The evening sky draped Tengu City in a state of emergency against the Spirit attack.
The alarm had been blaring for a long time. The streets were empty. Buildings stood abandoned, doors half-open.
Dark blue and golden-white Reiryoku streaked violently in all directions.
Explosion after explosion shattered asphalt, walls, glass, and traffic lights. Cracks spread like veins of light through the air.
Amid the devastation, Gabriel lay on the street.
His hand pressed against the wound in his stomach. Blood seeped through, staining his school uniform. Several slash marks marred his body—realistic enough to convince anyone who saw.
Six steps ahead, Moegami curled up, holding her head.
White and dark-blue Reiryoku swirled wildly around her body, forming an unstable vortex. The air vibrated, the ground cracked, and the light around her distorted.
"This is bad…" Gabriel murmured quietly.
But he wasn't talking about the wound in his stomach.
Nor the rampage of Moegami.
He meant the fact that he couldn't become Ash.
Around him, a cage of black energy had formed, like a gigantic spiderweb—thick threads of Reiryoku stretching in circles, sealing off every escape route.
A barrier.
Worse yet, Shido, the most reckless field agent of Ratatoskr, was outside the perimeter of the cage.
With them:
Tohka. Yoshino. Miku. Natsumi. And Mana.
All in combat-ready stances.
Gabriel lifted his head, silently staring at Moegami.
His expression tense. Slightly fearful. Slightly helpless.
The performance was flawless.
"How did it come to this…?" he muttered inwardly. "What was that sudden plot twist…?"
Moments earlier, he and Moegami had been walking side by side as usual. Light conversation. No signs of danger.
Then some thug appeared out of nowhere.
A brief confrontation.
A sudden stab.
Moegami witnessing the blood flow.
Something inside her cracked.
The unification of her existence with her "former self" was forcibly triggered. Accelerated.
Reiryoku exploded.
Rampage ensued.
Gabriel exhaled deeply—internally.
Technically, he could heal his wound right now.
The wound wasn't a real threat to him.
He could also quell Moegami's reiryoku storm in seconds.
Because he knew exactly what was happening.
This was an internal conflict. Identity resonance. Not a complete loss of control.
The problem—Shido was out there.
And the others as well.
If he acted too quickly… too precisely… too "impossibly"—Everything would change.
So for now, Gabriel chose to remain curled on the cracked street, blood trickling slowly, eyes fixed on Moegami surrounded by destructive light.
Waiting for a gap.
Or a miracle that seemed plausible enough to use as an excuse.
Outside the black reiryoku cage, the wind swirled violently, pressing against the clothing and hair of everyone standing on the perimeter.
Shido clenched his fists.
"This can't be allowed," he said firmly. "Gabriel's injured. And Origami—she's clearly unstable."
He stepped forward, but Mana immediately grabbed his shoulder.
"Nii-sama! Don't be reckless," Mana said seriously. "Her reiryoku fluctuations are inconsistent. If you enter without protection, your body could be destroyed before you even reach them."
Tohka gripped her sword tightly.
"Then let me cut through the cage!" she shouted. "I'll get them out!"
Yoshino hugged her doll tightly. "Origami-san… she looks like she's in so much pain…" her voice trembled.
The doll in her arms spoke up in a braver tone, "If we leave her like this, it could get even worse!"
Miku bit her lip, staring at Gabriel lying on the ground.
"Ah… he's still conscious… this is frustrating. But for Darling, I'll do it!"
Amid the chaos, the intercom in Shido's ear crackled.
"Shido," Kotori's voice came cold and measured. "We're analyzing the cage's structure. There's a gap on the east side. If Mana and Tohka strike in sync, we can open a hole for three seconds."
"Three seconds is enough," Shido replied without hesitation. "I'll go in and get them out."
A fraction of a second passed.
Then Kotori continued, her tone heavier this time.
"Listen carefully. Even if you manage to open the gap and rescue Gabriel… you might not be able to save Origami."
Shido fell silent.
"What do you mean?"
"Her rampage is focused," Kotori explained. "The center of her emotions isn't random destruction. It's tied to a single point."
Shido followed the direction of the holographic data in front of him.
Gabriel.
"Origami has feelings for the bleeding man lying there," Kotori stated plainly. "As long as she sees him hurt, her protective instincts will keep triggering reiryoku explosions. If you separate them by force, her response could escalate drastically."
The wind howled even stronger.
Shido gritted his teeth.
"So… you're telling me to choose?"
"I'm telling you to prioritize safety," Kotori replied. "Gabriel is visually in critical condition. That exacerbates Origami's psychological state."
The words hadn't fully settled when—two flashes of light appeared simultaneously.
Above the cage, the barrels of Satan and Metatron, which had been firing wildly at the surroundings, stopped.
Angel and Demon King.
Two manifestations of power that should never appear at the same time—yet now they stood side by side within the chaotic swirl of white and dark-blue reiryoku.
The barrels pointed straight out of the cage.
Toward Shido. Mana. The Spirits.
As if their intentions were already read.
"Everyone, spread out!" Mana shouted.
The first explosion slammed into the ground in front of them.
Beams of reiryoku rained down like meteor showers—wild, chaotic, yet precise enough to force them to defend and dodge.
Tohka blocked one blast with Sandalphon.
Miku yelled in frustration as the waves of energy pushed her backward.
Yoshino hid behind a thin ice shield that cracked under a single strike.
Natsumi leapt into the air, avoiding a sweeping beam that cleaved through the asphalt.
They couldn't get any closer.
