The sky was dyed a deep crimson.
All the Spirits on the rooftop instinctively lifted their heads, gazing toward the source of the sound.
Feeling the pressure on his body ease, Shidou also quickly looked up—wanting to see clearly the fiery red figure above.
There, hovering in the air above the rooftop, was a sphere of flame.
And standing within that blazing light was a small girl.
She was dressed in a kimono of red and white, her delicate sleeves fluttering as one side turned into flame and swayed with the wind.
Ribbons of fire coiled around her arms and waist, draping like the celestial robes of a heavenly maiden.
Perhaps it was just Shidou's imagination, but the two horn-like protrusions atop the girl's head—resembling those of a demon—combined with her attire to create a bizarre yet strangely harmonious impression of both beauty and unease.
However, that wasn't what caught Shidou's attention most.
The crucial point was this: the girl's face was identical to that of his own white-haired, adorable little sister—the one who stomped around the house every morning shouting about dropped candy—and simultaneously the sharp-tongued yet dependable commander aboard Fraxinus: Itsuka Kotori.
If Shidou hadn't spent years living together with Kotori, he might really have thought the girl floating before him was her twin sister.
"Kotori…?"
Shidou uttered her name in disbelief.
Beside him, still crouched on the ground, Tohka suddenly came to the same realization and exclaimed,
"Yeah! Isn't that Kotori?!"
The figure wreathed entirely in flames—there was no doubt—it was Itsuka Kotori.
"...How unexpected."
Tianqi Sanluo, who had been about to leave, stopped and stayed.
She had never thought this world could be so entertaining—one twist after another, reversals piling on top of reversals—enough to make even her waver in her earlier thought of simply destroying Tenguu City.
After all, a city this full of "fun toys" was a rare treasure indeed.
A precious toy should be played with thoroughly before it's destroyed.
From her perspective, Tenguu City was still far from boring—in fact, she'd only just begun to enjoy it.
Kotori slowly descended from the air, lowering her altitude, and cast a glance toward Shidou.
"For now—return him to me, Shidou."
"...What?"
Shidou furrowed his brow, confused by what his sister meant.
"This is…"
Nearby, Origami, seriously wounded and on the verge of fainting, caught a hazy glimpse of Kotori's flame-clad figure.
Her expression froze in utter shock—
No, not only shock. There was also rage, hatred, and a complex swirl of emotions.
Shidou noticed it—and so did Tianqi Sanluo.
"Heh, that expression…"
In her previous life, Tianqi Sanluo had seen that look so many times it had become muscle memory.
She could tell immediately—these two girls were about to clash.
And that meant—more amusement for her.
Considering what she now knew about both girls' connection to Shidou, Tianqi Sanluo was curious:
When that conflict breaks out, how will Shidou, that soft-bodied creature made of sponge everywhere except for his obsidian-tough mouth, deal with it?
Amused by the thought, Tianqi Sanluo leaned lazily against the wire fence to watch the show unfold.
She had no need to intervene.
Watching Tokisaki Kurumi and Itsuka Kotori fight would give her all the data she wanted—to measure this red Spirit's true combat strength.
Sure enough, after finishing her cryptic words, Kotori turned her vigilant gaze toward Tianqi Sanluo.
"I'm saying this now—you all don't have to stare at me every single time I show up.
If I really wanted to make a move, none of you would be left alive.
It's like people who only decide to move houses after a volcano erupts—
what were your brains doing before, being sold as walnuts?"
Tianqi Sanluo said irritably.
If one or two people paid her such attention, it might stroke her ego.
But if every new arrival insisted on focusing on her, especially when she had no plans to intervene, it became annoying.
"..."
The others fell silent.
They all felt something was off about what she said—but couldn't quite refute it.
"...Burn, Camael — Scorched Demon Slayer!"
Finally, Kotori broke the awkward silence.
At her command, the flames around her coalesced—
forming a massive crimson battle axe, disproportionately large compared to her small frame.
Yet Kotori lifted it effortlessly, as though it weighed nothing, and leveled it toward Tokisaki Kurumi.
"Then—let's begin our Date (our war)."
The Angel—a Spirit's ultimate weapon.
Without a doubt, Kotori was a genuine Spirit.
But to Shidou, who had grown up alongside her, there was nothing in his memories suggesting Kotori was a Spirit like Tohka.
No—something was wrong.
Shidou frowned, forcing himself to recall a blurry fragment of memory.
If his recollection wasn't mistaken, he seemed to have seen Kotori in this form before...
But for some reason, the memory was hazy, dreamlike—almost unreal.
The harder he tried to remember, the sharper the pain in his head grew—until it felt like his skull might split open.
And then—
"Ara? And who might you be?"
Kurumi's faintly displeased voice interrupted his thoughts.
"I don't care who you are—but could you please not get in my way?
It took me so long to set up such a dramatic moment, and now you've ruined it so abruptly."
Kurumi hoisted her flintlock rifle, gazing up at the fiery figure above.
Though her words were full of irritation, Tianqi Sanluo keenly caught a faint trace of nostalgia in Kurumi's expression—
as if she and Kotori had met before.
But that didn't make sense.
If they knew each other, Kurumi wouldn't bother pretending otherwise.
Then…
While Tianqi Sanluo pondered, Kotori lifted her giant axe onto her shoulder, snorting lightly through her nose.
"I'm sorry, but if I let you continue your rampage, my idiot brother will be in danger.
So—this is your punishment time."
"...Punishment?"
Kurumi blinked, completely thrown off.
For a brief moment, all the Kurumis—both real and clones—stared in stunned silence.
Then the original burst out laughing.
"Ahaha… fufufu… how amusing.
You want to punish me, Itsuka Kotori, the other sister of dear Shidou?"
"Hey…"
Origami, lying on the ground, seemed like she wanted to argue—but in the end, she wisely swallowed her words.
"Origami, I don't have time to bicker with you right now." Kotori snapped, turning her glare back to Kurumi.
"Kurumi, if you don't want to be beaten too badly, I suggest you dismiss your clones and your Angel—and salute properly like a good soldier."
At Kotori's provocation, Kurumi couldn't help but laugh again.
The countless Kurumi clones surrounding them followed suit, erupting into eerie, mocking laughter.
"Fufufu… you seem awfully confident in your power.
But excessive confidence leads only to self-destruction!
Come, my Zafkiel (Clockwork Emperor)!"
At her command, all the surrounding Kurumi clones raised their guns toward the fiery Kotori floating in the sky.
They also took the opportunity to knock out Tohka, Origami, and Mana, who had already lost the ability to fight.
As for Shidou—he had no combat power.
Two clones were enough to restrain him and stop him from biting his tongue to commit suicide.
As for Tianqi Sanluo, Kurumi had already figured her out—
as long as it didn't harm her interests and aligned with her amusement, Sanluo wouldn't interfere.
Besides, they were still allies.
If Kurumi's life were truly at risk, Sanluo would never just sit and watch—there was too much valuable information about Spirits Kurumi still held.
And indeed, that was the case.
Tianqi Sanluo's promise not to interfere only applied as long as Kurumi's life wasn't in danger.
If the flame Spirit were about to kill Kurumi, Sanluo would definitely step in and take her away safely.
"Very well—then I'll just consume you completely!"
Kurumi shouted loudly.
In an instant, the clones that had been filling the rooftop crouched low, then leapt into the sky together—
a dark, overwhelming wave surging upward, rushing toward Kotori like a crimson tsunami of shadows.