Triumph and Decisive Battle
One Minute Remaining
Since the Third Region Binah had a palace motif, there was of course the Queen’s throne room.
The vast white space was filled with two red shining thrones. Standing beside this were rows of Empties armed with Unsigned Angels.
Clank??the bell began to ring.
“The White Queen! The White Queen has triumphantly returned! Ah, my God!”
The Empties that would normally be greeting her with joy and respect were now shaking in unease. The situation now has changed drastically from when she had left.
She’s come back, she’s come back, she is about to return.
The worst enemy in the Neighboring World, the sworn enemy to all Quasi-Spirits.
The door that suddenly emerged in the air was created by the Virgo Sword <Betulah>, an illegal door that allowed back and forth travel between regions.
Single-handedly declaring war against the Dominions of each region, the Queen that easily defeated that Tokisaki Kurumi clone.
Great, arrogant, strongest, fierce, and above all else a monster without equal.
Zero Minutes Remaining
With the White Queen’s triumphant return, the bell gave a loud echo.
“??Now. What happened? Quickly report.”
Quietly concealing her anger, the Queen seemed to know everything.
After her triumphant return, the White Queen let out a melancholic sigh while being informed of everything. The Empties were prostrating in front of her. These girls worked directly under Rook.
“I briefly go out only to come back home to such a big commotion?”
“M-My sincerest apologies……please forgive me……please forgive me……!”
“I don’t care. There’s no way you could have beaten them. The responsibility is left to Rook. If Rook is dead again??ah, no. It seems that she is dead.”
“Huh?”
“This time it’s you.”
The White Queen lazily pointed a gun at an Empty from the throne.
“The Scorpio Bullet <Akrab>.”
The Empty that was shot at had changed appearance. However, even though the figure had changed into that of Rook, it seemed she was trembling and unable to move. The White Queen tilted her neck while speaking.
“……Oya. Is this a side-effect of continuous revival in such a brief period of time? Is it because the scent of death is still attached or perhaps it’s simply a structural problem? Well, whatever.
Tell Rook to go after the intruder after she comes back to her senses. I??will go after her.”
One of the Empties asked anxiously.
“……What about the other two?”
“Those two are a separate force. One is responsible for investigating while other has a mission of infiltrating. Each one is tasked with an important role.”
“??Aah. As expected, you are alone.”
“!!”
That voice marked a surprise attack. The White Queen’s response was equally as quick.
However, the short pistol in her hands didn’t know where Tokisaki Kurumi was hiding among the Empties. It can be said that she made the wrong choice.
The sound of gunfire.
“……!”
A bullet had struck the White Queen’s arm. The Empties screamed from the blood leaking out??one of the Empties looked terrifying to see that the gunfire came from a hand peeping out from behind them.
The short pistol of <Zafkiel> had emerged from the shadows of the Empties.
“Ah, I remember now. You’re an expert at climbing through the shadows.”
“Hello, inverted clone-san.”
Suddenly, Kurumi leaped out from the shadows, grabbing the hem of her skirt to perform a gracefully curtsy.
“Long time no see, although it doesn’t feel like that long.”
“So you can afford to be composed now. Did taking back your lost time and sucking up that surplus of time get you excited? That’s quite adorable.”
“That was a surplus?”
“The time you sucked up was like extra fuel I saved in case of an emergency. The time that was originally stored is of course on my person.”
Kurumi sighed while shrugging her shoulders. It seemed that the White Queen was telling the truth.
“Then, I will graciously accept that surplus.”
……But it would be a different matter to say that this didn’t enrage her. Although she called it surplus fuel, these assets were cruelly plundered from other people.
“Collecting reiryoku, absorbing time, bewitching the Empties……what are you planning for this Neighboring World?”
“An extraordinary project that you can’t even imagine.”
Unfortunately, the White Queen didn’t state her goal as she turned her attention to the Empty on the side. The Empty nodded and prepared to attack??Kurumi parried with her feet and pulled the trigger of her pistol.
The Empty completely disappeared.
The White Queen smiled happily while watching this scene.
“You didn’t hesitate in the slightest to kill.”
“It hurts my chest very much to do so.”
About 30% of it was true.
Tokisaki Kurumi was not trying to actively harm or kill others. However, she decided not to show any half-hearted sympathy towards the lives of other people.
In the distant past, she had killed innocent people and committed countless sins.
Although seemingly contradictory, as long as those crimes had not disappeared, she would continue to fight and kill.
“Are you intending to fight? The Queen (me) is absolutely willing to accompany that.”
The White Queen laughed in full confidence. It was no wonder after all. She had decisively beaten Kurumi in their previous bout.
