"Shido, there's a very interesting machine over there. Do you want to try it?"
Inaba Tsukiyo and Origami dragged Shiori to the arcade. As soon as they arrived, they saw a photo booth machine.
Inaba Tsukiyo and Origami exchanged glances, understanding each other's intentions, and then pulled Shiori into the photo booth.
The inside of the machine was a bit too narrow for the three of them, but if they squeezed in, they could still all fit.
People outside also noticed the scene of two beautiful girls pulling a Boy (?) inside. While envying the Boy (?)'s good luck, the sound from inside made them stop as they turned to leave.
"Kyaa! Don't touch that spot, Shido. I haven't developed yet; Origami's side is more ample."
"That's right, Shido. Come and touch mine. If you think what's inside is in the way, I can take it off, so it won't affect the feel."
"I don't know what you're talking about! And my hands are being held by you two, so I don't have time to do anything else! Please don't say such misleading things!"
"Eh~ Are you trying to blame us, Shido? How mean; I didn't expect Shido to be such a person. I misjudged you!"
"It's okay, I can accept Shido no matter what kind of person he is. Even if Shido you want to put a collar on me and make me crawl on all fours like a little puppy, it's no problem."
"So I'm saying… don't say such strange things!!!"
Although the photo-taking didn't take long, Shiori felt like she had spent several hours on the ground.
This wasn't physical fatigue, but mental exhaustion.
Ever since leaving the machine, Shiori felt many people watching her nearby, their envious, jealous, and hateful gazes like knives, constantly piercing her skin.
It wasn't until her earphone started vibrating that Shiori had no choice but to find a way to escape Origami and Shiori, and run towards Kurumi's direction.
This time, Inaba Tsukiyo and Origami didn't wait for Shiori as planned; instead, they entered the Imaginary Space and followed Shiori's footsteps, finding her and Kurumi in a lingerie store.
At this moment, Kurumi was holding a black piece of lingerie, pulling the subtly expressive Shiori into the changing room with her other hand.
Seeing this, Origami's aura became terrifyingly intense. She completely disregarded those around her, wanting to rush into the changing room and drag them out.
"Wait a minute, do you want to cause a commotion here? Or do you think you can deal with Kurumi?"
"Kurumi... Nightmare..."
Origami looked at the changing room nervously. She was very worried that Kurumi, the most evil Spirit who had killed tens of thousands of humans, would harm Shiori.
However, what Origami was more concerned about now was what Kurumi and Shiori were doing inside the changing room.
Were they changing lingerie together? They were both girls, so changing lingerie together wasn't out of the question.
But given Kurumi's personality, would she do something to Shiori while she was naked? If that were true, wouldn't she have lost to Kurumi?
She had already secretly smelled Shiori's clothes at school. She was the first to meet Shiori. She would absolutely not allow anyone to have intimate physical contact with Shiori before her.
"Calm down. If something really happens, I can hear it. Right now, Kurumi is just forcing Shiori to put on that black, somewhat overly sexy lingerie. Besides that, there's nothing major."
"..."
Origami, who was still struggling, suddenly stopped and looked at Inaba Tsukiyo with an inexplicable gaze.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No, I just find it a bit strange. You told me you couldn't see, so why do you know that the lingerie Nightmare took in was a black, rather sexy type?"
"...Is that what you're concerned about? It's not impossible to tell you. Actually, my eyes returned to normal some time ago. It's just that because I've been blind for too long, my eyes still look hollow."
Inaba Tsukiyo showed Origami her hollow eyes. Although Astaroth and Randegil had healed her eyes, because her eyes had been blind for a long time, her eyeballs still appeared lifeless.
"Blind for too long? What does that mean? Aren't Spirits born as Spirits?"
"Who told you that? At least I only recently became what you call a Spirit. Before that, I was a very ordinary human, you know."
Although she was just a human with the ability to not age, she had maintained this appearance for hundreds of years.
"You mean... you changed from a human into a Spirit? What about the other Spirits..."
Origami lowered her head and began to think. The information revealed by Inaba Tsukiyo's words was simply too much.
Changing from a human into a Spirit was completely different from her previous understanding of Spirits. She had always thought that Spirits were always Spirits, a different race from humans.
Kurumi and Shiori quickly left the lingerie store. Shiori's face had a strange blush, while Kurumi carried a bag with a satisfied expression.
