The lingering warmth from the hillside had not yet faded when Jeanne d'Arc Alter donned her black trench coat again. The wide hood concealed most of her face, revealing only a sharply contoured jawline and the corner of a lip curved in a mocking smile. She deliberately emanated a chilling, ominous magical fluctuation—different from the pure killing intent she usually projected as Kanjuro's blade, leaning more toward the eerie, evil aura of a Black Magician.
"Let's begin, Master." Jeanne d'Arc Alter's voice transmitted directly into Kanjuro's mind through their contract, tinged with eager playfulness.
Kanjuro nodded, his figure silently vanishing from where he stood, as if merging into the shadows... Minase Aoi walked down the secluded path home in a daze. Her brother's rotting corpse, the supernatural power Kanjuro displayed, and the truth that shattered her understanding played on repeat in her mind like a nightmare. She felt an unprecedented loneliness, fear, and confusion; the world seemed to collapse and reform beneath her feet, becoming strange and dangerous.
Just then, an icy, spine-chilling coldness suddenly struck her from behind!
Minase Aoi spun around violently, only to see a tall figure clad in a black trench coat and hood appear silently under the streetlamp's shadow, like a phantom. The person raised their head, and within the hood, two clusters of dim flames seemed to burn, locking onto her.
"Found you... the woman bearing the scent of 'that man'." A hoarse and distorted voice came from beneath the hood, filled with malice.
Minase Aoi was terrified, turning to run, but her legs felt as heavy as lead. The Black Magician (Jeanne d'Arc Alter in disguise) merely raised a hand slightly, and a dark purple tendril of magical energy shot out, wrapping around her ankle and throwing her to the ground.
"No! Don't! Help me!" Minase Aoi shrieked in terror, struggling desperately.
Just as the Black Magician seemed about to cast a more vicious spell, a figure shot out from the side like lightning!
It was Kanjuro!
He swept up the fallen Minase Aoi, narrowly dodging another shadow bolt that grazed past them. "Hurry and go!" Kanjuro hissed, turning and running while holding her, his speed extreme.
"Kanjuro?!" Minase Aoi clung to his neck, still shaken, looking at his profile which was currently etched with 'gravity' and 'concern.' A complex emotion, indescribable, welled up in her heart—the fear had not completely subsided, yet it was mingled with a sense of reliance born from escaping disaster.
"Stop!" The Black Magician behind them roared in anger, pursuing relentlessly. Shadow bolts and corrosion spells rained down like bullets, accompanied by piercing whistling sounds and a nauseatingly evil aura.
Holding Minase Aoi, Kanjuro moved agilely through the alleys, dodging and weaving. Occasionally turning back, the silver light in his hands burst forth brilliantly, condensing into light shields or lances to accurately intercept or shatter the incoming Black Magic!
"Boom! Bang!"
Silver light and dark shadows collided fiercely in the air, erupting in deafening roars and blinding flashes. The magical aftershocks shook the surrounding walls until dust rained down, trash cans were overturned, leaving a mess.
Minase Aoi was held tightly in Kanjuro's arms, feeling the unimaginably powerful magical bombardment outside. Watching Kanjuro'strive' to fight the evil Black Magician to protect her filled her with shock. This was exactly the kind of scene only seen in movies! Is Kanjuro really... protecting me?
Finally, after an 'arduous' chase, Kanjuro carried Minase Aoi into the apartment building where she lived, quickly closing and locking the door, as if sealing off the terrifying world outside.
"For now... we're safe." Kanjuro gently set Minase Aoi down, leaning against the door, 'panting' heavily. His face looked 'pale,' and 'cold sweat' had even beaded on his forehead.
"Kanjuro! Are you alright?" Minase Aoi quickly supported him, looking at his 'weak' appearance with worry. Outside, the Black Magician seemed to still be pounding on the unit door downstairs in frustration, making dull thuds that sent shivers down her spine.
"I'm... fine." Kanjuro waved his hand, his voice slightly'short of breath.' "It's just... I expended too much magical power resisting his attacks just now. That guy... is very strong."
"Then... what should we do?" Minase Aoi panicked. With the enemy watching like a tiger outside and Kanjuro in bad shape, weren't they just sitting ducks?
Kanjuro looked up at her with a "complex" gaze, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke "with difficulty": "There is a way... to quickly restore my mana... but... it requires your help."
"What way? As long as it can help you, I'm willing to do anything!" Minase Aoi, now seeing Kanjuro as her only savior, spoke without hesitation.
Kanjuro took a deep breath as if he had made up his mind, looking at her with burning eyes: "This method... is called 'Magic Replenishment'."
"Magic Replenishment?" Minase Aoi was unfamiliar with the term.
