Challenge: The Fool with the Surname Okayamine

Chapter 15 The Inscription Thirsting for Power

"Wait! Okamine-kun, what did you just say? What happened to Saya and her?!"

Kurumi looked anxious, her voice trembling, her eyes fixed on Ming, who was covered in blood.

At this moment, Kurumi couldn't believe what she had heard from Ming, but she was still anxiously thinking wildly:

"Sawa got into trouble? What happened? Why did Ming go to Mio's place? Is there any connection?"

As Kurumi thought about it, her expression grew increasingly grim; she simply couldn't bring herself to think about the worst-case scenario.

Ming, walking ahead, remained silent, his steps trembling slightly but he did not stop, as if each step carried endless pain and helplessness.

Upon seeing the scene before her, Kurumi was deeply affected by the silent atmosphere that permeated the space. Instead of pressing for answers, she chose to quietly follow behind Ming, waiting for him to reveal the answer that she felt was impossible.

Time passed second by second, and Ming and Kurumi finally arrived at the tightly closed rooftop door.

At this moment, Ming stood in front of the door, looking at the black door that could be opened with a gentle push. However, Ming's hands were trembling. He wanted to reach out and push the door open, but he couldn't bring himself to face the truth that Shahe was already dead.

"No! Sawa is still alive, she must still be alive... she must be..." At this moment, Ming lowered his head, his hands gripped as if by chains of fear, too afraid to open the rooftop door.

"Okamine-kun... are you alright?" Kurumi reached out her hand slightly, looking at Ming, who was muttering to himself with a worried expression, with some curiosity and asked with concern.

"I'm fine..." Ming replied, hearing Kurumi's concern, then turned around and asked Kurumi behind him in a hoarse, tearful voice to confirm:

"But what's behind the main entrance is something neither of us can accept. I'll go in to see Saya one last time. Do you want to come with me? Even if what awaits you is a truth you absolutely cannot accept, do you want to see it together?"

"What...does that mean?" Kurumi asked, puzzled.

Ming didn't answer, but gently reached out and slowly pushed open the door that was like Pandora's box, and walked in step by step, while Kurumi just stood there blankly behind the door that wasn't fully open.

As soon as Ming entered the rooftop, he saw this "hellish painting." As promised, Sawa fell to her best friend's gun, and the pure white figure still taking out a red crystal from the girl's body came into Ming's view.

Upon witnessing this scene, Ming was completely stunned, like an empty shell devoid of a soul. He stood there silently, his mouth hoarsely repeating the name of the girl in the pool of blood.

"Shuhe...shuhe...shuhe..."

"Hmm? You are..."

Mio Takamiya looked somewhat surprised to see Ming walk up to her again. She glanced at Sawa, whose eyes were now closed beneath her, and, though puzzled, asked with a calm smile:

"I remember I erased your memory of this girl, didn't I? So how did you remember her?"

Mio stood up, holding the [Spirit Crystal] she had taken from Sahe's body. Looking at the dazed boy before her, she lightly waved her hand, pressing Ming to the ground with invisible pressure. A strange smile appeared on her face as she strolled forward, saying:

"You won't tell me? Well, even I can't get over the pain of just losing my lover. In that case, I'll come and see your memories myself."

Just as Mio was about to reach Ming, Kurumi's still-shaken voice came from the partially opened doorway of the staircase.

"Mio! Okamine-san! And...Sawa, what happened?!"

Upon entering, she saw her best friend Kurumi lying bleeding in the spot where she had killed the "monster." Although she couldn't believe it, she still shouted.

Hearing Kurumi's voice, Mio paused slightly as she approached Ming. Her face showed no surprise, as if she had anticipated it, and she turned her head to look at the stairwell where Kurumi was standing, calmly remarking:

"Do you two know each other? I'm so sorry."

As Mio said this, there was not a trace of remorse on her face, and her smile became increasingly eerie.

Seeing Mio's eerie smile, Kurumi's body trembled involuntarily. A deep sense of fear and unease welled up inside her.

However, at this moment, Mio was still pretending to say to Kurumi, "What a pity, I was hoping to continue being your good partner for a while longer."

Kurumi was filled with despair; she couldn't accept this fact.

Seeing Kurumi clutching her head in confusion, Mio continued her relentless attack:

"Actually, elves are humans who obtained spirit crystals, no, to be precise, humans who obtained the power I shared."

"what!"

Upon hearing Mio's explanation, Kurumi couldn't help but recall the days she and Mio had spent "protecting justice" together a few days ago. Those beautiful memories now seemed so ironic, as it was clear that she had only helped this "demon" in front of her hurt pitiful girls like Sawa.

At the same time, a powerful sense of guilt overwhelmed Kurumi. Just then, her [Divine Armor - Third Form] suddenly manifested.

Accompanied by black matter appearing around her body and Kurumi letting out a piercing scream:

"Aaaaaah, aaaaaah!" Echoing Kurumi's screams, the black substance spread wildly across the girl's body, as if it were ready to devour her and turn her into a mindless monster.

Just as she was about to turn the tables, Kurumi, with her last remaining shred of sanity, pointed the gun of [Zafkiel] at her temple, and then a golden clock appeared behind the girl, moving from illusion to reality.

Then, Kurumi managed to utter, "【Zafkiel - Fourth Bullet】!" A gunshot rang out as Kurumi pulled the trigger.

The black substance receded as if time had reversed, and her state seemed to return to before the reversal. Kurumi, who had just been freed from the reversal, stood there panting heavily.

