This is not the date I wanted.

"cut--"

Alan clicked his tongue unhappily.

However, when Allen was about to continue teaching Nibelcol a lesson, her communicator with Wu Lian suddenly responded.

[Alan, Wulian, and Artemisia gather in the office. ]

"Ms. Allen?"

"...let's go."

After quickly adjusting his emotions, Alan called out to Wu Lian, then got up and left the lounge.

03 Reminiscing the past

==============================

- Ding dong.

With a crisp ring, the elevator reached the top floor of the office building and the doors moved to both sides.

After walking out of the elevator, Allen's slightly frowned brows relaxed. Although the elevator had been repaired for some time, every time she thought about the elevator failure at the end of last year and the hellish journey she had experienced, she couldn't help but feel a palpitation in her heart.

No, of course, the strongest magician would not be defeated by such a small twist, but if such failures occurred frequently in the company's public equipment, it would undoubtedly have a negative impact on the employees' attendance. Even considering this aspect, she had to give the technical department and the maintenance department a deep warning.

"It's great that the elevator is working. Right, Miss Allen?"

Hearing this, Allen couldn't help but glare in the direction of Wu Lian. Even though she had clearly refused at the time, this woman still carried her to the top floor in a princess hug, which also caused her to recall more bad memories.

"Hmph, stop talking nonsense. Let's go."

"learn."

When they entered the office, Artemisia had already arrived ahead of them and was waiting there.

"Wu Lian, Alan. You are here."

"Ah."

"Hey……"

Artemisia greeted the two with a dignified smile. In response, Allen simply responded out of politeness, while Wu Lian made a very perfunctory sound.

"Very good, everyone is here."

I saw the chair in front of the desk slowly turn, and a gray-haired man faced the three people with a faint smile that looked unclear whether it should be described as relaxed or leisurely.

"Ike. What's the matter with calling us here?"

Alan asked.

“Ah, how should I put it? I was originally planning to drag it out until Nightmare gave up, but she turned out to be more difficult than I expected, so I got a little fed up.”

Westcott shrugged and said.

"Tired...?"

Hearing Westcott's words, Alan couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.

Just yesterday, when Westcott was talking to her, he said calmly that Nightmare would sooner or later destroy himself because of his own time-reincarnation ability. However, within less than a day, he lost his patience.

Of course, Allen didn't intend to complain about this. After all, Westcott's sudden change of decision was not the first or second time. Although Westcott always gave people the impression of acting without thinking, he was usually the one who was right in the end.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"Well, it's easy. Just use all your strength to defeat them."

In response to Allen's question, Westcott spoke without hesitation.

"Throat...Are we going to launch an all-out attack so suddenly, Boss?"

Wu Lian couldn't help but be a little surprised.

"Yes. Just like what it says. Mobilize all the power of DEM Corporation. Completely defeat Gokawa Shido. Make it so that even if Nightmare knows everything, there is absolutely no way to avoid it. Hope, ideals, all of them will be crushed."

"But if this is the case, will the residents of this city be affected?"

Artemisia couldn't help but raise her concerns. Although the plan to take all the residents of the city as hostages was just a bluff to scare the enemy, it still made her feel uneasy.

"I completely understand your concerns, Artemisia."

Westcott replied with an understanding attitude.

"Of course, if we want to launch a full-scale war, we must avoid unnecessary casualties. Before the war begins, I will arrange for the local magician troops to evacuate the citizens. Don't worry."

"I see. That's good."

Artemisia was visibly relieved.

"Any questions?"

"No, no."

"..."

Allen remained calm during the conversation. After all, she knew how thick-skinned Ike was. Wu Lian, on the other hand, sneered silently out of Artemisia's sight.

"Okay, the assassination plan will be temporarily suspended. We will launch the general attack on the 20th. Everyone should take this opportunity to recuperate and gather their strength."

As he spoke, Westcott summoned his own Demon King, "Divine Eclipse Volume", and spread out the pale leather book in front of everyone.

"Can you see what's written on it?"

Staring at the dense scribbles on the pages that looked like graffiti, Alan shook his head.

"don't know."

"Hmm... I can't understand the text."

"Boss, didn't you say that no one except the user can understand this thing?"

Wu Lian couldn't help but complain. In response, Westcott's smile deepened.

"Well, that's true."

Westcott snapped his fingers and several Nibelcols appeared from the ceiling.

——Father, father, look, look.

——We caught this.

Unlike the happy "Nibelcol", the smell of blood that suddenly filled the air made the three people's expressions slightly solemn.

In "Nibelcol's" hand, he was holding the head of a young girl.

Two black braids of different lengths set off the snow-white skin. The left eye that was not closed was engraved with delicate patterns like a clock face. Perhaps it was because he was beheaded not long ago, the bright red blood kept dripping from the cross section of his neck to the floor.

This girl is undoubtedly the elf that Westcott just mentioned - Tokisaki Kurumi.

"Clone?"

Alan asked.

"Well, I'm afraid they were sent here to gather intelligence or assassinate the individual. It seems that our conversation just now was overheard. You've done a great job, Nibelcol."

