"...Shirou Amamiya."
The Magus, Souren Araya, kept his anguished expression as he faced Shirou, who had walked in from the entrance.
To guard against situations like this, he had set up a Bounded Field around Ogawa Apartment Complex, one as intricate as a vast labyrinth.
The rule of the Bounded Field was simple. Anyone who had entered the apartment once and then left would never be able to enter it again.
Yet the red-haired boy before him had ignored that Bounded Field and passed through it with ease.
Not only that, when he entered the apartment, Souren Araya had not sensed him at all.
"Did you kill Alba...? No, that isn't right. Touko Aozaki was the one who killed him. So that was the outcome after all."
The Magus nodded as he spoke.
He seemed to feel nothing at all about the result of the fight between his two old friends.
"My name is Souren Araya."
"I heard about you from Touko-nee-san. I see... This is the first time I've met a human who's lived longer than Zouken!"
Shirou looked genuinely impressed.
Through the Mystic Eyes of the End, he estimated that the man before him had lived for over five hundred years.
He had likely been born when this island had split from a unified nation into many small states and plunged into endless war. Perhaps even earlier than that.
The genius Magus Zouken Matou had begun to suffer rapid decay of the soul after turning three hundred, and by the age of five hundred, he had already become withered and hollow.
But Souren Araya showed no signs of aging, even after living for five hundred years.
That was not because his Magecraft was superior to Zouken's. Quite the opposite. As a Magus, Souren Araya was probably only third-rate.
His Magic Circuits... are probably about the same as mine, Shirou thought.
Souren Araya's Origin was "Stillness."
Born with the ability to see through human Origins, he had mastered his own Origin and become truly ageless and undying, a being of Stillness.
His mode of existence was no longer the same as any life form on Earth. He had become a natural phenomenon called Souren Araya.
Then what goal would a man like that have?
Curious, Shirou asked, "Araya, why are you collecting death? What's the point of building this tasteless device that loops death?"
"To reach The Root."
The Magus answered.
"I believe that after experiencing the different deaths of tens of thousands of humans, there will be, among them, a diffusion of the soul that leads to The Root. However, that still cannot reach the great source of all things. That method can only reach the 'origin' of humanity, not the origin of primates as a whole. What matters is not the number of deaths, but the quality of those deaths. I roughly classified the possible paths of death, and the result came close to sixty-four types. The people gathered here each bear different kinds of death. This place is a miniature of the world. In the end, it will be simplified from the Eight Trigrams into the Four Symbols, and ultimately, the goal is to reach "Ryougi" (Dual Principle)."
"Hey! How long are you two planning to keep chatting?"
The girl's voice interrupted the conversation between Shirou and Souren Araya.
"Sorry, Shiki, just a little longer. I'll finish once I've asked what I need to ask."
As Shirou soothed the impatient Shiki Ryougi, he continued speaking.
"I think I more or less understand your motive now. Kirie Fujou and Fujino Asagami were both your pawns. If you acted directly, the Counter Force would notice you, so you used them to make Shiki Ryougi awaken to her own Origin. You noticed the existence of 'that person,' just like I did."
Shirou remembered what Touko had said, that Souren Araya was a "Shirou who went down the wrong path." Now he understood that assessment even more clearly.
Despite possessing the sight to see through everything, like a saint, he was clumsier than anyone.
"But I don't understand. After preparing this much, why suddenly give up?"
To Shirou, the fact that Souren Araya had stepped onto the stage himself meant he had abandoned all his planning so far.
He should have prepared other pawns besides Fujou and Fujino.
The black-clad Magus replied, "I have reached a new conclusion. Shiki has no need for that body, so I will receive it."
Souren Araya said it so plainly that Shirou's mouth fell open with an "Eh?"
"You aren't planning to transplant your own brain into Shiki's body, are you...?"
"..."
The girls, including Shiki herself, were stunned speechless, while Souren Araya looked as if this were the most natural thing in the world.
Shirou nodded in understanding. "Well, theoretically speaking, it is possible. Doing that really could let you reach The Root. Just asking, but have you considered giving up?"
"Impossible," Souren Araya declared firmly.
"Then I will ask as well, Shirou Amamiya. Are you willing to assist me in my work?"
Souren Araya asked with an unchanged expression.
Shirou did not answer, but his amber eyes showed an absolute will that said, I refuse.
"...I see. What a pity. Shirou Amamiya, I thought you would be one of my kind."
After saying that, Souren Araya took one step forward.
That was the signal for battle. Inside this apartment, he was invincible.
However, Shirou raised one hand and made a stopping gesture.
"Sorry, but I don't plan to fight you."
"What?"
The Magus frowned in confusion. "Did you not come here to stop me?"
