Chapter 34: Unforgotten
It happened so fastâso suddenlyâthat for a moment, time itself felt distorted, stretched thin like a frayed thread.
âHuhâ!â
The burning need for air in his lungs yanked him back to reality. His gaze, torn away from the eerie figure looming aboveâthe source of his shockâlanded instead on the trembling form collapsed on the ground.
Miku.
The color had long drained from her face, leaving her deathly paleâashen, almost. Her fingers hovered near her cheek, frozen midair, as if unwilling to accept the warmth of her own blood.
He couldnât blame her.
Just seconds ago, she had been standing on the very edge of death.
And it wasnât an exaggeration.
That attack had been meant to kill her.
No malice. No hatred. Just a cold, calculated execution.
His hands clenched into fists.
This is badâŚ
âUmu, that was really impressive.â
Shido flinched.
Eh?!
His head snapped toward the voice on his left.
Tohka?!
She stood there, arms crossed, nodding to herselfânot in disbelief, not in shock, but as if she had just witnessed an interesting sword technique rather than a blatant attempt at murder.
âThough,â she added, tilting her head slightly, âit wouldâve been much more impressive if it had actually hit its target.â
Shidoâs breath caught in his throat.
The casual tone in her voiceâŚ
As if she hadnât just watched someone nearly die.
As if this was just another thrilling battle.
His stomach churned.
âTohka⌠What are you saying?â His voice came out hoarse, still unsteady from the sheer weight of what had just happened. âThat wasâ That was wrong! You saw that, right?! She wasnât just trying to fight Mikuâshe was trying to kill her!â
Tohka tilted her head slightly, puzzled by his reaction.
âAnd?â
Shido felt his breath hitch.
âAnd?! Tohka, thatâsâ!â He struggled to put it into words. âKilling someone isnâtââ
âBut isnât it bad to harm the innocent?â she cut in, her voice as calm as if she were discussing the rules of a simple game. âMiku is the enemy, isnât she?â
Shidoâs mind blanked.
W-What is she saying�
The way she respondedâit wasnât defensive, nor was it aggressive. There was no hatred. No anger.
Just pure, unshaken curiosity.
Simple, undeniable logic.
And then it hit him.
âŚ!
These werenât normal humans.
Their sense of morality, their view of life and deathâit wasnât the same as his.
Tohka, the twins, Miku⌠all of them. They hadnât been raised in a world that taught restraint, that valued life the way humans did.
They werenât human.
To them, fighting wasnât about justice or evil. It wasnât about right or wrong. It was about survival.
If someone was deemed an enemy, then there was only one logical outcomeâerasure.
It was as natural to them as breathing.
How had he forgotten something so simple?
Tohka had been the same when they first met. Back then, she had raised her sword at him with the full intent to kill.
That wasnât cruelty.
It was simply what made sense to her.
And now, it was the same for that Spirit in the bear costume.
This wasnât about revenge. It wasnât about malice.
She had simply decidedâMiku was an obstacle that needed to be removed.
If that attack had landedâŚ
Miku would be dead. Just like that.
Shido swallowed, his throat dry.
Tohka was still looking at him, waiting for his response.
For her, it was a simple question.
For him, it was a horrifying realization.
How was he supposed to bridge a gap this vast?
No⌠Wrong is wrong.
That didnât change, no matter who understood itâor who didnât.
Taking a life so easily shouldnât be something that can be done so casually. It shouldnât be the first option, not even for them.
Yes, in some situations, there could be no other choice. He knew that.
But it should never be the first.
Especially not this time.
"Shido?"
Tohka noticed the serious expression on Shidoâs face.
Did she say something wrong? Was she the reason for his silence?
For a brief moment, she hesitated, sensing the weight behind his thoughts. But before she could press him for an answerâ
"!!"
The air around them shifted.
A gust of wind?
Noâsomething more.
A force, an unseen pressure that made the very atmosphere bend.
Their instincts flared. Their eyes snapped toward the disturbance.
And thenâ
Without a sound, without a traceâyet still, the tip of her feet barely grazing the stageâtime seemed to slow as the Spirit in the bear costumeâSawa emerged on their right.
Too fast.
The air trembled, rippling from the sheer force of her sudden arrival.
"Mikuâ!"
Shidoâs breath caught.
He knew what was coming next.
Sawa stepped forward, her foot tapping against the stageâright in front of Miku.
Smooth. Deliberate.
