Infinite Journey: Dark Souls

The moment the light fragments dissipated, it slashed fiercely into the helmet of the Dark Spirit, which emitted a piercing, mocking sound.

Intermittent 28 loops

Hidden beneath the school is a garden, a legacy of the horticulture department, where flowers bloom year-round.

Kirishiki Sako stared at a black datura flower, as if gazing at a magnificent death.

For the first time, red pupils appeared in her black eyes, and she just stared blankly at them.

Only when the withered petals fell to the ground did she feel a pang of sadness as she stroked the bare flower buds.

The red in his pupils gradually faded.

"No matter how many times you see it, death still feels so cruel, especially after knowing that death is not equitable, it seems even more terrifying. You embraced death, which may have been a good choice, although you could have chosen not to 'disappear,' but who knows if another world is suitable for you."

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It's incredible, illogical, incomprehensible, and unimaginable.

I really don't want to believe it.

Yuri knelt on the ground, forcefully covering her mouth, the only way to stop herself from screaming.

Everything happened too fast. One second she was marveling at the dazzling flash of the blade, and the next she was saying goodbye to her companions.

How long has it been? How long has it been since I last saw my companion disappear before my eyes?

Ah, didn't their lead singer just disappear not long ago? But she fulfilled her regrets and happily embarked on the path of reincarnation; instead of dissipating under the sharp blade like this, turning into countless specks of light, as if all traces of his existence had completely "disappeared".

People in the afterlife will be resurrected, but if their bodies are gone, how can they be resurrected?

Even Ash hoped he could be resurrected, but Dark Spirit's piercing laughter shattered her delusion. She knew she had fallen into a trap, and for the first time, her hands were stained with blood she shouldn't have.

Surprisingly, there was only a faint trace of sadness.

Her heart was burning with a pure, unwavering passion, telling her that the most important thing to do now was to prepare to bear the consequences of this accidental blow.

Even though it was something burning, the fire in her heart didn't bring any intense emotions. It was because she saw things too clearly, so clearly that she knew this trace of sadness was merely a slight self-reproach arising from her betrayal of the oath of the Sun Knight, from her inability to stop the blade, from her lack of strength to be able to stop the blade at any time.

The conclusion that is utterly indifferent to the deceased is an indifference that has nothing to do with flames.

Even this cold conclusion was fleeting; now, all she could think about was how to shoulder the consequences of her mistake.

After all, someone who had a deep friendship with that staff officer could treat these things so coldly; she would never be so indifferent.

It was a very clever trap. From the moment she stepped into it, an indelible barrier was erected between the ashes and the natives of the afterlife.

She walked up to Yuri, stuck her katana into the ground, sat down cross-legged, and solemnly looked directly into Yuri's blue eyes.

"Ten minutes? It seems that humans can't even wait a blink of an eye."

The gods are writing another play. In this play, Yuri, as the leader, is a witness to death from beginning to end. Before she could even feel a trace of despair, the situation had already plunged into the abyss of despair.

It was practically a repeat of the tragedy that befell her before her death; the very thing she was determined to protect shattered before her very eyes once again.

But at least this time, she can find another target to resent besides that ethereal god.

The unfocused pupils regained focus, meeting those black eyes that had not activated their demonic eyes.

Are you apologizing to me?

Her voice was hoarse, like the sound of a whetstone rubbing against a sword blade, and tears still clung to the corners of her eyes, yet her face remained expressionless.

"No, I'm just announcing my determination to bear all the consequences."

"If I demand you atone with your death, will you comply?"

"Your attitude toward me is the consequence I must bear. Atonement with my death is not the means I can change this consequence."

The Demon Eye was not opened, but the flames dancing within its black pupils burned brightly, unwaveringly, and intensely.

The noise of the concert felt very far away from them at that moment. Even when the operator was reporting on the concert through her earpiece, the drumbeats and chords sounded like they came from another world.

"I was just kidding."

Yuri was the first to stand up. Her gaze was calm. She knew from the beginning that the real wielder of the knife was not the target of her hatred, but...

