As if it were a normal meeting, Inaba Tsukiyo greeted Shiori, then carefully treated the cat.
Its injuries were not as deep as imagined; it only appeared very weak due to prolonged abuse and some malnutrition.
Although Inaba Tsukiyo remained very calm, Shiori found it hard to accept; facing the tragedy before her, she felt her stomach churning constantly.
There were dead people. As an ordinary person, when had Shiori ever seen such a scene? The smell of blood lingering in the air and everything else made it unacceptable to her.
"Oh my~ Oh my~ I didn't expect Shido to come back so quickly. I originally wanted to continue our date."
Kurumi casually threw the gun in her hand to the ground. After the shadow swallowed the gun, she walked over to Inaba Tsukiyo.
"How is it? Its condition?"
"It has stabilized, but the kitten is still young. Without anyone to care for it, it won't live much longer."
"Care… How about sending it to an Animal shelter? It should receive proper care there, right?"
Kurumi liked cats, but she herself didn't have time to care for them.
Although it was a pity, she could only entrust them to institutions specializing in stray Animals, letting them care for these little darlings.
"If it's a legitimate one, and the staff genuinely love small Animals, then it's fine. But if it's given to an institution that doesn't take good care of Animals, then I won't be able to save it."
This form of her could only treat living creatures; if a creature had been dead for some time, she wouldn't be able to bring it back.
"Don't worry, I know a place that takes in stray Animals. The staff there are very good; they will take good care of the cat."
Besides pet shops, Kurumi had also visited stray Animal shelters. Many stray Animals were taken in there, and she knew that institution would take good care of these Animals.
They, discussing the kitten's whereabouts, completely forgot that Shiori was still there, forgetting that they had just maliciously killed three Animal abusers.
Shiori's legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground. Everything before her made her feel somewhat helpless, unsure of what to do.
Shiori's mind was blank; she couldn't even hear Kotori's voice, and her mind was still denying everything she saw.
"Tsukiyo…-chan…"
A soft, trembling voice came. Turning around, she saw Yoshino standing not far from Shiori, looking at everything in fear.
"Yoshino… Why are you here? Weren't you at home?"
Yoshino should have been at home with Nia; why was she here? Did Nia not keep a good eye on Yoshino?
Handing the cat in her arms to Kurumi, Inaba Tsukiyo walked over to Yoshino.
Yoshino trembled as she looked at everything before her. The horrific scene made Yoshino somewhat afraid, and she also knew that Inaba Tsukiyo and Kurumi had done all this, but having spent so much time with Inaba Tsukiyo, she was not afraid of Inaba Tsukiyo.
She just didn't want Inaba Tsukiyo to do such things. Even if Inaba Tsukiyo occasionally teamed up with Nia to tease her with words, it didn't matter. She didn't want Inaba Tsukiyo to harm others.
"You… really shouldn't have come here, Yoshino. I didn't want you to see this."
Rubbing Yoshino's little head, Inaba Tsukiyo truly didn't want Yoshino to see this scene.
Yoshino didn't want others to get hurt, but many times, to protect someone or something, it had to be done through violence.
"It's okay, I believe Tsukiyo-chan has a reason for doing this. It's just, I hope Tsukiyo-chan can avoid using such methods in the future. I… I prefer a smiling Tsukiyo-chan."
"Smiling? I only smile in front of Yoshino and other important people. However, since this is Yoshino's request, I will agree to it."
She pinched Yoshino's cheek, then suddenly thought of something, leaned over, and whispered in Yoshino's ear.
"I forgot to tell you, Yoshino. In the future, if you search for anything online, remember to delete your browsing history. If you don't delete it, I can see what you've been looking for online."
"Eh?"
Yoshino froze, not understanding the meaning of that sentence.
But upon seeing the mischievous smile on Inaba Tsukiyo's face, Yoshino thought of the GALGAMEs she had searched for online, and her pretty face immediately turned rosy.
She nodded in satisfaction, then turned to look at Kurumi, and also glanced at the guys whose bodies had been shot through by Kurumi.
"I'm sorry, Kurumi. I have to break my promise this time. I don't want to disappoint Yoshino."
Not only for Yoshino, but also to display her power to this world and to the organization behind Kotori, Inaba Tsukiyo was going to break her oath.
Clutching the Hecate's Staff in her hand, magical power glowed around her body. Under everyone's gaze, she chanted the incantation to activate her noble phantasm.
[Hope… for the existence of a world where no one harms others, nor is harmed by others.]
[Myriad Flaw Restoration (Pain Breaker)]
At this moment, Inaba Tsukiyo was different from when she saved Ji Xuanyuan. Her noble phantasm's coverage now extended across Amamiya City.
Everyone in Amamiya City noticed a soft light showering down from the sky. This gentle light shone upon them, making them feel incredibly comfortable.
