A strange, colored veil instantly spread over the entire school. Students collapsed one after another, groaning as they hit the ground. We could only stand there, stunned by the sudden turn of events.
“What the hell is going on?”
“Reine-san!”
[I’ll analyze it right away.]
As expected of an expert, Murasame-san’s analysis was finished in no time. According to her, the veil was a wide-area barrier designed to weaken any humans caught within its reach.
“At a glance, this is the lady’s doing.”
“Kurumi?! Why?!”
“Shi, do...”
Far off in the distance, Tohka was leaning against a wall, struggling to make her way toward Itsuka-kun. Seeing her, Itsuka-kun quickly ran over to support her.
“Tohka! Are you okay?!”
“Yes. But my body feels heavy...”
“Why are you and Hieta fine...?”
Just as Itsuka-kun noted, only he and I remained unaffected inside the barrier. Why was that? The answer came quickly from Murasame-san.
[Because you’re sealing Tohka’s spirit power, you’re essentially under a spirit’s protection. And Hiki is a spirit to begin with.]
I wanted to argue against that second part, but this was an emergency, so I let it slide.
[In this situation, only you two can move properly.]
[Ah, Shido-san~ Can you hear me~?]
As soon as Murasame-san finished speaking, Kurumi’s voice began pouring out of the school speakers.
[If you have business with me, come to the rooftop~ It’d be best if you hurry~ Ahaha! Ahahahahahaha!]
With that, the speakers went silent. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Itsuka-kun and I had Tohka rest and ran straight to the rooftop.
“This is... a bullet hole.”
There were marks on the rooftop door that looked as if someone had shot it with a gun. That told us Kurumi was armed again, just like last time. But that didn’t mean we could avoid going up; we pushed open the door and stepped onto the roof.
“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you, Shido-san. Hiki-san.”
In the center of the rooftop, Kurumi stood greeting us.
“Kurumi! What did you do?!”
“Isn’t it wonderful? [The Castle That Eats Time]. A barrier that drains the ‘time’ of anyone who steps on my shadow.”
“Time...?”
At Itsuka-kun’s question, Kurumi lifted the bangs covering her left eye. Her left eye featured a clock-like design, complete with a second hand, minute hand, and hour hand, with the numbers written in Roman numerals. Like a clock being wound backward, all the hands were turning counterclockwise.
“That’s...”
“This is my ‘time.’ You could call it my lifespan. My angel has a truly wonderful ability, but unfortunately, every time I use it, it consumes a massive amount of time. So, every now and then, I replenish it from the outside like this.”
Her words left us stunned. In other words, the time—the very lifespan—of everyone affected by the barrier was being transferred to Kurumi.
“All of you are my poor, lovely prey. Ah, but... Shido-san and Hiki-san are special.”
Kurumi continued with a chilling smile.
“Because... I came all this way to become one with you, to eat you with my own hands—”
Thud!
“Hieta?!”
Man, her face was so creepy I couldn’t help myself—I just punched her.
Kurumi, caught completely off guard, staggered a few steps and then glared at me with a terrifying expression.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
“No, seriously, your face is way too creepy. Forget about eating us or not; it’s your face that's the problem.”
Kurumi’s face twisted for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure and continued. That girl was tougher than I expected.
“Anyway, before I eat you, I’d like Shido-san to take back what he said this morning. Saying he’d save me is utter nonsense.”
“What...!”
“You know, Shido-san. You’re scared I’ll do something like this over such a petty reason, aren’t you~? You hate me, don't you~? It’s obvious I’m not someone you should show mercy to, right~? So please, take those words back.”
Kurumi slowly moved closer to Itsuka-kun and stroked his cheek.
“Then I might even be inclined to release this barrier for you~”
Hearing that, Itsuka-kun’s eyes widened. Seeing his reaction, Kurumi flashed that same creepy smile as before.
“If you wait too long, it’ll be too late~”
“...Release the barrier.”
But of course, Itsuka-kun wasn’t going to be shaken by a threat like that. Then came his next words.
“But I still won’t give up on you.”
“What are you talking about? Haa, this is ridiculous.”
Kurumi stepped away from Itsuka-kun and raised a hand overhead. Suddenly, an alarm blared.
Wiiiiiing!
“You know what this sound means, don’t you?”
“A spacequake alarm?!”
Kurumi could, astonishingly, trigger a spacequake at will.
“Kihit! Kihihihit! Now then, what are you going to do~? If a spacequake starts right now, what do you think will happen to the unconscious students~?”
Itsuka-kun was trapped. If he insisted on saving Kurumi, a spacequake would occur. But if he took back his words, he would lose any chance of dealing with her peacefully.
[Shin. Kurumi’s mental state is shifting. It looks like she’s actually afraid of you.]
Murasame-san’s single observation completely flipped the situation. Right now, Kurumi was clearly afraid of Itsuka-kun.
“Kurumi! You said your goal was to eat me and Hiki, right? Then stop the spacequake! If you don’t...!”
Suddenly, Itsuka-kun climbed up onto the railing.
No way!
“I’ll jump down and die right here!”
“Using yourself as a hostage? Go ahead and try that threat if you can. Even if you die, I can just eat Hiki-san instead~”
Like hell you will. I quickly forced Itsuka-kun down from the railing and turned to face Kurumi.
“Wha—! Hieta!”
“Well, well. This can’t be helped.”
I switched equipment in my inventory and began spouting the line.
“Ahh~ I didn’t want to show this in a place like this... If I use this, everyone’s going to call me a spirit, aren’t they? Look carefully! And... don’t tell anyone!”
Bankaiiiiiii!!!!!
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