Westcott nodded and stroked the cover of "Divine Eclipse Volume" and praised it.

"Hey hehe~"

The Nibelcols could not help but dance in the air with joy. If it were not for the bleeding head, this might have looked like a warm scene of interaction between father and daughter.

"Alright, Artemisia, Wu Lian. The mission has already been activated on your personal terminals. Now please inform other departments of the plan."

"Yes."

"learn."

……

"Is it okay? Just let Nightmare's other clone run away like this."

After Wu Lian and Artemisia left, Allen asked Westcott.

"It's okay. Even if we seal her mouth, Nightmare will eventually find out about this through reincarnation. And I deliberately let her hear our conversation just now so that she can pass the information to Liang Yi Meng Yue."

Westcott shook his head, indicating that it was nothing serious.

"Rather than this, Alan, we have to go to the hangar of the airship to make some preparations."

"Prepare?"

In response to Allen's question, Westcott seemed unable to suppress his excitement and smiled happily.

"Adjustment of the magic furnace and writing of the accumulation spell."

————————————————I am the dividing line for shifting perspectives————————————

At night, Shidao and Mengyue said goodbye to the three clones of Kuang San and returned to the ship Fraxinus EX.

Here, Tohka, Origami, Yoshino, Kotori, Yakuya, Yui, Miku, Nanashi, Nia, Rokuko, Reine, and Mana were waiting for them. If anything, Maria and Maruna should also be watching them through the cameras in the room.

As they had decided before, Shidou and Mengyue told everyone about Kurumi's past, her determination and sad wish, and the hundreds of times she traveled through time to save herself.

Although Kurumi may hate that these things are known to others, Shidao still hopes that everyone can understand that Tokisaki Kurumi is not a villain who accumulates sins simply for selfish desires, gains or happiness.

After hearing this, everyone present fell into a long silence, whether it was because they felt it was unreal or because they could not accept it. After all, most people present did not have a good impression of Tokisaki Kurumi. Especially Mana, who had the worst relationship with Kurumi, after hearing this, her expression was as subtle as if she had eaten an expired sour plum.

“Ha——Although I don’t think that the evil and wicked Nightmare would do such a kind thing. But after all, it’s what my brother and sister Mengyue said, so I’ll just accept it as it is. The next time I see her, I will resist the urge to chop her and listen to her explanation before I do it.”

Fortunately, thanks to the credibility that Shidou and Mengyue have accumulated in their daily lives, although everyone was a little confused, they still chose to believe what they said.

"However, if what Tokisaki Kurumi said is true, then DEM is really a bit too arrogant."

Crushing the candy in her mouth, Kotori's face showed a little anger. Whether it was the fact that he had been so rampant on Fraxinus EX's territory many times, or that he wanted to kill Shido, the other party's actions undoubtedly violated the bottom line of this brother-loving commander.

"Lingyin, contact all personnel and hold a combat meeting tomorrow."

"Well...I know..."

At this time, Mana seemed to have thought of something and asked Shidou.

"And my Lord Brother, there is another thing I am concerned about."

"Um...what is it?"

"Brother, what I saw in Nightmare's memory was about the woman named Takamiya Mio."

"..."

Hearing Mana's words, Shidou let out a small moan from his throat.

Takamiya Mio. A girl who appeared in Kurumi's past, she has the same last name as Mana. And according to Mana, Shidou himself also said the name "Mio" during his spiritual power rampage.

This cannot be simply explained away as a coincidence.

And if Kurumi is not lying, Takamiya Mio has the ability to turn humans into elves, so she is likely to be the same person as the "Phantom" who turned Kotori Miku and others into elves. In this case, Shidou, Kotori and others cannot be said to be out of the matter.

Is he a relative of Shidao before he lost his memory? Or is he someone I've seen before somewhere? Or is it just a coincidence that they have the same name?

Everyone made various guesses and discussions about this, but unfortunately they could not come up with an answer due to insufficient information.

"If you are so eager for an answer, you only need to recall it."

At this moment, Rokuko looked at the distressed people and made a proposal with a puzzled look on his face.

"If the memory is sealed, just use the 'Seal Master' to unlock it."

Shidou's heart skipped a beat when he heard Rokuko's words.

It wasn't because he was surprised that he didn't think of such a simple method, but because a few minutes before he came back, Mengyue had mentioned the same thing to him for different reasons.

……

"Next, you must go on a date with Murasame Reine, and make her shy just like you would an elf."

(ha?)

"Well, you must be wondering now, what does this have to do with changing history? But unfortunately, this is a step that absolutely cannot be skipped."

"It's not that I can't tell you the reason, but I don't intend to do so. Because the situation I know is also very one-sided, even if I tell you, I can't convince you. If you hold that half-baked mentality to face Reine, it will be impossible to succeed. Just like if you don't use the Ten Dan to experience Kurumi's past, but only listen to others' oral description, you can't really understand Kurumi's regret and sadness."

"So, use the 'Sealing Master' to unlock your past memories, Shidou. Rokuko's angel should be able to help you recall your lost memories."

"By then, you should be able to understand my intention."

……