Date A Live: Starting as Acheron

What the help is going on here? I thought I still had an entire day between Kurumi first appearing and Kurumi trying to blow the school apart! Kyo furrowed his brows as he retrieved [Naught], making sure not to expose his back to the two Kurumis.

"Why, good afternoon, Kyo." One of the Kurumis bowed as the other sank back into the shadows. "Though I must say, it is quite bad manners to intrude on others' mealtime."

"Can it, Kurumi," he retorted with a small tap of his scabbard against the ground. "You're not exactly a shining beacon of morality yourself. Aren't you supposed to at least take a guy out on a date first before you try going after his body?"

Kurumi laughed. "Well, I can't say I didn't consider that. But honestly, can you blame me for being a little overeager? After all, his body just looks so delicious~" In his peripheral vision, Kyo saw Shidou visibly shiver.

"Don't discuss other men's bodies with me please. I don't have that kind of interest." Kyo held up his hand in the universal signal to stop. 

Kurumi's mouth widened into a grin. "Very well then. But I must ask, are you insisting on getting in the way of my meal?" 

"I'll reluctantly turn my head if you replenish your time with criminals, but if you're thinking of expanding the menu to lawful men, I'm afraid I will indeed have to object," Kyo replied steadily.

"What a pity," Kurumi sighed, 

BOOM-

Kyo skillfully deflected the bullet aimed at his head. Behind him, a newly-manifested clone of Kurumi smiled ruefully.

"Tch." Kyo frowned and adjusted his grip on his katana. "I don't want to fight you, Kurumi. Can we not reach an agreement?"

Kurumi chuckled, touching her index finger to her cheek and tilting her head. "Hm… what if you let me eat dear Shidou over there, and I'll consider your favor from Neryl Island repaid?" She proposed casually.

"Please don't let her eat dear Shidou over here!" The blue-haired boy called fearfully, finally breaking his silence from his prison of white arms. 

"Hm…" Kyo cocked his head to the side. On one hand, I'll get rid of that debt hanging over my head. On the other hand, I'm gonna have a hell of a mess to clean up. Wait, would Mio blame me if I let Kurumi eat him now? Hm. Finally, he shook his head. "Nope, sorry. Can't do that in good conscience."

"Then it seems we can't resolve this peacefully." Kurumi raised her arm, aiming her pistol at Kyo's head. All around him, Kyo heard the sound of pistols clacking. More clones, huh?

"Then I'll make one final offer," he said slowly, shifting his feet into a sword stance. Once more, his eyes began to glow an ominous shade of violet. "In exchange for saving my life last time, I won't kill you today."

"KIHIHIHI! HOW ARROGANT!" Kurumi's eyes gleamed with murderous intent as she, alongside all her clones, fired.

——————I am the dividing line that shifts perspectives——————

"NO!" Shidou screamed as Kyo's figure was penetrated from all sides by black bullets. Yet, instead of falling to the ground like he expected, the katana-wielding Spirit's visage blurred out of sight, and two of the clone Kurumis were hit by friendly fire.

"Calm down, jeez." Shidou whirled his head to his left, where Kyo had seemingly manifested out of nowhere. "And get up," he added with evident annoyance.

Only then did Shidou realize that all the arms binding him had been cleanly cut away. "Th-thank you-"

"[ZAFKIEL: ALEPH]!" His attention was stolen by Kurumi's cry, followed by a pistol shot to her own head. 

"Let's see how fast you get, then," Kyo muttered softly, bending his knees slightly. Shidou frowned in confusion.

"What do you mea-" Before his shocked eyes, both Kyo and Kurumi disappeared.

B-B-BOOM-

Around him, numerous bullet holes shot cracks into the rooftop. Shidou swore he felt a bullet or two narrowly missing his own head by just a few inches. W-what the hell is-

"Shin, don't move." Reine's comforting voice washed over him, before suddenly spiking his blood pressure with her next words. "Those two are currently engaged in high-speed combat all around you."

"They're WHAT?!" 

CRASH-

Shidou slowly peeked over at the crater that had just formed in the ground. Kurumi quickly sprang up from the rubble, laughing maniacally whilst bleeding from innumerable scratches all over her body.

"Kihihihi! What a terrifying strength! Oh, Kyo, you would have made for a wonderful meal if that power of yours didn't corrode the body!"

"And I kinda wish I had your powers." The aforementioned Spirit reappeared in front of Kyo, pointing his sheathed sword at Kurumi. "Do you have any idea how terrible it is to smell something utterly heavenly, only to have it taste like dust?"

Is that really your main concern? Shidou deadpanned in his head.

Kurumi frowned. "Are you mocking me?"

"… tch. You just don't understand." Kyo tightened his grip on his sword, causing the scabbard to be engulfed in a dark aura that gave Shidou chills just by looking at it. "Last chance, Kurumi. Stand down; you don't want to challenge the Nihility."

She laughed lightly. "How kind of you! Unfortunately for you, I REFUS-"

FWOOM-

Without waiting for her to finish, Kyo charged at Kurumi, who was forced to clumsily dodge into her shadow. More clones quickly manifested around the rooftop, but before they were able to even raise their gun, every one of their heads were mercilessly decapitated. In just over five seconds, over twenty Kurumis unceremoniously fell to the ground, the remaining stumps of their necks spewing a fountain of blood.

"Augh…" Shidou covered his mouth, desperately trying to keep down the bile rising from his stomach. How… how did it end up like this?

