"My, my…so? Did you achieve your goal?" At that moment, Kurumi Tokisaki also emerged from the shadows. Then, she turned her gaze toward Tohka. Even though she'd been outside participating in that large-scale battle, Kurumi's attention had remained fixed on Tohka the entire time. After all, this was the real main battlefield—no matter how intense things looked outside, they didn't have much impact on the actual outcome. So, she'd seen clearly when Westcott was rescued. That was why, a little concerned, she asked.
"It's fine, it's already accomplished. We found out the location where that Spirit is being held, but…it looks like it's gotten a little late. Let's go back and rest for now. We'll head over tomorrow. Besides, I've beaten that guy into such a state, he probably won't be waking up anytime soon." Hearing Kurumi's question, Tohka nodded to show it was settled.
"All right then, let's head back." Kurumi glanced at the time and didn't feel like running all over the Pacific in the middle of the night. She simply nodded, then disappeared back into the shadows again, apparently still not intending to return home with Tohka.
"What exactly is that woman up to, deliberately avoiding me?" Watching Kurumi vanish, Tohka could only sigh helplessly. She knew this woman was intentionally keeping her distance. As for the reason—she didn't even have to think about it. It was obvious—wasn't it all because of that pursuit she'd clung to all this time? Didn't she understand that without that very pursuit, none of them would even be here today? But it looked like she'd rather die than give up on her objective. Tohka really didn't know what to say to someone like that.
"Who is she really? Why is she so mysterious?" Watching Kurumi disappear, Miku said with some displeasure. That woman gave her an extremely odd feeling, so even if Kurumi was technically on their side, Miku still felt uncomfortable.
"Ahhh…nothing much. Just…a pitiful so-called ally of justice, I suppose. I only hope someday she'll finally recognize what she's doing." Hearing Miku's comment, Tohka could only shake her head helplessly. Then she jumped straight off the building, flying off toward home. After a whole night of scheming—and forcefully unleashing the Annihilation Sovereign —she was pretty tired. She didn't feel like staying any longer and just wanted to hurry home and rest.
"That girl…seriously, how can she just leave like that?" Watching Tohka rapidly fly away, Miku exchanged a glance with the Yamai sisters. They could only sigh and follow. Since Tohka clearly didn't want to explain, they didn't feel it was their place to keep asking.
"Ugh…damn it…" Meanwhile, Westcott—who had been beaten half to death and was now being carried in Artemisia's arms—suddenly woke up.
"Are you alright? How are you?" Seeing Westcott like that, both Ellen and Artemisia looked worriedly at him. Especially Artemisia—she added, "I couldn't find your arm at all. I'm afraid it will be very hard to restore."
"Hahaha…it's fine. Once I obtain a Spirit's Inverse Crystal, everything can be restored. Anyway, listen—I need you to relay orders back there right away. Do this, this…and this. Heh… you want to rescue that Spirit? I'll oblige you. I haven't investigated fully, but after seeing that inverse Spirit, I've seen enough." After he finished speaking, Westcott once again lost consciousness. As for Ellen, she immediately contacted DEM headquarters—both to transmit Westcott's orders and to arrange a place for him to receive emergency surgery.
Even as he passed out, Westcott still had an icy smile on his lips. After all, someone capable of subjecting a person to five whole years of continuous torture clearly wasn't normal. That "torture" included cutting open her belly alive, opening a hole in her skull, slicing her fingers off millimeter by millimeter. Thanks to the Spirit's regenerative power—though not as strong as Kotori's—she kept recovering instead of dying. But the moment she healed, the torment continued. Anyone who had seen Tokyo Ghoul knew how Yamori tortured Kaneki, but this was an upgraded version—five years straight.
What Westcott didn't know was that, in Tohka's heart, he'd already been placed firmly on her "must-kill" list. It was just that the time to kill him hadn't come yet. There would be plenty of opportunities later— and in a way that would maximize the effect. In Tohka's eyes, he no longer even counted as a human—he was nothing but a tool.
Thus, the city of Tenguu, which had been battered into ruins, began recovering at astonishing speed. By the time people emerged from the underground shelters, everything looked as if nothing had happened. As for the battle itself—no one spoke a word about it. After all, this was a clash between major powers—no reason to broadcast it to the world.
Early the next morning, Tohka woke up. Then she promptly roused everyone else. As for how she'd woken up herself—well, Kurumi had been sitting on top of her, wriggling around…how could she not wake up?
"Tohka, did you know there's already a report about last night's concert?" While they were traveling through the air, Miku glanced over at Kurumi, who was also flying beside her. Then she turned to Tohka, who was being carried between the Yamai sisters and gnawing on bread, and spoke.
"What? What? What are those animals saying now? Probably nothing good." Hearing Miku's words, Tohka put down her bread and grumbled impatiently. Kurumi had rushed her so much that she hadn't even managed breakfast—she'd just grabbed some bread from the fridge to eat on the go. As for why she wasn't flying herself—what a joke. She wasn't in a complete state, so she couldn't keep up with the others. Besides, the Yamai sisters were the fastest, so carrying her balanced the pace so Miku and Kurumi could follow too. As for the concert—she still vividly remembered the way those animals in the audience had looked.
"Hehehe…what they're all talking about the most is your anti-gravity skirt. Be honest, Tohka—did you suppress it with your Spirit power?" Since she knew Tohka's character, Miku had guessed she'd probably done something to that skirt. She just hadn't expected Tohka to be so simple about it—using the legendary anti-gravity technique.
"Tch…it was your fault!" At that, Tohka didn't even feel like eating her soybean flour bread anymore. She just glared at Miku and snapped back.