Beside him, Moegami tilted her head, sensing that something had changed.
"Umm… what's wrong, Michaelis-kun?" she asked, confused.
Gabriel remained silent.
He began patting down his own body, as if searching for something missing.
Just as Moegami was about to ask again, the Spacequake Siren blared across the area.
The warning cut through the bright afternoon air.
People nearby immediately began moving orderly toward the nearest shelter.
Moegami flinched.
"Spacequake—?!"
She quickly grabbed Gabriel's hand.
"Come on! We need to get to the shelter!"
However—Gabriel brushed her hand aside.
A quick movement. Not rough, but firm.
Moegami froze, startled.
"Tobiichi-san," Gabriel said as he turned, "my necklace might have fallen. I want to look for it. You go ahead first."
Without waiting for a response, he ran.
But his direction was not toward the shelter.
"Michaelis-kun!" Moegami called out.
People continued moving away.
She paused for a moment, hesitating.
Then, grinding her teeth softly, Moegami ran after Gabriel without a second thought.
She wasn't heading to the shelter.
She was heading in the same direction as him.
***
Moegami kept running.
But at the busy intersection from before—Gabriel had vanished.
Now she stood alone, panting, her silver hair slightly disheveled from the wind, which had begun to waver due to the spatial disturbance.
She paused for a moment, trying to catch her breath.
Her expression shifted.
No longer awkward.
But worried.
She bit her lower lip.
"Where is he…?" she whispered.
The sirens still wailed in the distance.
People had already disappeared into the shelters.
The sky trembled faintly.
Without hesitation this time, Moegami ran again.
Turned right.
Turned left.
Until finally, she entered a narrow alley.
Her steps slowed.
At the end of the alley stood a little girl with green hair, wearing a large hat and a smile far too casual for the situation.
Natsumi Kyouno tilted her head.
"Oh~," she said lightly. "Another human who hasn't taken shelter yet?"
Moegami stopped.
Her gaze slowly… emptied.
Silent.
In the next moment, the air around her shifted.
Bluish-black fabrics emerged from her back, spreading like a living spiderweb. Fine cracks formed in the air, as if reality itself had been scored.
Reiryoku surged.
Heavy and dense, like thick mud.
Invisible to ordinary humans—but unmistakable to other Spirits and advanced Sensors.
Unbeknownst to Natsumi, this was the mark of an Inverse—a Spirit undergoing Inverse.
Natsumi froze.
The aura was abnormal.
"Y-you…?" her voice faltered.
She took a step back.
Moegami's Reiryoku leapt even wilder. Her silver hair lifted slowly, pulled by an invisible whirlpool of energy.
"Are you a Spirit?" asked Natsumi Kyouno, her tone now fully wary.
Moegami didn't answer.
Her empty gaze shifted.
Dark.
Cold.
The atmosfer above the alley trembled violently.
In the next instant, a black Astral Dress materialized—a shadowy gown like mourning attire, open and flowing, moving as if alive.
Around her, a set of dark blue feather-shaped cannons appeared, floating and arranging themselves into a massive crown behind her body.
All of them aimed directly at Natsumi.
Demon King: Satan.
The Inverse counterpart of Angel: Metatron.
Without warning—a blast of Reiryoku shot forth.
A blue-dark explosion filled the narrow alley.
"Haniel!"
A flying broom appeared, swung immediately, emitting a rainbow-like shimmer of Reiryoku that distorted the structure of its target.
Yet, Moegami's shot output was far greater than anticipated.
The surrounding buildings in the alley were obliterated by the blast. Walls cracked, glass shattered and scattered. The ground lifted under the pressure of the energy.
Natsumi was thrown back by the powerful shockwave, her body tumbling before she could stabilize herself.
She survived.
Barely.
Genuine fear now marked her face.
"This isn't funny…" she whispered, trembling.
Without waiting any longer, she mounted Haniel and shot up into the air.
To escape.
However—Moegami did not stop.
The dark blue cannons behind her spun and realigned their targets.
She floated upward.
And began firing blindly at the fleeing Natsumi.
The sky over Tengu City tore apart with streaks of Reiryoku light.
Explosion after explosion struck the air and the empty rooftops.
Moegami pursued without expression.
Silent.
Only emptiness and destruction followed in her wake.
***
On the rooftop of a building far from the center of destruction, Gabriel sat casually atop a pale throne he had manifested himself.
Legs crossed, body slightly tilted.
His right hand supported his head, while his left held a crystal glass filled with strawberry syrup that looked like red wine.
Beside him, Kurumi Tokisaki stood calmly.
Her right hand rested on the armrest of the throne where Gabriel sat, as if it were a stage prepared just for them.
