"...I understand. Let me think about it a little longer."
Shidou responded weakly, his mind still in complete disarray.
"...Kotori..."
"What is it?"
"What we're doing... is it really the right thing to do?"
The moment Shidou said that, the atmosphere aboard Fraxinus froze again.
"Shidou, what do you mean by that?"
Kotori's sharp gaze swept across Shidou's face.
"...It's just that... the reason I agreed to help you in the first place was because I couldn't accept how humans would unreasonably attack Spirits who never intended to cause spacequakes, right?"
"...Yes, that's correct."
"But... Kurumi personally killed people... and there's also that one you call Genie (Shura)... they both..."
Killed humans.
And not through spacequakes.
They killed innocent people—by their own will.
That fact filled Shidou, who had never truly faced such horrors before, with pure fear.
"Shidou, what exactly are you trying to say?"
"I'm sorry... Kotori, I can't do it..."
Shidou gritted his teeth, finally forcing those words out through the gap.
"The only reason I was able to carry out the previous missions was because Tohka and Yoshino happened to be kindhearted Spirits... But in the end, I still couldn't do anything..."
Normally, with the black-ribboned Kotori's personality, that would have earned him a slap already.
However, in this case, Kotori herself couldn't deny that she too had doubts.
Tokisaki Kurumi had killed and been killed.
If there was still any chance of saving someone like her—
Then Tenka Sanluo was truly beyond redemption.
Even though she had told Shidou to give up on trying to make contact with Tenka, the truth was that, with the current level of human technology, it was impossible to completely annihilate Genie (Shura).
"And also... Kotori, you knew about Tenka Sanluo's existence all along... but you still—"
Slap—!
At that moment, Kotori finally lost her patience. She rushed forward and slapped him hard across the face.
"Ugh... ah..."
"Shidou... are you really such a spineless coward?"
While Shidou stood there, stunned, Kotori glared at him with a trembling expression that, if one looked closely, might have been on the verge of tears.
But Shidou couldn't tell anymore.
Regardless of which it was, the result was the same.
"'I... can't do it...?' Hmph. Don't start whining over something this small! The old you... no matter what happened, have you really become someone who just gives up so easily?"
"Kotori... what are you saying?"
Unable to comprehend her words, Shidou pressed his hand against his cheek and asked in confusion.
But Kotori didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed Shidou by the collar. Luckily, the height difference between the two wasn't that large—otherwise, the scene might have looked somewhat comical.
"Don't just casually say you 'can't do it'! Forget Genie (Shura) for now—if even you give up, then Tokisaki Kurumi will continue to kill more people... You saw it yourself: Mana and Kurumi—they're locked in an endless cycle of mutual killing! Do you really want that to go on forever? Only you... have the power to stop them!"
"Uh..."
After hearing Kotori's words, Shidou swallowed hard.
From the earlier battle between Genie (Shura) and Mana Takamiya, the crew aboard Fraxinus had already analyzed that the one Mana fought and killed was merely one of Kurumi's clones.
However, even so, that cycle of killing and being killed would continue endlessly.
Yes—if the revived Kurumi continued murdering people, then Mana would be forced to kill her again and again.
Judging by Mana's expression, this seemed to have been happening for a long time already.
And from now on... it would only keep repeating—
Unless Kurumi lost her Spirit powers or was completely destroyed.
And the only one capable of sealing a Spirit's power... was Shidou.
"..."
Shidou remained silent, pressing his hand to his forehead.
He didn't want Kurumi to keep killing people.
And—he didn't want Mana to have to keep killing Kurumi.
There was no pretense in that thought; it was purely what Shidou felt from the bottom of his heart.
To fulfill that wish, what action should he take?
The answer was already clear.
"...I understand."
After saying that, he took a few unsteady steps forward.
"Hmm? You mean you'll try to handle the Genie (Shura) situation somehow... Huh? Wait—Shidou!"
Noticing something was off, Kotori hurried after him in a panic.
"In order to stop Kurumi from killing people, I have to seal her powers. And to stop Mana from killing Kurumi again...
That means I have to act myself. That's what you meant, right? I understand now... Is this enough to satisfy you?"
"...Yes."
For some reason, Kotori's voice carried a trace of unease.
She had a bad feeling—like her brother's words hid another meaning, but she couldn't quite figure it out.
---
That night, Shidou lay flat on the living room sofa, lost deep in thought.
"..."
Staring blankly at the artificial light on the ceiling, he let out a long sigh.
If everything went as usual, Kurumi would definitely come to school tomorrow.
That meant he would have to carry out his mission again—
raise Kurumi's affection level, make her blush, kiss her, and seal her powers.
If he did that, everything would be resolved.
Kurumi would no longer kill people, and in turn, Mana would no longer have to kill Kurumi.
It was, in theory, the perfect happy ending—
but...
"Genie (Shura)... Tenka Sanluo..."
If Tokisaki Kurumi had shaken his belief that "Spirits are inherently kind,"
then the appearance of Tenka Sanluo had shattered that belief completely—
and ground the pieces into dust.
What made Shidou doubt himself even more... was Kotori's secrecy.
They had known about Genie (Shura) all along—yet had never told him.
"...What should I do...?"
It felt like a heavy weight was pressing down on his chest, draining his strength.
He exhaled a sigh filled with melancholy.
He had to capture Tokisaki Kurumi—that much was certain.
But what about Tenka Sanluo?
She was even more terrifying, even more dangerous.
According to Kotori, if Tenka had truly intended to attack, Tenguu City would have already been reduced to ashes.
Although Kotori had told him to abandon the idea of sealing her, then what?
What was Ratatoskr supposed to do about Tenka Sanluo?
Let her continue killing people until rivers of blood ran through the city?
Even if Shidou didn't care about Tenka herself, could he really turn a blind eye to the suffering of innocent people?
"Ahh..."
Just then, from the hallway came the sound of the front door opening.
"Hm? Who could that be?"
Drained and sluggish, Shidou pushed himself up and looked toward the entrance to the living room.
Someone entering the house without ringing the doorbell...
Normally, that could only be Kotori—but she'd said she'd be staying on the airship tonight to handle official duties.
Then who could it be?
As he pondered that, the living room door slowly opened, and Tohka peeked in timidly—like a shy little girl.
"Tohka...?"
"I'm sorry, Shidou... May I come in?"
That was the kind of thing she should have said before entering the front door—but this wasn't the time to care about such details.
"Ah, it's fine."
Shidou gave a weary smile and waved his hand.
Tohka nodded gently, entered the room, and walked over to his side.
"Shidou..."
"Tohka, what is it?"
"Shidou... may I touch you?"
If someone overheard that, it would sound scandalous—
But knowing how simple-minded Tohka was, she meant it in the most literal sense.
"Ah, of course."
Shidou replied. Then Tohka climbed up onto the sofa and squeezed herself between Shidou and the armrest.
"Tohka? What are you doing?"
"Don't ask. Just be quiet."
With that, Tohka wrapped her arms around Shidou from behind, hugging him tightly.
"?? Tohka? What are you doing?"
Feeling the soft pressure against his back, Shidou started sweating nervously.
For a herbivorous virgin like him, this was far too much stimulation.
"Um... the TV said that when someone feels lonely or scared, doing this will make them feel better."
Who knows what kind of show she'd seen that on—but Shidou didn't care about that right now.
He had to admit, though—the effect was real.
Before long, he found himself completely calmed.