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11 PM. A dark curtain hung over the sky, and the entire city of Misaki was enveloped in a tranquil atmosphere.
The area around the old school building was even quieter. The forest surrounding it had, with the severe cold of winter, lost all its leaves, leaving only bare branches, a scene of a forbidden land of life.
And in the eastern part of the old school building, the crunching sound of snow being stepped on slowly echoed in the withered forest.
Two young women in heavy long boots were walking with difficulty in the snow-covered ground.
Aoko Aozaki walked with extreme caution. Compared to her usual tomboyish stride, she now moved with the light steps of an aristocratic lady, her face a mask of stiffness, looking exceptionally comical.
"Aoko." Alice, following behind her, slowly stepped on the snow, her voice a puzzled whisper.
Even a fool could tell that something was wrong with Aoko. What's more, Alice was her best friend of many years. In fact, from the moment they had left the house, she had sensed a sense of incongruity about her.
Alice's call made Aoko, who was walking ahead, tremble. Keenly aware of her friend's suspicion, she immediately stopped.
"I was just worried there might be a trap!" Aoko said, gathering her hair and looking at a withered tree beside her, feigning composure.
Hearing her explanation, though still a little puzzled, Alice didn't press further, just assuming Aoko was a little too nervous before the battle.
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"There don't seem to be any traps around here," Alice said, closing her eyes and connecting to the vision of the starling familiars spread throughout the old school building's forest. After checking three times, her tone was flat.
"Ah, is that so?" Aoko laughed and, to avoid arousing Alice's suspicion again, she reverted to her usual style and strode towards the old school building.
'Damn that guy, it hurts down there!!!' Aoko cried in her heart.
"So, what do we do now? Sneak into the old school building?" Alice asked, following closely behind her.
Since Aoko was the main force in this battle with Touko, it was natural to ask for her opinion, though she didn't think she'd get any good suggestions.
"How could we sneak in? The moment we entered the forest, we were probably already under my sister's watchful eye. Besides, what's with sneaking into a magical base? Our goal this time isn't theft, right?" Aoko raised an eyebrow and said bluntly.
"...A sneak attack from behind, that's a ninja, right?" Alice said, her expression impassive as she thought of their purpose for being here.
In their plan, her role was to stall Touko and distract the werewolf, while Aoko's mission was to sneak attack the werewolf and kill it with a big move. But now, Alice had a feeling the plan was a little shaky.
"That would be for the best. But the ninja style doesn't suit us, and..." Aoko's face was tense, her expression grave as she looked ahead.
The sound of footsteps gradually faded, and the two, in their conversation, walked out of the forest and arrived at the large, snow-covered clearing in front of the old school building.
"And the other party is also planning a head-on confrontation." Aoko, looking at the figure standing straight in the center of the clearing, crouched down slightly, her expression grave as she faced the figure.
Alice, on the other hand, stood behind Aoko, her expression grave as she surveyed her surroundings, searching for a trace of the golden wolf.
"So impatient. There are still six hours until dawn," Touko Aozaki said, her arms crossed, using the advantage of her high heels to look down on Aoko.
Aoko didn't respond to Touko, simply whispering to Alice behind her, "I can't find the wolf."
"The familiars haven't found any trace either, and there's no hidden aura around. It should be in the old school building," Alice, with her eyes closed, nodded and said in a low voice.
The dark clouds floating in the sky slowly moved. As the clouds drifted under the cold wind, the obscured moonlight shone down on the clearing in front of the old school building.
The cool moonlight, coupled with the pristine white snow, under their combined effect, dispelled all the darkness in the clearing.
The silvery-white light illuminated the three people in the clearing.
After getting a clear look at the two figures opposite her, Touko raised an eyebrow and said with a surprised expression, "By the way, can I ask a question before we fight?"
Without waiting for Aoko to reply, Touko said to herself, "It's really bothering me. Aoko, is that your battle uniform?"
As if worried that Aoko couldn't hear her clearly, Touko deliberately raised her voice by three octaves, like a soprano, her voice exceptionally high.
Aoko's face instantly turned cold.
As sisters, she could clearly hear the deep-seated contempt and insult in Touko's tone.
'What's wrong with wearing a high school girl's uniform? You think I like it? If I hadn't been in a hurry to leave, would I have habitually pulled out this outfit?' Though she wanted to roar at Touko, it was clear that Aoko wouldn't be honest about her thoughts.
"A current high school girl wearing this outfit, isn't that normal?" Aoko said, stroking her long, straight, silky hair, showing off her slender figure, and deliberately emphasizing the word 'current.'
When her age was mocked, Touko's eyes instantly sharpened like a falcon's.
"...So speechless. Are you really my younger sister? At least pay a little attention to your taste in clothes," Touko said, her tone helpless, as if a gentle older sister were worried about her mischievous younger sister.
"Same to you. I don't want a 'pervert' sister who treats a puppet as a younger sister," Aoko said with a humorless smile.
Hearing this, a look of unshakeable amusement in her eyes, Touko's lips curved into a gentle smile.
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