Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

The enemy's appearance is a hundred times more bizarre than the "Slit-Mouthed Woman" that has been circulating in Misaki recently—

They were two faceless men with crescent-shaped, gaping mouths.

Their heads had no faces; instead, a huge eyeball rolled around in a crescent-shaped mouth.

Good evening. Is there anyone here who can understand human speech?

The girl in black asked calmly.

The two slit-mouthed men ignored the exchange and slowly approached her like snails.

Yuzhu tilted her head slightly: "...I see. So you're just a gravedigger, and your job is just to monitor?"

"But judging from your appearances, you must already be capable magicians on your own. It's probably too much of a burden for Aoko."

Normally, he would definitely have retorted fiercely, but now—the future mage didn't even dare to breathe loudly in front of the terrifying enemy.

Youzhu remained expressionless, and in her hand appeared a glass cat ornament, darker than the night, with ominous red eyes.

"!"

The first emotion the Slit-Mouthed Men revealed was wariness and fear.

"Goodbye, guests. Farewell is but a moment; let me bid you farewell."

The witch's words sent a chill down their spines.

The glass cat pendant fell from the girl's hand, but it wasn't an act of discarding or throwing it away; rather, it was an act of ritual or suggestion.

The Slit-Mouthed Men don't have ears, mouths, or brains, but even so, they have a premonition that at this moment, and in the next moment, a horrifying miracle will crush them to pieces.

Ripples spread from beneath the black-clad girl's feet, radiating throughout the entire forest. Everything here became her world, and a silent rhythm continued to spread.

"Come on—let's play a ghost-catching game, doll."

A bell-like song echoed through the white forest, and the chill that had frozen the forest vanished in the girl's voice.

Then, the night's feast began.

"Oh dear, I've been waiting for so long!"

"Come on in—Little Red Riding Hood is here!"

It was a black and white fairytale monster—a pig-shaped creature resembling a piggy bank guarding the girl. Its intimidating appearance made the slit-mouthed men forget their fear and pounce on the girl.

The slit-mouthed man extended a blade from his long sleeves, while the two lively little pigs pounced directly at the blade.

"——!?"

When the pig was cut in half, its body split from head to tail into a giant crocodile mouth, biting the enemy's arm and taking away its freedom.

The slit-mouthed man decisively severed his own arm, tossing the arm and the piglet to the ground, before continuing his attack on Yuzhu—

The next instant, true fear descended.

"...London Bridge is broken down, Broken down, Broken down. London Bridge is broken down, My fair lady..."

As Mother Goose's lullaby played, a huge shadow enveloped the entire forest.

This is not a metaphor; a giant has indeed appeared.

Countless tendrils stretched out from the ground, forming a bizarre bridge-like phenomenon, like a giant arm rising from the earth, ignoring all physical limits. This towering colossus blocked out everything in sight, establishing its hostile target, and swept in with a hurricane, crushing the Slit-Mouthed Man's body.

That was one of the three Ploys that Kuonji Aratsu inherited from her mother (Mainster), the Thames Troll.

In terms of direct combat ability, it is undoubtedly the best among all fairy tale monsters. Its only drawback is that it can only be summoned near water sources.

When the mysterious, fantastical creation with over two thousand years of history swung its iron fist of punishment, the Slit-Mouthed Man witnessed his own death without any resistance.

"...Looks like it's over. Thanks for your hard work, come back, Bridge. Hopefully next time you can find a more upscale place."

The girl turned around gracefully.

"Hey, where are we!? Where are we!?"

The battle was long over, but the two piglets were still clinging tightly to the severed arm, spinning around on the ground and grunting.

"His arm, we can't let go of his arm!"

"That's outrageous! Just because the little pig can't fly anymore doesn't mean it's safe to abandon it?"

"Yeah, I'd like to be praised at least once before it breaks!"

Yuzhu bypassed the annoying twins and headed towards the stream.

The girl took off her black gloves and dipped her slender fingers into the cold stream.

The noisy pig disappeared instantly, and two black dice appeared in her hand.

—Chatty Twins.

It is said to be a high-end PLOY that includes everything from mammals to birds.

The two brothers would transform into different shapes depending on the number rolled on the dice.

Yuzhu has never seen any form other than a pig, and its only function is to bite down on its opponent and not let go.

"They said never to roll a six, but you can't roll any other number except six, right? Maybe you should try cheating next time?"

Just as Yu-joo turned around to greet her roommate who was there for an on-the-job training—

The once quiet forest suddenly began to shake violently.

Yuzhu stared wide-eyed at the source of the commotion, and the third slit-mouthed man flew out from the depths of the forest like a spring-loaded creature.

