Tokyo Psychic

Page 296

Of course, Jingqinrencai can stand up from her seat.

But simply standing up, she seemed unable to do anything.

She couldn't possibly defeat Judah with such a weakened body.

She couldn't possibly use such a fragmented consciousness to search for that extraordinary power.

But Akira Kurusu's phantom never left.

Just like how he pulled Jingqin Rencai out of trouble countless times.

This time, he once again fulfilled his initial promise and belief.

It was clearly just an illusion...

Judas, who was about to kill the next student, froze in place.

He merely watched with bewildered, envious, and sorrowful eyes as the phantom stood up and firmly grasped Iori Rina's right hand—

"This time, it's no longer a request from the minister, nor an arrangement from the rock band organizers, but an order from the leader of the Psychic Thieves..."

The boy spoke in a calm voice that subconsciously reassured people.

"Jingqin Rencai, although you are in the weakest and most desperate state, your freedom and thought are restricted, like a criminal hanging upside down on the execution platform..."

"But never stop observing the world up to this moment."

"Reflect on all your regrets and remorse, and re-examine this upside-down realm."

"Then... use your spirit, the power of your mind, to correct it!"

Almost simultaneously, Judas belatedly realized what was happening and swung his right hand, shattering "Kurasu Akatsuki" with a long, shimmering snake of silver coins.

With an expression of profound sorrow, He looked down at his right hand, then at the spot where Akira Kurusu had vanished...

Jing Qinren, holding onto the desk, moved her feet very, very slowly.

She stood where her idol had just been.

And he looked at Judah across from him with an expression almost as cold as Akira Kurusu's.

Akira Kurusu's reminder brought back memories of her previous conversation with Judas—

This is your 'Palace of the Mind'. Therefore, you can freely create the palace's layout and inhabitants according to your own perceptions and emotions. Of course, you can also bring in shadows from the nearby Impression Space to be your subjects.

[You're making it sound like I'm some kind of king...]

Strictly speaking, you are a god here!

【...】

Jing Qinren raised her lowered eyes again.

Those lake-blue eyes were now brimming with rebellious flames.

This is a manifestation of her inner world.

Judas was the invader...

In other words, Izuru Rinna doesn't need to think about the fleeting power within her body.

Her very existence here is an authority that no one can shake.

"Judas..."

The girl's voice was colder than ever before.

She glared angrily at the evil god before her.

"I will make you repent for all the evil deeds you have committed!"

Judah looked at the flames in Serenai's eyes, but his smile no longer showed the smugness and arrogance he had just displayed.

At this moment, however, there was no release of the omnipotent domain belonging to the evil god, nor was there the application of the conceptual-level power of "rewinding events" that caused the saviors so much trouble.

The girl, filled with deep regret for everything she had done so far, slowly clenched her fists.

Judah hated celery.

Because this is who you are before you go down the wrong path.

But just as His essence is to regret everything—

The root of this extremely twisted remorse was already present in Jingqin Rencai.

That is, speaking out for bullies, yet choosing silence and endurance in the process of resistance.

The tender sprouts of justice were smashed into the soil and buried in darkness by the boulder of sin shaped by twisted desires.

He yielded to the bullies. This was something Judas would regret no matter what.

This is something that Jingqin Rencai also regrets...

"Nina!!!"

Judas called out to another version of himself in a loud voice.

Invisible flames erupted from those dark golden pupils.

"Get ready, time... is about to start rewinding."

This is the beginning of all cycles of reincarnation.

The evil god of regret stole the power of time from the witch of despair.

In doing so, He dragged the entire universe into an endless vicious cycle.

But this cycle, combined with Judas's own authority, actually prevented the universe, which served as the "last fulcrum," from collapsing.

They linger endlessly in the calm before destruction, never reaching the reality of annihilation.

Now, Judah, fearing discovery and intervention from Homura Akemi outside of time, has recklessly pushed this stolen power to its limit.

He wants to replay all the cycles of reincarnation once and for all in the spiritual palace of Jingqinrencai.

He no longer cared what would happen to the celery that had experienced this vast torrent of time.

Just like in mythology, Judas chose to commit suicide out of remorse after betraying the Savior.

The "Jingqin Rencai" who betrayed Qixiao had wanted to commit suicide a long, long time ago.

But that regret drove Him to keep moving forward.

