Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

“Tell them it’s the parasite of a fallen fairy.”

Astraea sighed and said with a wry smile, "Sir Ciel, has anyone ever told you that you have a bad heart?"

"Really? I've already repaid evil with kindness, what more do you want from me?"

Astraea said helplessly, "Lyra has a fatal wound in her chest, and Kaguya has also lost an arm. These missing parts are being maintained by fairy spirits. If we don't gain their approval, Lyra will die, and Kaguya will lose an arm as well."

Charles shrugged. "So, isn't gaining approval all that matters? Or do you lack confidence in your children?"

Astraea squinted, shook her head, and said nothing.

Ciel ignored him and clapped his hands: "Come here, little Chun-hime."

Haruhime's head popped out from behind Lady Astrea, and she ran happily into Ciel's arms.

"What are your plans for Haruhime?" Astraea asked curiously.

Ciel countered, "Takemikazuchi should be arriving soon. Mikoto should have already received the letter."

Astraea shook her head: "You know that's not what I meant. Haruhime is too important to risk her life alongside Takemikazuchi, a new member of the familia."

Ciel looked at Haruhime, rubbed her head, and asked:

"Little Haruhime, do you want to stay by Myo-chan's side and go on adventures together, or do you want to go to school with me in the 'school district'?"

What is going to school?

"Going to school means going to the 'school district' to study; we're going to take a giant ship and travel around the world."

When Chunji heard "travel around the world," her eyes lit up. She tilted her head, her golden tail swaying gently. "My Lord, can't we go to school together?"

"Hahaha..." Charles happily ruffled the little fox's hair and laughed, "You're so greedy. You still have the mission of sending money to the orphans at the shrine, right? You don't have time to go to school."

"Gulp—" Chun Ji puffed out her cheeks, looking very conflicted, and started counting on her fingers.

“The school district returns every three years. We can learn all sorts of combat skills and then come back to fight alongside our destiny,” Charles suggested.

Chunji eventually agreed.

Because the conversion process would take another six months, Ciel first had Astraea agree to the conversion, and then Haruhime could wait until the school district started, which would be about the right time.

After settling Chunji in.

Around the next day, the bedridden Alexandra and the others gradually woke up.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Charles and Astrea had been waiting in the room for a long time. They greeted her when they saw that Alyssa had woken up.

Alexandra covered the red wings that had spread out on her back, her expression strange: "Hmm, how should I put it, it's a bit odd."

Kaguya clutched her shoulder, which was covered in dragon scales, and tore open the strip of cloth covering her chest to reveal a transparent crystal sphere buried in her chest. Her expression was inscrutable: "This can't possibly be considered good."

Leila looked utterly dejected; she had the worst compatibility with fairies. The white scales on her skin were still wriggling and falling off.

What is our current situation?

Charles clapped his hands: "Simply put, you've become monsters. According to intelligence, they're a new kind of monster created by combining the magic stone of a fallen fairy with humans. They're tentacles she sent out to achieve her goals. The way they manifest is that there's always another childish voice in your head saying 'Let's get along well,' or giving you missions."

After he finished speaking, all the members of Astrea's Familia had strange expressions.

"Looks like it's true." Niz sighed.

She wasn't corrupted too much, perhaps because she was originally a werewolf, but now she maintains her 'beast form' at all times and has gained ice and snow attributes.

"Damn it, haven't I become an accomplice to evil?" Laila looked at the white scales on her body with disgust, as if she wanted to find a knife to cut them off.

“I’ve temporarily sealed their power using a special magic suppressor,” Charles explained. “So, you don’t need to die so soon. As long as you learn to control this power, you can continue to move freely. However, given your current identities, you can no longer claim to be ‘just.’”

Ciel then told the women about the investigation commission he had previously given to Astraea.

"As far as the city is concerned, the Astrea Familia has been wiped out. You need to hide outside the city, improve your combat strength, and investigate some cases."

Alexie tried to slowly retract her wings, exclaiming joyfully, "So, we're going to investigate those 'holy sites' now, right? Heh heh, it really feels like a heroic tale. The resurrection of justice! Clang! Let's seek new power!"

Unlike Alisha's optimism, Kaguya frowned: "Fake death? What about Rion?"

Astraea sighed, "That child will carry our hopes and become bait to attract the Joker's attention. So only if she truly shows sadness can she completely deceive Enio, who is hiding behind the scenes."

“Joker…” When Kaguya mentioned that name, the image of herself piercing through Lyra involuntarily surfaced in her mind, and she immediately covered her mouth.

"Unfortunately, we don't have a way to restrain him for the time being. That guy is too omnipotent, so we can only secretly accumulate the strength to resist," Celty said weakly.

"Yes, they're too strong. There's simply no hope of defeating them."

Ciel raised his eyes and looked around at everyone present: "I might have some clues about the Joker's abilities."

"Is it possible that we were all wrong from the start? That he can't use all magic at all, but we just made him 'think' that he can?"

