Fate: Hero Simulator

[3rd POV]

A body created from mercury, utilizing the flexibility of liquid to reduce the wear on the puppet, Touko was able to fully unleash the combat skills from the holy sword.

This was the puppet she had prepared.

"I didn't expect you to still have so many resources left after having your Sealing Designation lifted. Those magic artifacts just now must have been really expensive."

Aoko became serious.

The artifacts that had been absorbed into the puppet moments ago were all incredibly valuable magical relics.

These relics would grant this mindless, sword-wielding puppet various specialized abilities—such as… adaptability to space.

In the blink of an eye, the puppet appeared behind Aoko, and the holy sword swung toward her neck.

If this strike landed, then this young Magus would undoubtedly lose her life today.

"Bang!"

The magical bullet already prepared in Aoko's hand was fired.

A series of magic circles appeared on her arm, and with their enhancement, the blast sent the puppet flying back.

Aoko was not a magus in the traditional sense but was a combat-type magus.

In close combat, she was never weak.

If she maintained the distance, she would launch her powerful magical bullets, sending the enemy flying, not to mention she had spell on her side.

"Attacking from behind again? After all these years, you don't actually think I haven't improved, do you?"

The memory begins to resurface in Aoko's mind, recalling the battle between the two sisters in the mirror world.

At that time, Aoko, still an apprentice magus, had been hunted down like a rat by one of Touko's puppets.

She was completely overwhelmed by a basic spell that messed with her magic circuits.

That battle had almost ridiculed Aoko's immaturity in front of everyone.

"Back then, I chose the Mirror World as the battleground. This time, I'll let you choose the battlefield. Let's see how much you've changed over the years."

The light in Aoko's hand radiated a destructive glow.

With a casual strike, she obliterated the ground where Touko had been standing.

However, this strike wouldn't kill her.

"You're altering the space here? You can appear in any corner of this vast underground cavern as long as you want. So, we're playing cat and mouse again, huh?"

The biggest weakness of a puppet master is undoubtedly their own body.

If the main body is killed, the puppets will stop moving because there's no one controlling them.

However, Touko's space-altering technique allows her to teleport freely within this enclosed space.

Unless Aoko destroyed the entire cavern in one go, there was no way she could catch her.

The problem of mana could be resolved by tapping into the underground leyline; it's a convenient and shameless tactic.

But it didn't matter. Last time, she used the advantages of the Mirror World's terrain to defeat Touko's puppet.

"Boom—"

A series of explosions erupted from underground, the vibrations reaching the surface, but neither of them paid attention to them anymore.

Mount Enzō was already a secluded area, and with the arrangements made by Rin and Kirei, no one would come here in the middle of the night.

That was the reason why the two of them could fight without holding back.

Surely, no one would just accidentally stumble into this place in the middle of the night... right?

Their battleground was still the underground cavern—a place where practically no one would ever come, and yet…

"Boom~"

A huge explosion rang out, and under the two sisters' immense power, a "skylight" appeared above.

At that moment, a figure fell through the newly created opening.

"What if I said I wandered in here by accident?"

Bathed in moonlight, the two sisters finally got a clear look at the intruder.

Through the moonlight, the two sisters were able to clearly look at the intruder.

A 17-year-old boy, a trainee magus and the apprentice of the local ley line overseer...

"Then you are truly out of luck."

Their gazes locked onto the boy in unison.

Even if he was just a trainee magus, they had already issued a warning beforehand.

A cold, sharp sensation came from behind Kyouya, but as soon as he landed, his "Absolute Counter" was already running at full power and easily avoided the sneak attack.

"A puppet? And... that sword."

He dodged the attack and clearly saw the enemy who was trying to strike him.

It was a being with no life or consciousness.

However, that sword... he remembered it well.

It was identical to the one from a thousand years ago, and he recognized it instantly without even looking closely.

The Sword of Ryuka, a blade that represented the pure courage of a knight.

This completely baffled him.

Since the sword was so well-preserved, shouldn't it be lying in the British Museum?

How did it end up in the hands of a Grand Puppet Master?

"Aoko, the helper you brought is quite skilled. Their fighting style is somewhat similar to yours."

"Touko, this is obviously your helper, right? This is your territory. Do you think my people could sneak past you?"

The two sisters exchanged suspicious glances at each other.

Initially, both sisters had come with genuine intentions to resolve the long-standing misunderstanding, but the other had played dirty, and now both were angry.

"Things have reached this point, and it seems like there's only one answer."

They focused their attention on Kyouya.

If they wanted this battle to continue, they would need to team up, kill him, and gain each other's trust.

In other words... Kyouya's first battle as a magus was against the Fifth Magician and the Grand Puppet Master.

"I think we can still talk this through."

"I'm sorry, but this world often doesn't always make sense."

Back then, Aoko would have hesitated and struggled with whether or not to kill someone before she could actually take action.

But things were different now.

A destructive magic bullet appeared in her hand, and the puppet beside her pointed its sword at Kyouya.

Even though the holy sword couldn't be unleashed, it was sharp enough on its own.

They posed a deadly threat to him.

"This is... truly unfortunate."

He threw a jewel, and the jewel emitted a dazzling light. He used this "jewel flashbang" as a cover to escape.

But in this underground cavern, where could he possibly go?

To be continued...

...

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