"You damn bastard! Is this how you turned Shibuya into this?!"
Mordred had already run into the Hannya Mask person who, according to X, had entered Shibuya Central Hospital. They met in a fourth-floor hallway. The Hannya Mask person was about to walk out of a hospital room with two subordinates when they ran right into each other. Two subordinates, who also wore masks, were now lying at Mordred's feet. Although she felt like she had cut them, the sensation wasn't like cutting a living person.
"What strange existences." The Hannya Mask person sized up Mordred and the girl she was protecting behind her. "First, a former spiritual being who was given a physical body by a barrier and the aura of the underworld, and then a living person who's still running around despite touching the 'boundary'."
"A living person..." Yukino Yukinoshita almost couldn't breathe when she heard that term. What it implied terrified her, and the despair that had just faded came rushing back.
"What do you mean?" Yukino's voice trembled, but she still held on, yelling in a hoarse voice, "My sister, what have you done to the people who lost their bodies?!"
"...Huh? Do you even need to ask?" the Hannya Mask person replied as if it were obvious. "Of course, they're all dead."
"Well, although they died in the sense of human relationships, they were freed from the shackles of their bodies. They will surely find true happiness without having to endure the suffering of the human world. Congratulations, congratulations."
"You, who gives you the right to decide other people's happiness?! You scum!" Mordred's eyes were filled with fury.
"Tell me!" Yukino Yukinoshita held back her tears, glaring at the Hannya Mask person. "How can I get my sister back—how can I get the bodies of those who were erased by the fog back?!"
"What are you talking about?" the Hannya Mask person shot back. "How can something that has already been erased come back?"
"Since it's been erased, it naturally no longer exists."
"Die!" Mordred, enraged, raised her sword, ready to release a Mana Burst at the Hannya Mask person.
"Mordred! Wait!" X's voice stopped her just in time.
"Huh? What do you want?! I'm furious right now!"
"We can't give up hope that 'there might be a way to restore everyone'! So, I hope you can try to capture this masked person alive!" X explained.
"Hope, hope, hope! Damn it!" Mordred gnashed her teeth, glaring at the Hannya Mask person. "Do you really think those people who lost their bodies can be restored?!"
"In fact, just a moment ago, a person came through the edge of the barrier... and they were accompanied by some fantastic creatures identified as 'Yokai'. That person spoke with a male spirit who called himself 'KK'. It seems he learned from 'KK' that if the spirits can be collected with a 'Katashiro' and released to the 'outside', there might be a chance to restore everyone," X explained. "Although we don't know who this person is, it's a way to 'possibly have a perfect ending.' I've already alerted Taichi and Akane, and they've changed course and are on their way."
"Although it sounds a little unbelievable, it's still hope, right?" Mordred grinned viciously. "Hey, Yukinoshita, cheer up a little. Our collaborator is trying to find a way for those people's spirits to regain their bodies."
"Really?!" Yukino Yukinoshita asked, a mix of surprise and panic, looking at Mordred for confirmation.
"Tch," the Hannya Mask person clicked his tongue after hearing Mordred's words.
"Oh? It seems you weren't being honest just now," Mordred said, a vein popping on her forehead as she realized the Hannya Mask person's words were probably meant to make her lose her cool. "So there really is a way."
"That's great," Yukino Yukinoshita said, choking up with emotion. "It's really great. There's a chance to restore everyone."
"Hehehe, then what if the whole world became 'within the boundary' and there was no 'outside'?" the Hannya Mask person said in a cold voice. "Your hope will eventually turn into despair."
"Die!" While Mordred didn't plan on killing this bastard right now, it was no problem to take off one arm and two legs.
"So fast!" The Hannya Mask person was also startled by Mordred's astonishing speed and was almost caught by her sword, which was about to cut off his arm. But just then, a person also wearing a Hannya mask rushed over and blocked the sword, giving the Hannya Mask person a second to retreat.
"Tch! He got away!" Mordred ground her teeth, then quickly retreated to Yukino Yukinoshita's side to prevent the masked person from suddenly reappearing and kidnapping her. She had noticed that the masked person had a desire to "get his hands on" Yukino Yukinoshita.
"I'm sorry, Mordred," Yukino Yukinoshita said, clenching her fists. "Not only did I hold you back in the fight, but I couldn't even keep my cool. From the very beginning, that masked person has been leading me by the nose."
"Don't blame yourself," Mordred replied. "That scum just took advantage of the unequal information between us and him."
"Mordred, can you tell me, were you communicating with that collaborator just now?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked suddenly. "Even though you were looking straight at that masked person, it was as if you were communicating with someone I couldn't see."
"But you don't have any communication devices..." Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly covered her mouth with her hand. "Sorry, it's an old habit. When I encounter something I can't understand, I want to get to the bottom of it. It's my old habit."
"It's not that I can't tell you... Ah, no, Taichi said not to tell people who don't know about his existence," Mordred said, suddenly changing her mind. She turned and patted Yukino's shoulder. "Sorry, just pretend you didn't hear anything just now."
Ugh, now I'm even more curious, Yukino Yukinoshita sighed to herself.
Putting her helmet back on, Yukino Yukinoshita got on the back of the motorcycle and hugged Mordred's waist tightly. "Where should we search for that masked person now?"
"No, we'll stop the search for now. We have to go and meet up with Taichi and Akane," Mordred explained. "Someone has come from the 'outside'."