Chapter 4

As commander of the AST, Kusakabe was a little frustrated with herself for letting the situation get to this point.

One of her comrades had been seriously injured because she had been taken down first.

His arm was severely broken to the point where recovery would be very difficult.

Although she had a plan to attack, she hadn't anticipated the Spirit's reaction, which showed a rapid improvement,

considering he had only appeared four days ago and hadn't demonstrated much ability in their initial confrontation.

Her attack plan wasn't bad. However, that was her mistake—the Spirit was stronger than before, and even his fighting style had improved slightly.

His reaction time to her movements was incredibly fast, and even an attack from behind, targeting a blind spot, was somehow detected.

As she walked through the mansion toward the place where his energy had first appeared, one of her comrades spoke up.

"Commander, doesn't something seem off?"

"Yes?" Kusakabe responded, somewhat confused. "Is something strange?" I failed to notice. I need to focus.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I'm not sure... something just feels off." The others following behind agreed.

"Okay... everyone stay alert. We don't know what that Spirit might have done in the mansion." Walking carefully,

they reached a door they assumed was in the center of the mansion.

Kusakabe opened the door. Then a nauseating smell of blood hit them, and they froze in front of the door, trying to process what they were seeing.

The room was stained with blood everywhere, with body parts scattered around, creating a grotesque image in the minds of those who saw it.

There were so many bodies, all in a terrible state, as if hit by something extremely powerful.

Those who could be recognized, even slightly, were the ones who hadn't been struck near the head.

The appalling state of the bodies formed an image that could only be described as a massacre.

And the one responsible for this massacre could only be a heinous monster. Some AST members, upon processing what they were seeing,

began to feel sick and moved away from the door.

Kusakabe said nothing to those who left. Having seen some of the scenes where the Spirit Nightmare had attacked, she had seen bodies

in similar conditions before. Even so, it was still a terrifying sight, with the strong and nauseating smell of blood.

Along with the sight that makes anyone who sees it want to leave the room as quickly as possible.

It's natural that her comrades, who had never seen anything like it, couldn't stay in that room.

It wasn't even possible to enter the room without stepping on blood or dismembered limbs.

This scene only made Kusakabe even more furious with this Spirit.

"This monster..." As someone who values the lives of her comrades, she could only imagine her comrades being in such a state.

"Commander... what should we do?" asked one of the few members who managed to stay.

She was trembling, clearly terrified by the scene before her.

"We need to notify the cleanup crew... and prepare a report for the higher-ups," Kusakabe tried to think as rationally as possible.

This Spirit was clearly a threat, and in her view, he needed to be eliminated as soon as possible.

A Spirit that behaves similarly to Nightmare is a significant problem. Even more so than normal Spirits, since at least they don't intentionally

cause deaths like this.

The brutality with which they were killed made her think about how this Spirit could commit such an atrocity and still seem perfectly fine afterward.

"Let's get out of here for now," Kusakabe said, her voice containing anger and a hint of fear that wasn't too noticeable.

"Okay, Commander," said the girl who had been trembling in fear just moments before, now slightly relieved to leave this grotesque scene.

POV Change:

At Fraxinus, the room was silent as they watched the images. The Commander, a little girl with red hair, was standing on her Vice Commander's back,

a man with long blonde hair. She took her legs off him, letting him stand up.

This was a punishment for the "prank" Kannazuki had played a few moments earlier.

The once relaxed atmosphere was now serious in the face of the horrifying images from the mansion.

"Commander, could this be the birth of a new Nightmare?" asked Hinako Shiizaki, a girl with long black hair that fell past her shoulders,

with a front fringe covering most of her forehead and eyes.

Her question was entirely valid. Nightmare, known as the Worst Spirit, was the only Spirit so far to have killed more than 10,000 people

without causing any SpaceQuakes, killing solely by his own will.

Although the scene in the image was horrifying, it wasn't anything new, as they already had several records of deaths caused by Nightmare.

One of the few differences between these deaths was what was used to kill and the brutality with which the act was carried out.

Kotori didn't know how to answer the question. The goal of Ratatoskr was to protect Spirits. However,

if Kotori were asked if she would help a Spirit like this, her answer as a member of Ratatoskr would be yes, but her personal answer would be no.

Since this Spirit was new, nothing could be determined yet, but a Spirit that does something like this was clearly dangerous,

and she didn't want to put her brother in danger, even though he could "Restart" if he lost the "Game."

"It's still too early to decide..." Kotori replied in a tone that suggested a Commander contemplating various scenarios.

"...I think you'll want to see this," said Reine, handing Kotori a report. As Kotori read it, her face went through a range of expressions—from

shock to surprise, from surprise to uncertainty.

"Is this accurate...?" Kotori asked Reine, her tone filled with genuine doubt.

"Yes," Reine replied to her Commander before returning to her computer.