Her right hand lifted skywardâslow, effortlessâalmost serene, as if pulling at something unseen.
And thenâ
Threads.
Several of them.
So thin, nearly invisible, like strands of plant silk, weaving into her grasp.
âSnap!
A sharp sound rang out as the threads coiled, entwiningâsolidifying into form.
A sword.
Or at least, something like one.
So thin that, when pointed forward, it would vanish from sight.
From the side, it shimmeredâtransparent.
Like the fragile, peeling skin of a shedding insect.
"E-Ehâ!!"
Miku's mind was still struggling to process what had just happened a moment ago, yet nowâanother threat loomed before her.
And in that instantâthrough the empty, round eyes of the bear costumeâshe met Sawaâs gaze.
There was nothing in those eyes.
No grudge. No hatred.
The same pure, innocent look she had seen in their first meeting that day.
Yetâ
There was something different.
She could swear, without a doubtâ
That girl⌠was smiling at her.
In joy.
The sword came down in a blur, trailing an afterimage. Sawaâs eyes held no hesitationâ
A shockwave erupted.
A deep, metallic clang rang out, reverberating through the air as if the very stage had caved beneath her strike. A cloud of dust burst outward, obscuring everything in a swirling haze.
And yetâ
"?"
A flicker of confusion crossed Sawaâs mind.
Something was wrong.
The sound was wrong.
Her bladeâmeant to cut clean through flesh in an instantâhad met resistance. A surface that shouldnât have stopped it. One that should have yielded, even to a diamond.
The dust began to settle.
A sharp, grating crack filled the silence as Sawa's blade pressed downwardâslowly, painfullyâbefore stopping.
Blocked byâ
Why is she... standing there?
The thought barely formed in Sawa's mind beforeâ
"Shido?!"
Tohkaâs voice rang outâstunned, instinctive.
before Followed by the twin crises of Yuzuru and Kaguya, both laced with disbelief.
And finallyâ
"S-Shiori...?"
Mikuâs voice was softer. Almost a whisper just as lowered her trembling hands.
A figure stood between her and Sawa.
A solid, unmoving presence.
A broad back, shielding everythingâshielding herâfrom the attack.
"Ha-haâŚ"
A wary laugh left Shidoâs lips as his arms trembled, struggling to withstand the force of Sawaâs strike.
His right knee had already given out, barely supported by the cracked wooden floor. Sawaâs blade had sunk halfway through Sandalphon.
At that moment, the only thought in his mind was reliefârelief that he had managed to form Sandalphon strong enough to block an attack like that. If not, he wouldâve been screwed long ago.
"U-UmâŚ"
A small, hesitant voice broke through the tension.
"Hm?"
Shido blinked, drawn back to reality.
Sawa tilted her head slightly, her round bear mask making the motion strangely innocent.
She seemed puzzled, as if she were trying to figure out why he was in front of her in the first place, already stopped pressing her strength into the strike to not hurt him.
Then, in the same casual tone one might use to suggest moving a chair, she saidâ
"C-can you m-m-move your sword a-away for a second?"
âŚ
"EH?!"
Shido nearly dropped Sandalphon.
"W-What do you mean, âmove it awayââŚ?!"
"I-I meanâŚI-I canât k-kill her if y-you donât m-move away⌠I-I can, b-but⌠t-thatâd be r-rudeâŚ!"
âŚ
Shidoâs brain stopped working.
Huh?!
Was she serious?!
She nearly got Miku bisected in half, and her biggest concern was whether or not it was rude to kill Miku through him?!
"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!" he shouted instinctively.
"A-Ah�!"
Tohka, Yuzuru, and Kaguya also flinched at the sheer volume of his outburst.
Even Miku, still collapsed on the ground, stared at him wide-eyed.
Shido sucked in a sharp breath, desperately trying to steady his nerves. He was not dealing with a normal person.
Noâ
He was dealing with a Spirit that had no concept of why this situation was messed up.
If he didnât explain it right now, she might actually try to stab through him just to reach Miku.
And he really didnât want to test if he could take that kind of damage.
"Listen to me. You. Are. NOT. Killing. Miku!"
Sawa blinked.
âE-Eh? B-butâS-She caused thisâŚâ
She gestured toward the audience, still frozen in place, their minds trapped under Mikuâs control.
