"Mask..."
Rikka Sakuragawa gazed at Ye Xing, standing at the cave entrance, her voice soft.
"Why do you keep stopping me? We're inherently superior to humans, meant to rule over them—"
"I can't be bothered talking to you."
Ye Xing swung Onimaru Kunitsuna, cutting off Rikka Saguragawa mid-sentence.
"You're not worth listening to."
Shide, encased in shadow armour, raised a hand to point at Ye Xing, his voice twisted with malice.
"Attack! Kill this bastard!"
The shadows hiding in various dark corners throughout the cave, hearing Shide's command, immediately began writhing and twisting as they launched their assault on Ye Xing.
Unable to venture out for replication, fearing a repeat of the incident involving the Kobayakawa family of three that had needlessly cost three shadow lives, most shadows within the cave remained in their original pitch-black forms.
Meanwhile, Hiruko's gaze remained fixed intently on Ye Xing, not even daring to blink.
She feared that if she so much as blinked, he would approach her just like last time, and before she could activate time reversal, he would brutally gouge out one of her eyes.
However, Hiruko noticed that this time, the mysterious figure wearing the black mask didn't charge straight toward her like a sharp spear piercing every obstacle as before. Instead, he stood his ground, each swing of his dark blade claiming the life of another shadow.
"Fourteenth."
Ye Xing extended his left hand, now fused with the pale ghost hand, plunging it into a shadow's body. Listening to its inhuman screams, he mercilessly tore the creature into pieces.
"No... please stop..."
Watching him systematically slaughter the shadows she had created, Hiruko's body trembled, her red eyes filled with terror.
"Stop killing them..."
As the mother of all shadows, Hiruko shared a certain bloodline and instinctual connection with most shadows.
As long as this connection remained, no shadow would disobey her commands.
Correspondingly, each time a shadow was destroyed, Hiruko experienced indescribable, heart-wrenching pain, since these shadows could all be considered her children.
Watching Ye Xing emotionlessly slaughter her children one by one, Hiruko's mind was nearing its breaking point.
"Hmph... It seems I'll have to step in after all..."
Seeing how the ordinary shadows stood no chance against Ye Xing, too weak even to buy time, Shide snorted coldly and turned to Rikka Sakuragawa beside him.
"Your psychic should make a move now, shouldn't she?"
"Very well."
Rikka Sakuragawa nodded slightly and murmured.
"Master of Desires, Izanami."
As her words faded, the illusion of Izanami—visible only to psychics—materialised behind her once more.
The next moment, several seemingly ordinary but expressionless humans, moving like marionettes, emerged from the cave's corners, including the man in police uniform.
"Fusion, Kamaitachi."
"Fusion, Haka-no-Hi."
"Fusion, Jorōgumo."
Listening to these psychics chanting their soul's true names, watching their bodies twist and transform into monstrous forms, Ye Xing shook his head and murmured.
"Just mass-produced types. It seems there aren't many people on this island who meet your requirements."
Based on previous battles, Rio Futaba had roughly deduced the capabilities of the so-called Izanami and had long shared her conclusions with Ye Xing.
Rikka Sakuragawa's Izanami could indeed rapidly convert psychics, but the strength of the converted targets depended entirely on the quality of the material.
For example, the Haka-no-Hi that initially attacked the Yukinoshita commercial building was clearly mass-produced, likely an early experimental product.
Whereas Tenjō-sagari, who appeared in Itomori Town, and Seishu Akoya were obviously higher-grade pieces.
Then there was the chief monk of Shitennō-ji Temple, who was called a psychic but was practically indistinguishable from an evil spirit.
From these battles, one could infer that Rikka Sakuragawa had been continuously developing Izanami's abilities, attempting to create more powerful pieces.
The more resilient the spirit - like Seishu Akoya, who was both a Kengan fighter and Director of the Metropolitan Police Department's mobile unit - the more powerful the soul's true form that could be born from such conversion material.
Though regardless of whether the enemies were strong or weak, it made little difference to Ye Xing, this information itself held significant value.
By reverse reasoning, it proved Rikka Sakuragawa didn't possess the ability to retain memories through time regression. Otherwise, given she had arrived early at Hitogashima Island and experienced two timelines already, her failure to find suitable conversion materials would be too inconsistent with her intellect.
Another point...
If Rikka Sakuragawa had somehow gained the ability to retain memories through time regression, her primary conversion target would be Hizuru Minakata - someone with strong mental fortitude and innate psychic talent.
Ye Xing was using all known information to deduce every possible action Rikka Sakuragawa might take in the upcoming regression timeline.
"What a bunch of eyesores."
Watching several spider threads winding toward his body, Ye Xing didn't evade in the slightest. Instead, he grabbed them in his palm, his voice carrying amusement as he said.
"Come here."
