Time rewound to this morning.
Shortly after Aozaki Aoko left the Western-style mansion, a familiar flew to the front of the mansion and dropped a letter in the courtyard, which was picked up by the mansion's owner.
The letter bore no signature, merely warning them to beware of collusion from within.
The familiar was also hastily made, completely devoid of personal style—an anonymous warning note.
After reading this letter, Aoko immediately thought of Eiji.
"So you just believed it?"
Eiji stared at the letter in his hand, which was composed of a few small words cut out from a newspaper, and was nearly dumbfounded.
What kind of silly girl is this?
After all the effort I spent trying to convince you, you wouldn't believe me, but someone hands you a piece of paper and you come running like an idiot to kill me?
"Of course I'm not that stupid!"
The moment she saw his look—as if he were staring at an idiot—Aoko grew furious.
"Though I'm very reluctant to admit it, I don't think you're that kind of person. But Alice doesn't believe it!"
That's right.
Despite having interacted for less than half a day, Aoko intuitively felt that Eiji couldn't be that kind of person.
And that was what infuriated her the most!
Why do I have such a high level of trust in this guy?
Because he's pissed me off several times?
Aoko believed the sender of this letter must have ulterior motives, so she argued extensively with her housemate, trying to persuade her.
Her housemate dismissed her intuitive judgment without comment.
And instead decided to take action to eliminate this mysterious magus.
"Your housemate wants to kill me?"
"...Alice isn't like me. She's a full-fledged magus."
Aoko rubbed her forehead as she stood up, brushing the dust off her pants.
A magi's worldview is completely different from that of ordinary people.
Magi have an extremely strong territorial instinct, largely because most take pride in owning their own spiritual lands—so-called spiritual lands are plots brimming with mystery, where bizarre phenomena occasionally occur.
A high-quality spiritual land can even become a magus family's heirloom, on par with a Magic Crest.
In the eyes of a magus, an unknown individual who poses a significant threat is more unwelcome than anything else.
If such a person were to visit politely, show humility, and bring gifts, a more hospitable magus might even allow them to stay. But if someone sneaks into their territory and lurks unnoticed, they are no different from a robber trying to seize their land in the magus's eyes.
Over the years, her housemate had dealt with more than one intruder attempting to plunder this spiritual land.
"Psychos!"
Eiji rolled his eyes.
As if Kinoko Town was really their territory!
Their actual territory is in Misaki City! It's only due to some unknown reason that it merged into this bizarre world. They can't even recognize that and just go ahead claiming this place as their own.
If only this world had places like Misaki City or Fuyuki City—he would have loved to point at them and call them idiots.
But in this situation, calling them idiots would only make him look like one instead.
"Anyway, why are you the one sent to kill me?"
"Let me clarify—I came to save you!"
Aoko puffed out her chest, full of confidence, though her expression remained displeased.
"Alice is incredibly strong, on a completely different level from ordinary magi. If she were to act, you'd probably be finished on the spot. So after much persuasion, she agreed to let me test you first!"
So that's how it was.
No wonder she talked tough but fought softly.
She had convinced her housemate to let her test Eiji first before making a decision. At the very least, this way, she could ensure Eiji wouldn't die at Alice's hands.
"You're really bold. Weren't you afraid of losing to me?"
"Who knew you'd be this strong..."
Aoko muttered under her breath.
No matter how strong a magus is, their physical body is ultimately that of an ordinary person. They merely possess various means to achieve miracles. A magus's combat strength depends on how well they wield these miraculous methods.
But who could have guessed this bastard had already surpassed human limits, racing toward monstrosity at breakneck speed? An ordinary magus would be no match for him.
"Now that you've tested me, what's your next move?"
"Uh..."
Aoko suddenly choked up.
Eiji narrowed his eyes, sensing something bad.
"We agreed that if you were weak, it wouldn't matter since you'd pose no threat."
Aoko's gaze grew evasive, her expression hesitant.
"But if you turned out to be strong..."
Great.
Eiji could already guess what came next.
"Hah..."
A cold breeze swept by.
The atmosphere around them shifted noticeably.
Like a mirage, the distance between heaven and earth seemed to stretch, and the air grew murky. The pale moon, previously shrouded by dark clouds, now revealed itself.
But the moonlight was tainted an eerie shade of green.
The ground and the amusement park were similarly dyed in this unnatural hue.
"Oh no!"
Aoko's face twisted in dismay.
"That Alice... she actually started with something this big?!"
Her expression betrayed a hint of panic.
She seemed eager to continue communicating with her housemate, but after glancing around, she found no trace of her, only deepening her anxiety.
"What kind of 'big thing' is this?"
An ominous premonition crept into Eiji's heart.
This was truly unbelievable.
As everyone knew, magi in the Type-Moon world grew weaker the closer they were to the modern era. In this age, very few magi could rival Heroic Spirits in strength.
Yet now, his instincts were warning him of danger.
"Alice! Can you hear me, Alice?!"
Aoko paid no heed to Eiji's question, instead shouting at the top of her lungs.
But no matter how much she yelled, there was no response, forcing her to give up in frustration.
"Looks like Alice thinks you're too much of a threat. She doesn't want to face you directly and plans to fight remotely using familiars."
Aoko sighed in exasperation. Though her head was indeed hurting, her exhaustion was more mental than physical.
"This is a familiar? Isn't the scale a bit too large?"
Eiji scanned their surroundings.
Everything within sight seemed to have transformed into an alien world, the entire space swaying unsteadily. If this was the work of a familiar, then this familiar was far too powerful.
"I told you, Alice is a magus on a completely different level. Even other maguses would curse and accuse her of cheating if they saw her in battle."
Aoko took a deep breath and quickly briefed Eiji.
"Alice commands many familiars, most of which are utterly bizarre. Even among them, there are three high-class entities that stand apart—unfathomable crystallizations of mystery."
"The one we're facing now is likely one of those three—Flat Snark, also known as the Oil of the Moon!"
***
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