"I remember your name is Ryuu… Can you really let me live here freely?"
Ryuu raised an eyebrow. Looked like he had struck the right chord. As long as Tohka was still talking, there was hope.
"Of course," he said without hesitation.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Are you absolutely sure?"
"I'm absolutely sure."
"Are you really, really sure?"
"Really, really, really sure!"
Ryuu's eye twitched. Is this girl a reincarnated parrot?
"Rea—"
"STOP!" Ryuu cut her off, exasperated. "If you ask me one more time, the readers are going to start thinking I'm padding out the word count! My answer is the same—yes!"
Tohka fell silent, glancing down.
She fiddled with the ends of her hair, trying to suppress the giddy feeling bubbling inside her chest. But no matter how hard she tried, a smile crept onto her face. She turned her back to him and huffed:
"Hmph! As if I'd be fooled by such sweet words, idiot!"
Ryuu deadpanned. "Maybe hide your smile before saying that."
"No way, no way! But… hmm… While I don't know what you're scheming, this is the first time someone has actually tried to talk to me." She turned back and nodded firmly. "Fine. I'll use you to learn about this world!"
Ryuu smirked. There it is. She's interested.
But for some reason…
He suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Why do I feel like I'm deceiving an innocent child…?
This is just to contract a Spirit. Just to contract a Spirit…
Ryuu repeated it to himself a few times before shaking off the thought.
"By the way, I haven't asked for your name yet," Ryuu said. "Can't keep calling you 'Princess' forever."
"Name?" Tohka tilted her head. "I don't have one."
That response gave Ryuu pause.
"But… if I'm going to talk to someone, I guess I need one," she continued. "Ryuu, what should I be called?"
Ryuu barely had to think. The name belonged to her from the start.
"Tohka. Yatogami Tohka. How's that?"
"Toh… ka?" Tohka rolled the name on her tongue a few times, as if trying to imprint it into her soul.
After a moment, her face brightened into a dazzling smile. "Tohka… I like it!"
She repeated her name a few more times, her joy evident.
Ryuu chuckled. "That's just a small bonus for my subordinates. You should know, I'll make you ten times happier than this."
"Subordinates?" Tohka blinked. "And… what do you mean by 'live freely'?"
There it was. Finally, back to the real topic.
Ryuu smirked. Time to seal the deal.
"It's simple," Ryuu explained. "If you sign a contract with me, your strength and spirit power will increase. More importantly, you'll learn to control your power—so you won't trigger spacequakes anymore."
"That… sounds complicated," Tohka muttered. "But I believe in Ryuu!"
That made him pause for a fraction of a second.
He wasn't used to people trusting him so easily.
"You're too naive, Tohka."
She had no idea how cruel the world could be. But…
Maybe that was what made her so precious.
"You don't have to do anything," Ryuu assured her. "Just wait for the contract to complete."
Tohka nodded eagerly, sitting down and closing her eyes.
…Although she kept peeking at him every few seconds.
Ryuu sighed. This isn't something to be embarrassed about.
With a wave of his hand, a hexagram-shaped magic circle formed beneath Tohka's feet. The mark of the Demon King slowly began to manifest, wrapping around her spirit energy.
Everything was going smoothly—until—
BOOM!
A missile landed mere meters away, interrupting the contract.
Gunfire followed, bullets raining toward Tohka—only to be deflected by an automatic spirit barrier.
AST had launched an attack.
Seeing this, ryuu's eyes darkened.
Someone was going to die today.
"Ryuu, run!" Tohka urged, grabbing his arm. "If you stay with me, they'll attack you too!"
At that, Ryuu let out a dark chuckle.
"Run?" He turned to her, smirking. "Why would I do that?"
Tohka froze.
"Stay here and watch, Tohka," Ryuu said, stepping forward. "Watch what happens to insignificant pests who get in my way."
The Rebellion Blade materialized in his hand.
---
On Fraxinus
The crew of Fraxinus watched with bated breath.
Kotori could see it—Ryuu was seriously pissed.
"Commander," a crew member gulped. "What do we do? The Demon King is about to attack!"
"…Nothing," Kotori said after a pause. "AST brought this on themselves."
"But—Shiori is still down there! Should we evacuate her?"
Kotori frowned, thinking fast.
"No. Have her get close to Tohka instead. When Ryuu starts fighting, she can pull Tohka away."
She quickly relayed the order to Shiori, who was currently hiding behind the rubble.
"Are you kidding me?!" Shiori hissed. "How am I supposed to get close in this situation?!"
"Just do it, Nee-san! Even if you die, it's no big deal—we'll just restart the timeline!"
"DON'T SAY THAT SO CASUALLY!"
Despite her protests, Shiori cautiously moved toward Tohka.
---
Meanwhile, AST continued their attack.
"Captain, are we sure this is okay?" one of the operatives asked.
"We have direct orders," Ryoko Hibakata replied. "Our job is to force the Princess out of the school building."
"But… I have a bad feeling about this…"
"Forget it. Keep firing!"
As the gunfire intensified, Origami zoomed in through her visor—only to notice something chilling.
Tohka wasn't moving.
Instead, she was blocking Ryuu.
She didn't want him to fight.
She was protecting him.
Origami's heart sank.
What the hell is going on?
But before she could process it, Ryuu made his move.
Tohka gasped as Ryuu raised his sword.
"Ryuu, wait—!"
Her words died in her throat as his hand landed on her head.
A gentle pat.
A rare, fleeting moment of warmth.
Tohka's eyes widened.
She looked up at him—this person who was willing to fight for her.
For the first time… someone wasn't running away.
Someone wasn't trying to kill her.
Someone stood by her side.
And then—
The air around Ryuu shattered like glass.
Golden flames erupted around him, warping space itself.
He raised his sword toward AST's position.
And with an ominous smirk, he disappeared—
—only to reappear directly in front of them.
His voice was cold.
"You should have stayed out of this."
And then—
Chaos began.
======
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