[Boom-]

His gaze first swept over Shirou and Touko Aozaki, and after confirming that the two were not in any danger, Wang Xiaoming then turned his attention to Araya, who had been cornered by the [Durandal] he had casually thrown.

As for Araya, even with the blessing of the "Sixty-Four-Layer Offering Hall," he dared not relax in the slightest when facing the man with the [Mystic Eyes of Petrification].

"Are you here to stop me this time too?"

"Stop? Fake monk, are you misunderstanding something?"

However, Wang Xiaoming's answer surprised Araya somewhat.

"From the very first time we met, I should have said that my only goal is to save people, and I have absolutely no interest in your so-called plan."

"..."

Wang Xiaoming's answer plunged Araya into a brief silence; he began to ponder.

From the moment they met in front of Kirie Fujou's hospital room, he had conducted a thorough investigation into Wang Xiaoming. However, the investigation revealed that the other party had no intention of stopping him.

Furthermore, not long after, Kirie Fujou was brought under Touko's protection, leaving Touko Aozaki Araya, who found this troublesome, with no choice but to find another way.

After receiving news of Wang Xiaoming's trip, Araya prepared to quickly complete his plan while the other party was away.

However--

Looking up again at Wang Xiaoming who appeared before him, a flash of understanding crossed Araya's eyes:

"Is that so? It seems you've unwittingly become an [Executor] of the Counter Force."

"Executor?"

Upon hearing this somewhat familiar term, Wang Xiaoming's expression flashed with slight surprise, but he quickly shook his head and said, "Just like last time, I have no interest in your plans this time, it's just—"

Wang Xiaoming's gaze fell on Shirou's neck, where he could vaguely see a slightly bluish bruise, a mark left when Araya had choked Shirou's neck earlier.

"While I was away, my little rascal seemed to have caused you quite a bit of trouble."

Seeing the ambiguous smile on Wang Xiaoming's lips, Araya's heart sank. He knew that this matter was clearly not going to end easily.

"Even so, I will not give up easily, you lackey of the Counter Force!"

Hearing Araya, a mixture of resentment and hatred, Wang Xiaoming, who was picking at his ear, sighed.

"What a nonsensical title..."

The next second, [Durandal] reappeared in his hand--

Cornelius Alba, the next abbot of the Schuberg Monastery, should have had a bright future, but he was shocked by what he saw.

The hall was no longer what it used to be; ruins and craters everywhere formed the main components of this space called "Battlefield".

Watching Araya fight the unknown man on the battlefield, Alba, who had already moved to the corner of the hall, let out an indescribable wail:

"These monsters..."

However, Alba seemed to have forgotten that the so-called "monster" he spoke of also had one standing before him—

"What's wrong, Cornelius?"

The words, brimming with murderous intent, sent a shiver down Alba's spine. Immediately afterward, a magic bullet, burning hot, grazed past his ear.

Ignoring his golden hair, which was now emitting a burnt smell, Alba shifted his attention to the woman who had appeared in front of him.

"Aozaki..."

"Why are you making that face? Cornelius, are you afraid?"

Seeing Alba's unpleasant expression, Touko Aozaki's lips curled into a mocking smile:

"Oh, right. You should be afraid. Because you, who pride yourself on being a genius, have finally discovered that your so-called strength, like your ridiculous pride, is utterly fragile in the face of absolute power."

"You bastard..."

Perhaps provoked by Touko Aozaki's words, Alba gritted his teeth and raised his wand.

Alba's incantation time for Magecraft was far shorter than that of ordinary Magecraft. In the blink of an eye, magical fire exceeding a thousand degrees Celsius appeared between the two of them.

"Aozaki, now that you're no longer controlled by monsters, how can you possibly withstand my Magecraft!"

Just as the flames of revenge were about to engulf Touko Aozaki, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Touko Aozaki.

What are you going to do?

Seeing Wang Xiaoming casually extinguish the flames in front of her, Touko Aozaki not only didn't thank him, but instead showed a rather dissatisfied expression.

"Sorry, sorry, I just came to deliver something."

Perhaps realizing he had done something unnecessary, Wang Xiaoming offered a half-hearted apology and then casually tossed a small object from his pocket into Touko Aozaki's hand.

"This thing..."

Looking at the [Dragon Smoke] logo on the packaging box, Touko Aozaki showed a surprised expression.

"Look at how listless you look, out of cigarettes again, huh?"

Wang Xiaoming's confident voice made Touko Aozaki shake her head helplessly. She then skillfully opened the packaging, took out a cigarette, and lit it.

I won't say anything about thanking you.

Touko Aozaki, her brow unfurrowed by the smell of nicotine, waved her cigarette at Wang Xiaoming.

"Consider this my reward for taking care of that brat."

"You're really easy to please."

"Get out!"

Hearing Wang Xiaoming's teasing, Touko Aozaki couldn't help but laugh and scold him. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she gestured to the other end of the hall:

"Hey, that guy's out."

