Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Fujino glanced at her reflection in the mirror and pressed the elevator button leading to the roof.

With a sudden feeling of weightlessness, the elevator slowly started moving, carrying the girl to the top floor.

She followed the sound of her footsteps across the last corridor and opened the door leading to the roof.

—In an instant, bright moonlight came into view.

Asagami Fujino turned her neck, ignoring the beautiful cityscape at night, and searched for her enemy.

"……found it."

A figure was floating in the air.

She wore a spotless white dress, and her long hair reached her waist.

Her slender limbs, visible outside her white dress, accentuated her elegance.

Those slender eyebrows and indifferent eyes made it seem as if they were creatures no longer bound by lifespan, living in a painting.

She was probably in her early twenties, but whether one could use her age in life to estimate her age, as she was similar to the ghost, was a question.

The woman in white was not like a ghost, vague and indistinct, but truly existed.

If we're talking about ghosts, then the eight girls hovering in the night sky centered around her are probably the real ones.

They floated lightly in mid-air, as if they were both flying and swimming.

The figures were also blurry and indistinct, and would occasionally become transparent.

The woman in white was positioned above Fujino's head, while eight girls moved through the night sky like guards.

Looking at this ghostly landscape resembling a scene from a horror movie, Asagami Fujino's lips curled into a seductive smile.

"I didn't actually want to kill you."

The woman's beauty transcended the realm of humankind.

Her black hair, as smooth as if combed from silk threads, was incredibly silky. Whenever the wind picked up, the way her black hair danced in the wind exuded a mysterious beauty.

"Who gave you permission to seduce Mr. Shi tonight?"

The woman in white heard the girl in black's murmur and turned her gaze downwards.

Their eyes met.

The two did not speak, nor did they even share a common language.

Asagami Fujino's crimson pupils were tinged with iridescence.

At the same time, a burning sensation, like blood, emanated from deep within his eyes.

The woman's white robes swayed gently as her slender fingers pointed at Fujino, radiating a clear killing intent from her fingertips.

"...Woo."

Fujino's breathing became rapid, and the rise and fall of her full breasts became irregular—

That's all.

The woman in white hinted that "you can fly," but Fujino overcame this.

By simply instilling the impression that "you are flying" into the other person's consciousness, one can transcend the realm of suggestion and achieve a brainwashing effect. This is irresistible.

Faced with an inescapable suggestion, people might actually try to fly, yet be unable to believe the fact, fearing the real feeling of flying and fleeing the rooftop.

However, Fujino overcame it with a killing intent even stronger than the hint, the only effect being that her breathing quickened and her blood pressure rose.

"..."

The woman in white felt that her previous suggestion had not been subtle enough, so she applied an even stronger suggestion—

"You're going to fly."

But it's too late.

While it's unknown whether any magicians have studied how fast hints can be made, one thing is obvious to everyone.

The activation speed of "Magic Eye" is the speed of light.

The moment Asagami Fujino's gaze was completely locked onto the enemy, the destruction had already begun.

Her eyes, visible beneath her deep purple bangs, shone brightly.

Her left eye rotated to the left, and her right eye rotated to the right. She fixed the axis between the white-clad woman's head and left foot, and snapped it in one go—

Nothing happened.

The woman in white floated in the night sky against the backdrop of the full moon.

"………………Waaah!"

Asagami Fujino stumbled and fell to her knees.

She dug her fingernails into the cement floor.

If she didn't do that, she might run off and jump off the building to commit suicide in the next second.

"Haha...haha...haha..."

Fujino gasped for breath: The Mystic Eyes didn't activate.

My eyes... "The distorted magic eyes".

Shirou-kun clearly said that this was the strongest Mystic Eye, yet it had no effect on the woman in front of him.

Is it because the enemy is an almost ghostly, non-human being?

That's my nemesis.

The "Distorted Demon Eye" is an eye that transforms the world into a flat plane (paper) and then completely disregards the laws of physics to cause destruction.

However, this time the enemy just so happens to be a ghost—

It's not that the "distorted magic eye" can't destroy ghosts; Asagami Fujino's magical gaze can certainly kill spirits.

However—Asagami Fujino could not comprehend the existence before her.

Humans cannot do things they cannot even imagine.

Fujino's brain can understand "bending a metal spoon," but it cannot understand "twisting a ghostly woman," so naturally it cannot destroy anything.

Although she was very unwilling, this was the difference between her and Shi.

