I want to just drift through life in Type-Moon.

Page 91

That's why she invited Youzhu to go with her to Yue Zhengling's place.

They arrived at the town where Yue Zhengling lived without incident. Aozaki Aoko was already eagerly leading the way, while Orange was walking along, wondering what it would be like when Yue Zhengling and Youzhu met.

However, when they arrived near their destination, Orange and Yuzhu sensed something was amiss.

The barrier that had been cleared of idlers was now dispelled, along with the undisguised aura of two magicians.

A blue robin perched on Yuzhu's shoulder, while Orange glanced at a man and a woman not far away, the two magicians standing there openly.

"It seems to be just a simple barrier to dispel idlers, and it doesn't feel dangerous at all. The other party is waiting for us," Orange said in a very casual tone.

But Yuzhu didn't think things were really that simple. After entering the barrier that dispelled idlers, she felt a strong sense of crisis.

This sense of crisis was directed at her alone, but not at the couple.

When the two women realized that the magicians had come looking for one of them, the two magicians instead struck up a conversation with Aozaki Aoko, who had been lingering in one place for some unknown reason.

Upon seeing this, Aozaki Touko immediately ran over, while Yuju shook her wrist again, and the faint sound of the bell relayed the surrounding situation to her in a unique sound wave form.

As an outsider, Yuzhu listened to what happened next. Although she was surprised that the two magicians were from the Clock Tower Forensic Department, she didn't pay any attention to it since it was none of her business.

The sound feedback was nothing unusual, except that there were quite a lot of crows here. But Japan is a country with a lot of crows, especially in some areas of certain towns, which are practically gathering places for crows.

It was only when she saw Aozaki Aoko, who clearly had nothing to do with the demonic path, receive a thick letter from the forensic department and learned that it was written by the person they were looking for that day, that she became somewhat interested in the matter.

Unlike the Aozaki sisters, who were startled by the news of Yue Zhengling's misfortune, Youzhu was wary of the lingering murderous intent.

After the Aozaki sisters finished negotiating with the forensic officers, the three entered the burned-down Chinese restaurant. Looking at the mess, Arisu knew that they had probably made a wasted trip. Just then, a large black shadow flew through the hole blasted open in the burned kitchen.

Whether it was her imagination or not, Yuzhu felt that there was something in that dark shadow, but before she could see it clearly, an unusual pressure pressed down on her with the sound of footsteps going downstairs.

When she saw the person coming down from the second floor of the shop, Yuzhu almost thought she had encountered the source of that murderous intent. Just the sight of this person standing there made her feel an intense sense of death threat.

That was the absolute mortal enemy of the human race, a monster that fed on human blood, and even I, as an outsider, was its prey—an undead monster called the Dead Apostle.

Yuzhu had already prepared for the worst, because if a battle were to break out here, she could only try to protect herself. If she were to fight against the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostles, ordinary PLOY Kickshaws would be of little use, but the limitations of the space here meant that even the strongest fairy tale monsters could not fight here.

Thames Troll must be used near flowing water, Flat Snark is limited to nighttime use, and Wander Snatch unfolds too slowly.

With no other options, just as Yuzhu reached this conclusion, Aozaki Aoko rashly made contact with the other party. However, unexpectedly, this contact turned out to be a close call. The other party must have realized something when they heard the surname Aozaki, so they left.

However, after leaving the restaurant, Yuzhu finally remembered who the Dead Apostle was. He was Nero Chaos, one of the twenty-seven Ancestors of the Dead Apostles, known by the Church as the strongest Dead Apostle.

When she remembered this, she finally understood what those strange-looking crows were—they were the other party's mimicry familiars!

Urging Orange to leave, Yuzhu looked at the increasing number of crows and felt increasingly worse, but the murderous intent directed at her disappeared.

Then, after she told Orange the identity of the dead apostle, a voice came from under the street lamp next to them.

"I didn't expect you to be so capable, little girl." The dog looked at her listlessly, its eyes full of scrutiny.

Through this dog—or rather, through Nero Chaos using the dog as an intermediary—they revealed the news that the person they were looking for today, namely Yue Zhengling, was dead, and mentioned at the end that his body was at Guanbuzi General Hospital.