“Please do not call yourself me with that face. It brings chills to the very tips of my hairs.”
And likely she wasn’t even serious then??Kurumi was convinced of that.
That saber and gun haven’t revealed all of their abilities yet.
The White Queen, the one who controls this region and location.
Tokisaki Kurumi, the Third Spirit who has control over shadows and time.
“I’ll repeat what I said a while ago. You are a pest. Harmless and with no benefit, a disease that proliferates and grows, you are an insect spreading a virus without any purpose??”
The provocation was a success. Although it couldn’t be told if she was deliberately pretending to provoked or just growing impatient.
Now, spill out your goal, speak out your motives. Treat this taunt with disdain to your heart’s content.
And then, reveal what relationship you have with that person.
The White Queen sneered.
“As luck would have it, I have my goal. To destroy this Neighboring World……ah, no that would be a misunderstanding. It’s not destruction but rather a sacrifice.”
“And after offering this huge Neighboring World as a sacrifice, what will you exchange it for?
Do you want eternal loneliness?”
“It is the hardest thing to obtain in this world. If I can obtain it, I won’t hesitate to offer this Neighboring World and trample on this narrowed world constructed by Quasi-Spirits.”
There was contempt that couldn’t be hidden in the White Queen’s eyes.
A sense of self-recognition that differentiated herself from every Quasi-Spirit??she looked at them with the same respect held for a speck of dust.
“In that case, I will fight to protect this Neighboring World.”
“Fight? You said fight? Amusing, amusing, how utterly amusing. No……fufu……even when reversed, am I still me ? Tokisaki Kurumi, have you not understand it yet? The disparity of when your strength falls short to mine?”
……Certainly, what she said wasn’t far from the truth.
That’s right. Yes, absolutely……I won’t be fighting alone.”
Rook was still coughing from behind. ……Perhaps, this is due to the fear from dying?
It would take more time for her to be able to resume fighting and step into the battlefield again.
If so, it would be better to just inform her rather than let her continue to monologue.
“Incidentally, after I experienced various circumstances, the seal on one power was lifted.”
“Oh? You’re just like the main character of a game.”
The White Queen didn’t move. However, she suddenly felt a chill. The Angel <Zafkiel> was possessed by Tokisaki Kurumi.
Although it lacked the destructive power to raze its surroundings in the real world, she was hailed as the Worst Spirit because of its power to distort natural laws.
Stopping time with the Seventh <Zayin>, accelerating time with the First Bullet <Aleph>, peeking into the past with the Tenth Bullet <Yud>.
She only had to endure the damage and then crush the opponent’s defenses.
Normally, it would be impossible to resist an overwhelming foul play like distorting time.
…..However, of course the White Queen also had <Lucifugus>.
But??wait a minute.
One bullet had the ability to be invincible.
The White Queen recalled the most evil ability within <Zafkiel>, a bullet capable of bringing the ultimate unreasonable phenomenon into reality.
“……Now way, it can’t be.”
“It’s just as you fear. The Eighth Bullet <Het>!”
Kurumi shot herself in the head??accompanied by that loud impact, Kurumi’s body split into two. Just like magic, Tokisaki Kurumi had become two.
……No, it wasn’t a complete copy. There were some differences. The color of the Astral Dress, her atmosphere, something was different. Even the Empties with thin emotions remaining were trembling and running away from this sight. It was that much of a marvelous event.
“Good morning, me . No, would you like to be called Cistus?”
“Good morning, me . That’s right. As expected, you can only summon me. Comrades are few…..no, rather it should be said that ourselves are few?”
“……I didn’t expect you to release that bullet.”
The girl holding the short pistol of <Zafkiel> had been thoroughly tortured and tortured by the White Queen.
Too pitiful to be killed, there was nothing more that could be taken away.
Until a new Tokisaki Kurumi had been captured, she had forgotten about her??
“……Life really is unsatisfactory.”
The White Queen sighed towards the sky.
“Alright, alright. There are two Tokisaki Kurumi, this time at last look forward to??trying to catch up to my strength.”
Confronted by the White Queen’s provocation, Kurumi replied back calmly.
“Yes, yes. So this time, I will make sure you are??thoroughly crushed.”
Of course, there was no option for communication from the very beginning. When they first met, it was intuitively understood??
Never allow each other to exist.
Never permit the concept of each other to exist.
Never forgive each other’s claims.
It was neither evil nor justice. The bottom line of the battle between her and me was exactly the same for both sides.
So kill and dirty these hands with blood.
