The expression on that translucent face was painful at first, like a person who had lost everything and wept bitterly, what she had done in the past had a violent conflict with her original will, illusory tears flowed from her eyes, and then she finally understood everything.

- Actually, on that thunderstorm night, the real Akiko Ishiyama didn't come out of the corpses of the X-cultists at all.

She was completely overwhelmed by those "filth".

From that day on, she was replaced by another consciousness from the inner world.

Live in this world instead of her.

Originally.

No dragon slayer has ever turned into a dragon, it's just a poor man who has been devoured and still doesn't realize anything.

The so-called "snow monster", the so-called "carrier", is such a thing.

The person who became the "carrier" was neither Tomie nor Aono, but the former powerhouse among the transcendents and the predecessor admired and worshiped by countless people - Akiko Ishiyama.

After realizing this, the remnant soul of "Akiko Ishiyama" quickly began to distort, turning into an ethereal thing that absolutely did not belong to humans.

It seems that it wants to do something more, but even the consciousness of the inner world cannot continue to survive in this weak state.

In the end, he just looked at Aono with a resentful "gaze", wanting to remember his face.

Then, in the blazing air, it disintegrates and splits, turning into fine pieces that will completely dissipate.

A pitch-black mist rises above the magma.

Black Mist obviously doesn't like this kind of environment very much - the extremely high temperatures have also taken a toll on it.

If left near lava for a long time, Black Mist will take irreversible damage, which is why Aono didn't summon it before.

——Since the black mist spirit disappeared because of him, Qingye still takes good care of the little black mist, and it is not too much to say "favor".

But now, the black mist spread out in a very small area, staring at the fragments of the souls.

Unabashedly betraying greed.

"Want to eat?"

Aono asked softly.

At this time, the black mist was not controlled by him, but came out of itself, and showed a strong desire for the fragments of the soul body.

The black mist moved closer to them, but stopped at a distance, as if waiting for Aono's approval.

"Then, they're yours."

As Aono spoke, the black mist happily floated to the debris, wrapping them in his body at a speed that Aono felt fast, and then "jumping"

floated back and burrowed back into Aono's body.

When he finally got into his body, he rubbed it affectionately on Aono's skin to express his gratitude.

——It is a little strange to use "joy" and "jumping" to describe a disembodied fog, but the posture of the black fog at this time is really like a lively and cute little girl, lively and cute, and even the last action of thanking is like a hug from an innocent little girl.

This shows that the consciousness of the new black fog is still in the embryonic state, and the degree of anthropomorphism is already very high.

It is estimated that after a while, a new consciousness will be born.

Several hints flashed.

Aono soaked in the magma, looking at the place where the "Crystal of Ishiyama" dissipated, he was slightly embarrassed.

If this remnant soul was the real Akiko Ishiyama, Aono would not have made such a move that he would not even let go of the soul, but just like the hint on the panel, this consciousness that has occupied Akiko Ishiyama's body for decades is just a "special consciousness body" from the inner world.

Then, no matter what angle you stand on, Aono doesn't want to let this guy go.

Since it is no longer possible to frustrate the bones and scatter ashes, it is a reasonable way to deal with it by turning its soul into nourishment for the black mist.

For Akiko Ishiyama, Aono was a little sorry, a little embarrassed, and a little lucky.

The truth is brutal and ironic and comical – destroying the monstrous Transcendents and replacing them with a "Snow Monster" and nearly committing a mistake that would have destroyed most of the Tokyo Rangers.

Compare to this truth.

"The old Akiko Ishiyama, who has been distorted by years of suffering, is finally willing to give everything for the resurrection of her family, and thus becomes a withered believer."

- This kind of reality makes others feel more heartache, right?

In fact, if Akiko Ishiyama really lived to this point, she would definitely not become the kind of person she hated the most.

Her heart is still firm and strong.

Wait until all anomalies are eliminated from your side.

Aono was still lazily soaking in the lava.

It was as if these scorching fluids could temporarily dispel his physical and mental exhaustion.

It also seems to be waiting for a new mutation to happen.

For example, a beautiful girl with moles in the corners of her naked eyes suddenly popped out of the magma, and greeted him in a coquettish tone as usual, or fell from the sky, or ...... In short, it is a sudden drill from somewhere.

It's just that...... It's just that......

He waited for a long, long time until Aono could barely feel the temperature of the magma.

It was as if the hot fluid was cooling down as slowly as his heart.

"Gollum...... Grunt! ”

Quiet, all around.

Only the sound of the magma bubbling as always, and any of the changes that Aono expected to happen did not happen at all.

Nor will it ever happen.

The only living creature near this magma is himself.

This discovery did not cheer up Aono at all.

Orange-red magma envelops Aono's body.

If they had a mind, they would probably think that this naked man was such a boring weirdo, and they wouldn't even give them a little face—'We're magma, not hot water in a bathhouse, okay?' ’

"Aono-kun!"

At this time, the little girl's anxious cry was transmitted from afar above, and was captured by Aono's sensitive hearing.

You can't let her worry too much. ’

Aono sighed sullenly, trying to vent the unhappiness in his heart.

But whether this approach is effective or not, probably even he himself is not very clear.

"I'm fine!"

Aono shouted, using a similar method as before, quickly climbing up with the help of the rock wall, and soon returned to Kanda Yukie and the others.

Kanda Yukie cried with joy, wanting to hug Aono despite his shyness and show his joy.

Instead, he was dodged by Aono's nimble sideways.

Kanda Yukie: "......"

Aono touched a few pieces of clothing on the ground with his fingers, and it quickly burst into flames.

After soaking in the magma for so long, the temperature of Aono's body has long become quite terrifying, to the extent that it will burn just by touching it.

If I really hugged Kanda Yukie, I was afraid that she would be burned into a burning man.

