One-way traffic

Because she was a spirit, there was no blood splattering, but she still cried out in agony and was sent flying as if she had been hit by a fighter jet.

How could this be...?!

No! We can't let such a terrifying guy go to the young lady's place—

"Oh dear, even at this point, you still won't give up?"

However, Youmu's attempt to rebel failed.

Then another voice came from behind, a familiar female voice.

She forgot that there was another person on the battlefield.

"That's quite an impressive willpower."

Alice, the puppeteer.

She raised one arm with a simple movement, and then—countless puppets gathered together.

The light rays converged mercilessly on a single point and bombarded her.

At this moment, the girl finally realized her reality.

"...I'm sorry, Lady Yuyuko."

She gave a helpless look that resembled a bitter smile.

"The prediction results seem to be far beyond what is expected."

The burst of light engulfed everything.

——————————————————————————————————————

pat.

The girl's body fell to the ground. Although she was covered in fatal wounds, a youmu with a half-spirit status would not die.

Accelerator must have taken this into account to be able to act so recklessly.

"What should we do? The child seems to have fainted."

"Tsk, now there's no one to guide us."

The first one pursed his lips in displeasure, just as he was starting to worry about it—

"Oh my... this is truly an unprecedented scene."

An unfamiliar voice came from ahead.

Amidst the cherry blossoms, a certain figure descended upon this place.

She was an elegant and gorgeous pink-haired girl.

"—You really did end up in a rather tragic state, Youmu."

Chapter 438 The Undead That Induced Death

It was a figure almost entirely composed of cherry blossom color.

In mid-air, as if transformed into a cherry blossom pink, she arrived silently, adopting a nonchalant and elegant demeanor.

"To be able to be defeated even though one is a spirit, that's... something that's worth paying attention to."

"So, it's you, isn't it?"

Compared to the pink-haired girl's nonchalant attitude, Accelerator guessed the situation in an instant.

The first person stared at her with wide eyes.

"The 'young lady' this guy is talking about is probably you, which means... ha! The mastermind behind it all managed to get out so easily? Interesting!"

The other party's words revealed an extremely belligerent tone.

Presumably, Accelerator is already plotting how to completely defeat his opponent.

however.

"...You idiot, you should at least consider the atmosphere before you speak."

Alice's expression changed drastically.

Rather than considering anything, it was more like being suddenly startled by what appeared before one's eyes.

That gaze was directed at the pink-haired girl in front of them.

"That guy is dangerous, really dangerous! He has a completely different aura from all the enemies we've encountered so far...!"

"Don't get me wrong. If you think you can just leave me here and walk away, then I suggest you get the hell out of here."

The first person completely ignored the other person's advice.

"I would never do something so tasteless and stupid. As for the smell? Who cares? I've only ever done what I think is valuable."

Regardless of whether the enemy is strong or weak, or what their identity is, it will never change Accelerator's plans and objectives.

then.

The figure suspended in mid-air stared directly at everything.

"Oh my, oh my, oh my, this is really interesting. I haven't seen a human being as interesting as you since I was a long time ago."

"I've answered those pointless questions more than once. But you, on the other hand, have completely admitted your identity."

Since there was no need to feel afraid, Accelerator naturally showed no mercy.

He took a step forward, as if to confront the unknown and enigmatic aura that permeated the surroundings.

"You're the one who caused that sudden and unchanging temperature change outside... That's what I say, but I still don't understand your purpose."

"Huh? Things like the purpose are very simple. Didn't Youmu explain it to you properly?"

The girl said gently with a smile.

"They only wanted to see the Saigyu Ayakashi bloom, and that's all the trouble they went through to do all this."

It was something that the two of them had never noticed from the beginning, something that had always remained behind her.

The distance between them is probably several hundred meters.

At the very end of the countless steps, a gigantic cherry blossom tree, as tall as the sky, grows there.