What Reine had shown were the results of the energy released by the <Unknown >, which clearly indicated that one of the theories

that hadn't yet been completely confirmed was happening right now.

"Is something wrong, Commander?" asked Masaomi Mikimoto, a 42-year-old man with graying hair falling to the side.

"It appears that the <Unknown > is an Inverted Spirit or is in the process of Inversion,"

she said, uncertainty about which of the two possibilities was due to the fluctuations in his energy.

"!!!" Everyone in the room, except Reine, looked surprised. They had all read about it, but this would be the first Spirit they had actually seen going Inverse.

Kotori considered the implications of this. Inverted Spirits could be considered the personification of disaster. Without a moral compass,

they tended to destroy everything around them. They cared about nothing and only thought of destruction, without distinguishing

between friends and foes, intentionally causing deaths. And that was mild compared to what they could actually do.

For a Spirit to go Inverse, they must be exposed to severe negative emotions.

On one hand, this meant that this Spirit didn't kill those people just because he was evil but because he was Inverse,

which at least lightened the weight of the deaths he caused, as he wasn't completely sane. Kotori herself knew how hard it could be to maintain control,

as she would lose control when she used her Spirit powers excessively. However, in this form, he was even more dangerous.

What was already a problem, since the way Ratatoskr helped Spirits was through Shido Itsuka, Kotori Itsuka's older brother,

who had the ability to seal Spirits' powers with a kiss by making them fall in love.

"..." Thinking about it, Kotori could only imagine the situation. "I don't think my brother swings that way, and I also don't think the Spirit likes men."

This situation was only getting more complicated. I wonder what he went through to become Inverse, Kotori thought.

If she knew that he was naturally an Inverse Spirit and that his morality simply didn't exist from the beginning, she would be shocked.

However, this possibility would never cross her mind, as in this world, naturally Inverse Spirits didn't exist.

"For now, let's analyze the new information and think about what we can do regarding the <Unknown >, and see if we can help him if possible,"

Kotori ordered while trying to think of a way to resolve this unfavorable situation, hoping this Spirit wouldn't cause too many problems in his next appearance.

End of POV:

"Good afternoon, young man," says an elderly lady as she passes me by.

"Good afternoon," I reply in a cheerful tone to her as I continue walking. It's been two days since I killed those people in the mansion.

During that time, I bought a simple two-story house.

At first, I was tempted to buy a mansion, but they're big, and I don't plan on hiring anyone to clean. Besides, maintaining it would be difficult,

so I moved on to the next option, an apartment.

However, the problem with apartments is that the neighbors are too close, which won't be useful in the future.

I ended up opting for a medium-to-large-sized house with two floors, a basement, and a backyard.

It's not small, but it's not big either, which is perfect for me.

The area where it's located isn't bad either; it's about 30 minutes from Raizen High School, there's a store 10 minutes away,

and the shopping mall is just 40 minutes from here, so nothing is too far.

The place is also beautiful, which is a bonus, and it already has some furniture. The house cost a total of 3,800,000 yen,

almost 4 million yen, as I still need to buy some of the furniture that it doesn't have. I don't think the price

was bad, though I might have gotten it lower if I had tried to negotiate.

Now, I'm on my way home after enrolling at Raizen High School. It wasn't too difficult to get enrolled there,

but it was a bit problematic that I didn't have proof of my education level.

Luckily, I managed to prove my education through various questions; fortunately, I knew most of them.

The principal seemed a little suspicious that I couldn't prove something like my education but let it slide.

He seems like a nice person, although he never appeared in the work, or maybe he was replaced by Ratatoskr, which wouldn't be a surprise.

There's still a month left before classes start, so in the meantime, I'll order a uniform. I could create one with my Astral Vestment,

but it would be problematic if I were discovered due to some loose ends.

Besides, I plan to keep the perception change active all the time, but at a low level, just to make it harder to recognize me.

After all, in that classroom, there's a future member of Ratatoskr and a member of AST.

Of course, they will be able to see my real appearance, but it will be very difficult to associate it with my Spirit form.

Before heading home, I stop by the store to buy some groceries to create the image that I'm just a normal human.

"Welcome! How can I help you?" the cashier greets me in a somewhat monotonous tone.

"Good afternoon. I'm just here to buy a few things," I say with a cheerful smile. It's a bit tiring to pretend all the time,

especially since I used to do this all the time in my previous life.

But I'm not stupid enough to let myself be discovered by simple things. As I pick out some items and put them in the cart,

I think about what to do next. I ended up finishing the small goals I set very quickly.

I've been in this world for about a week. So far, I've built a solid foundation for my life in society, but for the goal the Goddess gave me,

there's still everything possible left to do.

