vncnus Page 367
Page 367
Aozaki Aoko whistled.
"Wow, I'm finally going to see the legendary weapon of mass destruction!"
Kuonji Yuju ignored her teasing and walked to the door, taking down the black cloak hanging on the coat rack.
"It's time to go."
She turned to look at the group of children, including Aozaki Aoko, whose eyes shone with an unusual purple hue in the moonlight.
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
Aozaki Aoko straightened her back.
"I, Aozaki Aoko, swear in the name of the Aozaki family's magicians—"
She smiled brightly.
"After the battle tonight, we're going back here to continue drinking your awful-tasting black tea!"
Kuonji Yuju looked at her quietly, and after a moment nodded slightly.
"...Um."
The two walked out of the mansion, and the night wind swirled fallen leaves around their feet.
The eight o'clock bell had long since rung, and all that remained of this forgotten spiritual fulcrum was the steel skeleton of the viaduct casting a menacing shadow under the moonlight.
The river flows silently, and the occasional glimpses of light are like the eyes of a spy.
"Sixpence Song, thirty meters southeast, warning zone."
3.4 The voice of Yuju from Kuonji Temple was colder than the river water.
Between her slender fingers, a familiar made of chocolate is melting and reforming, forming a new defensive node.
Aozaki Aoko stood five steps away from her, the hem of her school uniform skirt lifted by the night wind.
The wand in her hand emitted a faint blue light, like a lamp that could be extinguished at any moment.
"Kuonji Yuzu, you're too tense. There isn't even a stray cat in this area."
"It's precisely because it's so quiet."
Beneath Kuonji Aryu's black cloak, the cat bell trembled slightly.
Chapter 459 Home Advantage
"Aozaki Touko won't let this spiritual vein point go; her doll might already be—"
Before he finished speaking, the reeds on the riverbank suddenly shook violently.
Aozaki Aoko almost instinctively raised her wand, and a blue magic bullet shot out, blasting the first three dolls that rushed out into pieces.
Those bodies without skin or facial features disintegrated in mid-air, the fragments wriggling strangely as they tried to reassemble.
"coming!"
Aoko Aozaki's lips curled into a fighting smile.
"Kuonji Aratsume, continue your magic trick. Give me these toys!"
Kuonji Yuju did not answer; she had already begun chanting.
Ancient English incantations flowed from her lips, intertwining with the sound of a cat bell to create an eerie melody.
What flew out from under the cloak was not a bat, but a six-sided die, which tumbled in the air and transformed into a pink piglet.
Aozaki Aoko had already rushed into the group of dolls.
Her fighting style in 09 is simple and brutal—unleash magic and fire magic bullets in rapid succession.
With each flash of blue light, a puppet was blasted to pieces.
These puppets seemed endless, constantly emerging from every shadow on the riverbank.
"What an annoying number!"
Aozaki Aoko kicked away a doll that was trying to grab her leg, and her wand swept across a semicircle, firing five magic bullets in a fan shape.
The blast wave lifted her ponytail, revealing fine beads of sweat on her forehead.
Kuonji Aratsu's magic trick was finally complete. Centered on her, darkness spread out, swallowing all light within a radius of fifty meters.
This is a feast for the night—a magic trick that brings the darkness of fairy tales to life.
In the absolute darkness, Kuonji Aratama's familiars gained the home-field advantage.
"Aozaki Aoko, take three steps back."
Kuonji Yuzu's voice suddenly rang in Aozaki Aoko's ears.
Aozaki Aoko retreated without hesitation, and almost at the same moment, the spot where she had just been standing was pierced by six chocolate bullets.
Those were attacks from the Song of Sixpence—Kuonji Aratama's familiar precisely sniped the dolls attempting to sneak up on them in the darkness.
"Good teamwork."
Aozaki Aoko laughed, panting.
Kuonji Yuju did not respond to this relaxed attitude.
Her gaze was fixed on a spot on the river where the darkness rippled unnaturally.
"Come out, you guests who have been following us for three hours."
Her voice was colder than the waters of Tao Chuan.
Applause erupted in the darkness.
"Wonderful, really wonderful."
A young man's voice came from all directions, carrying a condescending admiration.
"Kuonji Yuju, you are even more perceptive than rumored."
Aozaki Aoko turned around abruptly, pointing her wand in the direction of the sound.
"Who?"
A tall, slender figure emerged from the shadows. His red trench coat flowed like blood in the darkness, and an unsettling smile graced the young man's handsome face.
His eyes—Aozaki Aoko noticed—were a rare amber color, gleaming with a beastly luster in the darkness.
"Nice to meet you, Aozaki Aoko."
The young man nodded slightly.
"Or should I say, long time no see?"
Aozaki Aoko's pupils suddenly contracted.
"That voice... impossible, you should already be..."
"died?"
The young man, Shiraishikawa, chuckled softly.
"Death is just a short sleep for me. But you, after five years, are already capable of standing on your own."
Kuonji Aratsu's dice-shaped piglet stood between the two, letting out a threatening growl.
"Aozaki Aoko, do you know him?"
"An unpleasant past event."
Aozaki Aoko did not put down her wand.
Kuonji Yuju's fingertips trembled slightly. Not from fear, but from anger.
"What is your relationship with Cang [2 Shan Shi Jiu 7 Si Qi Cheng Zi]?"
"A mutually beneficial and win-win cooperative relationship."
Shiraishikawa took a step forward, and the darkness automatically parted to make way for him.
"She wants the spiritual veins of Misaki City, but I... am only interested in the best puppeteers."
Aozaki Aoko suddenly stood in front of Kuonji Yuju.
"Stay away from her!"
"Protecting your comrades? What a touching friendship."
Shiraishi's smile widened.
"But Aozaki Aoko, do you know what? Your sister tastes... quite good."
These words exploded in Aozaki Aoko's mind like a bomb.
Her wand burst forth with a blinding blue light.
"What did you do to her?!"
"We just had some... in-depth discussions."
Shiraishi's red trench coat moved automatically even without wind.
"The physical structure of a puppeteer is truly wondrous, especially that of a genius like Aozaki Touko. And now..."
Chapter 460 A More Perfect Collection
His gaze was fixed on Kuonji Arisa.
“I have found the perfect collectible.”
"How dare you..."
Aozaki Aoko's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between her teeth, each syllable carrying an uncontrollable rage.
"Using my thirst for knowledge about magic, you're treating me like a pawn on your chessboard?"
Shiraishikawa gently shook his head, his silver-gray hair gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
He raised his right hand, his five slender fingers gracefully opening and closing, as if playing an invisible piano.
“Qingzi, I have never lied. It is true that I would guide you, and it is also true that I admire your talent.”
A playful smile curved his lips.