Becoming Aozaki Touko

Aozaki Touko smiled faintly at this, then followed with graceful steps.

To be honest, this was her first true life-or-death battle—not facing an opponent far weaker than herself, nor with any backup to protect her.

Alone, she confronted a miracle left over from the Age of Gods.

Her heart began to race, a burning sensation flooding through her entire body.

Fighting spirit.

All negative emotions were cast aside, replaced by an overwhelming surge of battle intent.

The wind-attribute magical energy within her body swirled, stirring the air into ripples.

--

Outside the forest

The Golden Wolf stopped, turned to look at the woman following her, and her eyes turned utterly cold. She didn't know if this woman had lost her mind, unable to measure the gap in strength between them.

But since she had followed, there was no turning back!

"...Is this the place?"

Aozaki Touko halted her steps, scanning the surroundings. It was a flat clearing about ten meters wide, surrounded by ancient trees towering dozens of meters high, the ground covered in thick layers of fallen leaves.

"I won't eat you!"

The Golden Wolf's gaze was icy. Her limbs tensed, claws gouging the earth, and she shot through the air like a streak of light. In the blink of an eye, she was before Aozaki Touko, her sharp fangs about to kiss that pale neck.

In that instant, Aozaki Touko moved.

As if she had predicted the Golden Wolf's action, she casually sidestepped. The wolf's maw, about to make contact, brushed past her, narrowly dodging the attack by a hair's breadth.

"...You dodged!"

The Golden Wolf landed on all fours, carving four furrows into the ground as fallen leaves scattered wildly from the impact. She turned her head to stare at Aozaki Touko, clearly astonished.

By all logic, given a human's frail physical constitution—

It should have been absolutely impossible to evade.

But this was definitely not a lucky dodge.

She had seen it clearly—that woman had remained completely calm throughout.

She had evaded her pounce as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Third Stage: Thought Simulation!"

As if to answer the Golden Wolf's confusion, Aozaki Touko raised a slender finger, pointing at her own head, and explained: "By unlocking the brain's computational power and simulating a personality, I can predict your next move!"

"Thanks to your simple mindset, the simulation wasn't difficult!"

This was the result of her time with the Einzbern family—a special magecraft that enhanced the brain, vastly increasing its processing ability. It allowed for split thinking, personality simulation, future prediction, and other incredible feats.

The scene of dodging as if foreseeing the future just now was actually built from a brief understanding formed during her exchange with the Golden Wolf.

Then, by simulating and sensing the other's mental state, she predicted the Golden Wolf's next action.

Chapter 13: Beating a Phantasmal Beast Bare-Handed

"..."

The Golden Wolf's gaze grew even sharper and colder. Her golden, wolf-like body crouched slightly lower.

Even if her movement patterns were deduced, as long as her power was strong enough, technique meant nothing. Because she could kill you before your body could react.

The golden streak of light flashed through the air again.

This time, its speed was beyond description.

To put it in a metaphor, it was like a human facing a bullet fired from a gun.

Even if you knew the shot had been fired, you still couldn't dodge.

Because the speed was simply too fast!

"Boom!!!"

The sound of a body slamming into the ground rang out.

An unbelievable scene unfolded. The pouncing Golden Wolf seemed to throw itself right into a trap. Aozaki Touko, already prepared, grabbed it by the neck and one foreleg, then used the momentum to execute a perfect shoulder throw.

The Golden Wolf's body crashed heavily into the ground. The earth caved in, and the thick layer of fallen leaves was blasted into the air, fluttering down like golden snowflakes.

"Second Stage: Power Release!"

Aozaki Touko looked down at the Golden Wolf: "By releasing the power of the human body, I gain incredible, terrifying strength. Even crushing diamonds with my bare hands is possible!"

"Don't... mistake me for a fragile young lady!"

With the body released to the second stage, its raw strength was already on par with top-tier martial artists. Although this was achieved through magecraft to unlock the body's physical power, the strikes she delivered were undeniably pure, explosive physical force.

Her current state was like a container filled with water—the inside was magecraft's power, but the outer layer revealed was the vessel itself, the body's strength.

