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Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
Like a dazzling fireworks display, azure sparks erupted with each explosion, blooming across the bridge.
With the continuous explosions, the once-aged, gray bridge deck became a scorched black, as if it had been charcoal-grilled.
"Heh~"
Aoko Aozaki, her face filled with excitement, swung her right arm, locking onto the approaching puppets one by one. In truth, she didn't need to lock on. The sheer number of puppets was overwhelming, and as if without a commander, they all rushed onto the bridge, causing a massive traffic jam.
This meant that each of her magic bullets could destroy a puppet and damage the surrounding ones, blasting gaps in the puppet army.
But they were replenished even faster. The moment a gap was created, the subsequent army would step over their comrades corpses—their azure eyes fixed on Aoko, and advance.
Seeing this, Aoko increased the speed of her magic circuits, unleashing her full power, and using the vast source of magical power from the Tokawa to create an inexhaustible supply of magic bullets.
The whistling magic bullets and the seemingly endless puppets were locked in a stalemate.
Puppets were continuously torn apart by the roaring explosions, but the gaps they created were quickly filled. The distance between the two sides was maintained at thirty meters, neither able to advance—
—The standoff lasted for nearly fifty minutes. Though her raised arm was aching, Aoko's face was filled with a youthful, vibrant smile.
It was clear that she was in a very good mood, a look of pure joy on her face, like a grizzly bear who had just stolen a pot of honey.
Since she was a child, Aoko had been a destroyer.
Whether it was her own belongings or others', they wouldn't last long in her hands. And the more valuable the item, the happier she was when she destroyed it. So, in truth, when she was destroying Haru's antiques—she was secretly overjoyed. And after being saddled with a mountain of debt by him, she had only become more enthusiastic about her destruction.
'More debt, less worry.'
That was her motto. Anyway, if she owed too much, she could always... pay with her body.
In Haru's eyes, Aoko was an 'anomaly,' like Kiritsugu Emiya, born with a half-awakened Origin.
Not only had she, unlike 99.99% of people, not been consumed by her awakened Origin, but she had also unexpectedly gained a corresponding 'destruction' talent. The only way to describe her luck was that she was the protagonist.
————
On the other side of the bridge, Touko Aozaki, who had rushed to the scene in a hurry, was hiding behind a stone monument that introduced the bridge's history, watching Aoko's every move.
After a long moment, she looked at the ecstatic Aoko, gritting her teeth.
"Damn it, I shouldn't have made so many puppets!" Touko said with hatred.
When she had been making the Aoko puppets, her mind had been filled with the image of Aoko's disgusted face, so she had, in a moment of carelessness, made nearly three thousand of them.
Now, seeing each and every puppet being shattered by Aoko's magic bullets, her heart was bleeding. That was all money!!!!
How could she have forgotten Aoko's destructive nature? Since she was a child, nothing in her hands had survived for more than a year.
'Hehe~'
'Take another one~'
'Hitting her stuff is so satisfying.'
Aoko's cheerful cries echoed from the bridge.
"That brat must know the puppets are mine," Touko said with a look of disgust, hearing the cheers.
"Miss Touko, is that the toy?"
The giant golden-furred wolf, accompanying Touko, was hiding behind the stone monument. It grabbed a corner of the monument, poked out its big dog head, and stared at the Aoko on the bridge with a terrifying expression.
Beo's huge wolf body was actually a third larger than the stone monument, and it couldn't be completely hidden by it.
But it still made this ostrich-like gesture. Not for any other reason, but simply because it was fun.
If not for the fact that Aoko was engrossed in her destruction, and that Touko had set up a concealment spell, Beo's figure would have been discovered long ago.
"Wait a little longer. Let me see how much she's grown these past few years," Touko said, leaning against the stone monument, her voice complicated.
"Oh!" Beo wagged its tail and nodded slightly, obediently lying on the stone monument, listening to the explosions on the bridge with an amused expression. It was now very obedient to Touko, so it naturally followed her words.
Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!
The roaring sounds echoed in Aoko's ears.
"More, more!!!" She waved her arm excitedly, firing one after another, magic bullets with immense destructive power. Her right hand continuously spewed azure sparks, like a firing rocket booster.
Thwack—!
Azure sparks sputtered from her right palm.
"Huh??!" Aoko blinked, a bewildered look on her face as she looked at her misfiring arm. The next second, as if remembering something, she quickly used her Magic Crest to sense her surroundings.
"...The mana concentration has dropped this much?" Aoko clicked her tongue.
The magical power in Aoko's body could—at most, create thirty magic bullets. But she had just fired at least six thousand. Even if the ley line's magical power was abundant, it couldn't withstand such a large consumption in such a short time.
It was inevitable that the mana concentration would drop.
"There are probably about fifty left, right?" Aoko estimated the number of puppets in the pile of wreckage ahead, her tone uncertain.
Thanks to her god-awful aiming skills, after six thousand powerful magic bullets, there were still over fifty puppets remaining.
In fact, if not for the fact that the massive barrage had accumulated a certain degree of aiming accuracy for her, there would probably be over three hundred survivors.
"Fifty remaining, and my magical power can only fire thirty shots. Then, I'll have to try that." Aoko calculated the difference between the two sides and made her decision.
————
"She's finally going to use her trump card." Touko, leaning against the stone monument, narrowed her eyes. A duel of mages was an art of revealing one's trump cards. Those who showed their hand first usually didn't have a good end.
So, after arriving, she had chosen to observe, to probe Aoko's trump cards. If she could force her to use the Blue she wanted to see, that would be even better.
"Beo, get ready," Touko ordered nonchalantly.
"Alright!" Beo grinned, revealing its sharp, fearsome teeth, its wolfish face a mask of ferocity.
"—Just don't die." Touko took a ladies' cigarette from her pocket, lit it, and gently blew a puff of smoke, her expression complicated.
Beo nodded.
Its strong hind legs gently pushed off, and it easily leaped over the stone monument, silently approaching the bridge.
Aoko pulled up the sleeves of her down jacket, revealing her pale, slender arms, which were devoid of any muscle. A look of determination on her face.
"Well then, here I come."
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