"But I would feel better if you could say something comforting."

After walking a few steps, Yuri turned back. In the moonlight, tears continued to stream from the corners of the strong girl's eyes.

Zhi paused for a moment, opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. She only felt that something had been added to the cave of Garan in her heart.

Wiping away the tears that had welled up again, Yuri turned on her headset.

According to the operator's report, the band was about to finish their last song. Their attempt to probe the student council had completely failed. The mastermind behind the scenes had given them an even more surprising gift, turning this operation into a complete farce.

Fortunately, this operation was named "Operation Tornado." In the conventions of the Afterlife Front, operations with this name were set up to collect meal tickets. At least, they could put an end to tonight's farce in this way.

"Get the blower running!"

"Understood, start the blower."

The wind picked up, and all the skylights on the roof were wide open, connecting the noisy world with the less peaceful world. The snow-white meal tickets, eager to be carried out by the hot wind, were dazzlingly white, like paper money at a funeral, turning the cheers of the crowd into mourning.

Beside the blower, a blonde, twin-tailed, emotionless operator stared silently at the pile of ghouls.

On the third-floor rooftop, the executive group members, gathered by Hinata, teased the wooden sword-wielding boy Fujimaki and scrambled for the meal tickets that floated over.

Still on the third-floor rooftop, the newlywed, Otonashi, kept gazing in the direction the angel had left, holding a meal ticket that read "Mapo Tofu."

On the third floor of the cafeteria, Asahina exhaled and smiled, relieved that the battle was over.

On the roof beam, Ashflame put away his sniper rifle, pressed down his long hair which was being whipped up by the hot wind, and looked up at the moon in the sky.

The world operates independently of anyone's will, and the disappearance of the staff officer will not cause an earthquake. The situation is still developing, and the news has not yet spread. Apart from the person involved, everyone else probably thinks that they have just experienced an ordinary battle.

A transparent wall has already been built between the ashes and the natives, and when it is revealed to the public, the barriers will turn into contradictions.

"You see, this is what Ash is like—a bunch of monsters that are completely unreasonable and will wipe out your companions without a second thought."

Someone will make this wall public, or rather, if they don't, then there's no point in building it.

The new student council had already been involved in the operation, but they were not needed to be the main force yet.

Naoi Fumito, the former vice president of the student council and now the acting president of the student council, appeared at the most opportune moment next to the most suitable candidate, preparing the final groundwork for their official debut.

There were more than two people who witnessed the staff officer's disappearance, because another person, who was the staff officer's closest confidant, was also present.

Even after being attacked by Takamatsu, the baby-faced Daiyama was still worried about his condition. The unremarkable and personality-less boy acted willfully for once, trying to catch up with Yuri and Ash, but he stumbled and failed to keep up with their route, eventually ending up on this side of the rooftop.

This was not an accident; it must have been arranged, just as Naoi Fumito said, looking directly into his eyes; it was a suggestion of hypnosis, which may have been planted in his mind long ago.

Naoi Fumito is, of course, a ghoul. As a well-hidden boy from the dead, he wasn't even discovered by the SSS corps. However, when the sand approached the angel, he was unexpectedly turned into a decent subordinate.

A subordinate who can use hypnosis to exert strong mental suggestion without relying on bloodsucking.

The fact that Dashan has no memory of the attack is probably his doing, even though the attackers at the time were someone else.

"Ash is... a monster?"

"That's right, they are monsters that shouldn't exist in our world. You hate them, don't you? You hate these monsters that killed your companions!"

When a person is extremely vulnerable, they are most easily exploited, and the series of events of the past two days had already exhausted Da Shan. Not to mention, the grief and indignation that suddenly welled up in his heart when the advisor turned into ashes was a true reflection of his soul.

His broken spirit was already seeking an outlet for his emotions as a form of self-protection. With the intervention of hypnosis, he finally abandoned all reason and, in the most direct and simplest way, targeted the person who killed his companion as the object of his grief and anger.

