"...Ouken!"
Suddenly, a short verse was heard.
The red cat, which had swallowed Alba's body up to his shoulders, stopped moving. Touko, who had been observing the situation as if a bystander, immediately reacted to this voice.
Behind Alba stood a man. His face was filled with unbearable distress, a serious expression, and he was dressed in a black coat.
As if he had been there from the beginning, there was no trace of his appearance. The man, with one hand, effortlessly pulled Alba out of the red cat's mouth and placed him on the floor. The red cat came into contact with one of the man's triple barriers and thus couldn't move.
The man turned to the woman below. Along with his movement, the previously relaxed atmosphere gradually disappeared. It was as if the apartment itself felt tense as if preparing to welcome its true master.
"Long time no see, Aozaki."
"Ah, likewise, although I didn't want to see you. But your presence here means that she—"
The first and second floors stood as if divided between heaven and earth. Touko and the mastermind Souren Araya confronted each other.
"She has fallen into my hands."
Araya calmly spoke, conveying a helpless reality.
"It seems I'm a step too late."
"No, you're too early. Originally, everything was supposed to end without you knowing. It seems Alba went too far. I couldn't prepare the bodies of sixty-four people by myself."
"Perhaps it's not just that. The injuries on your body were caused by her, right—"
Touko locked her gaze onto Araya's chest and neck, where there were deep, bone-visible knife wounds.
"—If I had received such injuries, I would already be dead."
"As you said, my current condition is not good."
Araya didn't conceal his heavily injured state because he knew it was meaningless to do so.
"If possible, I'd like to chat with you a bit longer, but I'm sorry, my body doesn't allow me to do so."
"I see. It seems Shiki is temporarily fine. Just to be sure—do you have any intention of returning Shiki?"
"If you want her, it's up to you."
"Hmph, so it means we can only fight? Honestly, I'm not good at fighting in the first place. It's something that should be left to that brat."
"Just to be sure, I'll ask you as well. Aozaki, do you plan on assisting me?" Araya spoke with an unchanged hostile gaze and a will to kill.
Touko answered—her amber eyes conveyed her will: "Absolutely not."
"...I see, what a pity."
The magus' face bore a heavy burden of distress as he took step after step towards the staircase.
"...The path to the origin has already been obtained. Just a few more steps and my wish will be fulfilled. Anyone who obstructs me will be seen as an obstacle."
The atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly tense. The air solidified, carrying a distorted and dangerous oppressive feeling, perhaps twisted by Araya's intent to kill.
Amidst it all, Touko watched her former classmate from a distance. In the end, she, as a magus—Touko Aozaki—asked Souren Araya a question.
"Araya, what do you seek?"
"True wisdom."
"Where do you seek, Araya?"
"Only within my own heart." Souren Araya answered without hesitation, his footsteps coming to a stop at the entrance of the staircase.
To exclude each other's existence from the world, the two of them began to act.
Araya raised one hand from under his black coat.
Slowly, he raised his left hand to shoulder height. His palm weakly opened, as if summoning someone from a distance.
He stood facing his opponent with one hand raised. This was Souren Araya, the magus' battle stance.
In contrast, Touko Aozaki simply looked up at the dark magus. The suitcase at her feet remained still as she focused her attention on the enemy's movements.
Her familiar, the red cat, was currently sealed behind Araya and couldn't move.
Touko had already seen through the triple barrier that Araya had established centered around himself.
It was a magic spider thread woven between the ground and space, between two dimensions and three dimensions. As long as a living being came into contact with the circular lines that formed it, its movement would be instantly taken away.
Generally, a barrier protects stationary objects or serves as a boundary that does not move. With himself as the center, bringing it along, visible but intangible, it allowed him to attack the enemy monstrously. So, unless targeted means were employed, Souren Araya was invincible in close combat.
However, on the other hand, Araya only had this move. Unlike Alba, he didn't have a direct means of attack. The only way to eliminate Touko was through hand-to-hand combat. Araya was a man who had lived through turbulent times, relying solely on his body to fight. In Touko's understanding, no one in the present world could match him.
Even knowing this, Touko still waited for him to approach. Of course, she had no intention of engaging Araya in close combat. That would be equivalent to seeking her death. She was simply waiting for an opportunity, for the moment Araya descended the stairs and entered the hall to launch her attack.
