At the center of Kinoko Town, there was a vast park.
The place was lush and green, lined with dense trees, and in the middle lay a shallow lake that reflected tonight's full moon like a mirror.
Ordinarily, few people ever came here... it was practically deserted... which made it a perfect location to serve as one of the five anchor points supporting the barrier that covered the entirety of Kinoko Town.
Tonight, Aoko's quest was to patrol the area around this park.
Only two anchor points remained.
If Touko decided to take action tonight, she would inevitably target one of them. That meant Aoko had a fifty-percent chance of encountering her.
She had already prepared herself for the decisive battle.
But never could she have imagined that when the confrontation finally came… it would turn out to be so ironically cruel.
"Eh… ah…"
Her feet dangled helplessly in midair.
A slender arm had her throat locked tight.
Her windpipe was crushed... no air could reach her lungs. She couldn't make a sound; only a few strangled syllables escaped as she struggled.
Her hands clawed desperately at the arm around her neck. Her legs kicked wildly at her attacker's abdomen... but the other party didn't even flinch.
Those calm, green eyes merely watched her, as if curiously observing how long it would take for her to suffocate.
I'm going to die.
I'm really going to die.
Aoko could feel the oxygen in her chest running out. Her brain grew hazy, strength leaking from every part of her body. Even the instinct to struggle began to fade away.
The end was unreasonable, undignified.
There was no grace in dying of asphyxiation.
But that was exactly how she was about to die... ... ... killed by this golden-haired boy who was strangling her.
He looked no older than thirteen or fourteen... a small-framed boy wearing a white down jacket. His short golden hair reached his nape, and his delicate features bore the clear traits of a European child.
But what stood out most were his eyes: emerald-green pupils, pure and innocent, devoid of malice... even as they watched Aoko's life slowly fade away, as though killing her was the most natural thing in the world.
"Alright, Beo. Let her down."
A mature woman's voice came from within the shadows of the trees.
"Yes, Miss Touko."
The golden-haired boy... Beo... obeyed reluctantly. He released Aoko, letting her collapse to the ground, and stepped back a few paces, making way for his master.
Out from the tree line walked a woman in a green formal dress, with short dark crimson hair... darker than the color of twilight itself. She wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses, and her expression was composed and gentle.
"It's been three and a half years, hasn't it, Aoko?"
Aozaki Touko stood before her and slowly removed her glasses.
It was like flipping a switch.
Her features sharpened instantly, her crimson eyes glinting with razor-like clarity, her entire being exuding an aura of hostility.
"So much time has passed… and yet, you still haven't grown at all."
"Cough... ! Cough, cough!"
Aoko slumped to the ground, both hands clutching her throat.
Her face was flushed red; her lungs heaved as she greedily drew in air.
"Heh… you've changed quite a bit yourself… cough, cough… you fruit-selling hag."
The insult burst from her lips with biting sarcasm.
Even after a near-death experience, the fire in her eyes hadn't dimmed one bit... her stubborn pride remained unbroken, not a trace of fear or despair marring her defiance.
"H-Hag?!"
Touko froze for a moment... then her expression darkened immediately.
"I'm only twenty-one! Twenty-one! Far from a hag!"
Indeed, despite her mature appearance... the composed elegance of a woman in her late twenties... it was simply how she'd always looked. In reality, she was only twenty-one.
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Touko glared daggers at Aoko, her tone now brimming with irritation.
"Forget it. I was going to talk a little longer, but I've lost interest."
Her voice turned cold.
"Beo... she's yours. Do as you like. Break a few legs, shatter some bones, I don't care. Just don't kill her... that's all."
"You really are fickle, Miss Touko," the golden-haired boy Beo said with a sigh as he stepped forward toward Aoko.
At that moment, the golden-haired boy looked down at Aoko lying on the ground.
A pure, innocent smile reappeared on his face... so bright and untroubled it was as if darkness had never existed within him at all.
"I heard from Miss Touko that your body holds the world's strongest Mystery. Is that true?"
He crouched down so that his eyes were level with hers, then slowly extended his right hand.
"I left my village for one reason... to fight against powerful Mysteries. So when Miss Touko told me about the 'world's strongest Mystery', I got really interested… If you still refuse to use it, I'll just have to tear your body apart piece by piece, okay?"
A golden flame flickered to life around his right hand.
Within that light, his slender human wrist began to change... flesh twisting and bones reshaping until it became a beast's claw, covered in golden fur.
That claw descended toward Aoko.
His movements weren't fast.
They were slow, deliberate... like a cat toying with a cornered mouse.
His expression was calm, almost lazy... carrying the air of someone who stood above all others.
But Aoko felt the weight of death closing in.
As the golden-haired boy advanced, she quickly leapt back, but the golden claw pursued her relentlessly, its edge sharp enough that a single swipe could easily shred her slender body.
"A Familiar?"
While Beo was toying with Aoko, Touko lifted her gaze toward the sky.
A black starling circled high above.
Its dark silhouette blended almost perfectly into the night... but not enough to escape the eyes of a professional magus.
"Alice's Familiar, huh?"
Touko recognized that kind of bird instantly. Only Alice would create such a Familiar, one used for reconnaissance and surveillance within the city.
"She's already in a far tougher situation than this, and she still dares to split her focus to watch over here?"
Touko sighed quietly.
Honestly, she didn't want to kill Alice.
But the situation simply wouldn't allow mercy.
Against that enemy… Alice didn't stand a chance.
After all, the difference in Mystery level was far too great.
No modern magus could ever hope to face something like that head-on... not even a Great Witch's Familiar.
Touko ignored the black bird.
Aoko's screams echoed in the background, but she remained completely indifferent.
She even pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a long drag, exhaling a slow plume of smoke.
As long as she doesn't die, it doesn't matter how much pain she endures.
That was the command Touko herself had given to her Familiar, Beo... so of course, there would be no hesitation or pity.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind came roaring from the distance, drawing rapidly closer.
"What the... ?"
Touko frowned and looked toward the source.
She saw a dark shape... At first, it was just a small speck in the night sky, but it was growing larger by the second, gradually taking on the shape of a human figure.
"Flight? No… not floating either… He's falling... no, being launched!?"
Touko's expression stiffened at once.
She focused her gaze, eyes narrowing as she locked onto the approaching figure... And then she saw that all-too-familiar, fiercely determined face.
"That boy... ?!"
(End of Chapter)
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