...I was careless!

The girl secretly thought something was wrong.

The worst part is that this time the enemy isn't targeting him, but Aoko.

The long, sharp blade gleamed silver in the moonlight, slicing through the air with a piercing whistle.

The "Bridge Giant" had just been withdrawn, and Yuzu had no time to react. She could only watch helplessly as the third slit-mouthed man pounced on Aoko.

"—"

Although Aoko was momentarily paralyzed with fear by the attacking monster, she quickly regained her composure.

...Should we run away?

Silly question.

"This is a small matter, I can handle it!"

It is both an announcement to one's companions and a declaration to oneself.

Qingzi gritted her teeth and took a firm first step forward.

He raised his right hand to his eyes and ignited the magic mark.

A scorching blue light emanated from her wrist, shining through her clothes—

However, the slit-mouthed man was already close at hand, and the sharp knife was about to strike in the next second.

Even if Aoko successfully launched an attack at such close range and luckily killed her opponent, she herself would not be able to escape unscathed; she would likely be injured by the aftershocks.

However, Aoko's upright face showed no fear.

Life... was something I had already forgotten two years ago.

The girl, seeing the omen of death, screamed in anger.

"The worst that can happen is we both die... I'll fight you to the death!"

"Hmph, go ahead and die if you want. But before that, get to the right."

A strange yet familiar boy's voice came from behind Aoko.

Volume 2, Chapter 126: Shirou, you troublemaker! How many good sisters have you turned against each other?

"What!?"

Upon hearing that voice, Aozaki Aoko instinctively leaned her body to the right and turned her head at the same time.

Then—she saw it.

At the edge of the forest in the dead of night, a shadow stands upstream of the stream.

He was a boy who looked only twelve or thirteen years old. He was slender and tall, and his features were still childish.

The boy held a bow in his hand.

Despite being a bow that is clearly miniaturized to suit the user's age, its beautifully crafted bow with a near-futuristic sci-fi aesthetic still exudes a striking presence.

Bathed in the magical light that swirled around him, the boy's hair appeared as red as flames.

Beneath her bangs, which fluttered in the wind, were a pair of deep, amber eyes reminiscent of dusk.

The moment Aoko and the boy's eyes met, the boy curled up the corners of his mouth and smiled.

"!?"

Then he released his fingers from the bowstring, and an arrow flew out.

Despite having already used her enhanced dynamic vision to capture the Slit-Mouthed Man's high-speed movement, Aoko couldn't see the moment the arrow left the bowstring at all.

"------"

A jet-black arrow pierced through the entire forest, creating a whirlwind that violently shook the surrounding trees.

The deafening roar and the white shockwave that tore through the air were proof that the arrow had exceeded the speed of sound.

The arrow shot by the red-haired boy passed only centimeters from the girl's face, piercing the grotesque head of the man with the slit mouth in an instant and knocking it away from Aoko.

"——!!!"

The slit-mouthed man let out a painful groan, so piercing it seemed to come from the abyss.

However, it did not perish, because it was not an ordinary creature to begin with.

After the man with the slit mouth fell to the ground, he got up, turned around, and ran away.

With its head pierced by arrows like an apple, it looks quite comical, but it doesn't care.

Since it cannot kill its opponent, it will record tonight's battle; this is the new mission it has given itself.

The slit-mouthed man leaped into the air using his spring-like, claw-like feet, and just as he was congratulating himself on his successful escape—

"boom------!!!"

The Slit-Mouthed Man's head exploded.

The intense flames engulfed everything, even illuminating the night sky.

The Slit-Mouthed Man never knew why he died.

He should be invincible. How could such a powerful being exist in such a remote and impoverished place? Who is it? Who is it...? The one attacking him is not a person or some kind of magic, but a situation or phenomenon.

When faced with incomprehensible phenomena, whether they are bizarre or anything else, all we can do is wait and accept them.

The Slit-Mouthed Man felt an inexplicable sense of relief, knowing that his fate of death had been decided from the very beginning.

"........."

Watching the beautiful, exploding fireworks before her eyes, Aoko suddenly understood something.

Ah... so that's how it is...

The Slit-Mouthed Man did not survive after being shot through the head with an arrow.

Rather, the boy who launched the attack didn't want to be affected, so he delayed releasing the damage...

"Aoko!"

The girl's reverie was interrupted by her roommate's voice.

Aoko looked back and saw the boy with the bow retreating, with Yuju in hot pursuit.

Don't let him get away!

Yuzhu gave her a look, and Qingzi understood and followed.

……

……