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Tengu City, 15,000 meters in the sky, aboard the Fraxinus.

"Commander, the reiryoku level of the sphere is steadily decreasing. It's estimated to completely disappear in about two minutes."

"Is that so? The invisible sphere remained invisible to the end."

Hearing her subordinate's report, Kotori sat in the command chair, legs crossed, sucking on a lollipop as she spoke unhurriedly. However, no one noticed the extremely serious expression on Reine's face, who was below with dark circles under her eyes.

———

Meanwhile, I and Tohka had arrived at the final stop of their date—the place where they first met.

After standing in the park for a long time, Tohka rubbed her stomach, which had started to growl again, and said coquettishly, "Kyoya, let's go home. Although the food outside is delicious, I still want to eat the food Kyoya makes~"

"Is that so? Then tonight, I'll make more of Tohka's favorite dishes."

"Yay~ I love you the most, Kyoya! Mwah~"

Excited, Tohka gave me a kiss.

Touching the spot where she had been kissed, I couldn't help but smile wryly.

As expected, Tohka is still that pure, cute, naturally airheaded, and gluttonous Tohka. She hasn't changed at all. But to find someone who can rival or even surpass Tohka's appetite—probably only that existence with the title of "King Stomach" could.

Coming back to his senses, I took Tohka's delicate hand. Just as I turned around, I saw a girl a few dozen meters away.

She was a girl with long golden hair—tied into a single ponytail with a white flower-shaped ribbon. Her features were undoubtedly dignified and beautiful. Her pair of pure pink eyes appeared exceptionally lively and innocent.

A pink school bag was slung over her left shoulder. Her entire being exuded an elegant aura, like a young lady from a noble family, completely out of place with her surroundings.

The girl was none other than Mayuri—

The two of them just stared at each other, motionless for a long time.

Tohka was puzzled by my behavior and also looked in the direction of his gaze, but saw nothing. "Kyoya, what are you looking at?"

"Uh... It's nothing."

———

I came back to my senses and looked at the bewildered Tohka, then suddenly understood.

As expected, Tohka can't see Mayuri. Mayuri is an aggregate of the Spirits' jealousy towards each other and their possessive desires for their beloved, among other negative emotions.

'At this stage, normally, only I can see her. This means that I am the one all the Spirits love and deeply adore. That's why Mayuri appeared and found me, silently observing me'

"Tohka, can you wait for me for a moment? I have something to take care of."

"Mm, okay~"

Hearing this, I slowly walked to within a few meters of Mayuri, my voice filled with a mix of wonder and anticipation.

———

"Is there something you want to say to me, Mayuri~"

Looking at the beautiful girl before him, I spoke first.

Hearing me call out her name, Mayuri's expression suddenly changed slightly. She didn't understand why I knew her name.

After a few seconds of hesitation, she finally voiced the question in her heart.

"Why... you—"

"—Why do I know your name, is that it?" Voicing the girl's question, a smile played on my lips.

Mayuri was stunned upon hearing this, then nodded gently.

I hesitated for a moment, then came before Mayuri, and under her surprised gaze, took her hand.

"That's because Mayuri was born from everyone's reiryoku. I naturally know everything about you. And just as I like Mayuri, Mayuri also likes me, right!"

Hearing this, Mayuri looked at him in disbelief, as if hearing something terrifying.

'What is he saying? Me... how could I like him?'

'I'm just an aggregate of reiryoku, a judging machine without any emotions.'

———

Just as Mayuri fell into silence, Origami, Kurumi, and the other girls all arrived not far away.

However, noticing my strange behavior, they were all somewhat puzzled.

"What is Kyoya doing?"

"Surprise. He's talking to himself."

"Could it be because of the recent dates? Is he overworked?"

"..."

I paid no attention to the girls' discussion. At this moment, my attention was focused on Mayuri.

Mayuri, after a long silence, her pink eyes fixed on me, said calmly, "My existence is merely a system to measure whether you are qualified. I don't have any emotions, so you guessed wrong."

"I'll be disappearing soon. It's just that... I couldn't help but want to talk to you before I disappear."

As she spoke, specks of light appeared around the girl's body, converging into several golden rays.

Instantly, a golden light flashed. It was the activation of her Spirit Astral Dress.

Four angelic wings appeared behind Mayuri. Her dress was adorned with red spheres, a wheel-like ornament on her chest, and she wore a black dress with gold trim. On her knees were lion-head-shaped golden greaves.

Images of my dates with the Spirits flashed through her mind. A strange feeling welled up in Mayuri's heart. Then, the girl slightly opened her four angelic wings and floated into the air, her gaze on me extremely gentle.

"Farewell, Kyoya!"

However, as soon as her voice fell, the sky behind Mayuri suddenly bloomed with a strong, dazzling light.

This sudden scene instantly attracted everyone's attention.

"What's happening?"

"What is that thing in the sky?"

"Amazement. The light is so dazzling!"

"..."

Before the girls could figure out the situation, the originally invisible black sphere now completely manifested.

Under the astonished gazes of the girls, the black sphere rapidly rotated and changed color, writhing like a liquid.

With the sound of shattering glass, a structure with the giant sphere at its center, extending out with four huge angelic wings, and a golden tail decoration below, appeared.

Its name—Kerubiel.

The moment she saw it, Mayuri's face instantly paled, her tone extremely panicked. "Cherub?? Why?"

However, Kerubiel paid no attention to Mayuri's words. Instead, several blue diamond shapes appeared on the sphere, and a crimson eye appeared in the center.

The next moment, Kerubiel gathered a large amount of reiryoku at its center, and a blue thunderbolt poured down. In the blink of an eye, the park below was completely destroyed by this lightning strike. The terrifying aftershock even destroyed all the surrounding trees.

Simultaneously—the Fraxinus warship—which had been observing the sphere in the sky, was now also in chaos.

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