Subsequently, the conversation naturally turned to Tohka's astonishing accusation.
—Shido had Chinatsu's scent lingering on him. This undoubtedly provided a crucial clue for analyzing Chinatsu's identity and timeline of actions.
Kotori gently tapped the plastic stick of her precious jewel with her fingertip, her gaze sharp:
"If Tohka's perception isn't wrong, then the timeline is very clear. On the day of the previous Spatial Quake alert, on your way from the shelter to the family restaurant, Shido, you must have had contact with Chinatsu, who was already a Spirit at that time, even if only for an instant."
Reine pulled up the records from that time and calmly added:
"This means that the point in time when Phoenix-in Chinatsu became a Spirit was much earlier than her official appearance as the 'Welt successor.' Her Spirit power was not entirely inherited from 'Welt Yang.'"
Kotori took over, beginning to construct the logical chain:
"Then, the story about 'Welt Yang' and 'Anti-Entropy' needs to be re-evaluated. The greatest possibility is..."
She paused, then voiced the most reasonable, yet also the worst, inference, "Chinatsu herself is a Spirit, she is the Heavenly Judgment. If Welt's story is also false, then 'Welt Yang' might just be an unfortunate individual who accidentally gained the power of the Herrscher of Reason, and for some reason, crossed paths with Chinatsu."
"Perhaps Chinatsu deceived him, using his power or knowledge; or perhaps he was severely injured, and at the brink of death, inadvertently passed on the power of 'Reason' to Chinatsu, who might have also been in some special state at the time."
Reine analyzed along this line of thought, "In short, the result is that Chinatsu, a Spirit who originally possessed the power of the Heavenly Judgment, unexpectedly gained a second powerful force—the authority of the Herrscher of Reason."
Kotori finally made the definitive statement: "So, the conclusion is: Phoenix-in Chinatsu is, in essence, the Spirit codenamed Heavenly Judgment, possessing the original power to manipulate space and lightning."
"'Welt Yang' and his inheritance seem more like an accidental interlude, making her even more formidable, becoming an unprecedented special existence with dual authorities. Her story is half-true, half-false, with the core purpose of concealing her true origins."
This inference positioned Chinatsu as a Spirit who possessed power from the beginning and was potentially ill-intentioned, greatly downplaying the existence of "Welt" and even portraying him as a side character who was utilized or unfortunate.
This undoubtedly elevated Chinatsu's threat and "deceitfulness" to the highest level.
"Wait... wait a minute!"
Shido couldn't help but interrupt, his brows furrowed, his face filled with disagreement.
"Things aren't necessarily like this! Chinatsu, she... she was..."
He eagerly wanted to refute, to speak of the sadness, determination, and heavy sense of fate Chinatsu had shown at the time—it didn't seem like acting.
He wanted to say, if she was truly so cunning, why would she leave alone?
Why, when Tohka hugged her, did she show such a genuine, helpless, and flustered reaction?
However, his words caught in his throat.
What evidence did he have?
Aside from the vague, subjective emotions he himself felt, he couldn't produce anything substantial to prove that Chinatsu was "not like that."
Kotori and Reine's inferences were logically consistent, aligning with the known timeline and Tohka's testimony.
His intuition and emotional perception seemed so pale and powerless in the face of cold analysis and "reasonable" speculation.
He opened his mouth, his lips moving a few times, but in the end, under the gaze of all the crew members and Kotori and Reine, he could only lower his head dejectedly, turning all his unspoken words into a heavy sigh, unable to say anything.
Looking at Shido in this state, Kotori's eyes flickered slightly, a hint of reluctance, but it was quickly replaced by resolve.
She knew Shido found it hard to accept, but on a matter of global survival, they had to plan based on the worst-case scenario.
"I know this is hard to accept, Shido," Kotori's tone softened a little.
"But this is the worst conclusion we can draw based on all the clues we have. We must use this as a basis to respond to her next actions."
Shido nodded silently, no longer arguing. But his tightly clenched fists and the lingering doubt in his eyes indicated that his internal protest had not ceased.
There must be a deeper truth about that white-haired girl that he didn't know. He couldn't simply label her as a pure "schemer" and "threat."
Shido listened to Kotori and Reine's logically rigorous, almost impeccable inferences, feeling his heart tighten little by little.
He understood that, from a rational perspective, their analysis made a lot of sense, and was even the most consistent speculation with the known clues. But... he shook his head vigorously, his voice carrying a subtle tremor, yet uncommonly firm:
"What you're saying is logically correct, but... as the person involved, I cannot accept it."
In his mind, the brutal scenes from the industrial district resurfaced uncontrollably.
He remembered Chinatsu resolutely pushing him away, uttering those cruel words about the "truth of the world" and "not being able to be together," then walking towards the ruins without looking back.
He remembered himself peering out the window, watching her small figure facing DEM's massive mechanical forces and Ellen Mathers, who was like a god of war; from initial caution and unfamiliarity with her powers, to a chilling, almost frenzied and cathartic laughter as she gradually mastered them.
He remembered even more clearly the final, cruel scene—Ellen's light saber mercilessly cutting through, the girl's arm along with half her body torn apart, blood splattering a dazzling red in the air, she fell from the sky like a broken-winged bird, leaving a desperate trajectory... The impact and heartache of that scene are still clearly etched in his soul.
Was such a brutal battle, such real pain and struggle, all a meticulously designed performance?
Would a malicious Spirit pay such a heavy price for acting, even nearly truly perishing?
He opened his mouth, wanting to shout out these images, these feelings, wanting to use this eyewitness "truth" to refute the cold "logic."
However, when he saw Kotori and Reine's eyes, based on data and rational analysis, all the words that rushed to his lips turned into silent sobs.
He lacked evidence, and his "feelings" seemed so pale and powerless in the face of rigorous inference.
Ultimately, he could only condense all his struggles and unwillingness into a declaration that was almost an obsession: "I will find her... and then, prove that things are not like this."
He sighed, as if exhausted, and then asked a question that had been lingering in his mind since earlier:
"When she left... she seemed to say something to me. Did you... analyze it?"
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