The gun felt very light. Not being burdened by the weight of <Zafkiel> was an indication of its excellent condition. At the very least, Kurumi thought so.
She looked at Cistus besides her. Devouring her, becoming part of her flesh and blood??and then finally reviving her existence.
“Let’s do it, me .”
Their respective Angel and Demon King were prepared.
“<Zafkiel>??The First Bullet <Aleph>.”
Cistus mobilized to flow behind Kurumi’s accelerated assault. A long-distance sniper added with short-distance shooting. Kurumi moved in every direction to disrupt the enemy, while Cistus took the role of a sniper to stop the opponent at the most critical moment.
They didn’t use telepathy or even make eye-contact, their timing matched exactly as predicted.
There as the feeling of all of the pieces lining up just like during the fight against Rook.
The bullets were more like a blizzard than raindrops.
Kurumi, who had replenished plenty of time, fired bullets at a speed comparable to a machine gun.
Confronted by the swarm of rushing bullets, the White Queen made her move.
“<Lucifugus>??the Libra Bullet <Moznaim>.”
She grinned as if to mock the two, pointing her muzzle to an Empty that stood motionless as she pulled the trigger.
“Huh……?”
Their coordinates were exchanged. Located where the White Queen was previously, there was an Empty in her place.
However, she rejoiced when seeing herself being attacked by Kurumi and Cistus.
“Oh, I came in handy! I am honored, Queen-sa??”
The girl’s words were crushed midway by the storm of bullets. Seeing this, the other Empty nodded to each other and began spreading out in every direction of the throne room. Kurumi clicked her tongue as she considered this move. The Empty didn’t choose to be a suicide group as they drifted around to avoid the bullets. This was a most troublesome development.
“Okay, you guys. Continue to move around just like that??the Libra Bullet <Moznaim>.”
The White Queen added an essential factor. She exchanged coordinates with the Empty to perform pseudo-instantaneous movements.
“Ku, this……!”
In imminent peril, she responded just in time to the White Queen attacking from behind.
Kurumi holding <Zafkiel> and the White Queen’s <Lucifugus>??using the saber to fight at close quarters.
“I have the superior physical ability……!”
The White Queen cried out as she stepped forward. The saber flashed as she swung. Kurumi repelled it back with the long rifle and jumped backwards.
She fired from her short pistol to keep a check on the White Queen chasing after her??but all of the bullets were swept away by her saber.
The saber swooped down from above??Kurumi, who should have been forced into a desperate corner, smiled nefariously.
Rather than fleeing, Kurumi turned around and rushed towards the White Queen in a single breath. At such a close distance, the saber couldn’t be swung. Kurumi firmly entangled her arms around the White Queen.
“ Me !”
Cistus quickly aimed for the White Queen’s head. The White Queen moved her head just in time to narrowly avoid the bullet. Forcibly pulling Kurumi away, she regained some distance.
She let out a sigh of admiration.
“??I originally thought that you two would be pleased only at fighting with a numerical advantage……but it seems that I was wrong. It seems that your combat strength isn’t just for show.”
Kurumi and Cistus??the two of them weren’t just common riffraff.
They established what should be called a combination. A partner that shared the same equivalent existence as herself, it would be natural that their coordination be flawless.
“……However. In the end, both you and her are just clones.”
She let out a mocking laugh just like a real queen. There was no doubt it was a boastful, prideful, avaricious laugh of someone with absolute strength.
Just like that, was she treating the Tokisaki Kurumi confronting her to be like a jester?
“I know that in the real world, you are consumables. You two are meaningless existences that constantly sacrifice your lives to Tokisaki Kurumi. That is what you are. Even after being fortunate enough to fall into the Neighboring World, that hasn’t changed. You’re just like a mayfly??how ridiculous and pitiful.”
The White Queen smiled. Kurumi stood expressionlessly facing each other as she muttered to herself.
“……Perhaps it’s just as you said. No, you’re not wrong.”
She took a deep breath.
It was only now that she was willing to touch the truth.
“I am a clone. I don’t know why I fell into this Neighboring World and I don’t know why I can use <Zafkiel>. Yes, yes, after understanding this, it has only added more things that are unclear.”
There was still a little pain in her chest. However, it wasn’t because she was a clone.
Simply??for that person, I am only one of countless Tokisaki Kurumi. Not the heroine, but casted into a supporting role. It felt sad and uncomfortable to bear.
But she still wouldn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. She will not stop.
Ah, if I can see you again, I would be fine with dying again.
“But that’s what I am happy about. Rather than leave it unclear, I need the firm resolution to stabilize my footsteps and keep marching forward.”
