Mash-up Anime World: Creating the SCP Foundation to Contain Anomalies

Chapter 364 - 357: The First Spirit, Mio Takamiya

Origami pulled Haruto away and left.

Meanwhile—

After Kurumi escaped, she sought out the version of herself from this timeline. Yes, Kurumi Tokisaki existed even thirty years ago.

And back then, she was already a high school student.

Her appearance was almost identical to the present Kurumi Tokisaki.

But if the two were to stand side by side—you could tell the difference at a glance. Because their auras were completely different. The past Kurumi Tokisaki was innocent, kind, gentle, and elegant.

Whereas the current Kurumi Tokisaki no longer possessed that innocence. Perhaps a trace of kindness remained—but not much.

As for her elegance, she still retained it. In fact, she had become even more refined than her former self.

Kurumi remembered very clearly—it was just one day later.

That she encountered that person, agreed to become a Spirit, and after being deceived, made an unforgivable mistake.

Upon finding her past self, Kurumi didn't immediately show up. She simply waited in silence.

Like a venomous snake waiting for prey to appear.

She had waited too long already.

Just one more day wouldn't test her patience.

Even the so-called Four Heavenly Kings during their "edgy middle school" phase—were also quietly waiting without doing anything reckless.

Even in their rebellious phase, they wouldn't act impulsively at a time like this.

Time flowed slowly.

Kurumi just silently watched her past self living an ordinary life.

If possible, she would've liked to live a normal life like that.

She never wanted to become the so-called Spirit of Time.

Even if that power was undeniably great.

Time quietly passed.

The next morning.

The past Kurumi Tokisaki was woken up by her alarm clock. She sat up quickly from bed and dressed neatly in her school uniform. Took two slices of toast from the fridge and popped them into the toaster.

After quickly finishing her breakfast, she grabbed her handbag and left for school, just like any other day.

She smiled and greeted her neighbors along the way.

While waiting at a crosswalk, she met one of her close friends.

After exchanging cheerful small talk, they crossed the street together, laughing as they headed to school.

Just like any other day.

Only today was slightly different.

After entering the classroom and taking her seat—

The bell rang.

But the homeroom teacher didn't start the lesson as usual after walking in.

Instead, he cleared his throat and said:

"Today, we'll be welcoming a new transfer student to our class. Please get along and help them settle in quickly."

His words instantly caused a stir among the students.

To carefree high schoolers—

A new transfer student was a big deal.

Everyone was curious what kind of person this transfer student might be.

The boys were hoping for a stunning beauty.

The girls whispered among themselves.

Even the usually quiet Kurumi Tokisaki was curious and looked toward the door.

"Please come in."

At the teacher's words—a breathtakingly beautiful girl with long silver-white hair walked into the classroom.

A collective gasp immediately followed.

Not only the boys—even the girls were stunned by this new student.

After all, silver-white hair was extremely rare. And this girl, who was the same age as them, had a perfect face and figure.

Even as fellow girls, they couldn't take their eyes off her.

She looked like she had stepped out of a painting. She even gave off an aura of holiness—distant, untouchable.

"Hello everyone, my name is Mio Takamiya. I hope we can get along from now on."

The girl introduced herself with a smile.

This caused another wave of excitement in the classroom.

The teacher then motioned for Mio Takamiya to choose her own seat.

Mio nodded gracefully and walked into the room.

Amid numerous invitations—she slowly made her way to the back of the class. As it happened, the seat beside Kurumi was empty.

"Excuse me, may I sit here?"

Kurumi was a bit surprised, but still nodded.

After sitting down, Mio gave Kurumi a gentle smile.

Kurumi froze a little.

Just as she was about to return the smile—

"Kurumi Tokisaki, right? Tell me, do you want to become a champion of justice?"

Mio asked abruptly.

Kurumi was stunned.

What kind of question was that?

It was like walking down the street—

And suddenly being approached by a magical creature asking if you wanted to become a magical girl.

Yet, despite how ridiculous it sounded—

Perhaps due to Mio's appearance, or her aura—

Kurumi instinctively took the question seriously.

And with her kind-hearted nature—becoming a so-called champion of justice didn't seem unacceptable.

Time passed.

That day, Kurumi was absentminded for the entire class period for the first time in her life.

Mio told her some very unusual things.

About something called "Spirits."

If anyone else had told her this, Kurumi would have dismissed them as a delusional teenager—or outright crazy.

But since it was Mio saying it, it felt strangely convincing. And Mio promised that she would prove her words after class.

On that basis—

Mio invited Kurumi to become a Spirit.

And to hunt down the evil Spirits who murdered people.

After much thought, Kurumi agreed.

After school—

The two went to a quiet alley. Mio summoned her Astral Dress—to prove that her words were true.

She also held out a crystal to Kurumi.

Just as Kurumi reached out to accept it—she saw another her emerge from Mio Takamiya's shadow.

Without hesitation, the other Kurumi drew a gun, pressed it against Mio's head—and pulled the trigger.

At that moment, Kurumi hadn't even registered what happened.

Then, the surrounding area was leveled by a clash of spiritual power.

The terrifying energy blasted Kurumi far away.

As she instinctively closed her eyes, bracing for pain—she suddenly felt someone catch her.

Looking up, she found herself in the arms of a beautiful young man.

Honestly, this one day had been more exciting than her entire life up until now.

Haruto had caught the Kurumi of the past timeline.

Then quietly watched the battle in the distance.

Well—there wasn't really much of a battle to speak of.

Kurumi and her Four Heavenly Kings clones launched a full-force sneak attack on Mio.

Especially Kurumi's main body—the power Haruto had granted her hadn't been fully consumed by the Twelfth Bullet.

The force she unleashed now was truly terrifying.

Yet—

The initial sneak attack was easily blocked by Mio's Astral Dress.

...And there was no follow-up.

Mio Takamiya merely snapped her fingers.

And Kurumi's Astral Dress was instantly suppressed.

She could no longer access her powers. The fight was over before it began.

Which made sense.

After all, the Spirit of Time's power was originally granted to Kurumi by Mio Takamiya.

"I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!"

Kurumi screamed hysterically.

She had always carried herself with grace.

She never even raised her voice.

But now, she was screaming without regard for appearance.

Mio Takamiya just looked at her with a faint sense of surprise. The Kurumi of the past stood frozen, mouth slightly open, unsure what to do.

"What... what is this..."

She murmured to herself.

Haruto took it upon himself to act as her narrator.

"Mio Takamiya is the first Spirit—essentially the 'mother' of all Spirits. What she told you about Spirits is half-true and half-false. It's true that Spirits possess great power. But the lie... is that Spirits don't appear out of nowhere. They're created when her power merges with humans."

Hearing this, the Kurumi of the past trembled violently.

What Mio had told her was that she'd become a Spirit—to hunt down evil Spirits who appeared out of nowhere.

To stop them from hurting innocent people.

That was what being a 'champion of justice' meant.

She had already agreed.

If she had accepted...

Would she have to personally kill Spirits that were once human?

Kurumi couldn't imagine it.

In truth, Haruto hadn't even told her the whole story.

Because later on, many of the Spirits Kurumi killed—

Included her own friends.