Time passed second by second.
Lying in ambush for a day sounds easy, but for a child who had just started school, it was undoubtedly an extremely painful ordeal.
Yukiteru gritted his teeth, enduring the torment of being bitten by mosquitoes and the itch all over his body.
He had to wait.
Wait for that perfect moment to deliver the fatal blow to Tsubaki.
6:45 AM. Tsubaki woke up.
The first thing she did upon opening her eyes was to check the contents of the Clairvoyance Diary.
Since obtaining the Future Diary, Tsubaki's bleak life had gained a sliver of hope.
Clear the game, become a deity.
That way, she could change everything in the past, giving that Cinderella huddled in the corner a bright future too.
Holding onto this thought, Tsubaki opened the first page of the Clairvoyance Diary.
Instantly, her pupils contracted sharply!
August 1st, Sunny. A masked assassin suddenly visits, stabbing me to death in the prison chamber!
The writing was very brief.
But the information it contained forced Tsubaki to take it seriously.
"Assassinated? Is it the work of another Future Diary holder?"
Tsubaki gritted her teeth secretly, a sense of crisis suddenly rising in her heart.
In this Future Diary battle, although she had her own advantages, her opponents were no pushovers either.
According to the information she had,
#1 'Amano Yukiteru' and #2 'Gasai Yuno' possessed the Observance Diary and the Future Love Diary respectively. Combined, they could achieve almost 360-degree, dead-angle future prediction.
Among the other holders, some also had very useful identities. If they acted recklessly, even the Omekata Temple might not be able to withstand them.
"No, now is not the time to take the initiative. Someone! Order the followers to close the shrine for the day. Block all doors and windows!"
Tsubaki shouted sternly.
"Yes."
The follower waiting outside the door, as if brainwashed, agreed with blind obedience.
This was Tsubaki's reliance.
Roses are poisonous, and even after picking them, one must be wary of the hidden dangers they bring later.
Every person who entered the prison chamber and had been with Tsubaki would be sprinkled with a special substance.
Using methods unique to the Omekata Temple, Tsubaki hypnotized these followers, using them as puppets she could command effortlessly.
In the original anime, these followers died under blades, axes, and fire, their deaths utterly miserable.
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
Soon, over a hundred strong followers surrounded the shrine, layer upon layer.
All possible entry points from the outside were blocked, not even a mouse could get through.
The only place not checked was Tsubaki's room.
Due to her childhood trauma, unless absolutely necessary, Tsubaki deeply despised contact with these dirty men.
"Saintess, the Omekata Temple is completely sealed. Awaiting your orders!"
"Stand by for now. Stay alert and wait for my next notification."
Tsubaki waved her hand, her eyes closing slightly.
She was pondering who had made the first move against her.
'#1 and #2 were powerful, but not inherently aggressive, so they could be ruled out.'
'#4 and #9 had the capability, but they were each other's primary targets and wouldn't focus on me.'
'That left all the remaining, unknown diary holders.'
'Hmph, no matter what diary you possess, before absolute force, you will inevitably be cut down by swords.'
Tsubaki's gloomy eyes lifted, a cold, sharp glint flashing within.
Followers were expendable, and as long as she was willing, these scumbag cannon fodder could be used and consumed freely.
Using human wave tactics, no other diary holder could possibly be her match.
As these thoughts passed, a day went by in the blink of an eye.
Tsubaki kept checking her diary throughout, but the outcome of her death remained unchanged.
'Where is it?!'
What went wrong?!'
Tsubaki grew increasingly anxious, the fear of death slowly spreading in her heart.
She couldn't die here. She wanted to become a deity.
"Someone! Bring in the prepared fake Saintess."
In her desperation, Tsubaki had no choice but to use her hidden card… substituting one thing for another.
Most Future Diaries had limitations. A fake version of herself should be able to deceive the majority of diaries.
Even an unbiased source of information like #1's would be deceived by her own eyes.
"Yes."
The followers made preparations and pushed a frail woman, similar in build to Tsubaki, into the prison chamber.
Meanwhile, Tsubaki disguised herself as a follower, huddling in a corner of the dojo, and opened the Clairvoyance Diary.
August 1st, Sunny. A masked assassin suddenly visits, stabbing me to death in the prison chamber!
'It still hadn't changed!'
'The outcome of my death remained unaltered!'
Tsubaki trembled all over, the Clairvoyance Diary falling scattered to the ground.
In that very instant, Yukiteru, who had been lying in ambush for so long, focused all his spirit and threw a dart.
The target was precisely Tsubaki's diary!
According to the rules of the Future Diary game, if a diary holder's 'diary' is destroyed, they are eliminated and permanently disappear.
With Yukiteru's accuracy, this dart would definitely hit that diary!
Swish…
The dart traced a perfect arc through the air, flying straight towards the Clairvoyance Diary, piercing into it.
Success.
A flash of excitement, mixed with a trace of pity, passed through Yukiteru's eyes, vanishing in an instant.
For Yuno, and for himself, he absolutely could not afford to be an overly kind person.
Pat, pat, pat…
However, the diary rolled on the ground, turning a few circles, but did not disappear.
The Tsubaki before him also did not get swallowed and annihilated by that mysterious black vortex.
'What's going on?!'
"Heh, from the moment I first saw my death message, I hid the real diary, just to lure out the assassin."
Tsubaki's gloomy eyes turned towards Yukiteru, a smile curling on her lips.
In this game of chess, she had ultimately won.
She wanted to see just who this diary holder was, the one who had deceived everyone and perfectly infiltrated the dojo...
"Urk! You…!"
Tsubaki Hanakari's smile instantly froze at that moment.
She vomited large mouthfuls of blood, mixed with purple clots, looking utterly terrifying.
Yukiteru watched her silently, a flicker of pity and reluctance in his eyes.
But in the end, he gritted his teeth and said softly, "It's over."
"The ambush was a misdirection. The assassination was a misdirection. All the methods meant to kill you directly were meant to deceive your eyes, to make your diary show different ways of dying."
"The real trump card was planted last night."
It was poison.
The outcome of this battle had been decided the moment Yukiteru entered the prison chamber.
This slow-acting poison was something he had specially requested from a chemistry senior under the pretext of an experiment.
Its activation time was about a day. Once it took effect, death was inevitable.