Afterwards, Aozaki and her friends rushed to the hospital. Yuzhu wasn't interested in going with them. On one hand, Yue Zhengling was someone she had never met before, and on the other hand, she felt that something was strange about the matter. Although she was curious, she didn't want to get involved.

However, as Aozaki Aoko rushed to the nearest bus stop, Aozaki Touko apologized to her and then went to chase after her sister, a Dead Apostle named Nero Chaos appeared silently in front of her.

Yu-joo raised her head and looked warily at the tall man who had shrouded her in shadow.

“Just now, my clone killed a tuner,” he said to Kuonji Yuzu in a completely emotionless voice.

Yu-joo didn't answer because she didn't know why the other person was telling her these things.

“It seems you know nothing.” Nero Chaos’s eyes once again showed a scrutinizing look. “A witch, huh? It’s remarkable that such a lineage has survived.”

He pulled his hand out of his pocket, and Yuzhu, thinking that the other party was about to launch an attack, immediately threw two dice first. Then, two pigs with bodies constructed like staplers bit Nero's hand tightly, trying to restrict his movements.

The two fairytale monsters, named Twindledee and Twindledum, are characters of the same name from Lewis Carroll's nursery rhymes, the world-famous children's book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".

Made from castanets and staplers, it is arguably the most powerful and easiest-to-deploy familiar she possesses, and also the most suitable for this occasion.

Zhu had hoped that the two pigs could buy her time to escape or summon other fairy tale monsters, but to her surprise, they were completely dismembered into pieces in less than five seconds.

Seeing the dice reduced to shards again, Yuzhu gasped in shock, but her opponent simply stood there quietly, without giving chase.

"Don't worry, I mean you no harm. I just have some questions to ask."

Yuzhu looked at Nero Chaos, calmly created some distance, and then stopped about fifteen meters away from him before finally speaking: "What do you want to ask?"

Nero Chaos released his outstretched right hand, and a pendant dangled in mid-air. "Do you recognize this?"

Having confirmed that the other party truly meant no harm, Youzhu focused most of her attention on him while turning her gaze to the pendant.

The pendant was a circle, and with her magically enhanced vision, she could see some patterns engraved on it. Although she didn't understand the meaning of those patterns, Youzhu still knew that they were so-called divination characters, but other than that, she had no recollection of the pendant.

So she slowly shook her head, indicating that she did not know him.

“...Is that so? Well, excuse me.” The other party didn’t respond to her answer, then Nero Chaos put the things back in his pocket, seemingly about to leave.

Yu-chu found it a bit strange. The fact that the other person had taken out that thing and asked her about it meant that it was definitely not an ordinary object. So, whether out of curiosity or impulse, she asked, "Whose thing is that?"

Nero Chaos, who had already taken a step forward, stopped and looked at Yuzhu carefully again. "Why did you ask? You don't seem like the kind of person who likes to pry into things."

Yu-chu was at a loss for words. Knowing full well that the other person was a dangerous individual, she had unnecessarily made him stay.

Before she could answer, the other person asked again, "Girl, what's your name?"

“Kuonji Yuzu.” Yuzu said her name in a cool voice, and then answered the other person’s question, “I was just a little curious. It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”

Upon hearing Arisu's answer, Nero Chaos suddenly revealed an "I see" smile, "Fairy Tale Witch Kuonji Arisu, if it's you, then everything makes sense."

For a moment, Yuzhu looked confused. She didn't understand what the other person meant by saying "If it were you, everything would make sense." What was so special about her identity—or rather, what special meaning did her identity hold in the other person's eyes?

"The people targeting you shouldn't show up again. As for that pendant, I got it from Yue Zhengling because someone tried to get it."

Nero Chaos was talking about two completely unrelated things, but when it happened to fall into Aruju's ears, she felt that "there is a connection between them."

"Really? That murderous intent just now wasn't just an illusion?" Yuzhu murmured to herself, then she lifted her skirt and gave Nero Chaos a ladylike curtsy.

“Heh, it’s alright. I wasn’t really helping you. Besides, it seems you were targeted because you came to the wrong place at the wrong time.” Nero Chaos gave her one last look before turning and walking into an alley.

"In my opinion, your appearance is just a coincidence, but others may see it differently. For you, however, this should be a turning point in your destiny. So take care of yourself, holder of the deductible, the last witch."

