Chapter 224: An In-Depth Conversation with Kurumi Tokisaki
Faced with Franklin's words, Kurumi Tokisaki's expression instantly darkened.
"Do you think you're being funny?"
Franklin smiled faintly, casually picked up the steaming hot black tea, and took a small sip. In an instant, the dense spiritual energy hidden within spread throughout his body, making him let out a comfortable sigh.
"No. I'm just telling the truth. After all, the reason I came to find you this time really is to talk about your dream—no, more accurately, your current goal.
You want to go back to the past, kill the Origin Spirit, and change everything that has already happened. And I want to find the Origin Spirit.
So the two of us share a common target—the Origin Spirit."
The moment Franklin finished speaking, Kurumi Tokisaki sprang to her feet. A long gun and a short gun appeared in her hands at the same time.
Her black dress instantly transformed into a gothic outfit of black and blood-red hues—Divine Authority Spirit Dress: Third Form.
Both guns were aimed directly at Franklin, with the long gun stopping just ten centimeters from his forehead.
"Who exactly are you?! What else do you know?!"
Seeing Kurumi's highly reactive state, Franklin couldn't help feeling a bit helpless. He lightly tapped the barrel of the long gun with his finger, and his eyes instantly transformed into Rinnegan.
The Preta Path's chakra absorption activated in an instant. Boundless spiritual energy was rapidly absorbed through the point of contact between his finger and the gun barrel.
Illusory World Genesis activated. In the blink of an eye, a hemispherical pseudo-domain covering a radius of fifty meters deployed.
From the outside, nothing appeared abnormal—the two people who had been there simply vanished.
Inside the domain, Kurumi Tokisaki's eyes widened as she sensed her spiritual energy rapidly draining away. Endless killing intent burst forth from her body.
She tried to flash away, or pull the trigger—but neither was possible. City of Devouring Time and her shadows were completely unusable due to the chaotic flow of spiritual energy.
At this moment, the only thing Kurumi felt was overwhelming weakness and exhaustion.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Standing opposite Kurumi Tokisaki, Franklin found the sheer density of her killing intent deeply uncomfortable—especially since it was coming from a young woman.
Franklin didn't answer. Spiritual pressure descended, forcing the standing Kurumi back down into the wooden chair.
With one hand pressed against Kurumi Tokisaki's forehead, Franklin returned the absorbed spiritual energy while simultaneously activating the Eight Trigrams Seal.
In an instant, all of Kurumi's spiritual energy was sealed into her core—her Spirit Crystal.
Her outfit, as well as the long and short guns in her hands, slowly dissipated.
To avoid making things too awkward between them, Franklin promptly activated Illusory World Genesis again, recreating her original black long dress to cover her body before it was exposed.
Watching Kurumi Tokisaki frozen in a daze, Franklin finally smiled and slowly sat back down on his wooden chair.
Taking another small sip of black tea, he spoke, breaking her train of thought.
"Well, you seemed a bit too agitated, so I thought I'd help you calm down. See? Isn't this much better now?
You're not agitated anymore, and you can actually listen to me properly.
So, how about it—interested in working together with me?
My strength isn't weak. If anything, I'd only be a benefit to you, not a burden.
And I've noticed that you seem to desperately need both spiritual energy and time.
Absorbing the time of ordinary criminals barely helps you at all, doesn't it?
Otherwise, you wouldn't have spent so many years collecting it, yet still be unable to return to thirty years ago to face the Origin Spirit."
Kurumi Tokisaki finally snapped out of her daze. She clenched her hand in disbelief, lightly pinching her own arm.
She still couldn't quite believe it—she had truly become a completely ordinary person.
Letting out a slow breath, she looked at Franklin.
At this moment, Kurumi Tokisaki's emotions were incredibly complicated.
From the moment she discovered she had been deceived by Mio and resolved to change all the tragedies that had already occurred, she had embarked on an endless path of collecting time and spiritual energy.
But all along, progress had been painfully slow.
Now, having completely turned into a normal person, her mindset underwent a drastic upheaval.
Only then did she finally have the space to truly confront the goal she had clung to all this time.
Going back thirty years to deal with the Origin Spirit—could she really accomplish that alone?
"I am calmer now. But even the resolve I've held onto all this time is starting to waver.
Since you know so much—even my secrets—then tell me this.
If I go back to the past, can I really defeat the Origin Spirit?"
Franklin fell silent for a moment.
"You've seen the Phantom, haven't you? Do you think you have the ability to deal with that thing?"
Those words immediately left Kurumi Tokisaki speechless.
After a long while, her gaze regained some of its firmness.
"You have the ability to help me. And you want to help me. Is that how I should understand this?"
Franklin smiled, then shook his head.
"You're mistaken. I'm not helping you—I'm helping myself.
Helping you is just incidental.
Finding the Origin Spirit is my goal. Whether I meet her by going back to the past or by encountering her in the present doesn't matter.
But before searching for her, I have another objective.
That is to find ten spirits, fall in love with them, and seal their spiritual powers."
Kurumi Tokisaki looked at Franklin strangely.
"So that means I'm one of your targets as well.
But what if I have absolutely no feelings for you right now? Are you going to force things?"
Franklin smiled faintly.
"Your tea is getting cold. It's specially made—letting it go to waste would be a shame."
Kurumi Tokisaki looked at the black tea in front of her, then at Franklin's calm smile. She gently lifted the delicate teacup.
Thinking about her current status as an ordinary person, as well as everything that had just been said, her expression grew increasingly subtle.
"Don't tell me this is that legendary drugged tea.
Are you planning to cook the rice first and force me to submit afterward?
Let me say this upfront—I'm not a weak girl. I won't submit."
Seeing Kurumi Tokisaki display such a cute, high-school-girl-like expression, Franklin couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Your imagination really is something else. Don't worry—it's only beneficial, not harmful.
And I'm not that despicable."
Even after receiving Franklin's reassurance, Kurumi Tokisaki hesitated for a long time before finally setting the teacup back down.
"No. I don't have a habit of placing myself in danger."
Seeing this, Franklin didn't force the issue.
He casually summoned a Longevity Fruit from the Heavenly Tome. Dense spiritual energy and a strange, intoxicating fragrance spread outward.
Now that she was an ordinary person, even Kurumi Tokisaki could sense that this fruit was extraordinary.
"What is this?"
Franklin didn't answer. Instead, he fixed Kurumi Tokisaki with a strangely intent gaze.
"Let me ask you something.
If I help you restore your identity as a spirit right now… you won't undergo a drastic personality shift and suddenly attack me, will you?"