Just as "Welt's" body began to flicker more violently, the light particles composing his body accelerated their dissipation.
The mosaic-like distorted area covered almost half of his chest, and just as he was about to completely collapse and vanish—
"Oh dear, that truly was... a close call."
A voice identical to Kurumi's, but with a more composed tone carrying a hint of playful mockery, came from a shadowed corner on the other side of the battlefield.
Everyone whipped their heads around, only to see another Tokisaki Kurumi, elegantly leaning against a broken wall, holding an antique flintlock pistol whose barrel was wreathed in shadows.
She was also wearing the black and red spirit dress, but it appeared spotless, her aura was deeper and more enduring, and her face held a smile suggesting everything was under control.
In her raised left eye, the golden clock pupil emitted an eerie glow, its hand pointing precisely to the "Ⅳ" mark.
(That one is the real body!)
Chinatsu instantly understood.
(The previous clone was meant to draw fire from the AST and DEM, while the true her had been lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment!)
"Zafkiel—[Dalet]!"
As Kurumi's main body whispered, an indescribable power, seemingly capable of plucking the strings of time, flowed from the clock behind her into the antique pistol.
She raised the muzzle without hesitation, aimed it at the vanishing "Welt," and pulled the trigger!
Bang!
It was not a deafening roar, but a dull sound, as if striking time itself.
A dark red beam, carrying an ominous and tranquil aura, instantly traversed the space and accurately struck the mosaic-like distorted area on "Welt's" chest!
The next moment, a miracle—or rather, a paradox of time—occurred.
"Welt's" intensely flickering, near-collapsing body was like a rewinding videotape: the dissipating light particles rapidly flowed back, and the mosaic area shrank and receded at a visible speed!
His blurred form became solid and stable again; even the dust he had picked up from hitting the wall when he was flung away seemed to be wiped clean by an invisible hand.
Aside from a faint ripple of unstable energy remaining where he was struck on the chest, he had almost returned to his state before being hit by the "Creator Reverser"!
However, the cost of unleashing this time-reversing strike was clearly immense.
Kurumi's main body's face rapidly paled at a visible speed, as if most of her internal power had been instantly drained; she even stumbled slightly, needing to lean on the wall to steady herself.
She took a soft breath, rubbed her temple with her fingertips, and muttered to herself, her voice carrying a trace of unconcealed exhaustion and... reluctance to part with the cost?
"Heh... honestly, I didn't expect restoring this 'big guy' of yours would consume so much of my 'Time'..."
(...Strange. The 'feel' of the repair... it was like reconstructing something precise but... lacking 'history'? No, now is not the time to dwell on it.)
Her golden eyes glanced at the recovered "Welt," and she inwardly clicked her tongue.
(If I can't extract some valuable information this time, I'll be at a huge loss, Herrscher of Reason.)
This sudden turn of events stunned everyone.
Mana and the members of her AST Unit momentarily forgot to attack, staring incredulously at the "resurrected" Welt.
As for Chinatsu, who was being "protected" by the AST members, although she was internally shocked that Kurumi would intervene to rescue him, she felt a more complex emotion.
(Dalet... reversing one's own time... she actually used this ability to save a 'fake'? No, she saved 'Welt' the source of information!)
(But at least he's saved. The trend of the core continuing to shatter has stabilized. As long as he's recovered, he should be able to restore himself... If that fails, I'll just call the Aha boss directly. The worst that could happen is I have to act like a clown for him.)
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"