Aozaki Aoko Case File

To win Wryneck's respect, Aoko didn't use overwhelming ranged attacks, but rather, after buffing herself with transformation magic, fought him in close combat.

Hinako acted as referee, standing on a distant rock and watching the fight. Wryneck trusted Hinako completely and didn't think she'd be biased just because she knew Aoko. That's the prestige Hinako had built in the Fang Clan.

Wryneck took off his suit, revealing his black-and-white fur. To Aoko, he looked less wild and more… elegant—a powerful beast with intellect.

The battle began with Wryneck attacking first. Despite his appearance, his fighting style was, in some ways, more mage-like. He raised an arm, conjured a high-density purple magic orb, and fired a purple magic ray.

But as the most skilled magic bullet user in the Nasuverse, Aoko easily handled this. With her enhanced speed, she tuned the magic in her right arm to resonate with the ray, deflecting it with a punch.

Wryneck was shocked; he'd sensed Aoko's vast reserves of magic, but as the Archduke of Exhaust Heat, he wasn't going down that easily. He vanished and reappeared behind Aoko, claws charged with destructive power, slashing at her.

But Aoko, with superhuman reflexes thanks to her spells, dodged and countered with a fast, dense magic bullet at Wryneck's head. He barely dodged, but one of his carefully braided locks was burnt to ash, making him sweat.

Realizing ranged attacks wouldn't work, the two engaged in high-speed melee. To a normal human, it would seem like two shadows flickering everywhere, with loud clashes—the sound of Aoko's magic bullets meeting Wryneck's body.

To Hinako, their fighting styles were strikingly similar: endless magic, extreme speed, and mastery of both melee and ranged combat.

But this was just Aoko putting on a show—she deliberately fought in Wryneck's preferred style to win his absolute respect.

As their battle grew fiercer, even the surrounding mountains were shattered. Hinako, as referee, had to keep moving to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Hinako even felt that Wryneckk hadn't gone all-out when fighting her before—the destruction now was on a whole other level…

The truth was, Wryneck, realizing Hinako's immortality, fought to conserve energy. He could replenish magic endlessly via his Lungs of the Planet, but his stamina was limited.

As the fight hit its climax, Wryneck realized something was wrong: this human woman's magic and stamina seemed bottomless. After such intense combat, she wasn't tired at all. Deciding to try a killer move, he readied his next attack.

Wryneck's eyes flashed red and, after a howl, his speed shot up again—even Aoko struggled to keep up. Suddenly, two Wryneck appeared on either side of Aoko, slashing at once and forcing her to defend with both arms.

Aoko could brawl with Wryneck thanks to her layers of magical defenses, but this attack was like a physical version of her own magic bullets, breaking through several layers of her spells.

Just as she boosted her magic to match his speed, Wryneck appeared above her, holding a massive, dense spiral sphere for a finishing blow.

In that instant, Aoko's pupils contracted. She subtly cheated by stretching her time axis with the Fifth Magic, giving herself ample time to react.

She had many ways to counter this move—the simplest was to enter her Redshift state and dodge entirely, but that wouldn't win Reineck's respect.

If she wanted to take the hit, normal defenses wouldn't be enough. So—

As the spiral sphere closed in, Aoko pulled out a spellbook, rapidly flipped to a specific scroll, and activated it with a series of hand signs at near time-stop speed—a cheat only possible with the Fifth Magic.

"Force Wall!"

A translucent force wall appeared in the attack's path. What normally required a full casting round was now instant, colliding with Wryneck's spiral sphere in a massive explosion.

When the smoke cleared, Aoko stood unharmed, one hand on her hip, the other holding a strange book.

"I lost," Wryneck said, lying on the ground. "I didn't expect a human this strong… Seems the rumors are true."

"Not going to keep trying?" Aoko winked. "You could keep fighting, right?"

"No point," Wryneck wiped blood from his mouth, stood up, and brushed dust off his fur. "You, your magic and stamina are endless, aren't they?"

"Ha ha…" Aoko scratched her cheek awkwardly. "Truth is, the injuries you just got were from your own move's explosion."

"I know, but the fact my attacks can't break your defense is enough," Wryneck admitted. "Normal magic can't break that barrier, right?"

"Right," Aoko agreed. "Force Wall only breaks with force damage. Unless you have divinity, it won't work."

"I acknowledge you," Wryneck said, extending his furry paw. "I'll join your team. Tell me everything."

"Welcome aboard," Aoko shook his hand. "There's a lot I need your help with—me, and others, too."

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