"Just once is enough. Kurumi, please—let me give you a chance to start over!"
"Eh?"
Kurumi widened her eyes in surprise, but soon furrowed her brows.
"Why are you still saying that? Please, don't go too far! Your kindness only makes things more troublesome!"
Kurumi shouted as if resisting Shidou, her voice no longer carried the bottomless terror it once did.
To be precise, her tone now sounded more like she was afraid of something.
Or rather, she was afraid of some action Shidou might take.
Recalling what Reine had said earlier—yes, Kurumi must be terrified.
Because no one had ever reached out a helping hand to her, this unfamiliar gesture of kindness filled her with fear.
It was like the fear of the abyss—terrifying precisely because it is unknown.
That's what Shidou believed.
"Kurumi... have you ever experienced a calm life? One without killing... or being killed?"
Shidou spoke softly, but Kurumi's shoulders trembled slightly.
"I..."
"Then you don't know, do you? How can you be so sure that you really prefer a life of killing and being killed every day? You might actually end up liking a peaceful life!"
"But, that kind of thing..."
"It's possible! I can make it happen!"
Shidou shouted loudly.
To Tenqi Sanluo, this guy looked no different from a gorilla at a zoo showing off its strength.
However, before him, Kurumi was stunned by his intensity and held her breath.
"What you've done is unforgivable. You'll have to spend your whole life atoning for your sins! But still...! No matter what you've done, Kurumi, I still have a reason to save you...!"
"Ugh..."
Kurumi took several steps back, seemingly hesitating.
Seizing the moment, Shidou stepped forward and reached out his right hand.
"I... Mr. Shidou, I..."
Kurumi's emotions spiraled into confusion—and then—
"Splurt—"
Blood splashed through the air.
Shidou's eyes widened in disbelief at the scene before him.
The Kurumi who had just begun to soften was suddenly pierced through the chest by an ice spear flying in from the side.
A freezing chill engulfed the rooftop.
"I..."
Kurumi's eyes bulged in pain, as if she couldn't even comprehend what had happened.
"To be swayed by such childish and naive words... Tokisaki Kurumi, it seems your clone was quite disobedient."
Kurumi's body twitched twice; her Astral Dress dissolved, revealing pale, flawless skin.
"Wha—"
Shidou stiffly turned his head toward the direction the ice spear had come from.
"Itsuka Shidou, is that what you wanted to say?"
Tenqi Sanluo raised her weapon, Polar Ice Burst, its icy tip aimed at Shidou. Her voice was cold.
"It seems the only thing hard about you is your mouth. You never learn."
"Oh my, Tenqi-san, don't kill him yet. I still need to become one with him."
Kurumi's voice echoed beside Shidou's ear. He turned back toward where Kurumi's body had fallen—
and there, beside her corpse, a dark shadow rose from the ground.
From within it emerged another Kurumi, smiling seductively.
There was no mistaking it—she was Kurumi.
Her hair was black as shadow, her skin pale as pearl—and her left eye, with its gleaming golden clock face, confirmed her identity.
Unlike the earlier one, this Kurumi's expression held no hesitation, only raw greed directed toward Shidou.
"Goodness me, that child really is troublesome."
Multiple arms reached out from the shadow, pulling the corpse into the darkness.
"To panic like that... it seems the me of the past was still too young."
"W-What...?"
Shidou frowned in confusion. He knew Kurumi could create clones—but what did she mean by "the me of the past"?
"Tokisaki Kurumi, you'd better clean up your clones properly next time, or you'll just cause trouble,"
Tenqi Sanluo narrowed her eyes as she sensed the immense spiritual energy of the spirit before her.
"And finally, you've decided to show your true self."
"Ah, but of course—how else could I devour Shidou-san more completely?"
Kurumi's smile grew more dangerous, and Shidou instinctively stepped back.
"Such a naive, foolish idealist... I honestly don't know how he managed to seal other Spirits."
"Tenqi-san, not all Spirits are like us, you know."
As she spoke, Kurumi took a step toward Shidou.
Shidou was too stunned to react—just standing there, frozen.
"Eeek...!"
Before Kurumi's hand could touch him, it was sliced off, spinning through the air before hitting the ground.
"Oh my, oh my."
Kurumi flipped backward, landing lightly. That was when Shidou noticed—someone now stood between them.
"Mana?"
"Yes. It seems you're in danger again, brother."
Mana cast a wary glance at Tenqi Sanluo, confirming she had no immediate intention of joining the fight, before turning her sharp gaze toward Kurumi.
"You're causing trouble again, aren't you, Nightmare?"
"Fufufu, how impressive—you easily broke through my Astral Dress."
As she spoke, Kurumi suddenly spread her arms dramatically and spun once in place.
"However, that won't be of any use against me as I am now!"
With that, she stepped gracefully across the ground as if dancing.
"Come forth! My Angel—Zafkiel!"
In an instant—a massive, classical clock slowly emerged from the shadow behind her.
The clock was several times taller than Kurumi, its circular face ornate and elegant.
Each hand—crafted like antique flintlock pistols—was fixed at the center.
"An Angel?"
Shidou couldn't help but shout.
"Kurumi, this is your Angel? It looks like it's only good for smashing people."
Standing off to the side, Tenqi Sanluo observed coldly, adding her own sarcastic comment.
"Oh my, my, Tenqi-san—you'll understand soon enough."
Kurumi smiled, then took down one of the flintlock pistols from the clock face—the hour hand.
"Bullet of Four."
As she chanted, the clock face in her golden left eye began to spin rapidly clockwise.
A mass of shadow oozed out from the Roman numeral IV on the giant clock behind her, flowing into the muzzle of the gun.
Then—before the astonished eyes of Shidou and Mana—Kurumi raised the barrel beneath her chin.
"What are you—"
Before Mana could finish, Kurumi smiled faintly—then pulled the trigger without hesitation.
What followed was a sight that completely defied reason.
The severed right hand that had fallen to the ground floated back into the air, rewinding as though time itself were reversing.
It drifted toward Kurumi, and when the severed wrist met the stump of her arm, the two reattached seamlessly—without even a scar.
Even the long glove she wore had been perfectly restored.
"I see... Tokisaki Kurumi, so this is your Angel's ability?"
Tenqi Sanluo crossed her arms, watching the spectacle as if it were theater. With her overwhelming power, she could interfere at any moment if needed.
"I must admit, Nightmare, I've never seen that trick before. Quite the impressive recovery ability."
Mana's expression remained calm, but inwardly she seethed.
Kurumi, however, only laughed softly and shook her head.
"Fufufu... no, that's not it. I merely turned back time, that's all."
"What did you say?"
Mana frowned, but Kurumi ignored her reaction and detached the flintlock rifle—the minute hand—from the clock, holding it at the ready.
"Come now, come now—let's begin our little carnage, shall we?"
"Hmph, fine. I'll kill you like always, even if this time you're the real body... Nightmare!"
Mana spoke coldly, but Kurumi burst out laughing, as if hearing something ridiculous.
"Fufufufu—you still don't understand? You can't kill me! It's absolutely—impossible—to kill me!!"
"I don't care. Once your true body dies, all your clones will disappear too. My mission will be complete."
"Hehe, well said, Miss Mana. But tell me—how exactly will you kill me? Fufufu... I can't wait to see."
As she spoke, Kurumi raised her rifle.
"But before that—Bullet of Two."
A shadow seeped out from the Roman numeral II on the clock face, flowing into the muzzle of her gun. Then—
Kurumi pointed the gun directly at Tenqi Sanluo, who had been watching the battle unfold.