However, Souren Araya stood only at the top of the staircase and slightly moved the outstretched hand.
"—Shuku." Accompanied by a low growl, Araya's open palm suddenly clenched.
Touko's body began to tremble simultaneously, and her coat, which could shield various magic systems' circuits, turned into fragments that scattered on the ground.
It was an impact that the eyes couldn't see, striking the entire body from all directions with equilibrium. Touko involuntarily knelt.
This attack was completely different from the one in the battle with Shinji. At that time, Araya simply applied pressure to the atmosphere. This time, he shattered the space where Touko stood. To give an example, the previous attack was like being hit by a car, while now it was like being run over by a steamroller.
Realizing what had happened, Touko uttered an incredulous sound. She didn't expect Araya to possess that kind of magecraft that could influence space with just a slight movement.
"...I've been hit. Dammit, how many ribs are broken?" Touko swallowed the blood in her mouth while assessing her injuries.
For Touko, who hadn't trained her body, she couldn't accurately gauge her condition like Shinji could. The only thing she was certain about was that she was still alive thanks to her coat. If she were hit again, she would undoubtedly be crushed.
Therefore, she couldn't hold back anymore.
"—Go!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, the sealed red cat suddenly moved.
The stiffness it had shown before was all an act. The red cat pounced towards Araya, who had his back turned to it.
"What!"
Araya displayed a hint of surprise and quickly turned around. Then, without hesitation, he tightly clenched his outstretched hand once again. A buzzing vibration filled the surroundings.
Touko saw the space in front of Araya collapsing inward step by step. The red cat jumped up before being crushed. Like the force of gravity reversing, it stood on the ceiling, looking at him.
"This is the end."
The other hand hidden beneath the black coat tightly gripped the palm. The red cat, along with the ceiling, was crushed. A hole opened in one corner of the ceiling, and the red cat was compressed until its eyes were no longer visible, then it disappeared.
"Your pawn has vanished... You said it back at the academy—a magus doesn't need to be strong themselves, as long as they create the strongest tools... Indeed, when a puppeteer's puppet is defeated, it's equivalent to their defeat."
Araya turned to face Touko once again and opened his palm, saying these words.
Touko listened to the words with a displeased expression on her face.
"Hmm, my statement was still correct. However, you are amazing. This place is like your own body, and you can freely destroy space as you please. I have already jumped into a massive magic... Hmph, since you were prepared to this extent, why were you almost pushed into a corner by Shiki?"
"Capturing her alive is not easy. If I'm not careful, I might crush her, but not now. For an opponent that deserves to be killed, I will use all my strength to deal with them."
"Hopefully, you don't end up being clumsy."
After readjusting her posture as she nearly fell, Touko slowly leaned against the wall.
"Araya, there are three ways to instill fear in people. Do you know what they are? First, monsters should not speak human words. Second, monsters must remain unknown. Third, if a monster is not immortal, it's meaningless."
"!" Araya seemed to realize something and quickly turned around.
On the ceiling that should have been destroyed, the red cat survived as if nothing had happened.
"-Shuku!" He clenched his fist towards the ceiling, and the space instantly compressed.
The red cat wavered due to the distortion and jumped down towards him, opening its mouth with a "snap." Araya couldn't evade it and was bitten.
"Ugh!" He let out a scream of agony as if in his last moments.
With a "swoosh" sound, Araya, unable to counterattack in time, lost more than half of his body.
Only the head and shoulders of his fell to the ground with a thud. With a face that was either dead or full of agony, the pieces of flesh that were once the magus rolled down the stairs.
Touko calmly observed the scene and spoke briefly:
"If you want to resolve things, you have to strike with a move that can kill. Araya, that's how a surprise attack works."
Touko turned away from the wall and walked out.
Just then, she felt a strong push on her back, and her already unstable body couldn't maintain balance, causing her to fall awkwardly to the ground.
Before she could figure out what had happened, a dull sound, like dry wood hitting leather, reached her ears.
Then, before her eyes, a figure in a dark cloak appeared.
The owner of the cloak had blue curly hair and was holding a short knife, protecting her from behind.
"Shinji?"
PS: Within the Ogawa Apartment Complex, Souren Araya gains the ability of instant teleportation anywhere within his Bounded Field, the omniscience of any occurrences within the building, and the ability to crush space itself, 'Shuku'.
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