"Cough cough… are you done throwing away your lives, Kurumi?" Kyo reappeared, though this time he was clutching onto his sword like a cane, the black aura surrounding it withering away. "Just cut your losses now and give up."

His response was another barrage of bullets from behind. Again, Kyo seemed to disappear, though this time Shidou managed to catch a purple blur fly towards the small squad of Kurumis before they too were decapitated. How many times has he killed Kurumi now? How many times has Kurumi died?

Shidou grit his teeth. "Kyo, please! Stop! Kurumi's died enough already!"

Kyo made a sort of choking sound. "Are you fudging with me?!" The Spirit threw him a ridiculing glance as he and a new batch of Kurumis both unanimously decided to temporarily pause their fight. "I'm fighting for my damn life here! Yours too, you ungrateful forker!"

"Ah, as expected, Shidou is quite kind," a Kurumi muttered to another Kurumi beside her. The latter gave the former a strange look and elbowed her, signaling for her to continue pointing her pistol at Kyo.

"Why aren't you shouting at Kurumi to stop, huh? Is it because she's a girl, or is it because I haven't murdered thousands of people?! I call discrimination, you idiotic harem protagonist!" Kyo turned to point accusingly at Shidou.

CRACK-

Another bullet was shot from somewhere high above, which was still perfectly intercepted by Kyo. But this time, he didn't immediately blur towards the sky. Instead, he stopped moving entirely, as though petrified. His furious expression remained frozen on his face as a crowd of Kurumis slowly surrounded him once again.

That's what happened to Mana- no! What did I just do?! Shidou made a mad dash in Kyo's direction as the clones let loose a barrage of bullets into Kyo's body, small bursts of blood pouring out and immediately freezing in time as Kyo's Astral Dress was slowly ripped apart.

"WAIT, KURUMI! STOP!!!" Shidou, still tens of steps away, jumped and reached out his hand in vain as a Kurumi slowly aimed her pistol at Kyo's forehead.

"Too late." Kurumi licked her lips and… didn't pull the trigger. "Eh?"

"Eh?" Shidou fell flat on his face awkwardly. She… didn't shoot him?"

"What the hell are you doing, me?" Another Kurumi sighed and pointed her gun at Kyo. "Just pull the trigger… what?"

Again, the clone didn't shoot.

"What are you doing, me?" Another Kurumi floated down, landing down right next to Shidou. A giant ornate clock floated behind her as she glowered at her selves. "Why are you hesitating?"

She's… the real Kurumi, Shidou realized. So only the real Kurumi can truly summon [Zafkiel]?

One of the clones stepped forward with a troubled expression. "I-"

BOOM-

As Shidou blinked the dust from his eyes, he saw Kyo's form slowly walk towards him, surrounded by the corpses of the dozen Kurumis that had shot at him. Crimson lightning arced in every direction with every step, and his eyes were stained with hints of red. A wrathful grimace was etched into his face.

"Shidou, I swear on the name of the Aeons themselves, if you ever distract me on the battlefield again, I'll kill you myself," he growled venomously.

Shidou's apology died in his throat as he quickly looked down in shame and nodded. Wait, who are the Aeons? 

"What the hell was that trick you just pulled?" She asked, a confused scowl on her face. "Why couldn't my clones shoot you?"

"Dunno," Kyo answered simply. 

Kurumi snorted, letting go of her guns and allowing them to disappear into sparkling dust. "Tch, no matter. I've already wasted far too much time today to continue playing with you." 

"So you're leaving? Great. Please don't come back soon," Kyo deadpanned. 

"Yes, of course. You won't have to worry. After all…" Kurumi let out one last smile. "You'll already be dead!" 

She held up her hand, causing space itself to begin warping around her in a funnel-like shape reminiscent of a tornado about to touch down. Immediately, a blaring alarm began to sound all around the city. 

BEEEEEEEEEEP- BEEEEEEEEEEP- BEEEEEEEEEEP-

"Even you shouldn't be able to survive at the epicenter of a spacequake!" Kurumi laughed wildly as the wind picked up even further. A purplish-black ball of distortion began to form above them.

"A… a spacequake?" Shidou's eyes widened. But Tohka said she couldn't control if they happened or not. How can Kurumi-

"Oi, Shidou."

"Y-yes?" Shidou jumped at Kyo's voice. He isn't gonna say something like "If I'm dying here today, I'm at least gonna kill you myself," is he?

"Is Kotori in your ear?"

"W-what? Er, no…" What's Kotori got to do with this?

"Well, tell whoever is in your ear to tell that muddlefudger to get over here, cuz I'm not dealing with that," he sighed. 

"What do you-"

"KIHIHIHI! Whatever you two are mumbling about, it's TOO LATE!" Kurumi clenched her outstretched hand and thrust it downwards. The spherical distortion fell towards the ground…

DWAAANG~

Before being blasted away into nothingness with a sound that Shidou could only describe as the dying throes of an otherworldly creature.

"Ugh, what the fudge was that sound? No one told me it'd be so loud in-person," Kyo complained to the side. 

Shidou didn't pay him much attention. Instead, his eyes were fixed on a new figure floating in the air. She wore a long, flowing kimono that was surrounded by a sea of floating flame, and her head was adorned with a pair of oni horns alongside two familiar black ribbons that tied back a head of nostalgic red hair.

"...Kotori?!"