—Flat Snark.
Also known as the Oil of the Moon.
Among the magi previously defeated by Alice, it was also referred to as "The Unreachable," "The Unknown," and other such titles—each na carrying an extrely high appraisal.
A hazy mist gradually spread, also dyed a sickly green by the moon.
The range of visibility grew increasingly limited.
"To keep it short, the Oil of the Moon's ability is to construct a fairy-tale bounded field—though on an enormous scale. You'd best prepare to fight the bounded field itself... Not that you'd necessarily understand even if I explained it. Just stay on full alert!"
Aozaki Aoko spoke hurriedly, as if pressed for ti, doing her best to make Eiji grasp the danger of the situation.
Hmm.
If you say it's like a Reality Marble, then I can roughly understand.
After all, who hasn't heard of Unlimited Blade Works? If the Oil of the Moon is on the sa level as that, then even if it were manifested as a Noble Phantasm, it would undoubtedly be a mystery of the highest order.
So, would it be better to just nigerundayo (Run Away!) right now?
But it seems it's already too late.
Hiss—
A sound like paper scraps scraping against the ground reached their ears.
Imdiately after, one figure after another erged from the surroundings, encircling the two standing in the center of the open space.
"It's starting!"
Aoko let out a sigh.
Looking around—
The figures surrounding them were all yellow-skinned bread.
They had no facial features, nor did they resemble humans in the slightest. They rely used elongated loaves as crude limbs, yet their walking speed was anything but slow.
It was as if the bread had co to life on its own.
Like stepping into a fairy-tale world.
Thud!
Not far away, a large, dust-covered teddy bear suddenly revealed a sinister grin, its once-docile expression vanishing as it let out a silent, ferocious roar.
Further away, an oversized tin soldier several ters tall also began to move, its heavy footsteps clanging against the ground.
Countless dolls, machines, and steel structures in the amusent park seed to awaken all at once, swarming toward the two without exception.
For a mont—
It was as if demons had been let loose, transforming the place into a realm of nightmares.
"One last reminder—the rules inside this fairy-tale bounded field are completely different from the outside world. Out there, you could tear these bread-n apart with your bare hands, but in here, not even a rocket launcher could kill them. You have to use magical energy to defeat them."
Aoko intended to offer one last friendly warning.
Alice knew she was inside, so she wouldn't deliberately harm her. Though their relationship wasn't exactly great, they at least trusted each other to so degree. As long as she separated from Eiji, Alice would probably let her out.
But then she noticed Eiji turning his head, staring straight at her.
"W-What?!"
His gaze made her skin crawl, prompting her to raise her guard defensively.
"Since we're all in the sa boat now, don't hold back!"
Eiji suddenly grinned, his face twisting into a disingenuous smile.
"Let's share the hardship together!"
"Hey—HEY?!"
With a swift motion, he reached out and scooped up Aoko before she could dodge, tucking her under his arm like a sack.
Heh.
Did she really think she could just run away?
At the very least, he was going to squeeze so useful information out of her!
"You brought this on yourselves!"
Eiji shouted as he broke into a sprint.
Dozens of bread-n were sent flying as he crashed through them, leaving them far behind in an instant.
Though they couldn't be killed without magical energy, it seed knocking them away wasn't an issue—physical laws hadn't completely broken down.
Eiji unleashed agility comparable to a DanMachi Level 5, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Whether it was the bread-n, the giant teddy bear, or the tin soldiers, none could keep up with his speed—comparable to a speeding car.
"This isn't my fault!"
Aoko was indignant, pounding on Eiji's back with all her might. But not only did he not react, the jostling nearly made her vomit up her dinner.
"What other abilities does this familiar have? What are its weaknesses? Spit it all out!"
"You bastard!"
Smack!
"You spanked ?!"
From a distance, only Aoko's incredulous shrieks could be faintly heard, her tone so furious it sounded like she wanted to murder soone.
"..."
Far away.
At the center of the amusent park stood a clock tower.
Atop this clock tower, a girl clad in black like a spirit of the night stood silently.
Watching the chaos below and the two fleeing at an unimaginable speed, she let out a quiet sigh.
"Aoko... Not only did she fail to help, but she even beca a hostage..."
Now, it was even harder for her to strike decisively.
"Robin."
At her soft call—
A robin with vibrant blue feathers appeared beside her, circling as if awaiting orders.
***
The monsters in the amusent park were endless, as if they would never stop coming.
Eiji, intent on escaping the bounded field, ran with legs spinning like wheels, knocking aside bread-n and dodging giant tin soldiers.
He didn't use magical energy, relying purely on physical prowess—fortunately, he was still managing well enough.
"Since when was this amusent park so big?"
After two minutes of full-speed sprinting, Eiji had left most of the monsters behind, yet there was still no sign of the park's exit.
"A fully deployed Oil of the Moon has an internal space as large as a small town..."
Aoko muttered sullenly.
After having her backside smacked over a dozen tis, she had finally resigned herself to honesty, divulging everything she knew.
"That powerful?"
"Well, it is sothing related to the First Magic..."
Whoa!
That's quite the background!
In the Type-Moon world, magecraft and True Magic are entirely different concepts.
Magecraft, at its core, is equivalent exchange that skips the process—achieving things humans can do, just faster. Magical energy rely acts as fuel to bypass the steps and reach the result.
But True Magic is genuine miracles, crystallizations of the concept of "absolute impossibility"—realms unattainable by human science.
For example, the well-known "Holy Grail War" is itself a product of the Third Magic.
The First Magic is generally understood as the "Denial of Nothingness."
In other words, it is the creation of sothing from true nothingness—bringing into existence what was declared fundantally nonexistent.
According to Aoko, the Oil of the Moon is a creation tied to the First Magic.
Within the bounded field it constructs, not only can magical energy be generated infinitely, but discarded and forgotten things can also be freely manipulated, given new life through resentnt—thus manifesting a fairy-tale world.
In other words, those bread-n aren't even living beings. They lack any sense of self, re puppets controlled by resentnt.
CLANG—!
Eiji slamd on the brakes.
Ahead, a once-rusty giant lobster suddenly sprang to life, its massive claws snapping toward them through the air.
At over 18 ters long, its sheer presence was overwhelming.
***
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