To Become a King and a Magician 521-525

Title: Arcueid with a New Trait

An hour later, on the streets of Misaki City.

Emerging from a women’s clothing store, Ayaka, carrying a bag of new clothes, looked at the two people waiting for her in front of the shop.

“Sorry for troubling you both to accompany me shopping.”

Ayaka hadn’t come to Misaki City unprepared, but all her preparations—including her suitcase—were now left behind in a small alley in another world’s Misaki City. As a result, she had no personal belongings in this world. The pajamas she wore last night after her shower belonged to Naoki, and the clothes she was wearing now were Touko’s.

To avoid inconveniencing others, after breakfast, Ayaka suggested going shopping to buy some clothes.

And who accompanied her? Naturally, Naoki. Who else? Touko was too lazy to move, and Ciel had to prepare to deal with Tatari.

“No problem, it’s not a hassle. We were going out anyway, right, Arcueid?” Naoki, leaning against the side of the street, said while glancing at Arcueid beside him.

After deciding to take down Tatari for ruining her plans, Arcueid had met Touko and the others under Naoki’s lead—though, in truth, they already knew each other. During the incident in Misaki City, Touko and Ciel had been involved. Ayaka had also met them in her parallel world.

Though they wanted to defeat Tatari, it wouldn’t appear during the day. It only showed up at night. Moreover, it was merely a phenomenon and would only fully manifest during the night of the full moon. Any attacks before then would be pointless.

So, until the night of the full moon arrived, especially during the safe daytime, some of them could only wander around Misaki City to pass the time.

For Arcueid, who wasn’t familiar with human society, this kind of time on the streets was something she couldn’t get enough of. Especially with Naoki, she was more than happy to keep wandering like this.

Hopping off a railing, Arcueid, with her hands behind her back, smiled and said, “Alright, now that Ayaka has bought new clothes, where should we go next?”

“Up to you. My day is entirely for accompanying you two.” Naoki said, casually spreading his hands. He didn’t have any particular hobbies or pastimes. If it weren’t for Ayaka and Arcueid wanting to go out, he’d have spent the whole day in the living room, watching TV, scrolling on his phone, or playing on the computer.

After all, that was his only hobby.

Ayaka’s response was similar. “Wherever Miss Arcueid wants to go is fine. Naoki and I will accompany you.”

Initially, Ayaka had gone out just to buy clothes. Now that she had them, she had nothing else to do. While going back to the apartment with Naoki would be nice, since Arcueid was also with them, she had to consider her wishes.

Hearing that neither had their own suggestions, Arcueid clapped her hands. “Great, then please keep me company! Misaki City is actually pretty big. I’ve been here for two days, but I haven’t even finished exploring one district—today, my goal is here.”

“Here?”

Naoki and Ayaka looked around.

“This street?”

“Yeah, I want to visit every shop on this street. And if possible, the street next to it and the one across the intersection. Basically, let’s hit those three places today!”

Exploring three streets in one afternoon? And every shop on each street?

Exchanging glances, Naoki and Ayaka could see a mix of shock and exhaustion in each other’s eyes.

“I’m just saying… Arcueid, are you sure you have enough energy to wander around that much?” Naoki asked.

“Of course! My energy is always full! Besides, stop talking and let’s go! Follow me, Naoki, Ayaka!” Arcueid said, already jogging lightly into the next shop.

Watching her enthusiastic figure, Naoki felt a nostalgic sensation, like when he lived with Mordred. From another perspective, Arcueid was still like a child.

(In that case… am I the dad, and Ayaka the mom?)

Naoki’s gaze shifted slightly toward Ayaka. Whether she noticed his look or simply wanted to look at him, as he turned, Ayaka also glanced at Naoki.

“Naoki, what’s up? Why are you suddenly staring at me?”

“Nothing. What about you? Why are you suddenly staring at me?”

“No… I was just thinking that Miss Arcueid really has boundless energy. If I wander around three streets with her, by the time we get back to the apartment, I probably won’t want to move a finger.”