If he fought Shirou Amamiya, then even within Ogawa Apartment Complex, he would very likely lose.
If that truly happened, Souren Araya would feel no regret.
Not only because he had long since lost joy and sorrow over the course of his long years.
Just as he had failed countless times before because of interference from the Counter Force, this would simply be another repetition of the same failure.
For a demon monk whose existence was equivalent to a concept and who possessed limitless time, all he had to do was wait another hundred years and devote himself to the next attempt at The Root.
Yet unexpectedly, Shirou, the only person in his calculations who might defeat him, declared that he would do nothing. Souren Araya found it incomprehensible.
"I see. So there are things you can't see after all."
Shirou smiled. "You can see your own Origin, your cause, but you can't see your own death, your result. In a way, that's pretty sad. I'll give you a hint, Araya. The person who's going to defeat you isn't me."
The ceiling above Souren Araya's head began to twist.
Fujino Asagami's eyes shone with a scorching light, distorting the floor above the Magus.
"...Ngh!"
Broken rubble came crashing down, burying Souren Araya completely.
Taking that chance, Shirou approached the injured Shiki and Fujino, placing his hands on each of their wounds.
With an incantation and a faint glow, Shirou healed both of their injuries.
Shirou stared at Shiki's face. "I'll put off asking why you're hurt like this for now."
"..."
The black-haired girl pouted and turned her head away.
"Thank you, Shirou-kun," Fujino said softly, her face flushed.
"Let's finish this quickly. It's a little late, but once we get back, I'll make dinner for both of you."
Shirou patted their shoulders. "The air in here is too stuffy. I'm going outside for some fresh air."
After saying that, Shirou left the first floor lobby.
Not long after he left, Souren Araya appeared again.
He did not lift the rubble that weighed several tons. Instead, he materialized out of thin air somewhere else in the first floor lobby.
This apartment was Souren Araya himself. Whether it was walls or floors, the common sense of what a building should be did not apply to Souren Araya.
He could exist anywhere in the apartment and grasp any space.
This was the otherworld called Souren Araya. As long as he was within its range, he could instantly move anywhere.
The Magus looked around.
Though it was hard to believe, Shirou Amamiya truly did not intend to fight him.
"It seems he really does think the two of you can beat me."
Souren Araya stared at Shiki Ryougi and Fujino as he spoke.
"..."
With her ankle healed, Shiki Ryougi grabbed the Japanese sword lying nearby and sprang up from the ground, light as a swallow.
She accelerated in a way no human body should have been capable of and charged at Souren Araya.
At this distance, closing in would not even take a few seconds.
A single breath would be enough for her blade to pierce the black hole at the center of his chest.
But before that could happen, the Magus spoke.
"Fudou."
The air changed.
Shiki's body abruptly froze in midair.
"Kongou, Dakatsu, Taiten, Choukei, Ouken."
The man raised his right hand, and with that low murmur, a Threefold Barrier of the Six Paths was constructed in an instant.
Shiki Ryougi felt like a butterfly caught in a spider's web, completely unable to move.
They were lines of Magecraft strung between ground and space, between plane and solid. The instant a living being touched the circular lines they formed, its ability to move would be stripped away.
With the Threefold Barrier centered on himself, Souren Araya was essentially invincible in close combat.
He walked toward Shiki Ryougi, whose freedom had been taken from her.
Since Shirou Amamiya had already left, there was nothing left to worry about.
As for the other one, although Fujino Asagami had managed to ambush him earlier, now that Souren Araya was prepared, he had nothing more to fear from her.
"Fujino! What are you doing? Why are you just standing there watching?" Shiki whispered sharply to her companion as she tried to struggle.
"I am attacking. I am attacking... But why...? Why isn't it working...?"
Fujino Asagami's eyes widened, glowing with a bewitching light. She was even more shaken than Shiki herself, cold sweat running down her elegant face.
"It's useless. In the end, Mystic Eyes are still Magecraft activated through 'sight.'"
Souren Araya spoke calmly.
"Your ability has to be activated from a distance. At close range, it poses no threat. Once the principle and combat method are understood, I can come up with as many countermeasures as I need."
Souren Araya was the strongest Barrier master in the world, while Fujino Asagami was an ordinary high school girl with almost no knowledge of Magecraft.
For him, creating a space-severing illusion to deceive an ordinary person was child's play.
In simple terms, it was a phenomenon similar to a mirage.
From Fujino Asagami's perspective, she may have set a rotation axis on Souren Araya, but in reality, she had been deceived by the illusion created by the Bounded Field and had set and activated it somewhere thousands of meters away.
Naturally, that kind of attack could have no effect on Souren Araya himself.
"Tch...!"