Bathed in this light, some people's illnesses were cured, and even those who were seriously ill showed improvement; it cured sickness and strengthened the healthy.
Shiori watched in shock as the people whose bodies had been shot through by Kurumi, who had originally lost their vital signs, completely recovered under the illumination of this light. Their pale faces regained color.
Originally, this technique couldn't heal the dead, but humans have a few minutes of suspended animation before death. Before brain death, these people were actually still alive.
Using the noble phantasm during this period could bring these people back to life, but when they would wake up was an unknown.
"This is truly… Is this also the power of time? Even my time…"
Kurumi covered her left eye in shock. The hour hand of the golden clock in her left eye was rapidly spinning backward, and a massive surge of time was continuously pouring in.
Inaba Tsukiyo, having done all this, turned pale. The Hecate's Staff dissolved into points of light and disappeared. So weak that she couldn't even stand steadily, she fell backward.
As Tsukiyo-chan was about to fall, Kurumi hugged her from behind and gently brushed the sweat-drenched bangs from Inaba Tsukiyo's forehead.
"Falling into my hands so easily, aren't you afraid of being eaten by me, Tsukiyo-chan?"
"No, you won't. You need to replenish your time to use the Angel. Rather than devouring me all at once, continuously replenishing your time is more effective."
Just like a power bank, once Inaba Tsukiyo recovered, Kurumi would gain a large amount of time from her, and so on.
Kurumi said nothing, quietly holding Inaba Tsukiyo and stroking Inaba Tsukiyo's pretty face.
She didn't know what Inaba Tsukiyo's current condition was. From her recent actions, Inaba Tsukiyo must have expended a great deal of power.
If... if she were to devour Inaba Tsukiyo here, would she gain enough time to return sixty years ago, eliminate the First Spirit, and fulfill her wish?
But, if she really did that, how would she be any different from Mio, who deceived and used her?
"Really... I'm defeated by you. You must know I approached you with a purpose, right? If so, why help me?"
"Because we are friends... aren't we?"
Friends... Because we are friends. A simple sentence, yet it brought tears to Kurumi's eyes.
Her best friend, the former Spirit of Flame, Yamai Sanae, a friend she had personally killed, her best friend.
Since that incident, Kurumi had no so-called friends. All this time, she had been striving to fulfill her wish of changing the past.
"Kurumi, why are you crying? Don't you want to be my friend? You're quite the arrogant young lady. Do commoners like me not qualify to be your friend?"
"No... it's not that. It's just... I'm just too happy."
Wiping away her tears, Kurumi said with a radiant smile.
She now wanted Inaba Tsukiyo to go to a safe place to rest properly and recover her lost stamina.
"Kotori... what exactly is this?"
Shiori came before the man who had just been shot, hesitated for a moment, and reached out to check for his breath, discovering that there was still a faint trace of it.
He had clearly been shot through the chest by Kurumi's bullet just now, but now he lay there as if nothing had happened. Was this what they called a miracle?
"I don't know. Logically, Inaba Tsukiyo's ability should be spatial. But the ability she displayed this time is undoubtedly healing. A healing ability that can revive a dying person completely overturns humanity's understanding of Spirits."
The existence of Spirits was a mobile natural disaster. No matter what they did, even an unintentional action could lead to the destruction of the world.
But Inaba Tsukiyo's healing ability allowed her to see the good side of Spirits.
If this power could be used to help humanity, then Spirits would no longer be synonymous with harming humans, and the Spirits' standing would change because of Inaba Tsukiyo.
Kotori thought excitedly, if this idea could be established, then Ratatoskr's plan to protect Spirits would face no obstacles.
Everyone was shocked by the ability Inaba Tsukiyo displayed and began to change their views on Spirits.
However, Inaba Tsukiyo, who was being supported by Kurumi, suddenly sensed something and pushed Kurumi away.
Kurumi's body fell heavily to the side, her rear hitting the ground with a painful thud.
Although her rear hurt, Kurumi couldn't concern herself with such things anymore. Not just Kurumi, but Yoshino, who was not far away, felt the same.
They stared blankly at Inaba Tsukiyo. At this moment, Inaba Tsukiyo, to protect Kurumi, was pierced through the chest by a laser beam from the sky at the same time she pushed Kurumi away.
Fresh red blood splattered on Yoshino and Kurumi's faces. This still-warm blood undoubtedly flowed from Inaba Tsukiyo's body.
"Tsukiyo... chan..."
After realizing that Inaba Tsukiyo had been hit by a sudden laser beam, falling into a near-death state (?) to save her (Kurumi), Yoshino and Kurumi's eyes widened.
Dark and crimson aura erupted from their bodies, and an ominous Spirit energy permeated the entire forest.
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