In fact, in her own world, Ayaka would feel exhausted just shopping with Reines. People say women have limitless energy when shopping, so why was she different?

“In that case, tonight when we get back, want me to give you a massage?”

“A massage? Naoki, you can do that too?” Ayaka was slightly surprised.

“Not really. But I can massage your back and legs. That counts as a massage, right?”

“Oh, that’s what you meant… In that case, I’ll trouble you later. For now, let’s catch up with Miss Arcueid—”

Before Ayaka could finish, Arcueid, who had entered the shop just a minute ago, came back out. Seeing the two still standing in the same spot, she waved her hand. “Naoki, Ayaka, why are you still there? I’m already bored with this shop. Let’s go to the next one!”

“You were only in there for a minute, right? You didn’t plan to buy anything?” Naoki asked.

“Nothing in that shop caught my interest.”

Hearing this, Naoki looked up at the shop’s sign—okay, it was a clothing store. Most shops on this street were clothing stores. It made sense that Arcueid lost interest after a minute. She probably just glanced at each outfit and left.

With her Imaginary Manifestation, she could create any kind of clothing whenever she wanted, so she didn’t need to buy anything. Just looking at the styles was enough.

“If it’s like this, we might finish exploring one street pretty quickly.” Ayaka said, slightly relieved. If Arcueid was like Reines, spending ten minutes in every shop, it would be utterly exhausting.

With that thought, Ayaka followed Arcueid’s steps. But before she left, her peripheral vision caught Naoki staring across the street.

“Naoki? What’s wrong?”

“I felt like someone was over there… Well, maybe it’s just my imagination. Since my senses aren’t working, I’m a bit paranoid. Let’s go. Where’s the next shop?”

“Right here~”

Arcueid waved her hand as she walked toward another shop not far away.

Across the street, someone hidden in the crowd stared at the figures entering the shop with Ayaka and Arcueid.

“So that’s Natsukawa Naoki…”

“He’s a bit different from what the Headmaster described.”

-

Title: Are You Really That Oblivious?

Arcueid’s shopping spree continued until dusk, from ten in the morning to half-past five in the evening—a full seven and a half hours.

Compared to Arcueid, who was still brimming with energy and showed no signs of fatigue, Naoki and Ayaka looked utterly exhausted, both physically and in their expressions. Following Arcueid for seven and a half hours had worn out even Naoki, who was practically a superhuman, let alone Ayaka, who was relatively normal.

Now, she was completely limp, just as she had predicted earlier—she didn’t want to move a single finger.

“Here, dinner.”

At that moment, Naoki brought three servings of dinner and placed them on the table.

The three were now at a restaurant on a culinary street in the heart of Misaki City. Since it was dinnertime, Naoki had forcibly dragged Arcueid, who wanted to keep wandering, and half-coerced her into eating dinner.

As for Ayaka, he had carried her. Wandering through three streets all afternoon was truly grueling for an ordinary girl like her.

“I already called Touko and Ciel. They’ll have dinner on their own. After we finish eating, we’ll head back and meet up with them.”

“Mm…”

Replying weakly, Ayaka picked up her spoon and scooped some rice, but before she could eat, her hand went limp.

“Ugh… I can’t. I’m so exhausted from walking all day that I don’t even have an appetite.”

Physically and mentally drained—that was the only way Ayaka could describe herself. The physical exhaustion from walking wasn’t actually that bad. The main issue was Arcueid’s actions, which caused her mental stress to skyrocket. Essentially, Arcueid would enter every shop just to look around, then leave, never lingering long.

Normally, that would be fine, but the problem was she looked around the entire shop—not just the front, but also the back storage areas and even restaurant kitchens.

[“Because I was curious about what’s back there.”]

That was Arcueid’s reasoning. As a result, she was forcibly kicked out by shop owners. Fortunately, Ayaka and Naoki were there to mediate, or else, with Arcueid’s personality, there would’ve been some bloody incidents.

She was close to Naoki and the others, but that didn’t mean she’d be friendly with strangers.

Staring at Arcueid, who was eating voraciously beside her, Ayaka let out a tired sigh. “Miss Arcueid… are you always like this?”

