Gokou Ruri harbored an inferiority complex.
This inferiority complex was not simply due to poverty or other simple reasons; it was a complex psychological structure mixed with adolescent identity confusion, subculture identity crisis, and societal gaze pressure. She coped with real-life frustrations by constructing a chuunibyou persona, yet in her deep consciousness, she constantly denied her self-worth.
She would deliberately emphasize her identity as Kuroneko, arming herself with Gothic Lolita dresses, spell gestures, and a fictional worldview. This performance was essentially compensation for social failures in reality—when she was isolated at school due to her otaku interests, chuunibyou became a barrier to the outside world.
However, this defense mechanism implicitly self-deprecates: she defines the real Gokou Ruri as a 'weak human,' while the fictional 'Kuroneko' is the ideal form, subtly implying a complete denial of her real self.
It wasn't until she obtained Curse and discovered that she truly possessed power beyond ordinary people that the girl seemed to gain an anchor that could simultaneously ground her fantasy and reality, integrating this contradiction.
It was precisely because of this that when she found herself losing Curse, she was so shaken, feeling that her worth was instantly drained and gone, and she had transformed from that Kuroneko back into a powerless mortal.
Even though she admired him so much, at this moment, the girl was somewhat afraid to hear his voice, dared not to see him, and didn't even have the courage to reply to his messages.
What if?
What if she went to see him, ran to Soubu High School, went to the second floor of the club building, stood at the door of the Clubroom, but found that she couldn't even see that door anymore...
Gokou Ruri couldn't imagine how big a blow she would suffer then.
So all she could do was escape.
Escape the 'judgment' that would eventually come before her.
Unconsciously, the girl found herself running to the bank of a small river not far from Soubu High School.
Twilight, like diluted blue ink, spread along the reeds by the riverbank.
She spread her five fingers towards the shimmering river surface. Normally, at this time, the cattails on the bank should have grown cat ears like their counterparts in Plants vs. Zombies, but now there was no change at all, as if someone had pulled out the wire connecting her to the world.
This made the girl feel even worse.
"So you're here."
The moment the boy's voice sounded, the girl almost fell into the river.
He stood on the slope not far away, carrying his school bag, with the vending machine coffee he held still steaming.
The girl turned her head, staring at the swaying flowers on the opposite bank, not knowing what expression to use to face Asakura.
Yes, he always appeared at such times, like a prince in a story who would appear at a critical moment to save the princess.
The only problem was that she was no longer a princess with Curse.
When the boy sat down cross-legged, his uniform trousers brushed against the moss. The coffee can he handed over was warm: "Although you always drink black coffee, I personally prefer Max Coffee. If you don't mind, have some."
Gokou Ruri silently took the Max Coffee Asakura handed her.
Actually, she didn't like black coffee either, but drinking black coffee gave people a more mature and profound feeling, which was more in line with her self-created persona of a Night Witch Queen with an unspeakable past.
The girl unconsciously played with the coffee can, not saying a word.
Asakura also said nothing, just sat beside the girl, drinking his own can of coffee, waiting quietly.
"Takuma."
After a long time, Gokou Ruri softly called out.
"Hmm."
Asakura softly responded.
"My Curse... it's gone."
"Is that so?"
"I'm no longer a witch."
"So what?"
"Perhaps to Takuma, this is insignificant, but to me, it's very important—"
The girl's tone intensified slightly.
For her, this was her connection with him, the bond between them.
"If even this is lost..."
Her voice carried a muffled tone. Although there was no hint of crying, it gave off a sense of sadness as if she were weeping: "Then wouldn't I and Takuma..."
"Idiot."
Asakura asserted without hesitation.
"Huh? I, I'm being very serious..."
Before the girl could finish, she saw Asakura remove his phone case.
On the back of the phone, there was a sticker with a large photo.
The girl's eyes widened slightly.
