Losing most of her origin power would indeed greatly weaken her strength, but Tohka wasn't worried. First of all, she had the Kabbalah Tree of Life—her power would recover eventually. And if she were to release the Kabbalah Tree of Life, she could probably instantly replenish all her energy and maybe become even stronger. Secondly, her power would be diminished, but that didn't mean her other self's power would be affected. If necessary, she could let her out, and she would surely be delighted.
Besides, it was mainly about sealing the magic power—so long as a spirit didn't resist, it could still be sealed. And since she also had the Kabbalah Tree of Life, she could use herself as a medium to seal other spirits' power inside Shido Itsuka's body. Because she had also realized that Shido was more like a container, a Kabbalah Tree of Life weakened countless times over.
"But before that, I want to see whether this guy is really worthy of receiving my power." Still, Tohka was unwilling to hand over her power to that guy so casually. Of course, she also mainly wanted to see if he would save her in the same way as in the original story.
"Alright, time's about up. Don't mention our conversation today to anyone. Don't forget our deal." Checking the time, Reine Murasame calculated that Shido should be back soon, so she stood up from the table. Then she wobbled to her feet, instantly reverting to her former frail appearance.
"She's way too good at that act, but whatever, let's eat first." Tohka's eye twitched, but she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she continued to eat the food in front of her. Now that everything had been discussed, she didn't have anything else to worry about. After all, nothing was more important than eating.
As for Tohka's final condition, Reine hadn't objected. If Shido didn't have any merits, she wouldn't have gone to such lengths and spent thirty years setting this all up.
After that, nothing particularly special happened. Although Kotori's support team put in their utmost effort, it was completely useless. Tohka's affection level still didn't budge an inch. Shido tried everything he could think of, but Tohka was only interested in the food she held.
As the sun set, Tohka casually and deliberately led Shido to the observation deck in the outskirts, just like in the original story. On the other side, Origami Tobiichi was fully armed and lying in ambush. She was wearing the best equipment available—gear that placed a huge burden on her body but could multiply all her power. Her territory had also expanded to its maximum. In other words, if necessary, she would directly kill Tohka in close combat.
"Mm, not bad at all. After all this time, you're still not angry. But why do you look like you're mourning your dead family?" Watching Shido with some interest, Tohka couldn't help admiring this guy's patience. She was clearly toying with him, and yet he could still hold out. If it were her, she would have flipped the table long ago.
"Sigh, honestly." Letting out a sigh of utter resignation, Shido thought that if his sister hadn't kept reminding him in his ear, he would have run off too. In Kotori's words, Tohka was the type of girl whose affection level could skyrocket with just one trigger. So, he absolutely had to persevere and not give up.
So, at this point, Shido was completely exhausted. He wasn't even listening to what Tohka was saying anymore. He simply stared blankly at the distant sunset and...
"Watch out." Just then, Shido suddenly summoned all his strength to lunge in front of Tohka and shove her away. Because in that instant, he had inadvertently spotted Origami aiming a massive sniper rifle at Tohka. The pitch-black, terrifying barrel was locked right on her.
"Bang."
"..."
"This guy really has guts... Well, I suppose you pass." This time, Tohka was genuinely shocked. She hadn't expected that he'd actually be brave enough to do that. Caught completely off guard, she was shoved aside, and at the same moment, the sniper bullet pierced through Shido, blasting a huge hole in his chest. Tohka looked at him with a complicated expression—no wonder, in the original story, this guy had made all those Spirits fall hopelessly in love with him.
But at that moment, Tohka turned her gaze to the distance, her eyes full of killing intent. This was the third time. She had let her off twice already. There could be one time, there could be two times, but there wouldn't be a third or a fourth. She wasn't some soft-hearted heroine with no temper. Even though she had known this was coming, this time she was truly furious.
"Last Sword (Halvanhelev)." In an instant, her spirit armor clad her body. What appeared in her hand was an enormous sword.
"So, this is a spirit's true power... It's just too terrifying." Watching Tohka unleash her full power, Origami's commander shouted in fear. At this point, Tohka was simply too terrifying. She couldn't be compared to the Tohka they'd fought before. Even though she hadn't attacked yet, they knew that if her strike landed, there would be only one result: death. Even with Origami wearing the best equipment, it was meaningless. Right now, Tohka was several times stronger than in the original story—Origami absolutely couldn't withstand her.
"Damn it, retreat, retreat now!" Seeing Tohka in this state, Origami's commander screamed at her in panic. They had always known how big the gap between them and Tohka was, but it was only now that she realized that in the face of Tohka going all out, they were no different from ordinary people. But Origami looked like she'd lost her soul. She lay there muttering something, not moving at all.
"Take this." Giving Origami a cold glance, Tohka swung her sword down. Immediately, a slash over a hundred meters long tore across the sky and smashed into the barrier in front of Origami. The barrier lasted less than a second before shattering.
"Boom." A violent explosion erupted, completely blotting out everyone's vision. When the dust finally settled, they saw Origami kneeling there unharmed.
"..."
Casting Origami a glance, Tohka regretted unleashing that strike. After all, she also needed Origami's spirit power. If something had gone wrong, who knew what kind of chaos it would have caused. But what surprised Tohka was that when her attack shattered Origami's shield, a phantom-like figure had appeared before her, blocking the blow. Then that figure disappeared without a trace.