Imaginary Number Prison

Trying to "scare to death" a Phantasmal Species on the level of Lugh Beowulf was by no means easy.

Aoko admitted that there had been a bit of malicious amusement in arranging those puppet remains, but she had indeed cast Silent Image on some of them, making them look even more eerie.

On top of that, she had used a slightly modified Fog Cloud spell—one that dyed the mist black—to make the surroundings seem darker, a Wall of Darkness that prevented the giant golden wolf pup from escaping, and finally the fourth-circle spell Phantasmal Killer, which dealt the "fatal blow."

Of course, the other spells besides Phantasmal Killer had actually all been meant to improve the odds of that final strike succeeding. Every subtle arrangement that inspired fear had been intended to lower the enemy's saving throw.

Though there had certainly been an element of gambling in that sequence of moves, it had undoubtedly spared her the cost of using the Fifth Magic once.

Aoko herself did not need to bear the cost of the Fifth Magic—the harm it inflicted upon the world—but using Magic could very well draw the red shadow here, turning an otherwise simple situation into something extremely complicated. So she had decided to try illusion magic instead and see whether she could scare to death the guy who, in the original timeline, had been driven away by Soujuurou Shizuki using a method for dealing with wild animals.

Judging from the result, it had worked exceptionally well.

Phantasmal Killer was not a Mystery of this world, so it ignored the golden wolf's degree of return to the Age of Gods. Its effect had also targeted the creature's fundamentally cowardly weakness, resulting in damage far greater than one plus one equaling two.

If she had used Hold Monster or enchantment magic today, it would likely have been shrugged off by a Constitution or Will save. Thus, while observing Alice and Lugh Beowulf's battle, Aoko had decided to use illusion magic against it.

So rather than saying it had been scared to death, it would be more accurate to say that it had died at the hands of something from beyond the heavens, governed by rules entirely unlike this planet's Mysteries.

No other magus skilled at creating illusions and frightening people could possibly have achieved the same results against Lugh Beowulf as Aoko had.

Aoko was therefore quite satisfied with the outcome of this battle. Touko had always called her a brute who only knew how to destroy things. Even though she had shown Touko so many Weave spells, why did that woman still think she was some kind of magic barbarian?

Maybe it was because all the spells and magecraft Aoko had displayed were meant for combat. At least, her talent for creating Mystic Codes and puppets was currently inferior to Touko's.

A flash of magical light passed, and Aoko, Alice, and Lugh Beowulf's "corpse" appeared in a pitch-black place.

Spatial transfer magecraft... Alice gained an entirely new understanding of Aoko's strength. Magecraft of this level had already surpassed magecraft itself and was not far from the realm of Magic.

Aoko snapped her fingers, and the spreading magical energy immediately lit the surrounding lamps, allowing Alice Kuonji to see their surroundings clearly.

This seemed to be some kind of basement, Alice thought. The room was filled with books and magical devices, making it look like the laboratory of some workshop.

"This is the basement of my grandfather's workshop," Aoko said as she reinforced her physical abilities with magical energy. "I brought this guy's corpse here because there's an Imaginary Number Prison my grandfather made here."

As she spoke, Aoko pointed at a magical formation in the center of the room.

"This was probably something the old man used to store dangerous items back then," Aoko explained. "But when I inspected it, I found that the space inside was already empty. Who knows where he put what used to be inside. It just happens to be perfect for locking up Touko's dog now."

With that, she rolled up her sleeves and laboriously dragged Beowulf's "corpse" across the floor. The golden wolf's hard fur scraped against the ground with a shrill creaking sound.

After dragging it to the center of the Imaginary Number Prison's magical formation, Aoko carefully checked the area around the prison. Then she went to where she could channel magical energy into and activate the formation, crouching down and pressing both hands against the floor.

Aoko's Magic Circuits activated in an instant, and mysterious patterns glowing blue appeared across the exposed skin of her arms and cheeks.

As arcs of electricity flashed through the magical formation, Lugh Beowulf's "corpse" sank into the ground and vanished from the real world.

"Touko can't get in here?" Alice suddenly asked, as if she had thought of something.

"She can enter this basement, but she can't activate the Imaginary Number Prison," Aoko explained, dusting off her hands as she rose from the floor. "Activating it requires the Aozaki family's Magic Crest. Only I can use it now."

Alice nodded at Aoko, then said nothing more.

Since the motorcycle was not nearby and her grandfather's workshop had been sealed off by Aoko earlier, Aoko could only use up her remaining fifth-circle spell slot for the day.

She familiarly took Alice's hand, then chanted the spell and activated Teleport. A flash of magical light passed over them, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at a parking lot near the abandoned amusement park.

Aoko put on her motorcycle helmet first. She had previously asked Alice whether she wanted one too, but Alice had said her hat was actually a Mystic Code and offered far better protection than a motorcycle helmet, so there was no need for one.

Aoko got onto the motorcycle first, then pointed her thumb at the seat behind her, signaling for Alice to climb on.

Alice pressed down her skirt and sat sideways on the motorcycle's back seat as before. Then, without saying a word, she wrapped her arms around Aoko's waist.

"Hold on tight?" Aoko said. "Let's go home."

By the time they returned home, it was already around two in the morning.

Even magi who could use magical energy to ease their fatigue would feel tired after working until this hour.

Although both Aoko and Alice could work through the night while retaining enough energy, they both enjoyed the refreshing feeling of resting after exhausting themselves. So most of the time, they chose to sleep at the proper hour.

Yet being forced to return this late because of some unexpected event, like tonight, was exceedingly rare.

"Let's take a bath together before bed, Alice?" Aoko made the invitation as naturally as if she had been planning it all along.

Alice's movements halted. With her back to Aoko, no one knew what she was thinking.

"...All right."