I don't want to be an elf!

It wasn't until Tokisaki Kurumi said, "This is a very embarrassing thing to talk about," that he suddenly realized the identity of the girl in the photo.

At the same time, it also became clear why Tokisaki Kurumi wanted to fight the girl.

The main body was actually betrayed by the clone. How could that not be humiliating?

If you can't even manage your own area properly, then of course it's shameful.

Mori Ougai put himself in his shoes. If he also had the ability to create clones, and those clones betrayed him, he wouldn't be able to spread the news everywhere.

"Speaking of which, can your clone actually betray your original body?" Mori Ougai couldn't help but ask.

"My clones, like me, are all distinct Kurumi Tokisakis, each with their own independent thoughts, not puppets."

"But why would your clone betray you?"

"Well... that's a long story."

“I have plenty of time, you can speak slowly.” Mori Ougai adopted a listening posture. “Perhaps I can pour you a glass of my treasured red wine, and we can talk while sipping it.”

This is a great opportunity to gather information about Kurumi Tokisaki.

For Mori Ōgai, it would be better if the longer the better.

If you're lucky, you might even get a glimpse into Kurumi Tokisaki's past.

This was extremely important intelligence for him and the Port Mafia.

To date, Mori Ōgai has urged the intelligence team countless times to find information about Tokisaki Kurumi's past.

However, even though Tokisaki Kurumi has been in the organization for almost a week now, the intelligence team still hasn't found anything.

They even commissioned other intelligence-trafficking organizations abroad to conduct investigations, but still got no results.

Such a powerful superhuman appeared out of thin air, without any trace of his existence.

Now, an opportunity to get to know Kurumi Tokisaki has presented itself, and Mori Ōgai would never let such a precious opportunity slip away.

Chapter Forty-Nine: The Reasons for Betrayal

Kurumi Tokisaki could not possibly know about the investigations Mori Ougai was conducting behind the scenes.

However, even if she knew, she wouldn't interfere.

After all, she came from another world, so no matter how much Mori Ougai investigated, it was all in vain.

"Cough cough."

Kurumi Tokisaki cleared her throat and explained, "You can think of my ability as a superpower, a time-based superpower called [Zafkiel]. The Eighth Bullet's ability is to summon me from other timelines."

Hearing Tokisaki Kurumi reveal the truth about her superpower without any concealment, Mori Ougai's emotions couldn't help but fluctuate slightly, even though he was prepared.

A time-based superpower?

This kind of rogue-level superpower actually exists?

If Zafkiel refers to the giant clock that appears behind Tokisaki Kurumi when she uses her powers, and the Eighth Bullet's power is to create clones, does that mean there are also the First Bullet, the Second Bullet, the Eleventh Bullet, and the Twelfth Bullet?

A total of twelve time-related abilities?

Was the ability she used before, such as reading memories, healing injuries, and infiltrating shadows, one of them?

Mori Ougai suddenly felt an urge to interrupt her and immediately find out what these twelve abilities to manipulate time were.

But his strong mental fortitude allowed him to suppress this desire.

Even if he asked, Kurumi Tokisaki might not tell him, and it might even cause her dissatisfaction.

So Mori Ougai took a deep breath and continued to listen to what Tokisaki Kurumi had to say next.

"In most cases, the Eighth Bullet will only summon me from the most recent timeline, such as me from one second ago, or me from one minute ago."

However, in rare cases, I can be summoned from a distant timeline. The clone in the photo is me from a long time ago.

People change, and I'm no exception.

Long ago, I was just like any other ordinary girl, with a pure and innocent heart, yearning for beautiful things.

Hehe, although it's a past I'd rather forget, I used to shine brightly, like a champion of justice.

However, as you can see, the past me and the present me are both me, but there are huge differences in both personality and thought.

Such differences create rifts, and such rifts lead to conflicts.

The past me did not agree with the present me, so I chose to betray.

This is how it all happened.

Mori Ougai carefully digested the information conveyed in these words, as well as the intelligence hidden within them.

Kurumi Tokisaki's explanation, though brief, is easy to understand.

In short, there is a conflict between my past self and my present self.

In the past, Kurumi Tokisaki was an ordinary girl with a pure and innocent heart who longed for beautiful things.

The current Tokisaki Kurumi is a cruel and cold-blooded nightmare who walks in the dark world.

Although they are both Tokisaki Kurumi, their encounter will inevitably lead to conflict.

Mori Ōgai wasn't curious about how they had fallen out; he was more concerned about another issue.

