Shidou shouted, bracing for the incoming strike—but then:
"Seventh Bullet—"
Bang!
Shidou froze, startled.
"That voice… could it be...?"
Hope bloomed in his heart.
Kurumi...?
Did Katsu come too?!
But before he could even smile—
A shadow fell over his feet, followed by a crushing heaviness.
"What is... this...?"
Shidou dropped to one knee, his eyelids growing heavy.
That sensation—
His spirit energy was being drained.
He remembered it clearly: five years ago, when Kurumi had used the [Twelfth Bullet] to send him to the past, she had drawn spirit power from him the same way.
Shidou recalled Kurumi's words—she had gone to look for Katsu.
If her spiritual energy ran low, she would come back for his...
Which meant, she hadn't found Katsu yet.
Shidou's heart sank.
"Shidou!"
Tohka, who had been standing guard nearby, saw him collapse and panicked. She rushed toward him, shouting his name.
"Don't come any closer, Tohka. I volunteered... it's okay."
"Shidou..."
Tohka extended her hand, wanting to say something, but she froze.
A few meters behind Shidou stood Kurumi, pale and faint, her golden eyes watching quietly.
Shidou, on one knee and visibly in pain, still met her gaze with determination.
Tohka slowly lowered her hand.
She usually acted silly and cheerful, but that didn't mean she was stupid.
She simply hadn't needed to think very hard, until now.