To Become a King and a Magician

Ayaka was now sprinting through the streets of Tokyo.

"God, why is there another spiritual phenomenon at this hour? It's already so late."

Just minutes ago, as she was lying in bed ready to sleep, she received a call from Ciel, informing her of a new spiritual phenomenon that needed immediate attention.

She was about to sleep, and tomorrow was Sunday—nobody should be calling people to work overtime in the middle of the night, right?

But despite her mental reluctance, as the only Magus in Tokyo, she had a duty to protect the city's mystical world and absolutely couldn't let Magecraft be exposed to the public.

So, Ayaka had to head out.

(I remember the location is at the park near the station… Almost there, just the next turn.)

Her body could already sense the abnormal Mana in the air, a strange Mana that made her magical circuits ache slightly. This intensity was unlike any previous spiritual phenomenon, not on the same level as those she'd handled before.

Swallowing hard, Ayaka touched her ring—a black magic tool she'd crafted herself, capable of storing crow feathers and firing them as projectiles.

(I hope it'll be useful.)

The park came into view. There weren't many people around—likely cleared out by the Church. Ayaka quickly crossed the street, releasing crow feathers first, and just as she stepped into the park, preparing to strike preemptively—

*CRASH!*

A black shadow suddenly shot past her. Like a kicked ball, it slammed into the bushes nearby.

(Huh?)

Ayaka couldn't help but freeze for a moment. What had just flown by? That aching in her magical circuits… that should be the spiritual phenomenon, right?

Turning her head, she saw a knight in armor radiating black mist, like a frenzied warrior, holding a demonic black sword.

Its mere presence made Ayaka tremble uncontrollably.

(This kind of thing… is it a spiritual phenomenon too?)

No way. Up until now, no spiritual phenomenon had shown this level of danger. After all, spiritual phenomena evolved from urban legends—rumors that gained physical form to a certain extent. Their power fundamentally came from people's imaginations. Unless it was an extremely brutal urban legend, the resulting spiritual phenomenon wouldn't be too strong.

But this one… Ayaka could feel it was clearly not something that could evolve from a mere "urban legend." Its quality of existence was on a completely different level.

How do you deal with an enemy like this?

"Huh? Someone's here? I moved the battlefield pretty far, but someone still wandered in. Guess I'd better head straight to an alley."

Suddenly, as Ayaka was gripped by fear, a slightly familiar voice came from the opposite direction.

Ayaka recognized that voice—she'd met its owner not long ago. But they shouldn't be here. Didn't they take the Shinkansen back to Fuyuki City long ago? Why were they here?

"This is a bit tricky. I can't use Magecraft right now. As for memory erasure… Should I call Sajyou Ayaka? Or just physically erase… Huh?"

As he spoke, Naoki emerged from the shadows on the other side and froze when his eyes met Ayaka's.

"You… Miss Sajyou? Why are you here?"

"Natsukawa-sama… T-that's what I want to ask—"

Ayaka didn't finish her sentence.

"AAAARRRRRR—!"

A beast-like roar suddenly echoed through the air. The black knight, previously flung into the bushes, now stood again, sword in hand.

Ayaka's face paled instantly.

Scratching his head with a hint of resignation, Naoki stepped in front of her, holding out a hand to keep her back: "Stay behind me. I'll handle this."

"Huh? You're… No, this is Tokyo, let me—"

"Calm your legs first, then talk."

At Naoki's words, Ayaka realized her legs were trembling uncontrollably—she was terrified. The menacing aura radiating from the black knight scared her to death.

"Ugh…"

"AAAAAHHHH—!"

A ferocious roar cut through Ayaka's thoughts. A gust of wind surged at the same time!

I'm going to die!

—Just as that thought flashed through Ayaka's mind, a fist struck her senses and eyes.

*BAM!*

A heavy blow landed squarely on the black knight's head, the explosive force sending it flying again.

This time, Naoki didn't let it fly back. Instead, he grabbed its ankle, crushed it with force, and slammed it hard into the ground.

*BAM!*

The ground trembled slightly.

*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

Then, gripping one of the black knight's legs, as if one slam wasn't enough, Naoki smashed it back and forth, left and right, eight times!

Shattering its entire armor into pieces!

The ground shook repeatedly. The faint tremors made Ayaka momentarily forget her fear. The black knight she'd been so terrified of was being effortlessly pummeled by Naoki!

Was this a dream?

It shouldn't be.

"Alright, get lost!"

After his arm grew slightly sore from slamming, Naoki hurled the black knight into the air, then delivered a punch to its falling head.

Like shattering glass, with that one blow, the black knight disintegrated into countless fragments.

Pulling back his hand and rolling his slightly sore shoulder, Naoki turned to Ayaka with a smile: "Done. You okay, Miss Sajyou?"

"You… I…"

Having witnessed such a shocking scene, Ayaka's brain still couldn't think clearly. A monster of that level was defeated so easily by one person, and without using Magecraft—just pure physical strength…

"You… Natsukawa-sama, who are you, really…"

"Oh, people ask me that all the time. Honestly, I'm kinda used to it." Naoki smiled. "Anyway, let's talk somewhere else first. We both probably have questions for each other, right? And you might need a place to calm down."

"I-I understand."