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Chapter 176 – Going for the Kill
🕑 Added 2025-07-15 15:50:59 +0000 UTCThe next day, the sky was clear, the breeze gentle, and the weather absolutely perfect.
However—
“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”
A high-pitched, ear-splitting scream echoed through the house, nearly tearing the roof off.
“What happened?! What’s going on?! Shido, are you—?!”
The Spirit girl with knee-length black hair—Yatogami Tohka—bolted down the hallway the moment she heard a strange female voice shouting from Shido’s room.
‘SLAM!’
She burst into the room, hair bouncing from the momentum, and stood frozen at the doorway.
The breeze lifted the little ahoge on her head as she stared ahead, completely dumbfounded.
“Shi…do…?”
She might not have the highest IQ, but Yatogami Tohka was no fool.
The unfamiliar girl before her—fair-skinned, breathtakingly beautiful, with long legs, a perfect figure, and curves in all the right places—still radiated a familiar aura.
This… was Itsuka Shido.
“What happened here?”
“Eh? Eh?! Wha-What’s going on?!”
The two main culprits, who had been waiting quietly in their own room, immediately popped into Shido’s like they’d teleported.
“Who… who are you?! Why are you suddenly in Shido’s room?!”
Kotori’s crimson eyes shimmered with a strange gleam as she stared at the girl whose beauty nearly surpassed that of the Spirits.
Her question was clearly rhetorical.
“Kotori! Kotori, it’s me! I’m Shido!”
Itsuka Shido—no, now she should be called Shiori—rushed to Kotori, grabbing her by the shoulders in panic.
“When I woke up this morning, something felt off… and when I looked closer—I turned into a girl! Kotori!
Quick, get me to Ratatoskr for a full scan, figure out what the hell happened!”
Shiori shouted frantically, her hands shaking Kotori as if the world were ending.
“Alright, alright! Stop shaking me—I’m gonna pass out…”
Kotori’s head spun from the sudden assault, and her perfectly beautiful face twisted in dizzy confusion.
She slapped Shiori’s hands away.
“I’ll get someone on it right away.”
With a look of solemn responsibility, Kotori gave a firm nod, then grabbed Nagami by the arm and dragged him out of the room.
“Oho, Now this is getting interesting!”
Kurumi followed soon after, watching the speechless blue-haired beauty left behind.
A mischievous smile curled on her lips.
She didn’t even need to ask—this had to be Nagami’s doing.
By now, after spending so much time around him, Kurumi had fully figured him out.
If something strange, chaotic, or absurdly entertaining happened, it was almost certainly Nagami’s fault.
Except… this time, she was wrong.
The one who decided to use the spring water on Shido… was actually Kotori.
Nagami was just the provider.
Although Kotori now had full command over her Spirit powers, this was still a pretty bold move—basically turning her own big brother into a girl.
So, naturally, she didn’t want to look like the one pulling the strings.
That’s where Nagami came in.
And, being the fun-loving troll that he was, he didn’t hesitate for even half a second before agreeing.
The night before, while Shido was sound asleep, Nagami had carefully dripped a single drop of spring water on him—followed by a splash of cool water.
The result?
Fresh, sweet, and stunning: Itsuka Shiori, ready to serve.
Yes, Nagami could’ve used his "Alpha Stigma Eyes" ability to analyze and undo the curse … but where’s the fun in that?
After all, he had already studied Shiori in detail.
Not in a creepy way—sure, Shiori’s charm did rival most of the Spirits—but Nagami had no sword-crossing intentions.
If this were his old chat group in his previous life, those degenerate people would probably charge in chanting, “Sharp swords! Sharper eyes!” and throw themselves at her without hesitation.
“I can’t believe it… After fully transforming into a girl, he—she—actually looks that good!”
This wasn’t just makeup—it was a full-on level-up.
A complete transformation.
Honestly, she could rival C.C. herself.
Itsuka Shiori’s reputation was well-earned.
That said, what Nagami really wanted now… was for Lumine to use spring water on Aether and turn him into Sister Aether.
That would be next-level legendary.
Even Kotori, silent as she was, nodded in agreement.
She turned to glance at Nagami, her crimson eyes glinting with mischief.
“Nagami, how much more of that do you have?”
That soft, adorable tone made Nagami’s expression instantly go deadpan.
