Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

My consciousness was disconnected nine times.

My heart stopped beating nine times.

He was easily killed nine times in an instant.

Common sense tells the werewolves that this is a manifestation of an overwhelming disparity in strength between the two sides.

After all, even the most fragile insect cannot be killed nine times in an instant!

"Just kidding, I would do that because of this—"

Just like being punished for breaking the rules, the werewolf boy gritted his teeth and used all his strength to resist.

"Yes. It's all a lie. Even among my own kind, there's no one who can defeat me."

These pains, these things, are all a lie. This is utterly illogical. There couldn't possibly be a human stronger than me…!

Time for reflection is over.

In preparation for another battle, the werewolf lay on the ground, staring at the enemy standing beside him.

"I... I won't... admit defeat..."

The moment he uttered those words, an unfamiliar, new, sharp pain suddenly shot through the eight spots on the werewolf boy's body.

It hurts! It hurts so much!

Like a stone creating ripples, the pain that had been blocked out suddenly appeared all over my body.

At first it was just a slight pain, but then it turned into an unbearable agony.

This is the first time this has happened; now the werewolf boy's body is completely controlled by pain.

"Waaaaah... Waaaah...!?"

Beowulf endured the excruciating pain and looked up, only to find Shirou silently looking down at him.

Those twilight-colored eyes held no murderous intent, not even hostility; only an absolute zero of coldness.

Shirou never intended to kill him from the beginning, but even so—he still killed him nine times.

"………………Ugh!?"

Beowulf suddenly felt a chill, and the hair on his body stood on end.

My whole body ached even more.

The werewolf boy began to understand the name of this pain—it was fear.

Faced with the overwhelming power displayed by Shirou, the Golden Beast regressed back to its human form.

He began to understand that he had absolutely no chance of beating this person.

Fortunately, he wasn't the tyrant he encountered; otherwise, he would have been torn to pieces.

The werewolf boy curled up, trembling like a puppy soaked by a downpour.

-----------

Volume 2, Chapter 141: The Future Aoko: Get out of the way! Let me take over!

It is seven o'clock in the afternoon, and the campus of Misaki High School is deathly silent.

Although the city lights flickered at night, the woods surrounding the school remained completely silent.

The reason it was so quiet was because the school buildings were almost unused during the winter break.

When Aozaki Aoko stepped into the school after a long absence, snow began to fall heavily.

After parting ways with Shirou, Aoko followed his instructions and went directly to Aozaki Touko's location—the old school building behind Misaki High School.

Aoko is the student council president of Misaki High School, yet Touko chose to establish a magic workshop in such a place. It would be absolutely impossible to say that there wasn't a hint of contempt or mockery in her choice.

The younger sister herself felt extremely ashamed that her older sister had been coming and going right under her nose the whole time... How awful.

However, the old school building is indeed a good hiding place, as it is both concealed and suitable for storing the materials needed to rebuild the barrier.

Aoko walked through the quiet woods, where there seemed to be many traps set.

Normally, Aoko would have stepped on at least one or two traps, which wouldn't have been life-threatening but would have left her covered in dust and dirt. However, tonight, all the traps on the back mountain were automatically shut down.

The reason is self-evident—this is Aozaki Touko's silent invitation.

"…………snort."

Aoko suddenly felt a little annoyed. As expected, they didn't take her seriously at all.

quickened my pace and walked through the woods.

They saw the orange magician standing in the center of the altar.

"Really... I only found this place because of a man's clue."

"I'm really looking forward to you finding my workshop on your own, Aoko."

Aozaki Touko said with a calm smile.

Aoko wanted to at least refute her, but she held back. After all, she was right; without Shirou's information, she would never have been able to find this place.

"—"

The two sisters were about 30 meters apart.

Because the forest was very quiet, and Aoko had enhanced her five senses with magic while passing through the forest, she could clearly hear Touko's voice.

In addition to telling Aoko the location of the magic workshop, Shirou also explained the combat strength of Touko's side—

Orange kept a golden wolf in the back mountain. Incredibly, that guy's fighting power was even greater than Orange's and Youzhu's.

However, Aoko did not see the golden figure.

Is the werewolf probably inside the teaching building?

Was it hidden as an ambush, or was it simply unnecessary to use that guy against a rookie like Aoko, or perhaps...?

Hmm, let's test the waters a little.

"It seems like something's happened to Youzhu at my house. Do you know anything about it, sister?"