"It's... through a kind of... intimate contact, temporarily transferring your life energy... to me, helping me quickly restore my mana." Kanjuro spoke slowly, his eyes "sincere" and tinged with "apology," "To put it simply... I need you... to... do it with me."
"Do it...?" Minase Aoi was stunned at first, then realized, her cheeks instantly turning bright red like they were on fire. "You... you mean... having relations?!" She looked at Kanjuro in disbelief.
"I know this is too much and very abrupt." Kanjuro's face showed expressions of "pain" and "self-reproach," "But... this is currently the only way to quickly restore my power and protect both of us from being harmed by that guy outside. Otherwise... when he breaks in, we will all..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear. Just then, a louder bang came from downstairs, along with the threatening roar of the Black Magician (Jeanne), as if he would break through the door any second.
Minase Aoi trembled with fear, her face turning pale. Looking at the "weak" and "earnest" Kanjuro before her, then thinking of that terrifying Black Magician outside who wanted them dead... overwhelming fear and the instinct to survive overrode everything.
Shyness, hesitation, and the complex emotions of budding gratitude and dependence on Kanjuro deep in her heart, under the threat of life and death, made her choice.
She closed her eyes tightly, her long eyelashes trembling, and spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito's, barely audible, yet shameful and resolute:
"I... I understand... if... if it can help you... please... go ahead..."
After speaking, she seemed to lose all her strength, lowering her head in resignation, her ears turning blood-red.
Seeing her forced submission tinged with self-sacrifice, a cold light of a successful scheme flashed in Kanjuro's eyes, but his face showed "moved" and "pitying" expressions.
"I'm sorry... for putting you through this," he whispered, reaching out and gently taking her into his arms.
Outside the window, the Black Magician's "attack" seemed to ease up just at the right time, as if giving them enough time for "Magic Replenishment." In the small apartment, a deception and possession in the name of "survival" was quietly taking place, catalyzed by fear and shame.
Minase Aoi closed her eyes tightly, feeling the unfamiliar touch and weight on her body, her heart filled with fear of the unknown and a complex dependence on Kanjuro. She didn't know she was sinking step by step into a dark trap deeper and more inescapable than the "Black Magician" outside.
When it was all over, the small apartment room was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere and a faint, lingering trace of mana. Minase Aoi curled up in the messy bedding, her body retaining unfamiliar sensations and slight soreness. The flush on her cheeks hadn't fully faded as she looked at Kanjuro standing by the bed with a complex gaze.
Kanjuro closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. When he opened them again, his deep black eyes seemed to have a sharp light flowing through them. The "weak" and "pale" appearance from before had vanished, replaced by an inner sense of power that brought peace of mind. He lightly clenched his fist, and a faint light seemed to flash at his fingertips.
"I feel... much better." He let out a long breath, his tone filled with the relief of "a heavy burden lifted," and turned to look at Mizunurai Aoi, his eyes full of "gratitude" and "tenderness." "Thank you, Aoi. Thanks to you, my mana has mostly recovered."
Looking at him restored to his former spirit, the shame and humiliation Minase Aoi felt from her "sacrifice" seemed to be diluted by a strange sense of "worth" and "participation." She subconsciously pulled the quilt tighter and whispered, "It's... it's good that I could help you."
Just then, the angry roar of that "Black Magician" and even more violent banging sounds came from downstairs again! It was as if he was becoming increasingly frantic because he couldn't break in.
"He hasn't left yet!" Minase Aoi's face turned white with fear as she looked at the door in terror.
"Don't be afraid." Kanjuro gave her a reassuring look, his tone steady and confident. "Now, I am enough to deal with him. Wait here, and whatever you do, don't come out."
After saying that, he turned resolutely, opened the door, walked out with large strides, and closed the door behind him.
Minase Aoi's heart was in her throat as she listened tensely to the commotion outside. Soon, the sounds of an even more intense fight came! The roar of mana, the explosion of energy, and the sound of objects breaking were endless, mixed with the angry roars of the Black Magician (Jeanne) and Kanjuro's calm shouts.
Every loud noise made Minase Aoi tremble. She gripped the corner of the quilt tightly, her heart full of worry for Kanjuro and an indescribable dependence. (He... he is fighting to protect me...)
After an unknown amount of time, the fighting sounds outside suddenly stopped, falling into a dead silence.
Minase Aoi's heart sank. (Could it be...?)
Just as she was about to despair, the door was gently pushed open. Kanjuro's figure appeared at the door. His school uniform was a bit messy, and there were even traces of "exhaustion" from the battle on his face, but his eyes were still bright, and he radiated the aura of a victor.
"It's settled," he said nonchalantly, as if he had just driven away an annoying fly.
At this moment, all the fear, grievance, and the relief of surviving a disaster in Minase Aoi's heart surged out like a flood breaking through a dam! She could no longer control herself and jumped up from the bed, not even caring that she was only wearing thin pajamas. Like a fledgling bird looking for support, she threw herself into Kanjuro's arms, hugged him tightly, and began to cry loudly.