“Yup.”

“Why do you wander around like this? Normal sightseeing doesn’t involve going into the back of other people’s shops. Only the public front areas are meant for visitors.”

“Hmm—actually, I don’t really like wandering around.” Arcueid said after thinking for a moment. “You guys know, right? In the past, almost all my waking time was spent hunting Roa, so I didn’t care much about changes in the world. But now that I’m free, I’m really curious about the state of the world, so I want to visit every place.”

“There’s another way, like asking Gaia, but compared to being told in broad strokes, seeing it with my own eyes feels more real.”

Naoki sighed. “But you can’t just barge in without considering other people’s feelings. I told you this morning—humans have a sense of shame. There are some places they don’t want others to touch carelessly.”

“Huh? The back rooms of shops count too?”

“In some ways, yeah. So, from now on, please be more mindful. Not everyone will always be there to clean up your messes.”

Hearing Naoki’s advice, Arcueid laughed optimistically. “No problem, no problem. If there’s an issue, I’ll just use my Mystic Eyes.”

Her Mystic Eyes of Enchantment had abilities like locking, brainwashing, and memory manipulation. Arcueid’s innate Mystic Eyes.

Indeed, with those Mystic Eyes, no matter what trouble she encountered, Arcueid could walk away easily without leaving any evidence or consequences—at most, the memories of those involved would be a bit scrambled.

“But since Naoki says not to trouble others, I’ll hold back more from now on.”

“Good. Here, eat this.”

As he spoke, Naoki transferred a large piece of chicken thigh from his rice to Arcueid’s bowl. Though Arcueid didn’t actually need to eat, Naoki’s kindness toward her genuinely lifted her mood.

Seeing Arcueid start eating happily like a child, Naoki smiled, then turned to Ayaka. “Ayaka, if you can’t eat on your own, want me to feed you?”

“Huh? Feed me? Is that okay?”

“Just feeding you food. It’s not a big deal.”

As he spoke, Naoki took a spoon, scooped some rice, and brought it to Ayaka’s mouth. “Come on, open your mouth, aaaa~”

Ayaka’s cheeks flushed slightly. She pursed her lips. “I’m not a kid. Just feed me normally.”

“But aren’t you eating really slowly?”

Naoki continued scooping rice and feeding it to Ayaka.

Beside them, Arcueid, who was eating, suddenly stopped, pushed her rice bowl toward Naoki, and handed him her spoon.

Naoki blinked. “You want me to feed you too?”

“Yup!”

“Don’t you have the energy to eat on your own?”

“No favoritism. You’re feeding Ayaka, so you have to feed me too. It looks like Ayaka’s really happy being fed by you. I want to know if I’ll feel happy too.”

Happy?

Hearing Arcueid’s words, Ayaka hurriedly turned her head away. Her cheeks felt hot and were bright red.

Being fed by Naoki with his own hands did make her feel a little happy. But why did Arcueid have to say it out loud?

(Naoki won’t think I’m weird, right?)

“Isn’t it normal to feel happy when eating? Good food naturally makes you happy.”

(…)

(Of course he’d say that.)

Letting out a soft sigh, Ayaka took her spoon back. “I’ve got my strength back. I can eat on my own now. Thanks for feeding me earlier, Naoki.”

“Huh? You recovered that fast?”

“Naoki, now feed me!”

“Alright, alright…”

Naoki genuinely felt like he was dealing with another Mordred.

By the way, whether it was just his imagination or not, Naoki felt like several people in the restaurant were staring at him strangely, mostly men.

Was there something weird on his face?

-

Title: Professor Nero, Truly a Hard Worker

Sion Eltnam Atlasia felt a bit disappointed.

[“Go to Misaki City and kill Zepia Eltnam Oberon”]—that was the instruction from the headmaster of the Atlas Institute, who was also her adoptive father.

Honestly, when she heard this instruction, Sion wondered if her adoptive father had gone mad. If he wanted to kill himself, wouldn’t it be easier to slit his own throat? Why send her all the way to Japan, a desert in the world of magecraft?

