At 6 p.m., Tengu City was bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun.
Souta and Origami teleported directly into the living room of the Itsuka residence.
The living room connected to the dining area, where everyone was gathered around the table, eating dinner.
As Souta glanced around, he spotted Shiori, Kotori, Tohka, Yoshino, the Yamai sisters… even Natsumi was present.
He was a bit surprised.
He had expected only the Itsuka sisters and Tohka to be home.
Though the other Spirits also lived at the Itsuka residence, he vaguely remembered that they rarely ate together like this.
On the other side, the sudden appearance of two people in the living room startled everyone.
Kotori jumped to her feet in alarm.
Her twin red ponytails swayed as the chair behind her scraped harshly against the floor.
"Who are you…?! Wait, Origami? And the other one is…?"
Her shout snapped the others to attention.
Tohka eyed them warily and quickly shielded Shiori behind her.
Yoshino, shy as ever, retreated to the back.
The Yamai sisters stood up, their curious gazes falling on Souta and Origami.
Natsumi, always driven by curiosity, looked intrigued too but without her Spirit powers, she lacked her usual poise and chose to hide beside Yoshino.
"It's you again!" Tohka glared at Origami. "Trying to steal Shiori again? I won't let you!"
Origami gave Tohka a cool glance. "I came to finish the date with Shiori that was interrupted. What's it got to do with you? Move."
"Shiori would never date you!" Tohka huffed angrily.
There had always been tension between Origami and Tohka. Seeing her so arrogant, Origami had half a mind to hug Shiori just to annoy her.
Ahem! Souta's cough interrupted.
Origami looked at him. Souta gave her a look that said don't start anything, then gestured with his hand:
"Begin the presentation."
His words shifted everyone's attention to him.
But Souta remained silent, keeping to his less-talk-more-action approach.
"Souta!" Shiori's face lit up in recognition. "What are you doing here?"
"Sis, you know him?" Kotori, her white ribbon in place, looked suspiciously at Shiori.
"Yeah, he's the one I told you about... the person who helped Origami and me a lot five years ago."
Shiori smiled warmly. "I was just wondering how to find him and thank him properly… I can't believe Souta showed up on his own."
"Shiori, we're here to talk," Origami stepped forward, getting down to business.
"Talk?" Shiori blinked. "About what?"
"Wait, Sis, let me handle this."
Kotori dashed to her room and returned shortly after.
Gone was the cute little sister aura. Now, a commanding presence surrounded her, subtle but undeniable.
Souta looked at her, his gaze settling on the ribbon on her head as it had turned from white to black.
[Commander mode: Activated]
"Alright, let's talk."
Kotori pointed to the living room sofa.
From Origami's demeanor, she could tell this wasn't a trivial matter.
And Souta's stoic silence only added to the pressure. He didn't seem like someone who came in peace.
…
Everyone gathered around the circular sofa in the Itsuka home.
Souta stood behind Origami's seat, choosing not to sit since he felt it would be too bold, surrounded by beautiful girls.
Following Souta's request, Origami relayed everything he had explained at the dessert shop.
Effectively, she spoiled the entire plot for the Spirits.
"That's impossible!" Kotori reacted strongly. "Reine… Reine can't be a fake! She wouldn't betray us!"
Shiori touched her face. "I… am Takamiya Shinji?"
"Shiori…" Tohka grabbed her hand, worried. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just…"
Shiori looked dazed. Everything Origami said was foreign to her, she had no memories of it.
"Don't worry," Souta interjected calmly. "You and Takamiya Shinji are two distinct personalities. Once we deal with Takamiya Mio, I'll help separate them."
Souta's calm tone reassured Shiori a bit.
"Then I'll thank you in advance, Mr. Souta."
"Shiori! Why are you believing him so quickly?" Kotori stomped on her foot under the table. "What they're saying might not even be true! Do you think Reine would betray us?"
"Whether it's true or not," Origami said, "once Souta finishes preparations, a simple test will reveal everything."
"Souta told me he doesn't expect you to believe him outright. Just promise not to interfere when we confront Mio."
"Wait a second!" Kotori frowned. "Why isn't he speaking for himself? Why are you doing all the talking?"
