Kaibi Gokusai hung up the phone, a look of genuine surprise on her face.
"I never expected that... Kakine Teitoku actually gave up the mission."
She stared at her screen, processing the orders.
"Abandoning the assassination of Takahashi Yuuya."
It made sense, though. A Hidden Level 5 with a Spatial Ability was a nightmare opponent. Kakine's ultimate goal was to rebel against Academy City and force a meeting with Aleister.
If he made an enemy of an elusive Level 5 teleporter, he would never sleep soundly again. A spatial user could teleport a bomb into his bedroom from a kilometer away.
"He's prioritizing his ambition over the Board's money. Smart," Kaibi muttered. "But this will definitely make the Board of Directors unhappy with SCHOOL."
...
District 7. Street near the Kihara Institute.
Yuuya walked along the sidewalk, heading toward Nunotaba's lab. Suddenly, he stopped.
He stroked his chin, lost in thought.
"No... wait a minute."
"I seem to be stuck in a dead end. Why am I doing things in such a routine way?"
"I'm sneaking around, tricking researchers, worrying about surveillance... but Aleister is watching me regardless. I can't hide anything from him."
"If I want to save the Sisters, why am I playing cat-and-mouse with his underlings? Why not go to the source?"
He looked up at the monolithic, windowless building towering over District 7.
"I have Move Point now. The security systems, the reinforced walls... they mean nothing to me."
"I can teleport directly to Aleister."
"Besides... with the Star Grail, he can't kill me. I have the ultimate leverage."
He took a deep breath.
"Let's skip to the final boss."
Snap.
[Ability: Move Point]
Yuuya vanished.
He reappeared on a rooftop a kilometer away.
Zip. Another jump. He was at the base of the Windowless Building.
He visualized the coordinates. Center mass. Inside the core.
Zip.
His vision went dark for a split second.
When light returned, he was standing on a warm metal floor.
The space was vast—too vast to be called a "room." It was pitch black, devoid of traditional lighting.
But it wasn't dark. The walls were covered in thousands of tiny screens and buttons, glowing like a field of artificial stars.
Tens of thousands of cables and pipes snaked across the floor like giant blood vessels, all converging in the center of the room.
The atmosphere was oppressive. The air tasted of ozone and antiseptic. An ordinary person would have collapsed from the sheer pressure of the AIM fields concentrated here.
"Phew..." Yuuya exhaled, his heart pounding slightly.
He looked at the center of the room.
There, suspended in a massive tube filled with red liquid, hung a human.
Upside down. Silver hair floating in the fluid. Wearing a green surgical gown.
The being's eyes were open, staring calmly at him. Eyes devoid of gender, age, or emotion.
Aleister Crowley.
Yuuya met those eyes. He shoved his hands in his pockets to hide the slight tremor in his fingers.
"Nice to meet you, Chairman Aleister."
Aleister scrutinized him. The sensors in the room analyzed Yuuya's biology, his AIM field, his heartbeat.
"I didn't expect you to come here on your own initiative, Takahashi Yuuya," a mechanical voice synthesized from the speakers, echoing in the vast emptiness.
"Or perhaps... it would be more appropriate to call you an 'Extraterrestrial Entity'?"
Although the voice was emotionless, Yuuya sensed a hint of playful curiosity.
"Chairman Aleister. You already know my identity. But I haven't exactly hidden it."
Yuuya raised an eyebrow, showing no surprise.
"After all, for a Magician like you—someone capable of becoming a Magic God—it's too easy to find out that there is an extra variable in your equation."
Aleister's eyes narrowed slightly inside the tube.
"Heh."
Yuuya had just played a massive card. Revealing he knew Aleister was a magician gave him leverage. You couldn't negotiate with Aleister using normal logic; you had to offer him something new.
"The increase in the human population is governed by constant rules. 1+1=2. If it suddenly equals 3, I trace the error. You are the error, Takahashi."
"It seems you know this world very well. But aren't you going to introduce yourself properly? Alien."
"Alien? That's a bit harsh."
Yuuya smiled.
"I am reincarnated in this world. I use the name Takahashi Yuuya. My previous life is irrelevant. What matters is that I know the script."
"Reincarnation..." Aleister let out a low, digitized laugh. "A concept from the magical side. So, after living in Academy City for seventeen years as a dormant variable... why did you only come to see me today?"
"Is it because of the awakening of your Divine Will (System) that you finally have the courage to face me?"
Yuuya felt a chill run down his spine. Aleister knew about the "awakening."
"That's true," Yuuya admitted coolly. "After all, you are formidable, Chairman. You treat everyone—living, dead, friend, foe—as pawns. You even treat yourself as a pawn."
"Dealing with a man who would sacrifice the world to destroy the Magic Gods... requires caution."
Yuuya knew that Aleister had likely classified him as a high-tier entity from another Phase. The Star Grail's protection only reinforced that delusion.
"Hehe. You know me very well. But I don't know you."
Aleister's expression softened into a gentle, almost human smile.
"Now that you are looking me in the eye... it means you have reached a point where you no longer fear me."
"Tell me, Takahashi. What is your purpose?"
Yuuya stepped forward. He looked up at the tube with unwavering confidence.
"I'm here to make a deal."
"A deal that you'll be very interested in."
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