Bab 37: Aozaki Aoko Case File [35]
Scaring a phantasmal creature of Lugh Beowulf's caliber to death is not an easy task.
Aoko admitted that when she laid out the puppet remains, there was a playful, dark sense of humor involved. But she also cast a silent illusion spell on the remains to make them appear even more eerie. Additionally, she used a slightly modified fog spell, dyeing the fog black, to create the pitch-black wall that prevented the giant, baby-like golden wolf from escaping. Finally, the fourth-circle spell Phantasmal Killer delivered the fatal blow.
Of course, all the other spells aside from Phantasmal Killer were primarily meant to increase the success rate of that final strike. Each subtle manipulation she made to induce fear was intended to lower the creature's resistance. Although this approach did involve some risk, it undoubtedly saved her from having to use the Fifth Magic.
While Aoko herself doesn't bear the cost of using the Fifth Magic (which harms the world), using it could attract the Red Archer, a development that would complicate an otherwise straightforward situation. So she decided to try illusion-based arcane magic to see if it could scare this beast, one that Soujuurou Shizuki had once driven off in a similar way in another timeline. Looking back now, the results were excellent.
Since Phantasmal Killer doesn't originate from this world's mysteries, it bypassed the golden wolf's mythic-level resistance. The spell directly targeted its inherently cowardly nature, leading to a much stronger effect than expected. Had she used something like Hold Monster or an enchantment spell, it would likely have been resisted by the creature's physical or mental fortitude. That's why, after observing the battle between Alice and Beo, Aoko decided to rely on illusion arcane magic.
So, rather than saying it was scared to death, it's more accurate to say it was killed by an entity entirely foreign to this planet's mystical rules. If any other magus skilled in creating illusions or inducing fear had faced Beo, it's unlikely they would have achieved the same result as Aoko.
Thus, Aoko was quite pleased with the outcome of the battle. Touko had always called her a brute who only knew how to destroy things, despite Aoko demonstrating several magical techniques in front of her. Why did Touko still think of her as some kind of battle mage? Perhaps it was because the magecraft Aoko demonstrated was always combat-oriented. For now, at least, she wasn't as skilled as Touko in crafting magical tools and puppets.
With a flash of magical light, Aoko, Alice, and Beo's body appeared in a dark place. Teleportation magecraft... Alice felt a newfound respect for Aoko's abilities. Magcraft at this level surpassed mere spells and approached the level of Magic.
Aoko snapped her fingers, and the dispersed mana immediately lit up the surrounding lights, allowing Kuonji Alice to see their environment. This appeared to be some kind of basement, Alice thought—a room filled with books and magical devices, like a workshop or laboratory.
"This is my grandfather's workshop basement," Aoko said, enhancing her physical abilities with mana.
"I brought the creature's body here because there's an imaginary space prison my grandfather created in this place."
She pointed to a magic circle in the center of the room.
"This thing was probably used by the old man to store dangerous items back in the day," Aoko explained.
"But when I checked, it was empty. The old man must have moved the contents somewhere else. Now it's the perfect place to store Touko's dog."
With that, she rolled up her sleeves and, with some effort, began dragging Beo's body across the floor. The rough scraping of the golden wolf's tough fur against the ground produced a squeaking sound.
After dragging it to the center of the imaginary space prison's magic circle, Aoko carefully inspected the area around it. Then she walked to the control point of the circle, channeled her mana, and crouched down to place her hands on the ground.
Aoko's magic circuits activated instantly, and mysterious blue glowing patterns appeared on the exposed skin of her arms and face. As bolts of magical energy flashed through the magic circle, Beo's body sank into the ground, disappearing from the physical world.
"Touko can't get in here, can she?"
Alice asked as if something had suddenly occurred to her.
"She can enter the basement, but she can't activate this imaginary space prison," Aoko said, clapping the dust from her hands as she stood up. "The activation requires the Aozaki family's magic crest of Magic, and right now, I'm the only one who can use it."
Alice nodded at Aoko and then fell silent.
With her motorcycle not nearby and her grandfather's workshop still sealed off, Aoko decided to use her remaining fourth-circle spell slots for the day. She took Alice's hand with practiced ease, recited an incantation, and activated Teleport. A flash of magical light enveloped the two of them, and the next moment, they found themselves standing in a parking lot near the abandoned amusement park.
Aoko put on her motorcycle helmet first. She had previously asked Alice if she wanted to wear one, but Alice had said her hat was a magical item with far better protective capabilities than a helmet, so she didn't need one. Aoko mounted the motorcycle first, then gestured with her thumb at the seat behind her, signaling Alice to hop on.
Alice smoothed down her skirt and, as before, sat sidesaddle on the back seat. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around Aoko's waist.
"Hold on tight," Aoko said.
"Let's head home."
...
By the time they got home, it was already around two in the morning.
Though magi can use mana to alleviate fatigue, working this late would tire anyone out. While Aoko and Alice could both pull all-nighters and maintain their energy, they both enjoyed the refreshing feeling of rest after an exhausting night. So, most of the time, they preferred to sleep at the proper time. However, nights like tonight, where they were forced to return home so late due to unexpected events, were extremely rare.
"How about we take a bath together before bed, Alice?"
Aoko asked, speaking in a very natural tone as if she had been planning this all along.
Alice paused in her movements, her back to Aoko, seemingly lost in thought.
"...Okay."
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