In a dark red glow.

The lava poured into Aono's body.

From the ears, nose, and eye sockets, to every pore on the body, they were in contact with the hot magma.

In the first moment, those fresh skin began to burn and carbonize under the action of extreme heat.

A large number of cells lose their original viability.

The intense pain was transmitted to Aono's mind.

If it's just destruction, the pain is only a momentary thing, but the regenerative ability of Aono's body plays a role.

Destruction and regeneration, alternately.

The numbness and itchiness, almost accompanied by the unbearable sensation of a normal person, rushed to his nerves like a tidal wave, and then drowned.

Again, Qingye is not without perception, but without emotion.

In the end, he barely felt any sensation, just a numbness.

Even the [Flamewalker] trait has its limits to the temperature it can withstand.

After all, the temperature of an ordinary "flame" cannot be compared to the temperature of this magma from the center of the earth.

Soon, however, as the flesh began to reassemble and grow again, it became more resilient to high temperatures.

[Trait "Demigod Body" activated!] 】

[Your flesh has become more heat-resistant in the process of continuous incineration and reorganization!] 】

[Trait "Flame Walker" → "Hell Walker" - You have been tempered by lava hell and can move freely even in the magma at the center of the earth!] 】

[Constitution +3!] Strength +3! 】

In the face of the constant flashes of prompts on the panel, Aono did nothing.

At this point.

The surrounding magma was no longer a danger to him.

Rather, just a warm and warm liquid.

The feeling of Aono now is not much different than staying in a hot spring.

Really take a bath in the lava.

Not to mention, it's warm, it's quite comfortable, it's really the kind of warmth and stability of a hot spring.

Magma is a fluid rock, heavier than the current, and it is more suitable for the body, giving just the right amount of pressure, like a skilled massage technician.

In Aono's left hand, only a fragile pitch-black head remained.

All the muscles and skin on it are swallowed by magma? Even the sturdy bones themselves? All of them carbonize rapidly at extremely high temperatures, so much so that they become in such a state that they shatter at the slightest touch.

What if Aono hadn't gained the "Flamewalker" trait before? Plus the instinct that this piece of magma will not be too dangerous? He would never have jumped in so recklessly with that head.

However, any living organism can hardly survive in such an environment.

- Aono is naturally not among the usual creatures.

Is it right? Aono was also able to confirm that there was no longer a single living cell on this skull? I'm afraid there isn't even one.

And those "stand-ins" who don't know where to hide? Indeed, as he had guessed, they all withered, withered, and lost all their vitality.

Then it means that Akiko Ishiyama is indeed completely dead.

Perceived? The breath of that mystical ritual? It is also gradually dissipating.

Proof of ceremonial interruption.

From the side, the death of Akiko Ishiyama is explained again.

This is obviously a thing to be happy about, but Aono can't be happy anyway.

Perhaps Akiko Ishiyama couldn't understand it, and Kanda Yukie didn't expect that the situation would suddenly change dramatically, almost completely reversed.

But how could Aono not know? What is the real reason for the reversal?

That is the remnant in the body of Akiko Ishiyama, which belongs to Tomie's consciousness.

Is it true that Akiko Ishiyama uses extraordinary soul-related techniques? Or was it seriously injured, manipulated, or thought he had "erased" Tomie's consciousness? So as to obtain this power of flesh and blood, and build a new young body? It also shaped the flesh for the family.

Just need to summon the souls of your family members back from somewhere? Will she be able to achieve her goal? touched the "happiness" she has been chasing.

The good or bad of the matter itself, as well as a few doubts, will not be mentioned for the time being.

As far as Aono's cognition goes, Tomie's soul is not so easy to "erase".

The "doppelganger" ability she showed earlier actually shows another point at the same time - her body and soul are actually inseparable, different from normal people, and cannot be separated.

If it's still hard to understand that, then a more straightforward way to put it is-

- Even if Tomie is divided into the size of countless cells, then each cell will store her own soul.