"What do you mean?" Kaguya stared intently at Ciel.

Charles shrugged. "Literally, he only has one type of magic: 'polarization magic.' He completely distorts what we see, creating the illusion that he's using our magic."

"In other words, he completely deceived us visually, and even gradually affected our hearing and even our five senses through sight."

"When the enemies we see are not real, and the voices we hear are also deceiving us, it's like entering someone else's stage and being manipulated at will. In this situation, if we cannot break this spell, we cannot defeat the Joker."

Charles's expression turned serious: "More importantly, this troublesome opponent also possesses extremely powerful 'potential abilities,' and that is the most deadly threat."

"Therefore, before we figure out how to break his magic, it's important to find new powers. I think the 'monster' powers you currently possess are quite good; if you manage them well, they might even become an asset in the fight against the Joker."

Lyra pursed her lips: "They actually have to rely on something the Joker gave them to deal with him. I have a feeling this is a trap..."

Kaguya scoffed: "Right now, let's deal with the backlash we're experiencing."

Alexandra raised her fist: "I think it's so cool! Let's work together and search the world for a solution. We'll find it eventually!"

Astrea and her companions:

"I always feel like I've let Rion down."

"Yes, she must have been crying and making a fuss, sobbing and whimpering."

"Hahaha……"

……

In the Astrea Familia, aboard the "noname" caravan, they sail towards the open ocean. The city has lost the Familia that upholds justice, and gained a blood-stained demon, [Hurricane].

A new chapter, paved with a series of bloody massacres, begins with the slaughtering spirits singing "songs of justice" and wielding their butcher knives...

Chapter 446 Metluja

After seeing off the goddess Astrea and her retinue, Ciel took Haruhime to play on the beach for a while until sunset before returning the little fox to the church.

With nearly six months until the school district opens, he needs to teach Chunji some basic knowledge so that she can enroll smoothly.

The school district's admission standard is "desire for knowledge," and in addition to a simple written test, the interview accounts for a larger proportion.

But even with such a claim of "exceptional" admission, who can prove that when I have more knowledge than others, I am not a better learner?

If all else fails, Charles plans to go through the back door.

If Bell can be an exchange student, there's no reason why Ciel can't.

Meanwhile, the Loki Familia, guided by Ryu, was rescued by the Ganesha Familia stationed there, but they were unable to bring out the body of the deceased veteran.

These corpses were intercepted by Fels, who repaired their bodies and then used resurrection magic to awaken their souls.

The return of Grace will make Loki realize that the veteran is not dead.

They will continue to lure Finn into the man-made maze adventure, serving as prisoners, bait, and rewards for completing the mission.

……

As for now...

The man-made maze has 27 floors.

Charles and Alfia met at the dormitory.

"The results and procedures of the experiments have all been compiled and summarized. The special experiments are also nearly complete." Charles placed a document summarizing his observations over this period in front of Alfia.

Alfia took the document, which contained many of Charles's conjectures.

Like...

[The object is anchored by favors and bonds, plus a few external factors.]

[During the exchange, the clone's base stats will be retained, while the skills and magic panel, including development abilities, will be swapped.]

[When an exchange ends, or the exchange partner dies, the acquired experience points will be returned to the same individual.]

Sharl explained, "This is the result of my experiment using Puppet Ryu and [Gale] to verify the interaction. The answer is that [Gale] gained the experience points from Puppet Ryu's killing of Zagnat and completed her revenge, while also inheriting her magic [Astraea's Memoirs] and some of her past. As for whether the experience gained will flow back when the exchange ends, further experimentation is needed, but it shouldn't be a big problem."

Another crucial point.

[During the exchange using a puppet, you can control the body of the exchanged target through the Trickster's Mirror.]

Based on this...

“I can see the movements of the puppets that have been swapped to the future through the Trickster’s Mirror,” Alfia surprised Sharl.

"That's great!" Charles exclaimed excitedly.

The puppet is not without consciousness; it can understand human commands and execute them faithfully.

“If we can actively give commands to the puppet on the other side, we can do even more,” Charles suggested.

“We might need some auxiliary tools. Wait a minute, I’ll go find Fels and see if we can figure something out.”

Intensive research once again commenced in the laboratory.

During this time, Ciel had Cassandra report on the daily changes in his dreams, examining potential future possibilities.

He also used the "food chain" method to assign his own skill "Your Name" to his new named familiar—the puppet [Metrelle].

Three months later.

A laboratory filled with all sorts of magical instruments.

"It's finally about to begin..." Charles looked at the puppet [Alphia] connected to him by several 'sci-fi'-looking magical devices, his expression filled with excitement.

After confirming the rules for exchanging "Your Name", Ciel set his sights on Alfia's own mirror image.

First, we need to ensure that Alfia can see Metluja, so we cannot exchange our bodies.

Secondly, to ensure the [Family], [Bond], and [Fate], using Alfia as the anchor point is naturally the most suitable.