Aozaki Aoko Case File [420] (Patreon)

Araya Souren was not born into a magus family; he was born centuries ago in Japan, to a family of Tendai Buddhist monks.

He was clever from childhood, well-read in Buddhist texts, and talented at bounded field. As an adult, he delved into Buddhist theory and was fervently dedicated to saving all living beings.

Holding to this belief, he traveled across Japan, practicing and helping those in need.

But the slaughter and destruction brought by war and chaos shattered his worldview. He realized that no matter how hard he tried, he could not save everyone. He also witnessed human evils utterly incompatible with his ideals.

He left the Tendai sect, traveled abroad, and joined the Clock Tower branch of the Mage’s Association in London, beginning his study of magecraft.

In the original timeline, he met Touko this way, and their relationship wasn’t bad. But in this timeline, due to Aoko’s interference, Touko had planned to assassinate Araya from the start, forcing him to flee—he couldn’t defeat her then.

Araya’s research goal was to seek the archetype of the soul, to ride the soul’s collapse and its return to the Root, and thus find the value of human existence—was his lifelong ideal meaningful? Was humanity worth saving?

But Araya’s origin was Stillness, and since his self-awakening, he’d made no progress over the years.

Awakening to his origin gave him near immortality, but also despair: no matter how hard he tried, he would always stillness just before success.

Touko didn’t know if Araya realized this, but there was no doubt his life had become a sad joke. She wouldn’t mock him but didn’t feel obliged to warn him either.

Sitting on his sad, twisted throne, Araya looked like a king facing rebel armies. Unafraid, he stood up slowly, the pipes attached to him disconnecting and falling to the ground one by one.

“Enough—” Araya’s voice was still bitter, but his will was as strong as ever. “I went to such lengths to avoid triggering the Counter Force, yet a mistake still occurred. Was it that puppet, Tomoe Enjou?”

“You’re mistaken, Araya,” Touko shook her head. “The moment you set your sights on the girl called ‘Shiki Ryougi,’ your fate was sealed.”

“Hmph, so I couldn’t fool that thing after all,” Araya spat. “In the end, I can’t succeed like you. The conclusion is simple—I lack talent!”

“Talent is just that,” Araya continued. “No matter how much you study, train, endure, it’s all acquired. The most crucial part is decided at birth.”

“What, you’re giving up?” Touko was surprised by Araya’s words. “That’s not like you.”

“If I lack talent, I’ll seize it,” Araya said. “If abandoning myself is what it takes to succeed, then Araya Souren need not exist.”

“...Araya, what are you pursuing?” Touko asked after a pause.

“True wisdom.”

“Where do you seek it?”

“Only within my own heart.”

Like a self-dialogue, Araya ignored his wounds and the power gap with Touko and attacked the Third Magician.

“Fugu!”

 A shout like a Buddhist mantra. The space itself twisted and shook, launching an attack at Touko from Araya’s remaining hand.

A shadowy familiar created by the Third Magic morphed into a spherical shield, firmly blocking the spatial shock, and making a sound like a temple bell echoing through the workshop.

The fat cat Cheshire, angry at being attacked, transformed into a mass of darkness and rushed at the monk, shredding the floor and chair, but Araya himself vanished.

“Sensei, behind you!” With Azaka’s warning, Araya appeared behind Touko. His hand, as powerful as a pile driver, easily pierced Touko’s chest and held her heart.

“Excuse me, are you brain-dead or something, Araya?”

Touko’s voice made Araya break into a rare cold sweat. The fatal attack seemed to have no effect. Even the heart in his hand turned into golden smoke and slipped through his fingers.

Touko transformed into streams of golden sand, constantly changing shape and swirling around Araya.

Cheshire, who missed earlier, returned ferociously, biting off Araya’s lower leg and forcing him to kneel.

Araya looked up and, in that golden vortex, saw countless unspeakable monsters—the shadows of phantasmal species long vanished from the earth.

Touko finally fixed her form as a giant golden wolf—clearly, she still missed the Lugh Beowolf that Aoko had taken from her.

The golden wolf looked down at the wounded, kneeling Araya with a human expression as if she didn’t want to waste more energy on him.

Araya raised his only remaining arm. He was unwilling to fail, or rather, he’d experienced many such failures before and always had another chance; he wouldn’t yield.

But this time, his spatial attack failed to launch—he no longer had an arm.

The shadowy familiar was chewing on something—probably his arm, Araya thought calmly, then fell backward to the ground.

“You only love the ideal humans in your mind,” Touko’s contemptuous voice reached the helpless monk’s ears, but all he saw was the golden wolf.

 “Some wish to save the world?

 “You’re too arrogant to listen to real people, shutting yourself off and blindly charging toward your imagined goal.”

“But humanity doesn’t need you to save it. It tenaciously endures, full of suffering yet undeniably progressing, while you alone remain stuck in place.”

Araya wanted to retort to Touko’s scorn, but someone being held somewhere didn’t give him the chance. Suddenly, something stabbed through his chest, and dried blood like sand flowed out.

Touko returned to human form. Raising an eyebrow at Araya’s end, she seemed surprised by this unexpected backstab.

“...So, this body is finished?” Araya croaked. “My spare body isn’t ready. The next time we meet will be centuries from now...”

“There won’t be a next time, Araya.”

With that, Touko reached into the air, and Araya’s soul left his body, turning into a gray stone in her hand.

His body swiftly crumbled into ashes like fine sand, held together only by the black trench coat.

Then, with a thud from somewhere in the workshop, a girl in a simple yukata and red jacket fell out of nowhere, tangled up with a young man with black hair and glasses.

“Brother!” Azaka rushed over, hugging the unconscious Mikiya and checking his condition, completely ignoring the equally weak Yukata girl beside him.