Chapter 139. Chapter 139. Back.
Wang Ma Xiaoji's thoughts seem to be in sync with those of Tsukino and Chiya.
Unlike Tsukino and Chiya, who needed external help to confirm the existence of the mark, he simply lifted the black and white checkered scarf around his neck and quickly checked it.
Tsukino and Chiya cast questioning glances... well, he just gave them a nonchalant look. But Ouma Kokichi seemed to know what he wanted to ask and shook his head at the black-haired boy.
The mark hadn't disappeared after all. All that previous apparent calm was ultimately just an illusion. Now, with Aurora's appearance just now, the act had completely fallen apart.
In this illusory world, the seemingly vanished mark hasn't disappeared. It might have reappeared when the girl who fell from the building appeared, or it might have reappeared with Aurora's arrival, but that doesn't matter. What matters is... that even with Aurora's "death," this mark hasn't disappeared either.
Tsukino and Chiya understood each other.
After receiving this answer, he glanced again at the doll lying on the ground… a corpse? Could it really be called a corpse? The doll, so exquisitely crafted that at first glance it could be mistaken for a real person, lay sprawled on the ground. Even though, being a doll, it wouldn't have any expression, when Tsukino and Chiya looked at it, they had the unsettling feeling that it was merely a shell, devoid of a soul. If that was the case, then calling it dead wouldn't seem so wrong.
But Tsukino and Chiya knew very well that it was just their imagination.
If you ask why...
“I remember Tsukino told you this before.” Hyuga Hajime stared at the broken doll “corpse” on the ground, asking to confirm the situation, “Doll monsters cannot be killed… at least for now, we don’t know how to really kill them.”
“Yes, that’s right.” Tsukino and Chiya nodded. He understood what Hinata Sou was asking. “This dagger isn’t a spirit tool that can kill Aurora… its ‘death’ is only temporary.”
This is one of the two things that Tsukino and Chiya borrowed from Serizawa Chie Minoru when they were still in Yokohama.
Tsukino and Chiya knew the origin of the dagger. He was neither a calamity messenger nor a member of the church, and he didn't fully understand his mother's work, let alone know the inside story of those largely confidential matters.
However, coincidentally, he was well aware of the existence of this dagger, so on that rare day when the family was gathered together again, he borrowed the dagger from Chie Serizawa.
This is a gift from the gods.
Gods... Although the concept of such beings may be different from what ordinary people think in a society plagued by disasters, they are still gods no matter what.
His mother, due to her past experiences and personal misfortunes, received the favor of some gods. Rather than saying favored, it would be more accurate to say that Chieda Minoru would constantly encounter various gods who, noticing her special nature, would request her help. And after receiving help, Chieda Minoru would often receive something extra, which was what Tsukino and Chiya referred to as a "gift."
The purpose of those gifts... Tsukino and Chiya weren't entirely clear. But that dagger was different; Tsukino and Chiya were present when Chie Minoru found that dagger, after all, it was a day when their family went on a trip together.
The dagger was borrowed from Chie Minoru so that when Aurora reappeared and tried to cause trouble, it could be used to "kill" her and give everyone more time to catch their breath.
This inspiration came from Yashiki Kazuo.
Hyuga Hajime just said that he remembered the doll monster was invincible. That refers to the incident that all three of them knew about: the doll in Kujo House had been "killed" once.
According to Kazuo Yashiki, his sister, Saya Kujo, the former head of the Kujo family, transformed into a rabbit after her death and perished together with the doll that caused the Death Mark incident. However, the doll was not truly dead; it only temporarily lost consciousness and the ability to move, and returned to its original state after about a day.
Aurora was clearly in the same state at this moment.
Losing consciousness and the ability to move is, in a sense, very much like death. But even death can be resurrected, and attacking with this dagger can only achieve temporary good results... However, it is still better than being completely helpless when facing the puppet monster.
