The secret meeting at the workshop concluded with a plan to join forces against Louvre and eliminate the most valued retainer of the White Wing Lord.
The one who proposed this plan was Touko Aozaki. Although she usually appeared lazy and indifferent to most things, giving the impression of being easy to get along with, in reality, she was a highly vengeful person. Anyone who dared to provoke her paid a steep price.
In the past, her sore spot was the inherited Fifth Magic. After rebelling against her family, it became the taboo name Scarred Red, leading to the events of Mahōtsukai no Yoru and the bloodshed that shocked the Clock Tower.
Now, her sore spot had expanded to include a small boy who had forcefully barged into her heart. To protect this boy, she once again became the fearsome witch that made her enemies tremble.
"Sakura, help me break the bounded field; Lorelei, prepare the group levitation spell; Kirie, you'll lead the charge; Fujino, the gate-breaking task is yours."
With each command issued, the girls, including Lorelei, swiftly took action. In military operations, strict obedience to commands is crucial. Since Touko was designated as the leader, they had to follow her orders during the action.
"Fujino, go!"
"Yes, Sensei." Red and green glow intertwined into spirals in Fujino's eyes. These spirals manifested through her highest-grade Mystic Eyes of Distortion, reflecting the scene in her retinas.
Then, the spirals ignited.
In an instant, the world spun, and the scenery twisted.
The ancient castle floating on the lake shook violently as if struck by a magnitude-nine earthquake.
For hundreds of years, no human had breached the castle gates, but now, they shattered into fragments under the gaze of the girl.
At the moment the gate was destroyed, Lorelei's spell was also ready. The blue wind swirled around the feet of the five women.
Feeling their bodies lighten, Touko nodded in satisfaction. "Well done, Fujino. Kirie—prepare to engage!"
As if in response to Touko's words, short bursts of bell chimes echoed from the castle, signaling an enemy attack.
Seconds later, a "cloud of darkness" covered the entire lake.
This was a massive swarm of familiars, including bats, crows, and black hawks, organized in such dense formations that they looked like a dark cloud.
Due to the special nature of Dead Apostles, each long-standing Dead Apostle castle housed a significant number of familiars. These served both as tools and as the first line of defense in case of an attack. Considering this defense, Touko had opted not to rush in directly.
"The number exceeds four digits. Quite a lot."
"They're just cannon fodder. No matter how many there are, they pose no threat. I don't understand why you're concerned about such things."
"You'll find out soon enough."
Lorelei's disdain did not disrupt Touko's rhythm. She addressed the girl standing at the forefront of the group.
"Kirie, this is your first wave of enemies. Your performance will determine our subsequent tactics. Don't disappoint me."
"Yes, Miss Aozaki!" Kirie Fujo nodded firmly.
The next second, the black coat she wore suddenly bulged with two lumps, which expanded at an astonishing speed. Soon, the woolen fabric emitted a strained tearing sound, eventually splitting apart.
At that moment, everyone saw the true nature of those lumps—a pair of metal wings, designed with aerodynamics in mind, reminiscent of a fighter jet's wings.
The faintly visible runes on the wings silently declared that they were not just products of science but also magecraft.
"Combat Machine Kirie, launching!"
Accompanied by this line full of chūnibyō flair, "Combat Machine Kirie" soared into the sky, dramatically accelerating as it plunged into the familiar-formed dark cloud.
The bird familiars had a very monotonous attack style: either clawing with their talons or pecking with their beaks. However, such attacks could at most tear Kirie's clothes, but they couldn't cause her any real harm.
Because underneath those clothes wasn't flesh but a "metal body" that combined magecraft and technology—this was the new body created by Touko for Kirie. More precisely, it was a new body created for her "Dual Existence." Kirie's original body was resting at the Mage's Association's Norway branch, while the one accompanying the subjugation team was her secondary existence.
The secondary existence was purely a spiritual entity and couldn't interact with physical matter. However, with the help of Justeaze, Kirie mastered the method to materialize an entity, which led to various possibilities, one of which was the current manipulation of a puppet by her secondary existence.
"Useless, useless, useless!" (Muda, muda, muda!)
Relying on her metal body, Kirie maneuvered the combat machine back and forth among the flock of birds, soon crashing dozens of familiars to death. However, this was just a drop in the bucket compared to the entire "dark cloud."
While she was rampaging, some of the faster familiars had already closed in on Touko and the others.
"Kirie-nee, stop fooling around and come back!"
"Everyone, don't interfere, they're mine!"
Hearing Fujino's reminder, Kirie, amid her excitement, remembered her mission. She quickly put away her playful attitude and deployed the pre-set armaments within the puppet.
The combat puppet meticulously crafted by the Grand Puppeteer Touko Aozaki naturally had more features than just a metal body. Its performance was only beginning to unfold.
"Bullet Storm!"
At Kirie's shout, the combat machine's hands flipped upwards, revealing two rotating machine guns with six barrels each. Sharp bullets whistled out at a rate of thirty to fifty rounds per second.
In just a few seconds, the familiars between Kirie and Touko were slaughtered—modern warfare weapons were indeed more efficient than magecraft in terms of lethality.
With the immediate threat cleared, the combat machine turned around, spewing a ten-meter-long flame and producing an increasingly metallic voice—"Flame Jet!"
Following the flames were beams emitted from its eyes—"Destructive Laser!"
And lightning released from its hair—"Electric Flash!"
Fujino and Lorelei were left dumbfounded.
On the other side, after successfully infiltrating the bounded, Touko handed the remaining work to Sakura. She then looked up at the rampaging combat machine, muttering softly, "The puppet modified from Aozaki MkII works well; let's call it MkIII. But why announce the name of the weapon before using it? I even specifically inscribed a spell to block magical detection for a surprise effect. What a waste."
Having no interest in the otaku world, Touko had no idea that announcing attack names before using them was a tradition in hot-blooded anime, and Kirie was a staunch supporter of this tradition.
Yes, Kirie was the first otaku personally nurtured by Shinji, even though her hobby was traveling.