“None at the moment. But in a while, I should be able to supply it infinitely. Why, don’t tell me… you’re planning to keep your brother cursed like this forever?”
Kotori shouldn’t be that evil… right?
Maybe she wanted to use it on someone else?
“Of course not! I’m not you! As if I could ever do something that cruel!”
Itsuka Kotori shot Nagami a sharp glare.
Her long, curled lashes fluttered like a tease, making her look impossibly cute.
“It’s just... this spring water only remains effective in my world for two weeks. After that, the curse will naturally wear off.
That said, if we make full use of this window, Shidou should be able to seal away Izayoi Miku. But still, it’d be better if the effect lasted a little longer.”
“No way, do you think he can seduce Miku Izayoi that fast?”
Nagami stopped in his tracks, staring at Kotori in disbelief as she shrugged helplessly.
A deep, shadowy darkness crept up from nearby, naturally taking the shape of Nagami and enveloping him.
No words were needed—Nagami understood.
Kurumi had finished resting and digesting energy, and now she was once again channeling power into that mysterious abyss.
Kotori, already used to this strange phenomenon, simply gave him a confirming nod.
“Shidou’s always been lucky like that.”
“As for Lumine, don’t even think about it. She’s keeping the spring for something big. Unless you can offer her something just as fun or chaotic, even I wouldn’t be able to pry anything out of her hands.”
The truth was, if he really wanted to, Nagami could probably trade more doujin plots for a few more drops of the spring water.
But to use it on Shido again? That would be a waste.
“But the curse is actually pretty interesting. I’ll take him up to Ratatoskr and run a full analysis with our equipment.
Who knows—we might even be able to break it. Ahem… Also, I’m curious to see Reine Murasame’s reaction.”
The former Spirit, Reine Murasame—also known as Mio Takamiya—finding out her "son" and love interest had suddenly turned into a girl?
Now that reaction would be worth watching.
Just imagine… if Kotori’s parents ever joined the group chat, they’d probably be yelling in all caps by now.
“What kind of group is this?! You’ve ruined our daughter!”
“Turning Kotori into… this?! Unforgivable!”
Something like that.
“Nice. Properly chaotic,” Nagami said with an impressed smile, giving Kotori a big thumbs up.
“By the way, Nagami-nii… with your current power, can you actually take on Mio Takamiya?” Kotori asked sweetly, throwing herself into his arms and rubbing her soft, delicate cheek against his arm.
“Look at you—calling me ‘nii’ when you want something, and just ‘Nagami’ when you don’t. You could at least learn something from Lumine.”
With a helpless sigh, Nagami reached out and gently ruffled her head.
Her hair was silky and smooth, hard to resist touching.
“Honestly? I’m not sure. I’ve never seen her Third Angel’s full power in action. But excluding that unknown factor… if I went all out without caring about the consequences, I’d say it’s about a fifty-fifty chance.”
If both his and C.C.’s bodies descended at full strength, pushing themselves with life-burning intensity, Nagami could potentially match Mio Takamiya in raw power.
“Fifty-fifty?!”
As if she were hearing this for the first time, Kotori leapt from his arms like a startled rabbit.
She stared at him in disbelief, her crimson eyes wide with shock.
She was stunned.
Just half a year ago, this very same Nagami had confidently claimed in the group chat that he was "just a normal guy."
And now? He had quietly reached near-godlike combat power?!
The sheer gap between expectation and reality left her speechless. All she could do was stare at him in a daze.
“I did say that’s excluding her Third Angel,” Nagami replied flatly, chopping his hand lightly on her forehead.
He laced his fingers together beneath his chin, deep in thought.
The "Nameless Angel"—a terrifying entity that could erase the essence of any concept from its origin, completely ignoring the rules of reality.
Unless Nagami witnessed that power firsthand, he couldn’t say with confidence whether he could block it.
If Mio truly managed to kill both his body and C.C., he could still revive via Code… but it would take a long time.
“That’s still absurd!” Kotori groaned, putting away her comm device and giving Nagami a pouty look, clearly still not satisfied.
She had burned through all her carefully saved points just to help Kurumi buy a "Fated One" relic—and while she didn’t regret it (since it was for her world’s future), the pain in her heart was real.
God only knew when she’d be lucky enough to draw something good from the shop again…