It was taken when they were at the arcade:
A cherry blossom gradient filter coated their outlines with a soft silver edge. The girl was slightly turned, her shoulder almost touching the boy's arm. Her smile was like the first ray of sunshine on a early summer morning, bright enough to dispel any gloom.
The boy, on the other hand, tilted his head, a cunning arc on his lips, as if he had just completed a perfect prank, with a triumphant gleam hidden even in the corners of his eyes.
Looking closely, the girl's gaze was not directly at the camera, but slightly shifted towards the boy beside her. Her eyes were incredibly clear, as if infused with the fragmented light of the entire galaxy, sparkling in the small space.
"I, you know, never thought that the relationship between me and Ruri would change just because you lost your Curse."
Asakura said with feigned heartache: "If you really think that, Ruri, then I'd be so sad."
"But then I won't be able to help Takuma anymore..." The girl still said somewhat dejectedly: "After all, I'm not as capable as Asagumo, nor as smart as Kaju, and I'm not even as empathetic as Yui..."
"But as Hinata and Tamaki's older sister, Ruri, you know how to take care of others better than Chihaya. When faced with unexpected bad situations, you're stronger than Kaju-chan, and when you turn into a cat, you're cuter than Yui..."
"The last one doesn't count as a good point, does it?"
"Unfortunately, I'm not the type of man with a smooth tongue. It's quite difficult for me to list so many good points all at once."
Asakura stroked his chin: "Is being a bit bigger than Yukino considered a good point?"
"I'm such an idiot for expecting Takuma to be serious."
Gokou Ruri sighed, but her mood did seem better than before.
"Alright, let me show you something good."
Asakura mysteriously looked around, and after confirming that there was no one nearby, he gently touched the girl's shoulder. Gokou Ruri immediately felt her body inexplicably warm up.
"What is it?"
She asked curiously.
The next moment, something emerged from the grassy riverbank beneath their feet.
What appeared was not unfamiliar to Gokou Ruri; she had ridden Asakura's flying Ford many times, which made her a little disappointed.
But this was the first time she had been on the roof of the car with Asakura.
"I just recently discovered that this guy is actually even more intelligent than I thought..." Asakura said: "It can even drive itself now."
As if to confirm what Asakura said, the old Ford beeped twice, then launched directly, gliding into the sky that was gradually being blurred by the night.
"Eek—"
Gokou Ruri lost her footing and almost fell, but fortunately, Asakura quickly steadied the girl.
"Don't be afraid, you've been buffed."
He pointed earnestly at the girl's shoulder.
The girl then noticed that on her shoulder, where Asakura had just touched, there was a red gem, like the eyeball of some creature.
"What is this?"
"Cursed Snake Eye..." Asakura explained: "This is a compromise that allows the holder to temporarily gain a portion of the passive Curse of Snake without being directly turned into a Snake by the Curse. Theoretically, you can now Snake around with any part of your body anywhere."
"A completely unwanted ability has appeared..."
The girl couldn't help but mumble.
"Don't say that. At least now, even standing on the roof of a fast-flying car, you can stand steadily and won't be easily thrown off."
Asakura said.
Actually, because parts of [Candle] were also mixed into the cursed equipment, she wouldn't feel cold even at high altitudes with lower temperatures, but Asakura felt that this small function was nothing to show off, so he didn't mention it.
"Aren't you afraid of Muggles seeing us flying like this?"
Gokou Ruri asked worriedly.
"Anyway, it's getting dark soon, so most people won't be able to tell. Even if we're caught on camera, netizens will complain about the poor quality, and video bloggers will come out to debunk it, saying we're kites or something—" Asakura said indifferently, "Compared to such boring things, look."
The girl followed his gaze:
The twilight faded, and in the hour of dusk, the waves of the distant Chiba Port Tower were breaking the last clamor of the day into millions of silver foils.
The skyline was like a wound obliquely cut open by an unknown evil god, and crimson-gold light surged out from the opening, burning the clouds into translucent Gokou Ruri, even coloring one's breath with the warmth of amber.
