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"Regrets? What are you talking about, Yuuma?"
On the dock, Bokue walked steadily toward "Nagisa" standing at the pier's end.
Tonight's fog seemed especially thick, as if rising from the ocean floor itself. Moonlight scattered down but found no waves to reflect off the pitch-black sea—only churning mist steaming up from the water to stain the pavement.
"Come on~ We're past the point where you need to play dumb, Bokue."
Tokoyogi Yuuma turned around with a smile.
"I'm using Nagisa's body right now, but you recognized me immediately. That means you already know my plan, right?"
"Of course."
Bokue kept walking forward without breaking stride.
"I know you're the one in Nagisa's body, Yuuma. I know you're doing this to free someone named Tokoyogi Aya from the Prison Barrier... I just don't understand what any of this has to do with your so-called 'regrets.'"
"..."
No immediate answer came. Tokoyogi Yuuma fell into brief silence.
This wasn't idle conversation—Bokue genuinely didn't understand.
After all, what Yuuma was doing was basically helping a maximum-security prisoner break out of jail.
Sure, in normal circumstances, helping someone escape prison required risking your life. Seeing a good friend one last time before the operation could count as settling regrets.
But let's not forget—Tokoyogi Yuuma was currently occupying Nagisa's body, wielding the power of the world's strongest vampire, the Fourth Progenitor.
This was like breaking someone out of prison while piloting a Transformer.
Practically a sure thing. What regrets were there to talk about?
Bokue couldn't wrap his head around it.
"...Is that what you're concerned about?"
Tokoyogi Yuuma sighed softly, her face showing a helpless yet somehow relieved smile.
Just like always—he still treated her as a friend. Even after learning almost everything, he didn't question why she was doing this. Instead, he worried about why she'd have regrets.
Bokue shrugged. "What else? I told you, Natsuki already explained your plan. I know most of the details... Actually, there's one thing I haven't figured out. Who exactly is this Tokoyogi Aya to you? Half-sister?"
"Hmm~ How should I put it..."
Tokoyogi Yuuma tapped her lip thoughtfully.
"It's not hard to answer, just a bit complicated. In terms of relation, she'd be my 'mother.'"
Another saving-the-imprisoned-mother plot??
Bokue mentally rolled his eyes.
His inner commentary didn't reach the distant Tokoyogi Yuuma, who continued:
"But objectively speaking, I actually am her. I'm a 'copy' Tokoyogi Aya created using herself as a template—her contingency plan for freedom after being imprisoned in the Prison Barrier."
"...So you're about to help her break out?"
Bokue glanced around.
"But I don't see any prison nearby. Do you need some special method to open it?"
"Of course."
Tokoyogi Yuuma smiled slightly.
"But there's no rush. Besides, didn't you ask why I said 'no regrets left'?"
"It's because... I don't know what will happen to me after completing my mission. I was born to help Tokoyogi Aya regain her freedom. That's my life's only purpose. As for what happens to me after she's free, I've never thought about it."
The short-haired girl paused.
"And there's one more important reason you might not know, Bokue. All witches gain their power through contracts with high-ranking demons. It lets them, as mortals, obtain strength to kill powerful demons. But they must pay a price."
"Take the Witch of the Void, for example. Her chains can bind even high-ranking demons—'Chains forged by Gods.' But her price is eternal slumber within the Prison Barrier."
"Gaining power while paying the price. The day the price is fully paid is the day life ends. That's a witch's fate."
"I'm probably the same."
She's probably the same...
When she said those words, a flash of sorrow crossed Tokoyogi Yuuma's face—like a snowflake falling on a winter night, melting the instant it touched her palm.
"But I have no regrets now." Tokoyogi Yuuma looked up with a renewed smile. "Remember last night's 'girlfriend experience'? For me, I've made up for all my regrets. Whether it was my first kiss or first embrace... wait, no, 'embrace' is a vampire thing. Should be 'first hug.' Including the first time..."
At this, the short-haired girl's cheeks flushed pink.
She remembered everything that happened in the bathroom this evening. Though she'd been using Nagisa's body then too, the consciousness inside had been hers.
Rounding up, it counted as the real thing—checking off every item on the "girlfriend experience card."
As for dates and such, they'd gone out together plenty as kids. Though that twin-tailed girl was usually there too.
Indeed... no regrets left.
"Tch, you're sounding like some tragic heroine, Yuuma."
Bokue picked his ear, completely refusing to match the mood.
He flicked away the debris and waved dismissively.
"Whatever. You want to enter the Prison Barrier, right? Open it up. I'll go in with you."
"...Eh?"
Tokoyogi Yuuma froze completely.
The Prison Barrier was constructed from witches' dreams, and witches drew that power from high-ranking demons in the demon realm. Trespassing in the Prison Barrier was equivalent to challenging those demons...
"Nothing to worry about. Haah—"
Bokue yawned, completely unconcerned.
"Forget high-ranking demons—even if the Demon King himself showed up, I'd still beat him black and blue with one hand."
"..."
Though unclear about the legendary Demon King's actual strength, out of unconditional trust, Tokoyogi Yuuma accepted his words.
She turned toward the fog-shrouded sea ahead, raising her hand high without further hesitation. The massive magical power from the True Ancestor's bloodline surged wildly around her.
"Answer my summons! Lion of Gold!"
With her cry, golden lightning split the sky, transforming into a massive golden lion wreathed in thunder that crashed down toward the distant sea.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The tremendous roar shook the entire ocean, but the expected splash never came. The descending golden lion hit some kind of barrier dozens of meters above the water's surface, stopped cold. Endless lightning spread outward from the impact point in all directions, dispersing the night fog over the sea.
When the lightning faded, the shadowy outline of a grim Gothic castle stood majestically upon the black waters.
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