Tonami Furue.
When did it even begin?
Thinking that over, Tonami Furue clearly recalled memories from the other world.
Perhaps it was due to her being quite uncouth, perhaps it was because of being unremarkable, or perhaps she randomly provoked a group that incited the bullying.
Or maybe, she was simply selected by chance?
For a long time now, she had certainly been self-conscious of her plain, docile, and reserved nature.
It started with sneers and malicious gossip.
"Country bumpkin". "Self-deluded in love" "Teacher's pet" and other insults along that line.
Eventually, it grew to the point where scraps of paper were thrown at her.
Although it was awfully unpleasant, Tonami couldn't help but decide to endure.
It would soon be over, just like any other case of bullying, or so she thought.
However, for some reason the bullying intensified as more time passed.
Her shoulders were struck when passing by.
She was told lies of needing to go to another classroom, hiding her learning materials, and writing mischievous text on her desk each day.
And finally, when forced into a bathroom, they thought it would be amusing to throw in a bucket filled with water.
Taking advantage of a cowardly opening, she grabbed a mop and used it to jab at the faces of those three──well, maybe that was overkill.
Their noses were broken and eyes were in awful shape; it made their depraved faces even more repulsive.
After that, she remembered falling into a pitfall while running away.
Her life in the neighbouring world also began from there.
Tonami Furue felt no joy, sorrow, or loneliness living in this world. There was only the feeling of adapting to this world.
She couldn't see her parents; she couldn't see her classmates, but that wasn't a big deal. Since she was only dimly alive, no matter which world it was.
However... how to describe it? She always felt that she possessed a helpless disadvantage as a unique human being.
What would become a sin in the other world was considered a respectable skill in the neighbouring world.
Tonami Furue was brutal beyond cure. If Sheri Musika was a wolf in sheep's clothing born from a bad environment, then it was Tonami Furue's natural disposition to be a furious beast.
Wait – was her life flashing before her eyes?
"Kuh!"
She grunted as she dodged a horizontal strike from him. From that absurd sword which she had seen its powers not long ago.
One graze. All it needed was a graze; that graze would most definitely turn her into ashes. Tonami thought.
'How much time has passed now…?'
Give or take, two minutes.
It wasn't even a funny joke.
Even her partner wasn't doing any better than her, as nothing they had on him worked.
If anything, they both felt like they were being mocked, as he would leave obvious openings, allow them to counter, or regroup if necessary.
Looking at him once again, unmoving as he stood in place, she thought correctly.
"That's super unfair!"
Sheri on the other hand shouted that, pointing
However, Ikari only pointed his sword towards the laser, tilting it slightly and effectively cancelling it out.
"Dammit. Making fun of us–! By the way, wasn't he supposed to be weakened?"
Sheri asked that looking at Tonami who huffed, slipping a loose hair to the sides.
Even Ikari thought the same as he briefly glanced behind him. To her.
'Empty did something to me…'
He thought. It wasn't a speculation or lucky guess. It was something he should know for a fact.
After all, it was during when these two appeared, and when the other two comforted them did his condition begin to get better.
No, that wasn't the right words here. The right words to use wasn't that his condition got better. His condition was the same as ever.
However, what happened was that the soul splitting pain he'd always feel was suppressed.
In a sense, it was that pain that usually keeps him out of commission, however, at his current state, he can keep going on for a little longer like this.
Thinking of that, then, 'It's definitely her, isn't it?'
Empty may had unknowingly done it, or she knew… there was no way he'd know. However, whatever she did to him was extremely useful, so for now.
Hence,
'Thank you. Empty.'
He said that before turning to them.
Additionally, he also had other concerns.
Those black pillars around had slowly withdrawn. It was a temporary occurrence that was well known here, a deeply ingrained legend.
At that time, Quasi-Spirits who were involved in the neighboring world were said to have spoken, 'I seem to be in love' or something like that.
With the large departure of many spirits, those words have become more and more common.
Spirits have gone to live in his world.
However, when their hearts are deeply impacted or perhaps when experiencing some sort of supreme joy, the mental state of the spirits still leaves an influence over the neighboring world.
There are some recent events of recalling an intense past from time to time.
The Quasi-Spirits caught in that all return looking… mostly like they have fallen in love…
And then, as a result of the discussion of these various rumours, it is presumably true that the Spirits are falling in love as well.
Following that, Ikari had an inkling it must be, without a doubt, related to Deus, though maybe it was just the part of him that still resented the Almighty.
However, dwelling upon it now isn't the main matter at hand.
"HAH! T-Tonami-chan! I'll die!"
Followed with a swing of his sword toward the duo was a sonic boom that tore the air apart.
BOOM–!
Tonami grimaced as she watched Sheri counter using Or at the very least, he was supposed to be in her domain.
But his sword seemed to absorb it.
Well, he was the same type as hers. However, was his' so superior that it eclipsed her Unsigned Angel to this degree?
On that note, for people who were so ready to kill each other, oddly, before they knew it, they'd started running away from death.
Perhaps it's due to the mental exhaustion they've experienced for the past two minutes.
