Chapter 486

Same place, different scenarios, same results. Same actions, different words, same hearts…

They fought in the same zoo Wu Yan picked for his first date with Kurumi. Wu Yan used a lie to force Kurumi into confronting the inevitable truth. From that day onwards, his words had materialized a crack in her iron-will to carry out her beliefs.

Kurumi didn't want to admit it. Even if it's a harsh truth, she refuses to admit what she had been doing all these years had no intrinsic meaning to it.

She had been fighting against humans and running from them just like Tohka and Yoshino. She lived like a soldier in constant combat. She didn't have Tohka or Yoshino's luck, she didn't find that someone who offered her an arm of support. She ran and resisted until she finally killed her first human.

After that, killing became almost second nature when confronted with hostility. She numbed her mind with the constant killings. Maybe this is why she became a spirit, maybe this is her reason of existence.

At least, that's what she thought before she killed even more humans. The existential crisis came back like a bad round of flu. What is she really doing with this life?

Kurumi came to a conclusion, this existential crisis stemmed from the fact that spirits like her had no futures.

If that is so, Kurumi should condemn the past that brought her here.

She started finding ways to go back to the past to change what has been done.

To escape this meaningless life of killing, she must kill more to go back in time. What a cruel joke. She wanted to laugh but she's too blase to do so.

Wu Yan barred her from going back to change the past. Denied of both past and future, what becomes of her now? Kurumi couldn't think of a reason to keep going.

"You live for me, you're mine from now on!"

"Don't go dying on me, I won't allow it."

"My existence is yours?…"

Kurumi stared in disbelief as Wu Yan rubbed away her tears. She recalled the day her clone got done in by Mana. She observed from a dark corner and she saw him wiping away the blood staining her dying clone. If she recalled correctly, he said something along the lines of:

"Abandoning the past is no different than running away from it, facing it and accepting it is the only way you can move forward. If you don't have the courage to accept the past the future will always remain far away from you. Forget changing the past if you can't do that…"

Kurumi didn't forget how he murmured about saving Kurumi just one time.

"Am I not a lost cause?"

Kurumi blurted out. Wu Yan stopped his hand.

He sighed and he caressed her cheeks while showing her a very smug grin.

"You can't reject me…"

Kurumi's eyes wavered before she laughed.

"Ara ara, stealing my lines, that's very cheeky of you…"

Wu Yan shrugged and he continued.

"If you can be so tyrannical I don't see why I can't have my way with you. I am getting the feeling that if I don't do this, you're going to whip me so hard after this."

"But, you're the one who rejected me, multiple times even…"

"Yeah well…"

Wu Yan smiled.

"Don't even think about saying no."

"What a dictator…"

Kurumi licked her lips before she gave him a charming smile in kind.

"It's not unpleasant though…"

Wu Yan instinctively knew he just dug another grave for himself but what's done isd one.

Suddenly, stars started moving in the sky. A familiar noise rang.

"That's…"

They exchanged looks and they bitterly laughed.

"AST is really starting to behave like cops. They just can't arrive in time…"

Wu Yan said in a sarcastic manner. He picked up Kurumi and he approached Kotori.

"Let us return to Fraxinus, those AST members will be here any minute now."

"We are bringing her along?"

Mana got up, she's still hurting all over from the fight. Tohka supported her so she wouldn't fall. She frowned at wu yan.

"Kurumi lost the power and will to resist, I reckon she would be easy to handle even if we bring her back to Fraxinus."

Wu Yan sounded like he didn't care what Mana had to say. Rather, he's not worried that Kurumi will fight back. Mana felt helpless about his confidence but she didn't continue her protest.

Kotori looked like she's in pain so Wu Yan called out to her.

"Kotori, you okay?"

She nodded. Kotori couldn't hold on much longer and Wu Yan knew this.

Wu Yan asked her to hold on until they get to the ship.

"Endure for just a bit longer, I will seal your powers after we return to Fraxinus."

Wu Yan spoke into his communication device.

"Reine, teleport everyone back…"

A blinding pillar of light engulfed them and they disappeared after the light faded.

The gang returned to Fraxinus in a blink of an eye. Reine and Kyouhei greeted them after coming out of the operation room.

"Is everyone okay?"

Reine saw Kurumi who is in Wu Yan's arms.

"Reine, you take Kurumi, Mana, and Shiori to the medical center."

Wu Yan passed Kurumi to Reine. It might have been Wu Yan's hallucination but Reine looked very serious for some reason.

"I understand…"

Kyouhei supported Mana and he followed Reine to the medical center.

When they are gone, Wu Yan sighed in relief and he raised his hand.

"Seal!"

The sealing bracelets shined brightly and after the girls glowed up in red. Their spirit powers started getting sealed away.

Wu Yan's eyes widened as if he's surprised with the results.

When the spiritual powers that supported the girls' armor went away, naturally, the armor that lost its energy source de-materialized.

"Oh…"

He stared at their figures so hard his eyes might just pop out. The girls are also shocked, the room fell into an awkward silence.

As time slowly passed, Kotori lowered her head, she shielded her modest peaks from Wu Yan's view before she unleashed a massive kick to his solar plexus.

"Are you done ogling?!"

Wu Yan fell in a beautiful parabola, he hit the floor head-first and he had only one thing to say.

Worth it…