Chapter 237: Soren Araya vs. Touko Aozaki

Chapter 237: Soren Araya vs. Touko Aozaki

"...Ouken!"

Suddenly, a short verse was heard.

The red cat, which had swallowed Alba's body up to his shoulders, stopped moving. Touko, who had been observing the situation as if a bystander, immediately reacted to this voice.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com

Behind Alba stood a man. His face was filled with unbearable distress, a serious expression, and he was dressed in a black coat.

As if he had been there from the beginning, there was no trace of his appearance. The man, with one hand, effortlessly pulled Alba out of the red cat's mouth and placed him on the floor. The red cat came into contact with one of the man's triple barriers and thus couldn't move.

The man turned to the woman below. Along with his movement, the previously relaxed atmosphere gradually disappeared. It was as if the apartment itself felt tense as if preparing to welcome its true master.

"Long time no see, Aozaki."

"Ah, likewise, although I didn't want to see you. But your presence here means that she—"

The first and second floors stood as if divided between heaven and earth. Touko and the mastermind Souren Araya confronted each other.

"She has fallen into my hands."

Araya calmly spoke, conveying a helpless reality.

"It seems I'm a step too late."

"No, you're too early. Originally, everything was supposed to end without you knowing. It seems Alba went too far. I couldn't prepare the bodies of sixty-four people by myself."

"Perhaps it's not just that. The injuries on your body were caused by her, right—"

Touko locked her gaze onto Araya's chest and neck, where there were deep, bone-visible knife wounds.

"—If I had received such injuries, I would already be dead."

"As you said, my current condition is not good."

Araya didn't conceal his heavily injured state because he knew it was meaningless to do so.

"If possible, I'd like to chat with you a bit longer, but I'm sorry, my body doesn't allow me to do so."

"I see. It seems Shiki is temporarily fine. Just to be sure—do you have any intention of returning Shiki?"

"If you want her, it's up to you."

"Hmph, so it means we can only fight? Honestly, I'm not good at fighting in the first place. It's something that should be left to that brat."

"Just to be sure, I'll ask you as well. Aozaki, do you plan on assisting me?" Araya spoke with an unchanged hostile gaze and a will to kill.

Touko answered—her amber eyes conveyed her will: "Absolutely not."

"...I see, what a pity."

The magus' face bore a heavy burden of distress as he took step after step towards the staircase.

"...The path to the origin has already been obtained. Just a few more steps and my wish will be fulfilled. Anyone who obstructs me will be seen as an obstacle."

The atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly tense. The air solidified, carrying a distorted and dangerous oppressive feeling, perhaps twisted by Araya's intent to kill.

Amidst it all, Touko watched her former classmate from a distance. In the end, she, as a magus—Touko Aozaki—asked Souren Araya a question.

Touko saw the space in front of Araya collapsing inward step by step. The red cat jumped up before being crushed. Like the force of gravity reversing, it stood on the ceiling, looking at him.

"This is the end."

The other hand hidden beneath the black coat tightly gripped the palm. The red cat, along with the ceiling, was crushed. A hole opened in one corner of the ceiling, and the red cat was compressed until its eyes were no longer visible, then it disappeared.

"Your pawn has vanished... You said it back at the academy—a magus doesn't need to be strong themselves, as long as they create the strongest tools... Indeed, when a puppeteer's puppet is defeated, it's equivalent to their defeat."

Araya turned to face Touko once again and opened his palm, saying these words.

Touko listened to the words with a displeased expression on her face.

"Hmm, my statement was still correct. However, you are amazing. This place is like your own body, and you can freely destroy space as you please. I have already jumped into a massive magic... Hmph, since you were prepared to this extent, why were you almost pushed into a corner by Shiki?"

"Capturing her alive is not easy. If I'm not careful, I might crush her, but not now. For an opponent that deserves to be killed, I will use all my strength to deal with them."

"Hopefully, you don't end up being clumsy."

After readjusting her posture as she nearly fell, Touko slowly leaned against the wall.

"Araya, there are three ways to instill fear in people. Do you know what they are? First, monsters should not speak human words. Second, monsters must remain unknown. Third, if a monster is not immortal, it's meaningless."

"!" Araya seemed to realize something and quickly turned around.

On the ceiling that should have been destroyed, the red cat survived as if nothing had happened.

"-Shuku!" He clenched his fist towards the ceiling, and the space instantly compressed.

The red cat wavered due to the distortion and jumped down towards him, opening its mouth with a "snap." Araya couldn't evade it and was bitten.

"Ugh!" He let out a scream of agony as if in his last moments.

With a "swoosh" sound, Araya, unable to counterattack in time, lost more than half of his body.

Only the head and shoulders of his fell to the ground with a thud. With a face that was either dead or full of agony, the pieces of flesh that were once the magus rolled down the stairs.

Touko calmly observed the scene and spoke briefly:

"If you want to resolve things, you have to strike with a move that can kill. Araya, that's how a surprise attack works."

Touko turned away from the wall and walked out.

Just then, she felt a strong push on her back, and her already unstable body couldn't maintain balance, causing her to fall awkwardly to the ground.

Before she could figure out what had happened, a dull sound, like dry wood hitting leather, reached her ears.

Then, before her eyes, a figure in a dark cloak appeared.

The owner of the cloak had blue curly hair and was holding a short knife, protecting her from behind.

"Shinji?"

PS: Within the Ogawa Apartment Complex, Souren Araya gains the ability of instant teleportation anywhere within his Bounded Field, the omniscience of any occurrences within the building, and the ability to crush space itself, 'Shuku'.

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