Ye Xing yanked the threads, pulling the psychic who had transformed into Jorōgumo right beside him. Then, Onimaru Kunitsuna, in his right hand, traced several arcs, directly slicing the opponent's body into blood-spattering fragments.
Rikka Sakuragawa showed no surprise or shock at this scene.
She had long anticipated that just a few mass-produced psychics would be utterly incapable of stopping Mask.
But the focus of this timeline wasn't about whether they could stop Mask, but rather...
"Your desire..."
Masahito Karikiri, who had been observing from within his shadow armour, suddenly heard a bizarre woman's voice whispering in his ear.
"Do you want eternal life? Don't wish to meet your end like this? Then submit to me..."
Eternal life. The end.
Rikka Sakuragawa had already identified Masahito Karikiri's desire - a twisted pursuit of immortality and the fear of facing his final moment.
The instant Izanami uttered these words, the already mentally unstable Masahito Karikiri became a puppet completely under Izanami's control, with his soul's true form gradually taking shape at the cost of his own.
But Rikka Sakuragawa's goal wasn't to transform him into a psychic.
The next moment, Masahito Karikiri's body suddenly moved - not towards Ye Xing's direction, but towards Hiruko beside him.
"You useless waste, keep giving birth, block the enemies, you can't do anything. Rather than this, you might as well..."
Hiruko's attention was entirely focused on the distant Ye Xing. Before she could react, she felt an intense pain shoot through her left eye socket.
Masahito Karikiri personally gouged out one of Hiruko's eyes, tossing it aside like rubbish, his face contorted into a vicious snarl.
"Damn it, rewind!"
Hiruko endured the pain, nodding like a scolded slave, and immediately activated her time reversal ability.
Meanwhile, Rikka Sakuragawa looked towards Ye Xing across from her, a strange smile curling at the corners of her lips.
"Until next time, Mask."
And on the face of Izanami, a single eye emitting a crimson glow suddenly appeared.
...
"No... NO!!!"
Once again, Hiruko awoke from what felt like a nightmare, her single remaining eye filled with intense fear. Her petite body trembled like a leaf, her skin showing signs of withering away.
Fifteen times.
A full fifteen times.
After having her left eye gouged out, Hiruko had performed time reversal a full fifteen times.
Each time, every single time, she and Shide, including Rikka Sakuragawa, had tried different approaches.
But...
The outcome remained fixed every time.
On that day, that person wearing the black mask, dressed in a black coat, with even the blade in their hand pitch black...
Would enter the cave, then, before Hiruko's eyes, kill all the shadows, all the psychics, one by one, before walking up to her.
"Nothing we do makes any difference..."
Hiruko's mind was clearly on the verge of collapse, her hands clutching her head as she mumbled incoherently.
"I... I don't want to reverse time anymore... I can't reverse time anymore..."
"Truly useless..."
Shide Masahito Karikiri no longer bothered to conceal his disgust towards Hiruko.
"To actually lose an eye, what a completely useless creature."
Faced with Shide's scolding, Hiruko remained submissive and timid, not daring to respond.
Just as Rikka Sakuragawa had anticipated.
After the time reversal, the fact that Masahito Karikiri had been transformed by her was also reversed.
Though Hiruko retained her memories, she didn't tell Masahito Karikiri that he was the one who had taken her left eye; instead, she claimed it had been accidentally destroyed during battle.
Rikka Sakuragawa could understand Hiruko's mentality.
Simply put, she had been emotionally manipulated by Masahito Karikiri.
From Hiruko's perspective, it was because Masahito Karikiri had been too disappointed in her, so he had punished her by gouging out one of her eyes.
Hiruko didn't want Masahito Karikiri to know that she had disappointed him to such an extent, so she chose to conceal it.
"Is this the last time..."
Rikka Sakuragawa murmured to herself, her beautiful face showing an inexplicable look of emotion.
"The moment of the final battle is approaching..."
...
Meanwhile, in the mountain forest.
"This is the last time."
"Huh?"
Hearing Ye Xing's words, the sisters Ushio Kofune and Mio Kofune, along with Hizuru Minakata and Ginjiro Nezu, couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
It was indeed difficult for them to process this.
They had only just met him earlier, yet after a few hours, Ye Xing suddenly declared this to be the last time - the timeline that would become reality?
Ushio Kofune pressed her lips together and tentatively asked.
"How many times... have you experienced these reversals so far?"
"Seventeen times."
"Seventeen times..."
Hearing this number, Ushio Kofune couldn't help but do the math in her head.
If counting from the day he arrived on the island, that meant he had spent nearly three months on Hitogashima Island.
"Ye Xing, are you... alright now?"
Hearing Mio Kofune's cautious inquiry, Ye Xing waved his hand and replied with a smile.
"Not bad, it's been quite enjoyable actually."
"Enjoyable..."