Tokisaki Kurumi was not a clown.
Neither a knight nor a king, Tokisaki Kurumi was a Shinigami. Harvesting souls with a huge scythe, she offered death indiscriminately.
And also, she had a bit more of an ill-disposition than an ordinary Shinigami.
“??By the way, the same holds true for you as well.”
Kurumi stabbed the White Queen with those words.
“I have fought against you twice and now I am finally sure. Yes, yes. I was worried that you were the inverse of the original and we are rebellious clones. But is that really true? You are also a clone, an individual that has separated from the main body. Yes, that’s right. In other words, it can be said that??you are in your rebellious phase.”
The White Queen’s eyes widened as her body stiffened. The surrounding Empties going back and forth looked to be at a loss for what to do next.
“ Me is a genius at making others angry.”
“I see you’re still angry about that taunt.”
Cistus approached while softly whispered that.
Gachan, something made a noise.
“??Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong! I am not a clone! I am the original, the original! How can a clone inverse! This Demon King <Lucifugus> is proof! I am not using a degraded replica of
<Zafkiel> like you guys……!”
The White Queen screamed and shouted.
However, Kurumi’s words certainly struck a sore spot as the White Queen fretfully clutched her head.
“White Queen……!”
“??Don’t come closer!”
The White Queen kept the Empties at bay by raising her hand, quickly recovering after taking a deep breath.
“……Ah, don’t poke at someone else’s sore spot. That’s why I hate you guys. Well then, let’s continue the fight.”
Kurumi saw a subtle sense of incongruity from this scene.
“Cistus. ……Don’t you think she’s strange?”
“That queen has been strange from the very beginning. ……She only needs to be pushed for that composure to fly out the window?”
Maybe it was like that.
Was being a clone a source of pain and humiliation for her? This fact was like declaring herself to be a mass-produced product.
However, even when ruling that out??her mood just now??
There wasn’t any extra time left to be thinking about this.
“??The Leo Bullet <Arie>.”
A thunderous roar resounded. No, it wasn’t coming from only that. The surrounding Empty pressed down their ears and screamed.
“What……!”
She couldn’t even hear her own voice. Kurumi and Cistus kicked off the ground to escape. As far as that bullet was concerned, the speed was slower in exchange for this annoying sound.
Garigari, Garigari, garigari, it was the sound of something being shaved away. They avoid the bullet as it was about hit the floor??but just before then, it suddenly changed directions.
“……A tracking bullet!?”
Kurumi quickly flew into the air, but that bullet naturally pursued after them. Even with the countless Empties in the center, it still perfectly aimed after Kurumi.
Garigarigari, Garigarigari……
It made an unpleasant sound just like a nail running across a blackboard.
“ Me !”
“It doesn’t matter, this speed is??”
“No, that’s not it. This trajectory……!”
Hearing what Cistus had said, Kurumi turned to look at the trajectory while avoiding the bullet.
Aimed at her, it was like a beast that freely moved through space to get to her. The bullet left behind a white trail as it slowly moved towards her.
……No, wait.
The white trail was still there. After being fired, it left behind a white line while encircling the throne room as if it were engraved into the space.
Garigarigari, Garigarigari……
That sound was really irritating. Kurumi frowned from the discomfort as she turned to look at the White Queen. ……She was still standing naturally from the spot where the bullet was first fired.
“……Why?”
Why wasn’t she doing anything else on her end? In fact, they have been avoiding it for a while now. If she coordinated her own movements with this tracking bullet, it would have made for a much better attack.
However, the White Queen didn’t move.
No, not only that. The Empties weren’t moving either. This tracking bullet automatically avoided them.
Grigarigarigarigari, Garigararirigari!
A screaming bullet, a motionless queen and her Empties, and that residue trajectory.
“??Since it’s come to this, my sincerest apologies but I need to use you as an experiment.”
They were already accomplices that had chosen not to flee from this throne room. And whether it was a clone or the original, the brutality of Tokisaki Kurumi would remain the same.
“Eh……!?”
She grabbed one of the nearby Empty. That girl didn’t seem to understand what she was doing.
“I’m sorry. Please become a shield for me.”
While saying that, she mercilessly threw the Empty at the enemy bullet. The trail left behind by the bullet couldn’t be avoided as she came into direct contact with it.
“Sorry, there’s no??”
Swish, at the moment of coming in contact with the bullet’s trajectory, that Empty was shredded apart like a scrap piece of paper.
Seeing this miserable death, even the White Queen’s Empties gasped in shock.
“......You are shaving away……this space?”
