12dz Chapter 71 Five Years Ago: "The Future We Were Told About and the Crying Girl"
Chapter 71 Five Years Ago: "The Future We Were Told About and the Crying Girl"
Shido and Mei were jogging along the path, neither too fast nor too slow.
Crimson flames began to ignite around them, clearly indicating that Kotori had been transformed into a spirit.
“Mr. Ming, please tell me, why did you do those things in the future…” Shido’s eyes were filled with complex emotions as he ran and looked at Ming anxiously.
Ming took a light breath, but didn't stop walking.
"What things?" Even though he already knew the answer, he still asked.
Shido paused for a moment before realizing that the character in this timeline hadn't done that thing yet.
"Shido-san, let me remind you~ Over-interfering with the timeline is very dangerous." Kurumi in Shido's consciousness warned.
"I know, but I don't want Mr. Ming to do that again..."
Shido gritted his teeth and looked at Ming, who was running ahead of him, and said, "Destroying Tengu City... burning everything in sight, deceiving your former friends, what were you thinking back then!"
"...Mr. Ming, tell me...I really don't want to kill you again in the future!"
Ming didn't turn around, but the pain of struggle could be clearly heard in Shido's tone behind him.
He stopped, slowly turned around, and looked at Shido behind him.
"Uh, why did we stop? Are we near the origami area now?"
"Oh!"
After hearing what Shido said, Ming's originally cold and icy face began to undergo an astonishing change!
As if he had finally realized he was free, the muscles in his face began to twitch slightly. Then, he slowly raised his head and covered his eyes with his hands.
"Haha ...
He laughed heartily and joyfully, but only he knew that it carried more than 20 years of sorrow.
"What are you laughing at!" Shido, having regained his senses, stepped forward and questioned.
Ming lowered his hands, his eyes flashing with a crimson light, his eyes simultaneously transforming into the eyes of a sheep, appearing as if he were insane.
"Itsuka Shido, do you think I wanted to do this? I just wanted to be free and see [her] again! As for my destruction, perhaps that's my true purpose..."
Shido was stunned.
"Liberation? Why seek liberation through destruction?"
“My very existence is a form of atonement… You know, because of my guilt towards her and because of myself, every day feels like being in hell,” Ming said with a bitter smile.
Shido remained silent. Just then, a golden beam of light shot from the horizon. Sensing the threat, Ming kicked Shido away and threw his phone and a photo at Shido's chest before standing still.
After Shido was kicked away, he watched helplessly as the beam of light approached Ming. Then, Ming was completely reduced to ashes, leaving only a scorched crater that stretched forward.
Mr. Ming!
Shido called out in concern. The next second, the few remaining dust particles on the ground rose up and slowly gathered in the air. Black flames burned, and the dust particles gradually multiplied, taking on an outline, turning into a skeleton, and finally sublimating into flesh and clothes.
[Rebirth Flame - Undying Dead Apostle]
Shido stared in astonishment at the reborn Ming, who dusted himself off as if he hadn't just been wiped out.
"Don't make such a fuss, this level of damage won't kill me," Ming said nonchalantly.
Shido was filled with doubt. "Don't speak. Look behind me. The person you're looking for is right there."
"Oh, thank you..." Shido said subconsciously, but his eyes inadvertently caught sight of the photo that Ming had just thrown at him.
"Who is this?" Looking at the photo, it was a chestnut-haired girl holding Ming's hand and smiling under the cherry blossoms.
Shido clutched the photo tightly, his mind filled with questions. He looked up at Ming in front of him.
“Mr. Ming…who is this girl?” Shido asked.
Ming didn't answer, but snatched back the phone and the photos.
"Give it back to me now! After you finish your business, I'll reveal some of the rest to you. Also, remember to use the Seven Sins' abilities to disguise yourself, otherwise it will be very troublesome."
Then Ming carefully put the photos away, reminding Shido that he wanted to ask more questions.
"Wait, how do you know about the Seven Sins' abilities! You should have been dead back then, no, isn't this the past timeline...?"
Ming raised his hand to signal him to be quiet, so Shido had no choice but to use [Fake Witch] to transform into his child form.
Then Ming pointed to the side, showing Shido the Origami who had already mentally collapsed in mid-air, and a white-haired girl crying on the ground.
The spacequake alarm sounded immediately.
"Mom...Mom, Dad!!!"
The white-haired girl who survived in the ruins below screamed desperately.
Her once beautiful face was now covered by tears and soot, her eyes filled with the sorrow of losing a loved one.
Not long ago, this sudden fire mercilessly swept through the entire city.
Amidst raging flames and billowing smoke, the girl desperately searches for her lost parents.
Finally, a miracle occurred, and she saw her parents' familiar figures again amidst the sea of fire.
However, fate is so cruel; their brief reunion vanished in an instant.
Seeing the [elf] in the air launch a fierce attack, the girl's parents rushed forward without hesitation, using their frail bodies to block the fatal blow and doing everything they could to push their daughter out of the danger zone.
They themselves vanished forever in this sea of fire, leaving not a trace behind.
The girl stared blankly at the scene before her, her heart breaking. Tears streamed down her face like a burst dam, dripping onto the scorched earth.
Unable to accept this cruel reality, her grief gradually transformed into a raging fire of anger.