Hizuru Minakata frowned slightly, thinking to herself that this guy might have some psychological issues.
No normal person who had experienced reversal after reversal, having to enter that monster-infested underground cave again and again, would possibly describe it as 'enjoyable,' right?
A violence addict? A killing disorder?
"So what should we do now?"
Hearing Hizuru Minakata's question, Ye Xing smiled and said.
"Didn't I tell you? When we reach the final timeline, it will be time for everyone to make their appearance?"
Before Hizuru Minakata could ask when he had ever told her such a thing, she saw numerous figures suddenly emerging from the mountain forest.
Her pupils contracted in shock, and she was about to raise her hunting rifle when Ye Xing gently pressed it down.
"You..."
Rio Futaba adjusted her glasses, looking at Ye Xing standing there with a smile on his face, and sighed helplessly.
"Did you really have to go for the cool factor regardless of everything? Making us wait in the woods until you finished your line before coming out - was that really necessary?"
"Well, you played along quite well, didn't you?"
Rio Futaba rolled her eyes and said irritably.
"I'm just too indulgent with you."
Miko Yotsuya, with Mikazuki Munechika hanging at her waist, walked up to Ye Xing. Her golden pupils revealed complex emotions, and she ultimately just raised her hand to gently stroke his cheek, saying softly.
"We're all here now, so... on this final timeline, you don't need to keep fighting alone anymore."
"Alright, alright, enough with the public displays of affection."
Haruno Yukinoshita walked over from the side, put an arm around Ye Xing's shoulder, completely disregarding the gazes of the surrounding members, kissed him on the cheek, and said with a cheerful smile.
"The several speedboats heading to this island were arranged through my connections. My... oh, I mean our Yukinoshita Construction Company, could this be considered sponsoring a world-saving operation?"
Ye Xing smiled and nodded.
"You know what? It really is."
The four informed individuals on Hitogashima Island looked somewhat bewildered at the sudden appearance of these people.
Only Hizuru Minakata suddenly felt a chilling sense of dread, her gaze instinctively turning toward the forest depths.
A beautiful woman wearing a kimono, appearing elegant and dignified, walked slowly toward them. Behind her followed a petite girl in a Miko outfit, a woman over two meters tall wearing a white dress and white sunhat, and a woman in a long coat with a face mask.
"Hmph, why should you lead the way? I want to lead."
Seeing the Matchmaking Deity rush to get ahead of her, Tamamo-no-Mae first smiled, then quickly reached out to steady the other when she stumbled, lightly teasing, "You should learn how not to trip on flat ground before competing with me for the lead position."
"Tch..."
The Matchmaking Deity pouted, looking rather unconvinced, then ran to Ye Xing's side and said sweetly, "Don't worry about Menma, Shoko, and Naruko. That Slaughter Demon brother is a kind person - he agreed to be their bodyguard for a few days."
"Kind person, my foot, it's not even human. Kind ghost would be more accurate."
"Same difference."
After the Matchmaking Deity finished speaking, Light Yagami emerged from the darkness, appearing silently beside Ye Xing. His brown eyes had now turned crimson, and he said softly, "We've finally arrived. It's time to fulfil our promise from the preview letter."
"Yes, it's finally time."
Ye Xing nodded, looking at the fully assembled members of the Supernatural Society - except for the Goat-Headed Deity who had been dispatched elsewhere - along with their evil spirits allies, and slowly said, "Everything now and in the future will become the final timeline, the fixed reality. So..."
"Go save everyone and achieve the perfect future."
...
The next day, at the crack of dawn.
Sitting on the wooden steps at the main entrance of Hitogashima Shrine, Rikka Sakuragawa opened her eyes, gazing at the faint glow on the horizon as she murmured to herself.
"This is the end."
Although Rikka Sakuragawa had her Izanami take Hiruko's left eye, preserving her memories through each regression, the problem was that—whether due to insufficient power or some other reason—she couldn't actively use the time regression ability like Hiruko could.
After all, she wasn't a cheat player like Ye Xing, who had read the walkthrough. She didn't know that in her current state, she could only passively trigger the time regression ability through death.
The problem was...
Rikka Sakuragawa was immortal.
She was essentially stuck in a bug.
However, Rikka Sakuragawa didn't need the time regression ability. She had already prepared all her plans.
"You two..."
Rikka Sakuragawa looked behind her at the two Masahito Karikiris, who were identical in appearance and build, expressionless like puppets, and spoke softly.
"Have the shadows begin copying everyone, then come here and tell me the desires in those people's hearts. I will transform all the residents of this island."
"Understood, Lady Izanami."
After the two Masahito Karikiris left, Rikka Sakuragawa turned to look beside her at Izanami, whose red eye was glowing with even greater spiritual power than before, a faint smile curling at the corner of her lips.
"After killing Mask, there will be no more obstacles on our path to destroying the world."