The setting sun descended extremely slowly, and the clouds spread across the dome like spilled ink, a violet hue, but suddenly, a few scarlet cracks appeared at the edges—the last lingering echoes of daylight.
When the sun finally touched the sea, the entire ocean instantly boiled into liquid flames. Tiny, brilliant lights danced on the crests of the waves, flickering with the ebb and flow, like stardust scattered across the night sky.
As dusk deepened, the evening breeze brought the salty sound of the tide. The moment the last golden thread was gathered into the deep sea, everything seemed to fall silent, returning to the tranquility of the night.
The magnificent scene left the girl speechless for a long time. When everything had finally settled, she let out a soft sigh, as if she could finally breathe again.
"So beautiful…"
"Right? You usually don't get to see a scene like this from the ground." Asakura said triumphantly.
"In front of such a scene, interwoven with the sky, the sea, and vast urban clusters, I always feel that everything about myself has become insignificant, and even my worries seem trivial…" Gokou Ruri said softly.
Although she still couldn't let go, the girl did feel much better than before.
Moreover, the person she admired had specifically come all this way and used something that ordinary people might never be able to do in their entire lives to comfort her. What reason did she have to be dissatisfied?
Even if she truly lost her Curse ability, at least she had that beautiful past. Her life could be considered quite wonderful, couldn't it?
"Oh, by the way, regarding your troubles—" Asakura suddenly said, "The one about Curse suddenly failing."
The girl, who had been staring blankly at the sea, snapped back to reality and turned to look at Asakura, puzzled, not knowing what he was about to say.
"That shouldn't be Curse being taken away by an anomaly as you understand it. Although It is your mystery, It is not entirely identical to the essence of mystery—" Asakura explained.
After all, Asakura had confirmed that for most of the other patients whose life force had been drained by Human-Faced Sore, their drained life force had been returned after he destroyed the evil god's divine embryo (excluding what was consumed, and some part was probably used by the evil god's dependents to strengthen Ayase Aragaki's body). So, theoretically, the mystery stolen from Gokou Ruri should also have returned to her. The reason she couldn't cast Curse, Asakura thought, was likely similar to Ayase Aragaki's situation.
He said, "Instead, after your mystery was used as a magical foundation for the birth of a higher-dimensional being, the originally solidified parts were stimulated and began to activate, causing a metaphysical change in the manifestation of Curse, leading to an error in your perception of Curse, and ultimately preventing Curse from being triggered."
The girl looked bewildered, probably not understanding Asakura's meaning.
"In short—" Asakura then explained in a simpler, clearer way, "Your Curse hasn't disappeared; it has been upgraded… or rather, awakened into a higher-level Curse. So you need to start from scratch to accept and familiarize yourself with your Curse, instead of still using it as Curse [Cat]."
He gave the girl a thumbs-up and a brilliant smile: "Don't worry, I'll help you just like before."
"Takuma…" the girl said in a low voice, her tone betraying no emotion.
"What's wrong?" Asakura asked.
"Couldn't you have just told me this directly before comforting me?" The girl stared at Asakura with cute, deadpan eyes.
"...Eh-heh." Asakura stuck out his tongue and tapped his head, mimicking the expression of a certain teacher.
"'Eh-heh~' my foot—!" Gokou Ruri was still pouting angrily.
Instead of feeling guilty, Asakura felt a subtle sense of accomplishment. After all, this child always pretended to be mature and profound, and such a cute expression was quite rare, to be honest.
Gokou Ruri seemed to notice something from Asakura's upturned lips and instantly became even angrier.
"Whoa, stop it, we're over three hundred meters high right now, it would be terrible if we fell… No, it's not that we're in danger, it's that I'm afraid of hitting innocent people."
"Damn it, what was all my worry and sadness for?!"
"Consider it punishment for leaving my message on read."
"Guh…"