Chapter 10: I Guarantee You'll Regret It for a Lifetime
"No wonder you came to the Service Club yesterday. Were you specifically looking for me?"
"Indeed~ What a pity though, I only met Miss Yukinoshita and learned about the Service Club's philosophy. It's said to extend a helping hand to those in need, right~ Such a noble club. I never expected a Spirit like Miss Nia to be so eager to help others~"
"I'm not that kind-hearted. I was just dragged into it."
"By that guy Satoru just now, right~ How enviable. Even as a Spirit, you have a boyfriend you can trust~"
"So, you didn't come here to gossip, did you? What's the matter, Miss Nightmare?"
Seeing the other party steer the conversation back to a certain someone again, Nia couldn't help but express slight dissatisfaction before addressing the black-haired twin-tailed girl before her.
A transfer student beauty—this setting would be a powerful weapon in any game. With looks like hers, as long as the game's quality was decent, it would surely sell like hotcakes.
Unfortunately, this dual-pistol-wielding beauty wasn't here for romance, nor was she a "love rival." She was more likely here to take Nia's life...
Honestly, because Satoru had acted strangely yesterday, Nia had used her abilities to search for information about her. But just like with Satoru, she found nothing.
At the time, she thought it was odd—could she be a Spirit? Driven by curiosity, she decided to check it out.
And today, she indeed encountered her—the worst possible one.
The Most Malevolent Spirit, Nightmare, Humanity's Natural Enemy—all were her titles.
Though she had only appeared a few years ago, the number of humans she had personally killed already numbered in the thousands. She was essentially hunting everywhere.
This time, had she set her sights on Nia?
Seems like the only option later would be to run...
"Actually, I really want to find the existence of the First Spirit. I heard Miss Nia is the second Spirit, so you must know her identity well, right~"
...
...
...
"Oh, you're looking for it? Sorry, but I don't know who it is either, and I can't find it."
After a long silence, Nia finally answered the girl's question. Seeing the obvious disappointment on her face, Nia couldn't help but sigh in relief.
Thank goodness she was just here to ask about someone. Nia had thought she came specifically to kill her for "loot and leveling."
"Really? When you first appeared, you caused quite a stir, didn't you? Didn't you act alongside the First Spirit? I've looked into your records—your Angel's ability is 'Omniscience,' right? You must have at least some clues, no?"
"Really, I was amnesiac for a long time back then. I only recovered thanks to my own ability and learned of the First Spirit's existence. But its Angel's influence is too strong—I can't find any information about it. Heck, I can't even find anything about you, or I wouldn't be meeting you here like this."
Seeing Nightmare's relentless questioning, Nia waved her hand and continued explaining.
This really wasn't her hiding anything—she genuinely didn't know.
Her ability, though powerful, was purely functional. In terms of combat power, any Spirit could probably take her down easily.
Not to mention that first Spirit, which could practically be called apocalyptic in scale.
If it hadn't appeared in the sky, the spatial distortion alone might have claimed hundreds of millions of lives.
It might have even swallowed up half of the island nation...
"Sigh, still no way to find it, huh?"
However, Kurumi's reaction was completely different from what she had imagined.
After getting this result and confirming that Nia wasn't lying, Kurumi also let out a heavy sigh.
Sigh, after searching for so many years, there's still no way to find that Spirit.
"You really want to find it, huh? Is it your benefactor?"
"No, it's my enemy~ I'd love nothing more than to send it straight to hell~"
"Oh, well, sorry then. I really don't know its identity. You'll have to look elsewhere—I can't help you."
"No no~ Miss Nia, you can actually be of great help to me~ With your assistance, I can go back 12 years and find the culprit directly~"
"Eh? W-wait, what do you mean??"
"It means, of course, that I'll be absorbing you~"
"..."
Ugh, damn. Even knowing it's pointless, a fight's still unavoidable.
Well, of course. This woman has already killed over a thousand people—why would she care about one more?
And if Kurumi's ability is time-related, then going back to the past is probably within her power.
Sigh, does this mean I have no choice but to fight for my life?
But given this woman's strength, even if I go all out, I might not be able to escape.
This time… am I really at the mercy of luck...?
"Go ahead and try it if you dare. If you really do this, I swear you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"
But just then, a voice—calm yet resolute—suddenly reached their ears, coming from the rooftop entrance.
The moment Nia heard that voice, her expression instantly twisted into one of horror as she turned to look at the newly arrived boy.
"Idiot! What are you doing here?!"