Aozaki Aoko Case File

Lord Valualeta didn't waste words. For a magus of her caliber, faced with someone determined to kill her, begging for mercy was never an option. That would only invite humiliation—and as one of the three great nobles, she could never allow herself to stoop so low.

She extended a hand and pressed downward with her palm. Yellow sand gushed out of her green handbag, forming a colossal hand in midair. It swept toward the Aozaki sisters like an overwhelming tidal wave. Even for someone like Lord Valualeta, standing at the pinnacle of magecraft, controlling such an enormous mass of magical sand was an arduous task. Her teeth clenched, her hand trembled slightly, yet she maintained her downward grasping posture, attempting to ensnare the sisters with the enormous sand hand.

"Such theatrics," Aoko scoffed disdainfully. Her crimson hair began to grow rapidly, extending from just past her hips to lengths far beyond her legs.

The majesty of the Fifth Magic revealed itself in the heart of the magical community, drawing countless visible and hidden gazes toward Aoko.

"Subjective Axis · Fixation."

As the chant of self-suggestion was spoken, Aoko's entire magic circuit lit up. An immeasurable amount of magical energy converged upon her from different temporal axes. She raised her right index finger horizontally, then drew a line from right to left.

Above her, countless points of starlight appeared out of nowhere, poised to strike. As Valualeta's sand hand approached, Aoko snapped her fingers lightly, and the starlight behind her erupted into an infinite brilliance.

"Incineration Mode."

Watching this unfold, Touko twitched at the corner of her mouth. She had once been defeated by this exact move. At this moment, she clung tightly to Aoko's thigh to avoid being caught in the collateral damage.

It was a tidal wave of light. An immeasurable magical bombardment engulfed the enormous sand hand. Its resistance was feebler than the magic circuits Touko had once stolen from Northern Europe. In an instant, the sand hand was vaporized.

With its disappearance, Aoko gently pressed her palm downward. The continuous stream of light shifted directions accordingly, slicing downward into the Department's building, melting it like a blowtorch carving through butter. Just as Aoko prepared to reduce the entire building to glass, a voice reached her ears.

"Fc!"

Almost simultaneously, a bizarre object shot toward Aoko's head at extreme speed—a weapon with a spear-like tip and a spherical end. However, Aoko, in the state of Fifth Magic's Subjective Axis Fixation, instantly understood its nature before it could hit her.

It was a weapon capable of twisting causality, launching itself in response to an enemy's attack but ensuring it struck first. Known as the Sword of Retrograde, it was a relic from the Age of Gods.

Aoko nonchalantly extended her hand, caught the Noble Phantasm with precise force, and crushed it in her grip. A burst of magical lightning erupted, and the Fragarach disintegrated into dust.

"What?!"

A shocked voice came from somewhere on the lawn below. Aoko looked down to see a dashing woman in a sharp suit and clean short hair, cradling the maimed Lord Valualeta, who had lost both legs and an arm.

"Bazett Fraga McRemitz," Aoko's voice rang clear for all to hear, "This is a personal matter between the Aozakis and Valualeta. If you don't want to get involved, put her down and leave."

Bazett started to argue but was stopped by the weakened Valualeta.

"The Fifth Magic... the ultimate mystery of heat consumption..."

Valualeta murmured.

"Even... Fragarach, which defies causality, cannot surpass her transcendent law..."

"Let me go, Bazett," Valualeta said with a tone of resignation.

"Leave this place and inform Lord Barthomeloi to convene a Grand Meeting to discuss how to handle this."

Bazett frowned, recognizing the young girl beside the wielder of the Fifth Magic as her target for a Sealing Designation. Yet, under the circumstances, it was impossible to carry it out. Realizing there was no compelling reason to save Valualeta, Bazett gently placed her on the grass and used enhancement magic to retreat swiftly.

"Inform the Enforcer," Aoko's voice echoed to the fleeing Bazett, "Lift Aozaki Touko's Sealing Designation, or you'll meet the same fate as the Department of Creation."

With that, Aoko refocused on the frail, elderly woman lying on the ground. She had no interest in people who claimed to face death gracefully. Under absolute power, such individuals merely died with more composure. Aoko had no desire to torment her. Granting her a swift death was the extent of her mercy.

"If possible... cough cough..."

Inorai Valualeta Atroholmm said weakly, "Please leave my magic crest... for my family..."

"I refuse," Aoko replied coldly.

"If your Sealing Designation Enforcer had captured Touko, even if she made the same request, you would not have agreed."

Hearing this, Lord Valualeta closed her eyes in pain.

"Arde."

As the incantation echoed through the Clock Tower's district, a cruel elemental spell called Shroud of Flame manifested a net of high-temperature flames, enveloping Valualeta's broken body. In no time, Touko's former mentor was reduced to a charred corpse without uttering a scream. The precious magic crest passed down for centuries, perished with her.

"Don't be upset, Touko," Aoko said indifferently.

"Even the self-proclaimed noble magus are nothing more than dust in the end. I never understood where they get the confidence to dictate others' fates."

"For every action, there's a consequence. Some acts demand a price," Aoko continued lightly.

"Unless, of course, they're as strong as me."

"Tch," Touko turned away, refusing to look at the scorched corpse. "Someone is an insufferable narcissist."

PS: A beauty but the girl get it done.