Chapter 687: Defeat

"Damn it, Nightmare, do you have the guts to face me head-on?"

In the alleyway, Takamiya Mana brandished the Light Blade extending from her arm armor, staring with an angry face at Tokisaki Kurumi, who was not far in front of her.

"Well, Mana-chan, how come you can't even keep up with me now?" Tokisaki Kurumi looked at Takamiya Mana with a grin.

"Nightmare, do you dare to have a real fight with me?" Takamiya Mana asked, gritting her teeth.

Looking at the grinning Tokisaki Kurumi before her, Takamiya Mana was filled with anger. She had never imagined that Tokisaki Kurumi's true body would be so slippery, leaving her unable to even catch up. However, Takamiya Mana did not notice that at Tokisaki Kurumi's fingertips, a trace of silver light was slowly dissipating.

"Report!"

Inside the DEM company, a man wearing a uniform hurried into the office.

"What is it?" Ellen asked with a frown.

Not long ago, the people at the DEM company had once again discovered the trail of Tokisaki Kurumi and had dispatched her old rival, Takamiya Mana, wanting to capture her. But now, seeing the appearance of this staff member, a sudden, ominous premonition welled up in Ellen's heart.

"Just a moment ago, we lost the trail of Nightmare and Second Lieutenant Takamiya!" that staff member said.

"Lost their trail? How did this happen?" Westcott asked.

"We aren't sure about that either; it's just that Nightmare and Second Lieutenant Takamiya suddenly disappeared from the screen. At first, our technicians thought our system had been hacked, but after we pulled up the surrounding cameras, we found that wasn't the case. We have already sent scouts to investigate that location, but after they arrived, they found no traces of the two of them at all, not even signs of a battle."

"What kind of situation is this? No, I must go there myself!" Faced with such a bizarre situation, even Ellen could not help but frown.

"Hmm, something's wrong!" After her attack was dodged by Tokisaki Kurumi once again, Takamiya Mana suddenly frowned; she discovered that the place she was currently in seemed somewhat wrong!

"Yo, did you finally notice, Mana-chan?" Tokisaki Kurumi landed on the top of a low wall and said with a smile. "Welcome to the Mirror World!"

"Mirror World?" Takamiya Mana's brow could not help but furrow, and a trace of caution appeared on her face.

"That's right, this place is the Mirror World. Now, our war has only just begun!" A dangerous smile appeared on Tokisaki Kurumi's face, and with a stretch of her hand, two flintlocks, one long and one short, fell into her hands.

"Bang—"

The gun in Tokisaki Kurumi's hand aimed at Takamiya Mana and fired directly.

Takamiya Mana's expression did not change; the laser blade in her left hand swung out rapidly, colliding heavily with the bullet. If it were in the past, the bullets fired by clones would nine times out of ten be sliced in half by this move. But this time, Takamiya Mana actually felt a massive force transmitted from the laser blade, causing her body to sway involuntarily.

"Such powerful force..." Takamiya Mana's expression turned grave all at once; she discovered that the strength of Nightmare's true body and her clones did not seem to be on the same level.

"Bang, bang, bang—"

Tokisaki Kurumi fired at Takamiya Mana repeatedly, and bullet after bullet, wrapped in powerful spiritual power, pierced the air and whistled toward Takamiya Mana's direction.

Takamiya Mana's expression changed slightly, and the laser blades in both her hands swung rapidly, deflecting the bullets rushing toward her one after another. However, the massive power wrapped around the bullets also caused the Territory on her body to emit shrill cries, simultaneously forcing her to retreat step by step.

"I can't let this go on!" Knowing that if she let this situation continue, she would inevitably be defeated, Takamiya Mana's mind raced.

"Swish—"

A ribbon of light extended from her hand and looped around a pillar. Then, the ribbon of light shrank abruptly, carrying her body as she dashed to the side, avoiding Tokisaki Kurumi's attack.

"Die!" Takamiya Mana let out an angry shout, stomped her right foot against the ground, and her figure instantly dashed out, rapidly closing in on Tokisaki Kurumi, the blade in her hand pointing straight at her body.

"Tsk, Mana-chan, you are still too naive!" Tokisaki Kurumi chuckled lightly.

Takamiya Mana, in the midst of her rapid charge, suddenly felt her body stall, as if it had been grabbed by something.

She looked down and her expression changed slightly; in the shadow beneath her feet, she did not know when, but pale-colored arms had reached out and firmly grabbed her body.

"Th-this is?" Looking at the arms restraining her lower body, Takamiya Mana's expression changed drastically, and the laser blade in her hand slashed toward those arms.

If it were the Tokisaki Kurumi of before, these arms might not have been able to withstand Takamiya Mana's laser blade. But now, a layer of translucent light shield appeared over these arms, directly blocking the attack of the laser blade.

"It's over, Mana-chan!" Tokisaki Kurumi raised the flintlock in her hand and aimed it at Takamiya Mana.

Bullet after bullet whistled and landed on Takamiya Mana; under the bombardment of the powerful force, the Territory emitted a cry of unbearable burden and finally shattered completely. Without the protection of the Territory, Takamiya Mana's delicate body was completely exposed to Tokisaki Kurumi's muzzle.

However, Tokisaki Kurumi had no intention of taking Takamiya Mana's life; instead, she aimed the muzzle at the Realizer on Takamiya Mana's body. Under the bombardment of the bullets, the Realizer on Takamiya Mana's body completely turned into fragments and scattered on the ground.

"Nightmare, what exactly are you trying to do?" Takamiya Mana struggled hard, wanting to break free from the restraint of those pale arms, but having lost her Realizer, her struggle appeared even more pale and powerless.

"What am I doing? Of course, I'm doing something interesting! After all, Mana-chan and I are friends who haven't seen each other in a long time!" Tokisaki Kurumi leaned in front of Takamiya Mana with a grin.

"You—" Looking at Tokisaki Kurumi before her, a sense of powerlessness welled up in Takamiya Mana's heart. Was this Nightmare's true strength? Thinking back to the fate of those innocent people who had fallen into Nightmare's hands before, a trace of despair could not help but appear in Takamiya Mana's eyes.

"Well, Mana-chan, is it necessary to stare at me with those eyes?" Tokisaki Kurumi's hand stroked Takamiya Mana's face with a grin.

"Hmph, Nightmare, I will absolutely be at odds with you!" Takamiya Mana said, tilting her head up.

"Then, for now, please just sleep for a little while, Mana-chan!" A smile carried on Tokisaki Kurumi's face.

"You, what do you want to do?" Before Takamiya Mana could say anything more, she felt the world in her eyes begin to be shrouded by darkness, and finally, she fell completely into the abyss of darkness.

Holding the unconscious Takamiya Mana, Tokisaki Kurumi let out a soft laugh and slowly sank into the shadows.