"Is there no way to help them?" Tohka approached Kotori pleadingly. Then, Kotori patted Tohka's head gently to calm her down.
"Of course there is a way. That's why I called you all here."
"Hmm..." Tohka's eyes widened, and Kotori stood up from the chair and continued:
"In simple terms, all we have to do is restore the path between Katsu-nii and us to normal. Once we do that, the spiritual energy will circulate and his symptoms should improve."
"Is… that so?"
"But how can we expand the path?"
Miku put her fingers to her chin and tilted her head.
At this moment, Kotori hesitated with an awkward look on her face for some reason.
"Uh, well..."
"...Hey! You don't know the method, so you ask us to do it?" Natsumi said with narrowed eyes.
"No... no. I know how to do it."
"...Uh, then, is that method difficult to execute...?"
"No... that's not the case either."
"Then tell us~~ What can we do to help Mitsu-chan?"
"Just...just..." Kotori's cheeks flushed and she couldn't speak. Reine couldn't bear to watch and opened her lips and said, "...kiss."
"Huh?"
"What did you just say..." Everyone was surprised. Katsu nodded and replied:
"...Katsu seal the spirit power of the spirits by kissing. In other words, through this behavior, a path connecting the two can be established. In order to expand the narrowed path again, Yuzuru and Tohka, Kaguya, Miku, Natsumi, Kotori, Yoshino, and Origami will kiss Katsu."
As soon as the words fell.
"I...I see..." Tohka nodded and touched her lips with her fingers, frowning as she recalled that she kissed Katsu when her spiritual power was sealed. If a path was established between the two of them because of this, then it would not be unreasonable to open the path again through kissing; besides, she has already done more mature stuff already.
"Do you want to... kiss Mitsu-chan?" Miku's cheeks flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but think back to the autumn outing... ...We've done that before, so kissing should be a piece of cake, right? Then Miku raised her hand without any psychological pressure, and said with a little excitement: "Kissing Mitsu-chan, there's no problem at all---"
Kaguya and Yuzuru also raised their eyebrows, recalling what happened on the deserted island a few months ago. Katsu was able to do that for them. It was just a kiss, nothing more!
"Hmph, that's fine with me. Speaking of which, needing a kiss to wake you up is just like the princess in Sleeping Beauty."
"I agree. Katsu is the Sleeping Beauty princess sleeping in the forest, and Shidou is the frog prince waiting to be kissed by the girl to lift the curse~" Kotori said with a chuckle.
"I... I will try my best too." Yoshino raised her hand and spoke in a soft voice. She and Katsu have known each other for quite a long time, so Shion firmly believed that her feelings for Katsu would not lose to those of others.
"Well...if he doesn't mind, then I have no problem---" Natsumi tilted her head, her cheeks slightly red, a pervert.
Origami licked her lips and said, "Besides kissing, don't we need other ways? For example, giving birth to a child..."
"Wow! What are you talking about? Having a baby with Katsu-nii or something like that --- it's too early now!" As soon as Origami finished speaking, Kotori couldn't help but imagine such a scene. Of course, the heroine was herself, and then she immediately blushed and "scolded" Origami loudly.
Neryl Island, a small island floating in the Pacific Ocean, broke the usual tranquility and became noisy on this day.
After purchasing this uninhabited island about 20 years ago, the British company DEM Industry built a large-scale experimental facility underground.
However, its existence has not been made public, and the location of the island has not been marked on the map. In short, DEM is used to conduct experiments that would inevitably be criticized by the world if it were made public.
Therefore, there are usually only about fifty researchers, thirty operations staff, and a few wizards on guard. However, if the large number of experimental subjects in the facility are counted as humans, the number will probably be more than doubled.
In short, from the ground, Neryl Island is a deserted and extremely quiet island, except for the weekly replenishment of supplies and the visits of bigwigs from the head office on a whim.
——But now, there are nearly a hundred wizards gathered on this island. Moreover, all of them are wearing wiring suits and IT, ready for battle.
In addition, more than 300 remote-controlled mythical beasts were deployed around the island. If someone who had only seen the scenery on the island normally saw this scene, they would definitely think that a war was about to start.
"It's really a waste of effort to mobilize so many troops." Knox looked at the runway full of wizards from the cockpit of the transport plane and let out a breath.
Burton, the co-pilot sitting next to him, nodded and responded: "It means that this "Material A" is so important." After Burton finished speaking, he pointed his thumb to the rear of the cockpit.