In fact, Sion had asked him directly. In response, Zepia gave her a vague, cryptic answer: [“Just go, and you’ll understand.”]

And so, Sion was half-forced to leave the Atlas Institute.

Truthfully, Sion didn’t mind the trip. She enjoyed hiding in her workshop, researching Magecraft and seeking ways to prevent the world’s destruction. But she also knew that constantly locking herself away wasn’t good. Coming out to the outside world like this and receiving new information might spark fresh inspiration.

So, she wasn’t opposed to the journey.

But—

“Suddenly ordering me to kill you… At least consider the difference in our strength, Headmaster. How am I supposed to kill you?”

Sitting in a fast-food restaurant while biting into a burger, Sion absentmindedly twirled a pen in her hand.

Zepia Eltnam Atlasia was a remarkable Magus and a powerful one. He had been a Dead Apostle for over five hundred years. In terms of the Clock Tower’s rankings, if he wanted, he could achieve the rank of Grand.

While modern Magus often stood no chance against Servants, if the comparison was limited to modern Magus, Zepia was undoubtedly at the top tier. After all, before becoming a Dead Apostle, he was already the headmaster of the Atlas Institute. And in the five hundred years since becoming a Dead Apostle, he had accumulated countless tactics.

In contrast, Sion, a new-generation Magus in her early twenties, though called a genius at the Atlas Institute and appointed as the next headmaster at a young age, how could she possibly stand against a Dead Apostle over five hundred years old? Just surviving would require risking her life.

Thus, Sion remained pessimistic about this mission.

However, it wasn’t all bad news. At the very least, before she came, Zepia had told her about someone she could work with.

“Natsukawa Naoki.”

Sion looked out the window across the street, toward Naoki, who was feeding Arcueid.

He was the person Zepia said she could collaborate with. Since the Atlas Institute was almost entirely isolated from the outside world, while not completely cut off from information, it wasn’t exactly up-to-date either. Sion had only heard of Naoki for the first time, and her knowledge of him was limited to what Zepia had provided.

[“Immense combat strength.” “a reliable man.” “possibly the strongest being in the modern era”]—overall, the evaluation was quite high, but only in terms of combat prowess.

After arriving in the outside world and gathering information along the way, Sion learned other things about Naoki.

They were almost entirely different from Zepia’s evaluation.

A playboy close to a Lord in the Department of Botany, a Casanova with messy relationships with women, a rough man from the Department of Spiritual Evocation, the biggest sugar daddy in the Clock Tower… Basically, the information was utterly absurd, especially about his personal life—Naoki was like a wild stallion.

Of course, Sion knew this information was exaggerated. No matter how ridiculous, it couldn’t be that extreme. Circulating information was bound to be flavored with the personal opinions of those spreading it. That was normal.

But at the very least, the fact that Naoki was a flirt who played around with multiple women had to be true; otherwise, the rumors wouldn’t be so bizarre.

Those were Sion’s thoughts before she actually met Naoki.

Today was her second day in Misaki City. After staying at a hotel last night, she had planned to thoroughly investigate the city’s situation. However, before she could start her investigation, she unexpectedly ran into Naoki and the two girls with him on the street. Following her instincts, Sion immediately changed her plans for the day to observing Naoki.

As for the results…

“The Headmaster’s evaluation isn’t wrong, but the evaluations from other Magus are spot-on.”

Sion didn’t know the girl named Ayaka, but she knew Arcueid. After all, Arcueid was a celebrity in the underworld. Few among the three major organizations didn’t know of this True Ancestor princess.

Being so close to that princess while simultaneously flirting with another girl—Naoki seemed very experienced, even relaxed. When feeding her, he didn’t hesitate at all, as if he did it often.

“Suddenly, I don’t want to ask for his help anymore.”

Sion slumped onto the table. She felt that if she approached them, she’d get swept up in it too. Though she admitted she also wanted to interact with the handsome, blond, blue-eyed prince with a gentle personality.

Pushing Naoki out of her mind, Sion shifted her gaze and quickly finished her fast food. “That means I’ll have to handle it myself? Using this should be effective, right?”

