Almost simultaneously with the breakdown of the second negotiation between Luo Shu and Aya Tokoyogi.
Origami Tobiichi and Kurumi Tokisaki simultaneously raised their right hands and brought them down with a forceful swing.
The two Spirits activated small-scale spacequakes at the same time, forcibly locking the space and pinning Aya Tokoyogi in place.
If only one Spirit had used this ability, Aya could have countered it with her technique. But with two Spirits working together, the restraint's intensity exceeded what any technique could handle.
With virtually no room for resistance, Aya Tokoyogi was fixed in place.
Seizing this opening, Kurumi's clones raised their guns from a distance and unleashed a second storm of bullets!
If the bullets hit, the next to attack would undoubtedly be Luo Shu and Mukuro Hoshimiya, who were still holding their positions.
'Luo Shu's ability emanated a concept similar to the white-haired woman's—a highly lethal light-attribute power. As for the golden-haired woman, her ability seemed space-related, having been the one to seal the surrounding space during their first attack...'
'Because of Natsuki, Luo Shu's desire to kill me isn't strong. So among those likely to attack next, the golden-haired woman poses the greater threat...'
'Her power is space-based, so I'll stake everything on a space-interference technique...'
'I'll gamble on this!'
Within moments, Aya Tokoyogi made her decision.
Facing another round of encirclement, she didn't hesitate. Immediately, she covered her entire body with dark script.
As the black characters crawled across her flawless skin, covering her delicate features, Aya Tokoyogi promptly negated the interference about to be imposed upon her.
Her first act was to negate any damage from the bullets, preventing herself from being time-stopped.
Her second act, without hesitation, was to negate the spatial lock around her.
Once both took effect, she ignored the bullet barrage and, the moment the spatial seal lifted, immediately grasped the substitute puppet hidden in her sleeve.
Without warning.
A green-haired girl wearing a duckbill cap, brown leather jacket, and high ponytail, with a slice of bacon pizza clamped between her teeth, appeared on the scene looking utterly bewildered.
At the same moment, Aya Tokoyogi's figure rapidly faded, swiftly retreating under the effects of an Abyss Artefact.
This process went almost entirely uninterrupted.
Until Luo Shu fixed his gaze on the sleeve of Aya Tokoyogi's robe.
The X-ray vision granted by the Abyss Artefact Super Vision he carried allowed him to see through Aya's clothing easily.
Though a technique's interference prevented him from seeing Aya's body, he could clearly discern the two Abyss Artefacts hidden within her sleeve.
Among the two artefacts, Luo Shu spotted the green-haired, smiling substitute puppet.
Without hesitation, he activated Calamity Bestowal, channelling the power of lightning into the puppet.
Hmm——
The entire sky seemed to tremble at that moment, as if struck by an invisible peal of thunder.
In that instant, Luo Shu closed his eyes.
"The outcome is decided!"
According to the intelligence Luo Shu had received, attacking the substitute puppet during activation would cause a slight delay in its effects.
And this momentary delay would be the killing blow!
"Michael!"
Mukuro Hoshimiya raised her key-shaped Angel high, traversing space to plunge it into the immobilised Aya Tokoyogi.
Having already negated two forms of interference through her Greater Ability, Aya was powerless to prevent the key Angel's insertion.
The moment Michael struck, the result was already determined.
"Seal!"
Among the Angels of the Ten Sephirot, Michael's power ranked in the first tier.
And among Spirits, Mukuro possessed the most significant energy reserves.
Expending nearly half her Spiritual Power, Mukuro maximised Michael's sealing capability.
Her target...
As the brief moment created by Luo Shu's spacequake ended, the substitute puppet activated once more.
But Aya Tokoyogi understood it was already too late.
"This power?... I see... You've completely sealed my concept, casting me down from Demigod Rank?"
She raised her head, glaring hatefully at the golden-haired girl before her:
"So you were the hidden trump card all along?"
Aya had gambled all her previous power on spatial interference - one third of her total strength had been poured into creating spatial interference techniques.
Under normal circumstances, any spatial attack against her, even a Demigod Rank strike imbued with Spatial Concepts, couldn't seriously harm her.
Yet...
Mukuro specialised in the Sealing Concept, completely unrelated to space.
"Your ability was never about creating spatial barriers, but sealing all things..."
Aya's face twisted with bitter resentment.
Against anyone, Mukuro's power was a first-encounter-kill level of broken.
Who could have guessed that someone whose abilities appeared spatial - capable of blocking space and teleporting at will - actually wielded the power of the Sealing Concept?
No one could have anticipated it.
Naturally, neither had Aya.
Her punishment was to have her Class specifically sealed by Mukuro, reducing her rank from Demigod to mere Hero.
The consequences of returning to Truth Astronomy in such a state...
Aya Tokoyogi had no time to ponder this question before vanishing from the rooftop.
At the same moment, Luo Shu reopened his eyes and extended his right hand.
Simultaneously, Mukuro Hoshimiya, who had teleported beside Luo Shu, grasped his hand.
"I'll handle this to give Aya her final dignity."
With those words, Luo Shu and Mukuro Hoshimiya disappeared into the spatial passage that had formed behind them.
In the next instant, following the connection of their powers, they located Aya Tokoyogi, who had used an Abyss Artefact to escape.
Yet when their transformed vision cleared...
Luo Shu's expression turned peculiar at once.
Beside an exquisitely crafted blue sofa lay a red carpet.
Aya Tokoyogi stood rigidly by the sofa, her expression frozen in an instant.
Her gaze was fixed directly ahead, where on the blue sofa...
Natsuki Minamiya sat holding a teacup in one hand and a phone in the other, staring blankly at Aya Tokoyogi, who had abruptly appeared beside her.
Before she could react, Luo Shu and Mukuro Hoshimiya materialised as well.
In that moment, Natsuki Minamiya's mind completely short-circuited.
Observing the frozen scene before him, Luo Shu's expression grew even more peculiar:
"So the side effect of the doppelganger puppet is that teleporting to the place you subconsciously deem safest? Did this expose certain people's true thoughts?"
Aya Tokoyogi trembled slightly, not refuting that Natsuki's side was indeed her subconscious safe haven, and instead deflected:
"Where am I now?"
Luo Shu paused briefly before replying:
"Natsuki's lounge."
He then added with a hint of amusement:
"The location is the sixth floor of the Hidden Management Department headquarters."
'In other words, my substitute puppet teleported me to the enemy's base?'
For a moment, Aya Tokoyogi fell utterly silent.