But as the saying goes, the same tricks are useless against a Saint Seiya... cough cough, in short, he probably won't be able to use this dagger with the same routine next time.
Supernatural and supernatural matters are truly a headache.
Tsukino and Chiya thought to themselves.
Of the three present, aside from himself, who is an ordinary person, the other two can be considered the cream of the crop among their peers. One is the "Ultimate Mastermind," and the other is the "Ultimate Hope" who inherited future memories... Logically speaking, shouldn't this combination be able to sweep away all obstacles and carry this ordinary person all the way? However, when faced with unreasonable supernatural forces, their actions can never be truly relaxed.
Supernatural...
That's why Tsukino and Chiya pinned their hopes on Higashigo Mimi, who also possessed unusual powers. They didn't know what her current situation was. Although it seemed from what they had just seen that Higashigo Mimi's identity had been replaced by Aurora in this unreal world, Tsukino and Chiya weren't particularly worried about Higashigo Mimi's safety.
That black goat, who was a master of survival and had been evading capture since childhood, died in a place like this...? Is this some kind of new kind of joke?
His relationship with Higashigo Miya was so-so, but they had indeed collaborated quite a bit in the past, and therefore were fairly familiar with each other. This was also why Tsukino and Chiya were able to tell that the one they had just seen was a fake.
"Hmm...that's strange."
Wang Ma Xiaoji squatted down next to Aurora and casually poked the doll's cheek. The doll, lying on the ground, didn't react and let him poke it.
"This isn't reality, so how come Kozuki's dagger is still working? It even got into this world? Oh, I almost forgot, that dagger doesn't seem to be an ordinary one. Never mind then. This must be the legendary use of magic to defeat magic~"
After poking the doll's face for a while, Wangma Xiaoji finally stopped: "Speaking of which, are we just going to leave it here and wait for it to recover? Its wound is only on its chest, so it seems like it will heal quickly... Shouldn't we take some measures to slow down its recovery?"
"What do you plan to do?" Tsukino and Chiya inexplicably understood what Ouma Shokichi meant. "Is it to stab it a few more times, or to cut it into more pieces now?"
Such content might sound a bit too cruel and bloody, but considering the grotesque ferocity of the doll, Tsukino and Chiya did consider whether such a method was feasible, but ultimately regretfully found that it probably wouldn't work.
Wangma Xiaoji gave him a "you're pretty perceptive" look: "I don't think these two methods are actually contradictory, right? By the way, if I remember correctly, you and Kozukino got some good stuff from the shrine before, right? Why don't you use that to deal with it? Or why don't you just seal the doll that can't resist anymore? That way, everything will be over."
Tsukino and Chiya also felt a little regretful: "The item isn't on me."
"Huh?" Wang Ma Xiaoji's eyes widened in surprise. "I thought Kozuki could pull anything out of her bag anytime, anywhere! Or is it because it's not time to fight the final boss yet, so they're forcibly limiting Kozuki to a dagger and forbidding her from carrying a bow and arrow, just to slow down our progress? How cunning—"
Tsukino and Chiya: "Perhaps..."
Tsukino and Chiya had a general idea of why they had arrived in this unreal world with a dagger but no bow and arrows. However, before they could finish speaking, the scene before them suddenly collapsed.
Minutes after Aurora's "death," this unreal world finally could no longer hold on, gradually distorting before their eyes, everything in their vision except for people flowing away in a melting manner—
*******
"Senior? Senior—"
After recovering from the momentary spatial distortion, Hinata Hajime was greeted by a silver ray that was aimed precisely at his eyes.
—You're back.
Immediately realizing the situation, Hyuga Hajime leaned back and dodged the sudden attack.
"Ah...what a pity."
Having failed in their first attack, the person who struck first seemed to have no intention of continuing. The girl with the astonishingly thick twin ponytails sighed softly, saying "regret," but no one could truly believe that she felt that way at that moment.
"Alright then, welcome back, senior~"
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