Kamen Rider Date A Live

"...Mana, I want to know. What are your thoughts on Tokisaki Kurumi? Can you tell me?"

"My brother asked me for my opinion on Nightmare. I don't know why, but since my brother asked, I will answer him."

The moment Mana finished speaking, her expression turned extremely terrifying; if one had to describe it in a single word, it would be "icy."

Moreover, when Mana said these words, her voice became extremely cold and ruthless, making Shido feel a little heartbroken and breathless.

"However, I think you know, brother, that you used the wrong word just now, didn't you? Tokisaki Kurumi from Nightmare isn't human. She's an elf, a calamity that will destroy the world, humanity's natural enemy."

"But that's a bit of a general statement. Although Tohka is also a spirit, she's completely different from Kurumi Tokisaki in Nightmare; she's a kind spirit."

"But Kurumi Tokisaki from Nightmare is completely different from Tohka. If someone killed someone because of a spacequake that occurred in the real world, that would be understandable, but Kurumi Tokisaki from Nightmare is different, as you know, brother."

"The most evil spirit, Kurumi Tokisaki, has known that more than ten thousand people have fallen victim to her evil deeds! And this is just an estimate..."

At this point, Mana glanced at Kurumi, who remained smiling and made no move. However, it was unclear what Kurumi was smiling about.

"Never mind, these are not things you want to ask, brother. Anyway, what I want to say is that the spirit—Tokisaki Kurumi—is special even among spirits."

"Special? I see. So you mean Kurumi's ability to 'come back to life' after she dies, right?"

Shido thought for a moment and knew what Mana meant. When he said "resurrection," Shido pronounced the word a little louder and glanced at Kurumi without leaving a trace.

Kurumi noticed Shido subtly watching her and responded with a smile. However, Mana, oblivious to the 'affair' between Shido and Kurumi, continued speaking.

“That’s right, elder brother.”

"She won't die! No matter how many times I kill her, no matter what method I use, that woman will always appear somewhere as if nothing happened, and kill again and again."

"!?...Is that so..."

Shido seemed to understand and nodded slightly.

"Just like I said before. If you want a more detailed explanation, it's hard for me to say anything more."

Mana let out a soft breath and gently raised her chin.

The expression was just like the one I had just seen; it was that of someone who was quite old and looked very tired.

"So, if that woman continues to kill, I will continue to kill. That woman. Tokisaki Kurumi. I will keep hunting her down, no matter how many times, no matter how many times... Anyway... I'm used to it."

Mana continued, sounding exhausted. Shido's expression twisted.

"wrong……!"

"Hey?"

"Mana—forget about getting used to it. Your heart... will only wear down day by day!"

After Shido finished speaking, Mana frowned slightly.

"What...are you saying, elder brother?"

"Enough, stop! Zhen...you're my sister? Just this once. Please hear my wish..."

Shido squeezed out the sound from his throat as if making a prayer.

That's not wishful thinking. If the mind is burdened, it will wear down continuously, and if this continues, it will eventually become unrecoverable and be destroyed.

—Shido, who was abandoned by his mother, almost became like that.

—Tohka, who was constantly subjected to hostility and murderous intent by humans, almost became like that herself.

—Shiori, who lost everything due to the Reverse Shocker, almost became like that herself.

"...I'm sorry, elder brother, I can't comply."

But Zhenna said with a hint of self-deprecation.

“If she is resurrected and begins to kill humans, I will have to take that woman’s head. Otherwise, she will kill many more people.”

"...No! There's definitely more than one way!"

"Brother? Are you referring to the same method as sealing Tohka and the others? But I think that's impossible. Besides, Tokisaki Kurumi doesn't deserve to be saved."

Mana spoke with absolute certainty, yet there was also a hint of confusion.

"...No! Absolutely not! Mana, you're wrong, and so is Kurumi!! No matter who you are, what kind of spirit you are, everyone has the right to redemption!! So Mana! I don't agree! If you don't believe Kurumi has the right to redemption, then I will give Kurumi that right! I will... protect Kurumi!!"

