Woooooo—
A shrill, piercing siren echoed throughout the entire street.
"Mr. Shido, you should know what that sound means, right?"
"The spacequake alarm…!"
Itsuka Shido's face turned pale as he muttered under his breath.
That all-too-familiar and irritating warning siren—its purpose was to notify people that a sudden catastrophic disaster capable of destroying the world, a spacequake, was about to occur.
However, judging from the twisted smile on Kurumi's face, it was obvious that this spacequake had been deliberately triggered by her.
Shido had never heard of a Spirit being able to freely control spacequakes before.
But now—this situation had completely overturned his understanding.
"Hm? So a spacequake can be used like this too?"
Tenqi Sanluo seemed intrigued. If she could use spacequakes herself, she would be able to kill even more people.
"Fufufu… fufufufu… fufufufufufufu! So, what will you do now, Mr. Shido? In this situation, if a spacequake is triggered… what do you think will happen to everyone inside this barrier?"
Hearing that, Shido was momentarily at a loss for words.
Under normal circumstances, once a precursor to a spacequake was detected and an alarm issued, the surrounding residents would evacuate into underground shelters.
Because the shelters were built deep underground, ordinary Spirits' spacequakes rarely caused any casualties—except in Tenqi Sanluo's case.
But now—everyone within this barrier had already lost consciousness.
They couldn't possibly evacuate.
Which meant…
As Shido rapidly ran through possibilities in his head, trying to come up with a countermeasure, a single question suddenly arose in his mind.
Completely unaware of Shido's thoughts, Kurumi—convinced that victory was already hers—licked her lips.
"Well then, Shido? What do you think? Am I terrifying? Do I make you tremble in fear? Even so, will you still say the same words as before?"
"..."
For some reason, even though his heart was pounding wildly and his breathing had grown ragged, Shido's mind remained unbelievably calm.
There was one question he couldn't ignore.
Why was Kurumi so insistent that he retract his earlier statement?
If her goal was simply to devour him, she could have just ignored whatever he said.
A dead man's words had no meaning.
So why… did she care so much?
At that moment, Reine's voice came through his right ear.
"...Shido, Kurumi's mental state is changing. According to the data, it's almost like... she's afraid of you."
"Eh?"
Shido frowned slightly.
Kurumi… afraid of him—someone so weak?
It sounded ridiculous, yet in that critical moment, Shido—who wasn't usually the quickest thinker—understood instantly.
"Ah… so that's what this is about."
He let out a small sigh and looked back at Kurumi.
"Well, Shido? What will you do? If you don't take back your words, so many innocent people will die!"
Kurumi glared at Shido, raising her right hand high into the air.
In an instant, the noise around them grew even more deafening than before.
It signified that the spacequake was now imminent.
"..."
There were things he needed to tell Kurumi—things that had to be said.
That was his resolve. But before that, he had to stop the spacequake.
Of course—he still wouldn't take back what he said.
"...Kurumi."
"What is it? Fufu, have you finally decided to withdraw your words?"
Ignoring Kurumi's fearless smile, Shido spoke calmly.
"You said your goal was to devour me, right?"
"Yes, that's correct. If I were to kill you, it would all be meaningless."
Hearing that, Shido's conviction only grew stronger. He murmured softly into his earpiece:
"Reine, if I—"
"Pft—"
Before he could finish, Tenqi Sanluo suddenly appeared beside him, snatched the earpiece from his ear, and crushed it in her hand.
"Don't try anything funny. Be a good boy and give us a proper last show."
Before Shido could even react, she had already returned to her spot.
With outside help now cut off, all he could do was gamble everything.
Gritting his teeth, Shido ran to the edge of the rooftop, grabbed onto the wire fence, and climbed over the railing.
Then, turning back toward Kurumi, he shouted—
"Stop the spacequake. Otherwise—"
He pointed toward the schoolyard below.
"—I'll jump down and die right here!"
"What…?!"
Caught completely off guard, Kurumi let out a gasp of shock.
Tenqi Sanluo, on the other hand, remained calm. The moment Shido had approached the edge, she had already guessed what he intended to do.
"Are you insane?"
"Sorry, but I'm serious. I still can't take back what I said this morning."
Kurumi's expression twisted violently.
Ignoring her reaction, Shido continued speaking.
"So, I'm left with no other choice."
"So you're taking yourself hostage? Don't be ridiculous! What are you, some cornered fugitive?"
At that, Shido actually laughed softly.
He hadn't forgotten—Kurumi's objective was him.
Which meant that using his own life as leverage would definitely have an effect, forcing her hand.
But Kurumi only sighed.
"...You really think that'll work on me? If you dare, go ahead and try it!"
"Alright."
Shido replied calmly—and jumped.
From such a dizzying height, one would normally be paralyzed with fear.
Yet strangely, Shido felt none. Perhaps the adrenaline was numbing him.
That weightless sensation—his body plummeting at incredible speed—
"—!"
He almost blacked out. It was like being on a roller coaster in free fall.
But just two seconds after falling, he was suddenly caught—his body jolting violently.
"Ugh…"
He barely stifled a groan from the impact.
Kurumi had emerged from the shadows around the school building, catching him in a princess carry, before scaling the wall vertically back up to the rooftop.
Once they landed, she unceremoniously dropped him onto the ground.
"Ah…"
Shido exhaled, overwhelmed by the feeling of surviving certain death.
Then Kurumi, visibly shaken, shouted furiously—
"Unbelievable! What were you thinking?! What on earth were you thinking?! If it weren't for me, you'd be dead! What do you take your life for?!"
"Thank you, Kurumi…"
Hearing that, Kurumi clutched her head in exasperation.
"Ahhhh, seriously! You—you absolute idiot!"
Watching them, Tenqi Sanluo sighed softly and fiddled with the pendant hanging from her neck.
"Tokisaki Kurumi, your clone seems rather disobedient. Or is this just how you are by nature?"
Then, Shido stood up, turned to face Kurumi, and asked:
"Kurumi, why did you save me?"
"Isn't it obvious? If you die, I can't achieve my goal."
"I see. Then I really do have value as a hostage."
"!!!"
Kurumi's expression froze. She realized something was very wrong.
"Alright! Stop the spacequake right now! And cancel this barrier while you're at it! Otherwise—I'll bite off my tongue and die!"
"You… you're bluffing—"
"You think I'm bluffing? Or are you confident you can stop me before I do it?"
"Ugh…"
Kurumi's face twisted with regret. She clicked her fingers with a snap.
Instantly, the shrill alarm ceased, and the shadows covering the area vanished completely.
Shido let out a deep sigh of relief, then turned to Kurumi—whose face was filled with remorse—and said:
"That's not all! There's one more thing I need to ask you!"
"What now, you strange man… don't push your luck…"
Kurumi's voice trembled slightly, her earlier sadistic demeanor completely gone.
"Kurumi… just once is enough. Please—let me give you the chance to start over."
"W–What are you…?"
Seeing this, Tenqi Sanluo sighed again, lowering her pendant.
The inverted triangle on it began to glow with a deep blue light.
"Bunch of idiots."