âThat can be undone. Killing someone canât.â
Shido straightened as Sawa slowly withdrew her sword. He sighed, brushing the dust off his maid outfitâhis crossdressing was the least of his concerns right now. âAnd take a look at her.â He stepped aside slightly, revealing Miku trembling behind him. âDoes she really look like someone who deserves to die over one moment of recklessness?â
Sawaâs masked head tilted as she hesitantly turned her gaze toward Miku. Tears had already begun to form in the girlâs eyes.
Sheâs rightâŚ
A pang of guilt twisted inside Sawa as she looked away, lowering her blade completely.
That creepy spirit is just a kid⌠I canât believe I was about toâ
Shido exhaled slowly. He needed to push a little further, make her truly understand.
âLook, for nowââ
But before he could finish, a brilliant light erupted from above, drawing everyone's gaze skyward.
A cross-shaped cut split open the stage roof.
From the breach, a figure descended into the venue, encased in sleek, mechanical armor.
Shidoâs breath hitched.
âTh-thatâsââ
For a moment, hope sparked in his chest. Was it Ratatoskr? Reinforcements?
But no. It wasnât them.
He recognized this girl.
A platinum CR unit wrapped around her slender frame, exuding an overwhelming presence. Silken, pale-blond hair swayed as if caught in an unseen breeze, rippling inside her Territory.
She floated above gracefully, her deep aquamarine eyes narrowing as she scanned the scene.
âSo, Bailey and her squad failed... Well, thatâs fine. This was expected.â
Shido tensed. He knew exactly who she was.
Ellen Mathers.
The leader of the Bandersnatches who had hunted Tohka during their school trip. Back then, they had barely escaped with a series of lucky breaks.
But luck wouldnât save them this time.
Her power far surpassed that of a limited Tohka. And nowâshe was here.
However⌠if that Spirit is here, this time then maybeâ!
Shido immediately swallowed his words just as his gaze snapped toward the source of his hope.
The SpiritâSawa had already taken several steps back. Even through the thick, oversized costume, her trembling was painfully obvious. Shido caught a glimpse of her face through the bear maskâs eye holesâand his breath hitched.
Pure terror.
Not just fear. It was something deeper. As if she had seen a ghost. No⌠even worse than that.
âW-whatâs wrong with herââ
âHey⌠Whatâs she doing hereâŚ?â
Tohkaâs voice pulled Shidoâs attention back. She had already noticed Ellenâs presence and instinctively formed Sandalphon, her Astral Dress shimmering despite being in its limited form.
âTargets: Tohka Yatogami and Shido Itsuka⌠A girl with Itsukaâs signal acquired. Proceeding to capture.â
Without so much as a glance at Miku and the others, Ellen moved straight toward them.
Tohka gasped, grabbing Shidoâs arm. âWe have to get out of here, Shido!â
âS-sure, but how exactlyâŚ?â Shido stammered, panic rising.
âNghâ!â
Ellen closed the distance in an instant.
Tohkaâs grip on Shido tightened before she suddenly wound upâand flung him straight toward the hole in the ceiling.
âWaaaaaah?!â
Even in her limited state, a Spiritâs strength was far beyond human.
Shido was effortlessly launched out of the building.
ââŚOh-ho.â
Unconsciously, Ellen halted mid-step, momentarily caught off guard by this unexpected move from PrincessâTohka Yatogami.
An instant before Ellen could reach them, Tohka had managed to get Shido Itsuka (âŚor at least, she assumed it was him based on the verification results⌠probably) out of the venue. Perhaps she had deduced Ellenâs true target from her gaze and movements, but to make such a sharp judgment in mere moments was undeniably impressive.
However, for Ellenâwhose mission was to capture both Tohka Yatogami and Shido Itsukaâthis was beyond frustrating.
âA level-headed decision. Worthy of praise.â
âHmph!â Tohka huffed, gripping her sword tighter. âI donât need compliments from you!â
âI see,â Ellen replied curtly before shifting her gaze back toward the stage to reassess the situation.
âHey, Miss Bear, mind lending me a hand?â
Tohka called out while pointing Sandalphon toward Ellen, expecting a response.
But none came.
âHm?â
She wanted to glance back to check why Sawa wasnât responding, but taking her eyes off the enemy even for a second felt like a mistake.
ââŚOh?â
It was only then that Ellenâs gaze locked onto Sawaâs.
âLong time no see⌠<Material B>.â
In that instant, it felt like a massive weight crushed Sawaâs chest. Her breathing hitched. Unpleasant memoriesâones she had desperately tried to buryâresurfaced without mercy.
No⌠No, no, noâ
I donât want to go back.
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