The brilliant light faded, and Little Kurumi was the first to be revealed.
However, she could no longer be called Little Kurumi.
Like Mukuro, Little Kurumi had also grown up after becoming a Spirit. She was no different from the Kurumi in Fujino's memories: an exquisite face with a hint of charm, slender arms and waist, paired with a red and black gothic lolita dress and enticing black stockings. Fujino actually felt an impulse to pin Kurumi down right then and there.
Opening her eyes, she revealed her left eye—a golden clock filled with a mysterious aura, partially hidden behind her bangs.
Suddenly, Fujino noticed a momentary blankness in Kurumi's gaze. Simultaneously, a subtle change occurred in the time Fujino perceived—it was the time on Kurumi, and not just that, the time in the surroundings also stopped.
The aura on the Kurumi in front of her changed again. If her previous charming aura still contained a hint of purity, the current Kurumi was a complete enchantress.
"Ara, was it a success?"
Kurumi spoke. Looking at the surroundings that couldn't be more familiar, and at the stunned Fujino before her, Kurumi gave a smile that Fujino found bewitching enough to charm the world.
"I'm finally here." Kurumi opened her slender arms and jumped toward Fujino.
Subconsciously catching the incoming Kurumi, a soft sensation followed.
A captivating fragrance wafted into her nose, making Fujino sigh inwardly once more that this future Kurumi was truly a charming little vixen.
Yes, the Kurumi before her was not the Kurumi of the present, but the Kurumi of the future.
Kurumi's Spirit form—her Angel—was Zafkiel, which possessed time-based abilities.
Zafkiel had twelve abilities, corresponding exactly to the twelve numbers on a clock.
First Bullet (Aleph):
Accelerates time on the target. Can be used for instantaneous movement.
Second Bullet (Bet):
Slows down the flow of time on the target.
Third Bullet (Gimel):
Causes the target to age or grow.
Fourth Bullet (Dalet):
Rewinds time on the target. For example, Kurumi can reset herself after being heavily injured; she also used it on a kitten in a short story.
Fifth Bullet (He):
Allows a glimpse into the short-term future.
Sixth Bullet (Vav):
Transfers the consciousness of the target into a past version of their body.
Seventh Bullet (Zayin):
Freezes time on the target.
Eighth Bullet (Het):
Creates a clone of oneself from the past. Although the clones don't have the full power of the original, they have their own will and astral dress, can be stored infinitely in shadows, and can be summoned at any time until they are used up.
Ninth Bullet (Tet):
Connects consciousness with someone in a different timeline.
Tenth Bullet (Yd):
Conveys the past memories of the target hit.
Eleventh Bullet (Yd·Alep):
Sends the object hit to the near future.
Twelfth Bullet (Yd·Bet):
Time Reversal. Although one can return to the past, if the spiritual power effect disappears, one will be forcibly sent back to the original world. The spiritual power consumed increases exponentially with the length of time reversed.
The Kurumi in front of her was the future Kurumi, who had used the Twelfth Bullet to come to the present.
"You are the future Kurumi, aren't you?" Fujino asked, reaching out a hand to stroke Kurumi's small head. It felt incredibly soft.
Kurumi, in her arms, looked up, a look of enjoyment on her face, rubbing her small face gently against Fujino's chest.
"Stop acting spoiled, answer my question quickly!"
Fujino pushed Kurumi away with a little force. She dared not let Kurumi hold her anymore; she was about to lose control. If Kurumi continued to hug her, Fujino feared she might actually 'eat' Kurumi.
Although the current Kurumi was the future Kurumi, the body she was using was the present little Kurumi.
What Fujino didn't know was that Kurumi wished Fujino would 'eat' her; this was precisely why she had used the Twelfth Bullet to come to the past.
Fujino pushed her away, and Kurumi puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. However, she then remembered she had important matters to attend to, so she lightly stomped her foot, and black shadows spread out from around her.
City of Devouring Time, one of Zafkiel's extended abilities, used to devour the time of others.
Then, something slowly floated out of the City of Devouring Time, emitting a green glow. It was a gem, a gem Fujino was very familiar with—wasn't this the time gem from her system?!
"Although it's a replica, this was given to me by the future you, Fujino." Kurumi said with a slightly morbid smile, gripping the time gem: "While it can't completely stop your movements, Fujino, half a minute is enough!"
Seeing Kurumi's smile, Fujino had a bad feeling. It seemed her future self had set her up!
If her future self had exchanged for the time gem, then her future self would definitely know that Kurumi would return to the past. The time gem has the ability to observe various timelines, and the time gem exchanged from the system is even stronger. In these past few days, Fujino had also studied the abilities of the reality gem she had already fused with and discovered a problem.
These Infinity Gems exchanged from the system were merely a disguise, a disguise for the true power contained within the gems, and this power was clearly far stronger than the Infinity Gems. According to Fujino's guess, this ability should be a power she currently could not comprehend.
Because it was incomplete, Fujino couldn't understand it. Perhaps only after fully collecting them all could she glimpse its entirety.
However, the ability contained within just one reality gem exchanged was already completely beyond the scope of reality modification!
And exchanging for the time gem was equivalent to completing another part, and she originally possessed the ability to observe other timelines, so even without exchanging for the time gem, she would have been able to detect it. Fujino didn't believe her future self wouldn't have noticed Kurumi traveling through time, which meant her future self deliberately allowed Kurumi to travel to the present.
"This time, Fujino, you are definitely mine!"
Kurumi crushed the time gem in her hand. At this moment, the entire world stopped, and even Ann and Nanami, who had sensed something was wrong and were rushing towards them, were frozen.
Fujino was also stopped, but just as Kurumi had said, this replica time gem couldn't completely stop Fujino 0.3. It only stopped Fujino's movements; her thoughts were unaffected. If Fujino was given ten seconds, she could break free.
But at this moment, Fujino was certain that her future self had set her up.
As her body was stopped, a flood of information suddenly appeared in Fujino's mind. It was left to her by her future self.
And this future self had also disappeared at this moment.
So that's how it is. My future self is truly ruthless. After digesting the messages in her mind, Fujino couldn't help but show a wry smile, but since her body was stopped, she could only feel helpless in her heart.
Kurumi had already arrived in front of Fujino, her hands quickly removing Fujino's clothes.
Fine, I'll just go along with Kurumi.
Since she couldn't resist, she might as well enjoy it. Anyway, she was quite looking forward to it.
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