This is not the date I wanted.

To be more precise, it is Tokisaki Kurumi's clone.

"Hmm? Is this okay?"

Meng Yue asked doubtfully.

"Well~ Normally, 'we' don't have the right to use the Keke Emperor, but if the deity agrees, then that's a different matter."

Kuang San didn't dare to make a sound, and lowered her head deeply as if she wanted to disappear from the world.

For Kurumi, "Kurumi" is not just a clone created with the Eight Bullets, but also a comrade-in-arms who is dedicated to achieving a common sad wish. It is precisely because of this goal that she is allowed to use the clone as a consumable.

Now that she has given up the fight, she dares not look directly at her clone, fearing that she will be despised and spurned by her past self.

"But, Ms. Mengyue, you may have misunderstood one thing. Even if you use 'Yud.Aleph (Eleven Bullets)', you will only stay in the future temporarily within the amount of spiritual power allowed. When the spiritual power is exhausted, you will return to the present."

"Oh... probably don't worry about that. Let me see."

"…Eh? Wait? Miss Mengyue? What did you just do?"

"Hmm? I just used my guess and slightly adjusted it with the Dawn Sage. Although angels have the same ability with different targets, in essence, going back to the past and going to the future are two completely different things."

"...Ala, should I say that you are truly worthy of being Miss Mengyue?"

In the tension and confusion, the conversation between the clone and Meng Yue continued on its own. After an unknown amount of time, Kuang San felt a surge of spiritual power from the "City of Time" flowing into the "Emperor of Keke". Then, the sound of a bullet being loaded rang in her ears.

"So, are you ready for your vacation to Epcot? 'Me'?"

The clone asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"..."

"Well... then next, Zakiel (Emperor Keke) - 'Yud.Aleph (Eleven Bullets)'!"

Seeing that Kurumi didn't respond, the clone sighed in disappointment and pulled the trigger of the angel.

--boom!

With a gunshot, Kekedi's bullet hit Kuang San's head. The next second, the scenery in front of her began to distort unnaturally.

"Kuang San!"

Just when consciousness was about to leave the "present", Meng Yue's voice suddenly sounded in my ears.

——I promise you, Kurumi, no matter what the outcome, the future will never be hopeless.

That was the oath that Liangyi Mengyue was destined to make with her in every reincarnation.

Then, as if sinking into water, Kuang San was engulfed by a feeling of suffocation.

(Am I... heading into the future now?)

Kuang San thought confusedly.

The body loses control and can only drift with the current like a lone boat in a rapids.

When I open my eyes, all I can see is empty darkness. When I listen carefully, all I can feel is empty silence.

Then, huge waves rolled over and swallowed her. No matter how she waved her limbs, she could only keep sinking.

No, this is just an illusion. Strictly speaking, there is no concept that can represent direction in this space.

After an unknown amount of time, the end of the long abyss came, as if it was washed out of the water by an undercurrent and flew into the air.

"—?!"

Finally, the view became clear and I could feel the solid ground under my feet.

Looking around in confusion, Kuang San muttered to herself in bewilderment.

"Is this... the future one year from now?"

27 Mengyue's Gift

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

"Is this... the future one year from now?"

Kurumi murmured in bewilderment.

In the middle of a room. The room is about 10 pings in size, and the floor is paved with white marble. There are not only sofas, tables and chairs, and a water dispenser in the room, but also computers and other items on the counter.

There were no windows on the walls, only an automatic glass door, so no light came into the house, but instead a bright fluorescent light on the ceiling illuminated the room.

Kuang San couldn't help feeling a little confused.

Before this, she had only used the Six Bullets to travel through time by transferring consciousness, and this was her first time to use the Eleven Bullets to allow both her body and soul to travel to the future together.

Should we say it was too unexpected? Or should we say it was unreal? If Kurumi's memory of "Keke Emperor" was correct, the eleventh bullet only had the ability to travel through time, but could not move in space.

In other words, this is the place where Kuang San and Meng Yue just parted.

“Is this… really the future?”

Kuang San's face was full of confusion.

Unlike the past which has become a fact and cannot be changed, the future is full of variables relative to the present, and it is unpredictable and cannot be remembered as a fact that has already happened.

Although Kuang San had also guessed what the future would look like, it was nothing more than a ruin abandoned by humans, or a wasteland constantly destroyed by reversed elves.

But I could not connect the Tiangong City in my memory, which was destroyed beyond all recognition, with the VIP room in front of me, which looked like the one used by the company to receive clients.

At this moment, a cold voice suddenly sounded in the empty room.

[——Biological reaction detected, identification started. Appearance identification——passed. Sound wave identification——passed. Retinal identification——passed. Spiritual power wavelength——passed. Individual identification successful——Owner——Tokisaki Kurumi. ]

"Who's here?"

Kuang San shouted in panic.

【Welcome, my master. 】

At this moment, the computer in the room suddenly started up, and a girl's head appeared on the screen.

[I am a housekeeping service AI produced by Ratatoskr. My official name is 'Naya'. I will be responsible for taking care of your daily life. Do you have any questions? ]

"Naya...?"

Kuang San couldn't help but frown.

When she heard the name, the first thing she thought of was the two electronic elves she had seen in the computer world.

But she quickly denied this possibility.

"Where is this place?"

[Answer: This is a small underground space located in the center of the former Tiangong City, 40 meters underground. The total area is 30,925 square meters, with a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, toilet, game room, heated swimming pool...]

