Campione: Strongest# 446: A Bright Future?

“Ah, the trials of youth. It truly brings back memories.” The Mother of Mifune chuckled, a nostalgic smile on her face as she traced the lines on SHIKI’s palm.

“Just get on with it! If you can’t see anything, I swear I’ll cut you,” SHIKI snapped, her face flushing. With a flick of her wrist, she produced the short knife she always carried and slapped it onto the table.

“Patience, patience. I’m almost there,” the old woman said, her kind, amiable smile never wavering. Her hands remained steady as she continued to study SHIKI’s palm.

“Hmm??” A sudden gasp of shock escaped her lips.

“What is it? Is something wrong? How do I fix it?” Although SHIKI couldn’t see the woman’s expression through the veil, the alarm in her voice sent a jolt of panic through her.

The Mother of Mifune was rumored to help people avoid misfortune, and those who ignored her warnings were said to meet disastrous ends.

“Strange… truly strange. You, who should have had no future at all, have suddenly branched into two distinct paths…”

Hearing the words "no future," SHIKI’s pupils constricted, her hand tightening on her knife. But the rest of the sentence made her freeze.

“What are the endings of these two futures?”

“Both end well, though you’ll have your hands full fighting off a few other girls. But overall, they are happy endings,” the Mother of Mifune said with a wry chuckle.

“Fighting, huh?” SHIKI’s lip twitched.

The witch she’d met in Misaki a year ago, the short-tempered traveler, and the group in Europe that Fujino had mentioned—they all flashed through her mind. She gripped her knife a little tighter.

“The endings are both happy? Are there any differences between them?” The way SHIKI stressed the word "happy" sounded like grinding teeth.

“There is the future where one of the ‘Shikis’ must fall into slumber, and the future where both can live, simultaneously.” The Mother of Mifune’s voice was low, emphasizing the final words. It was clear which path the kind-hearted old woman preferred.

SHIKI's pupils constricted again. Since the Japanese pronunciation for both her name and Shiki’s is identical, she instantly understood.

One path where she or Shiki would go dormant, and another where they both remained. It was only now that she truly believed the old woman could see the future.

“How do I choose the second path?” SHIKI asked, her voice heavy with a newfound seriousness.

—————

Two weeks later, Shiki Ryougi walked out of the school gates and headed toward the bus stop where her family’s butler, Akita, was scheduled to pick her up.

Normally, she would have wandered home at her own pace, but rumors of a serial killer stalking the city had put the Ryougi family on high alert. As the family heir, the chaos that would erupt if she were targeted was unthinkable. Under pressure, Shiki had silently agreed to the arrangement.

Her wooden geta sandals tapped lightly on the pavement as she muttered to herself, “What has you so agitated, SHIKI?”

To her classmates, Shiki Ryougi was a cold, beautiful, and peculiar girl who often talked to herself. In reality, she was the only one who could hear her ‘other self.’

“Didn’t the old woman say that if I didn’t see Uncle for three weeks, our future would be a happy one?”

“And what does that have to do with you being agitated?” Shiki raised an eyebrow, finding the other’s distress puzzling. She was still skeptical of the prophecy; the idea that three weeks of separation could guarantee a happy future seemed absurd.

“Just because I can't see him, doesn't mean he shouldn’t come looking for me! It’s been two weeks!” SHIKI screamed in her mind.

“Indeed. It has been two weeks since I last saw him outside the window,” Shiki nodded, her tone slightly unnatural. “But isn't this what you wanted?”

“Have you ever heard of a man taking a woman at her word? He’s supposed to do the opposite!” SHIKI teased.

—————

“…” Shiki fell silent, not only because of the startling comment but also because of the orange-haired young man crouched on the bus stop bench ahead, idly playing with a knife.

The usual crowd of students had vanished, leaving only Shiki and the young man on the entire street. A palpable killing intent radiated from him. He gripped the short knife tightly, his dark eyes fixed on her with a bloodcurdling intensity.

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Ryuunosuke Uryuu.”

