As the shadows receded, the four people appeared in a dimly lit place filled with the smell of rust and engine oil.
This seemed to be a long-abandoned factory workshop, where massive machinery, silent and still for years, stood silently in the shadows like the skeletons of steel beasts.
Broken glass windows let in sporadic moonlight, casting mottled patches of light on the dust accumulated on the floor.
Immediately upon landing, Kurumi lightly retreated two steps, putting distance between herself and the others. She then shot down her clone, who had been spectating nearby, and dragged her into the City of Devouring Time.
"Truly a poorly performing me."
Her pale face still bore that inscrutable smile, but the depths of her eyes were sharp as knives. She first swept her gaze over the wary Shido and the seemingly terrified Chinatsu, then spoke in a voice that was sweet yet undeniable:
"Alright, it's much quieter now~ So, those who are irrelevant may exit the stage first."
She casually pointed the muzzle of her flintlock pistol at Shido and Chinatsu.
"The young man over there, and this... hmm, this frightened young lady. You are now my adorable hostages, aren't you? You should have the self-awareness to obediently wait in that corner over there."
She pointed toward a relatively concealed corner deep within the workshop, where discarded wooden crates were piled up.
"Once I finish discussing important matters with His Excellency, the Herrscher of Reason, we will naturally leave. By then, those fellows from the AST will naturally come and rescue you. Don't worry~"
Her tone was light, as if she were merely arranging a short tea party.
"You...!" Shido wanted to say something more, but seeing Kurumi's smiling yet utterly cold eyes, and the silently standing "Welt" beside them, whose aura was still somewhat unstable, he swallowed his words.
He gritted his teeth, knowing that confronting her now would be futile. He could only comply for the moment and think of a plan later. He glanced at Chinatsu, whose face seemed even paler, and whispered, "Chinatsu-san, let's... let's go over there first."
Chinatsu did not object; she merely nodded slightly, supporting herself with a nearby rusty pipe, her steps unsteady as she followed Shido toward the corner.
She lowered her head, her ice-blue hair falling forward, obscuring her expression. (The Core... must be retrieved quickly... I can't hold on much longer...)
Just as Shido and Chinatsu stabilized themselves in the corner, and Shido was about to secretly contact Fraxinus—
"Cough...!"
Chinatsu suddenly let out a suppressed groan, her body swayed, and she could no longer support herself, sliding softly down the cold wall to the floor.
Curled up against the wall base, her head drooped weakly to the side, her ice-blue long hair scattered like a waterfall across the dusty floor. She had completely lost consciousness.
"Chinatsu-san!" Shido cried out in alarm, quickly crouching down to check on her condition.
Meanwhile, the conversation in the center of the workshop had begun.
Kurumi turned toward "Welt," her golden clock-eye staring intently at him. She dropped her playful smile, her tone becoming serious and direct:
"Mr. Walter, the irrelevant parties have exited the stage. Now, could you please answer my question? Regarding the method to 'erase' that 'Origin,' or the location of the 'power' sufficient to crush it?"
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