The battle on the scorched field slammed to a halt.
Both women simultaneously snapped out of their tense fighting stances, black lines of sheer annoyance marking their faces as they glared toward the source of the interruption.
There stood Ryoji, a mere ten meters away, his eyes practically vibrating with excitement as he watched the two of them, the Aozaki sisters, locked in a fight to the death.
He was actually yelling things like, "Tear her clothes! Pull her hair!"...Maybe they should just kill him first!
At that moment, the sisters' thoughts were perfectly in sync.
"Beo…"
Touko's gaze flicked past Ryoji and settled on Beo's massive, golden form not far behind him.
The great wolf had reverted to its original shape, now curled up on the ground, limbs tucked tightly, muttering incoherently with vacant, broken eyes.
There were no visible wounds, but its spirit had been utterly shattered.
It would likely take a long time to recover, if it ever did. Besides, the contract between Touko and Beo had always been a loose, temporary one. Once this battle was over, they were meant to part ways. She couldn't force any commands upon Beo now.
"It seems I was thoroughly outplayed."
Touko calmly clasped her right hand behind her back, her expression perfectly unreadable.
"Would it be wisest to surrender now?"
"Hah! Where did all that grand courage from a second ago go?"
Aoko immediately shot back with a vicious mockery.
It was clear, however, that when it came to reading subtle magecraft, Aoko's natural sensitivity was… not exactly her strong suit.
Swish!
Ryoji suddenly pulled a large, two-foot-long blade from somewhere, who knows where, and flung it. The weapon tore through the air with a sharp whistle, shooting off toward some unseen point.
"What in the hell are you doing?"
Aoko was startled by his abrupt movement.
"If you want to surrender, how about showing your true face first?"
Ryoji ignored Aozaki Touko entirely, gazing instead toward the direction the blade had been thrown, a chilling smile spreading across his face.
"Heh, so you do have sharp eyes, don't you?"
From that direction, a transparent silhouette slowly appeared, solidifying into form.
A woman in a green formal dress, smiling naturally without a hint of embarrassment, a chipped stone pinched between her fingers as she dropped into a defensive stance...It was the real Aozaki Touko.
The one who had been fighting the two of them just moments ago melted away like a phantom in the spring sun, leaving Aoko staring wide-eyed, her entire body fuming with fury.
She almost got away!
Even now, Touko hadn't truly chosen to surrender, she was still struggling, right up until the last moment.
To be honest, Ryoji didn't dislike that kind of sheer tenacity.
"Aoko, close your eyes and turn around."
"What sort of stunt are you trying to pull now?"
"Just do it, turn around and shut your eyes."
"Tch!"
What kind of attitude is that! Aoko grumbled under her breath but obeyed, turning her back and squeezing her eyes shut.
Bang!
Without warning, Ryoji burst forward, charging straight at Aozaki Touko.
Touko's entire body tensed.
"So fast!"
She'd seen his speed before, but facing it directly was an entirely different nightmare!
Ten meters, covered in less than half a second!
Her eyes couldn't even track his movement. Her carefully prepared Mystic Eyes were useless; she didn't even have time to carve a new Rune. Her instincts took over, she reflexively hurled the stone in her hand.
A defensive Rune had been scribed onto the chipped stone. If activated successfully, it would hold for a few moments, just long enough for Touko to draw a new Rune and regain an advantage.
It was a good, quick plan.
But she had fundamentally underestimated Ryoji's awareness of danger.
Crack!
In that split second, Ryoji instinctively felt the object was a threat. Even as he hurtled forward, he swung his blade, cleaving the rune stone cleanly in two before it could activate.
Moments later, he was already standing directly in front of Touko.
Under her near-breathless gaze, he calmly pressed the flat of his blade against her neck.
"Ha… I've lost. Do what you want, kill me, torture me, whatever."
Touko sighed in resignation, raising her hands with a look of utter boredom.
"That would be letting you off too easy, wouldn't it?"
Ryoji's lips curled into a vicious grin.
Killing her this easily after she'd played them for fools so many times would feel like a complete waste. Besides, he knew full well that Touko possessed the "Infinite Virgin System" (likely a reference to her unique body structure and ability to keep her youth and mana reserves). He didn't know when she'd acquired that ability, but ending her here definitely wasn't the optimal solution.
"Look at me."
"…?"
Touko frowned slightly and instinctively averted her eyes.
Years of being a magus had honed her reflexes, when someone told her to look into their eyes, her first move was to look away, in case it was a visual-type magecraft trap.
Seeing this, Ryoji simply tossed the knife aside.
Then he reached out with both hands, gripping Touko's cheeks, one hand on each side, and forcefully locked her head in place.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?"
Realizing she couldn't break free from his overwhelming physical strength, Touko stopped struggling.
He wasn't planning something… indecent, was he?
Sure, his looks were her type, but wasn't this a bit too rash? Not to mention, her little sister was standing right there!
As this thought muddled her mind, she suddenly noticed..."…It's glowing?"
Yes.
Ryoji's eyes were radiating a brilliant, blinding light.
Sacred. Majestic. Untouchable. So noble it made her heart tremble in awe.
"Oh no...?!"
By the time the meaning of the light registered, it was already too late.
In an instant, her mental and magical defenses were utterly crushed.
With just a single exchange of gazes, a will far greater than her own violently invaded her mind.
Her consciousness went hazy; all resistance melted away. She surrendered everything, even willingly sinking into submission.
Ryoji released her face.
Touko's body went limp, collapsing to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her strength utterly drained.
"Is it done?"
"It's done."
Receiving the clear answer, Aoko finally turned around.
"Where is Touko?"
She looked left and right for a while, but there was no sign of her sister. Perplexed, she asked in confusion.
"She ran."
Ryoji replied calmly, slipping a small, unremarkable vial into his coat pocket.
"Ran?"
Aoko's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
"With you here, she still managed to run?"
"What's so strange about that? It's not like I'm a god."
Ryoji shot her an irritated glance, then stretched lazily, looking utterly relaxed.
"Alright, job's done! Everyone go home and mind their own business!"
"This counts as 'done' to you?"
Aoko groaned and rubbed her forehead, looking completely exasperated.
As long as Touko was still on the loose, Aoko wouldn't know a single day of peace. Who knew when her sister might pop up again and stab her in the back.
"Your wound's fine? You look full of energy."
"It's fine. My Magecraft Crest is healing me. This kind of injury will be gone in an hour."
Aoko lifted her hand from her side; the wound there was indeed already showing clear signs of recovery.
"The crest can do that too?"
"Of course. The larger the Crest, the better the effect."
A magus's Crest was like a special internal organ, one that kept them alive through either will or pure instinct. It allowed a magus to cling to life in almost any situation, ensuring they wouldn't die easily.
With everything seemingly over, Ryoji was about to head home… But suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks.
Not only him, Aoko, standing beside him, also froze, her face turning pale with disbelief.
(End of Chapter)
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