Thus, she could bypass the overwhelming pressure of the Golden Wolf's divine mysteries from the Age of Gods.

"..."

The Golden Wolf rose from the ground, her entire body wracked with sharp pain.

This sensation was strange and novel to her, even stirring a hint of fear and confusion.

In short... the emotions surging within her heart were bizarre.

She was a perfect being. Ever since she had first understood the world—no, ever since the moment of her birth—she had realized she was "one of the strongest beings."

And yet, just now.

She had been knocked down by a girl.

An unbelievable sight.

A magus whose compatibility with her was abysmal.

Clearly... the mysteries humans possessed were nothing to her.

But that woman had thrown her down with her bare hands!

"...How... is that possible!"

Staring at the smiling woman.

The Golden Wolf felt a surge of disbelief, but she understood one thing.

This woman—no, she should be called an "anomaly."

She could kill her!

"...So... are you giving up?"

Aozaki Touko lifted her head, looking at the fearful Golden Wolf, and revealed a gentle smile.

The so-called Golden Wolf... was actually nothing more than an immature child. On this point, whether in her past life or now witnessing it firsthand, she confirmed it without exception.

To a child, she chose to respond with tenderness.

"..."

The Golden Wolf snapped out of her fear, gazing at the woman with that warm smile.

Her still-aching body suddenly felt better—or rather, it had already healed long ago.

The pain lingering from before was merely the residue of fear!

Yet, the moment she saw this woman's smile, she understood one thing.

This woman wouldn't kill her. She wasn't an enemy.

"...I lose!"

The Golden Wolf fell silent for a moment, then decisively admitted it.

She had indeed lost without a doubt. The moment her techniques were seen through and she was knocked to the ground by that woman, the fact that she had no hope of victory.

Had already been confirmed.

"Beo... you'll be grateful for this someday!"

Aozaki Touko revealed a satisfied smile, then her expression turned serious:

"Now then, it's time to form the contract!"

She reached out and stroked the Golden Beast's forehead, imprinting her mark upon it. Throughout this process, the Golden Wolf offered no resistance, and it was completed with ease!

"...Touko, you called me Beo—is that a name you gave me?"

Beo touched her forehead, a look of curiosity on her face.

She didn't care much about names, but since this would be how her master addressed her from now on.

She supposed she should pay a little attention to it!

"Mm... I'll call you that from now on!"

Aozaki Touko looked up at the towering Beo and said, "But Beo, you should be able to transform into human form, right?"

"I can."

Beo nodded obediently.

Then she transformed into Aozaki Touko's likeness.

"...Don't copy me."

Seeing this, Aozaki Touko's mouth twitched.

To be honest, Beo's transformation ability was quite strong—it even gave her the feeling of looking into a mirror.

But she wasn't happy about it...

"...Okay."

Hearing this, Beo paused briefly, then thought it over.

Then, her form shifted again, becoming a delicate little loli with golden hair and green eyes.

"Is this okay?"

She tilted her head up, a questioning look on her face.

"Mm... not bad!"

Chapter 14: She Really Gave Too Much

The great sun hung high.

Inside the werewolf village.

Cooking smoke rose in curling wisps, the aroma of roasted meat spreading everywhere.

At this moment, the werewolves were eating lunch, chatting about how miserably the challenger of the Golden Wolf Sorceress would die by now, never once imagining the possibility of her victory. In their eyes, this sorceress was already a dead woman walking!

No need to pay her any more attention—just a topic for after the meal.

As for accidents, that was impossible too.

Because her opponent... was the Golden Beast, possessing a divine mystery from the Age of Gods!

An existence no modern mage could ever hope to contend with.

"Mm... smells pretty good, doesn't it?"

Suddenly, a girl's voice rang out, laced with laughter.

The werewolves in the village snapped their heads around to look. The sorceress who should have been a corpse was now walking over, leading a golden-haired, green-eyed loli.

She was unharmed, her clothes not even ruffled, her breathing steady and calm.

Could it be... that this sorceress hadn't actually fought the Golden Wolf?

That thought abruptly surfaced in the werewolves' minds!