Kurumi resentfully gritted her teeth. The White Queen nodded, coldly smiling as she spoke.
“Yes, it’s called the lion bullet because it can bite through space. However, I can’t stand that annoying sound. Say, do you still have time to act so leisurely?”
Garigaririgari / Garigarigarigari / Garigararigarigarigaririgaririgaririgarigarigari!
“Still……!?”
The bullet that crushed that Empty flew out. As Kurumi kept avoiding that tracking bullet
another voice called out.
“That trajectory is also dangerous, me !”
Listening to Cistus’s reminder, Kurumi also rushed to avoid the white trail remaining etched in that space. Anything that touched that trajectory would be snipped apart by a pair of scissors.
“Yes, that’s right. Well??the look of cornered mouse fleeing for safety suits you especially well.”
“How foolish, running around would only put me in a more unfavorable situation. Then I just have to do this. <Zafkiel>……the Seventh Bullet <Zayin>!”
Garigarigar??it was just like a loud construction site that ceased its activities.
The Lion <Arie> that had been leisurely devouring the space had come to halt.
“I see that this Leo Bullet <Arie>??can only be fired once. Then this will put a stop to it.”
“The ability to see through traits is admirable. But I also know. The power of the Seventh Bullet
<Zayin> won’t last for long. How much longer before time starts flowing again?”
The White Queen’s judgment was correct.
“Yes, yes. What you say is not wrong. So??I’ll just have to settle this in the brief moment before time begins flow!”
At the same time she said that, Cistus raised her long rifle to fire at the White Queen.
More than 30% of this space has been devoured by the Leo Bullet <Arie>, allowing anymore would force them into a desperate corner.
They had to wager it all now to win.
“Cistus! Don’t worry about covering me. Take care of the Empty to prevent her from using the Libra Bullet <Moznaim>!”
To win this match.
Yes, they would have to completely throw caution to the wind.
“……Understood!”
Cistus began to move to mow down the Empties that were scattered around. As one would expect, the Empties also began to mobilize as they pleased to evade those attacks.
Kurumi shoot herself with the First Bullet <Aleph> to accelerate herself again. She avoided the inconceivable trajectory of the Leo Bullet <Arie> to approach the White Queen.
The White Queen didn’t intercept as she raised her saber. Kurumi treated the long rifle of
<Zafkiel> as her sword and swung it down at the White Queen’s head.
The blow struck as her head let out a creaking noise.
Kurumi’s expression couldn’t afford to keep its composure, but the White Queen still showed a confident smile.
It was no wonder. The White Queen had the current advantage in terms of self-power and the inability to see the very depths of her unfathomable abilities.
From here onwards, it was a chess puzzle. She had to use every means possible to drive the White Queen into an unscrupulous end.
First of all, she had to deal as much damage as possible before the Seventh Bullet <Zayin> is released. Cistus was busy taking care of the Empty and certainly couldn’t spare the time to help attack the White Queen.
Her means were limited.
She had to keep attacking her opponent until the final blow. Even with a direct hit, this wouldn’t end unless it was a fatal injury. While this seemed natural, there was no guarantee that this would be possible. Perhaps??things will never go as well as expected.
Enduring the fear losing, Kurumi closed the door of her own heart on any thoughts of fleeing.
She aimed to shoot at the White Queen’s leg??dodged.
The price paid was her arm being cut off??Kurumi hardly flinched as she thrusted her head forward.
Nothing elegant, the blow was like one coming from a barbarian. As expected, the White Queen recoil a few steps back.
Kurumi used the Fourth Bullet <Dalet> to restore her arm. It was a chance opportunity that could easily be exploited. High speed shooting from her pistol and slashes from her saber, the White Queen used that momentum to overwhelm Kurumi.
The shooting contest was repeated at point blank 13 times. Some hits, some scratches on the skin, some avoided. The results were meaningless as the White Queen’s wounds were gradually repaired.
“??The Aquarius Bullet <D'li>.”
“A regenerative ability……!”
Unlike restoration, it was automatic regeneration that had been happening continuously from just a while ago.
Her ability to regenerate was stronger than she imagined. Still, Kurumi concealed her frustration as she challenged her in close combat again. No, she had no choice but to continue this challenge.
There was no need for elegance.
It didn’t matter if she looked uncouth. No, rather there was a need for her to be like that.
That one blow will decide whether or not she could defeat her. The results will bear fruit then.
Only a few more seconds left before the Seventh Bullet <Zayin> is released. The fifth confrontation. Kurumi’s body was full of bruises and injuries that it was unimaginable that she had just restored herself earlier.
The Queen smiled.