“Shiki Ryougi.” The short knife slipped from Shiki’s sleeve into her hand. She didn’t ask why he was looking at her with such homicidal intent. She instantly recognized the look in his eyes—the eyes of a fellow killer.

“What beautiful eyes. Originally, Mr. Araya sent me to provoke you into some ‘Origin Awakening,’ but I think I’ll pass.” Ryuunosuke leaped off the bench and walked to the center of the road, facing her from thirty meters away. “Besides, I still have a score to settle with him for crippling me. This will be a good excuse to put him off. After all, it's rare to meet a true kindred spirit…”

Shiki raised an eyebrow. His words confirmed she had attracted the attention of someone dangerous. Ryuunosuke slowly brought his knife to his waist, adopting a ready stance.

“Well, our time for pleasantries is over. Now, let the slaughter begin!”

Before the words fully left his mouth, he crossed the thirty-meter distance in an instant. Shiki’s face was reflected in his scarlet Dead Apostle eyes as he swung the blade with a manic grin.

'Those eyes—a Dead Apostle,' she thought, retreating a step and twisting her wrist to stab at his throat.

The battle had begun.

Blood soaked Ryuunosuke’s shirt. His torso was a canvas of cuts, any one of which would have been lethal to an ordinary person. But Ryuunosuke was a Dead Apostle—a sadist who reveled in pain. The short knife in his hand was a silver blur, darting toward Shiki’s vital points with surgical precision.

'I can’t let him hit me. Not even once.'

Shiki met his fierce gaze, her body flickering across the street like a phantom. Her training had always focused on high-speed, assassin-style combat, and her speed gave her a slight edge, even against a physically superior Dead Apostle.

“Hey, hey, my kindred spirit! Why all the dodging? Come on, let’s trade blows!” Ryuunosuke shouted, his attacks growing faster and more frenzied.

Shiki ignored him, her expression cold, but panic was slowly beginning to set in. Human stamina was no match for a Dead Apostle’s, especially after ten minutes of high-speed movement. Fatigue began to dull her senses, and her speed started to falter.

“Can’t keep up, little rabbit?” Ryuunosuke’s eyes narrowed, and he lunged forward with a laugh.

Shiki’s face went cold. She stopped abruptly, twisting her body to the side and ignoring the blade sweeping down at her shoulder.

The pain of the knife slicing into her flesh didn’t even make her flinch. Her eyes went empty as she fell into a strange, detached state. She reversed her grip on her own knife and, using the centrifugal force of her turn, swung the blade in a perfect arc.

A head, followed by a torrent of gushing blood, flew into the air.

Thud—!

The impact of his head hitting the pavement momentarily froze the manic smile on Ryuunosuke’s face. “Well, well. I actually got taken out.”

The head on the ground looked up at Shiki, troubled. “But hey, it’s a mutual kill, right? Victory still goes to the great Ryuunosuke!”

“Stop it!” A furious roar echoed down the street. Araya Souren ran toward them, his face contorted in rage.

“Who cares about you, you rotten monk? Activate, my Origin!” Ryuunosuke spat, screaming ferociously.

Shiki’s expression changed. A strange black light erupted from the wound on her shoulder, enveloping her body in an instant.

“Damn it! The Origin of ‘Pursuit of Death,’ applied in combat in a single day,” Araya’s face was ashen as he quickened his pace.

“Unwavering! Vajra! Scorpion! Unbroken! Supreme Command! Manifestation! Six Realms Boundary!”

As Araya roared, six circular rings shot from his palm toward Shiki.

“Freeze! Death!”

Suddenly, the bracelet on Shiki’s left wrist emitted a faint, hazy glow.

A soft, almost imperceptible hymn began to sound, swiftly growing into a chorus that reverberated through the sky. A majestic figure, only ten meters tall yet seeming to encompass everything, slowly materialized behind her.

“Whoa, what the hell is that?” Ryuunosuke stared at the figure in horror.

Araya Souren stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes, perpetually hidden in shadow, fixed on the apparition with astonishment.

“A Divine Spirit??”