Arc 9Chapters 202–226
No recap yet.
No recap yet.
Roland advised Aoko Aozaki to develop her close-combat talent and warned her that Touko was dangerous, but Aoko refused to leave Misaki City. After secretly planting something on her, Roland asked Aoko to take him to Alice Kuonji’s Western-style Mansion, and Aoko spotted strange winged beings gathering above the Forest of No Return.
Alice Kuonji was surrounded by the Shadowkhan and summoned her Bridge Giant to fight them. Just as she believed she had gained the advantage, the Shadowkhan Ogres immobilized the giant by joining forces to restrain his arm.
Alice Kuonji and Aoko Aozaki countered the Shadowkhan by unleashing the Hound of the Rose, freeing the bridge giant to strike them. The Shadowkhan turned into a vortex that swallowed the Hound, and Alice recognized it as ultimate darkness.
Alice Kuonji survived a terrifying encounter with a mysterious attacker who summoned the Shadow Realm, then returned with Aoko Aozaki after the danger passed. On the way home, Aoko realized Alice had forgotten the Hound of the Rose, and Alice feared it had been taken during the fight.
Roland settled into his newly purchased house in Misaki City and used the Shadow Realm to strengthen his authority, then decided he wanted Alice Kuonji and planned to take possession of her Western-style Mansion. Meanwhile, Alice Kuonji and Aoko Aozaki remained inside the mansion, unaware that Roland's shadows were spreading through the city's barrier.
Aoko Aozaki and Alice Kuonji recovered over tea and planned how to face the enemy who had attacked them. Alice urged Aoko to stay out of the battle, but Aoko chose to fight beside her and said she would use True Magic if necessary, leaving them set to defend Misaki City together.
Aoko Aozaki and Alice Kuonji fought Touko Aozaki’s puppets at Taochuan while Alice prepared her Night’s Banquet. Roland emerged from the shadows, revealed himself as Touko’s ally, and provoked Aoko by saying her sister had tasted good.
Roland confronted Alice Kuonji and revealed that he had come for her, while Aoko Aozaki fought off his puppets. After Roland threatened the Western-style Mansion, Alice summoned her powerful Bridge Giant, and Roland prepared a statue of a goddess to counter it.
Roland revived Ishtar with the Rat Talisman, and she destroyed Alice Kuonji’s Bridge Giant with her Noble Phantasm. After Roland paid Ishtar ten gemstones, Alice asked what he wanted from her.
After defeating Alice Kuonji’s defenses, Roland pressured her into signing a one-month contract requiring her obedience while promising to protect her and her inheritance. He also made a gem-payment arrangement with Ishtar, then turned the goddess back into a stone statue and took the gems.
Roland pressured Aoko Aozaki over her hesitation to use True Magic until Touko Aozaki emerged and called her away to settle their long-standing grudge. Aoko left to face her sister while Roland stayed behind with Alice Kuonji, openly debating whether he would enjoy Touko's defeat or comfort her.
Roland watched Aoko Aozaki follow Touko Aozaki toward their chosen battlefield while he tested the limits of his Contract with Alice Kuonji. Alice resisted his attempt to lull her into intimacy, but Roland revealed that her resistance could not stop him.
Aoko confronted Touko in the snowfield and learned that Touko had returned to Misaki for revenge and curiosity about True Magic. Their fight began, and after Touko countered Aoko’s invisible approach with Runes, Aoko used Mana Burst to escape the flames and continued closing in.
Aoko confronted Touko and unleashed her ultimate attack after discovering that Touko had assembled stolen Magic Crests. Before Aoko could fire, a golden beast’s claw pierced her chest and crushed her heart.
Touko used Beo to fatally wound Aoko, believing she had finally defeated her sister, but Roland’s Bites the Dust restored Aoko and revealed a strange power connected to time. Aoko named the ability, while Roland realized C-Moon was about to rise.
Aoko Aozaki used Roland’s miracle to revive and launch a decisive Magic Bullet at Touko, but Touko survived with her doll-engineered body and trapped Aoko with powerful Mystic Eyes. As Aoko began loading her consciousness into her Magic Crest, Alice Kuonji begged Roland to help, and the Root’s power descended.
Aoko Aozaki awakened the Fifth Magic and transformed the battlefield into a sea of flowers before fighting Touko Aozaki. Touko unleashed Nameless Chaos after Aoko struck her down, and Aoko prepared a devastating attack as the Monster charged.
Aoko defeated Touko’s mythological Monster and prepared to end their fight, but their exchange was interrupted by a force that pulled Touko and the white flowers into the sky. As Aoko resisted the pull, Roland arrived.
Aoko Aozaki revealed that she had traveled from roughly ten years in the future, then challenged Roland after he rescued Touko Aozaki. Their fight began with Aoko attacking and Roland effortlessly countering her, but she healed her injured arm and declared that Roland was the challenger.
Roland analyzed Aoko Aozaki’s Fifth Magic as a system that consumed energy and deferred its costs, while Aoko defended her role and challenged him to a decisive attack. They unleashed matching attacks that threatened to destroy Misaki City, and their beams collided.
Roland and Aoko Aozaki exchanged attacks, revealing that Aoko had borrowed an AT Field from the future and that Roland could redirect her Magic Bullet through time with Bites the Dust. Aoko used True Magic to escape cause and effect, but Roland recognized her defense as the same type of ability as Killer Queen and indicated that its conditions had now been met.
Roland revealed that he had used his encounters with Aoko and her True Magic to learn a magician’s perspective on time and begin his ritual. He unleashed a vast field that lifted Misaki City into the sky, and Aoko realized he was accelerating time as the sun rapidly rose.
Roland activated Made in Heaven, accelerating time across the world while living beings remained untouched by its passage. Aoko realized the acceleration could bring the universe to its end before its living creatures and pleaded with Roland to stop, but he continued toward a brand-new world.
Roland accelerated the universe toward its end with Made in Heaven, intending to force reality into a repeating cycle, while Aoko Aozaki tried to stop him. After the universe reached its endpoint, Roland revealed that he had brought Aoko to the void before creation and challenged her as they had agreed.
After Touko Aozaki woke beside Alice Kuonji, they watched time accelerate until Misaki City, Earth, and the universe were destroyed. As they faced the end, Touko teased Alice about Roland and persuaded her that he would not let them die without returning for them.