“Sure enough it’s just as I expected. You’ve reached the limits of your ability. A clone is still a clone. You can’t create an unlimited amount of clones like the original can. At most, you can only create one clone??have you reached your limits just creating that one over there?”
“……Who knows? It’s best not to judge without permission.”
“What I was afraid of was the nightmare that the original can bring out. I feel nauseous just imagining an unlimited number of Tokisaki Kurumi. But??if it’s just one or two, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“So, you’ve already thought to confirm this beforehand?”
“That’s right. Because if that’s the case, even if you are defeated, won’t the next Tokisaki Kurumi also revive with <Zafkiel>? But if <Zafkiel> is taken away and shackled from you, then the phenomenon of Tokisaki Kurumi will be sealed.”
The White Queen glanced towards Cistus at the side. She was still busy fighting the Empty.
There was no way she would have the chance to pull her gun here.
However??
A small white hand emerged from Cistus’s shadow holding a pistol in her hands. The White Queen sneered at the sight.
A bullet was fired within a single breath.
Climbing out of the shadow was a Tokisaki Kurumi around the age of 7.
“Ah, I see. So you are Tokisaki Kurumi’s ace in the hole?”
There are limits to the creation of clones through the Eighth Bullet <Het>. Was this abnormal situation created by a clone creating another clone rather than the main body?”
Cistus and another young Kurumi was the best that she could muster. However, Kurumi knew with these cards dealt, there was a way to win this.
An unexpected attack, it was a means that would be recognized as obscenely cruel and called despicable.
But??she absolutely couldn’t yield to this inverse. No matter how many times she fell, she had to stand up again to defeat her.
No just because she was a powerful enemy……there was a simple recognition.
That was the fate shared between Tokisaki Kurumi and the White Queen.
Clone and original, recognition and emotions gave way to the present??but; the fundamental doctrine of the original Tokisaki Kurumi remained unchanged.
It was a doctrine that screamed for her to never be defeated.
Escaping and hiding is fine enough, but she would never bow to the White Queen.
The bullets fired by young Kurumi were quickly knocked away. But at that very moment, the White Queen’s attention was removed from the main Tokisaki Kurumi.
“??????Bullet.”
<Zafkiel> started up. The shadows sucked up from the dial were smoothly loaded onto her old fashioned pistol.
The short pistol was pointed at the White Queen. At the moment of pulling the trigger, her murderous intent swelled.
“!”
The queen’s response was very swift. It took tenths of a second to quickly understand the situation. She hastily responded to the murderous intent by jerking her neck vigorously. The bullet grazed her head and only caused a small injury.
Time did not stop, there was no slowdown. The queen’s momentum didn’t weaken as she slashed with her saber.
Tokisaki Kurumi’s arms were cut off.
“??This is the end, Tokisaki Kurumi.”
Since she lost her arms, not only the Fourth Bullet <Dalet>, but every bullet was sealed.
Undoubtedly, the outcome had been decided.
Just as Kurumi was about to fall down, the White Queen grabbed her by the collar of her Astral Dress and picked up her up.
“Kurumi-san!”
Higoromo Hibiki and Carte À Jouer jumped out from Cistus’s shadow. But it was too late.
It was the White Queen’s complete victory.
After that, all she needed to do was take <Zafkiel> away and imprison them again.
“It’s over Tokisaki Kurumi. How about having both of your feet be devoured by the Leo Bullet
<Arie> now that it will soon be released?”
“……That’s fine……but tell……me……one last thing……”
Losing both of her arms and her neck being tightly grabbed, Kurumi endured the pain and still spoke with a confident smile.
“What is it?”
“Yes, I’m curious……this is my conjecture, but the entrance to the other regions is only here, is that correct?”
“Ah, I understand. Are you looking for your next opportunity to escape? All right. If you can escape next time, it’ll be amusing.”
The White Queen confirmed Kurumi’s reasoning.
“Exactly. This throne room is the entrance. To erode this Neighboring World and trample on everything, it’s only one step away. Tokisaki Kurumi, checkmate.”
To make matters worse, the effects of the Seventh Bullet <Zayin> were lifted and the Leo Bullet
<Arie> immediately flew towards Kurumi. Like a hungry beast, it freely devoured the space again.
Garigarigari, that sound once again aimed at Tokisaki Kurumi.
A delicate death trap for her??checkmate.
It seemed impossible to stage a rematch next time.
Hearing that sound coming from behind the White Queen faintly smiled??but that quickly changed into a scowl.
Tokisaki Kurumi laughed, laughing so loud that it seemed as if her mind had snapped.