Kurumi's Confession (Chapter 94)

Kurumi's Confession (Chapter 94)

"...No! Absolutely not! Mana, you're wrong, and so is Kurumi!! No matter who you are, what kind of spirit you are, everyone has the right to redemption!! So Mana! I don't agree! If you don't believe Kurumi has the right to redemption, then I will give Kurumi that right! I will... protect Kurumi!!"

Shido's voice was extremely loud, and even the two people who had just arrived in the nearby woods found it a bit too loud.

However, Kurumi, the person in question, didn't think that way. Of course, not only Kurumi, but everyone else was also shocked by Shido's words.

Throughout Kurumi's long life, no one ever offered her a helping hand, and no one ever wanted to understand her.

To achieve his own goals and save his sisters, he had to kill the first spirit. That way, his sisters would no longer be hunted down for no reason, and they would never have come into this world.

For this purpose, Zafkiel, the strongest angel he possesses, is indispensable. However, using Zafkiel means that he will lose a lot of time, that is, his lifespan.

However, I absolutely cannot die before I defeat the first spirit!! Because only I possess the ability to go back in time and defeat the first spirit!

Moreover, this world is not without enemies. A group of humans clad in mechanical armor are their enemies in this world, and this group is AST.

Although most of these people did not have the power to penetrate their own spirit armor, there were still some who could easily penetrate their spirit armor and erase their own existence.

In order to survive better and to achieve his goals more easily, among his abilities, the "Eighth Bullet (chet)" is the most useful. However, using it once takes a lot of time, and he can't use it many times with his own time. But there is another way that does not require his own time, which is to devour the time of humans.

Yes, Kurumi knows. Only a small percentage of humans are like AST; most are unaware of the truth about the spacequake and are simply weak, powerless, ordinary humans.

For the sake of her sisters, Kurumi knew she couldn't hesitate for even a moment. Perhaps, when Kurumi first took action, personally killing and devouring her first human, she also understood that something within her was beginning to crack...

But perhaps it's just self-deception. Those who died at Kurumi's hands were either delinquent high school teenagers wandering the streets, high-ranking mercenary leaders, high school students shooting newborn kittens with replica guns, or villains killing innocent babies for high commissions... And these people, seemingly scattered and disorganized, all shared the same similar trait: harming innocent lives for their own selfish desires.

On one day, while Kurumi was killing people while storing time, Mana Takamiya found Kurumi and easily killed her. Of course, Kurumi did not use her ability bullet.

However, if the first death was due to carelessness, it could be considered an accident. But for some reason, Kurumi did not use her power bullets in the subsequent deaths. However, Kurumi knew that if she did not use her power bullets, her own strength would be among the weakest of the spirits. She had to use the "Eighth Bullet" to replenish her strength after only one clone died.

We don't know why Kurumi acted this way. Perhaps it was to atone for her sins? But Kurumi also knew that someone like her could not be redeemed, nor did she have the right to atone for her sins.

However, Kurumi also knew another fact: the price to pay for the ability bullet that allowed her to return to the past, the "Twelfth Bullet (yod·bet)".

Using the [Twelfth Bullet (yod·bet)] can be described as surprisingly simple, or quite difficult. Using the [Twelfth Bullet (yod·bet)] only requires one unit of life energy. However, it's only one unit of life energy from a spirit.

—What is Kurumi's goal? It is to change the history of the Spirits coming into this world.

Why change history? It's to save my sisters and stop them from suffering.

—How do you change history? Use the [Twelfth Bullet (yod·bet)] to go back thirty years.

—What is the cost of using the [Twelfth Bullet (yod·bet)]? It is the life energy of an elf.

—So, one last question. Why save spirits you have little to do with? Why not hunt and devour them? That way, you can use the Twelfth Bullet (yod·bet) to change the past, and with history altered, the spirits you killed will be resurrected.

—Why? Would I even need to say something like that?! Because we are the same kind, we are companions, we… are sisters. How could I possibly do that?! But if it's to stop my goal… even if we're sisters… I must…

…………

While Kurumi was trapped in an endless cycle of killing and being killed, she even began to develop a liking for the act of killing and being killed. Then one day, she discovered a way to break free from this cycle.

He obtained very important information from a being whose entire body was pixelated and whose appearance was beyond human comprehension.

