Although he was a puppet master, he was extremely averse to the idea of swapping bodies.
He felt that a puppet wouldn't be his "true self." This was why, despite being over fifty, he used maintenance techniques to keep his original body looking young.
"Alright, alright, enough talk! Didn't you just mention my title? Die!" Touko Aozaki's expression turned fierce.
Before he could react, she lunged forward and threw open the Box of the Nameless. Alba was swallowed whole by the box in an instant. Perhaps terrified by their previous conversation, he didn't even offer a struggle.
Ten minutes after Alba's demise, Souren Araya finally made his unhurried entrance.
"Oho, you're not in a hurry at all, are you? Alba is already ashes!" Touko said with a smirk.
"He brought that upon himself. But tell me, are you determined to stand in my way?" Araya glanced at the Box of the Nameless. He was indeed wary, but he wasn't about to back down.
"Hehehe, Shiki Ryougi is my sister, after all... I won't let you possess her!" Touko smiled.
Sister? Araya blinked. Wasn't she just your employee... since when did she become your sister?
--------------
The two stood in the lobby, locked in a stalemate for a long time.
"Hey, didn't you say you were going to stop me? If you're going to fight, hurry up. If not, I'm going back to sleep," Araya urged.
Touko was currently in a state of extreme awkwardness. Since she had no backup bodies left, she had zero desire to stake her life against Araya. Although the Box of the Nameless was powerful, they were inside Araya's Reality Marble; he could teleport at any moment to evade the box's attacks. No matter how she looked at it, she was at a disadvantage.
She placed all her hopes on Haruka Kasugano. Didn't he say he'd support her? Where was he?
"Uh... don't you have an ally? Where is he..." Touko asked awkwardly.
"Him?" Araya used his Reality Marble to check Haruka Kasugano's location. He had known the moment Haruka Kasugano stepped into the building, but as an ally, he hadn't cared what the man was doing.
After a quick scan, Araya finally spotted him. "He... is currently in the underground parking lot, enjoying a lap pillow from Fujino Asagami," Araya chuckled.
That deadbeat scumbag!!! Touko was fuming. She couldn't help but bite her thumb in frustration.
"You're... stalling for time. Are you hoping for the Counter Force to intervene?" Araya filled in the blanks himself. "It's impossible. The Counter Force cannot possibly know what I am doing here!"
"..." Touko was speechless. She really didn't know how to stall any longer. Well... she'd just have to sell Haruka Kasugano out.
"Actually, let me tell you, Haruka Kasugano and I are in this together. Did he just do something? Why don't you check?" Touko suggested with a forced smile.
"He's just having a lap pil—" Mid-sentence, Araya suddenly realized. "That brat threw a knife into the elevator!"
Shiki Ryougi could see the death of things, even the death of concepts. She could create a "death" even for formless things. Even an isolated space could be shredded by her! But Araya's pocket dimension was perfect; she couldn't just shred it out of nowhere. Unless... someone created a flaw.
CRACK—
Just as they finished speaking, Araya felt a tearing sensation in his own body. "She really... she really cut open the pocket dimension..." Araya was stunned.
The Kujikanesada that Haruka Kasugano had tossed into the elevator had, through the countless rotations, used its demon-slaying properties to slowly slice through Araya's spatial magecraft. The moment a small rift was created, Void Shiki found the flaw. She could tear the space apart.
Initially, she hadn't intended to. She had no interest in the world; whether Shiki Ryougi was captured or killed by Araya didn't concern her. Birth, aging, sickness, and death were experiences everyone must face, herself included. She didn't want to interfere.
But she woke up. Part of it was the interference of the Counter Force, prodding her to wake and prevent Araya from reaching the Root. But the more important reason was that the Kujikanesada carried Haruka Kasugano's scent.
And even more importantly... Haruka Kasugano, annoyed that she was taking too long to wake up, had opened the elevator door and peed inside.
It stinks... I'm going to kill him!!!
Because Shiki's pocket dimension was technically connected to the elevator shaft, Haruka Kasugano's "scent" had wafted through the rift opened by the blade and hit her right in the face.
SHATTER—
Void Shiki broke through space, reaching out to grab the Kujikanesada. The pocket dimension at the core of the Ogawa Apartments was sliced into dust. Araya hurriedly used spatial movement to teleport to the tenth floor, the highest point.
Shiki stepped out of the elevator. She looked up, her eyes—which could gaze directly into death—locked onto Araya.
"You... why can you move? I clearly wounded you. Why are all your injuries healed?" Araya couldn't understand. Moreover, he felt a distinct change in her aura. Was this even the same person?
Indeed, the person before him was Void Shiki. She didn't waste words, lunging at Araya. Araya felt a surge of genuine terror. This Shiki showed no anger, no fighting spirit. She projected only one singular thought: killing. Could a human possess such a killing intent, devoid of all malice?
Araya hurriedly summoned his Six Paths of Boundary.
SNAP—
They were shredded instantly. Shiki pierced Araya's body, and the two of them plummeted from the tenth floor together.
BOOM!
Araya fell straight down, crashing heavily onto the pavement. However, Void Shiki was caught in mid-air by Circe, preventing a fatal fall.
"Let me go. I need to go down and kill him. He isn't dead yet!" she shouted.
"Oh, okay!" Circe immediately set her on the ground.
STAB—
Shiki struck Araya's Line of Death. "You... you are... the Root..." Araya realized the truth only in his final moments.
In the original story, Void Shiki fell with Araya, using his body as a buffer but still knocking herself unconscious. Because of Circe's intervention, she was still wide awake. She turned around sharply to face the group.
Haruka Kasugano, Circe, Touko Aozaki, and Fujino Asagami stood at the entrance of the apartments.
"Yo! Nice to finally meet you, Void Shiki!" Haruka Kasugano joked.
"Void Shiki..." she repeated, dazed. "I hate that name. I am Shiki Ryougi. Don't give me nicknames!" Compared to the blunt Shiki, she seemed incredibly feminine and ethereal. "Wait! You're distracting me! ...How do you know of my existence?" she demanded.
For some reason, seeing Haruka Kasugano made her feel unsettled. She wasn't sure if it was because he had been "touching" her body for over a year or not.
"I've always known you existed. My cooperation with Araya was solely for this moment!" Haruka Kasugano said excitedly.
Void Shiki understood his meaning immediately and countered: "What's the point? You have already tasted this body. Shiki likes you very much. Why go through the extra effort to pursue a redundant personality like me?"
"It's different! Same body, but love isn't just about physical exchange—it's about the soul. Whether it's you or Shiki, I want both! If Miki (织) hadn't died, I'd want him too!" Haruka Kasugano licked his lips greedily.
"Scumbag... You are too greedy. I dislike you!" Void Shiki stated. "...You are an anomaly in this world! Whether it's my personal distaste or helping the Counter Force, I must kill you!"
"Hehehe, I never expected winning you over to be easy!" Haruka Kasugano laughed maniacally, covering his face. "I prefer the way you'll look when I defeat you and you're begging beneath me!"
"Incorrigible!" Void Shiki closed her eyes slightly. She was mobilizing all her power. In the next second, she activated her Noble Phantasm.
[Mukoushiki: Kara no Kyoukai] (Amala-Vijnana: Boundary of Emptiness)!
Haruka Kasugano was momentarily stunned. She actually has a Noble Phantasm??
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Void Shiki's Origin is [Nothingness], meaning nothingness is the origin of all things; one could say her Origin is almost equivalent to the Root itself. However, she is still human, meaning she is omnipotent within the scope of her own physical body.