Every attempt to advance was immediately met with a barrage of shots.
Inside the cage, Gabriel closed his eyes.
In a fraction of a second, his mind moved faster than a blink.
They were struggling.
With an intensity like this, opening a gap would take far longer than the initial estimate.
He recalculated.
The bleeding had been going on for about ten minutes.
A normal teenage body—without intervention—would reach fatal hypovolemic shock within roughly fifteen minutes.
That meant he only had about five minutes left before a "miracle" would start to look suspicious.
If he stayed alive after that without a rational explanation—everything would seem off.
Very off.
Gabriel opened his eyes.
An idea flashed through his mind.
He didn't know if it would work.
But at the very least—he could try.
Trembling—as if completely drained—he forced his body upright.
His knees wobbled.
His breath came in ragged gasps.
His face was ashen.
Blood still oozed between the fingers pressing against his wound.
Step by step, he approached Moegami, who was engulfed by the storm of reiryoku.
Each step felt heavy.
Each second seemed fraught with risk.
Outside, Shido watched, eyes wide.
"Gabriel! Don't—!"
Too late.
Gabriel was close enough.
He raised both hands—palms smeared with blood—and placed them on Moegami's shoulders.
The contact made the reiryoku around her shiver.
"Tobiichi-san…" his voice weak, almost swallowed by the wind. "I… I know you're still in there…"
The light surrounding Moegami pulsed wildly.
"Don't give up…"
His breath caught for a moment.
"You remember your promise, right…?" he continued softly, a faint smile barely visible. "You said you'd make me a rolled omelet…"
For a split second—the tremor of reiryoku faltered.
"So please… wake up. Don't forget your promise…"
For a single heartbeat, the world seemed to stop.
The next second, an explosion occurred.
But it was not a destructive blast.
The reiryoku that had been wild and tearing through the air suddenly bloomed like a gentle breath.
White light spread, and from within the swirl, fine fragments resembling white feathers formed—drifting slowly down among the rubble and cracks in the asphalt.
The suffocating pressure weighing on everyone vanished.
The barrels of Satan and Metatron faded simultaneously, their dark blue and golden-white lights dissolving like mist swept away by the wind.
Amid the falling feathers of reiryoku, Moegami opened her eyes.
Or more accurately—Origami, now fully synchronized. Both sides of herself had embraced one another, no longer in conflict.
Her gaze was clear.
Her focus was singular.
Gabriel.
She looked at the young man swaying before her, his hands still resting on her shoulders.
"…Is that how you…" Origami asked softly, her voice calm but far more steady now, "…wake a girl who's raging?"
Gabriel gave a weak smile.
Pale. Fragile. Convincing.
"Worked, didn't it?" he replied simply.
The next moment, his eyes closed.
His body lost its balance.
He fell.
But before touching the ground, Origami's arms moved swiftly to catch him. Gabriel's body slumped into her embrace, blood still staining his uniform.
"Gabriel," Origami murmured.
***
Three hours had passed.
In a modern treatment room at the Ratatoskr headquarters, Gabriel sat leaning against a medical bed, still dressed neatly in his patient gown. The glow from the medical monitors reflected faintly off the sterile white walls.
He had undergone treatment using the Realizer to seal the stab wound in his abdomen—a wound that would have left an ordinary person unconscious for far longer.
Standing before him was Kotori Itsuka in full commander mode—her black ribbon neatly in place, the general's trench coat draped firmly over her shoulders. Her gaze was sharp, though not entirely cold.
"For someone who lost that much blood," Kotori said flatly, "you regained consciousness far too quickly."
Her eyebrows knitted slightly. "And what's even stranger… you seem far too calm."
Gabriel closed his eyes beneath the long bangs that shadowed his view.
"Calm on the battlefield…" he murmured softly.
He paused for a moment, then opened his eyes.
"I mean, I was panicking," he continued lightly. "You know how it is, right? Human emotions are unique. Too much happiness can make you cry; too much sadness can make you laugh. Me too—my reactions are often reversed."
The room fell silent for a few seconds.
Kotori stared at him without blinking.
"Your joke isn't funny."
She let out a soft sigh, then crossed her arms.
"If that's your way of saying you're okay," she continued, more firmly, "at least say it clearly."
Gabriel nodded slightly.
Kotori offered a faint smile. She then raised her index finger and pointed directly at Gabriel.
"You know who I am, right?"
Again, Gabriel nodded.
"Yes," he replied calmly. "Kotori Itsuka. Shido Itsuka's younger sister. At school, quite a few people talk about Itsuka-kun being a siscon."
Silence.
Kotori's face flushed for a fraction of a second.
"—Huh?!"
She quickly cleared her throat, trying to restore her authority as commander.
"That's not the point!"
Her gaze sharpened again, though a faint trace of red still lingered on her cheeks.
"Listen carefully. Since you're already involved with Origami… sooner or later, you're going to become a target."
"Target?" Gabriel tilted his head. "A target of whom?"
"DEM," Kotori replied.
Gabriel blinked slowly. "DEM?"
Kotori let out a short sigh.
"Deus Ex Machina Industry. A private military corporation that develops and produces Realizer Units for combat purposes."
"Officially, they're a tech corporation."
"Unofficially… they hunt Spirits."
Her tone hardened.
"They don't care about human safety, let alone collateral damage. If they suspect someone is connected to a Spirit—or even just too close—they will monitor. Interrogate. Eliminate."
Kotori's gaze pierced straight into him.
"And you. You were directly involved in the incident with Origami. That alone is enough to put your name on their list."
____
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