"!!!"
Hearing Sion's words, Riesbyfe suddenly became agitated.
"You said that Dead Apostle? The Night of Wallachia?"
"Yes."
Sion took a deep breath and nodded vigorously.
"How do you know?"
"The Night of Wallachia is named Zepia Eltnam Atlasia."
"Eltnam?"
"Yes, he is my ancestor and the sinner of the Eltnam family. I have been tracking him for three years. Three years ago, I couldn't defeat him, but this time, I must—"
"Um, excuse me, sorry to interrupt."
Before Sion could finish expressing her determination, a weak voice sounded—it was Satsuki Yumizuka.
"He's getting away!"
Sion and Riesbyfe turned their heads to see the killer, who was supposed to be on the brink of death, suddenly get up from the ground and stagger towards the alley entrance—the place where the three women were located was deep in the alley, and Riesbyfe's throw had landed the killer not far from the alley entrance.
"Damn!"
Sion reacted instantly, "He is a phantom of TATARI, not a human—"
If he were human, Riesbyfe's throw would have deprived him of all mobility. But the phantom created by the Night of Wallachia was a different matter. It was a conglomeration of rumors and malicious information, manifested into a physical entity through the sealed memories of Shiki. It was an aggregation of spiritual particles, not something to be measured by human standards.
If not annihilated, he would recover in no time.
"Is this the time to discuss this? Chase him!"
Before Sion could respond, Riesbyfe had already started running.
"Ah, oh!"
Sion quickly suppressed her regret and the urge to explain and rushed out at top speed.
"Wait!"
Completely bewildered by the events of the night, Satsuki inexplicably followed.
To say she followed was not entirely accurate, as the physical abilities of the three women created a disparity.
Riesbyfe was one of the top ten combatants in the Church. Despite carrying over 500 kg of equipment and body weight, she could easily break Olympic records with her speed.
Sion, an alchemist from Atlas Academy, specialized in alchemy. Her physical abilities were average compared to Riesbyfe but still far superior to ordinary people.
Lastly, Satsuki, an ordinary person, though frequently active and strong among her peers, was not at an athlete's level and certainly not comparable to Sion or Riesbyfe.
At this pace, in less than ten seconds, the three would be far apart, and within a minute, they would lose sight of each other.
However, this scene did not occur because, just as the killer was about to escape the alley, a person walked by the entrance—a woman, a girl with beautiful long black hair.
"Get out of the way, don't block the path!"
The killer roared, instinctively swinging his knife toward the woman's throat.
Yet, tonight seemed full of unexpected events.
The seemingly frail girl moved faster than the killer. She lifted her leg, and her sandal-clad foot kicked the killer in the abdomen, sending him sprawling to the ground. The entire process was fluid, a sign of years of rigorous training.
After knocking him down, the slender girl seemed to realize what had happened. She looked at the killer on the ground with slight confusion, "I... was attacked? Wait, why does this attacker..."
As the girl was about to approach for a closer look, a boy wearing glasses ran over, holding two cans, saying while running:
"Akiha, I got the coffee. Hmm? Is there something in the alley?"
Handing the coffee to Akiha, Shiki peered into the alley. Then, he saw a familiar face he recognized at least two hundred days out of the year.
"Tohno-kun."
The other person was quite familiar with him as well.
"Satsuki? What are you doing here? And who are these two...?"
Having been in contact with Touko, Shiki, Shinji, and others for a while, Shiki Tohno was no longer the naive boy from Tsukihime who knew almost nothing about the mysterious world. He had gained considerable understanding of both the Japanese and Western mystical worlds and could easily discern the abnormalities in Sion and Riesbyfe.
"Tohno-kun, is it you?"
Satsuki asked timidly, while Shiki looked puzzled.
"Why are you asking that? Is there a fake me?"
"Brother."
Akiha tugged at Shiki's sleeve and pointed to the ground.
There lay a person dressed exactly like Shiki, with the same hairstyle, no, even the same face—the person looked up and locked eyes with Shiki.
"Ha ha, I didn't expect to run into you here. What a night this is!"
Shiki was dumbfounded.
Akiha demanded, "Who are you? Why are you impersonating my brother?"
"Impersonate? I'm not impersonating anyone; I am your brother."
The killer wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and got up from the ground.
"Shut up!"
Akiha's expression turned ice-cold instantly.
"I have only one brother, and I won't let you insult him."
"Ah, how heartless, Akiha, I—"
Before he could finish his sentence, there was a "bang" and another kick.
"I told you to shut up!"
It wasn't a reflexive self-defense move but a whip kick filled with anger. The killer doubled over, clutching his stomach, and collapsed limply.
"What a beautiful strike, as expected of my sister, just like me—"
"You want to die!!!"
Akiha's hair moved as if blown by an invisible wind, its tips turning from black to red, embodying the local legend.
"The red, the red-hair ghost!!!"
Satsuki exclaimed, shivering instinctively, "So, Akiha-san is—"
"Akiha..."
By this time, Shiki had also come to his senses. He gently patted his sister's shoulder to calm her down, then focused his gaze on the killer.
"You, who exactly are you? And what do you have to do with the recent series of events?"
"I am you."
The killer coughed up blood while tightly gripping the knife in his hand.
"I am your sin, the dark side of you that no one knows about, the urge within you that craves blood and slaughter."
"Is that so?"
Shiki responded noncommittally.
"No matter how calm you appear, whether you admit it or not, you cannot hide the darkness and desire in your heart. I am the manifestation of that. Come on, fight with me, release that desire, release your true self!!!"
Though the killer's words were mad, they carried a bewitching power.
Unconsciously, Shiki reached for his glasses, seemingly intending to take them off.