Because I'm a boring girl and don't have a rich imagination.

"..."

Fujino knelt down, lowering her center of gravity as much as possible, while raising her head to stare at the enemy in the sky.

In an instant, a strong impulse surged within the girl's heart again (hint).

"...I can fly, I can fly."

"I've loved the sky since I was a child. I flew yesterday, and I should fly even higher today."

"Flying is free and peaceful, like laughter. I must hurry. Towards where? Towards the sky? Towards freedom?"

"Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go—go!"

"shut up."

Fujino's neat teeth sank into her soft lips.

Amidst endless temptations, she used murmurs—a form of self-suggestion—to dispel the enemy's suggestions.

“I am strong… stronger than you… stronger than Shiki… only I am worthy of Shirou-kun…”

The hesitation and confusion in her crimson eyes disappeared, and the girl successfully "convinced" herself.

"I'll kill you...!"

Asagami Fujino's eyes flashed with an eerie light once more.

This time, the powerful magic even stirred the air above the roof.

"!!"

The woman in white's face changed drastically.

She gathered even greater power, attempting to attack Fujino with her will.

If we could communicate, this is probably what she was shouting.

"Fall!"

"——————————Distort it!!!"

Asagami Fujino shouted at the top of her lungs.

She was under immense pressure from both inside and outside, and her brain was practically boiling.

She fixed her gaze on the woman in white behind her—the coordinates of the axis of rotation had been set.

Then, Asagami Fujino activated her Mystic Eyes—

The sky is distorted.

"——————"

It was a strange landscape, like a canvas being stirred.

The sky spun like a bathtub with the plug pulled, and the woman in white could no longer remain unaffected or maintain her flight. Like a bird caught in a storm, she was swept into the heart of death without any resistance.

The woman in white did not bleed like a human body; instead, her body was constantly twisted, compressed, and folded along with the sky.

She didn't make a sound until her beautiful figure completely disappeared into the darkness.

"This is truly an unexpected solution... Should we say that Fujino stumbled upon it by accident, or is she actually very talented in combat?"

A slightly excited voice came from the other end of the microphone, and Shirou couldn't help but frown.

"Fujino is not your test subject."

At this moment, he was holding the desktop phone in his apartment, talking to Aozaki Touko on the balcony, reporting the results of the battle on the Wujo Building that night.

"Don't be angry, I just wanted to confirm it," Orange said on the other end of the phone.

"How's the investigation I asked you to do?" Shirou asked.

"Hmm, I found it... Her name is Wuzhao Kirie. She is a descendant of an ancient pureblood and seems to be an expert in prayer. It seems that she lives by cursing."

The surname Fujoh might actually be derived from Fujoh (meaning impure).

The conflict between the Miko clan and the Asakami clan can be considered an ancient shrine maiden lineage... It's unbelievable that we're still witnessing a shrine maiden war almost in the 21st century.

The perpetrator of the series of suicides was a descendant of a witch...

Shirou murmured, "So the 'that' that was twisted by Fujino really was..."

Orange said, "That's right, that's not the real sky, it's probably a reflection of the sky in the Wutiao Wuhui painting."

Therefore, only the spacetime there is wrong—the difference in air that Shi feels is the barrier that distinguishes the inside from the outside of the box, a discontinuity that only human consciousness can observe.

Although Fujino couldn't understand it, she also sensed something was wrong... She used her Mystic Eyes to tear apart the scenery of the Witch's Threads.

"..."

Shirou let out a long sigh.

"I'm tied up right now, Fujino will be back soon... I'll leave the cleanup to you. Remember to investigate whether there's anyone else behind Wujou Kirie. I have a bad feeling."

"Oh dear, what a surprise... I thought that with your personality, Shirou, you would definitely find a way to help Kirie Wujou."

Shirou rolled his eyes.

It was because I had the thought of "wanting to help that girl" in front of the Wutiao Building tonight that things turned out this way.

“That’s true…that would be too pitiful for Fujino.” Orange said with a smile.

Shirou said, "Although it wasn't Kirie Wujo's original intention, it's an undeniable fact that seven high school girls committed suicide because of her seduction... I couldn't save that girl."

"How upright, Shirou-kun... Wait, seven? Weren't there eight people who jumped off the building?"

A confused voice came from the other end of the phone. Shirou didn't explain and hung up the phone unilaterally.

The number of ghosts that Shiki and Orange saw was indeed eight.