Next, Shiori and Kurumi walked through various amusement facilities, but Shiori occasionally left in between, which left Origami a bit confused, not understanding why Shiori had so many things to do.
Inaba Tsukiyo expressed helplessness at Origami forgetting that Shiori had other dates and could only make up a random reason to appease them.
Finally, as the sun was about to set, Shiori and Kurumi's date was nearing its end.
One couldn't help but marvel at the stamina girls displayed while shopping. Even after walking all day, Shiori only had a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, seemingly able to continue walking.
Kurumi was very satisfied with today's date. Shiori, this seemingly somewhat foolish but incredibly righteous girl, seemed to possess an unusual charm, allowing her to temporarily forget her heavy mission and experience an ordinary yet happy daily life.
However, this joy could not last forever. Kurumi knew the great price she had to pay to achieve her tragic wish.
This path might not be understood by anyone, and she might even be hated by everyone, but to achieve this goal, Kurumi was willing to become an enemy of the entire world.
Just as Shiori was leaving to take Tohka back, Kurumi noticed a group of teenagers abusing a cat in the nearby bushes.
It was a very cute kitten, but these teenagers were using toy guns, wire, and disposable lighters to torment this adorable kitten.
"These guys... scum of society!"
Such Animal abuse was not uncommon. Some perverted people even liked to post videos of themselves abusing cats or dogs online, trying to attract the attention of others in this way.
"It's unavoidable. The country has a Wild Animal Protection Law, but no Small Animal Protection Law. No one cares about kittens or puppies, so defenseless kittens become targets for those seeking thrills."
It's likely these people don't have the guts to harm real people, so they take it out on small Animals.
Under imperfect laws, ordinary small Animals are not protected, especially stray cats that no one wants. Since they are not personal property, anything can be done to them.
This white kitten was just like the kitten Kurumi gave her when she went to the pet store before.
A surge of anger arose. Hearing the teenagers' laughter and the cat's wails, an indescribable disgust and fury welled up in her heart.
Inaba Tsukiyo stood up and, under Origami's confused expression, walked towards Kurumi.
"Hey... what are you going to do?"
Origami wanted to stop Inaba Tsukiyo, but an invisible barrier blocked Origami's hand, preventing her from touching Inaba Tsukiyo.
At the same time, numerous Imaginary Space arms grabbed Origami's body, immobilizing her, leaving her to watch Inaba Tsukiyo walk towards Kurumi.
"Oh my~ Tsukiyo-chan... why are you here?"
Kurumi looked at Inaba Tsukiyo with some surprise, seemingly not expecting Inaba Tsukiyo to appear here.
"I heard a very interesting sound, so I couldn't help but come and see. You know, my hearing is very sensitive; I can hear sounds even from far away."
"Is that so? So what do you plan to do now? Stop me? Or let those people continue?"
"Stop? I do need to stop you. But I won't allow those people to continue. This time, you don't need to act; I'll do it."
"You... you mean..."
"That's right, do you think you're the only one who's killed people? The number of people I've killed is no less than yours, Kurumi."
A torrent of killing intent surged forth. This was the first time Inaba Tsukiyo released her killing intent in this world.
Kurumi looked at Inaba Tsukiyo with some surprise. She had thought Inaba Tsukiyo would be like Yoshino, the type who wouldn't want to harm others.
But this immense killing intent proved that she had killed no less people than herself, and perhaps far more.
"Hehe~ Indeed... we really get along well, Tsukiyo-chan. Alright, I'll give you this opportunity. However, I'll take their time."
"...Mm."
Nodding, Inaba Tsukiyo and Kurumi walked into the forest together.
Seductive female voices and continuous screams emanated from the forest, attracting Shiori, who had rushed over.
Shiori walked into the forest and saw the surrounding ground stained red with blood, the ground covered in crimson.
Shiori's eyes widened in surprise, and she stood frozen in place, her mind wanting to refuse to acknowledge this reality, as no one had ever died in front of her in her ordinary life.
But the cruel reality ultimately triumphed over reason.
"Ah… AHHHHHHHHHH—"
Shiori let out a terrified scream.
After she realized what had truly happened, the strange smell lingering in the air assaulted her nostrils, making Shiori feel a wave of nausea.
To prevent her lunch from rising from her stomach to her throat, Shiori instinctively covered her mouth.
In front of her were Kurumi, dressed in her red and black Astral Dress, and Inaba Tsukiyo, holding a cat, staff in hand, and wearing a light purple robe.
"You're here, Shiori."
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