"I will not forgive you! I will definitely... kill you! I will definitely kill you!" The girl raised her head, glared at the [elf] in the air, and roared out this vow through gritted teeth.
Her voice grew louder and louder, and the anger it contained surged wave after wave, sending chills down one's spine.
Standing beside the white-haired girl, Shido witnessed this horrific scene and was equally shocked.
He muttered to himself, "Why did this happen? Why did such a terrible thing occur?"
Faced with the tragedy before him, he was momentarily at a loss for how to comfort the girl who had fallen into the abyss of despair.
"I see. I knew that someone as strong as Origami must have suffered a tremendous blow to become like that..."
Kurumi, witnessing all of this, muttered to herself in Shido's mind at this moment.
The elves in the sky, seeing the carnage on the ground and not knowing what had happened, also collapsed and wailed in despair.
"Ah...ahhh...ahhh!"
In the blink of an eye, the pure white "elf" vanished into thin air, as if it had never appeared, but the wounds on the ground were indeed evidence of its existence.
"Disappeared?"
"The spiritual power of the Twelfth Bullet has been lost; it has probably returned to its original era."
"How could this be? Could it be that... Origami actually... failed to change history?" Upon seeing this, Shido's eyes widened, and he muttered to himself in disbelief.
At that moment, the dilapidated house, already riddled with holes and on the verge of collapse, suddenly crumbled in the direction where the white-haired girl was.
As the heavy building hurtled towards the girl like a ferocious beast, the girl, in danger, stood frozen in place as if she had lost her soul.
Perhaps at this moment, the endless despair brought about by the sudden death of her parents has completely crushed her, causing her to lose the will to live and the power to resist.
"Origami!" Shido shouted as he rushed toward the girl's location.
Before the origami could be thrown to the other side, at that moment, a giant skeletal arm formed of black flames instantly vaporized the house.
[Black Flame Style - Susanoo Skeleton - Hand]
"You're so gentle, is it because you have the [Flame of Regeneration]? You don't cherish life at all."
As Ming spoke leisurely from behind, the magic on his right arm began to shrink, and the black skeletal arm disappeared.
Shido ignored what Ming said and ran forward without hesitation, his eyes fixed on the petite figure in front of him.
When he finally reached the girl, a strong sense of despair washed over him.
The girl's eyes were vacant and lifeless, and she kept muttering to herself:
"Dad, Mom, I..." She stood there blankly, mechanically repeating this single sentence.
Shido's heart clenched suddenly, the pain almost making it hard to breathe.
He slowly crouched down and carefully helped the desperate girl up.
Then, before the white-haired girl could recover, he gently but firmly embraced her, wanting to use his body heat and his embrace to ease the endless darkness and cold in her heart.
"Origami, I'm sorry, I... I'm late." Shido's voice trembled slightly, filled with deep self-reproach and guilt.
After a long while, the girl looked up as if waking from a dream, her eyes still somewhat dazed as she gazed at the boy who had suddenly embraced her.
"You...you are...?"
Shido didn't answer the girl's question, but instead continued, his voice emphasizing and his eyes brimming with tears:
"...It's alright, everything will be alright!"
Shido held the girl's trembling hand tightly, his gaze fixed firmly on her tear-filled eyes.
"Origami, believe me, one day you will understand everything in this world, including the truth hidden behind it. But no matter when or where, please remember this—you are never alone!"
Shido's voice was deep and powerful, like the warm sunshine of spring.
"What...are you talking about?"
The girl looked up, her face full of confusion, at the serious-looking boy in front of her, tears still streaming down her cheeks.
The boy took a deep breath and continued, "When you feel sad, angry, or confused, please remember me."
"When you face those helpless situations, rely on me without hesitation! Throw all your pain and torment at me, and let me bear all the burdens for you."
"Therefore, no matter what, never give up hope, and never fall into despair, Origami!"
The boy's sincere words were like a ray of light, shining directly into the girl's already wounded heart, transforming into a new pillar of support.
The girl finally managed to slowly break free from the blue-haired boy's warm embrace.
She raised her hand and gently wiped away the remaining tears from the corner of her eye, her gaze fixed on the boy before her, and asked again:
"Who...who are you?" The boy's voice trembled slightly as he seemed to hesitate for a moment after hearing the question.
Finally, he made up his mind, looked firmly at the girl in front of him, and answered seriously and solemnly:
"My name is Itsuka Shido, and I live around here."
"Itsuka Shido, is everything you just said true?" After confirming the name, Origami's tone was tinged with doubt and expectation.
"Yes, of course it's true!" Shido nodded without hesitation and said decisively.
Upon hearing such a definite answer, the girl fell silent for a moment.
"Is that so? Then this will be the last time I cry. But at the same time, it will also be the last time I laugh. From now on, whether it's sadness or joy... I will entrust them all to you. But only anger belongs to me alone."
"Just to kill the person who destroyed my family!" As she said this, a resolute light flashed in the girl's eyes.
"No matter how much time it takes, no matter what means I have to use, I will never give up!"
The girl clenched her fists tightly, her body trembling slightly with excitement.
"Origami..."
Shido softly called the girl's name, wanting to comfort her but not knowing how to begin.
"So please keep these emotions for me until the day I successfully kill her."
After saying this, the girl turned and slowly walked away, her figure gradually disappearing into the distance.