It's been a long time since the night air in the winter wood, and the cold breath of this winter day is just the right time to cool the burning skin.

Rin innocently thought that it would be nice if she could find Kotoin before the last train. But in that case, there are only two hours left, and there is not enough time at all.

In short, investigate the new capital first. If you go to Fukayama Town, the magic pointer will only point to Tosaka Mansion, and if you go there, you will probably be discovered by your father.

It's not late at night by adult standards, but there are very few people on the streets. On weekdays, when I go home, the road is full of office workers in a hurry, and even at night, the streets are still crowded.

After opening the mana pointer cover, Rin is confused by the pointer's reaction.

「…… What's going on?"

The needle, which usually swayed slightly, was now spinning rapidly. She saw this phenomenon for the first time. The needle's chaotic performance as if it was a small animal suddenly cast a shadow on Rin's heart.

However, just standing is not the way to go. A few adults who passed by just now had already cast surprised glances at Rin who was alone, so let's go first.

In the distance, there are even fewer figures. Is this really the city of Fuyuki that she is used to seeing on weekdays? Rin felt a faint chill hit her body.

In fact, the city of Fuyuki has already issued a curfew. Recently, there have been a series of murders and abductions, and yesterday there were even a series of terrorist bombings in Xindu and the harbor area. The police appealed to citizens to go out less at night, and smart people heeded the order.

However, even if there is no curfew, I am afraid that there are still not many citizens who like to travel at night. There is something bad hidden in the dark night of Xindu now, and human instinct should be aware of this.

"-Ah, sure enough. 」

The red police lights came on in front of him, and Rin was afraid to hide in the shadows of a building. Patrol police cars slowly drove to see if there were any citizens walking alone on the street. If they see themselves, the police will not let them go. In that case, I won't be able to save the sound.

Watching the lights fade away, Rin was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief-

Click.

- Rin swallows the exclamation that she almost spit out.

The sound came from the depths of the hallway of the house where he was hiding, probably because a wild cat had come across a can while rummaging through the garbage. But it's hard to tell if there's anyone there.

Glancing down at the magic pointer in his hand, Rin gasped.

The hands are motionless, as if frozen, pointing in the direction where the sound is emitted.

There's something there, there's something that exudes strange magic.

「……」

Isn't that what you're looking for?

Finding the clue so quickly is a good start. Rin plans to search for suspicious locations in Xindu and confirm the location of Koto one by one. And the first place has already been found by itself.

Okay, then go up and see what's there.

"Don't. 」

Maybe there's a clue about the sound there, or maybe the sound is there.

"Never. 」

There's no reason to hesitate, otherwise you shouldn't have come here at all. Rin doesn't want to leave her friends behind, and as a member of the Tosaka family, she must use her courage to prove that she is qualified to be her father's heir in the future.

"Don't, don't, don't, never, don't......"

From the depths of the hallway came the breath of something, as if a damp breath came to the face.

Rin finally realizes that this quest to find her best friend is not something that can be done so easily.

There is no piano sound in the dark depths. Even if she was in it, then she shouldn't be the same as before.

If you're really looking for something today, maybe Rin's target shouldn't be Kotoon but her corpse.

"Don't—"

In fact, Rin Tosaka has extremely good qualifications as a magician.

She had never seen a demon, and she had never touched it, but by feeling she knew she was in danger.

To learn magic, one must first learn to accept and recognize death – this is the first lesson in every apprentice magician's practice.

The touch of "death" that cannot be escaped, cannot be thought, but is simply desperate.

At that time, the young Rin realized the essence of the Demon Path through this experience.

I couldn't move, I couldn't even scream. The unbearable horror of ordinary people was enough to crush such a young girl.

A strange tinnitus began in her ears, which Rin thought was caused by the cold feeling of despair that weighed down on her heart. My own thinking is beginning to destroy my five senses.

There was a buzzing sound, monotonous but frenzied, as if a swarm of huge flies were coming towards you......

And then, a louder sound than tinnitus approached.

In a moment, something like a black mist that had been covering Rin's head rushed in.

The thing passed through Rin like a turbid current, and instantly slashed into the depths of darkness.

Then, the outrageous screams rang out one after another, as if the cat was being put alive in a pot to cook - but it was definitely not the sound of a cat.

This is already the limit of what Rin can bear.

His eyes began to darken, his steps gradually became unsteady, and at the moment when he was about to fall, someone caught him.

In front of me, there is a monster that can only see the left half of its face.

That ugly face was embedded with cloudy eyes.

But his right eye was filled with deep loneliness and sadness.

As if I've seen this kind of look before-

Rin thought this before losing consciousness.

—————— Dividing Line——————

Aoi Tosaka only found out that her daughter was missing an hour later.

Perhaps afraid of being scolded by her mother, the child kept a note next to her bed, saying that she was going to find her classmate Qinyin, whose whereabouts were unknown.

Aoi immediately regretted it. At dinner, Rin mentions Kotone and asks Aoi about Fuyuki's current situation.

At that time, Aoi thought that she should not hide something, so she said to her plainly, "You have forgotten this friend."

It should have been told to Shi Chen—but this thought was immediately suppressed by her reason.

