Type-Moon, I'm a magician, is that true?

That is the sin of the magician. The inhuman and cruel world will accompany them throughout their lives, like a shadow behind them, which can never be escaped.

"But there's been no news for so long. How far away from the city is she living? People these days wouldn't live in uninhabited mountains, right? So, is she really an old-school, hermit magus from the olden days?"

The long wait made the woman feel irritated and she began to pace unconsciously.

This attack had been planned for a long time, and she had begun investigating when she first noticed a girl she didn't recognize with Yuzu.

She had already figured out part of the girl's route home, but as for the rest of the way, it would be very troublesome to track her because it went deep into the mountains, so she gave up for the time being.

After all, the road blockade is the same.

"But Youzhu is very resistant to contact from the outside world. How did that girl get along with Youzhu? She must have a way to make Youzhu accept her."

A slightly puzzled murmur drifted in the air, and the woman snorted with envy: "I tried everything back then, but all I could do was become an acquaintance."

"Yuzu is extremely attached to the people and things she owns. In other words, she's very partial. If it's a friend she approves of, they'll definitely fall into this category."

Thinking of this, the woman smiled distressedly: "Now I will be completely hated by Youzhu, but there is nothing I can do. After all, I am a magician. I will do anything to achieve my goals."

Orange's tone was full of self-mockery and seriousness, as if he hated something, but also seemed to be reminiscing about something.

Suddenly, a strong magical fluctuation flashed from the round crystal placed aside, which completely attracted the woman's attention.

“Oh, there’s feedback?”

This is a recording crystal she specially made, which is linked to the thinking circuit of a single puppet and can synchronously transmit the puppet's latest thought records.

The principle is not too profound, but the design is extremely clever, and it shows the genius of reconstruction.

"Let me see the last record. If it shows you being torn to pieces, I will observe a moment of silence for you."

The woman sincerely offered sacrifices for her goal, knowing clearly that she was the culprit who planned to kill him.

Pick up the crystal, input magic power, and activate the spell.

Orange's mind is connected to the puppet in the distance, and she will know everything the puppet sees.

"let me see……"

As soon as she finished speaking, Orange's expression became dull. She could not feel anything, only the vast and empty dark space.

His vision seemed to melt, the crystal in his hand suddenly shattered, and a severe headache made Orange's sluggish thoughts flow again.

Thinking back to her feelings just now, she was silent for a long time, and finally could only utter meaningless sighs.

"……well?"

Chapter 18 Aozaki Touko's Troubles

As mentioned before, Aozaki Touko gets information through the puppet's thinking circuit, which means that her feelings will be particularly intuitive and there is no secondary thinking conversion process.

But the dolls she made were mostly high-quality. They were naturally flexible and sturdy, and even their thinking was close to that of humans.

Adding the two together, her thread is often occupied by the feelings reflected by the puppet before its death, and she can empathize with it.

Generally speaking, there are pros and cons, but this time the feeling was particularly weird.

She felt only vastness.

Dark, infinite, lost, empty, as if it has been sleeping in the universe. Time here has no meaning.

Everything is too small, seeking to dissolve in the vastness, and the outlines and boundaries of human beings are blurred.

This place is simply a magical place, which is absolutely beyond human understanding.

It wasn't until the crystal completed its transmission mission and shattered automatically that Orange regained consciousness.

When consciousness returned to reality, the feeling of nothingness quickly dimmed and disappeared, leaving only a few residues.

But human cognition and rationality cannot correctly understand the vastness of the loss beyond their own perspective, but unfortunately, the only remaining remnants can be felt.

The surging emotions were released in an instant, and Aozaki Touko suddenly felt scared.

She couldn't stop shaking, and even the cigarette in her mouth fell to the ground because she couldn't hold it. Her hands first frantically stroked her curvy body, as if she was feeling the real existence.

Then she crossed her arms and wrapped them around herself, gradually tightening them, as if if she didn't do so, her body would lose restraint and expand and disperse.

A feeling of powerlessness filled her mind. Orange was now unable to think of anything, just like any other ordinary girl of her age.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

About a quarter of an hour, or maybe half an hour.

Orange felt that her perception of time was distorted, which made her feel dizzy. Fortunately, the feedback from her five senses gradually stabilized, allowing her to reconfirm her framework as a primate.

She took off her glasses with trembling fingers, thereby turning on the switch of psychological suggestion. Her hard and cold characteristics surfaced, barely bringing back a little space for thinking.

"Is this what the puppet felt before it was destroyed? It's a monster!"

After cursing without any hesitation, Aozaki Touko gritted her teeth and forced herself to start thinking.

"Huh... Let's summarize the information we got first." Looking at the shattered crystal not far away, Orange turned around and returned to her magic workshop. She needed to analyze it carefully.

But first she needs to calm herself down, otherwise her confused mind won't be able to think.

"Kenaz!" Gathering magic power at his fingertips, Orange drew ancient runes in the air.

Its name is [Rune], and it is the wisdom of the distant Age of Gods. It has the mystery of power just by reciting it, and only a small part of the ritual is needed to unleash enormous power.

The original runes were powers that the God-King Odin obtained through his own sacrifice. Words alone could mobilize the power of the planet, but only a few could master them.

Later, the gods simplified and weakened the original runes and passed them on to their followers and believers, allowing them to be widely spread and used, becoming an indelible mark in the Nordic region.

Aozaki Touko is currently using the widely circulated version of Rune, which is far inferior to the original Rune in power and versatility, but even so, it is still an extremely incredible thing.

Now in the magic world, the foundation of runes has been confirmed to be lost.

Even if there are families who still remember the writing and meaning of runes, they have lost their power and can only serve as simple words.