"Well... I think it must be my husband's doing, right? He sneaked out last night and hasn't come back yet."

Aoko seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

It seems that the Golden Wolf was the one who created the thick fog barrier last night, and it was also held back by the barrier, which is why it did not show itself.

In this way, Aoko no longer has to worry about facing a one-on-two situation.

Although the gap in strength between the two sisters is still so vast as to be despairing, at least they are not entirely without a chance of winning.

If Aozaki Aoko could use magic.

Aoko smiled slightly.

"Wow, you've caused such a huge mess and you still act all nonchalant? Sister, you must be crazy."

"Heh... In my opinion, you're the one who's truly insane—the one who dares to appear before me alone."

Both of them wore fake, amicable smiles and began to stare at each other in silence.

In the cold air, the sisters' unique killing intent sparked.

"Before we start this war, let me ask you this: do you have no intention of backing down now?"

Aoko glared at Touko and said, "If you are willing to give up Misaki's sacred land and stop setting up barriers in the town, I can consider everything that has happened up to this point as wiped clean and let you off the hook this time."

"How could that be? How many years do you think I've been preparing for this day?"

While you were singing your praises of high school life, I suffered so much... never mind.

Besides, my target was something within the spiritual vein, not the barrier, yet that whole thing still happened...

"That girl, Yuzhu, always causes trouble. Maybe it would have been faster to start with you from the beginning."

"Ha, so that's what you're after all. Then all you've done isn't to become a magician, is it?"

Aoko's azure eyes held obvious hostility, while Orange wore a sheepish sneer.

“A mage…? I do have some obsession with that—with the true nature of the magic crest that wasn’t transferred to me and the magic inherited from Aozaki.”

But it doesn't matter. If I can get there, then everything will be at my disposal.

Or... will you show me the true nature of that (magic) here, Aoko?

Contrary to her words, Orange's eyes were full of mockery towards Aoko.

If Aoko wants to get rid of Touko, she can only use the Fifth Magic, whose true nature is unknown.

However, Aozaki Touko doesn't think Aoko can use that easily.

The magic of the Aozaki family must come with some kind of condition.

Because the grandfather's protective techniques prevent miracles from happening easily.

However—her grandfather was not the kind of great man who had the world in his heart.

To be honest, even if Misaki disappeared because of magic, that person probably wouldn't feel anything at all.

Aozaki Touko changed the subject: "Alright, now it's my turn to ask a question."

I'm really concerned about this, but I might not have a chance to ask again soon... Is that your combat suit, Aoko?

Every magician prepares their own special battle suit, but Aoko is currently wearing the uniform of Misaki High School.

The uniform accentuated her perfectly proportioned figure, which was a bit unusual for a high school girl, and her fair, bare legs exposed under the short skirt were very eye-catching.

Perhaps it's because it's been three years since we last saw each other, but Orange feels that her younger sister has grown up a bit too much.

"It was just a whim, don't take it too seriously... I'm still a student, so it's not so bad~"

Orange's earnest question was cleverly brushed off, and she snorted.

What about the child who's been sticking to you lately?

That child?

Ah, are you talking about Shirou?

Aoko was somewhat surprised, wondering why Orange would mention Shirou at this time.

No, wait, why would Sister Orange...?

Did they meet in private?

Shirou... you actually met with Touko-nee behind my back!

Although she couldn't explain why, Aoko just felt extremely annoyed.

"I'm sorry, Shirou won't be showing up tonight. He went over there to help Yuzu. Who do you think caused all this?"

"That's it..."

Aozaki Touko revealed a sly smile.

"So... that child ultimately chose Yuzhu, not you?"

"........."

Aoko's forehead twitched slightly.

She gave a forced smile: "Because I'm all you need to deal with you."

Since you're so eager to see magic, then I'll show you—the latest magic!!

Aoko launched an attack.

On the flat ground where snow was beginning to accumulate, the girl's enchanted, slender legs began to run.

Like a stone leaping on the water, Aoko rushed towards Touko at high speed, but the girl's body completely "disappeared".

As the sound of her footsteps gradually drew closer, Orange simply waited quietly.

Invisibility is a very simple magic trick, but Aoko used a prop prepared by Ayumi.

Although this technique is simple, it is very effective against the Mystic Eyes, because Orange's Mystic Eyes, which are enhanced with binding power, cannot deal with things that are invisible.

This was a tactic Shirou temporarily taught her to counter the Mystic Eyes.