"What time is it now?"

[Answer: It is now February 2, XXXX, 13:19.]

"Why do you know me? Why do you call me Master?"

[Answer: The owner's personal information has been logged into the AI ​​administrator database in advance. You now have the right to use any equipment in the underground space.]

“…Where is this place?”

[Answer: This is a small underground space located in the center of the former Tiangong City, 40 meters underground. The total area is 30,925 square meters, with a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom...]

"enough."

Kurumi interrupted Naya's words and covered her forehead with a headache.

Although the avatars in the picture are somewhat similar to those two artificial intelligences, they are completely different in nature. Although there are not many opportunities to meet them, in Kuang San's impression, the actions, tone, and expressions of the sisters give people a very natural and realistic feeling. If they offend each other, they will even mix lies into the conversation, or even do some deliberately difficult pranks.

The AI ​​in front of him could only give a mechanical response to Kurumi's words, and there was no ups and downs in its voice. It was just an emotionless machine.

"… Was this basement built by Miss Meng Yue?"

After she adjusted herself, Kurumi started asking questions to Naya again.

After she came to the future, she appeared right in the center of the living room, and Naya was activated at the same time. Obviously, the designer of this underground space knew that Tokisaki Kurumi would appear today.

The only one who knew this was Liangyi Mengyue.

[Yes, including this AI, the entire basement was designed and renovated by my creator, Liangyi Mengyue Engineer. The design purpose is to provide residents with a comfortable and relaxing living environment. ]

In response, Naya affirmed it in a calm tone.

"Comfortable and peaceful... I see..."

Hearing this, Kuang San seemed to understand something and her expression became extremely complicated.

"Ms. Mengyue...do you have any message?"

[Received. Starting search... Detected a related audio file, do you want to play it? ]

“…play.”

After Kurumi answered, an audio playback window popped up on the computer screen.

[Ah-ah-hmm... Is the sound okay?... Anyway... Long time no see, Kurumi.]

"Ms. Mengyue?"

Not only did Kuang San make a puzzled sound, but the voice that came from the speakers was undoubtedly Liang Yi Meng Yue's voice, but for some reason, compared with the Meng Yue in Kuang San's impression, the Meng Yue in the recording sounded a little hoarse and stuttered.

[How long was it? Eight years? One year? Uh--no, no... for you... we just met a few seconds ago. Sorry, I've been so busy lately that my memory is a little fuzzy.]

(Eight years? Didn’t I come here just to return after one year?)

[Well... Anyway, let's get to the point. When you hear this recording... it means you have come to the future one year later... I will briefly report what happened this year. In conclusion -]

Hearing this, Kuang San couldn't help but hold her breath.

[DEM has been destroyed. Of course, Allen and Westcott are gone. The spirit of the origin, Mio, has also been killed by me.]

"—?!"

Kurumi's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Impossible! Even Miss Meng Yue can't kill Mio!"

[After hearing this, you probably don’t believe what I said… but this is the truth. If you don’t believe it, you can find out by investigating it yourself. ]

"…Who is Mio? How did you do it?"

[I'm sorry. I won't tell you the details... I was able to defeat Mio because of a lot of coincidences, and I paid a huge price. If I fight Mio again... I will definitely lose. Even if I tell you... if you go back to the past and fight Mio again, you will only die.]

"Ku..."

Kurumi clenched her fists unwillingly.

It’s not that she was too lazy to argue with a recording. Even if Mengyue was here now, she couldn’t say a word in rebuttal.

After all, she chose to escape, so she chose to come to the future

[Anyway, at this time... you don't have to worry about being hunted down by Mio... I've also solved the reversal problem of Tohka and the others. Although I can't say that the world is now at peace, it has come to an end.]

"it's over?"

Hearing this, Kuang San looked lost.

In order to go back thirty years, kill the original spirit that caused all these tragedies and change history, Kuang San abandoned her relatives and herself, and was charged with the crime of killing tens of thousands of people. She devoted more than ten years to realizing this tragic wish.

However, when she escaped from reality and came to the future one year later, she was told that everything ended in a place and time she didn't know, which had nothing to do with her.

Joy? Anger? Reluctance? None of them. What was spreading through Kuang San's body at this moment was a feeling of powerlessness close to emptiness. Obsession, hatred, madness - these emotions that supported her were all drained from her bones, and she felt weak and powerless.

"Who am I..."

[If everything goes as planned, when you arrive in this era... you should stay in an underground facility. That is my gift to you... The surface of the building has been filled with a lot of sand to disguise it as a hill, and all the employees involved in the project will have their memories deleted by me. There, you can live a quiet life without being disturbed by anyone.]

[Naya developed this program while conducting another experiment, and I'm giving it to you as well... Although it doesn't have true intelligence, it's still very good... If it weren't for it, I probably wouldn't even know how to speak. I hope it can be helpful to you.]

[Of course, I won't force you to stay... If you don't like living in seclusion, you can choose to leave. ]

[I just hope that you don't go to extremes... and don't commit suicide, and live a good life. ]

【Well, goodbye...my friend...】

The recording ended here. In the empty living room, only Kuang San was left. She knelt on the ground blankly like a lost child.

[——Then Master, next, I will introduce you to all the functions of this basement.]

At this time, the automatic door opened, and a small robot walked in under the control of Naya, guiding Kurumi out of the living room.