Shiki Ryougi clenched her teeth and glared at Souren Araya as he drew closer.
A chill crawled up the girl's back.
The enemy in front of her was an undeniable monster. Could she and Fujino really defeat him?
She shook her head, driving away the useless thoughts.
Gathering every bit of strength into her right hand, she threw the sword in her hand at Souren Araya.
"..."
He dodged it without any suspense.
Shiki could not even make out the process of his evasion.
Like a ghost standing inside the apartment, Souren Araya could even reproduce acts that bordered on Magic, such as spatial transfer.
Souren Araya walked up to Shiki Ryougi and extended his left hand.
His open palm, as if carrying tremendous weight, reached toward her as though to crush the girl's head.
Just then.
"...Guh."
Souren Araya's body swayed slightly, and blood flowed from his mouth.
He looked down and saw the blade of the ancient sword, sharp enough to cut through space.
The sword Shirou had given to Shiki Ryougi, the same one she had just thrown, now protruded from Souren Araya's chest.
The Magus activated his perception and confirmed once again that Shirou Amamiya was not inside the apartment.
Then... there was only one person left who could have attacked him.
Behind Souren Araya stood a trembling girl.
Fujino Asagami had gathered her courage, picked up the sword Shiki had thrown, run over, and stabbed Souren Araya through.
Ordinarily, an amateur's attack should not have been enough to wound Souren Araya.
Fujino had aimed at the vital point, the point of death, that Shiki Ryougi had once revealed on Souren Araya. But after all, she could not see death.
If an ordinary person happened to cut a "Line of Death," would it produce the same effect as the "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception"? Of course not.
Just like a physics experiment, "death" could only be established after it was observed through the "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception."
However, Fujino possessed something identical to Shiki Ryougi.
The shared prerequisite ability of the "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception" and the "Mystic Eyes of Distortion," the "Pure Eyes."
Fujino, who possessed "Pure Eyes," had aimed at the "death" Shiki had seen and stabbed into it. Although she could not kill him outright, she had unexpectedly dealt tremendous damage to Souren Araya.
"I thought I told you that you were no longer useful... Are you only capable of getting in my way, you worthless pawn?"
Souren Araya slammed his fist against the back of the blade, first shattering the Japanese sword cleanly into two pieces, then turned and swung his left hand.
"Ugh...!"
Fujino Asagami was sent flying more than ten meters, crashed into the wall, and lost consciousness on the spot.
Souren Araya looked away from the long-haired girl.
At that moment, an unprecedented chill crawled up his back.
It was a feeling he had not experienced in over a hundred years. Perhaps its name was "death."
"!"
The Magus turned back in shock and saw Shiki Ryougi, now free.
Because Souren Araya had been wounded by Fujino Asagami's sneak attack, the output of the Threefold Barrier had dropped sharply in an instant, giving Shiki the chance to break free.
"..."
The black-haired girl in a kimono had sapphire eyes flowing with an exquisitely beautiful iridescence.
Shiki Ryougi casually gripped the broken front half of the blade, paying no attention as the edge cut into her skin and blood coated her palm.
Her figure was like something standing in the depths of hell.
Souren Araya fell into a daze.
He was certain he had seen the Grim Reaper.
...
...
"You won, Shirou Amamiya."
Souren Araya lay in the center of the first-floor lobby, staring expressionlessly at the hollow ceiling.
Half of a short blade was lodged in his chest.
Not far from him lay the unconscious Shiki Ryougi.
Shiki Ryougi was a true monster, a genius of combat. After being caught by the Threefold Barrier just once, she had completely understood it.
So when Souren Araya fought her again, the Threefold Barrier could no longer threaten Shiki Ryougi. She had "killed" all of it.
Shirou silently walked over to Souren Araya's side.
"I'm here to pass on a message from Touko-nee-san. Souren Araya, what do you seek?"
As the black Magus's body began to crumble, he answered, "True wisdom."
"Where do you seek it?"
"Only within my own heart."
With those words, Souren Araya's body turned to ash and scattered away.
It will probably take about a hundred years until his next resurrection, Shirou thought.
But that man would never give up. No matter how many times it took, he would keep challenging The Root.
If asked why, it was because he and Shirou were the same kind of person.
Shirou picked up the Buddha's relic that had fallen to the ground and put it in his pocket.
At that moment.
"!!"
Shirou's eyes widened. A presence unlike anything he had ever felt before was approaching him from behind.
"Good evening."
Incredibly, the girl who should have been unconscious from severe injuries and blood loss walked up beside Shirou.
She was not the Shiki Ryougi Shirou knew, and she probably was not SHIKI, who had died in the accident either.
Looking at the girl before him, colder and more feminine than before, Shirou asked in surprise.
"Who are you...?"