"To cut to the chase, the enemy this ti is my elder sister."
Aoko declared her conclusion with unwavering certainty.
Eiji paid close attention to the expression on her face.
Even as she spoke these words, there was no trace of hesitation or doubt in her deanor—as if retreat had never been an option from the very beginning.
Half a month ago, a section of the barrier covering the land of Kinoko Town had been breached.
At that ti, Aozaki Aoko and Kuonji Alice had assud it was just another wandering magus, foolishly setting their sights on this spiritual land, as had happened before.
Such encounters might seem laughable in modern society, but in the world of magi, they were all too common. After all, every magus took pride in possessing their own spiritual land.
Not long after that incident, Aozaki Aoko discovered an anomaly at her school—Eiji, whose re appearance could unsettle even a magus like her. She initially mistook him for the wandering magus who had co to seize the spiritual land.
The mastermind lurking in the shadows had also exploited this misunderstanding, pitting Alice and Eiji against each other in a deadly confrontation.
However, after so discussion, the misunderstanding was cleared up among them.
And from the puppet fashioned in Aoko's likeness that the enemy had sent to ambush them, Alice discovered a critical flaw—one that revealed the true identity of the mastermind.
"The puppet that Alice had her Rose Hound devour last night had an internal structure strikingly similar to the spell construction of a certain barrier I'm familiar with," Aoko explained, crossing her arms and standing tall, her reasoning clear and thodical.
"The only ones who know that spell construction are my grandfather and my elder sister, Aozaki Touko."
Aoko's grandfather was the forr head of the Aozaki family.
He was also the one who had passed down the Magic to her.
Unconsciously, Aoko touched her right arm, where the Aozaki family's Magic Crest was engraved—the vessel that also concealed the Magic within her.
The barrier erected over Kinoko Town by Aoko's grandfather served to concentrate all the magical energy of the land's ley lines into a single point, effectively monopolizing it—a symbol of the Aozaki family's ownership of the spiritual land.
There were other barriers for surveillance and the like, but those were beside the point.
The puppet's internal structure bore a striking resemblance to the barrier's spell construction—or rather, shared the sa spellcrafting habits, as if derived from the sa source.
The only ones who could replicate that spell construction were her grandfather and her elder sister, Aozaki Touko.
"If it's Touko, she should be able to bypass the barrier entirely," Alice remarked, having seemingly materialized a cup of fragrant black tea at so point and sipping it leisurely. "Even if she wanted to destroy the barrier, it wouldn't take her half a month."
"Right. After all, Touko was originally the heir of the Aozaki family..."
Aoko clenched her right arm.
For a mont, she bit her lip lightly, as if recalling sothing unpleasant.
"Maybe she's hiding her identity to catch you off guard?" Eiji mused, considering the enemy's perspective.
"Alice and I reached the sa conclusion," Aoko replied, releasing her arm and nodding approvingly, though she gave him a slightly surprised look.
"Didn't expect you to piece it together so quickly with just that much info. Not bad for a brain."
"Hahaha, of course I'm sharper than you, Aoko. I bet you didn't figure it out right away, did you?"
"..."
A vein bulged on Aoko's forehead.
She had ant to mock Eiji, only to be outmaneuvered again.
It was true that she had only arrived at the conclusion after discussing it with Alice.
"But she must know her puppet has been exposed by now," Alice interjected, glancing between the two.
Strangely enough, she found their back-and-forth rather entertaining.
Or rather, seeing Aoko flustered put her in a better mood.
"Once she realizes she's been exposed, she'll drop the act. She'll move fast to dismantle the barrier—in fact, she already destroyed another anchor point last night."
Now that her cover was blown, there was no reason to hide anymore.
That was undoubtedly her mindset.
If nothing unexpected happened, she would likely launch a full-scale assault soon.
"There are five anchor points in total for the barrier. Two have already been destroyed. If the remaining three fall, the Aozaki family's claim over this spiritual land will be history!" Aoko concluded gravely.
Such was the ruthless efficiency of territorial disputes among magi.
Destroying the opponent's barrier, controlling the spiritual land rendered it ownerless. All that remained was to erect a new barrier, report it to the Mage's Association, and claim ownership.
Of course, killing the magus outright and seizing the barrier achieved the sa result—often with even less effort.
Over the past two years, four or five wandering magi had attempted exactly that, charging in to fight the two, only to et grueso ends at Alice's hands.
"Can't we just track her down instead?" Eiji raised his hand.
He preferred taking the initiative. After his duel with Freya, he had learned that much.
Being passive was agonizing—going on the offensive was far more satisfying.
"Difficult," Aoko grumbled, shaking her head.
"Touko hasn't left any traces so far. Where she might have set up her workshop is a complete mystery."
Moreover, she was intimately familiar with the barrier's structure in Kinoko City. Ordinary surveillance magecraft would be useless against her. Unless she revealed herself, locating her hideout was impossible.
"What about guarding the remaining anchor points?" Eiji pondered for a mont before offering another suggestion.
If her goal was to destroy the barrier, she would inevitably target the remaining three anchor points. By lying in wait, wouldn't they be able to ambush Touko?
"Not a bad idea. We considered that too," Aoko replied, folding her arms with a look that said 'dead end.'
"But we don't have enough people. If the three of us each guard one anchor point, our ho will be left defenseless."
Ah, right.
That was a problem.
Eiji snapped back to reality.
So far, their side was completely exposed, while Touko operated from the shadows. She could monitor their movents, but they couldn't find hers.
If they were to guard the anchor points, the Touko could simply bypass them and strike directly at their ho.
The mansion itself wasn't a concern—Alice cared deeply about it, but Eiji couldn't bring himself to share the sentint. But if their families were taken hostage, that would be the worst-case scenario.
So, for the next few nights, Eiji couldn't afford to leave ho lightly—just in case.
"Anyway, leave tracking her down to us. You just focus on fighting her when the ti cos. I may not be a fan of your personality, but your combat skills are undeniable."
Aoko curled her lip as she delivered the verdict.
***
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