The intelligence report stated that there was a human whose body contained the power of three spirits, and who also possessed a strange power from another world. This power might make the cost of using your abilities much lower.

When Kurumi learned of this news, she still remembers how excited she was!

Because I can finally realize my wish, I can finally end this endless cycle...

After gaining access to Raizen High School through various means, and after hiding her special left eye through discussions with her clone who had reached that age (the age of chuunibyou), Kurumi did not act immediately. Instead, she used her and her clone's ability to hide in shadows to observe Shido before she could begin experiencing school. At the same time, she also saw two other spirits whose powers were sealed, but who lived happily in this world—Tohka and Yoshino.

During her observations, Kurumi realized that she was gradually being drawn to Shido. This wasn't just because of Shido's gentleness or other reasons. For Kurumi, there was only one reason why Shido attracted her the most: in some ways, Shido and she were kindred spirits.

On her first day of school, Kurumi was shocked by Shido's words.

Why, after learning that he had killed tens of millions of people, did this man not let anger cloud his judgment, but instead directly ask her why he did it and said he wanted to understand her... At that time, probably not only she, but also her other clones or the original body were shocked. Although Mana's forceful intervention and comical scene helped her regain her composure, Kurumi is still surprised by Shido's words at that time, but now...

What did I just hear? Shido-kun said he wanted to protect me? He wanted to accept me? He wanted to give me the right to redemption?

"Stop joking with me!!! You have no right to say such things to Shido-kun, who doesn't understand why we've supported him to this extent!!!"

Kurumi's angry shouts echoed, but as she roared, two clear tears streamed down her face...

Ninety-five Kurumi and her friends

Ninety-five Kurumi and her friends

"Stop joking with me!!! You have no right to say such things to Shido-kun, who doesn't understand why we've held on this far!!!"

"Right! Us!!"

"Um?……"

Shido frowned in confusion after hearing something he didn't understand, but the next moment...

"Varied……"

Shido and Mana's voices overlapped perfectly. However, compared to Mana's overly surprised expression, Shido was only surprised for a moment and quickly recovered.

The two people hiding in the shadows were also taken aback, but unlike Shido and Mana, they were only genuinely surprised and quickly recovered. One of the smaller figures spoke to the larger one.

(What...this power is...that's right, it's the aura of time...This is troublesome. This kind of ability is something Shido can't possibly handle or defeat right now...What do you suggest we do, Hoshino?)

That's right, the two figures hidden in the woods were none other than Hoshino and Evangeline, who had just helped Shido escape from danger!

Why use the same descriptive method as "death elementary school student" here...? Before their names were revealed, Hoshino and Evan were just shadowy figures!

Okay, okay, I won't complain about this anymore. Let's see how Xingye responds to Yiwen.

(Evangeline, if you ask me about this situation, I don't know how to answer either! But we don't know exactly which time abilities Kurumi can use. Anyway, I think it's better not to go out for now. And if necessary, we can show Shido the memories of the cat that has been there since the beginning, so that Shido can understand the whole process.)

(That's fine then... but why do you think this kitten was here from the beginning? Did you use your clone to...? (At the same time, Evan reached her little hand between Starry Night's soft flesh and started pinching it hard!))

(﹪÷±⊙∈&#￥@！！！！！！Yiv, I didn't do that! Please forgive me! The reason I thought that way is because the kitten had BB gun wounds, and there was a toy gun next to each of the dead people, that's why I made that guess!)

(Is that so… (Evan, with a questioning look at the corpse, saw that it was indeed as Xingye had said, and lowered her hand that was pinching Xingye's soft flesh) Then I'll spare you this time, but I have a bad feeling that I can't shake off. This is really troublesome… What is it that's giving me such a headache…)

(Me too, Evan. Otherwise, why would we be out here now? Originally, the battle between my main body Evan and my main body just ended, and the power transferred over was limited, so we couldn't remain manifest in the real world for long... What is this ominous premonition...?)

(Who knows? And we haven't been able to contact Key since just now, and we don't know where he went...)

(Yeah...why did all these troubles all come together today...oh well, let's check on Shido's situation first.)

(Um.)