Strategic Retreat

Phantasmal Species were not actually any one specific type of creature, but a collective term for beings that appeared in legends and myths. Some were born from ecosystems altered by external factors, some arose from human thoughts, and some ascended to higher stages through longevity.

Though only magical beasts were generally considered capable of being used as Familiars, the boy before him was clearly not an existence on the level of a magical beast. At the very least, he was a Phantom Beast Species.

But whether Phantom Beast Species or Divine Beast, both were formidable enemies that Michael would find extremely difficult to deal with. The mystery of magecraft he had mastered was utterly incapable of contending against them, unless he revealed his trump card.

But even if he were to reveal it, now was not the time. Besides, in Michael's current condition, if he truly could reveal his trump card, he would not have been chased around like a dog by the Burial Agency.

"This really is troublesome..."

Michael curled his lip, took a deep breath, and suppressed the pain in his body. The Magic Bullet Formula unfolded as he launched a probing attack at the golden mystery.

Just as expected, the Magic Bullet passed through the boy's body as though passing through air, encountering no resistance at all. The Magic Bullet Formula had completely lost its intended effect.

What Phantasmal Species possessed was not magecraft in the ordinary sense, but the ability to return to the Age of Gods—the ability to recreate mysteries that had existed on Earth before magic. To magi of this era, it was an overwhelming form of suppression.

The further a mystery strayed from human hands, the greater its degree of return, and the greater its impact on the surrounding area. Fortunately, the Phantasmal Species before him clearly had not returned very far to the Age of Gods. There was still room to maneuver.

"Is this the big brother? He doesn't look very strong, but his weapon actually hurt me. That really is rare."

The boy formed from the Phantasmal Species looked curiously at Michael, his head slightly tilted, his emerald-like eyes filled with casual indifference.

A thin scratch had been left on the surface of the third joint of his right fist. It had only cut the outermost flesh, without drawing even a drop of blood, and it healed completely after just one breath.

"For an ordinary magus, he is already extremely strong. He counts as a pretty good prey."

Tōko Aozaki strolled over lazily, her arms folded across her chest. Though she looked utterly unconcerned, she had already sealed off every route Michael could use to escape. At this point, he was nothing more than a beast caught in a trap.

No matter how clever or savage a beast might be, it would ultimately be captured by the hunter.

Yet Michael, caught in the trap, was not panicked as Tōko Aozaki had expected. He merely quietly studied the Phantom Beast Species, azure radiance flowing through his eyes.

"What an incredible existence. The materialization of the soul—does it have the same effect as the Third Magic, Heaven's Feel?"

Michael lowered his gaze and muttered under his breath. Then he crouched halfway down, his slender fingers gently pressing into the soft forest ground beneath his feet as he poured a vast amount of mana into it.

"Since it has already failed, there is little point in remaining here. It is getting rather late, so please allow me to take my leave early."

Root-like veins emerged through the earth beneath his feet, covering the entire hillside. In an instant, the material underfoot transformed from soil into Octanitrocubane, turning the ordinary hillside into an about-to-erupt volcanic crater in the physical sense.

"This is... alchemy?!"

Tōko Aozaki stared at the sight before her in astonishment, unable to understand it at all. Though it had not exceeded the conceptual scope of magecraft, none of the alchemists she knew could achieve anything close to this.

"Correct. Too bad there's no prize."

Michael drained all the mana from the Tear of the Goddess, forming a mana shield around his body. As long as his mana was not completely exhausted, the shield would never break.

Of course, it was scarcely sturdier than paper against a Phantasmal Species, but if it was only a matter of withstanding the coming explosion, he had some confidence.

"Miss Touko, behold true art!"

He grinned broadly, revealing an exhilarated smile. Then he raised his right hand and, with a crisp snap of his fingers, detonated the unstable substance created through alchemy.

Aozaki Aoko ran swiftly through the corridor, enduring the pain in her side. Perhaps it was merely psychological, but she felt that the pain had eased considerably. At the very least, such intense running was no longer a problem.

No damage to the internal organs or bones, but there might be some issue with the nerves. Still, it shouldn't be too serious...

She muttered to herself inwardly as she glanced behind her. A rustling sound echoed through the corridor, whispering something like a poem as it pursued Aozaki Aoko at an unhurried pace.

"Vivimus in somnus. Solitari putris in inferos.

(Born in dreams, rotting in dust,)

Hodie mea obit die, et mea natus die. Te obire."

(Today is fate, today is birth. Alas, may I join you.)

These lyrics, written in Latin, carried the cadence of a curse. They cursed the opponent while also cursing themselves. Curses would give rise to new curses, victims would in turn curse their aggressors, and the chain of negativity would continue in an endless cycle.

It used curses to curse "curses" themselves, achieving a kind of perpetual motion to a certain extent. An enemy like this was still too advanced for Aozaki Aoko.

But she had no intention of asking Alice Kuonji for help. First, she had said earlier that she would dismantle this puppet into unrecoverable trash. Second, she was genuinely confident that she could deal with this puppet.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps drowned out the singing, like a six-legged steed galloping through the corridor.

At some point, the puppet with two hands and two feet had changed shape. It now resembled a human-faced spider crouching upon the ground. Though it was more than twice as ugly as its previous humanoid form, its increased speed was plain to see, and the distance between Aozaki Aoko and the puppet rapidly closed.

She could not remain in the corridor. There was no way she could outrun a six-legged puppet, but the six-legged mode had a major weakness when changing direction. If she used that properly, defeating the puppet would become much easier.

After a brief moment of thought, Aozaki Aoko abruptly halted her sprint. She gathered mana into her slender arm and smashed it heavily against a classroom door like a battering ram.

The thin wooden door was easily punched through. After kicking it a few more times, Aozaki Aoko entered the classroom, then hid against the wall beside the door while gathering mana.

The rustling footsteps drew closer and closer. Aozaki Aoko instinctively held her breath, staring intently toward the doorway.

Boom—!

The enormous roar and soaring flames gave her such a fright that she jumped. The shockwave from the explosion shattered every pane of glass in the school building. Howling wind poured through the broken windows, scattering everything in the classroom in every direction and sending both her and the puppet flying.

"That came from the school's back mountain. What happened?"

Aozaki Aoko forced herself up from the ground despite her discomfort and stared wide-eyed toward the blaze. A sphere of azure light radiating an intense mana signature flew toward her, growing larger and larger in her eyes. It traced a graceful arc through the air before finally falling into the classroom where Aozaki Aoko stood, beneath her astonished gaze.

"Cough, cough..."

The azure glow gradually faded, and a blurry human figure appeared amid the dust.

"Cough, cough, cough... Next time, I'm definitely not doing this again. I almost sent myself to my death, cough, cough..."