"Yae Miko? So we have to go to Grand Narukami Shrine?"
"What else? Tenshukaku?"
Hearing this, Xavier turned to the Traveler: "Uh… Traveler, you must have heard too. We need to make a trip to Grand Narukami Shrine."
"Alright, no problem."
Lumine said, then directly took Xavier to Grand Narukami Shrine. As for whether they could meet Yae Miko… they would just have to see when they got there.
Meanwhile, Shiki had already learned from Hyakube that Ayaka was not at home but in Inazuma City.
After clarifying this, Shiki first teleported to the Waypoint in front of Tenshukaku. Thoma should predictably be supervising the Vision dismantling work in front of the statue.
And Thoma would certainly know Ayaka's exact whereabouts, meaning finding Thoma would reveal Ayaka's location.
"Yo, Thoma, busy?"
"Yes, this is the last batch today. The Young Miss is waiting for you at Komore Teahouse. This suicide incident is very complicated; you can ask the Young Miss for the specific details. I still have to deal with these Visions."
"Alright, then you go ahead and be busy. I'm leaving first."
Shiki nodded, then crossed the bridge towards Komore Teahouse. Three days without seeing each other, she felt a bit of anticipation.
Quickly arriving at Komore Teahouse, after gently petting the chubby Taroumaru, Shiki softly called out.
"Ayaka? I'm back!"
"Ayaka?"
Seeing no response, Shiki couldn't help but feel a little strange. Could it be that Ayaka wasn't in Komore Teahouse right now?
"How strange, didn't Thoma say she was here?"
Shiki said, pulling open the private room where they often stayed, and then she saw a familiar wisp of white hair inside.
"So you're here. Why didn't you… answer when I called you for so long?"
As she spoke, she gently patted the girl's shoulder, but the latter slumped down limply.
Shiki's pupils suddenly contracted. She then flipped over the back of the sofa to the front, only to see the white-haired girl with her eyes tightly shut, clearly having lost consciousness.
"Aya…ka?"
She tentatively shook the girl's body, but the unresponsive sleeping face made Shiki's expression completely sink.
Her hair covered the upper part of her face in shadow, and then two intertwined rainbow-blue lights peered out from within!
The soul within this body had been taken away by something unknown. Only the shell remained here. If it wasn't brought back in time, it would never return.
"Tch."
There was still a faint connection between the body and soul. Seeing this, Shiki grabbed her sword and rushed out of Komore Teahouse, then transformed into a flash of electro element and chased along this connection.
'No matter who you are, you've touched someone you shouldn't have!'
The burst of golden electro element light caused exclamations on the streets of Inazuma City. Following the path in her eyes, Shiki finally arrived at the Kujou Estate.
"Um… excuse me, do you have…"
The maid standing at the door hadn't finished speaking before she was grabbed by the collar by the enraged girl and thrown aside.
"This doesn't concern you!"
Then… bang!
The Kujou Estate's gate was violently kicked open by Shiki, but what appeared before her were three unknown souls, and a figure in a gorgeous kimono floating above them.
The four souls passed through the roof without a word. Seeing this, Shiki's body shimmered with lightning, then she blasted a hole through the ceiling and arrived on the rooftop.
To the left was the courtyard, and to the right was a hundred-meter-high cliff.
None of these four souls were Ayaka. Clearly, the other party didn't want her to find her so easily. But it didn't matter; if you can't solve the problem, then solve the one who created the problem.
"No matter who you are, you've made a mistake."
Clack, clack, clack… Shiki drew Kujikanesada and rushed forward. Her wooden clogs made crisp sounds on the rooftop. Then, the katana in her hand cut a perfect arc, severing the Lines of Death on one of the souls.
The targeted soul instantly transformed into specks of shimmering light and vanished. Seeing this, the other two souls attacked the girl in a pincer movement, while the one in the gorgeous kimono flew towards the higher Tenshukaku.
Shiki flicked her sword, gripping Kujikanesada in a reverse grip, severing the Lines of Death of the soul in front of her before stabbing backward.
Almost simultaneously, the two souls dissolved into specks of shimmering light, while Shiki looked up at the mastermind still ascending.
"I will absolutely not let you escape!"
She sheathed Kujikanesada, electro element condensed in her hands, then she threw it directly into the air.
Whoosh!
The golden electro element construct cut through the air with a whoosh, then formed an Thunder Sphere in mid-air. Immediately after, Shiki on the rooftop instantly arrived at the Thunder Sphere's position, then threw out another Thunder Sphere in her hand.
In this way, Shiki, in a matter of seconds, caught up with the soul and ascended to the very top of Tenshukaku.
Tap
Lightly landing on the rooftop, feeling the howling wind in her ears, Shiki slowly drew Kujikanesada.
Clang!
"Do you think you can escape?"
"Yes, I can't escape, after all, my body has become that unsightly mess." The soul spoke.
"But why do you get that girl's love, while I can only marry a man whose heart isn't on me at all?"
"So you took Ayaka's soul?"
"Yes! Why can't I enjoy her gentleness?"
The soul of the girl in the kimono looked at Shiki, her eyes full of resentment, as if all the misfortunes she had suffered were caused by Shiki.
"...There's no use talking. Quickly return Ayaka's soul."
Shiki had already guessed the identity of this soul. A female from the Kujou Manor, married to a man who didn't love her—who else could it be but Kujou Masahito's wife, Hitomi Hanatani?
"Dream on! Fall!"
Hitomi Hanatani shrieked. The moment her words fell, the gale became even more ferocious, but Shiki's feet remained firmly planted on the rooftop.
At the same time, she felt a spiritual attack, but could a soul that had undergone the Root's baptism still be bewitched?
"It's not working? How is that possible?"
"Take your doubts to hell!" Shiki said, slowly placing Kujikanesada beside her face.
"Secret Sword!"
Three spiral-like golden sword lights appeared once more. This was, in fact, the first time it had struck an enemy in the sky.
"Tsubame Gaeshi!"
"Ah!"
The three sword lights accurately struck the lines of death on Hitomi Hanatani's soul. After a tragic wail, she fell from the sky.
Tenshukaku was over a hundred meters tall. Hitomi Hanatani, born from the ground, vanished slowly in mid-air before she could return to the embrace of the earth.
At the same time, Hitomi Hanatani's main body in the Kujou Manor had a dark red streak of blood at the corner of her mouth, and then her heartbeat completely ceased.
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