Not long after, Shinji received another piece of news.
"----Sakura has been targeted by a suspicious person."
Upon hearing Fujino's words, Shinji exploded.
"What the hell, my sister is indeed cute and likable, but she's only ten years old! Ten years old! Who the hell dares to lay a hand on her? I'll chop him to pieces! The last old bastard who dared to harm my little Sakura has been cold in the ground for almost five years—I damn well want to see who dares to seek death!"
If anyone else had listened to the phone call, even Sakura's parents, they would have thought Shinji had gone too far. But not Fujino. Despite having regained her sense of pain and living a normal life, deep down in her heart, she still harbored twisted feelings. And it was precisely Shinji's excessively extreme protective instincts and concern that Fujino admired and became infatuated with the most.
Fujino listened quietly to Shinji's roar, imagining the image of the little boy who wasn't even as tall as her, standing with his hands on his hips, spitting as he shouted. It warmed her heart because that little boy had said he was also her family, and he would protect her like this.
"Tell me, where did that bastard come from? What's his name? What did he do to Sakura? Based on the situation, I'll decide whether to eliminate that bastard's life. Fujino, Fujino, are you listening?"
"Yes, I'm listening," Fujino softly responded.
"Then tell me about that asshole."
"Well, I don't know his name, but he claims to be a classmate of Sensei."
"Touko's classmate?" Shinji's gaze sharpened, and a name slowly emerged from the depths of his memory. "Any distinctive features about him?"
"He wears a red coat... in his twenties... dark golden hair, blue eyes... speaks German... his smile and appearance are strange," Fujino said intermittently.
"I know who he is," Shinji snorted coldly. "Cornelius Alba. He found me before I even went to find him."
Cornelius Alba was the descendant of Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim in Germany. He was over fifty years old but still had the appearance of a young man in his twenties. He was a former classmate of Touko Aozaki and Souren Araya during their studies in London.
As a highly skilled magus, he once led the Enforcer unit of the Magic Association, responsible for "Sealing Designation," to pursue and kill Emiya Kiritsugu, the father of Emiya Shirou.
During his time in the Association, his research interests were similar to Touko's, specializing in rune magic and puppet-making. However, Touko surpassed him in both areas. For Alba, who attached great importance to his reputation, Touko's superior abilities and dismissive attitude towards him were intolerable. Therefore, their relationship during their time at the academy was always strained, and even after Touko left London, he had been looking for an opportunity to seek revenge against her.
With these thoughts in mind, Shinji suppressed all his emotions, leaving only a calm demeanor.
"Tell me in detail what happened."
The sequence of events was not complicated. This Saturday, early in the morning, Fujino and Sakura went to Touko's office as usual. When there was business, they would assist with simple tasks, and when there was none, they would use Touko's workshop to practice magecraft and Mystic Eyes.
Before entering the office, the two of them noticed a stranger wearing a red coat in the corridor. Out of politeness, Sakura and Fujino approached him to inquire.
Unexpectedly, after carefully observing the two girls, the man said, "You must be Aozaki's disciples."
Then he began to ramble on, discussing the derivation and development of Japan's independent magecraft system called "Shinto," as well as the characteristics of Japan's regions and ethnic groups - not acting outside his domain and taking action after an event rather than before. He claimed to be an expert in handling things afterward. Finally, he concluded that Japan was a good place and very suitable for causing trouble.
The topics jumped around too much, and Sakura and Fujino were at a loss due to the ambiguous choice of words. All they knew was that the person in front of them should be acquainted with Touko and be skilled in chanting magecraft. His speech was incredibly fast, not only fast but also clear, which made Sakura, who considered herself "clumsy," quite envious.
After a long discussion, showcasing his high level and sophistication, this guy began to speak ill of Touko.
He mentioned how this woman had a terrible personality, and it must be tough to be with her. For the sake of their future, they should find a better teacher; otherwise, not only would they waste their potential, but they might also attract fatal disaster.
He emphasized this point at the end.
"Touko Aozaki, that woman, has many enemies, and I am one of them. This time, I just came to say hello and won't do anything to you. But it's hard to say next time. Killing her beloved disciple should make her nickname more fitting, right?"
As Sakura and Fujino stood there, coldly watching him, the magus who had intruded into their bounded field laughed heartily.
"You might not know that woman's nickname. 'Dirty Red.' It's a pity, a flawed crimson, which suits the name Touko quite well. But soon, this title will become even more fitting—I will stain her with crimson pain."
After saying that, the boastful magus disappeared before their eyes, leaving behind a gaze that resembled a cat teasing a mouse.
Upon hearing this, Shinji suddenly laughed, partly out of anger and partly because Alba's words amused him.
This guy truly lived up to the title of the "Emperor of Dying in Type-Moon." Not only was he excessively self-confident, but he also had a sharp tongue.
Knowing that he was not as powerful as Touko, he still believed he could kill her. Looking at Sakura and Fujino, who were young, he thought they were easy to bully. Little did he know that Sakura's overall combat ability was only slightly weaker than Shinji's when he didn't use Noble Phantasms and incantations, and no one didn't even dare claim that Sakura had no chance to win against Touko. Fujino's Mystic Eyes of Distortion were considered by Touko and Shinji as a "death upon first encounter," meaning that in a first meeting without knowing her abilities, one would be killed by Fujino. This was one of the reasons why Alba was being reckless.
If it weren't for Sakura and Fujino's cautiousness and their consideration of Alba's and Touko's identities as classmates, Alba might have already been dead. Although the two girls hadn't shed blood under Shinji's protection, when it came to killing someone, they wouldn't hold back. They had already experienced death, and Touko hadn't been sparing in instilling in them the rules of survival in the mysterious world—which included the rule of striking ruthlessly when necessary. Since they had stepped into the mysterious world, killing was inevitable sooner or later. Shinji and Touko couldn't always be there with them; they had to learn how to protect themselves.
The second reckless move was that Alba uttered Touko's forbidden title.
In addition to rank assessment, the Magic Association also had a color assessment specifically for extraordinary individuals. The highest ranks were based on the three primary colors: red (crimson), blue (azure), and yellow. Then, there were the synthetic colors: orange, purple, green, and black. The lower the rank, the lighter the color.
Touko had originally wanted to obtain the primary color "blue," but it was taken by her sister, Aozaki Aoko. In the end, she only obtained the impure "red" and was thus called the "Scarred Red." This part of her past, along with the title "Dirty Red," was considered taboo by Touko. She had even made a vow that anyone who dared to violate this taboo would be killed.
Whether in the novels of "Kara no Kyoukai" or at present, Cornelius Alba had violated this taboo.
PS: The Punching Bag Guy is Here.
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