Aozaki Aoko Case File

No one knows which fairy first drew their weapon and stepped forward, but after that, more fairies did the same, surrounding Spriggan.

"W-what are you doing?" Spriggan's heart raced. Two centuries living among fickle fairies had taught him their nature, but he instinctively refused to admit how dangerous his situation was and tried to salvage it.

"Are you... human?" the leading fairy demanded.

"A human, daring to be lord of the Earth Clan?" said another.

"Disgusting!"

"Yeah, let's kill him!" someone shouted.

A fairy casually swung an arm and tore off one of Spriggan's, sniffing the blood before discarding it in disgust.

"He's human!" the fairy yelled. "He tricked us—kill him!"

"AAAAAAH!"

Spriggan screamed, clutching his wound, trying to escape to his treasure chamber, but the pain was too much. He collapsed again.

His cries were a signal. The fairies surged forward, tearing Spriggan's limbs off, then, unsatisfied, tore his body to pieces, even ripping off his head and tossing it aside.

"Hey, look—his jewelry is beautiful. Looks like a Gloucester product?" said a fairy, examining a ring from Spriggan's severed finger.

"Yeah, I saw that at a Gloucester auction," another said. "He forbade us to trade with Gloucester, but bought their goods himself?"

"Unforgivable!" another fairy snarled, stomping on what might have been Spriggan's eye. "I should be the new lord—I'll let everyone buy Gloucester goods!"

"What are you talking about?" another fairy retorted. "Are you Gloucester's spy? If we buy their goods, ours will never sell!"

"Yeah, exactly!" another fairy agreed. "Why should you be lord? I should!"

"You? Dream on!" another fairy, who didn't get along with the previous one, yelled. "You're not fit—die!"

He swung an axe and split the other's head in two, brain and blood splattering everywhere.

"You bastard!" A friend of the slain fairy drew his weapon and attacked, and soon the plaza erupted into chaos as fairies fought and killed each other. Blood, limbs, and screams filled the square, and the violence spread throughout Norwich's streets.

At the top of the city hall, Pepe frowned at the spectacle he'd caused.

Aoko had warned him about fairies' nature, and he'd always been careful not to touch their sensitive nerves. But seeing the Earth Clan massacre each other over such a trivial matter filled him with a chill.

Norwich was finished. The Earth Clan too.

"Sigh..." Pepe sighed, taking a rune stone from his pocket and infusing it with mana. Soon, a water mirror appeared, and Aoko, Melusine, and three others stepped out.

Aoko stood at the edge of the rooftop, gazing over the burning, chaotic Norwich with a gentle smile. She took a deep breath as if smelling the scent of smoke and blood on the wind.

"Well done, Pepe," Aoko said, back to him. "The fairies of Norwich deserved this. Chaldea's previous actions only extended their lives, but now they meet their rightful end."

"All thanks to Miss Blue's foresight," Pepe bowed respectfully. "There were indeed secrets behind Spriggan's identity. At the Clock Tower, I'd never heard of a way to graft a fairy spirit origin onto a human."

Pepe was sure Spriggan wasn't just in disguise because his obsession with treasure and art exceeded human limits and reached the survival obsession of fairies.

"Well, there's plenty the Clock Tower doesn't know—so many talented magi," Aoko waved a hand and turned to the group. "Now, let's begin the next step. Have you found Norwich's Pilgrimage Bell?"

"It's inside the city hall," Pepe replied respectfully. "Please follow me."

They walked in silence through the empty city hall, Pepe leading them through twists and turns to a sealed-off clock tower room.

He glanced around, frowned, and then struck the floor with his staff. An invisible wave of magic shattered the blocked walls, leaving only the stone pillars.

"This is the third chosen bell," Aoko said, running her hand over it. "Only two more after this, and we can deal with the Great Hollow."

With that, Aoko used the Fifth Magic to cast the bell's mission into the future, and Morgan rang the third bell.

As the bell's sound echoed across Britain, her mana and spirit origin rose dramatically. In her current state, even without magic, she could fight evenly with someone like Wryneck.

…

Meanwhile, in an Edinburgh inn, Oberon listened thoughtfully to the distant bell, his face expressionless as if he'd merely learned a trivial fact.