Aozaki Aoko Case File

This was both a massacre and a feast.

 The shadow familiar of Aozaki Touko effortlessly tore apart the bodies of the Age of Gods' phantasmal species that Nero Chaos had stored within himself. The black shadow's gaping maw greedily chewed and devoured parts of Nero Chaos, leaving those incarnations of the Sea of Chaos unable to return to their original form.

Even beings that White Princess Arcueid could only destroy through large-scale attacks, leveraging the sheer difference in power, stood no chance before the shadow familiar of Aozaki Touko.

Once severed and devoured by the shadow, Nero Chaos could no longer sense any connection to these separated limbs. The number of the 666 beasts within him dwindled rapidly, becoming nothing more than prey to the ravenous black beast.

His proud regenerative ability proved utterly meaningless in the face of this all-consuming darkness.

The twisted smile of the shadow's mouth and its mocking gaze silently ridiculed the very existence of Nero Chaos.

Grinding his teeth, Nero Chaos intensified the density of his life force. Numerous biological limbs extended from his body, making him resemble some grotesque chimera created by an eccentric artist.

One of the limbs, resembling the pincers of an arthropod, swung toward Touko, but she remained unmoving. A pitch-black spike suddenly emerged from her shadow, slicing through the limb as easily as a hot knife through butter.

The severed pincer fell into the shadow on the ground, where it was instantly consumed by the gaping maw of darkness, crushed into fragments with a bone-chilling crunch.

Hearing the unsettling sound of the chewing, Nero Chaos had already begun to think about retreating. Though he hated to admit it, the bizarre woman before him was not an opponent he could defeat on his own.

It was time to escape. Nero Chaos reached the same conclusion he had in countless encounters with powerful enemies over the millennia: there was no shame in retreat.

"Trying to run?" Touko shook her head. "That won't do. I've been paid to kill all of you, so please, just obediently let yourself be eaten."

She raised her right hand as she spoke. Her palm transformed into a golden light, and a thread of shimmering, sand-like substance—like a materialized soul—fused into the shadow on the ground.

The shadow creature, which had been feasting on Nero Chaos, suddenly trembled before rapidly expanding its range, blocking all possible escape routes.

It was now a dead end. For Nero, this move from Touko only made his survival even less likely. He had no choice left but to make some meaningless final resistance.

"Soul materialization?" The memory of a wandering sea magus, buried deep within the Sea of Chaos, briefly took control, and Nero's tone became rational. "...To think I would witness the brilliance of the Third Magic again—it's truly astonishing."

For this magus who had effectively destroyed his mind, or this Dead Apostle whose sole purpose was survival, Touko had no reason to continue the conversation.

She gave the shadow familiar a glance, and the shadow immediately understood its master's intent.

Like a silent storm or a phantom from the most grotesque human nightmares, the shadow familiar shredded and devoured Nero Chaos, who had transformed into a beast with the hardest shell.

While others might have been able to defeat the beasts within Nero's body, few could accomplish what Touko's shadow familiar did: shredding and absorbing these creatures, who were themselves incarnations of the Sea of Chaos with clear wills. Touko's familiar was undoubtedly one of the rare exceptions.

"Burp~"

The shadow familiar let out a sound that seemed almost comical as if it had just finished a hearty meal. It quickly spun and shrank, rising from Touko's shadow and transforming into what appeared to be a fluffy, chubby black cat.

Touko bent down and rubbed the cat's ears. The cat, with its sleek black fur, affectionately nuzzled against her.

"Meow~"

"You've gotten fat, Chelsea," Touko said with a smile. "It seems that guy provided you with too much nourishment. You'll have to work harder for the next job, okay?"

The black cat revealed a somewhat frightening grin. Its mouth, filled with rows of sharp teeth, stretched across its plump face as it swayed its head and body before climbing back into Touko's suitcase. There, it melted back into a puddle of black liquid.

Touko bent down, locked the suitcase, and picked it up, preparing to leave the scene. But a voice stopped her.

"Oh? I didn't expect a magus to be so capable. To kill someone like Nero so cleanly?"

Touko turned to see a woman wearing a short skirt paired with black tights, her upper body clad in a white sweater that accentuated her figure. The woman stood with her arms crossed, scrutinizing Touko.

She had short, pure-gold hair and an exquisitely beautiful face, with a pair of eyes as dazzling as the finest rubies.

"Let me correct you," Touko raised her right index finger like a teacher giving a lesson. "I'm not a magus. I'm a Magician, okay?"

"Huh?" The blonde woman blinked in confusion, then clumsily scratched her head. "You're Aozaki Aoko? Doesn't match the information I got at all!"

Touko suddenly felt a bit annoyed. How could this woman be so bad at talking? Was Aozaki Touko really that unknown compared to her sister?!

"I'm Aozaki Touko," she said with a smile, though even someone as dense as the blonde could tell she was displeased at being mistaken for her younger sister. "I'm the elder sister of the Fourth Magician and the current Third Magician."

"Ah, sorry, sorry," the blonde woman quickly apologized. "Looks like Merem's intel was a bit outdated. He probably didn't know about this when I woke up this time."

"And you?" Touko asked. "What business does the True Ancestor Princess have with me?"

"Ah…" Arcueid touched her chin, thinking for a moment, before continuing. "Not much. I just sensed some vampires fighting over here and came to take a look."

"I just didn't expect that Chaos would die so easily," Arcueid said with interest. "Humans these days sure are impressive~ And you smell nice, too~"

Arcueid, innocent and pure, bounced over to Touko, circling her with curiosity. She sniffed with her small nose from time to time, as if she had discovered something fascinating.