The Bounded Field enveloped the entire rooftop.
No one could see.
No one could hear.
In the distance, the dark blue Reiryoku explosions lit up the sky over Tengu City.
Buildings collapsed.
Smoke rose.
Gabriel smiled faintly.
His mind moved quickly.
The scenario was unfolding almost flawlessly.
If Aizen's Treachery were added to the scene… perhaps it would feel even more dramatic. But the atmosphere was already satisfying enough.
He let out a low laugh.
"Fufu… ahahaha…"
The tone was soft, yet brimming with satisfaction.
"So all that's left is to wait for the hero to arrive and save the princess," he said casually. "Although… it might stir a little conflict in the hero's heart later."
Kurumi smiled faintly.
"Ara~," she murmured softly.
The wind blew through her black hair, making the bangs that covered one eye sway slightly.
"Master-san is truly enjoying this, aren't you?" she said, glancing at Gabriel from the side.
"Watching the girl you went on a date with earlier lose control… is that part of your entertainment? Or an experiment?"
Her voice was gentle, yet there was a sharp glint in her red-and-gold eyes.
"You call it a scenario," she continued, "but to them… it is reality."
Kurumi tilted her head slightly.
"And the hero who will come… it's Shido, isn't it?"
Her smile widened—subtle, thin, and full of meaning.
"Kihihi… If he manages to save Natsumi instead of Tobiichi-san, his heart will waver. If he fails… tragedy."
She turned her gaze back toward the destruction.
"No matter the outcome… the chessboard still moves according to your will."
Kurumi looked at Gabriel again.
"But tell me, Master-san…"
Her voice softened now.
"Do you really just want to watch the drama unfold? Or are you testing… how far he can endure before you yourself intervene?"
Gabriel turned toward Kurumi Tokisaki.
His smile remained faint.
The hand that had been supporting his head slowly lowered. The glass of strawberry syrup still rested in his left hand, gleaming red like blood under the distorted light of the explosions.
"I'm just making sure the stage is ready."
Kurumi raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Oh?" she murmured softly. "Then… at the same time, you're letting Shido know he's indeed saving the world—"
She smiled thinly.
"—but not fully saving Origami?"
Gabriel remained silent.
His eyes, hidden beneath his bangs, closed for a moment.
His mind raced.
Honestly—he hadn't planned it this far.
His initial focus was simple: make Natsumi impressed by Shido's role as the hero.
Moegami throwing a tantrum was something he could handle on his own.
Calming a Spirit who had lost control wasn't difficult for him.
He had calmed Kotori before.
He had dealt with far more unstable situations.
Even an Inverse… wasn't impossible for him.
Kurumi watched him in silence.
Her eyebrows furrowed slightly.
She knew Gabriel well enough.
If he remained silent in his Ash persona—it meant he was declaring something with conviction.
But if he was silent as Gabriel—it meant he was rearranging the chessboard.
The figure near her now was Ash.
A few seconds passed.
Then Kurumi's smile shifted.
No longer teasing.
But… admiration.
"Fufu…"
She covered part of her face with the back of her hand, letting out a small, soft laugh.
"So that's how it is…"
Her eyes sparkled.
She took half a step back from the pale throne.
"A hero who knows he has never truly saved everything… how tragic and beautiful."
Kurumi tilted her head.
Her smile thinned.
"And you… will be the only one who can fix it."
Her voice was soft, almost a whisper of awe.
"Master-san, you really are extraordinary."
Gabriel remained silent.
A gentle wind swept across the rooftop, ruffling the edges of his coat and the bangs that partially covered his face.
Behind that faint smile, his mind raced.
The truly extraordinary one is you, Kurumi.
Your ability to read possibilities… even before I've fully laid them out.
A fraction of a second of silence.
But… well, that does sound pretty cool.
His smile almost thinned further.
I appreciate you, Kurumi.
Making you my Servant was undoubtedly the best decision!
Without another word, he turned his gaze back to the chaos below.
In the distance, Moegami—fully Inverse—continued firing a relentless barrage of dark blue Reiryoku into the air, chasing Natsumi Kyouno who struggled to maintain her balance atop Haniel.
The sky trembled.
Buildings collapsed.
And at the very moment he had been waiting for—someone appeared.
Shido Itsuka leapt into the battlefield.
His expression tensed as he saw the Inverse Spirit.
Origami.
Still a Spirit undergoing Inverse.
___
Author's Note:
Let the stage begin—muehehe~ the grand play of Gabriel acting as Ash, a secret known only to Mio and Nia.
By the way, don't forget to leave your reviews, comments, and all your Power Stones! Make my motivation burn brighter! 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Tehe~ (•_<)