"What exactly did she go through to cause such a huge change in her personality?"

Mori Ōgai agrees with the statement that people are bound to change.

But just how much despair must one have endured to drive a pure and kind person to such depravity, turning into a madman whom even evil people would avoid?

Seeing only a glimpse of Tokisaki Kurumi's past did not satisfy Mori Ōgai's curiosity; in fact, it intensified it.

His intuition told him that Tokisaki Kurumi must have experienced some kind of event that turned her into the way she is now.

And this incident must be the biggest secret that Kurumi Tokisaki has been hiding.

As the boss of the Port Mafia, Mori Ōgai has witnessed countless dark secrets that have become the root cause of people's corruption, so he is certain that Tokisaki Kurumi has had a similar experience.

If we could know her secret, we might be able to see through the layers of mystery and see her true self.

However, uncovering this secret is clearly not something that can be done in a day or two.

Moreover, he cannot deliberately dig into it.

Given Tokisaki Kurumi's vigilance, if he deliberately tries to dig deeper, it might backfire.

Mori Ougai silently kept this matter in mind.

Although this matter is very important to his understanding of Kurumi Tokisaki, the most important thing at the moment is the betrayal of his clone.

"Does your clone know the organization's secrets, just like you?" Mori Ougai asked, frowning.

Kurumi Tokisaki knows many secrets of the Port Mafia, and Mori Ōgai knows this as well.

That's why he had to bring Tokisaki Kurumi into the organization to prevent her from spreading the word.

Now that her clone has betrayed her, Mori Ōgai can't help but worry.

"Rest assured, this clone comes from a timeline from a long time ago and is unaware of the Port Mafia's secrets."

"But you learned about the organization's secrets through Zafkiel's abilities, right? Could the betrayed clone have also learned about the organization's secrets through Zafkiel?"

"No, because clones don't have the right to use Zafkiel. Their combat power isn't high; they can only use flintlock pistols and shadows."

"I see, that puts my mind at ease."

Upon learning that Tokisaki Kurumi's clones could not use Zafkiel, Mori Ougai breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, if each of her clones could use time manipulation abilities that were practically bug-level, Kurumi Tokisaki's threat level would be enough to destroy a country.

Although the ability to use shadows and those two strange flintlock pistols is already threatening enough, since the clones cannot use Zafkiel, even hundreds of clones cannot surpass the danger of the main body.

Mori Ōgai doesn't need to worry about the Port Mafia's secrets being leaked.

However, it's clear that Kurumi Tokisaki's secret can no longer be kept hidden.

“Although this betraying clone is an individual from the distant past and doesn’t know much about what you’ve experienced, she must know all your abilities, right?” Mori Ougai asked. “Even if she can’t use Zafkiel, she must know all of Zafkiel’s abilities.”

“That’s right.” Kurumi Tokisaki sighed. “Although the clones can’t use Zafkiel, their understanding of Zafkiel still exists.”

"So, the Armed Detective Agency may already have all the information about your abilities from your clone?"

"No, I don't think she would tell the Armed Detective Agency my information."

"why?"

"I may have been naive in the past, but I wasn't stupid. If she had told the Armed Detective Agency about me, those detectives would have easily guessed her true identity and gotten involved in the war between me and her," Kurumi Tokisaki replied. "However, given her personality, she wouldn't have done something that would involve innocent bystanders."

"That's great news! So, what are your plans next?"

"The boss of the Port Mafia is asking me how to deal with traitors?"

Tokisaki Kurumi chuckled at Mori Ōgai's foolish question.

"Of course, kill her."

Chapter Fifty: Quick Thinking

Mori Ōgai gazed at the girl's delicate face.

Even though they were talking about killing themselves, the girl's smile didn't diminish at all; in fact, it seemed even more cruel.

Is it that she simply doesn't care about the life or death of her clone?

Or is this... not the first time this has happened?

Regardless of the possibility, Mori Ōgai had to admit that even within the Port Mafia, few people were more like a monster than her.

He showed absolutely no mercy or tolerance towards his past self, coldly sentencing him to death.

However, Mori Ougai did not feel disheartened. Although his vigilance towards Tokisaki Kurumi continued to increase, his appreciation for his subordinates as a leader of a faction could not be suppressed.

A person who can be ruthless to themselves can be even more ruthless to others.

Such a person is undoubtedly the most suitable to stay in the port mafia.

The more Mori Ougai thought of Tokisaki Kurumi, the more regretful he felt.