With this final, meaningful piece of advice, Nero Chaos disappeared from Kuronji Aryu's sight.

Chapter 201 An Accidental Fate (Part 2)

Kuonji Yuzu knew what the other party meant by "holder of the card," which was an open secret in the magic world. Their lineage of witches possessed a portion of the first law, "Negation of Nothingness."

This secret is known to any magic family with a long history. As for why no one covets this power, it's because it's a bloodline characteristic, and also because their abilities are sufficient to protect this inheritance.

Because she is still young and her abilities have not yet fully matured, she needs to rely on the protection of the Aozaki family. But she is confident that when she grows up and can fully control her abilities and skillfully use the fairy tale monsters in her hands, there will be few people in this world who can rival her.

However, it's also possible that I'm still too weak and vulnerable right now, which is why I've been targeted today.

Yuzhu didn't know the truth of the matter, but if Aozaki Touko hadn't suggested this trip, she probably wouldn't have encountered this incident. She didn't blame Touko; although she found it troublesome, she also felt a special kind of excitement.

Although she has a cool and aloof personality, it doesn't mean she likes stability.

Thinking of this, Yuzhu sensed Aozaki Touko's presence and then followed after her. She decided to go see Yue Zhengling and see why Nero Chaos would talk to her so much about this person.

Soon after, Ayumi finally saw the Aozaki sisters. The two of them were sitting in the station waiting shed. Aozaki Aoko looked anxious, while Touko, although she appeared calm on the surface, had already betrayed herself with the subtle movements of her legs.

"Arisu?" Orange seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up at Arisu, who had come into her line of sight.

In her eyes, Yuzhu's aura was somewhat unstable, clearly indicating that she had been fighting with someone before. Only when she thought of this did Chengzi realize that she had been careless before.

Even knowing that Yuzhu wasn't coming along, they should have gone to a densely populated area with her first.

Orange greeted her with a hint of annoyance, carefully examined Youzhu for a while, and only after finding that she was alright did she breathe a sigh of relief and ask, "Who did you run into?"

Yuzhu hadn't intended to answer, but seeing the concern in Orange's eyes, she gently parted her lips and said, "It's alright, that person didn't lay a hand on me."

But Orange's heart, which had just relaxed upon hearing Yuzhu's reply, suddenly tightened. She hurriedly grabbed Yuzhu and began to examine her, "What's going on? Didn't that bastard leave? Why is he coming to you again?"

Feeling Orange's concern, Yuzhu, who was being pulled back, felt a warmth in her heart and said softly, "It's really nothing. Rather, the other party helped me solve a problem."

Although Yuzhu didn't specify, Orange could still tell from her words that Yuzhu had encountered something bad. But since she said that, it meant that nothing was wrong, after all, the Yuzhu she knew was a person who spoke the truth.

Aozaki Touko hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Should I go back with you first?"

As magicians, they receive all-around buffs as long as they are within their own territory, and their territory is Misaki Town. As long as they send Ayumi back to the Western-style mansion on the hill, which is Ayumi's magic workshop, she will be basically safe.

After all, no matter how powerful the enemy is, anyone with common sense would avoid fighting inside the enemy's workshop, because they have no idea what kind of methods are available inside.

"No need, I want to go with you all to see this person named Yue Zhengling." Youzhu refused Orange's suggestion without any hesitation.

Orange was surprised that Yuzhu would make such a request. She looked at Yuzhu's unnatural expression with a little curiosity, but in the end she didn't ask anything. Since Yuzhu wanted to come along, she had no reason to refuse.

And this suited her perfectly, because after hearing that Yuzhu might have encountered danger, Orange was already worried about Yuzhu going back alone. Although magicians are said to be cold-blooded, she wasn't so cold-blooded as to ignore any accidents that might happen to Yuzhu.

When Yuzhu arrived at the waiting shed, Aozaki Aoko only glanced at her and then didn't say anything. She wasn't in the mood to argue with Yuzhu.

Soon the bus arrived, and after the three of them boarded, Aoko became unusually agitated. Orange tried to comfort her while keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Yuzhu knew that Orange was worried about an emergency, but she didn't think anyone would attack them. She could no longer sense the murderous intent, and after using magic to enhance her senses, her perception of danger had also been strengthened, but so far she hadn't felt anything special.