Besides, there are threats I must eliminate as soon as possible. Now that I think about it, I also watched the fourth season of *Date a Live*,

but it was on an unofficial site, which is why I didn't remember it well. Well, also because it's been almost ten years since I watched it.

Although I liked it a lot, so I remember the most important details. Now that I remembered this fact, I absolutely must kill Nia Honjo

or prevent her from getting information about me, even though she's a character I liked; now she's a threat.

I can't leave her Angel, <Rasiel >, wandering around. I remember that Isaac Westcott found a way to steal it somehow.

Maybe this was explained in the manga or novel, but unfortunately, I haven't read either of them.

But can <Rasiel >, the Angel that obtains information, access my information from another world? If so, that would be even more problematic,

but with my Angel, maybe I can prevent that. Honestly, I'd like to make Nia my ally; her Angel is very useful.

So I'll leave that for the future. If possible, I want her as an ally; if not, I need to get rid of her Angel.

I can't let Isaac Westcott have it. Isaac is the "villain" of *Date a Live*, so I don't think I can kill

him personally since he's important to the world, but I can weaken him.

Another one I can't let roam free is Tokisaki Kurumi. She, on her own, wouldn't be a problem, but her ability to send her consciousness

back to the past with all the information, as well as see the past of something, along with the ability to go to the past and change

it, although that part is difficult, makes her a huge threat if she decides to get in my way.

"Ah..." I end up bumping into someone because I was lost in thought.

"I apologize for my lack of attention," I apologize politely as I extend a hand to the fallen person.

"It's okay. I wasn't paying attention either," a voice I find familiar responds.

Then I notice the boy with straight blue hair and amber-brown eyes. "Ah, fate is really ironic," I think to myself, recognizing that this person is Shido Itsuka.

I notice he's wearing the Raizen High School uniform. Why is he in uniform when there's still a month until classes start?

He seems to notice my gaze at his uniform and speaks up.

"I'm just trying the uniform out; it arrived today," he says with a voice that sounds like he found it embarrassing.

"I see. Are you excited about school? I'll also be studying at Raizen High School; maybe we'll see each other there," I say to him in a friendly tone.

It's a great opportunity to form a friendship with Shido.

"So you're at Raizen School too?" he says this while taking my outstretched hand and standing up.

"Yes, I'll be in the 2nd year, class 2-4," I tell him. I know he'll also be in that classroom, but with this conversation, when classes start,

I'll have an excuse to start a conversation with him, saving me time.

"Really! I'm also in the 2nd year, class 2-4. What a coincidence." Yes, quite a "coincidence."

"So we'll be classmates. I hope we'll be great friends," my voice sounding as friendly as possible as I speak. Shido is the classic harem protagonist,

like a doormat when it comes to women, and very naïve when making friends.

I can even predict the course of action: he'll accept and shake my hand without suspicion.

"Likewise, I hope we'll be friends," he says as he shakes my extended hand. "I knew it," he's so easy.

If plot armor didn't protect this type of person, they wouldn't stand a chance of surviving in this world, but I have no complaints—the more naïve he is,

the better for me.

"Well, I see you're busy, and I also need to get home before dark, so we'll see each other at school... oh, how could I forget... what's your name?

I'm Kuroiwa Aurélio," I say as I ask for his name.

"Ah... yes, I'm Shido, Shido Itsuka, Kuroiwa-san."

"Ha ha ha, you can just call me Aurélio, Itsuka-san." Honestly, I find the Japanese suffixes somewhat unnecessary.

In my past life, I traveled to various countries because of certain "business," and I started finding these additions to names a bit annoying.

"Yes, Aurélio-san, you can call me Shido too," he says. It seems we started our friendship here. For humans,

using the first name instead of the last gives a greater sense of intimacy. A great trick to lower his guard while raising our "friendship."

"Sure, Shido-san, have a great afternoon," I say as I pick up what I ended up dropping when I bumped into him.

"You too, Aurélio-san," he says as he walks away.

"Yes, a great afternoon," I whisper as I give a smile that anyone who saw it would say didn't match the previous conversation at all.

I finish picking up everything I need and head to the cashier. When I get there, I pay and go home.

Arriving at the house, I notice it's already getting dark. I put what I bought on the table and drag myself to bed.

"I'm tired," I say to no one in particular. It's not the kind of physical fatigue; in that aspect, I'm fine, after all,

I'm a Spirit. It's more of a mental exhaustion. After so many crazy things that have happened in the last week,

along with the fact that I haven't slept at all in recent days, even though I didn't need to, it has left me mentally drained.

I reach the bedroom; it's simple, after all, the furniture that came is just the basics, and I'll have to buy more later.

But it's enough for now. I turn off the light and throw myself on the bed.

I stare at the ceiling while I wait for it to fall asleep. I've always had trouble sleeping since my last life,

that doesn't seem to have changed. After half an hour of waiting I end up sleeping.