Chapter 1254: Origami and the Sephira Crystal
"…"
"…"
"…"
Kotori sat on the sofa while staring at Origami who had a glow to her skin. Meanwhile, Wu Yan spotted a dazed look. She knew something was up so she frowned.
"What happened between you two? Did I miss something?"
"…"
Origami and Wu Yan twitched. One shook his head while the other continued sitting there like a cool cucumber. Kotori narrowed her eyes at the duo. She snorted.
"Actually, I don't care what you two did."
Kotori took out a pen and a notebook. She used a serious look on Origami.
"Now, let us start our QnA. I want to know more about Phantom…"
"By Phantom, do you mean the mysterious entity covered in Mosaics? The one that tried to offer me power?"
"Yes."
"Phantom approached you only to be routed by Onii-chan. There was a gap between Phantom's appearance and Onii-chan's intervention, yes?"
.box-4-multi-134{border:none !important;display:block !important;float:none;line-height:0px;margin-bottom:15px !important;margin-left:0px !important;margin-right:0px !important;margin-top:15px !important;max-width:100% !important;min-height:250px;min-width:250px;padding:0;text-align:center !important;}Kotori looked at Origami.
"Fill me in on the details."
Kotori reiterated.
"I want to know everything."
Origami furrowed her brows. She tried to recall what transpired that day. Then, she started talking about her encounter with Phantom.
Origami's experience in AST taught her the importance of conciseness and accuracy. She summarized the encounter in a clean manner, focusing on the important points while also remarking on Wu Yan's exchange with Phantom.
Kotori jotted down notes after notes. Wu Yan got a bit bored because they left him out of the conversation entirely.
With Origami here, Shiori ditched them and took the spirits with her. Right now, the trio are the only ones in the house.
Kotori and Origami continued talking about Phantom as time went on. Soon, the young ladies were frowning at their discoveries.
"It starts with verbal persuasions then it grants a Sephira Crystal…"
Kotori tapped her notepad. She is displeased with her findings.
"This is basically what happened with Miku. This investigation is a dead end too."
"I told you, nothing would come out of this but you insisted so…"
Wu Yan chimed in.
"I told you and, lo and behold, you ended up chasing a mirage."
"Don't talk like you're not part of this."
Kotori shot Wu Yan an angry look.
"You chased Phantom away. We could have obtained more information if you didn't act rashly. We might have even pinned down Phantom's identity."
"As I said…"
Wu Yan pursed his lips.
"Phantom is powerful enough to conceal its presence from me. I had to focus to locate the entity even when it was very close to Origami. In the end, I only identified it when it let down its guard by talking with Origami."
"This prodigious ability to avoid detection is enough to derail our attempts at capturing or tracking this entity."
Wu Yan sneered.
"If Phantom doesn't want to show itself, there is not much we can do to track or contact the entity."
"It feels like the entity is always watching our moves from the shadows…"
Kotori cracked the candy in her mouth.
"The Sephira Crystal's compatibility with its recipient will determine the final strength of the spirit upon merging. Phantom must have studied Miku, Origami, and us before making its move. That is the only reason it evaded detection for so long, right?"
Kotori looked around.
"Maybe, Phantom is always near us and we just didn't detect her?"
The room turned silent.
"Around us, huh?"
Wu Yan sighed.
"That is possible. I can't detect her unless I focus on detection."
"So, you're saying she might be near us?!"
Kotori grinned.
"With that Sephira Crystal in our hands, it is probably looking for a chance to steal the crystal back."
"Wait, we haven't analyzed the Sephira Crystal yet."
Kotori turned towards Wu Yan.
"Where is it?"
"Oh, it's in my…"
"It is here."
Wu Yan touched himself all over but Origami opened her palm first.
On her palm is the Sephira Crystal meant for her.
"You."
Wu Yan gasped.
"When did you take it?!"
"This morning."
Origami replied.
"I found it in your pocket."
"Pocket?!"
Kotori flinched, she leered at Wu Yan.
"You put something so important in your pocket?!"
"Ahaha…"
Wu Yan shrugged.
"I was playing with the thing the whole night and when I fell asleep I just shoved it in my pocket."
"You…"
Kotori gave up on Wu Yan.
"Ah, that bastard has his own methods. You, why did you take the gem? You know you might turn into a spirit if you touch it, right?"
"I expected this."
Origami lifted her hand.
"I am not touching it directly.
There is a faint light between the gem and Origami's palm.
"Territory?"
Kotori's expression recovered.
"Even with a Territory, don't go near it. What are we going to do if you turn into a spirit?"
Origami stared at the crystal. Her eyes glimmered with the shining gem.
Beep beep beep
An alarm rang near Kotori's ear. It was from her earpiece. It caught her by surprise.
"Commander! Ellen just escaped!"
"What?!"
Kotori yelled.