According to Ayaka, being a Magus wasn't too demanding. Though nighttime could be exhausting, after dealing with spiritual phenomena, she still had to go home and study black magic. But at least during the day, she had plenty of rest time, so the balance wasn't too draining. Plus, she could make refreshing potions—maintaining stamina was easy.
Even so—
"Haah… Haah…"
Using the last feather, transformed into a bullet to pierce the spiritual entity before her, Ayaka slumped against the wall, panting heavily.
Though her mind could stay sharp, as a girl, her stamina wasn't great. Plus, she wasn't skilled in combat. Fighting multiple times in one night pushed her body to its limits.
Like now.
Emerging from the darkness, Ciel threw a Black Key, pinning the spiritual entity to the ground. "Hm, that's the last one. You worked hard tonight, Sajyou. Want me to walk you home?"
"Sorry to trouble you, senpai… By the way, if you're worried about me, can't you take action yourself just once? You're way stronger than me, right?"
"Hm, I could probably take on ten of you."
An expected answer. Ayaka knew Ciel was a Church Executor, specialized in combat, with fighting prowess far surpassing her own—though ten of her was a bit of an exaggeration.
"Then if you handled it yourself, it'd be faster than me, wouldn't it?"
"It's to train you." Ciel laughed. "Besides, Tokyo is under the Sajyou family's jurisdiction. If a Church member like me meddles carelessly, it might cause problems."
The Church and the Mage's Association had always been at odds. Though they were openly at peace in modern times, fierce conflicts still occurred behind the scenes. Fortunately, Ciel wasn't the type to antagonize the Mage's Association or Magi. If anything, she was part of the dove faction.
Approaching Ayaka to escort her home, Ciel's phone suddenly rang.
"Ah, a call… Sorry, Sajyou, give me a moment."
"Okay."
Turning to answer the phone, Ciel whispered, "This is me… Huh? Another one? Right nearby? Okay, we'll head there—Sajyou."
"Yes."
"Sorry, looks like we're pulling some overtime tonight." Ciel said, waving her phone. "There's a new urban legend that's turned into a spiritual phenomenon two blocks from here. Let's deal with it now before it gets worse."
Another one?
Ayaka was a bit annoyed. "Why are there so many lately? That's ten in the last two days."
"I'm investigating the specifics and have some leads—we'll talk about it later. For now, let's head there."
"Alright—what's the target's condition?"
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
"So, this is like dessert after our dinner?"
Near the barbecue restaurant, Naoki and Mordred, having just finished dinner, were slightly surprised to see a translucent ghost appear before them.
Due to their schedule, Gray and Atalanta had already returned earlier. But since Mordred wanted to keep eating, the two of them had only just left. Thanks to that, Naoki was full and didn't need another dinner.
As soon as they stepped out after eating, they encountered this ghost blocking their path.
It looked like a masked man, holding two meat cleavers, one in each hand. Eight spider-like legs, faintly visible behind it, supported its body, which hung upside-down in the air.
Like a spider ghost.
Naoki glanced around and noticed the people nearby showed no unusual reactions.
"They can't see it?"
So, this was something only Magi could see? Was this why Tokyo felt so strange—because of things like this?
*CRACK!*
As Naoki was thinking, the Spiderman-like ghost suddenly bent its legs, leapt high, and swung its two cleavers, attacking both of them!
After a moment's thought, Naoki held back Mordred, who was about to move. With a natural turn, he dodged the attack and headed toward a secluded area.
"Master, where are we going?" Mordred, who had wanted to smash the ghost, asked in confusion.
"Too many people. Let's find a quiet place to deal with it. Or do you want to be gawked at like an idiot?"
Ordinary people clearly couldn't see the ghost. Dealing with it here would only take one strike, but with Naoki and Mordred's strength, it would cause a commotion—cracking the ground with one punch wasn't something humans could do.
Though Naoki and Mordred didn't care, they had promised Ayaka earlier that afternoon not to cause trouble. So, they had to stick to that as much as possible.
Besides…
(With Magecraft temporarily unusable, it's questionable whether a single strike would even work on a ghost. We can't test it on the street. Let's find a hidden spot to try properly.)
"Hooaaaaaaaaah—!"
A scream inaudible to ordinary humans erupted from the upside-down spider-man's mouth. With its eight legs, it leapt and darted between nearby buildings, as if building speed and searching for an angle. Besides the two cleavers, globs of spider webbing kept shooting from its mouth.
Yet, none of the attacks hit the two of them. Strangely, the surrounding crowd remained completely unaffected.
(Its thought pattern is simple—it only targets me and Mordred… Luring it is too easy.)
Keeping its movements in his peripheral vision, Naoki's steps gradually led to a dark, narrow alley.
"Master, how much farther? This is far enough, right?"
"Hm, we're almost there."
They were now far from the main road. In this narrow alley, there was no one else but the two of them.
(It's following perfectly. Is it specifically targeting us? Or does it just not let go of its prey?)
Stopping, Naoki and Mordred turned around in sync, as if sharing the same thought. The upside-down spider-man, seeing this, instantly sped up. Its spider legs, which had somehow turned into spikes, suddenly stabbed toward them.
Then—
*CRACK!*
*THUD!*
Two punches with unexpected force instantly shattered the spider legs, then smashed the entire body into pieces!
And that was the scene Ayaka and Ciel witnessed as they arrived.