“Kihihihihihihihihihihi! Ah, ah! It’s a pity, a real shame! Two more steps, just two more steps! If you wanted to kill and wonderfully annihilated me!”
“Two steps?”
Garigarigarigari, that bullet released that noise as it flew in the air.
“There are no such rules in chess. Although in my imagination, it is probably something closer to playing shogi. However, in this war (date) ??the violation of rules is also inevitable.”
The White Queen raised her brow.
The small murderous intent coming from behind was no problem. It was futile no matter what action Higoromo Hibiki, Carte À Jouer, little Kurumi, and Cistus took.
“??Now, White Queen. It’s my checkmate.”
Just as the White Queen was trying to understand her words, a tremendous sense of emptiness struck her body.
The White Queen’s back had been devoured by the Leo Bullet <Arie>.
Tearing apart the side of her abdomen, the entire space was swallowed up.
“Wha??”
Besides being speechless, how else could she react? Question marks filled the White Queen’s mind.
“??What did you do?”
Tokisaki Kurumi laughed just like Cheshire cat as she announced the name of the bullet.
It wasn’t the accelerating First Bullet <Aleph>, the decelerating Second Bullet <Bet>, the time reversing Fourth Bullet <Dalet>, the future seeing Fifth Bullet <Hei>, or the time stopping Seventh Bullet <Zayin>.
“??????The Ninth Bullet <Tet>.”
“Wha……” “Huh……”
Since they were not informed of her last move, both Cistus and young Kurumi were at a loss for words. Getting the White Queen’s back turned was their greatest hurdle.
If the two had known, the White Queen would have immediately caught on. The last move played had to be young Kurumi’s stunned expression at their surprise attack failing.
However, having already fought the White Queen once, Kurumi judged that a sneak attack wouldn’t have worked.
That’s why she had another move up her sleeve. Use the Leo Bullet <Arie> released by the White Queen as her own chess piece.
“That bullet does not automatically track the target. But rather you have to operate it yourself?”
Kurumi thought that bullet was detecting a heat signature or reiryoku……but consider the nature of the White Queen, this assumption was overturned.
“You don’t trust anyone. That’s right. You are the Queen after all. Leave the control of that bullet to the Empties? Impossible, absolutely impossible.”
The most promising hypothesis was that she was controlling the Leo Bullet <Arie> through her own will. The hypothesis was supported by the fact that the queen wasn’t moving at all during the time the bullet was active.
Rather than operating precisely, it would be a more vague order like track anything related to Tokisaki Kurumi ??
Anyhow, the Leo Bullet <Arie> was operated through the White Queen’s will. If that was the case??it should be impossible to intervene and overwrite that will.
The Ninth Bullet <Tet> was for that purpose. Originally, the uses of that bullet were too limited.
That bullet would normally be used to connect the human consciousness together with someone else on another time axis. However, in the first place there is no different time-axis for the Neighboring World. Since time isn’t strictly defined here, Kurumi could effectively use the Ninth Bullet <Tet> at any time.
The White Queen controlled the Leo Bullet <Arie> through her own will, but her guidelines weren’t too strict. So Kurumi used that bullet to overwrite the White Queen’s loose commands.
Let it lock on the White Queen and not on Tokisaki Kurumi. Of course, if she shot the bullet at the White Queen to directly interfere with her consciousness, she was bound to face opposition from the other side.
However, the White Queen’s attention at that moment was not focused on the Leo Bullet <Arie>.
While enjoying the taste of victory, she was focused on her conversation with Kurumi and Cistus’s group behind her.
At that moment, focusing on that bullet would be the least priority in her mind.
It was a reckless and loose operation. It was just like trying to control an absent minded NPC
with no goal or purpose whatsoever.
“But that’s my??<Lucifugus>.”
“You are our inverse. But rather than being the inverse of the original, you are the inverse of a clone. Well, you did try and fiddle around with our <Zafkiel>. That means you wanted to absorb our strength??so the opposite is also possible to happen. You must have been aware of this.”
The White Queen was researching ways to exploit <Zafkiel>’s power. So she must have expected the outcome where her own power comes back to bite her.
A karmic retribution, what comes around goes around.
Whatever the White Queen’s goal was, Kurumi had just used part of it for her plan.
The queen was finally slain with this????????there’s no way it would be that simple.
“Cistus!”
“Understood, me !”
The first one to move was Cistus. Young Kurumi used both of her hands to pull Hibiki and Carte along while running. Kurumi used her last remaining weapon, her feet, to kick the White Queen away.
Cistus immediately ran past the White Queen.
At the same time, she snatched her saber.