Judging from this point of view, it is almost unrealistic to want to completely "erase" Tomie's soul.

At least, Akiko Ishiyama can't do it.

Therefore, that kind of "erasure" is just Akiko Ishiyama's self-righteous judgment.

So much so that in the end, she didn't expect that her body would suddenly "betray" herself and fall into this fate.

At that time, an indiscernible voice suddenly sounded in Qingye's heart.

"Hee-hee-"

It's a girl's laughter.

"I didn't expect that Aono-kun also needs my help at times~~~"

The cheerful tone of the chuckle is clearly chuckling, and it is coquettish as usual, as if it is leading people to sin.

Even the tail note is the same as usual.

But no matter how you listen to it, you can hear indescribable sadness.

Even if there were no superfluous words, Aono understood what Tomie was going to do in an instant, and he made the most correct choice in a state of "absolute calm".

Even though, he knew the consequences of doing so.

Erasing Tomie's soul is "almost" an unrealistic thing.

In this sentence, after all, there is an "almost".

There is only one way to achieve this goal - to eliminate all of Tomie's flesh and blood, at the cellular level.

And now Aono has done just that.

Aono was soaked in magma and looked at the charcoal in his hand.

Silent.

It's just silence.

"Click!"

A crisp snap.

Aono unconsciously stretched out his other hand, trying to protect the only remaining head.

But in the next moment, the charred bones silently split apart like fragile building blocks.

It's like a cold powder that quickly dissolves in hot water.

The charred carbides, which could not withstand the high temperatures, scattered in the magma, and finally disappeared.

Not even the smallest piece of residue remained.

Aono's hands were empty.

[The trait "Calm" has changed! 】

[Trait "Calm"→ Extraordinary Skill "Absolute Calm"!] 】

The man soaked in the magma didn't think about what these few lines of hints meant, and closed his eyes, ready to empty his brain for a while.

He's a little tired.

But at this moment, a peculiar fluctuation rippled not far in front of Aono's eyes.

He opened his eyes in surprise.

It's just that in front of him, only a fragile, aging soul body remains.

That ugly face is not Tomie, but an old woman named Akiko Ishiyama.

At first, Aono also raised some vigilance, and was ready to strike again with the power of thunder - since I can destroy you once, I can destroy you a second time!

Soon, he sighed tiredly, and he was in a state of disgrace.

Because at this time, Akiko Ishiyama's soul is too fragile, so fragile that she doesn't even need Aono to make a move, as long as she stays near this magma for a few more tens of seconds, she will dissipate on her own.

Aono could see that her current state was neither different from a ghost in the ordinary sense, nor a resentful spirit that would burst out and hurt people.

It's just a weak remnant.

It seems that even if Akiko Ishiyama has the title of [Soul Craftsman], when she only has one soul left, she may not be much stronger than ordinary people.

Or maybe it's because Aono hurt her too badly before.

The reason why Aono sighed was not only because of her weakness, but also because she saw a sad reality.

"How am I ...... Will it fail!? ”

"How dare she do that?"

Akiko Ishiyama muttered in disbelief, like a loser in an incompetent rage.

And then, Aono asked.

"Why do you think that by using that kind of ritual, you can summon back the souls of your dead family members?"

“......”

Akiko Ishiyama was silent, like a machine that suddenly stuck, and there was some kind of unexpected mistake.

She thought hard about it and said, "Isn't that a matter of course?" ”

"All things will wither."

"Only death is eternal."

Aono recited a doctrine that should belong to withered believers.

"That's just the way it goes."

"Where can such a church, whose purpose is to pursue withering, raise the dead and bring back the souls of the dead?"

Akiko Ishiyama's translucent soul trembled, generating momentary doubts, but quickly said categorically.

"Isn't that a matter of course?"

"It seems that this alone can't really make you sober up."

Aono's handsome face showed no emotion, and cold words pierced through the hot air.

"So, I ask you."

"Can you be sure...... Are you Akiko Ishiyama? ”

“......”