But now, Aozaki Touko actually made the rune take effect.

Although only a few runes were restored, this woman, with her genius, truly revived the base that had disappeared in the past.

[Kenaz] is also one of the few runes mastered by Oranges, meaning fire; inner light; warmth; friendliness; strength; healing; divine wisdom.

This is a very useful auxiliary Rune. Its strong adaptability makes it useful in many situations.

Just like now.

At the moment the rune was completely written in the air, a warm orange light enveloped Aozaki Touko's whole body. The panic in her heart was filled with positive emotions, and she completely returned to normal.

"Ha..." With a long sigh of relief, Orange subconsciously rubbed his glasses with one hand and began to recall the information sent by the doll from the beginning.

"Although the outcome was horrific, at least I gained something. I was lucky enough to know about the existence of this monster in advance."

"Well, now the problem is to decide how to face her." Orange felt a headache.

"It's impossible to ignore her. We can't place our hopes on others. Besides, she seems to have a good relationship with Youzhu. The possibility of her helping us in the battle is too high."

"Then why not just talk to Yuzu and ask her to stay out of the fight between Aoko and I. That way, that monster won't be involved."

Thinking of this, Aozaki Touko nodded.

"Well, let's list this as option one. Although the possibility is not high, it's still worth a try."

"Then as a second alternative, we should hypothesize how to defeat her."

Speaking of the word "crush", Orange herself felt a little jealous. The thought transmission just now had left such a deep impression on her that she really couldn't imagine what to do.

Once you are hit by that spell, there is no way to recover. If you can't find a way to deal with it, forget about fighting.

"There's no other way. Let's review the information again. If we can find the flaws or principles behind her technique, it will be much easier."

As he spoke, Orange placed the broken crystal on the table, which was made of wood and now was covered with intricate patterns.

He placed his hand on the table, and magic flowed along the lines of his palm. Accompanied by a buzzing sound, a three-layered three-dimensional magic circle was constructed.

Seeing that the magic power was full, Orange spread out his hands and moved them gently until the formation at the top resonated with the crystal.

"Thunder~Crack, crack, crack..." A burst of sparks flashed, and the broken crystal flickered again. After a few seconds, a clear image appeared in front of her.

"This time it's being screened from the first person perspective, so it shouldn't be affected." Orange's orange-red eyes stared at the image with his hands on the table.

"Come on, let me see what happened before the puppet was defeated."

The image quality gradually becomes clearer, silently and faithfully recreating the last memory of the camera doll.

But this memory actually only lasted a dozen seconds, which was extremely short. From this point of view, the puppet army could be said to have been killed instantly.

"..." Orange remained silent, not expressing any opinion on the tragic outcome of the battle, but simply started watching from the beginning again.

Once, twice, three times... It wasn't until the seventh time that she breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had discovered something.

"As expected, although the puppet appears to be paralyzed in an instant, there is actually a time difference. The order seems to be centered around the operator himself."

"Is it some kind of diffuse wave? No, I think I see... lines?"

"Could it be the Atlas Institute's etheric fiber?!"

Chapter 19: Planning the Attack

"But is that really possible? That's the Atlas Courtyard."

I don't know if it was out of confusion or dissatisfaction, but Aozaki Touko's tone was very rude.

"The Giant's Cellar, where there's no return, and that outer maze are no joke. No magician could possibly get out."

"Furthermore, ether fiber is a family trait passed down by the Eltnam family. It's impossible for outsiders to learn it. There are no reports of any known descendants of this bloodline walking around outside."

"One of the taboos of Atlas Academy is leaving the academy. Without special circumstances, you will be considered a traitor and hunted down. The intensity of the hunt will be even greater than that of the seal. It is impossible for news not to spread."

Various pieces of information kept colliding in my mind, and countless guesses were generated and denied.

At such times, Orange would be extremely envious of the Atlas Alchemist's special skill - split thinking.

"But using threads formed by magical power to invade another's nerves and completely control their body and mind is the distinct characteristic of etheric fiber. Currently, no other magic can achieve the same thing."

Orange, lost in thought, lit a cigarette in distress. This was the third one he had smoked in a short period of time.

Because of this unexpected magician, her plan has been damaged beyond repair.

"If she's really an alchemist from the Atlas Academy, it wouldn't be surprising if she could create any kind of weapon. It would be impossible to plan a strategy. If she gives Youzhu any support..."

Irritable mumblings kept coming out of my mouth, and my heart was filled with worry and unwillingness that the plan was out of control.

This revenge was her only chance and she could not afford to make any mistakes. The immense pressure made her lose her usual composure.

Just when Orange's thoughts reached a dead end, a door behind her opened and a tender and pleasant child's voice came from inside.

Then, a beautiful beast that seemed to come from a fairy tale came out.

"Ms. Orange? What's wrong? You smell like burnt hamburger patties."

"Don't use such ridiculous metaphors, Beo. I don't understand them at all."

"That's right. Miss Orange is only in her early twenties, but her fashion sense, hobbies, and style are already similar to her mother-in-law's."

The harsh words deeply hurt Aozaki Touko's heart, and it was even more difficult for her to accept it because she knew that the creature who said these words did not understand what irony was.

"Beo!"

"Hey, hey, hey, I get it. Miss Orange is also a human who likes to hear nice things. I will keep my feelings to myself from now on."

"You..." Aozaki Touko said with gritted teeth.

She threw her previous thoughts out of her mind, quickly stepped forward, grabbed Beo's face with both hands, and rubbed it hard, with such force that it seemed as if she wanted to rub off his skin.

But the creature called Beo just hummed comfortably twice, looking completely unconcerned.

"Huh." After a few minutes, Orange was freed from the comfort of petting the dog and relaxed visibly.