Upon arriving at the train station, the three transferred to another train heading towards Kanbuko City. After an hour, they finally stood on the Kanbuko City platform. Because Aoko insisted on going to the hospital immediately, the three of them, who were starving, set off for the hospital without even having time to eat anything.

The Guanbuzi City General Hospital is located in the suburbs. They drove through the entire city and finally arrived at the hospital gate.

Aozaki Aoko shook off her sister's hand and sprinted inside, but Touko and Yuzu stood at the hospital entrance, showing no intention of going in.

"It seems my feeling was right..." Orange frowned as she looked at the hospital, which looked quite normal in the sunlight, unable to calm down for a long time.

"—That's right, although this isn't a magic workshop, it's located above a spiritual vein and has been enchanted." Yuzhu also pointed out the amiss that Touko had already noticed.

With their magical eyes, Yuju and Orange could clearly see the magical energy flowing around the hospital, confined within its walls.

The so-called barriers have different levels, which can be said to isolate things within a certain range. They range from actually creating a "wall" to covering things with an invisible wall.

The best approach is to give the other person a strong, unspoken message that no one can get close, even when there is nothing of value.

The same goes for this hospital. People who don't have a specific purpose for coming here won't realize the implications, and this barrier creates a special separation between the inside and outside of the hospital.

"This is really reckless. Ayumi, do you think this was intentional or unintentional?" Orange felt the situation was getting a bit tricky. This wouldn't affect ordinary people, but for them, as magicians, it was somewhat dangerous.

What's in a hospital? The answer is patients.

A patient is someone who is unhealthy.

What happens to unhealthy people? The answer is that they overflow with vitality.

What is vitality? It is the power of intention and magic.

Built upon this sacred ground, the non-attribute magic is corrupted by the magic imbued with intent. Normally, this magic would be quickly purified and dissipated, but a barrier has been set up here.

Humans can generate "thoughts," especially when they are sick or even dying. These powerful thoughts are locked up in the hospital and mixed with magic, which can cause strange changes.

Chapter 202 An Accidental Fate (Part 2)

So-called mutations are usually divided into two types. The first type is the birth of a supernatural entity called "Spirit" under the nourishment of magic.

Because most of the spirits in the hospital are fragments of souls that remain after death. They have no will and simply float. However, these fragments gradually coalesce into a complete "spirit" in places with dense magic. These spirits have no will, only instinct, and want to return to their bodies, so they become floating spirits that pursue the body.

Because their power is weak, ordinary people can neither perceive nor touch them. Only those with special abilities can perceive the invisible spirits.

For beings filled with a thirst for the body, the recently deceased corpse and the unconscious person are the best vessels for themselves.

The conditions for the birth of the second type are much more demanding. The kind of thing called a walking corpse requires a body that has just died, a strong obsession that transcends death before death, and a special sacred place. These three factors are generally difficult to come together.

But now, in the eyes of Aozaki Touko and Kuonji Yuzu, all these conditions have been met.

"What exactly does the person who set up this barrier want to do?" Orange looked at Aoko, who had already entered the hospital and was asking questions at the information desk, with a troubled expression. Sometimes she really envied her younger sister because she didn't know much, and many things were irrelevant to her.

Youzhu didn't care about all that. Her purpose in coming here was simple: to see what kind of person Yue Zhengling really was. Whether Chengzi went in or not, her purpose would not change, but she had to be prepared before going in.

Chirp!

A little blue bird appeared out of nowhere, circled around the pearl a few times, its small eyes radiating a human-like light, and chirped incessantly.

Yuzu frowned unhappily. To others, it would just seem like the bird was chirping incessantly, but as its owner, Yuzu knew what it was saying from those chirps.

"Master! Master! You've been summoning me way too often today!"

"Master! Master! That man almost ate me!"

"Master! Master! Are you really going into this eerie place? Won't you die? Won't you die?"

Annoyed beyond measure, Yuzhu glared at the talkative robin with icy eyes.

As if sensing its master's cold anger, the blue robin quickly landed on Yuzhu's shoulder, closed its beak, and lowered its head.

This little blue bird is nicknamed "Robin." As a noisy, silly bird, if it weren't for the fact that it was a memento left to her by her mother, she would have wanted to change its personality circuits long ago.