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Aozaki Aoko knelt on the scorched ground.
Before her lay the charred corpse of her housemate. Around her, deafening explosions and blinding magical flashes tore through the night. The battle was raging mere meters away.
Yet she herself stood frozen, head bowed, right arm trembling in her grasp, lost in a sudden, terrifying introspection.
She had a trump card.
An unimaginably powerful one.
If she used it, she was certain the situation could be reversed.
Only, she had absolutely no idea how to use it. She had never asked her grandfather about the activation method, nor did she know if she could withstand the terrifying power it held, or what disaster it would surely unleash upon the world.
"...Aoko! Get out of there!"
While she hesitated, the battle continued to rage.
But suddenly, the flames of war spread, to her.
She looked up in shock.
Dozens of magic circles filled the sky above, all pivoting to point directly at her. Each one surged with unbelievable Magic Power, gathering into a storm of blinding, searing beams.
I'm going to die!
Before she could even react, that desperate thought filled her mind.
No one could survive a volley like that. Every modern magus knew that truth.
"BOOOOOM!!"
In the blink of an eye, countless beams of light fired down upon her.
Caught completely off guard, Aoko had no time to move, no time to even think of her trump card, there was nothing she could do but wait for death.
Thud!
Suddenly, her vision went black, something slammed into her, knocking her flat against the ground.
"RUMBLEEEEEEEEE...!!"
Then came the storm of the bombardment!
The thunder of countless explosions roared without pause. The earth itself was plowed and torn apart again and again; soil scattered like choking dust, cutting off all sight.
The ground shook. Trees collapsed one after another.
It felt as though the entire world had reached its violent end.
But… it didn't hurt.
Even though the shockwaves of destruction rolled over her again and again, she felt no pain, as though all that devastation was happening through a thick, insulating wall.
Aoko blinked in confusion.
"Kuh… hah…!"
A cough, and then, crimson blood sprayed across her face.
Warm droplets slid down her cheek, staining it red, turning her world into a haze of scarlet.
"You…"
Pinned to the ground, she finally saw him.
Ryoji was above her, his body completely shielding her, taking the full, devastating force of the attack himself. And as a result...His clothes were in tatters, his skin was scorched and burned in countless places, and blood poured freely from open, deep wounds.
He looked utterly wrecked, a broken shadow of the confident, grinning man from only minutes ago.
"Damn… I'm out of Magic Power…"
Ryoji let out a bitter laugh.
From the house to the park, from the park to the forest, using his enhanced abilities again and again, the meager Magic Power he had was now completely spent. Only when he threw himself over Aoko did he realize he had nothing left to defend himself with.
He tried to push himself up from the ground, but agony shot through his legs, his body swayed, and he coughed up another mouthful of blood.
"Hah hah… I'm done for. Guess these are… serious wounds."
His laugh turned even more self-mocking.
After being hit by so many concentrated magical cannons, not even his Level 4 body could endure that unscathed. The only reason he was still breathing was his sheer, perverse stubbornness.
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why… did you save me? You could've easily escaped alone."
"Who knows?"
Ryoji rolled his eyes and gave a fearless, bloody grin.
"Before my brain could even think, my body moved on its own."
His body had simply acted first. That was his only reason. In the end, just impulse.
Did he regret it?
Hard to say. Maybe a little. But he was also strangely… happy.
"Hah… You should run."
Ryoji's breathing was ragged, every word followed by a violent cough.
"Tell my family I died a hero, yeah…?"
After all, dying here only meant returning to his original body in his own universe. There was no real reason to fear it.
If he had any regrets, it was that he hadn't been able to say goodbye to Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Okita Souji… and that he hadn't gotten any worthwhile reward out of this mission, just another empty return.
Wait, no...There was another regret. A big one.
He hadn't even managed to kiss a single one of the beauties he'd met.
Actually, thinking about it… he had a lot of regrets.
"...I don't allow it."
Aoko's voice cut through his rambling, trembling but suddenly resolute.
"At a time like this, don't you dare act tough."
Ryoji clicked his tongue and turned his head toward her.
Ryoji's eyes widened, and he froze.
Her once-cold face was still stained with drops of warm blood, but the confusion and fear that had clouded her features moments ago were gone. In their place burned a will as unyielding as forged steel.
"I will never again allow this world to take anything from me!"
That was not bravado. It was pure, desperate determination, a will powerful enough to make the world itself tremble.
Alice had been taken from her. She hadn't known what to do then; her heart had been full of fear and confusion.
And now Ryoji was about to be taken too.
This time, that storm of emotion shattered the shell of hesitation within her.
No. She would not allow it. She would never allow such a scene to repeat again!
So...Aoko decided to use that.
The fear that she was not ready? The uncertainty of how to face the consequences later? To hell with all of that.
"What I want… is the perfect now! Only that!"
At best, it was a moment's impulse, but someone had already shown her that sometimes, acting on impulse wasn't such a bad thing.
"...Hear me, Primates of Creation!"
With a chant that looked down upon all of existence, Aoko began.
The air around her twisted into motion, rotating violently, creaking and groaning. A resonant voice echoed across the early spring sky. Space around them fractured at frightening speed, the scenery warped and distorted, as though the very framework of the world was collapsing.
Could she really do it?
Aoko didn't know. But she no longer cared. Whatever she lacked, she would make up for with sheer willpower!
"What the hell is happening…?"
Ryoji's eyes widened as he stared at the impossible sight before him. For a moment, even the agonizing pain wracking his body vanished from his senses.
"The Aozaki family… inherits a Magic," Aoko said simply.
"It was originally meant for my elder sister. But three and a half years ago, Grandfather suddenly declared that I would inherit it."
After that, Aozaki Touko had thrown a fit, and left home. Now, she had returned, seeking vengeance upon the only little sister who had inherited the ultimate goal she herself had once pursued.
Magic.
Ryoji's mind finally clicked into place.
Of course...! This was A Night of Magicians, wasn't it? Aoko Aozaki, wasn't she the Fifth Magician!?
How the hell did I forget something that important? What a blunder!
"...I hereby proclaim!"
She had no idea what to do exactly. So Aoko simply shouted the words, letting her will drive her forward. Her right arm glowed, her Magic Crest awakening, and the power of a true Magic was unleashed by the absolute conviction in her heart.
The first, changed everything. The second, acknowledged more. The third, carried the future. The fourth, concealed itself.
And thus, the fifth, had already transcended meaning itself... This is precisely what is called the Fifth Miracle.
(End of Chapter)