Magical User Aozaki Aoko Case Files Chapter 037

It was by no means an easy feat to “scare to death” a fantasy creature of the caliber of Lug Beowulf.

Aoko admitted that she had a mischievous, meme-like intention when arranging those puppet remnants, but she did indeed set silent phantom spells on some of those remnants, making them appear even more bizarre.

Besides these, to make the surroundings even darker, she used her slightly modified Fog Cloud spell (dyeing the mist black), a gloomy wall that prevented the giant infant golden wolf from escaping, and finally, the fourth-tier spell, Phantasmal Killer, which delivered the “fatal blow.”

Of course, other spells besides Phantasmal Killer were actually used to increase the success rate of this final blow. Every subtle setup she made to induce fear was to lower the enemy’s saving throws.

Although this series of operations did involve an element of gambling, it undoubtedly saved the cost of using the Fifth Magic once.

While Aoko herself didn’t have to bear the cost of the Fifth Magic (which harmed the world), using it might attract red shadows, which could turn a simple situation into a very complicated one. Therefore, she decided to try using spells from the School of Illusion to see if she could scare to death this creature, which in the original timeline was scared away by Shizuki Soujuurou using a method for dealing with beasts.

Now, it seemed the effect was excellent.

Phantasmal Killer was not a mystery of this world, so it bypassed the golden wolf’s regression to the Age of Gods. Its spell effect targeted its inherently timid weakness, ultimately resulting in damage far greater than one plus one equals two.

If she had used Monster Hold or spells from the School of Enchantment today, she might have been resisted by its Constitution or Willpower saving throws. Thus, while observing Alice and Lug Beowulf’s battle, Aoko decided to use illusion spells to deal with it.

Therefore, rather than being scared to death, it died from an extraterrestrial mystery completely different from the rules of this planet.

If other mages skilled in creating illusions and frightening others were to deal with Lug Beowulf, they would definitely not achieve the same results as Aoko.

Therefore, Aoko was quite satisfied with her battle results this time. Touko always used to call her a barbarian who only knew how to destroy, even though she had shown Touko so many Arcane Web spells. Why did that woman still think she was a magic barbarian?

Perhaps it was because the various spells and magecraft Aoko displayed were all for combat purposes. At least, her talent in creating Mystic Codes and puppets was currently inferior to Touko’s.

—Dividing Line—

A flash of magical aura passed by, and Aoko, Alice, and Lug Beowulf’s “corpse” appeared in a pitch-black place.

Is this spatial transfer magecraft…? Alice gained a new understanding of Aoko’s strength. This level of magecraft had already surpassed magecraft itself and was not far from the level of true magic.

Aoko snapped her fingers, and the spreading magical power immediately lit up the surrounding lights, allowing Kuonji Alice to clearly see her surroundings.

This must be a basement, Alice thought. The room was filled with books and magical devices, looking like some kind of workshop laboratory.

“This is my grandfather’s workshop basement,” Aoko said, reinforcing her physical abilities with magical power. “The reason I brought this guy’s corpse here is because there’s a hypothetical prison my grandfather built here.”

With that, Aoko pointed to a magical formation in the center of the room.

“This thing was probably used by the old man to store some dangerous items back then,” Aoko explained. “But when I checked, I found the internal space was empty. The old man put the things inside somewhere, I don’t know where, but now it’s perfect for holding Touko’s dog.”

After saying that, she rolled up her sleeves and laboriously dragged Beowulf’s “corpse” across the floor. The golden wolf’s tough fur even made a creaking sound as it rubbed against the ground.

After dragging it to the center of the hypothetical prison’s magic formation, Aoko carefully inspected the state around the prison, then walked to the magic formation, inputted magical power, activated the formation, and squatted down, pressing her hands on the ground.

Aoko’s entire magical circuit activated instantly, and mysterious patterns emitting a blue glow appeared on her exposed arms and the skin of her cheeks.

As flashes of electricity passed through the magic formation, Lug Beowulf’s “corpse” sank into the ground, disappearing from the real world.

“Can’t Touko get in here?” Alice suddenly asked, as if something had occurred to her.

“She can enter this basement, but she can’t activate this hypothetical prison,” Aoko clapped her hands, stood up from the ground, and explained. “Activating this thing requires using the Aozaki family’s Seal of Magic, and only I can use it now.”

Alice nodded to Aoko and then said nothing more.

Considering that the motorcycle wasn’t nearby and her grandfather’s workshop had been sealed by Aoko earlier, Aoko had no choice but to use up her remaining 5th-tier spell slots for the day.

She skillfully took Alice’s hand, then chanted a spell, activating the Teleportation spell. The magical aura on their bodies flashed and disappeared, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at a parking lot near the abandoned amusement park.

She put on her motorcycle helmet first. Aoko had asked Alice earlier if she wanted to wear one, but Alice said her hat was actually a Mystic Code, with much better protective capabilities than a motorcycle helmet, so she didn’t need one at all.

Aoko rode the motorcycle first, then used her thumb to point to the seat behind her, signaling Alice to get on.

Alice smoothed her skirt and sat sideways on the back seat of the motorcycle, just as before, then silently wrapped her arms around Aoko’s waist.

“Holding on tight?” Aoko said. “Let’s go home.”

—Dividing Line—

By the time they returned home, it was already around two in the morning.

Even mages who could relieve fatigue with magical power would feel tired working until this hour.

Although both Aoko and Alice could work through the night and maintain sufficient energy, they both enjoyed the comfortable feeling of resting after exhausting their physical strength. Therefore, most of the time, they would choose to go to sleep at the correct time.

However, it was quite rare to be forced to return at this hour due to some sudden incident, like tonight.

“Shall we take a bath together before bed, Alice?” Aoko said this invitation very naturally, as if it had been premeditated.

Alice’s movements paused, her back to Aoko, thinking about something.

“…Okay.”