Akiko Ishiyama's body suddenly froze, as if it had been frozen into solid ice by the cold air.

This simple sentence is like flipping a switch.

Countless chaotic and blurry images, like a dam bursting, rushed towards her frantically.

At first, it was Akiko Ishiyama's growth, from a young girl, to a qualified transcendent.

And got to know her husband.

The two met and fell in love with each other, and when they talked about marriage, got married and had children, they gave birth to a little lovely daughter.

Those pictures include all the happiness and beauty.

Akiko Ishiyama's strength is also getting stronger and stronger, her reputation is loud, and she is feared by potential X-cultists - even when she was pregnant, no criminal dared to offend her moldy head, and Akiko Ishiyama was so powerful at that time.

But these beautiful and happy things finally came to an end in a picture.

Is that......

A night of thunderstorms.

There was a lot of wind, a lot of rain, and thick lightning pierced the sky.

It's really a frightening background, but Akiko Ishiyama is not afraid, and there are too many big scenes she has experienced over the years.

All she wants to do now is to hurry back home and have a nice dinner with her husband and daughter.

By the way, Mom and Dad will be here today. ’

They've always liked Little Peach. ’

Sitting in the car home, Akiko Ishiyama was like an arrow, and she was more worried about another point.

Xiao Tao seems to be quite afraid of lightning, and I don't know if her father can take care of her. ’

If there is any regret in the happiness of Akiko Ishiyama, it must be because of the long-term handling of extraordinary events, and the care of her daughter Xiao Tao is much less than that of normal parents, so she has always owed a little debt, and today is the day when the family is finally reunited, of course, you have to go home quickly.

Just, wait until she gets home.

But I didn't see the warm and bright light, just an empty room and a message on the table.

Then, Akiko Ishiyama came to the base camp of the believers alone,

Just, wait until she gets to the final room.

All I saw were parents, husbands, and daughters, and the bodies that had been cold for a long time.

Their blood was drained, and scarlet lines were drawn on the ground.

"You ...... All to die! ”

She heard herself say that.

For those who are mentally abnormal, Akiko Ishiyama, who has lost her restraint, has no spare hands and no mercy.

She didn't do it herself, but the blood of the dead believers couldn't be washed away even by the heavy rain.

But she couldn't understand that even if she killed them, those withered believers still had a crazy smile.

Even Akiko Ishiyama in her heyday couldn't help but be exhausted and seriously injured after killing so many people.

But compared to the physical exhaustion, the inner pain made her fall into the weakest state.

Then, she glanced at the pattern on the ground.

Thunderstorms.

The smell of filth and filth drowned her.

It turned out that an unknown existence had already come unconsciously.

But the next day, Akiko Ishiyama woke up from her dream in a daze, as if the last glance was just an illusion after she was extremely tired.

More critically, her heart is dead.

For the next twenty or thirty years, Akiko Ishiyama spent a mess.

She still has extraordinary strength and helps others, but that is just "instinct".

For such a long time, it seemed like just a moment for her.

Suddenly, at some point, Akiko Ishiyama began to study sculpture, seeking ethereal solace.

Until I met Aono and Tomie.

At the moment when she saw Tomie, Akiko Ishiyama said in her heart: "The time has come." ”

So, she drew the pattern of that strange ritual with her own hands, and she finally settled on an inexplicable but very firm idea - I want to bring my family back to life!

The method is to recall their souls through this ritual.

The chaotic memories finally stopped.

Unreal, undeserved tears flowed from the soul's eye sockets.

"Original...... It turned out to be like this. ”

"But I, I...... Why...... I obviously ......"

Its face became more and more distorted, and its voice no longer looked like a human, but something indescribable.

The truth is so cruel.

The voice of Ayaka Hino when she told the story echoed in Aono's ears-

It turned out that the real him, when he returned home that day, along with his body and soul, was devoured by the man-eating snow monster.

And now it's just a monster in human skin. ”