Aozaki Aoko Case File

Credits: Ruzzzy

At almost the same time, both sides sprang into action. Aoko's magic bullet, like a speeding truck, collided with Vlov's longsword. A loud, dull metallic crash echoed through the corridor.

Vlov, dressed as a knight, gripped the longsword with both hands, but his weight wasn't enough to withstand Aoko's attack. His entire body was sent flying backward, slamming into the wall beside the elevator entrance, leaving a dent in the surface.

He gritted his teeth and quickly stood up from the ground, raising his weapon in preparation, only to discover that the red-haired woman was no longer where she had been moments ago.

She had turned into a wisp of smoke and suddenly appeared beside Vlov. Enhanced by reinforcement magic and the recoil generated by Aoko's magic bullet array, she delivered a precise kick to Vlov's waist.

If there had been other men present, they undoubtedly would have felt a phantom pain just from witnessing the kick. Unfortunately, only Vlov, the target of the attack, truly understood how much it hurt. By the time he realized it, he was already flying through the air, crashing into an unoccupied hotel room.

However, the defining trait of a Dead Apostle is their ability to ignore weaknesses inherent to normal life forms. Despite enduring immense pain, Vlov was able to launch an immediate counterattack.

A barrage of ice shards rained through the wall and the shattered door, hurtling toward Aoko. Yet, she neither dodged nor evaded. These attacks, which were akin to armor-piercing rounds, seemed to hit nothing but thin air, leaving no marks on her body.

"This is Fifth Magic, mongrel."

Aoko didn't care whether her opponent could understand her. She simply muttered her line, brimming with an almost electric confidence.

She blasted apart the broken wall and door, striding into the room Vlov had just been thrown into to continue her pursuit. As she walked, she cast an unusual spell on herself.

This spell was one of the rarest she had ever come across. Typically, humans wouldn't even be able to learn such arcane magic. It was a third-circle protective spell from the Abjuration school, Rebound Explosion.

She didn't know exactly how powerful Vlov's orange-yellow flames were considered in terms of spell level, but she figured she could mitigate the damage. Besides, testing a rarely-used spell on an opponent like this wasn't a bad idea.

Realizing that his ice shard attack had been ineffective, Vlov calmly adjusted his next move.

He speculated that the woman's immunity to his attack might be due to some kind of high-level space manipulation magecraft or artifact. However, when he had initially used his orange-yellow flames, she had dodged to the side wall with sheer speed to avoid the attack before countering. This suggested she couldn't completely withstand the high-temperature residual damage from the flames.

Vlov extended his hand again, and flames roared toward Aoko. However, the effects of the completed Rebound Explosion were exceptional. The moment the flames neared Aoko, they reversed course and flew straight back toward Vlov.

Vlov's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't understand why his flames had been reflected, but he instinctively crossed his arms in front of him to defend himself.

As the explosion erupted, the window of the third floor shattered. A figure wreathed in flames flew out and crashed to the ground below.

The surveillance cameras in the third-floor corridor had long since been destroyed. Ciel, Touko, and Arcueid couldn't just sit around in their rooms waiting for Aoko to handle everything.

Touko opened a small suitcase and released a plump, shadowy cat that had been licking its paws. She gave it a few instructions, and the furry, shadowy feline slipped out through the door crack with a swish, beginning to clean up the remaining familiars and ghouls in the hotel.

"Hey, Touko, can you give me one of these magical cats?" Arcueid leaned toward Touko, asking in a slightly beguiling tone. "As long as it's made from materials found on Earth, I can make anything for you. Won't you consider it? I could even trade you an adorable succubus for it."

"This is a Third Magic artifact. It's not something I can mass-produce just yet," Touko replied with a helpless tone. "But if I make a breakthrough in my technique in the future... I can sell you one."

Ciel didn't join the conversation. While Touko and Arcueid were chatting, she went to the bathroom to change into her battle attire.

Now, she was dressed in a tight outfit with a short skirt, reminiscent of Mash's armor, and she carried a strange rifle-like artifact that appeared to be one of the forms of the Seventh Holy Scripture.

After greeting Touko and Arcueid, Ciel left the penthouse suite to begin clearing out the remaining enemies.

...

Vlov Arkhangel was a beast.

This didn't necessarily mean he crawled on all fours, using fangs and claws to tear into his prey (though that might be the case). Rather, like most Dead Apostles, he would replenish himself by draining the blood of nearby humans whenever his supply ran low.

He ignored societal norms and completely disregarded the framework of human civilization, acting with unrestrained abandon.

Guided by his primal instincts, he radiated the heat of his blood, igniting his surroundings.

Ordinary humans near the hotel were burned and consumed in an instant, turning into blazing ghouls.

Although Touko and the others had eliminated most of the familiars and ghouls in the building, the sheer number of hotel guests meant that many had been transformed into ghouls. These ghouls spilled out into the streets, attacking passersby near the hotel. Those victims, in turn, became new Dead Apostles and ghouls.

"Aaahhhh! AAAAAHHH!"

Having repeatedly drained his blood to fuel his flames, Vlov was now suffering from the bone-deep cold that tormented him. He howled in agony, desperately yearning for warm blood to soothe his freezing soul.

The Dead Apostle Ancestor grabbed an innocent female bystander and sank his fangs into her neck, greedily gulping down her blood to quench his thirst.

Screams echoed through the bustling city district where the hotel stood. People scattered in terror, fleeing from both the flames and the predator within them—the Dead Apostles.

To Vlov, humans were nothing more than livestock. But the blood of mere livestock could only temporarily ease his suffering.

He craved something nobler, something that could truly soothe his cold and pained soul. He desired the heart of that True Ancestor princess to heal the backlash caused by his Principle.

"This prosperity and brilliance mean nothing to me…" Vlov muttered in a daze, extending his hand as he gazed at Aoko floating in the sky above.

Looking at the devastation before her, Aoko's expression grew solemn. She had to admit that she had underestimated the destructive efficiency of this immature Ancestor.

Vlov understood that the opponent before him couldn't be defeated with the flames produced by burning his blood.

He decided to unleash his Principle and go all out.