The consequences of those sins are constantly accumulating.

until......

Until they accumulate to a degree sufficient to overturn the entire disaster.

Judas did not trust himself—He did not believe that Jingqinrencai could survive this insane “time-driven” process.

But He believed in the coming dawn.

He knew that if it were that boy, he would bring Jingqin Rencai back to reality no matter what.

Because Akira Kurusu is such an incorrigible person, driven by what can be described as an arrogant sense of justice.

278. His name is "Nyarlathotep"!

The setting sun outside the window began to rise.

The dark, deep red sky gradually shed its murky colors, revealing a clear, transparent azure.

The desks and chairs that had been moved in the classroom were put back in their original positions on their own.

The shadows of the dead students were instantly rebuilt.

Jingqin Rencai felt her field of vision widening and beginning to move backward until she could see her hair and the back of her neck...

Then, Jingqin Rencai uncontrollably "floated" to the podium, watching her original body disappear and reassemble so clearly from an observer's perspective.

Time and time again...

Judas seems to be completely unaffected by the time regression.

He slowly approached Jingqin Rencai and spoke amidst the vast stream of information that the human mind could no longer process, "Time has rewound 27 times... In other words, that's twenty-seven years."

Then He mocked, "Twenty-seven years have passed in the blink of an eye in reality. Nina is completely incapable of thinking about anything anymore, isn't she?"

Indeed, it is just as this evil god said.

After all, even the most delicate plant is just a human being.

She could still sense the changes in her surroundings at the very moment the time reversal occurred.

But once the "regression" truly begins, and the entire mental palace is swept away and engulfed by the torrent of time...

The celery and celery vine has lost even the most basic ability to "feel".

It was like falling into the deep sea, with dark currents squeezing her from all sides.

Neither the human soul nor the body can adapt to the process of jumping back and forth in time.

This is a realm belonging solely to gods and demons—

Sure enough, in the next moment.

The entire classroom was divided in two, starting from the floor.

The roof shattered, and countless pieces of cement turned into dust, spraying into the sky like mist.

The shadows in the classroom had long been thrown back into the space of impressions by the mental palace that had quickly detached itself from reality due to the time reversal.

In this mental palace that defies the logic of time, it soon welcomed its first uninvited guest.

"Bang..." The sound of wings opening was so clear.

The celery root that had almost melted away from its soul was instantly restored to normal.

Her soul finally caught up with her body from countless previous reincarnations, slamming heavily against the blackboard. With an instinctive cry of pain, all her senses, along with her thoughts, returned...

Then, a petite and slender girl, who looked like a middle school student, wearing an unusually revealing cosplay outfit that was completely different from her youthful and innocent beauty, stepped onto the podium with high heels that were also incompatible with her appearance and age.

This is a girl with a dignified and awe-inspiring demeanor.

Behind her fair and straight back grew a pair of jet-black wings, like a fallen angel from mythology. The black feathers gradually faded to light purple and slowly drifted down in front of Jingqin Rencai, appearing devilishly evil and bewitching.

Turning around like this, she looked down at Jing Qinrencai, who was slumped on the ground, with a surprised expression.

Those were dark purple eyes.

It is as clear and sparkling as a gemstone.

But upon closer inspection, it appears murky, as if mixed with countless impurities, only revealing its beautiful texture when illuminated by light.

Light?

Jing Qinren stiffly turned her head, following the location of the "light source," and saw the shattered classroom, and another girl standing on a broken desk.

They both look like junior high school students.

But her long pink hair was draped down her back.

The pure white dress and the seemingly sacred and pure face were tinged with a hint of hostility.

Although she was still young and inexperienced, and hadn't fully matured, one could clearly feel an undeniable charm emanating from this goddess-like, pure girl.

The moment the goddess showed hostility, Igarashi Renna tensed up completely.

Just as Ishihara was feeling tense because of this hostility...

She soon discovered it again.

Whether it's the devilish girl on the podium or the goddess-like girl standing on a desk in the sky...

Their goal is not themselves.

It wasn't even Judas.

It was this palace of the soul that, in the process of time reversal, inadvertently stumbled into a universe that was about to die.

Jingqin Rencai didn't even need to talk to them.

Because soon a phantom voice came from all directions.

"Homura Akemi... Madoka Kaname..."