Seeing that Kurumi had successfully resisted the power of reversal, Mio showed a hint of surprise on her face and said with great interest:

"I didn't expect that you would be able to break free from the reversed state on your own. But that's good, I don't want the spirit crystals I painstakingly refined to turn back to their original state."

Having just recovered from her reversed state, Kurumi's eyes showed confusion and bewilderment upon hearing Mio's words:

"Reversal...refinement?"

Faced with Kurumi's question, Mio did not choose to evade or conceal it, but answered directly: "Spirit Crystals are originally incompatible with humans. If they are given to humans to use, they will be unable to suppress the powerful energy within them, and thus lose control, just like the girl you just killed."

At this point, Mio's gaze unconsciously drifted toward Mei, who was still being pinned down. Just now, when she was talking about Sawa, she felt a murderous intent that even she was somewhat afraid of. When she looked over, she only saw Mei, who was still being pinned down.

After a brief moment of surprise, Mio turned her gaze back to Kurumi in front of her and continued to explain:

"...Therefore, in order to make the spirit crystals compatible with humans, we need to refine them. By continuously giving the spirit crystals to humans and repeating this process, those who obtain the spirit crystals will naturally lose their minds and fall into madness."

"...But after countless attempts, the spirit crystal will eventually fuse perfectly with humans. And only those with adaptability will be able to maintain their self-awareness while retaining a normal mental state. Just like you now."

At this point, Mio smiled again and looked at Kurumi, saying:

"However, recycling [Spirit Crystals] is quite troublesome. You've really been a great help to me, Kurumi."

"Why...why did you do this!"

Upon realizing that her sense of justice had been completely exploited, Kurumi angrily questioned them.

"I have no grudge against you, but I can't stop until I've completely achieved my goal, so get some sleep before that happens, Kurumi."

After explaining, Mio raised her hand and waved it gently. Kurumi felt an overwhelming sense of drowsiness wash over her, and her vision went black as she lost consciousness. Her body disappeared into a strange space on the rooftop.

After Kurumi disappeared, Mio turned her attention back to Mei, who was lying on the ground. Mio didn't use any special abilities; she simply walked over to him as she had toyed with Mei when he tried to escape.

"Do you miss her very much?" Mio turned her head slightly towards the veil and the body, and continued in a sympathetic tone:

"It's a pity that you were able to break through my memory-erasing ability for some reason; it's too strange and makes me very uneasy. I can't let you, this variable, exist in my plans, because it would cause me a lot of trouble. So, please disappear completely from my world!"

As she said this, Mio walked at a slightly faster pace, while at this moment, in Ming's mind, he was still quickly recalling Sha and their beautiful memories.

"Classmate? Hello Gangfeng! Ming? Ming? Help me, Ming!"

The fragments of the girl calling him by his name echoed in Ming's mind. At this moment, the boy clenched his fists weakly, but his body felt as heavy as if it were filled with lead.

'I can't move, what's wrong? Move...move your body!' Ming shouted in his heart.

"It's no use. This time I increased the output of my spiritual power. Even a spirit like Kurumi can't move, let alone someone like you who has no aptitude for magic."

Mio explained gently, then walked up to Ming and looked at Ming's barely raised head with a look of pity, meeting his empty black eyes.

"Have you ever lost anything? Have you ever had something you love taken away by your own hands?" Mio walked up to him and shouted weakly with gritted teeth.

"...Yes, that's why I asked you to help me pave the way for his resurrection." Mio's compassionate expression vanished, and she replied with a dim gaze.

"Is this your excuse to hurt more people? How can you so easily trample on other people's happiness? What do you take their happiness for?!"

Ming clenched his fist and questioned, his eyes still darting between the red crystal in Mio's hand and the gauze and corpse behind her.

'If I get that thing! That [Spirit Crystal], will I have a chance to gain power? Then... will I be able to avenge you?'

At that moment, this thought suddenly appeared in Ming's mind.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know. As long as I can see him, I don't care about anything else."

"You're such a selfish person!" Ming glared at Mio, his eyes filled with anger.

At this point, unable to contain his anger any longer, Ming stood up, his body as hard as stone, and threw a punch at Mio's face. He knew he wouldn't hit her, but his anger still drove him to deliver the punch with all his might.

However, the punch landed squarely on Mio's exquisite, work-of-art face.

After taking the punch, Mio wasn't angry; she simply smiled slightly.

"You're right, so as a way of expressing my remorse, I won't defend myself this time and will take this punch head-on as a sign of respect. Now you can disappear."

As Mio finished speaking, a powerful energy blasted away the still-surprised Ming, slamming him heavily against the wall.

After Ming was thrown back, the force was enough to shatter all of the boy's ribs. Only then did Mio continue to walk slowly, a blue-green energy ball gathering in her fingertip, ready to be launched.

However, at this moment, Ming broke into a smile, and he brazenly raised his left hand and shouted:

"Cough cough... Hey, you bastard [Primal Spirit], look what this is!"

Upon hearing Ming's words, Mio subconsciously looked at Ming's hand and saw that the [Spirit Crystal] that was originally in her hand had moved to Ming's hand without her noticing.

"When...when!"

"Haha, of course, it's when you're comfortable letting me punch you in the face!"

"You should know that you absolutely cannot withstand that power!" Mio stated expressionlessly.

“There’s no turning back now. As the old saying goes, ‘When you’re put in a desperate situation, you’ll find a way out.’ So let’s go!” the man said with a determined look in his eyes.

As soon as Ming finished speaking, he inserted the red crystal into his body without hesitation.

"Heh... fine, I don't mind having another [Refining] material anyway, consider it as reuniting the two of you."

Mio spoke dismissively, as if it were someone else's tragedy, none of her business.