The little girl quickly understood this and nodded with trepidation.

This temperature also poses an awkward problem, as Aono is currently unable to put on or drape clothes that cover his body, because the fabric will be quick and natural the moment it touches him.

The next thing, in fact, is not much to say.

Because of "Akiko Ishiyama", she finally died under the double offensive of Tomie and Aono.

The dream ability she was using was finally interrupted because of this, and the same was true of the ritual.

Even in the venue, there are still traces of "filth", but compared to the ending where that kind of guy really came, I don't know how many times better.

After that, you only need to find a time to come here and deal with the "filthy" things, and the incident can basically be declared over.

And at this time, looking at the few standing figures near the ceremony, Hino Ayaka made an unexpected new discovery.

These people are the same people who disappeared in the attack on Tomie, and Kasumi Oe is also among them.

Although their breath was faint and extremely weak, as if they were in a dream, they ......

They are alive!

This is undoubtedly an exciting discovery.

Ayaka Hino and the others took the survivors out of the scorching interior of the mountain and quickly rushed them to the nearest hospital.

Aono went to the snowy mountains to cool down quickly, and then returned home with Kanda Yukie.

By the way, about the discovery of Akiko Ishiyama, Aono also informed Hino Ayaka about them.

Even though she was shocked by this truth, Ayaka Hino seems to have put down a big stone because of this - for her, the image of an idol did not collapse in the end, which is another point of luck.

Aono thought of going crazy by the way, and now that I think about it, he relied on the power of dreams for divination, and it happened that the divination was on the body of "Ishiyama Akiko", who was proficient in dream ability, and it was normal for him to go crazy because of it.

Things came to an end without a hitch.

Aono and Kanda Yukie had a fairly hearty dinner as a small celebration, but they both had an extremely tacit understanding and didn't mention anything about Tomie.

It was as if they had forgotten her existence.

It's just that.

On the next day.

Aono, I'm sick.

Yukie Kanda, who learned the news in the room, immediately fell into great surprise.

And instantly began to wonder if he was still in a dream.

It wasn't until she pinched her arm red that she realized that this was really not a dream!

This shows how surprised this incident was for her.

But I checked Aono's state again and again - a feverish body surface, coughing and sneezing from time to time, and a groggy mental state, dizziness and headache.

Most people know what this concept is, and usually people will only use two words to describe this state - fever!

It's hard to imagine that Aono will also have a time when he catches a cold.

His extremely strong body, so that there are almost no viruses and bacteria that can make him sick.

The physical body that has evolved to a certain level is able to self-immunize against most diseases.

Therefore, in Kanda Yukie's impression, Aono has almost never been sick.

At the moment, this situation is really rare among the rare.

It's no wonder that Kanda Yukie was so surprised.

Maybe this has something to do with the fact that Aono has been in a magma bath for so long, and his body has evolved too quickly, or it may be the result of too much temperature difference between the previous and the other.

Or......

Is it another particular reason?

Fortunately, Aono's condition is not too serious, as long as he allows himself to recuperate for a few days, he can recover.

Kanda Yukie had previous experience in taking care of the blind Aono, and at this time he was also familiar with the road and took good care of him.

However, the little girl could not stay at home all day, and she still had to deal with the aftermath of this matter.

In the afternoon, he left Aono alone at home.

"Hot ...... It's so hot......"

Aono muttered unconsciously, and at this time, the temperature of his body reached a level that was not low.

About fifty or sixty degrees Celsius, which is almost impossible for a normal person to achieve.

At the same time, special changes are also taking place in his body.

But Qingye's consciousness is like sinking into a deep pool, the pool is very deep, deep, deep, and it seems that there will never be a bottom.

The cold, deep water flooded his entire body.

Aono opened his eyes.

"Brother...... Brother! ”

A childish and lovely girl – really a very small one, no more than five years old.

She shouted to an older boy beside her.

stretched out his white and chubby little hand, as if asking for something.

"Hmph, little mercy, I really can't help you."

The boy looked like he was seven or eight years old, and although he was a little disgusted, he still handed her the glass beads in his hand very honestly.

"Hee-hee-hee......"

The little girl smiled silly, now she hasn't grown up to be as coquettish, just a cute child.

"Brother, it's the best!"

The boy scratched his head a little embarrassed and turned his face sideways.

This is ...... Dream? ’

Aono quickly understood the state he was in—it wasn't difficult for him to tell that he was dreaming.

He quickly began to wonder if this was some kind of back-up method left by Akiko Ishiyama.

It's just that he didn't feel any danger from it.

But even "intuition", an ability that Aono has always trusted, sometimes loses its effect in dreams.

So, Aono continued to experience this dream with vigilance.

'I didn't expect that when Amamiya was a child, he was also a tsundere......

Aono sighed slightly.

It is worth mentioning that the perspective he is in is not the state of a bystander, but the young girl as the main perspective, observing everything around him.

Aono witnessed her happy childhood.

It wasn't until the death of her parents that her life suddenly turned gray.

And the one who did her best to protect her and dispel this gray was her brother, Amamiya Hitomi.

The young boy grew into a man at an incredibly rapid pace - people always grow up suddenly at some point, and no one knows when that moment will be, possibly, the next second.

He dropped out of school and entered Kabukicho, where he worked hard to earn money for his sister's education.

At first, life was not easy, and for a long time I had to go hungry and divide one bento into two portions.

Although those days were hard, as long as the girl could see her brother, there would always be a smile on her face.

- My brother has worked hard all day, and I am the only one who can comfort him.

Like a marquee, Aono browsed the images.

It was as if he was the girl who had gone through everything she had been through.

In the process, he could do nothing but witness the memories of the past from her point of view, as an outsider.

Finally, the day has come to change the girl's fate again.