Aozaki Aoko Case File

Because the corpses of the fairies were burning fiercely across the entire island, the density of magical energy in this world's atmosphere was rapidly increasing. It had already reached a level that could be considered a kind of poison to humans; even standard Age of Gods Mystic Codes couldn't cope with this situation.

Da Vinci had to hastily modify Fujimaru Ritsuka's Mystic Code, but even so, they couldn't fight for long.

After explaining everything, Aoko left Chaldea's battleship with Hinako and Pepe, returning to Camelot's royal palace.

At this time, Morgan was standing shoulder to shoulder with Cnoc na Riabh, but they exchanged no words, instead casting their gazes toward the deepest part of the Great Hollow.

All detection spells probing the Great Hollow had failed, as if time itself near the Great Hollow had been rewound, causing intense space-time tremors.

Because she was still weak, Barghest was temporarily sealed by Morgan into a coffin to prevent her from being used again as an outlet for the curse—something unavoidable.

But the dragon fairy Melusine, also one of the Three Calamities, remained in perfect condition. She was neither born from the resentment of the northern fairies who died wrongly nor had she ever touched the fairy called Aurora, so she was unaffected by the Cursed Stagnant Blood.

However, such intactness came at a price: all the curses that Melusine would have borne were now concentrated on Cernunnos's vessel. Now, what everyone faced was a Calamity of Curse far stronger than the original corpse of Cernunnos.

Neither Aoko nor anyone else had encountered a knight named Percival in this timeline. Perhaps he lived out his life as an ordinary human and died of old age, or perhaps, as an unfortunate child, he was swept away by calamity. Regardless, there was no younger brother in Melusine's tale.

Britain had already stepped into its final hour, and this world-shaking curse was proof of it.

Aoko floated alone above the palace, overlooking the soon-to-erupt Great Hollow, waiting for the moment the god's seal would break.

The Magic Circuits on her body had long since been activated.

As a Magician who stands against the world itself, Aoko had always wanted to test the caliber of this world's gods—otherwise, she would never feel at ease. After all, if Gaia ever targeted her, not knowing how strong the gods were would be a fatal flaw.

...Though this was just a divine vessel, it still possessed a decayed god core and vast divine power. Aoko wanted to see just how far she could go relying on the Fifth Magic.

The black disaster had already taken the form of countless arms, constantly assaulting the magical barrier. Morgan was gathering the power of all eighteen Holy Spears in Camelot, determined to inflict a severe blow the instant Cernunnos manifested.

By her side, Cnoc na Riabh continuously supplied Morgan with magical energy and mystery within her fairy domain, stabilizing Morgan's state.

Cernunnos's true body had yet to appear, so the grand barrier needed to hold a bit longer.

"Release the barrier—it's my time to perform!" At some unknown moment, Sage Grimr appeared beside Morgan and said, "Next, I'll use the authority granted by the old man to push back the hands of the curse. Cernunnos will be exposed—seize the opportunity!"

Morgan looked deeply at Grimr, then nodded, seated herself upon the throne, and waved the chosen staff in her hand.

The sound of shattering echoed throughout Camelot. The barrier sealing the Great Hollow suddenly broke, and countless cursed hands burst out like boiling oil, eager to drag every fairy in the city into hell.

Grimr stepped forward, reaching the deck of Chaldea's battleship via a water mirror. His robe and cloak billowed in the gale, yet he stood firm, unwavering.

Chaldea's members were long aware of the plan. Captain Nemo hovered the ship directly above the Great Hollow, as countless cursed hands tried to drag it into the abyss.

"O spring of Mimir, O parasitic leyline spirits!" Sage Grimr chanted in a high voice. His body on the deck shone brightly; this specially prepared spiritual foundation was burning fiercely.

"Transform into branches that sever the past and reach toward the future!"

Grimr held his wooden staff horizontally and declared with the authority of the King of Gods.

"For the next nine days, all folly is forbidden!"

"Cross the dusk—Gambanteinn Valhalla!"

A dazzling light illuminated the entire Great Hollow, so intense even Aoko in the sky had to squint.

Thunder rumbled alongside the light like the noon sun melting snow from the land. From near to far, every cursed hand trying to approach the dimensional drill ship was reduced to dust and vanished.

"Most of the cursed hands have been cleared!" Fujimaru Ritsuka shouted excitedly.

"That is... the true body of the antlered god, Cernunnos!" Holmes stared intently at the gigantic figure rising from the pit—it had a strange face, no visible features, was covered in long fur, and had a giant pair of antlers atop its head.

From appearance alone, this great god seemed alive, but all present could feel the scorching, boiling curse—almost tangible—swirling around Cernunnos, testifying to his resentment and death.

"Ugh... cough...!" Sage Grimr spat a mouthful of blood, using his wooden staff to prop himself up, but his left eye was gone, as if repeating the ritual of Odin, who exchanged an eye for wisdom, reproducing the power of the great god.

"Damn, the curse rebounded again...! Magicians, as you see, there won't be another chance! Settle this in one blow!"

"Understood!" Aoko replied calmly, already fully prepared. The planetary rotation circuits of a Magician were operating at full speed, and the boundless magical energy twisted the surrounding light, making Aoko's form in the air appear warped and blurry.

Aoko raised her right hand, and thousands of spindle-shaped projectiles instantly filled the sky. The dense buzzing of these magical bullet engines formed a continuous roar, each tip's magical circuits linking together to form a terrifying network.

Aoko, at the center of the network, seemed to have grown two giant blue-white wings. Her body endured an unprecedented torrent of magical energy, but the Fourth Magician herself knew she hadn't reached her limit.

"Thousand-Plane Closure! Recall—Open!" Aoko's voice was cold and mechanical, echoing in everyone's ears. "Expand formula, open valves, ignite core!"

The surging magical energy in the circuit burst forth, flowing from Aoko's body into the spindle-shaped light-wing network.

After countless accelerations and refractions, it finally gathered in a vast ring-shaped magic circle before Aoko's arms.

The stars in the sky seemed to accelerate their rotation at that moment. Centered on Aoko Aozaki, they spun rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye. The lifespan of this sealed universe burned fiercely, and even the Naraku worm hidden somewhere watched this violation of natural law with interest.

"This is... the Fifth Magic, symbolizing the end!" Chaldea's members temporarily forgot their mission, staring fixedly at the magician in the sky, feeling the fear and dread brought by the enemy of the world.

"Earthlight Starbow!"

Unlike her previous super-massive magic bullets, Aoko's strike made almost no sound; even those nearest only heard a faint "poof!" as the torrent of magic bullets shot soundlessly at Cernunnos, projected through the ring-shaped magic circle.

The word "shot" is used because no one could see the trajectory of Aoko's attack—it was like real light, arriving at its target in a blink, silently.

Aoko's magic bullets used the most primitive, most violent method—pure, extreme magical pressure—to burn and smash Cernunnos's divine corpse. This strike even forced the gigantic body, larger than a mountain, to stagger.

But Cernunnos still resisted, wailing and roaring, as countless curses gathered into layers, manifesting and wrapping his body, resisting the assault from the outsider.

As Aoko continued her attack, the curse layers on the antlered god's corpse kept shattering, but even more curses converged from all directions in Britain, through this self-destructive land, gathering on the enraged god.

The cursed divine corpse sought revenge; the kind god wished for punishment. But on this land, who could bear such an infinite karmic burden?