She touched something in her pocket and let out a soft sigh. Standing up, Sion walked toward the door.

It was getting dark—it was time to go out and investigate. As a natural vampire, Sion loved being active at night. She felt a hundred times more energized.

Just as she headed toward the door, someone walked in from outside.

It was a very tall, burly man, his entire body wrapped in black clothing. But what didn’t match his physique was his extremely pale skin, as if he hadn’t seen sunlight in ages.

When the man appeared in the restaurant, the atmosphere in the entire place turned strange. Perhaps because his aura was so cold, the customers who saw him couldn’t help but fall silent.

Sion was the same.

But unlike the others, who were silenced by the oddity and uniqueness, Sion’s reason for freezing wasn’t the unique aura the man exuded. It was because she caught a very familiar scent.

It was a scent that no vampire could lack. And on the man before her, that scent was overwhelmingly strong. Even if someone were thrown into a large pool and soaked for months, their scent wouldn’t be as potent as his.

“The scent… of blood.”

-

Title: A Gunshot as a Signal, Requesting Nuclear Support

Sion Eltnam Atlasia was a natural vampire.

She wasn’t a Dead Apostle, nor a typical vampire, but a vampire with vampiric traits.

She didn’t resent her physiology. There were no negative side effects like an urge to drink blood, and her mental state was very stable. She only needed to consume artificial blood regularly to meet her vampiric needs.

Until now, Sion had been quite satisfied.

But now, she wasn’t so satisfied. Vampires were highly sensitive to blood. Even the faintest scent of blood could be detected accurately, and Sion was no exception. And now, as she saw the tall man enter the restaurant, an overwhelming scent of blood assaulted her!

It was as if she had fallen into an ocean of blood—the thick, potent scent flooded all five of Sion’s senses, causing her eyes to redden instantly!

Truly, this was the first time Sion hated her vampiric nature, and the first time she hated blood itself.

As if noticing Sion, the only one reacting so strongly, the tall, burly man turned and looked at her. Upon seeing her, he showed an expression and gaze of understanding.

“I see. No wonder I sensed it. Are you the reason I appeared here?”

“Sion Eltnam Atlasia of this world.”

Hearing her name called so precisely, Sion, her face slightly pale, hurriedly stepped back. “You… know me?”

“Inaccurate phrasing. To me, you’re merely a pawn with some significance. I didn’t come here of my own will. On the contrary, being forced to appear here makes me very displeased.”

The tall, burly man’s voice was filled with hatred and anger. As if to demonstrate his rage, a large black mass suddenly emerged from beneath his black-clad body. The mass detached from him, elongating and expanding, quickly transforming into a pitch-black beast.

In shape, it resembled a hunting dog, but if it was a hunting dog, its size and ferocity were excessive. Crawling, it stood over a meter tall, and its length exceeded two meters. A single one was enough to block the entire restaurant aisle.

“What… what is that?”

“A monster!”

“It’s terrifying!”

Panicked screams began to spread through the crowd. The customers’ faces were clearly filled with fear and horror.

That was understandable—after all, the black hunting dog looked utterly terrifying. For ordinary people who had lived in a peaceful environment for so long, it was not something they could accept.

A woman’s ear-piercing scream rang out.

As if unable to tolerate the noise, the tall man glanced around with cold eyes and said in a low voice, “Noisy. Such disgusting sounds truly pollute this peaceful environment.”

“Roar!”

The black hunting dog suddenly howled, then, like a fired bullet, it turned into a shadow and charged into the crowd!

Without pause, as the black shadow flickered through the crowd, numerous tearing sounds echoed simultaneously!

*PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!*

The black dog’s sharp claws tore through the crowd’s bodies with terrifying speed. After a brief pause, among those whose bodies were ripped apart, a wave of roars filled with various negative emotions erupted!

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

“It hurts—!”

“Help!”

“Run!”

Right after the sounds exploded, many customers, amidst the splattering blood, fled in all directions in panic. But the restaurant wasn’t large. With the only exit blocked by the tall man, the only places they could go were the restroom and the door to the kitchen.