Aoi can't do magic, but she's a magician's wife after all. She knows that her husband doesn't have time to worry about his daughter now. The husband is still on the battlefield and has devoted his life and all his energy to fighting.

The only one who can protect Rin is now himself.

Aoi ran out of the Zen City Mansion in her home clothes and drove on the national highway at night.

Since I don't know where Rin has gone, I can only guess the scope of her movements, and then look for where she might go one by one.

If you want to take the train from home, the first thing you must go to is the Fuyuki Station in Xindu, and then walk for 30 minutes on your child's feet, which is about ......

Aoi's first thought was the Civic Park in Kawabe.

The silence of the park in the middle of the night is easily reminiscent of a cemetery.

In the deserted square, the dim light of the street lamps set off the darkness and silence a little frighteningly.

The night air in Fuyuki City has deteriorated significantly. Aoi, who lives with a magician and is accustomed to a variety of strange phenomena, immediately discovers this.

Aoi glanced at the bench she usually sat on when she brought Rin to play, which can only be said to be a feeling out of thin air.

However, the small figure in the red coat he was looking for was there.

"-Rin!"

Aoi screamed and pounced. Rin lost consciousness and was lying motionless on the bench at the moment.

Aoi picked her up and felt her even breathing and warm body temperature, and from the outside, it looked like she was just asleep. Aoi finally shed tears of relief.

"Great...... It's really ......."

Who to thank you? Aoi, who was filled with joy, finally calmed down. Suddenly, she noticed that someone was staring at her. Turning his head to look, behind the plant behind the bench, someone was looking at the mother and daughter.

"Who's there?"

Aoi shouted in a stiff tone, and contrary to what she had expected, the figure stood in the light of the street lamp.

It was a man wearing a fat cold-proof jacket and covering his face with a turban. He appears to have an injury to his left leg and is not very good at walking.

"I guess if I'm here, I'll be able to wait for you. 」

The mysterious man finally spoke, as if he were a terminal lung cancer patient who could even breathe painfully, and let out a heavy gasp sound. But the tone is surprisingly elegant and soft.

Although his voice had been destroyed, Aoi felt the voice familiar.

「…… Wild Goose Night ......"

The figure froze, and after a moment's hesitation, he finally removed his turban to reveal his true face.

Lifeless withered white hair, the left half of the face is stiff and expressionless, this is a very terrifying face.

Although Aoi tried to suppress her cowardly sorrow, she was unable to succeed. Yan Ye smiled miserably with the right half of his face, which was still free to move.

"This is the magic of the Kiri, to offer the flesh and corrupt the life...... Only at the cost of this is the ultimate demonic path. 」

"What? what's going on? Why are you here?"

Aoi asked her childhood sweetheart in front of her in a bit of confusion. But Yan Ye didn't answer any of the questions, but continued the topic in a gentle tone.

"But, Sakura is fine. Before she became like this...... I've got to get her out. 」

"Sakura—"

This is a taboo word that the Tosaka family has never mentioned for a year. The irrepressible pain of parting is impacting Aoi's heart at this moment.

Sakura - the daughter of Tosaka who was sent to the Maki family.

But in this way, wasn't the last time Yan Ye and Aoi and the others met exactly a year ago?

"All Dirty Yan wants is the Holy Grail, and he promised me that he would release Sakura as long as I helped him get the Holy Grail. 」

The "Holy Grail" in the mouth of the wild goose made Aoi feel a chill for no reason.

God forbids that he heard it wrong, Aoi prays earnestly, but Yanya stretches out her right hand as if betraying Aoi's heart. On the back of his hand, the three mantras are clearly engraved.

"So, I'm going to ...... Don't worry, my Servant is the strongest and won't lose to anyone. 」

"Ahh

Horror, sadness, and much of the chaos make Aoi lose her words.

Wild Goose returns to the house and leads the Servant in the Holy Grail War.

This means that her husband and her childhood sweetheart's friend are about to start an extremely bloody fight.

“…… What God ......"

Ignoring Aoi's lamentation, he misunderstood the meaning of the tears oozing from her eyes.

"Sakura doesn't even want to get hope up now. So...... You are going to take the place of the child. Aoi, you have to believe for her and pray for her. Pray for my victory and Sakura's future. ”

The deceased's empty left eye stared at Aoi like a curse.

The right eye of a gentle old friend stares at Aoi beggingly.

"Wild goose night, you ......"

Want to die?

Want to be killed by Shi Chen?

Aoi couldn't ask such a thing, and despair was deeply rooted in her heart.

Aoi lowered her head and hugged Rin tightly in her arms. If you want to escape the harsh reality, you can only do it now.

Aoi's ears, which closed her eyes tightly, remembered the gentle and painful voice of the wild goose.

"One day, we'll be able to come here like we used to. Rin and Sakura will be good sisters like they used to be...... So, Aoi, stop crying. ”

"Goose Night, wait-"

But Yan Ye did not respond to this last call, and he dragged his crippled left leg and walked away slowly. Aoi didn't have the courage to catch up. Now she can only hold her daughter and cry alone.

Mother's tears dripped down Rin Rin's face, who was sleeping soundly.

……