Origami, accompanied by Shido, moved like two silent shadows, finally stopping deep within a secluded alley several blocks away from the scorched battlefield.
Here, the echoes of the explosions were silent, replaced only by the distant, growing noise of the city slowly recovering from the Spacequake alert.
Only after confirming the absolute safety of their surroundings did Origami completely deactivate her Realizer unit, returning to her casual clothes.
She turned around, her pale blue eyes, like two bottomless pools of ice water, staring straight at Shido, who was still unsettled and whose breathing had not fully calmed down.
Her gaze was sharp, carrying an undeniable scrutiny that made Shido unconsciously hold his breath.
"Last time, during the subjugation of 'Princess,' you showed up."
Origami's voice was calm and steady, yet carried a heavy weight. "This time, you are here again."
"Ah... right..." Shido lowered his head awkwardly, unable to refute the fact. Being caught up in core Spirit-related incidents twice truly felt too deliberate to be a coincidence.
The moment Shido nodded in acknowledgment, an undeniable aura of authority emanated from Origami, and her tone became commanding: "You are not to tell anyone about this matter."
Her eyes were locked tightly onto Shido, as if trying to imprint every one of his reactions.
"And," she continued, her tone showing no sign of softening, "forget everything except me—that includes everything you saw and heard."
She must be referring to... the Spirits, Phoenix-in Chinatsu, that terrifying Heavenly Judgment Herrscher, and everything that happened today.
Shido's heart gave a sudden lurch. Although he already knew about the existence of Spirits from Kotori and Fraxinus.
Hearing such a direct warning firsthand from Origami, an AST elite, felt completely different. He hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively:
"... Are you referring to that girl and Chinatsu's matter?"
Origami did not reply, only staring silently at Shido with her cold eyes; the silence itself was like an acknowledgment, or perhaps an even deeper warning.
"Hey, hey... Tobiichi. What exactly about that girl and Chinatsu—" Shido couldn't help but press.
Although Ratatoskr had already explained the concept of Spirits to him, he wanted to hear the perspective of Origami, who was on the front lines and fought Spirits directly. He wanted to know what Spirits truly were in the eyes of these warriors.
"That is a Spirit." Origami finally spoke, her answer brief to the point of cruelty. "And it is something I must defeat."
This answer was cold and direct, reflecting the consistent stance of the AST.
But Shido recalled Chinatsu's final, shattered and resolute gaze, her sadness when admitting her identity, and the moment of madness and self-protection when she charged at Ellen... He couldn't simply equate "Spirit" with "something that must be defeated."
Gathering his courage, he asked the deepest doubt in his heart: "... Then... is that Spirit a bad person...?"
Upon hearing this question, a fleeting, extremely subtle ripple seemed to cross Origami's usually expressionless face.
Shido thought he saw her bite her lip slightly, though the movement was too subtle to be noticeable.
After a moment of silence, Origami finally spoke in a voice even lower than before, seemingly suppressing some heavy emotion:
"—My parents were killed by a Spirit five years ago."
"... Wh—" This completely unexpected answer struck Shido like a heavy hammer to the chest, leaving him speechless. He could only stare in shock at the girl before him, whose expression remained calm, yet whose eyes seemed to hold a turbulent depth.
So... this was the reason for her relentless pursuit of Spirits?
Origami did not look at Shido's shocked expression. Her gaze seemed to pierce through time, returning to that desperate day five years ago, but her voice maintained its frightening calmness:
"I don't want... anyone else to suffer the same fate."
"Is... that so..."
Shido murmured, his throat feeling dry.
He unconsciously raised a hand to his chest, as if trying to suppress the heart that was pounding violently upon learning the cruel truth.
A complex mix of emotions spread through his heart: sympathy for Origami's suffering, recognition of the tragedy caused by Spirits, and the complicated, indefinable feelings he held for Chinatsu.
He took a deep breath, suddenly remembering something else that bothered him.
He looked at Origami, who was still staring straight at him, and scratched his cheek hesitantly before asking:
"Speaking of which, Tobiichi... are you really allowed to tell me information about the Spirits? I mean, even though I was the one who asked you..."
This should be classified AST information, shouldn't it? Was it really okay to disclose it so easily to him, a "normal" high school student?
Hearing this, Origami instantly fell silent, seemingly weighing something. After a few seconds, she slowly replied: "It's fine."
"... Oh, is that so?"
"As long as," Origami added, her gaze sharpening again, "you don't tell anyone else."
"... And if I do tell?" Shido asked almost instinctively.
Origami paused again. Her pale blue eyes showed neither threat nor anger, only a pure, matter-of-fact seriousness.
She looked at Shido and answered clearly: "I would be troubled."
"I... I see... That's certainly serious..."
Shido was somewhat taken aback by her overly serious answer, but at the same time, he felt the heavy weight behind those words. He quickly nodded solemnly.
"I promise you, I won't tell anyone else."
Hearing Shido's promise, Origami seemed to nod imperceptibly and said nothing more.
She shifted her gaze away from Shido, looking toward the faint light of the normal world filtering in from the alley entrance, as if the heavy conversation had never taken place.
But for Shido, everything he had experienced today, along with the cruel truth spoken by Origami herself, was already etched deep into his heart like a brand.
The figure of Phoenix-in Chinatsu, the fate of the Spirits, the stance of the AST, and the sorrow and hatred stemming from five years ago...
... All of this made his future path more shrouded in mist, and also more... irreversible.
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