Naturally, these places were immediately overcrowded. And due to the sudden chaos among the crowd, the entire restaurant became extremely hectic. People pushed and collided with each other, and with the blood already flowing on the restaurant floor—

In an instant, a scene of worldly hell unfolded before Sion’s eyes.

Taking a small black pistol from her pocket, she cocked it and aimed at the tall man before her. Suppressing the nausea in her heart, Sion asked, “Who… are you?”

“Who am I? Are you asking about this shell I’m borrowing, or the real me inside it?”

(Shell? Inside? Is he not his true self right now?)

The thought flashed through Sion’s mind. At the same time, as the chaos grew, the overcrowded crowd in those two areas finally led to a stampede—

“Truly disgusting. Humans are truly vile creatures.”

Looking at the tragedy unfolding in the restaurant, the tall man showed an expression of utter disgust. “Selfish, weak, cowardly, lacking resolve—when pushed to the brink of death, these ugly traits erupt all at once.”

“It’s unbearable to look at. No matter how many centuries pass, this same situation repeats—nauseating, utterly nauseating!”

“Roar—!”

Another black hunting dog detached from the man’s body. The two black dogs, as if competing for tonight’s meal, raced to charge into the dense crowd. They reveled in the sea of blood!

Ignoring the horrific scene, the tall man turned his gaze back to Sion. “Alright, your turn now, Sion Eltnam Atlasia. Since you came to kill me, I don’t need to show you mercy.”

(I came to kill him?)

(No, I came to kill the Headmaster.)

(If so, is he the Headmaster?)

(No. The Headmaster is at the Atlas Institute. So who is this person in front of me?)

Sion’s mind, split into seven parts, continuously analyzed the situation before her. If she had enough time, she might have figured out the true situation. But seeing the black hunting dogs getting closer, her thought process unconsciously shifted toward [how to get out of this situation].

Then, without the slightest hesitation, Sion suddenly redirected the barrel of her pistol from the tall man to the window and firmly pulled the trigger!

*DOR!*

The bullet shattered the glass and shot across the street.

“This is your resistance? Indeed, it’s the only thing you can do.”

“Who told the Headmaster to say that if I ran into trouble, I could ask for his help?” Sion gave a weak smile. “If you can, please help me out of this situation, the one the Headmaster called the [strongest]…”

*KRAK!*

Almost the next second, the entire window was suddenly smashed open from the outside!

A golden figure leaped into the restaurant, stepping onto a table covered in broken glass.

“Natsukawa Naoki.”


-

Title: I Activated Field Magecraft, Storm!

Before leaping into this restaurant, Naoki was actually a bit confused.

After all, he was in the middle of playfully feeding Arcueid across the street when a bullet suddenly whizzed toward him. If he hadn’t reacted quickly, his face might’ve been ruined.

And when he traced the bullet’s trajectory to see what was happening in the restaurant across the street, the moment he crossed over, he was hit by an overwhelming stench of blood.

Something had happened—that was Naoki’s first thought.

There was a Magecraft barrier—that was his second thought.

So, he decisively kicked the glass to shatter it and leaped through the opening.

Upon entering the restaurant, seeing the crowd being torn apart by black dogs, spotting a somewhat familiar figure at the entrance, and noticing a girl leaning against the wall with a pleading expression on the other side…

Naoki immediately understood the current situation. The confusion in his mind vanished, and he knew exactly what he needed to do next.

“This is really pissing me off.”

Turning his back to Sion, Naoki glared at the man in front of him. “Even though my sensory abilities are impaired, for this to happen right across the street and I didn’t notice it from the start… You’re using this shell this time, huh, Tatari. Your sense of humor is seriously twisted.”

“A shell—figured out already. Don’t you even consider for a moment that this could be the real thing?”

“You can fool anyone, but you can’t fool me. Did you forget who saw you get killed seven years ago?” Naoki sneered. “Nero Chaos, the 10th Dead Apostle of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors. You’re really boring, bringing back someone who died seven years ago. You even dug up information from that far back.”