"Waa... Kanjuro! Thank you! Thank you! If it weren't for you... I... I would have been finished tonight!" Her crying was full of lingering fear and total dependence. All her previous doubts and resentment toward Kanjuro seemed pale and weak in the face of this carefully choreographed "life and death together" and "saving her life."
Kanjuro gently patted her back, letting her tears soak his clothes. In a place she couldn't see, the corner of his mouth curled into a cold arc.
"It's okay, it's all over," he comforted her softly.
Once Minase Aoi's emotions had calmed down a bit, Kanjuro helped her sit on the edge of the bed, his expression becoming "solemn."
"Aoi, there's something I must tell you." He looked at her red and swollen eyes, his tone serious. "The Black Magician who attacked you tonight is not an isolated individual. He, or rather they, are members of an evil organization."
"An evil organization?" Minase Aoi looked at him blankly, her eyes still teary.
"That's right." Kanjuro nodded, a flash of "anger" and "grief" in his eyes. "And the mastermind behind this organization is lurking in our school! She is—Saeki Kaori!"
"Saeki... Kaori?" The name was somewhat unfamiliar to Minase Aoi, but it sounded like a girl.
"It's her!" Kanjuro's tone was categorical. "She obtained an evil inheritance from somewhere and is secretly planning a massive Dark Ritual! It's very likely she deliberately spread that evil book Minase-kun got! The purpose was to screen and bewitch people with weak minds like Minase-kun to serve as pawns or... sacrifices for her ritual!"
He poured all the dirty water onto Saeki Kaori.
"Taki... was he used and killed by Saeki Kaori?" Minase Aoi's voice began to tremble, and the fire in her eyes was reignited, this time a fire of anger!
"Very likely!" Kanjuro nodded heavily. "So, we must stop her! Not only to avenge your brother but also to prevent her from killing more of those 347 people!"
"Then what should we do?" Minase Aoi asked urgently. At this moment, she completely regarded Kanjuro as her only guide and hope for revenge.
Kanjuro looked at the light in her eyes ignited by hatred and dependence, knowing the timing was ripe. He took her hand, his gaze "sincere" and "firm":
"We need to infiltrate the site of her ritual. According to the information I've gathered, her ritual requires a large number of... well, 'female sacrifices' to provide energy. She might use coercion or deception to win over many innocent girls."
He paused, observing Minase Aoi's reaction, and continued: "I hope... you can help me. Pretend to be bewitched by them, join them, and become one of the'sacrifices' at the ritual. That way, you can support me from the inside. We'll coordinate from both sides and, at the most critical moment of the ritual, expose and destroy her plot in one fell swoop!"
The plan sounded dangerous and bold, but Minase Aoi was currently blinded by the flames of revenge and absolute trust in Kanjuro.
"Pretend to be a sacrifice?" she murmured, not fully understanding what it meant, but the goal of "avenging her brother" overrode everything else.
"Yes." Kanjuro admitted "frankly" and began to sugarcoat with lies the upcoming banquet of himself and a thousand women!
"The content of the ritual... might be a bit... hard to talk about. According to the conventions of Dark Rituals, it's very likely that... the sacrifice and the officiant need to... copulate to complete the transmission of energy and the sacrifice."
Minase Aoi's face instantly turned bright red; she understood what Kanjuro meant.
But Kanjuro immediately gripped her hand tightly, his eyes full of "encouragement" and "a sense of justice":
"I know this is hard for you. But it's just a pretense! It's to ultimately destroy this evil organization and avenge your brother! Think of Taki, think of those innocent people who might be harmed! Our sacrifice is worth it! Moreover, I will be at the ritual site; I will protect you and never let you be truly harmed!"
His words were full of bewitchment. Her obsession with revenge, her dependence and trust in Kanjuro, and the "life and death together" experience they just shared made the scales in Minase Aoi's heart tilt completely.
She nodded vigorously, her eyes flashing with a firm, even slightly crazed light:
"Good! I promise you! Kanjuro, I'll do as you say! As long as I can avenge Taki, I... I'm willing!"
Seeing Minase Aoi step so easily into the final trap he had woven, even actively requesting to be a sacrifice, Kanjuro's heart was filled with a distorted sense of satisfaction.
Another... willing sacrifice.
He embraced her tenderly and whispered in her ear:
"Don't worry. When everything is over, I'll take you away and give you a new life."
Minase Aoi leaned into his arms, as if she had found the sword of revenge and her final resting place, unaware that she was personally pushing herself into an abyss of no return. The lies against Saeki Kaori became the final puzzle piece connecting all the sacrifices.
The grand, blood-colored revelry was about to begin.
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