The Spreading News / The Battle of the Dolls

Chapter 22: The Spreading News

The high-rise next door.

Inside an elegantly decorated room.

A man and a woman leaned against the sofa, both smoking. Their expressions were grim, and they smoked heavily, one cigarette after another, until the entire room was soon filled with the smell of tobacco.

In the corner, a young man wearing only his underwear lay unconscious on the floor. Judging from his damp hair, he had probably just finished taking a shower.

"This man should be waking up soon. We need to evacuate and report the relevant intelligence."

The woman extinguished her cigarette, then turned her gaze toward the man in the corner. Her eyes were ice-cold, as if she were looking at an inanimate object.

"Let him sleep a little longer."

The man took a hard drag from his cigarette and exhaled a large cloud of smoke. As he lowered the hand holding it, it began to tremble slightly, as though he were naked in the middle of winter.

"...Fine."

Seeing this, the woman sighed. Then she pressed her middle and index fingers together, moved her lips as she softly chanted an incantation, and fired a cursed Magic Bullet.

The instant it struck.

The man collapsed in the corner suddenly convulsed, then went still. If his chest had not still been rising and falling, one might have suspected that the attack had killed the homeowner.

"...Sorry. I need to calm down."

The man turned his head toward the unconscious homeowner. After remaining silent for a while, he extinguished his cigarette, then picked the man up and carried him into the bedroom.

Before long, the creaking of a shaking bed came from the bedroom.

"...Was that killing intent?"

In the living room, the woman looked up at the ceiling and fell into thought.

She was not concerned about that unfortunate homeowner. At most, his backside would hurt a little tomorrow. The fact that she had not killed him was already quite fortunate.

At present, all her thoughts were on the icy gaze Aozaki Touko had directed at her.

The emotion of fear had exploded in an instant, erupting from the deepest part of her heart. It was like countless ants crawling out from her heart and spreading the feeling of terror throughout her body.

How should she describe that sensation?

If she had to make an analogy, it was probably like an ordinary person facing a lion alone, so terrified that they could not move. Facing Aozaki Touko had felt like facing an existence higher on the food chain.

That was an existence beyond humanity... an existence of an even higher order.

"Is this... the suppression of aura brought about by imitating an existence of a higher order?"

After thinking for a while, the woman leaning against the sofa suddenly smiled wryly. "Aozaki Touko, the heir to the Magic User? What an extraordinary person."

To think that a single glance from her could intimidate them. Even if she had borrowed the imitation of a higher life-form to spread that aura, this still proved that the Egg of the Magus's strength was far more than that of an ordinary renowned genius.

Perhaps this genius girl.

Even if she faced Van Fem, one of the three oldest Dead Apostles, she might not be without a chance of victory. She might even erupt with a result that would leave people dumbfounded.

Japan.

Misaki City, Kuzuki Western Mansion.

Kuonji Alice drank tea, her cool and pretty face filled with displeasure as she angrily waited for the letter lying on the table. Naturally, it was a letter Aozaki Touko had sent back after a long absence.

It was obvious that it did not contain good news.

She had challenged the highest-ranking True Ancestor Dead Apostles, an ancient being like Van Fem, one of the three oldest True Ancestors Dead Apostles.

Regardless of the difference in wisdom and experience brought about by the passage of time, the disparity in physical qualities between humans and Dead Apostles was enormous. The most obvious example was their unparalleled regenerative ability.

Aozaki Touko had not been growing for very long.

This was an... no, an unequal battle.

"...Idiot."

Alice seemed to give up and sighed softly.

It was already too late for her to stop Touko. She also had no time to rush to Berlin, Germany, to provide support. More importantly, Touko had not even specified where the battle would take place.

In other words, no matter how dissatisfied she was.

It would have no meaning in reality.

Realizing this only made her mood worse.

She did not know whether she was angry at her own helplessness or at Aozaki Touko's willfulness.

Or perhaps both emotions were mixed together.

France.

Inside a café.

A noble-looking girl in a black dress listened intently to the news reported by her subordinate. Interest showed in her red eyes, and her crimson lips gradually curled into a delighted smile.

"At such a young age... and she still dares to fight Van Fem? If she isn't an arrogant idiot, then she must be an extraordinary genius, possessing truly exceptional talent, right?!"

"Judging from the intelligence... this girl should possess formidable strength."

White Knight Blood said seriously, "However, that girl is the heir to the Magic User. Trying to recruit her and turn her into a Dead Apostle should be nearly impossible."

"Is that so... What a pity."

Altrouge looked disappointed.

If she could turn such a genius into her subordinate, her side's strength would surely increase. By then, perhaps she could crush that bastard Crimson Lord to death.

In short... it was rather subtle.

The news that Aozaki Touko was going to fight Van Fem spread.

If the location of the battle were not unknown,

there would surely be many spectators by then.

