When the steady figure of Welt Yang fully emerged from the shadows and spoke those words tinged with detachment, the dangerous and languid smile on Tokisaki Kurumi's face slightly receded.
Her golden clock eye carefully scrutinized the elegant man before her, who was vastly different from the rumored image of "wearing a small skirt," seemingly confirming something.
She did not immediately attack. Instead, she elegantly dipped into an impeccable curtsy, like a true lady attending a banquet.
Although her spirit dress was damaged, and she was injured, with bloodstains blooming like dark patterns between the skirt folds, the movement still possessed a breathtaking beauty.
"Ara... what a surprising reunion, Your Excellency the Herrscher of Reason."
Her voice was like velvet dipped in honey.
"However, this outfit of yours... hmm, this very 'orthodox' attire, makes this lady feel a bit out of place."
She was probing, using frivolous words to gauge his depth, attempting to find a weakness.
Welt pushed up his glasses; the lenses reflected the dim light, obscuring his gaze.
His voice was so steady it lacked any ripple, as if he were stating a law of physics:
"Appearance is easily changed, but the essence remains the same. It is you, Nightmare, who pursues a perhaps nonexistent answer while bearing such heavy injuries; that, in itself, is a phenomenon worth investigating."
He directly pointed out her condition and steered the conversation toward her objective.
Welt merely looked at her calmly, his gaze behind the lenses placid, as if observing a complete stranger.
He neither admitted nor denied her mention of their "last meeting," only offering a slight nod in acknowledgment of her courtesy.
(Tch, what a tough nut to crack.)
Kurumi muttered internally, but the smile on her face remained. She knew very well that when facing such a seemingly rational and calm existence.
Beating around the bush would likely have limited effect, especially given her poor condition and potentially limited time.
Therefore, she decided to get straight to the point.
"Mr. Walter," Kurumi took a small step forward, her golden eyes locked firmly on him.
"My intrusive visit here is not merely to reminisce about old times with you... er, or perhaps, our not-so-pleasant first meeting. Rather, I have several questions that have troubled me for a long time, and I yearn to obtain the answers from you."
She paused, observing Welt's reaction. He remained silent, seemingly waiting for her to continue.
Kurumi's smile remained, but her gaze sharpened slightly. "In the eyes of you, a Herrscher capable of Understanding and 'reconstructing' all things, is the existence of Spirits like us merely a 'phenomenon' awaiting analysis?"
She stepped forward lightly, the bloodstains on her skirt looking like eerie patterns in the dim light. "Then, have you analyzed why 'we' were born? What kind of existence is that 'Origin' that bestowed upon us form and power, yet pushed us into this predicament?"
She did not directly name the First Spirit, but used vaguer, more philosophical terms, attempting to pry open the boundaries of his cognition.
(Takamiya Mio...)
Chinatsu, hidden behind the crowd and diligently playing the role of a startled young girl, felt a jolt in her heart.
(Is Kurumi looking for Takamiya Mio here with me?)
Welt was silent for a moment, his phrasing precise: "'Origin'... assuming such a 'First Cause' exists, it triggers all subsequent phenomena and results."
"The meaning of pursuing it often lies more in the demands of the seeker himself."
His gaze seemed to penetrate the surface. "Do you intend to use it to 'prove' something, or... to 'deny' something?"
"'Deny'?" Kurumi let out a string of bell-like laughter, yet it carried a chilling coldness.
"What a gentle word, Mr. Walter. What I intend to do is far more thorough than 'denial.'" Her figure suddenly vanished from the spot.
The next instant, she was almost pressed against Welt, raising her face. Her golden eyes burned with near-mad obsession, yet her voice was extremely low, like a lover's whisper:
"I want to 'erase' it. To thoroughly 'wipe away' that erroneous beginning, along with all the pain and curses it brought, cleanly from this world and from time itself."
She extended her bloodstained finger, nearly touching Welt's chest:
"Tell me, can you, who is capable of 'Understanding and reconstructing,' also 'Understand' how to 'deconstruct' that source? Or... do you know where the 'power' exists that is sufficient to crush it?"
This almost blatant declaration made the temperature in the air seem to drop several degrees.
Welt did not retreat. He simply looked down at Kurumi, who was so close, and calmly countered:
"'Erasing the Origin'... this means you would deny the very foundation of your own existence. Even if successful, are you certain you can withstand the 'Nothingness' that follows? Or perhaps..."
His gaze seemed to penetrate Kurumi's facade of madness, reaching something deeper.
"Or perhaps... what you pursue is not a 'new' beginning, but a yearning for the 'end' of all this, including yourself?"
This sentence, like a cold needle, precisely pierced the deepest part of Kurumi's heart—a truth she herself might not have been willing to face.
— Her tragic wish, rather than salvation, was more like a magnificent and desperate self-destruction aimed at her own destiny.
The smile on Kurumi's face instantly froze, her golden pupils contracted violently, and the shadows around her churned fiercely for a moment, as if stimulated!
That perfect mask showed such an obvious, almost uncontrollable crack for the first time.
Having the darkest corner of her heart exposed so directly, a surge of panic mixed with rage and shame rushed into her mind.
But she was Tokisaki Kurumi, the Worst Spirit. She almost instantly covered that momentary lapse with a more exaggerated, more seductive smile, yet her voice carried a hint of barely perceptible sharpness:
"Ara ara~! You truly... said something quite terrifying!"
She lightly brushed the back of her hand across her lips, as if wiping away non-existent bloodstains.
"'The End'? What a tempting proposition... But before completing my 'tragic wish,' this lady is quite fond of this body, you know?"
However, her slightly trembling fingertips and the flash of nearly tangible killing intent in her eyes betrayed the intense turmoil within her heart.
She pressed forward another step, practically leaning against Welt, raising her face and asking with a desperate, all-or-nothing obsession in a voice only they could hear:
"Please answer me! Do you... truly know!?"
Her injured body seemed to tremble slightly from the agitation, her golden clock eye staring fixedly at Welt:
"I need power! The power sufficient to complete my 'tragic wish'! Please... you must tell me!"
Facing Kurumi's almost undisguised, fervent, and distorted obsession, Welt was silent for a moment.
In the distance, sporadic noises of the city gradually returning to normal after the Spatial Quake alarm was lifted could be faintly heard, along with the weak sound of engines from the AST Unit possibly approaching.
He did not directly answer the question about "methods" or "power." Instead, he looked into Kurumi's eyes, which burned with madness and despair, and calmly countered, his tone containing a hint of imperceptible inquiry:
"This is not ordinary curiosity. What kind of past, or rather, what kind of 'karma,' shaped your present resolve to 'erase' it, driving you to seek this answer at such a cost, even while severely injured?"
This question, like a key, attempted to pry open Kurumi's tightly shut heart and reach her true core, which was wrapped in layers of pretense.
Just as she was about to react—perhaps with fury, perhaps with deeper obsession—
An extremely subtle, yet lethally threatening energy fluctuation, like a venomous snake, quietly locked onto someone at this location from the top floor of the distant commercial building!
The final charge of the Creator Reverser was complete! Although the target Spirit Power signal had mysteriously vanished, severely compromising the lock-on effectiveness.
But Ellen Mathers had clearly made her choice—to prioritize locking onto the distinct target emitting a strong fluctuation: Welt Yang!
Mortal danger, like the Sword of Damocles, hung overhead! And Welt, who had just posed the question, seemed unaware.
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