"Please save us!"
"That girl is crazy!"
The three hooligans, previously ensnared by Kurumi's shadows, wasted no time scrambling on the side the moment Shido arrived. However, Kurumi paid them no mind anymore. Her golden eye shimmered with excitement as she focused entirely on the figure before her.
Shido, now in his true Spirit form, stood like an ethereal guardian, his black-and-white armor radiating a divine glow, the floating halo behind him adding to his otherworldly presence.
Kurumi's lips curled into a delighted smile. She couldn't help but be captivated by his elegant yet majestic form.
No matter how many times she witnessed this side of him, it always left her in a daze. A quiet sigh escaped her lips as she thought to herself feeling ecstatic, 'Ah~! Ah~! Ah~! How breathtaking.~! Shido-san~!'
Seeing that Kurumi had momentarily lost interest in her prey, Shido shifted his gaze toward the three scumbags who had narrowly escaped death at her hands.
Relief washed over their faces as they saw him turn toward them. They believed they had been saved, that this divine-looking figure had come to rescue them from the monster before them.
However, what they didn't realize was that their so-called savior was far more terrifying than the one they had just escaped.
"Thank you for saving us!" One of the hooligans exhaled in relief, genuinely grateful for what seemed like an intervention on their behalf.
However, Shido's response was far from what they expected.
"Save you?" His voice was calm, almost amused. "Who told you that I came here to save you?"
As he spoke, Shido flashed a radiant smile, one so breathtakingly otherworldly that any girl would have melted on the spot. Yet, for the three hooligans, that smile sent an icy dread crawling up their spines.
Their surroundings seemed to blur. The world darkened, turning grey and lifeless.
"Eh? D-Didn't you come to save us...?" The man Kurumi had bumped into stammered. His body stiffened as an overwhelming sense of unease washed over him.
He tried to meet Shido's gaze, but the moment he did, his breath caught in his throat.
That smile may have been warm, but Shido's eyes were not.
They weren't smiling.
His gaze was cold, empty, a pitiless abyss that regarded them as less than insects.
No, his eyes didn't see them as people.
"Scum like you don't deserve to be saved." Shido said coldly.
Before the hooligans could react, a strange, invisible force enveloped them.
Their bodies suddenly felt unbearably heavy, as if all their strength had been drained in an instant. Their knees buckled, and they collapsed onto the cold ground, desperately trying to keep their eyes open.
But it was useless.
Shido's sleep magic had already taken effect, pulling them into an inescapable slumber.
Meanwhile, Kurumi, who had been watching from the side, was momentarily surprised. However, that surprise quickly melted into admiration as a dazzling smile spread across her lips.
"Ara~ Shido-san, how cruel." she purred, watching the unconscious hooligans twitch and whimper as if trapped in an unending nightmare. Their faces were drenched in sweat, twisted in sheer terror.
She had initially assumed Shido had come to save them, but now, seeing the cruel fate he had inflicted upon them, she realized how mistaken she was.
Shido turned his gaze toward her, his expression unreadable. Though she had used her Spirit powers earlier, she hadn't needed to don her Astral Dress to do so.
"I put them into a deep sleep where they'll experience endless nightmares, tortured and killed over and over again until their minds break… or their bodies give out," Shido stated flatly.
His voice was devoid of warmth, each word carrying an eerie detachment, as if human life held no value to him.
Kurumi shivered, not in fear, but in excitement.
"My, my~ Shido-san, you've become quite ruthless. I'm falling for you all over again~" she giggled, placing a hand near her lips, eyes gleaming with admiration.
Shido let out a small sigh, shaking his head at Kurumi's words.
"Don't joke around." he said, though deep down, he knew there was truth in her statement.
His Sleep Magic, obtained as a reward from Yoshino's quest, was a versatile power. It could grant someone peaceful slumber, a dreamland of warmth and serenity… or it could plunge them into an abyss of unending nightmares, where suffering felt as real as reality itself.
And for those three scumbags, he had chosen the latter.
Kurumi, on the other hand, only found his cruelty more endearing. Her golden, clock-like eye gleamed with fascination.
"Ara, ara~ Shido-san, I truly must rethink my title. Perhaps you should be the one called 'Nightmare' instead," she teased, a playful lilt in her voice.
Shido sighed again, rubbing his temple. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Of course," Kurumi beamed. "After all, how could I not fall for you more after seeing this side of you~?"
"I didn't expect that not only would I meet Nightmare, but I would also encounter the infamous male Spirit, 'Shadow'."
A voice suddenly rang out from the entrance of the alley, interrupting the conversation between Kurumi and Shido.
Kurumi had been thoroughly enjoying her moment with Shido, only for an unwelcome intruder to disrupt their sweet time together. Annoyance flickered in her golden eye, and for a brief moment, she entertained the thought of simply eliminating the nuisance.
How utterly bothersome.
Despite her irritation, Kurumi maintained her usual perfect smile and turned her gaze toward the newcomer with an air of polite curiosity.
Shido remained unfazed, though unlike Kurumi, he already knew who their uninvited guest was. He had been expecting her.
With Observation Haki, he had sensed her presence long before she spoke, as well as the backup she had brought along AST operatives hovering above, surrounding the area like vultures. Origami was also there.
Footsteps echoed through the alleyway, slow and deliberate, as the tension in the air thickened.
"It doesn't matter." the voice declared coldly. "Even if there are two of you, I will still eliminate both of you."
Finally, the figure emerged from the shadows.
Kurumi's smile widened at the sight, her amusement evident as she let out a soft chuckle.
"Ara, how rude," she mused playfully, placing a hand on her cheek. "To interrupt my sweet time with Shido-san… You really have no manners, do you, Mana-san?"