"What are you talking about? When did I say I was going to kill them? I just want to knock them out."
Inaba Tsukiyo said somewhat helplessly. Did this girl really think of her as a cold-blooded demon? Don't just casually assume she would kill people, okay?
"Eh? You… you weren't planning to kill them?"
"Of course not. Although that would be simple, the subsequent handling would be very troublesome. So knocking them out is the best option."
With that, Inaba Tsukiyo turned the sword around, aiming the blunt side at the approaching figures.
"Don't worry, I am very confident in my swordsmanship. As long as I control my strength, I can use the back of the blade to knock them unconscious, so no one will die. However, this method does have a side effect."
"S-Side effect? What do you mean? Are there other consequences besides making people faint?"
"Consequences… because I'm hitting the back of the neck. If the back of the neck is too fragile, they might lose some of their memories. I also call this method 'physical amnesia,' and it's a very useful method in certain situations."
"Please don't say such terrifying things with a smile, okay? No matter how you think about it, this isn't acceptable!"
Physical amnesia? That's too much! Even without seeing it, just hearing the description already made her neck ache.
Faced with Shiori's obstruction, Inaba Tsukiyo had no choice but to put away her weapon and use the method she least wanted to use.
Since Miku was using her singing to control these people, she would also learn from Miku's method and see if her voice could disperse Miku's song.
No sooner said than done, Inaba Tsukiyo took a deep breath, recalled her time with Victorica, and a song appeared in her mind. Without much thought, Inaba Tsukiyo began to sing.
"Standing together, hope turns from this."
"No matter when or where, let's embark on that new journey!"
A more powerful song than Miku's came, faintly dispersing Miku's song, and the eyes of the controlled people gradually regained their clarity.
Miku, who was singing, didn't expect Inaba Tsukiyo to have this move, but after a brief moment of surprise, Miku increased her spiritual power, trying to suppress Inaba Tsukiyo's voice.
She also had her own dignity. In terms of singing, even if she knew Inaba Tsukiyo was better than her, she had spiritual power. How could she allow herself to lose to someone else in the area she was most proud of?
Although Miku's song had the power to bewitch people, Inaba Tsukiyo's song contained an even stronger power than hers, and that was love.
The power of love can disperse everything. This is the ultimate of human emotions, more fervent than hope, more profound than despair—that is love.
Under Inaba Tsukiyo's song, Shiori seemed to see a scene: a Little Loli who had been confined in a cold ivory tower since childhood, accompanied only by books from a young age.
Growing up in such an environment, she was like a doll, not understanding what love was, not understanding what emotions were.
All of this finally changed when another lonely person appeared, and the Little Loli's life, which had been filled with gray colors, finally found its vibrancy.
"No matter when, no matter where, leaning on each other, no longer afraid, even if darkness separates the two."
"The clear heartbeat declares this, until I meet you again."
"My thoughts, may they always be with you."
No matter how hard Miku tried, she couldn't suppress Inaba Tsukiyo's song.
In the end, no matter how hard she tried to sing, her song was suppressed by Inaba Tsukiyo's song.
The increasing pressure made Miku breathless. Finally, looking at the people around her who had regained their senses, Miku collapsed weakly to the ground, watching Inaba Tsukiyo slowly walk towards her.
Miku had completely lost to Inaba Tsukiyo this time, utterly defeated by Inaba Tsukiyo in her most confident area.
She had tried so hard, so why was it still like this? She… she had already lost so many things, so why did she still lose to others in the end? Why?
"Because you are afraid. You are afraid that your fear will be expressed through your song. So you use this power to hide your fear. How could you, relying on external forces, win against me, who understands what 'love' is?"
Inaba Tsukiyo came before Miku. She had poured all her emotions into this song. In this situation, how could she lose to Miku?
"It would have been fine if you hadn't appeared, but you appeared here this time to use your power to control the people around you, to control me in that way, right? You… are truly naive."
"For someone like you, you should be properly educated. Before you make a bigger mistake, your distorted thoughts must be corrected."
Her right hand rested on Miku's shoulder, and a special mark appeared on Miku's neck, emitting a faint magical power.
Miku wanted to speak, but she tried many times and found that she couldn't make any sound.
She couldn't make any sound at all, not even ordinary vocalization.
What exactly did Inaba Tsukiyo do? Why couldn't she make a sound? Could it be… could it be that Inaba Tsukiyo took away her voice?
Miku reached out and grabbed Inaba Tsukiyo's clothes, pointing to her throat and making a gesture of speaking.
'G-Give me back my voice.'
Please, this is all I have left. Without it… what do I have left? Without my voice… I am just a useless person (useless person).
No matter what price she had to pay, as long as her voice was returned, no matter what she had to do, she was willing.
"Don't worry, I'll return your voice to you. But not now..."
"Consider this a vacation for yourself. I won't let you leave until I've completely corrected your personality."
"Don't worry, I've seen many mischievous children like you. Under my re... guidance, they all turned into obedient and adorable children. I believe you can do it too."
Although she was smiling, in Miku's eyes, it was like the smile of a devil.
This made Miku somewhat regret her actions this time. She could have had a friendly exchange with the other girls at home, so how did it turn out like this?
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