Two minutes of trying to dodge near-death sword swings would do that to anyone.. No, no, really—they had to avoid it.
Death by evisceration wasn't poetic. It wasn't beautiful. It wasn't noble. It wasn't even quick.
They saw how Nogi Aiai died. And certainly they didn't want that.
In contrast to the beautiful death of having their Sephirah Crystal taken out. He was far cruel. Death by evisceration.
In the first place, why had they limited his abilities based on what they'd seen?
They'd only watched from afar when the fight first started. And yet, they had challenged him with flawed assumptions.
A rookie mistake.
Originally, when the duo challenged him, they had stayed and watched from afar.
It's a no-brainer that when in a multi-way fight, if you're facing multiple people, you allow them to wear each other out before intervening and taking everything for yourself.
That should have been the goal.
"Why do you run? If you were so prepared to kill each other… then why do you run now?"
Hearing such words from him made them wince once more. It was the truth.
But then, what could they do? By the time they realized what he was, he'd already become something more strange and unknown than death itself.
Realising she cowered out, Tonami's hands dropped to her sides. She smiled. A small, bitter, self-deprecating smile.
"T-Tonami-chan?" Sheri's voice cracked with panic.
"...."
Neither Tonami nor Ikari said anything further; her actions were a sign of her surrendering, and seeing this spelt nothing good for Sheri.
"O-ou! You can't just give up like this."
However, what stopped her from approaching her partner was that Ikari was already in front of her.
"Any last words…?" He gasped as he gripped his sword.
Hearing that, it would be a lie if she said she didn't. And unknowingly, the irony of the situation made the words slip out.
"Ah~ ah, I also want to fall in love too."
"So, that's your true wish, huh…?"
She said nothing further; her closing her eyes was an indication she was prepared for the eventual, and he granted it to her.
But unlike before, where the flames were scorching hot.
The flames that surrounded her were gentle, warm, almost comforting. As though guiding her into death, rather than dragging her toward it.
And yet... it didn't feel so bad—
"HIIIIIIIIII!"
'????'
"EEEEEEHHHHH?????"
Tonami had always imagined death to be quiet. Serene. Not… loud?
It should've passed as a hallucination, or a fleeting noise before the calm. But then came another voice, unmistakably shrill:
"HOW DID SHE COME BACK!?"
"HOW DID I COME BACK!?"
Sheri's voice. That annoying, familiar screech. So she had followed her.
Well… it couldn't be helped.
At least, that's what Tonami thought, just before she opened her eyes again and saw the bright, cloudless blue sky.
The first thing she saw—no, the first person—was Ikari, floating in front of her, "If falling in love is your true dream, then don't give up. I'll open the gates back to the real world; just wait till then, and you'll get your wish come true."
He turned slightly.
"By the way, according to the rules, you both are out of the game already; you've died already."
Once more, she let out a wry smile. Sheri, who was in close proximity, after Ikari slowly flew away, went closer to her, hugging her.
"Tonami-chan!!! It was scary!!!"
Sheri cried like a child. Well, given her height, she could actually pass off as one, but that wasn't the deal here.
It was only scary for her because she resisted, trying to escape, so he turned her to dust before she could escape and rewound time before her eviscerated body could scatter.
As long as their souls were still around and their bodies hadn't completely crumbled to dust, then he could always revive them.
However, in doing so…
CRACK~!
It was closer to its middle stage now. But that didn't matter. All that was left was two of them.
"... Haah. So much for fighting him."
Ayame exhaled with a tired sigh as Ikari floated towards them.
He landed on the other half of the destroyed high-rise, the very rooftop they'd retreated to earlier, during his battle with the other two.
And the moment his feet touched the rooftop—
"Waaah! Ikari-san!"
Empty ran up to him, throwing her arms around him, tears pouring as she buried her face into his chest, soaking his clothes.
"Hahahaha! I knew he wouldn't lose to the likes of them!"
Isami laughed, hands on hips, full of fire again.
"Yosh! I've got a new goal now! First, I'll surpass you, Ayame, and eventually, you, Ikari!"
Isami suddenly declared, pointing her katana at him.
"Yeah, yeah, however," Ikari said that, turning over to Ayame, "you must know the reason for my actions now, do you?"
"You need our help to deal with the other Dominions, right?"
Ayame answered plainly, already steps ahead. Ikari nodded. She was right. But she wasn't done.
"Is it also related to the fact that you can't use your powers for long? How much has your condition deteriorated…? And more importantly, how do we fix it?"
The extremely rational Ayame said that, fixing her gaze on him, sizing him up.
Even though he'd just used his powers for longer than she'd even seen him do, she was… oddly…
"Are you concerned about me?"
Ikari tilted his head, asking that, as Ayame blinked, replying as though it were only natural.
"Should I not be?"
Ayame said that crossing her hands.
"I don't want our future Dominion dying before he even takes the throne. Besides, we too have deeper desires we wish to fulfill."
At this point, it was pretty much clear to them what they should do and who they should serve.
Hearing that from Ayame, he laughed because he felt the same way too.
Mutual agreement. Yes. With that then, surely he could reach there.