Wang Xiaoming glanced at Araya, who was struggling to emerge from the ruins on the other side, smiled, and then said to Touko Aozaki:

"How about we have a contest to see who can finish off their opponent first?"

"What are we betting on?"

Touko Aozaki raised an eyebrow, clearly not intending to admit defeat, but her opponent seemed even more arrogant.

"Whatever, whatever makes you happy. Anyway, I'm not the one who lost."

After angrily waving her fist at Wang Xiaoming's retreating figure, Touko Aozaki turned around and gave Alba, who seemed to be starting to question the meaning of life, a sinister smile (from Alba's perspective):

"Since you've already heard it, Alba, for the sake of our old classmate relationship, give me some face and just die already."

As she spoke, Touko Aozaki casually flicked a rune in mid-air with the hand holding the cigarette—

"Within my barrier, you cannot defeat me."

Having apparently overheard the conversation between Wang Xiaoming and Touko Aozaki, Araya, not wanting to waste any more time in the battle, spoke to Wang Xiaoming.

Araya's words were true. With the blessing of the "Sixty-Four-Layer Offering Hall," Araya [Six Paths Barrier] was fully activated, was on a completely different level compared to when he was in the hospital.

"Even your petrifying demonic eyes are useless if the space they reach is blocked."

In Araya's view, the opponent's most lethal weapon, rather than close combat, was those Mystic Eyes.

If I can shut down this "ultimate weapon," then my opponent will have no chance of defeating me.

This is just a hypothetical scenario...

Looking at Wang Xiaoming, who slowly squatted down and placed his right hand on his knee, Araya looked puzzled. He had never seen such a strange posture before.

It looks like a posture of gathering strength before jumping, or like the nonchalant pose deliberately struck by petty thugs you see everywhere.

As for the purpose of this posture...

"--[Dromeus Cometes (Dromeus Cometes)]"

(--[Crimson Drill Kick])

Araya has already been kicked to ashes, may have something to say.

(I don't think there's a problem)

As for why it's 555, it's because it's cool!

(Just consider it as something you got from a gacha pull.)

Chapter 307. [Boom--]

"Aozaki..."

At this moment, Alba was no longer the spirited man he had been moments before. Cornered and with nowhere to turn, even his cries of despair carried an air of disbelief.

He couldn't believe it; they were classmates who graduated at the same time, so the gap between them was beyond his comprehension.

"Cornelus, don't you dare use that cliché line like 'begging for mercy,' or I'll look down on you."

Perhaps sensing the pleading look in Alba's eyes, Touko Aozaki spoke quietly in a gentle voice.

"You..."

As for Alba whole body trembled slightly with fear after hearing the woman's words.

He understood—

The outcome of this battle was undoubtedly a loss for them.

Having fully grasped the differences between Magecraft, Alba could no longer harbor any intention of attacking Touko Aozaki. Yet, even now, he still couldn't understand one thing—

"Cornelus, you want to ask me why I want to kill you so badly, right?"

Upon hearing Touko Aozaki's question, Alba nodded hastily, unable to comprehend the almost tangible killing intent emanating from Touko Aozaki.

A clicking sound rang out.

Touko Aozaki gently brushed her hair aside and lit the cigarette she had been holding in her mouth.

"Since you're alive, you're already aware of being hated or hating others. To be honest, your hatred, which started back in our school days, is actually quite good, because it's proof of my excellence, Aozaki Touko."

"Then, why--"

Seeing that Touko Aozaki's anger was clearly not due to his own jealousy, Alba's doubts deepened.

"The reason is simple. Because you called me by that name."

As if to pronounce Alba's death sentence, Touko Aozaki, who was taking the cigarette out of his mouth, unusually showed a serious expression:

"That was a vow I made during my time at the academy: anyone who has ever called me [Scarlet Pain] shall die!"

"I see."

Alba nodded knowingly, and then--

Touko Aozaki used the embers of her cigarette to Projection characters in mid-air, the elongated projections overlapping Alba's body. As the runes, these Magic Crest from a distant land, a distant world, composed only of straight lines, began to swirl...

--Alba's body began to burn and was engulfed by flames in an instant.

Feeling the almost scorching heat, Alba realized that his old classmate had shown no regard for their past relationship. When his last gaze met Touko Aozaki's, for the first and last time, a feeling of regret welled up within him.

[Indeed, I shouldn't have gotten involved with these monsters in the first place.]

These were the last thoughts of the Magecraft named Cornelius Alba before he left this world.

"Tsk--"

As her gaze shifted from the Magecraft, who had already turned to ashes, Touko Aozaki's body fell backward with a satisfying thud.

Araya's attack had previously caused her considerable physical harm, and for Magecraft like Touko Aozaki who doesn't exercise much, it's quite remarkable that she's managed to hold on until now.

"So, what were you pretending for all this time...?"

Just as Touko Aozaki was about to collapse to the ground, an arm suddenly reached out from the side and supported her.

"What, can you still walk?"

"..."