Cistus had long known that this saber was the key to opening the door. Although she couldn’t utilize its full capabilities, she speculated that it should be possible to open a gate that has already been established.
There was no time to hesitate.
As long as the door could open, any region would be fine.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
As if to cut through the very space, Cistus swung down the saber.
A thunderous roar echoed in the Third Region Binah. As if something had been released, the sounds of gears began to turn.
Each time she blinked, the situation would change drastically. Kurumi, who had won the battle, struggled with all of her strength to remain standing.
“The door is??”
Hibiki and Carte were left speechless. Young Kurumi didn’t hesitate to use both of her hands to throw them in. Both of them screamed at the same time as they flew into the direction of the door. Since Carte had many playing cards on her body in advance, there were muffled screams of
“This is unreasonable!” “Please save me!” “This is impossible!” “I have no experience at all!”
But in their current situation, these screams didn’t matter at all.
Cistus picked up Kurumi and threw the saber to young Kurumi.
Young Kurumi caught the saber and hugged it in her arms.
“ Me !?”
“Rook!”
The White Queen shouted. Young Kurumi, who still had the saber in her arms, blocked a slash from behind from Rook who had started acting immediately.
“Scatter??launch!”
The huge scythe split into a myriad of arrows??young Kurumi blocked them all with her body.
There wasn’t a trace of hesitation. Tokisaki Kurumi and Cistus would have done the same. But, young Kurumi had decided this from the moment she was born from the Eighth Bullet <Het>.
“……Please, me, achieve that goal……I will say good-bye here……please be sure????”
To meet that person and fulfill Tokisaki Kurumi’s purpose.
Born for that purpose, she died for that purpose.
Living like a mayfly, dying like a mayfly.
Tokisaki Kurumi didn’t pay attention to this in the slightest.
Young Kurumi had decided to do this from the moment she was born from the Eighth Bullet
<Het>. In this situation, the first priority was to protect Kurumi. Even if young Kurumi was killed, it just meant that Cistus would be the one next to time to sacrifice her life. Regardless of her appearance, Tokisaki Kurumi would always still be Tokisaki Kurumi.
Go forward, go forward, and advance to the very ends of the earth??even if these wax wings ignite on fire, she would travel to the source of this heat.
“Wait??”
Rook’s extended arms were held back by young Kurumi, who was on the verge of disappearing.
The door closed as young Kurumi completely disappeared. Even if they opened it again with the saber, there will be a deadly time lag. The White Queen had already begun her fast self-regeneration with the Aquarius Bullet <D'li>.
“Ah. Ah. White Queen……White Queen……!”
The Empties were weeping. It was likely the first time the White Queen had such heavy injuries and be reduced to such a miserable state.
It would take around ten minutes to fully recover.
“……Empty, Rook, leave this room immediately.”
The surviving Empty and Rook looked in dismay as they followed the orders. The trajectory drawn by the Leo Bullet <Arie> had already disappeared and all that remained was
<Lucifugus>’s saber and short gun.
“????????The humiliation.”
She scratched and tore at her head as her pure white attire gradually turned bright red.
“This is impossible. This is unreasonable! This is too unpleasant! How can this be, I couldn’t have made a mistake! There was no records of the Ninth Bullet <Tet> being used like that! There was nothing to analyze??guaa!”
Gachigachigachi. There was something moving violently within the White Queen’s body.
“St……Stop! I can still do this! I’m still??ku, I understand. If you give me time to analyze the information, I will withdraw into the body as punishment!”
That was the price to pay for harming the White Queen’s body.
“After all, she was just a tenant. Despite having the perfect ability and her boastful ability to control space, these variations would cause her mind to grow desperate.
The White Queen abhorred that.
If her body was perfect, her personality should also be perfect. Anger and frustration were not allowed.
The second Queen stood up with a completely repaired body, tapping the floor with her feet as if to confirm something.
“Well, well, well. Ara, ara, ara. I will take over until that child recovers? Hummummu……well, it should be fine somehow. I’m better at taking charge. After all??until the investigation is over, it’s still impossible to turn this Neighboring World into fine dust.”
An elegant smile with gracefully movements.
“That being said, that child’s sense of inferiority was too heavy. We are certainly the original body, so there’s nothing to worry about??”
If the old White Queen was like a severe general, then this one was like a gentle princess.
“??Now then everyone. Let’s begin playing chess. Taking command of Rook, Bishop, and Knight. Dreaming of the day of that coming coronation. Ah, ah, ah. I really can’t wait.”
An elegant smile.
The White Queen slowly walked out to give the driven out Rook and Empty a sweet dream.
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