Nero Chaos.

Hearing that name from Naoki’s mouth, Sion, hiding behind him, grew even paler. The names of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors were well-known, even in the isolated Atlas Institute.

He was truly killed seven years ago?

And from Naoki’s words, it seemed Nero had been killed by him?

“This is what the Headmaster called… [reliable].”

If that was true, then he was indeed a combat force worth trusting.

However, as if mocking Naoki’s words, [Nero Chaos] let out a few laughs. “Indeed. Seven years ago, you pushed me to the brink of death multiple times—but you couldn’t kill me. The one who killed me wasn’t you, but that woman with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.”

“You can’t kill me.”

“Roar—!”

A roar came from the side. The two black dogs that had been tearing through the crowd suddenly stopped, turned, and charged at Naoki!

A fierce wind blew swiftly. An invisible force calmly struck the black dogs’ bodies, tearing and shredding them.

Ignoring [Nero Chaos]’s newly cold expression, Naoki turned to look at Sion behind him.

(Sion Eltnam Atlasia… I didn’t expect to meet her here for the first time. The ten years between the Fifth Holy Grail War and the Incineration of the Human Order is the only period I don’t know in detail. Things like this can happen too.)

Meeting this [comrade], who would provide significant help in the future assault on the History of Mankind, wasn’t a bad thing. But unfortunately, this wasn’t the time to talk with her.

“You should get out of here first, Miss,” Naoki said, pointing outside the window. “Find someone named Ayaka across the street. She’s my friend and can protect you. This place is about to get dangerous, so don’t stay here.”

“Yes, I understand!”

Without the slightest hesitation, Sion immediately ran out.

Even a fool could see that Naoki and Nero could start fighting at any moment. If she stayed, she’d definitely get caught in the crossfire. Listening and fleeing immediately was the right choice!

And just as Sion’s back foot left the restaurant—

*KRAK!*

A loud explosion suddenly erupted inside the restaurant. A storm and a powerful impact spread instantly!

Sion was thrown back by the force, stumbling several meters until she collided with someone and finally stopped.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s fine, it’s about time to pick you up anyway,” Ayaka said, helping Sion stand and guiding her to Arcueid’s side. “I’m Sajyou Ayaka. And this is Arcueid. For your safety, please stay here for now. Leave the situation over there to Naoki.”

Hearing Ayaka’s words, Sion nodded hurriedly.

Beside them, watching the worsening storm and impact, Arcueid let out a soft sigh, extended her hand, and snapped her fingers. The originally calm night was suddenly swept by a fierce wind without warning. The trees by the roadside swayed violently, as if they might collapse or snap at any moment. Faint thunder rumbled from the sky, and the air was filled with humidity!

Imaginary Manifestation—Storm.

(This way, it’ll at least provide some cover.)

During her time awake, Arcueid had also learned some rules of the modern magecraft world, like how mysteries must be concealed. Though she had no intention of strictly following them, since Naoki had mentioned earlier that everyone has their privacy, magecraft was the privacy of the magecraft world.

So, Arcueid could somewhat understand—Naoki would surely praise her for doing well later!

Leaning against the shattered restaurant door, watching the intensifying stormy night, [Nero Chaos] couldn’t help but feel awe. “This is Imaginary Manifestation, the power to reshape the world with resolve. Truly a remarkable power.”

“Do you have the luxury to get distracted in front of me?”

Naoki’s voice came with the storm. Thousands of storm blades, appearing out of nowhere, had already surrounded [Nero Chaos]’s entire body, relentlessly slicing into him.

Yet, no matter how much his body was cut, [Nero Chaos] showed no expression. “You should know you can’t kill me this way. Though this shell isn’t as immortal as the original, attacks of this level can’t possibly kill me.”

“How would you know without trying? And besides, if this doesn’t work, I still have this.”

Unleashing his Killer Mystic Eyes, Naoki revealed his Mystic Eyes, seeing [Nero Chaos]’s soul in its entirety.

“Come on, let me see what a fake soul looks like.”