"Ahahaha..... Hehehe..."
"Die, die, die! I'm definitely winning!"
Accompanied by maniacal laughter, countless projectiles gathered in the air.
Increasing the intensity of her Territory, Mana had a quirk: when she got really into a fight, she became particularly... violent?
Watching the thoroughly frenzied Mana, Origami seized the opening to deploy a defensive Territory.
"Hmm?"
Her eyes clearly saw Origami's movements, which nearly surpassed human limits. Mana twisted her body and charged the magical cannon on her right hand.
"Commander Origami, take this!"
As the massive Blaster Cannon fired, Mana saw Origami actually riding the turbulent flow of magical energy to charge forward… a speed truly worthy of admiration.
"Crap..."
Instinctively activating the defensive properties of her Territory, the moment Origami's and Mana's Territories collided, an astonishing explosion of sparks erupted within the training ground.
When the dust settled, Mana's body suddenly convulsed. She fell straight from the sky and was caught by the ever-prepared Westcott.
"This training match goes to Tobiichi Origami."
Coldly announcing Origami's victory, battles like this between Mana and Origami weren't limited to here, they occurred in other parts of the base as well.
For example, between Karen and Ellen, the world's last Wizards.
Between Yuzuru and Kaguya.
Between Miku and Tohka.
Between Kotori and Yoshino.
Between Kurumi and Nia, etc. Aside from Westcott, the only one not participating was the completely non-combatant, Shiori. Everyone else was striving hard to improve their combat abilities.
If one were to ask why, the reason goes back to three days ago.
After Miku joined the large family, aside from Mio, Hoshimiya Mukuro, and Kyouno Natsumi, Ryuya had already absorbed the spiritual power of all the remaining Spirits.
While searching for news of Mio and the others, on this day, while eating lunch on the school rooftop, Tohka, Yamai Sisters, Kurumi, and the others suddenly saw a young man appear before them.
"Eh? Isn't that Darling?"
The moment she saw Ryuya, Miku cheered and wanted to throw herself into the man's arms. She remembered Ryuya had gone with Westcott, Ellen, and Karen to the DEM Headquarters in Europe to handle some matter, hadn't he?
Although unsure how Ryuya had returned so suddenly, her longing for her beloved burst forth instantly.
Miku, who had transferred to Ryuya's high school, was stopped by Tohka.
"Eh, Tohka, do you miss Darling's embrace too? It's fine, Miku can share with you~"
Smiling at Tohka, Miku noticed that Tohka, usually just cute and adorable, now wore a very serious expression.
"Who are you?"
Her voice was fearsome, stern. Staring intently at the 'Ryuya' opposite them, Tohka's expression made Miku realize something was wrong.
"What do you mean 'who'? That's Darling!"
"Miku, calm down. That isn't Ryu."
Unlike the still somewhat confused Miku and Yamai Sisters, Kurumi, following Tohka's lead, also signaled hostility.
As her Shadow Domain activated, several clones appeared on the rooftop, surrounding 'Ryuya'.
"Miku, look carefully. This guy only looks like Ryu on the surface. His spiritual power and everything else aren't Ryu's."
Subtly positioning herself to protect Miku and Yamai Sisters, although Kurumi was usually a tsundere and not very sociable, at this critical moment, she clearly acted like an older sister.
"This person... isn't Darling?"
Blinking, because most of her spiritual power was sealed by Ryuya, Miku hadn't detected anything amiss initially.
Looking closely at Ryuya, she noticed something wrong.
"It's true... my dear's expression is never so stiff normally. And this person's eyes... they have no warmth at all."
How to describe Ryuya?
While his aura and looks were excellent, as the Earth King and holder of the Kabbalah Tree of Life, he naturally carried a warm, healing presence.
Just being near Ryuya brought forth jubilation from the depths of one's heart, making one happy.
But this impostor showed none of that familiar feeling. Miku's eyes turned cold, "You... who are you really?"
"Who am I? What foolish things are you all saying?"
Laughing, the young man named 'Ryuya' shrugged in response to Miku's question.
Then, as if seeing something interesting, he raised the corner of his mouth into a smile that the real Ryuya would never make and continued, "I am Takami Ryuya. The person you love most, isn't that right?"
"Liar!"
Feeling a strong sense of wrongness from this bizarre, abnormal scene, Kaguya gathered a portion of her spiritual power, "Ryuya is nothing like you! You're just an impostor with the same face!"
"Eh? Yamai Kaguya, do you really think so?"
The monster, identical to Ryuya from head to toe, watched as the Spirits all rejected him, then continued using Ryuya's appearance, "Even if I'm fake, wouldn't it be fine as long as you all believe I'm real?"
"That guy Takami Ryuya has many lovers, you know. Rather than fighting over him with others, wouldn't it be better to be with me? I can be your one and only."
"Hmph!"
Looking at the being identical to Ryuya, Kurumi unceremoniously adopted a mocking tone, "What a ridiculous proposal. What do you think our bond with Ryu is?"
"What do you think... our love for Ryu is?"
"What do you think... Ryu is like in our hearts?"
As her tone deepened, the clock in Kurumi's eyes rotated faster and faster, until it finally became a dazzling golden light, "Don't look down on us, you impostor!"
"Ah? To go this far? Then I suppose I should praise your choice?"
"What a pity. I was thinking of letting you all live peacefully."
Showing a regretful expression, the young man identical to Ryuya shook his head, then made a ferocious face, "You... are all targets for my purge."
"The only one who can truly possess Ryu... is me!"
In a terribly frightening tone, he declared the Spirits' fate. Reaching this point, 'Ryuya's' figure gradually faded until he completely disappeared. Only his voice still echoed on the rooftop:
"Just wait, all of you. I will create the most perfect replicas. I'll make you understand that you are merely replaceable beings, easily discarded at any time!"