Its towering height makes it seem as if it's about to divide heaven and earth.

The trees were so incredibly impressive that they seemed to belong to another world, not even this one.

Meanwhile, those enormous trees, which exuded an almost sinister aura, were still continuously absorbing large amounts of life energy.

That is 'spring'.

The life force of living things and the life force of the seasons are all poured into the interior of this demon tree to provide it with nutrients. In this way, this huge tree will finally blossom and bear fruit.

We're very close to that outcome.

However, it's still not enough.

That's all.

"Just to make a single demon tree bloom, they're willing to use up almost half of Gensokyo's springtime...?"

"Oh? There shouldn't be any problems, right?"

Despite Alice's surprised words, the girl merely blinked in astonishment.

"Humans can exploit everything in the world for their own selfish desires, so conversely, I think it would be quite reasonable for everything in the world to exploit everything about humans for its own desire to grow, right?"

"Reasonable? Ha! Your ethics of stepping on someone's feet seem to be lacking. Your stupid logic is making me laugh."

However, it is precisely because of this incomprehensible logic that the other party can be a demon.

In this Gensokyo, the common and unusual concepts between humans and youkai are completely different.

Ultimately, this place shouldn't be Gensokyo at all, right?

"It seems I still can't escape your teachings."

"Do you think there's still hope that it can simply remain at the level of instruction?"

*Crack.* That was the sound of Accelerator twisting his neck, the sound of bones rubbing together.

"Stop being so clever, you damn bastard."

For an instant.

A violent, destructive wind suddenly arose from the surrounding area.

The wind speed instantly surpassed the level of any existing tornado in the world, and mixed with the cherry blossoms fluttering around, it swept towards the center area in one breath.

The four tornadoes converged at a single point with a force capable of tearing apart the ocean.

"Ouch."

however.

Despite that power, the sound came out casually from the inside.

"It has come to this in the end... There was nothing I could do. I didn't want things to get this complicated, after all, Youmu has already experienced such a painful price."

Gradually, the sound of voices replaced the sound of howling wind.

Accelerator frowned immediately because—his control over the wind was gradually disappearing.

It does not mean that the other party's power surpasses one's own and then seizes control of the wind.

Instead, she relied on some special power to gradually reduce the wind itself to nothingness.

However—from a direct observation, the woman simply waved her finger.

What exactly did she do?

"...It was the manipulation of death."

"what?"

While he was puzzled, Alice spoke in a deep voice.

"If I'm not mistaken, this feeling... is like forcibly giving something the power of death itself, a power that directly brings about the annihilation of the power itself."

Therefore, a wind that travels in one direction will completely lose its form.

It's not simply about seizing control; it's about fundamentally bringing death to what the other party controls.

"I don't control death itself."

The girl, holding a folding fan and hovering in mid-air, still spoke in the same calm and gentle tone.

But the way the two of them looked at her had completely changed.

"All I do is guide things toward death; it's merely inducement, not direct imposition."

"Tsk."

"Speaking of which, what you just displayed was definitely not a power that a human could wield, right...? So who exactly are you?"

The girl held the paper fan in front of her.

"It's not just a chaotic mix of auras, it even carries a hint of divine aura... It's really intriguing to know your identity."

"Is it really just a simple human being?"

However, the only response the girl received was a series of popping sounds.

That was the phenomenon created by the first monster manipulating the wind in one breath.

Accelerator raised his hands, and the surrounding atmosphere instantly condensed into a single point, transforming into a white-blue light spear that shone like lightning.

Without the slightest hesitation, dozens of beams of light capable of piercing through the warship shot directly forward.

Alice also summoned the dolls, along with countless laser beams.

Faced with the overwhelming speed approaching, the girl did not choose to dodge.

She stood there with a smile on her face, and then—

A series of white, glowing spheres shot out from the surrounding area.

Those are all spirits of the dead.

They circled together, forming a shield-like shape, blocking the girl's path.