"I'd like to know that too," Origami said, glancing at Souta.
Now that the groundwork was laid, Souta felt confident the conversation wouldn't derail.
He exhaled and finally spoke:
"You all know Origami. Hearing it from her is better. If I said everything myself, you'd be on high alert. You might even treat me like a threat and cause unnecessary conflict."
... And I'd rather not have to beat all of you into the ground just to be heard.
That last part, he kept to himself.
Kotori thought for a moment, then accepted his reasoning.
She rubbed her temples and asked:
"Reine… Will Takamiya Mio really kill all of us Spirits?"
"If her plan proceeds, yes," Souta said solemnly.
"Shiori may have absorbed your Spirit powers, but your 'Links' still exist. At any time, the power could flow back to you."
"That means, as long as you exist, Shiori's powers might return to you. You don't deny that, right?"
"That's already happened multiple times," Shiori said quickly.
"Mio won't allow that to happen."
Souta explained further:
"Her goal is to evolve Shiori into the perfect lifeform. From her perspective, the power flow reversal is a fatal flaw.
So, she will eliminate all of you and strip away any residual sephira crystal fragments from your bodies."
"She… She'd really kill Tohka and the others?" Shiori asked, shaken.
"She would. She's killed many people already just to refine those crystals… though Kurumi and I managed to revive them, her ruthlessness is all too real."
Souta didn't dwell on it, simply stating:
"If you don't believe me, just help with our test.
I'll lure Mio out, expose her identity and plan, and declare my intent to save you all.
At that moment, you try to activate your powers and trigger the reverse flow. Then we'll see if she tries to eliminate you."
Kotori fell silent, deep in thought.
After a long pause, she finally made her decision.
"If that's how we do it… I'll cooperate."
If Souta was lying, she'd apologize to Reine on her knees later.
But if things unfolded as he predicted… Kotori already felt a heavy weight in her chest.
She looked at Souta, anxiety in her voice as she asked:
"Will you… have to kill Reine?"
"That's not my decision to make," Souta shook his head. "That's up to Kurumi. She's the one best suited to decide."
…
As they left the Itsuka house, Souta turned to Origami.
"Thank you, for everything."
Origami looked at him, puzzled.
"I just passed along your words. What's there to thank me for?"
"You don't understand," Souta replied simply.
Origami: "?"
"I'm heading to the rendezvous point first. You can team up with Shiori and the others and meet me there."
Souta picked a direction and instantly teleported away.
Tengu City wasn't suitable for a battle, so he had chosen a different place as the battlefield.
As for why he didn't just teleport Kotori and the others with him... seriously? They were all Spirits, and the divine power required for teleporting them was massive.
Better let them walk honestly!
…
Once he arrived at the battlefield he had chosen, Souta settled in and began to wait patiently.
Waiting for Shiori and the others to arrive.
And also waiting for Kurumi to message him.
It was now exactly 6:30 in the evening.
Since it was summer, night hadn't fallen yet, though the light had dimmed somewhat.
Around 7 p.m., Souta's system phone buzzed in his pocket.
He took it out and checked the screen, a pleased expression forming on his face.
Tokisaki Kurumi: "@Souta. I've completed my evolution!"
Souta: "Then hurry back. I'm waiting in the present."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Wait a moment, I need to reabsorb the Spirit ability I once infused into the Twelfth Bullet. Once that's done, I'll be automatically bounced back to the normal timeline."
Altair: "So it's finally starting!"
Chiba's Fallen Saint Black Cat: "Kukuku, the first multi-species video conference, I'm looking forward to it."
Souta: "Black Cat, you better prepare some fast-acting heart pills. Once the video call's over, pop a few and calm yourself down."
Chiba's Fallen Saint Black Cat: "?"
Chiba's Fallen Saint Black Cat: "Oh divine ones, such a vile provocation! I've already put on my Fallen Angel battle gear. This time, I'll give it my all and show you the full might of a Demon Lord. Get ready to cry!"
Souta: "Alright, I've said my piece."
Souta: "@Shinobu @Rin Tohsaka…"
Tagging the rest of the participants in the upcoming video conference, Souta then put his phone away and calmly waited for Kurumi's return.