"Yes, they are monsters! They are the monsters who killed Takamatsu! They should not exist in our world!"

The person to break down the wall of barriers has been chosen. The acting president of the student council smiled with satisfaction. He had always believed that the meaning of the afterlife was to select gods, and he was certain that he had followed the best candidate to become a god.

That purple-haired "ancestor" can grant them power and wisdom. Even monstrous ashes are manipulated by her. She will surely rule this world and make it a paradise for ghouls.

Now comes the moment when the student council will truly make their appearance. They will deliver the final blow to the Ashes, destroying their very foundation here and utterly banishing them from this world.

He couldn't wait to see the show.

Intermittent 29-minute operation

The atmosphere at the Angels Operation Headquarters was unusually somber today. After yesterday's battle, the members of the front lines noticed something amiss: for the first time, there was no victory celebration; for the first time, the commander was not gloating over the success; for the first time, they were solemnly gathered in the principal's office; and for the first time, the Ashes were made to stand in front of the desk.

Takamatsu and Oyama have disappeared after the battle. Ash seems to have something to announce to them, but there is still one newcomer missing. It is unknown how long this dull atmosphere will continue.

Last night, the Ashes had communicated, and after learning the true results of the operation, Asahina, as always, didn't know how to react, and listened to her two companions discuss with a frustrated expression.

Xiaoyan and Zhi both knew that the rift between them was inevitable, so the best way to deal with it was to quickly find out who was behind it.

The suspect did exist; the girl with the dark eyes had come into their sights before. Even though Zhi had confirmed that her physical condition was normal, they, who were already in an extremely passive position, immediately decided to capture her first.

Unfortunately, they missed their chance. Xiao Yan didn't pull the trigger, which meant she lost the opportunity to test her. Their search last night still failed to find this scheming woman, and even other people who might be her subordinates seemed to have disappeared.

Ultimately, without intelligence support, how can a blind search yield any results? If someone wants to hide and never show up, there are simply too many places in this school where they can hide.

This is a battle that cannot be resolved by force. Even if they can still overturn the chessboard, it means that pieces like Yuri and the Afterlife Battlefront will also be overturned.

They were held hostage, held hostage by their own attitudes toward the natives. They were never able to put themselves in the position of ashes and think about the issues from the perspective of a truly non-human being.

The fog is far clearer than the ashes; they can enslave and plunder the natives without hesitation, then impose their own things on them, fundamentally eroding the world. In this respect alone, their adversaries are ahead of them.

This is an ideological gap.

They could only deal with the current rift in their own way. They planned to personally confess Ash's failure to the members of the front lines, so that at least they could still take the initiative in negotiations.

"Otonashi hasn't arrived yet, so we won't wait for him. The main reason for gathering everyone here today is to explain some things about Ash and to discuss the future direction of the battlefront."

Yuri spoke calmly, unusually calm, as if she hadn't witnessed what happened last night.

"First, there's the matter of the ashes. They will explain that to you themselves."

Her expression was neither sad nor happy, and her tone was neither humble nor arrogant, leaving even the Ashes unable to fathom her thoughts.

Asahina looked at her two companions with concern, but Ori gave her and Homura a reassuring smile, stepped out from the crowd, and walked to the center of the principal's office.

The ashes that ignite the fire in their hearts will not evade any situation; they will only face all difficulties with a positive attitude. If the sword at their waist cannot be drawn, then they will use their own will to carve out a path forward. They do not understand espionage, showmanship, politics, or even human nature, but at least they understand the fire in their hearts.

They are not afraid to reveal the color of their inner fire to everyone.

But their opponents understand this, and they won't give the Ashes the chance to unleash their inner fire.

boom--!

The principal's office door was kicked open. The student council, which they had been waiting for all night, arrived in person and forcefully invaded the SSS group's headquarters. Members in uniform lined up in two rows at the door, respectfully welcoming the acting president's entry.

Their actions abruptly interrupted the words Zhi was about to speak.