In the desolate snowfield, the trail worn by people in the past had reached its end. On ground made of unevenly scattered bricks, Touko Aozaki, who had challenged Aoko to a fight, made no attempt to hide. She stood openly in the middle of the field, like a demon king waiting for a hero to challenge her.
"You really did come running like an idiot, my foolish little sister. It seems even two years of study haven't helped you improve."
Aoko Aozaki had only just stepped into the snowfield and had yet to speak when this string of seemingly wistful taunts made the veins on her forehead bulge.
"So what if you've turned this place into your territory? There's nothing here but corpses. An utterly boring place, much like your past."
"To think you'd say that about the graveyard your big sister so carefully picked out for you. How heartbreaking."
As she watched Touko's unruffled expression, open hostility filled Aoko's eyes.
The moment her idiot sister appeared, there had been no stopping the showdown between the Aozaki sisters.
"You may be a lunatic who treats a puppet as her little sister, but you left so readily before. Let me ask you one more time."
Aoko Aozaki raised her head and stepped into the wasteland without hesitation, not a trace of uncertainty in her clear gaze.
"Why did you come back to Misaki, sister?"
"To laugh at you."
More than having her inheritance taken away, what truly enraged Touko was Aoko Aozaki's attitude.
To meet her grandfather's expectations and inherit the Aozaki Family, Touko had worked hard even at the many Magic Formulas she disliked. As a result, the vision in her innate Mystic Eyes had deteriorated, forcing her to wear glasses.
Yet Aoko had brushed aside the matter of inheriting