That's right. Knox and his partner were responsible for transporting the important materials commonly known as "Material A"—located at the deepest part of Neryl Island.
"That's true. But they are a bit too enthusiastic. How many wizards are there? Is the Seventh Fleet going to attack?" Hearing Knox's joking words, Burton smiled bitterly.
At this moment, Knox blinked, because right in front of the transport plane, in the middle of the runway, a tiny figure suddenly appeared.
"Hmm..." He originally thought it was a wizard or a researcher from Neryl Island, but it wasn't the case. Standing there was a young girl.
She was wearing a dress that seemed to be entangled with shadows and blood, had black hair tied unevenly on both sides, and a left eye that looked like a clock face.
"What... is that? Didn't Halloween end last month?" Knox murmured in confusion. The group of wizards on the runway seemed to be aware of the girl's presence at the same time, a beat late.
They pointed their guns at the girl and shouted, "Who are you? Where did you come from?" The wizard's voice came through the communicator.
However, the next moment── "──Hehehe, I finally found you, the "Second spirit"."
The girl's voice came from the communicator, and then a shadow stretched from the girl's feet to the feet of the wizards with guns. Then, several white hands stretched out from the shadow and dragged the wizards into the shadow.
"This…this…what's going on…!"
"Shadow…Shadow actually…!"
"Idiot! Don't get too close! That guy is a nightmare!"
A wizard said this, and the girl curved her lips into a crescent shape.
Then, the next moment, a group of girls with the same appearance as Nightmare crawled out from the shadows that spread out like a carpet.
"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
"Calm down! Protect 'Material A!'" The wizards prepared for the battle, and the Nightmare group took out classical rifles and pistols from the shadows.
——The peaceful island turned into a brutal battlefield in an instant.
The defenses that were thought to be solid as a rock were breached one after another. Because no matter how many enemies the wizard killed, there were still endless girls pouring out from the shadows, and it was only a matter of time before the transport plane fell into the hands of the girls.
"—Pilot, Knox! We'll be attacked if we continue like this! Let's set sail!"
"What a joke! The wizards who are escorting me haven't boarded yet! Besides, do you want me to taxi on the runway in this condition?!"
"There's no other way! Hurry!"
"Hmm...!" Knox frowned and gripped the joystick.
——The low sound of the transport plane's engine was getting louder and louder.
After hearing this voice, Tokisaki Kurumi revealed an evil smile, then raised the rifle in her hand and gave orders to the "Kurumis".
"Don't let them escape. Right──us?" Several clones obeyed Kurumi's order and rushed towards the transport plane.
However, the next moment──
Just as I heard the sound of stagnant breathing, the heads of the five clones that rushed towards the transport plane flew in the air at the same time. A moment later, the body below the head spurted out a lot of blood, collapsed to the ground, and twitched.
"… …Oh, oh?" Kurumi looked sharply at the wizard who appeared at the scene.
"..." It was a blonde girl, wearing a wiring suit that was different from other wizards a suit similar in design to the one worn by Ellen Mathers. Her face still had a childish and gentle look, but now it was decorated with a sinister expression.
Kurumi snorted softly. She could tell at a glance that this girl's strength was different from other wizards. Her proficiency in deploying the random domain and her ability to separate the head and body of her clone in an instant clearly showed that she was not an ordinary person.
"A bit of a troublesome person has appeared... But, do you think we will give up just like that?" Kurumi showed a provocative smile. However, the girl did not respond, but just raised the characteristic lightsaber in her hand.
In an instant, the clones scattered around rushed towards the girl at the same time.
However, the girl manipulated the Territory to slow down the movements of the clones for a moment, and then took the opportunity to bounce, approached Kurumi, and directly split Kurumi's body in half.
"Ah--Gah...!" A large amount of blood spurted out of Kurumi's chest. She stared at the cloudless blue sky and fell backwards on the runway.
A few seconds later, out of the corner of her eye she saw the rumbling transport plane taking off.
"Oh, oh... I've been defeated... " Even though she was bleeding, Kurumi still smiled arrogantly. In fact, with Kurumi's ability, even if she was a clone, she shouldn't have been defeated so quickly when she outnumbered the opponent. The fundamental reason was that she had consumed too much "time" and spiritual energy in order to bring Katsu back from the past.
"But... things won't... end here. We will... take away... the second spirit..."
"... The girl raised her laser blade.
Kurumi lost consciousness at this time.