Chapter 23: The Battle of the Dolls

Mystery.

It was a power capable of causing strange phenomena. As long as one performed a meticulous ritual, one could achieve incredible results. Humans without wings could fly into the sky, flames could spring from their fingertips to light cigarettes, and one could even walk across the surface of water.

However, this power was constantly declining.

The power known as science continued to expand, and the power of Mystery diminished along with it.

No matter how much the magicians who wielded Mystery interfered, they could not reverse this process. They could only resist the decline of Mystery brought by the passage of time through something called a Magic Crest.

Yet now, in this era when Mystery was nearing exhaustion.

A girl who had yet to inherit a Magic Crest was about to face one of the oldest True Ancestor Dead Apostles, fighting with the results she had obtained from studying magecraft.

This was undoubtedly an unequal battle.

At that moment, in a forest far from the city.

The two sides who had issued the challenge faced each other.

"You actually chose to face me alone. Should I praise your courage, or laugh at your naivety and carelessness?"

Van Fem leaned on his cane, his eyes reflecting the girl before him.

She wore casual trousers and a shirt. Pure resolve flickered in her eyes, shining like the sun without being dazzling, giving her an exceptionally pure and clean appearance.

"That can only be judged after the result is known!"

Aozaki Touko smiled faintly and looked at the scenery around them.

This was a forest far from the city. The trees rose more than a dozen meters high, while thick snow covered almost everything. As far as the eye could see, the world was draped in silver.

The setting sun in the distance illuminated the earth, bringing with it a sense of mono no aware.

"It is a pity... If you had inherited the Fifth Magic, I imagine I would have no chance of defeating you. However, the timing is indeed perfect."

Van Fem spoke with courteous elegance. "You need to experience a defeat before you can continue moving forward. A life that proceeds too smoothly will wear away your resolve."

His tone was like that of a mentor patiently instructing a junior.

It was a condescending attitude, one that easily irritated an opponent and enemy.

Especially young people.

"Experience defeat? Do you know how many defeats I have experienced to get here?"

Aozaki Touko's tone remained utterly calm. "Every step of my progress was built upon failure. There have even been times when an experiment failed and left me on the verge of death."

"I have thought about giving up and taking the easy way out... countless times."

These were not empty words. They were her sincere feelings.

The study of magecraft was not filled with novelty. On the contrary, it was filled with tedious boredom. Without any obvious progress bar to look at, it truly wore away one's willpower.

However, she had already grown accustomed to it.

She had gone from a novice who nearly died because of failed experiments to a qualified researcher of magecraft, step by step. The word "genius" alone could not encompass everything involved.

"The nature of this is different!"

Van Fem shook his head with a light laugh and tapped the snowy ground with his cane.

In an instant, a pitch-black, chaotic color stained the earth, as though ink had been splashed across it. A strange sense of otherness invaded reality.

Then bubbles began rising from the chaotic black ground.

Two enormous hands, each as large as a mountain peak, drilled out of the black earth. Immediately afterward, a massive humanoid puppet as large as a castle crawled out from within.

Its impossibly huge body radiated a shocking presence.

There was no need to doubt it. Relying solely on its terrifying mass, it could almost destroy anything. It could collapse a high-rise with a single blow and push a mountain flat.

This was the terrifying power brought by pure size.

"...That is ridiculously huge!"

Aozaki Touko raised her head and exclaimed.

Then she lightly snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, the void behind her split open, and a stunning silver-haired girl flew out. She gently flapped the black wings behind her, while tangible waves of magical energy surged from her body.

"Looks like our choices are quite similar!"

Van Fem stared at Suigintou, the corners of his mouth lifting in a delighted smile. "We have both transformed our dolls into beings from another world, turning them into autonomous Reality Marbles to remain at our sides."

"...If a Doll Master cannot keep her doll with her, facing unexpected situations can be extremely dangerous."

Aozaki Touko chuckled, then took one step back.

Suigintou's black wings suddenly spread wide. The extended wings transformed into two evil dragons and lunged down, biting at the enormous humanoid Magic Doll.

At the same time, the humanoid Magic Doll, carrying its massive weight, swung its fist and collided with them head-on.

"Boom!"

The air was instantly thrown into chaos, becoming a raging gale that swept outward.

Snow hanging from the branches fell away, while the thick snow on the ground was scraped aside, revealing the soil that had long been buried beneath it.

The first clash was evenly matched.

"The power brought by such an enormous mass really cannot be underestimated."

Aozaki Touko narrowed her eyes and continued directing the doll's attack. The evil dragons formed from the black wings repeatedly entwined themselves around the enormous Magic Doll and attacked it.

"I am not very skilled with delicate things, so I pursued the power brought by a massive size instead. I suppose this can be considered an unwilling choice forced by the limits of my talent."