Aozaki Aoko Case File

Aoko's thoughts were clear: since Einnashe and Chromclay were layering one bounded field on top of another, she would solve the problem layer by layer, from the inside out. However, considering efficiency, Aoko and her companions split up and acted separately.

After a round of beam cannon bombardment from Aoko, the area they were in was temporarily free of attacks from Einnashe's tendrils. Touko immediately released the Cheshire cat. The enormous feline melted into a puddle of shadows, like ice cream under the sun, and began shredding and consuming every limb of Einnashe that extended into the area, operating like a lumberjack's machine.

"Aoko," Arcueid said with slight hesitation, scratching her head, "are you sure Einnashe's core has a fruit? I've heard even True Ancestors would benefit greatly from eating it."

"That's what I've heard," Aoko replied, "so you and Touko should team up and try to locate Einnashe's core."

"That sounds kind of gross, but if it's just to try," Arcueid said, not entirely convinced but not opposed to working with Touko. In this world of layered bounded fields, her connection to the planet was temporarily severed, whereas Touko seemed unaffected.

"Be careful," Touko warned Aoko. "Make sure not to hit Chromclay's principle too hard... The last time, the principle you snatched from Vlov ended up slightly damaged, and we can't use it for now."

"Fine, I get it," Aoko said with mild exasperation. "I'll try to extract his principle intact. It shouldn't be a problem with the new artifact you gave me. As for Vlov's principle, it was already partially damaged when he violently took it from the former 19th Dead Apostle Ancestor."

This time, to obtain the principle: [Castle, therefore kingdom], Touko had specifically studied the art of modifying principles from Ciel after Aoko defeated Vlov. These techniques were inherited from Roa, and Touko herself had already transformed one principle into a grand magecraft.

The principle: Sword originally belonging to the Be'ze had been transformed by Ciel into the grand magecraft Calvaria Galgalim. It could unfold as a reflective mirror in the stratosphere, capable of concentrating sunlight into an attack known as the Star of Calvaria. (Incidentally, Be'Ze had also been both Ciel's and Vlov's swordsmanship teacher.)

Aoko had also studied the craft of reweaving principle into magecraft, but her proficiency still lagged behind Touko's. To ensure success, the artifact used for extracting and modifying principles was entirely developed by Touko.

This artifact was a pair of black gloves crafted from a special alchemical material. Its function was to materialize and extract a principle from a Dead Apostle Ancestor's body under unguarded conditions. When paired with specific arcane magic, the gloves could further assist in transforming the extracted principle into a grand magecraft. They were, essentially, tools specifically designed to plunder Dead Apostle Ancestors—something even Ciel couldn't achieve, as the plundering involved techniques rooted in the Third Magic.

The White Wing Duke and Chromclay's plans had seemed airtight. They had gone to great lengths with their bounded fields to temporarily disable Arcueid's Marble Phantasm, but they had not anticipated the Aozaki sisters crashing into their trap and wreaking havoc.

Einnashe and [Castle, therefore Kingdom] could sever the connection between True Ancestors and the planet, but they were powerless against the Aozaki sisters. Touko sustained herself with her materialized soul, granting her perpetual motion, while Aoko's power came from the Fifth Magic's orbital circuit, generating infinite mana through a self-sustaining loop.

Flying low, Aoko was surrounded by dozens of spindle-shaped constructs made of mana, transforming herself into a floating arsenal that bombarded Einnashe and the castle relentlessly. Aside from Einnashe's counterattacks, the castle itself generated all sorts of bizarre enemies, including grotesque phantasmal species and gargoyles hidden in the architecture, which took flight to attack Aoko.

But this small fry couldn't even slow Aoko down; her mana blasts obliterated them instantly. This left the White Wing Duke and Chromclay, hiding in the central castle atop the hill, deeply anxious—they had never anticipated that the Aozaki sisters would crash their plans so spectacularly.

At this point, there was no turning back. The two could only grit their teeth and hope to find a way to deal with these three disasters.

"Chromclay," said the White Wing Duke Otinroche solemnly, "it's time to use that. If we don't, that destructive witch will soon storm the castle!"

"But—but if we activate that, it will suppress and destroy both Chromclay and my castle!" Chromclay protested.

"No more buts!" the White Wing Duke growled. "Whether we succeed or fail depends on this moment! Do it!"

Hesitating for a moment, Chromclay finally decided to activate the emergency defense mechanism of [Castle, therefore Kingdom]. The pressure from Aoko and Touko was simply overwhelming, and he was completely countered.

"Huh?" Aoko, flying through the air, suddenly sensed something. She immediately activated her Red Shift ability, shifting her body into a state of temporal misalignment to evade any attacks targeting her current timeline.

She noticed that many buildings in the city were inexplicably collapsing, and even Einnashe's tendrils were moving and attacking more sluggishly. This was undoubtedly a sign that the environment within the bounded field had changed.

"Gravity?" Aoko speculated about Chromclay's methods, calculating her next course of action.

Touko and Arcueid also felt a sudden increase in gravity, which was several times higher than before. However, since neither of them were ordinary humans, the gravity change had little effect on them. Even Touko's cat remained completely unfazed.

It's not like there was no impact at all, it was that Arcueid's combat efficiency slightly decreased—she could no longer leap as high as before.