Aozaki Aoko Case File

Norwich was ultimately destroyed, not because of calamities, but due to the greed, cruelty, and pursuit of freedom by the fairies. This was the result.

Whether fairy or human, all perished in this massive chaos. In the end, the winning group tried to escape Norwich with their looted belongings, planning to splurge in Gloucester. But Aoko, standing atop the clock tower, saw them and killed them all with a single long-range magic bullet.

Aoko took one last fleeting glance at the city before returning to the palace in Camelot via Water Mirror magecraft. Norwich became a dead, silent ruin.

With the mass death of fairies, invisible curses mingled with their resentment seeped quietly into this land of corpses. Some vanished, while others converged into the corpse of Cernunnos.

"Cernunnos's curse has grown stronger," Morgan said, standing on the balcony above the throne room, overlooking the darkness of the great chasm. "Is it because the mass death of fairies has strengthened the power of the curse?"

"I don't know," Aoko shrugged helplessly. "The divine power remaining in Cernunnos's corpse is blocking my prophecy rituals and detection spells. Unless we dig it up and destroy it right now, there's no way to confirm whether it was the fairy deaths that triggered its early awakening."

"How's the Chaldea Master doing?" Artoria asked. "Mash has been anxious lately. She seems very worried about that girl, Fujimaru Ritsuka."

"I received a message from Cnoc na Riabh earlier," Morgan replied. "She said the Chaldea Master and a fairy King calling himself Oberon invited her to join the resistance, but she refused."

"I see… So, they're still in Edinburgh?" Artoria said. "If that's the case, should I go and bring the Chaldea Master back?"

"No," Aoko frowned. "For our next move, it's best to let all those unstable elements gather and resolve them in one go. Otherwise, Oberon might use this force to launch a sneak attack on us when we're dealing with Cernunnos."

"So, Oberon is that disgusting bug?" Morgan said with disgust. "He's the King of Curses born from Britain itself, right?"

"Exactly," Aoko said seriously. "But unlike previous Kings of Curses, Oberon himself is also a gateway to the Lightless Abyss. If he succeeds, not just Britain, but the entire planet in this timeline could fall into that bottomless pit. By then, it'll be too late."

"We can't track him by magecraft or other means (referring to his anti-humanity camouflage skill), but it seems that bug dares reveal himself to people like Cnoc na Riabh," Morgan said with a complicated tone. "Is it because he thinks Cnoc na Riabh will be my enemy?"

"Probably," Aoko shrugged. "Anyway, this guy will show up when he thinks the dust has settled. I'll take care of him myself—after all, I'm pretty good at dealing with those who mess with spatial closure and infinite loops."

…

"Listen to me, everyone!" In a pub in Edinburgh, Fairy King Oberon stood on a crate, addressing all the fairies present in a loud voice. "Today, we stand here!"

"On the land of free fairies, on the front line against the cruel Queen's army—Edinburgh!" Oberon continued. "This is the land our generation, the previous one, and our ancestors watered with their lives, blood, and dignity!"

"Ohhh!"

The fairies of Edinburgh raised their mugs and cheered at Oberon's words. Da Vinci-chan and Fujimaru Ritsuka blended in among them.

"Look at the statue behind me!" Oberon pointed to a statue of a female fairy on the tavern wall. "This is Queen Mab! She is the champion of the northern fairy workers' freedom!"

"In the past, we fought many tough battles against the cruel southern fairies. We lost, we fled, but we eventually returned! We founded this city of freedom!"

"Well said!" the fairies shouted. "For freedom!"

"But now, Queen Cnoc na Riabh has stopped resisting Queen Morgan's rule, and instead is content to rule this tiny patch of the north?!"

"Go back and fight! Go back and fight!" The fairies, always emotionally volatile, were now completely manipulated by Oberon.

"You might say: Oberon, we need our land, a safe place without constant fear of invasion," Oberon pressed his hands down to calm them, "but I tell you, there is something more important than life and safety—freedom! Dignity!"

"Why should we northern fairies cower on this tiny patch of land?" Oberon challenged the fairies. "Just because of a few fairy knights under Morgan? Just because of Cnoc na Riabh's timid policies?"

"Of course not!" Oberon's voice echoed through the tavern, his speech highly inciting—especially effective on fairies already dissatisfied with Cnoc na Riabh. The fairies echoed and cursed loudly. "We want warm, sunlit lands!"

"We want Salisbury, Oxford, Manchester!" Oberon said. "We want Londinium, Norwich—even more, we want the luxurious, magic-rich Camelot!"

"But as long as Queen Morgan's banner flies over Britain, our northern fairy dignity does not exist!" Oberon shouted angrily. "As long as her minions occupy Camelot, our dignity does not exist! On the map of Britain, northern fairies are still huddled in a corner—our dignity does not exist!"

"We need more living space, not false comfort in Edinburgh!" Oberon shouted. "But all of this—freedom, more people—can't be begged for or conceded! We can only win it by fighting, by bleeding!"

"Northern compatriots!" Oberon spread his arms to the fairies. "Join us! Join the resistance! If the cowardly Queen Cnoc na Riabh won't fight Morgan or reclaim what is ours, then we'll take it ourselves!"

"Count me in!" a fairy shouted.

"Me too! Down with Morgan!" another yelled, and the mood in the tavern became feverish.

Fairy emotions soared ever higher.

But sitting on the sidelines, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Da Vinci-chan felt uneasy. They sensed problems with Oberon's approach. As initiators and organizers of the resistance, Fujimaru was now seriously doubting whether they could control such a huge force to fight Queen Morgan, who had imprisoned Mash.