A barrage of metal and fruits prevented Rui-Ling from getting in anymore pointlessly lavish praise, and the immortal couldn’t help but let out a long, long sigh at the person that rose from the shadows. Drenched in golden armor and bearing a smirk that looked gloriously punchable, the Cataloguer of Sacred Relics popped out of the woodwork like a friend that everyone wanted to be nice to but no one wanted to hang out with and reminded Rui-Ling once more of the immortal’s shameful past.
Bringing up his right hand into his face and resting it in a moment of embarrassment, the platinum-blond male asked, “Goddammit, Cat-boy, can’t you just call me Rui-Ling or something? Spirit Hammer’s just such a stupid nickname. God knows why I came up with that back when I did, but it’d be great if you just forgot about it now.”
But of course that chuuni, immature Cataloguer wouldn’t stop, and now he was posing as well. Sparing a quick glance at Alice and praying that she didn’t respond in kind to the Cataloguer’s pretentious attitude, he was relieved to see that she was similarly empty-eyed and blank-minded, apparently off in her own little Wonderland. That was fine at least.
“You know, Cat-boy, my friend, you have other things to do in Sonomachi, and so do I, so how about we just pretend that we never saw each other in the Red Woods, ok?”
The Cataloguer brought out a box full of rubies then, eliciting another sigh from Rui-Ling.
“Like, please? I need to beat up this giant vegetable so I can do some investi-”
“Aestus!”
“Oh fuck you too. Literally worse than Suzumebachi, huh?”
An explosion of flame engulfed his body as he used it to partially shield Alice from the explosion. Rising like a phoenix from the red flames, Rui-Ling, his eyes still regenerating from that particular death, called out, “Alice! Run and help whomever is fighting the Goliath! I’ll cover y- Oh, nevermind, you’re already gone.”
It sorta hurt his cold, time-locked heart that the midget wouldn’t even spare a single breath to tell him of her plans, but, well…
“Thanks for the bread?”
With that, Rui-Ling reflexively brought out his right hand. A single soul swirling before it, spinning in a circle once before a brilliant beam of spiritual energy shot outwards at the mound of bread, erasing it and anything that the Cataloguer might throw at Rui-Ling.