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

Chapter 365 - 358: Reversal

It turns out—

Whenever something approaches you in a seemingly righteous and serious manner, offering invitations such as "a comrade of justice," "a magical girl," or "a training program for espers"...

Please be wary of supernatural scams.

Otherwise, most likely, you'll end up being sold off and still helping them count the money.

To carry a heavy past, to bear unforgivable mistakes—those are still the better outcomes.

Worse is when you give your heart and soul on the spot, or simply get utterly confused and lost.

In the original timeline, Tokisaki Kurumi—after receiving Mio Takamiya's invitation, accepted it gladly.

Then, she fused with a Spirit Crystal and became the Spirit of Time.

From then on, alongside Mio, she killed over fifty Spirits. Until finally, during the slaying of one particular Fire Spirit—just before dying, the Fire Spirit regained her sanity and shed her Astral Dress.

It was then that Tokisaki Kurumi recognized her—her best friend.

Afterward, when she questioned Mio, she learned the truth.

That every Spirit was once a human whose soul had been deeply wounded. Only those with a fragmented heart could fully fuse with a Sephira Crystal.

Upon hearing this, Kurumi broke down completely.

She tried to kill Mio in revenge for her friend.

But just like the current situation—as the Original Spirit, Mio possessed all Sephira Crystals as fragments of herself.

She could control all ordinary Spirits.

Kurumi's Astral Dress was forcibly stripped from her, and she was dragged into the extra-dimensional Spirit Realm.

During that process, due to the trauma to her soul, she finally managed to fully fuse with the Sephira Crystal of Time.

And all humans who fuse with Spirit Crystals lose a part of their memory.

The duration of the lost memories varies, but without exception, the traumatic memories are always erased.

Perhaps it's a kind of self-defense mechanism.

Kurumi lost all her memories. In a haze, she returned to the parallel reality of the "Spirits."

Just like the other Spirits, she triggered spatial quakes and was hunted by the GOC.

As she fled and hid using her abilities—Kurumi gradually mastered Zafkiel. Eventually, she used the Tenth Bullet- Yud, to recover her memories.

From then on, her guiding principle became crystal clear:

To seek revenge on Mio Takamiya and to gather Reiryoku to one day turn back time and correct her mistakes.

And now, in the current scene—

After listening to Haruto's explanation, the Tokisaki Kurumi from the past timeline was struck with deep fear and dread.

At the same time, she didn't need Haruto to explain why another version of herself had appeared.

Because if she had experienced killing humans, even her best friend—she would also stop at nothing to prevent it from happening.

Elsewhere, the current Kurumi, who had been forced out of her Astral Dress, was facing Mio.

The Four Heavenly Kings were in worse shape than the main body, barely able to stand.

After all, their existence was partially sustained by the Spirit of Time's power.

Mio simply gazed quietly at Tokisaki Kurumi.

The return of Kurumi from the future didn't surprise her in the slightest. In fact, the moment they met, she had already deduced what might happen.

"Why? Is playing with others' fates and lives that fun to you?"

Controlled and stripped of power, Kurumi instead calmed down and asked coldly.

Mio shook her head.

"Although I don't know what happened, I never had any intention of playing with others' fates or lives."

Hearing that, Kurumi trembled with rage, her body quivering.

"No such intention? You had me kill other girls, even my best friend. You told me they were evil Spirits threatening human society. So was all of it my fault?"

In the face of her questioning, Mio shook her head again.

"It's not your fault. But I didn't lie. Those children had to be killed—there was no other way. You now know how Spirits are born. Humans who fall into deep despair fuse with Sephira Crystal. Then, what do you think happens when Spirits themselves fall into despair?"

Kurumi froze.

She didn't know the answer.

Seeing this, Mio sighed.

"The answer is: Sephira Crystals invert. In that state, Spirits lose all rationality and become pure killing machines. And most Spirits, in the pursuit of their past memories, end up falling into despair again—and invert. I didn't want to kill those children. But once a Sephira Crystal inverts, not even I can control it."

Hearing her explanation, Kurumi trembled slightly.

Then, she slumped to the ground.

Her expression was cracking.

Miop sighed once more and turned her gaze to Haruto.

She was very curious—just who was he?

The appearance of Kurumi didn't surprise her, but Haruto was something beyond her understanding.

"Excuse me..."

Just as Mio began to speak to Haruto—

Bang!

A crisp gunshot echoed through the alley.

The Kurumi who had just collapsed with a devastated expression—now had a strange silver-white pistol in her hand, no one knew when she drew it.

The barrel was about the size of a fist, and the gun itself was around seventy centimeters long. It was silver-white, with faint red patterns that were slowly fading away.

In the next moment, the gun disintegrated completely.

It slipped from Kurumi's hand, shattered into fragments on the ground.

Mio now had a massive hole in her chest, wide as a bowl.

Her Astral Dress was torn apart.

She turned her head back, looking at Kurumi with confusion—then collapsed heavily to the ground.

This was something she had not foreseen.

The so-called breakdown was just part of Kurumi's pretense...

She had tried to kill Mio before.

So she knew very well—the Spirit of Time's powers could hardly harm her.

To stand against the Original Spirit—Kurumi had to use anything and everything she could. From the beginning, she never placed her hopes of killing Mio on the Spirit of Time's powers.

Over years of battling the GOC—

Sacrificing countless versions of herself—she finally infiltrated a little into the organization.

And in a secret lab, Kurumi learned of that pistol's existence.

A supernatural experiment of the GOC—unverified, single-use, difficult to replicate.

Its only strength: overwhelming power.

It could easily tear through a Spirit's Astral Dress.

Kurumi managed to obtain it, her trump card to kill Mio Takamiya.

And as for the truth Mio spoke of—

Kurumi didn't care.

The moment she killed her best friend with her own hands—nothing else mattered.

Through the long years, Kurumi continued down her path with unwavering determination.

She didn't care what others thought. Except for a few unbroken principles, she had abandoned everything else.

The title "Worst Spirit," the GOC's pursuit, even the truth before her—

None of it could shake Kurumi's will.

Supporting herself, she stood.

She slowly walked over to Mio Takamiya's side.

Now unconscious from the heavy injury—Kurumi pulled a dagger from her sleeve, and stabbed down without hesitation.

But unfortunately—

Clang!

A sharp metallic clash rang out.

The mysterious dagger was deflected.

Kurumi looked helpless.

She had given everything.

But the weapon capable of piercing Mio Takamiya's defenses—she had only obtained one.

The Original Spirit's Astral Dress was incomparably tougher than any other.

Even unconscious—Kurumi's powers remained tightly sealed.

Now, all she could do—

Was wait.

Wait and see if the wounded Mio Takamiya would die.

Kurumi felt like crying.

Her tears should have dried out thirty years ago...

Haruto quietly watched it all unfold.

In the end, Mio Takamiya was a Spirit, still just a Spirit.

Humanoid—but not human.

Humans are not always rational beings.

You can never truly see through human nature. Even with 99% certainty—

A person's choice will always remain unpredictable.