—Crackle.
The sound of electricity flashed through the air.
Inside the dark tunnel, Aozaki Rin, holding Aozaki Touko in a princess carry, had leaped out of the train car at the very mont it split apart and crashed, landing steadily on the side of the tracks.
Although he was sowhat surprised by the power of "that sword strike" he had subconsciously unleashed, he had only attacked so decisively after first sensing that there were no other living beings in the train car besides them and that strange man.
But even though his previous attack had caused such destruction, Aozaki Rin did not let down his guard, his body already slightly tensed.
"Rin?"
Consciously getting down from the boy's arms, only to find that he had once again shielded her behind him, Aozaki Touko was taken aback for a mont, a bad premonition flashing through her mind.
In her view, the power the boy had just displayed was truly astonishing and incomprehensible. But setting that aside, in her estimation, even if that man was a Dead Apostle, it should have been impossible for him to survive such an attack...
However, reality told her that the things one worried about most were often the things that were bound to happen.
—Clatter.
A few pebbles slid down from the top of the crushed and deford train wreckage.
In the next second, with a loud BOOM, a mass of black gelatinous mud exploded from beneath the wreckage, sending the surrounding steel fragnts and stones flying to the side.
In the spreading smoke and dust, a giant, ellipsoid sphere of black sludge slowly opened, revealing the unhard figure of the man in the black coat. At the sa ti, the surrounding black sludge was slowly returning to his body.
"Magecraft? Physical arts? Truly astonishing... You know, even the secret art of the Burial Agency, the [Iron Plate Effect], cannot achieve such a feat with just a physical body... So, what exactly are you?"
The situation before him had greatly exceeded his expectations. Nero Chaos had to admit that he had previously underestimated the boy.
But compared to wariness, what rose in his iron-black eyes at this mont was a desire for knowledge. He sized up the boy's body with the gaze of one looking at a novel experintal material.
But Aozaki Rin did not answer his question. He just sensed the man's every move in the dark tunnel, while slightly turning his head to speak to the girl behind him.
"Sister Touko, can you still move?"
"...I can."
Aozaki Touko hesitated for a second, then nodded. Although the strange feeling that perated the air was currently pricking at her skin like needles, causing a slight neural paralysis, she had no problem moving.
"We're still so distance from the platform we ca from. Can you make it there?"
"Are you... asking to go first?"
Subconsciously surprised, Touko's voice held an instinctive resistance.
But almost imdiately, her rationality as a magus cald her down. She subconsciously took a deep breath, suppressed the feeling of powerlessness in her heart, and after pressing her lips together, she answered.
"...I understand. But don't push yourself too hard, Rin. Retreat imdiately if things look bad. I'll go notify Fumizuka and the others and have them co for support."
Understanding that the man's target was her, and that in her current state, unable to utilize her full abilities as a magus, staying here would undoubtedly beco a burden that would distract the boy, she knew what she had to do.
Since the man's true identity was likely a Dead Apostle, the only thing she could do now was to notify the Church personnel, who were more adept at dealing with them.
Although Aozaki Touko was reluctant, she also understood that Aozaki Rin's suggestion was the correct one. And she knew that if the boy wasn't confident in his own abilities, he would not have said such a thing.
"I'll be back with people right away. You have to protect yourself, Rin."
Reminding the boy one more ti, Touko gazed at his back for a mont. Seeing him nod, she felt a little more at ease and began to slowly move backward, preparing to find the right mont to retreat in one go.
But even in such a dim environnt, her movents were crystal clear in the man's eyes.
"You don't really think you can still leave at this point, do you?"
There was no amusent in his voice, only a sense of derision.
This ti, Nero Chaos took the initiative and reached out a hand toward the two of them. The arm, wrapped in black cloth, began to writhe, clearly intending to release sothing again, just as before.
Observing the fluctuations in the lines of the man's arm through her magic glasses, Aozaki Rin took a step forward, slightly bending his arm, and said softly.
"Sister Touko, now!"
But at the mont his words fell, Nero Chaos, who had been planning to use his familiars to capture the boy and the girl, seed to sense sothing, and a hint of displeasure appeared on his rigid face.
At the sa ti, in that instant, Aozaki Rin seed to hear a sound, and his movents paused slightly.
"It seems we'll have to stop here for today. But for so many 'flies' to pop up in a place like this, where on earth did they get the information..."
With a trace of confusion and impatience in his voice, the man left behind these words, and his entire body was once again enveloped in black sludge. As if lting into the darkness, he disappeared into the end of the tunnel.
"He's gone?"
Aozaki Touko frowned in confusion, but her question was soon answered.
Because within a dozen or so seconds after the man left, a series of hurried footsteps ca from the tunnel behind them.
Before long, a dozen or so black shadows arrived swiftly in various ways. So stopped near the train wreckage, while others continued forward.
As it was too dark to see the figures clearly, Touko subconsciously stood in front of the boy, taking a defensive posture.
But almost imdiately, Aozaki Rin, from behind her, said.
"I think it's Father Fumizuka, Sister Touko."
"...Fumizuka?"
The girl's confused voice echoed in the tunnel. Just then, one of the black-clad figures stepped forward and turned on a flashlight.
The light instantly illuminated a corner of the tunnel, causing Touko to instinctively narrow her eyes, but it also allowed her to see the current situation clearly.
Near the train wreckage, several Executors in black priest uniforms and wearing cross pendants were all holding Black Keys or equipped with scripture-casings, currently spread out as if investigating the traces of sothing.
And in front of her, wearing a black cloak over his priest uniform, was a handso young man with long black hair falling to his shoulders and wearing round-frad glasses. He held a flashlight in his hand and, as if sowhat surprised by the situation, let out a soft sigh.
"Rin and Touko? In any case, you're safe for now. Let's head back to the church first, and we can discuss the details there."
-------
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