Fate: How About a New Savior?

In the end, these Automata were still just antiques—older, and shrouded in deeper mystery.

Their combat capabilities were indeed excellent, whether serving as guardians of the forest or as frontline attackers.

That is, if they hadn't picked the wrong opponents.

With Shiomi and Touko working together, they managed to tear open a breach in the encirclement of over a dozen Automata.

The magic bullets fired at point-blank range by Aozaki Touko's Mystic Code, "Crystal Mayfly," destroyed several of the machines outright.

The first Automata had been an automated defense unit embedded in the barrier of the Iselma Forest.

The rest were left behind by that mysterious, elusive girl of unknown origin.

Whatever her motives, Shiomi had no reason to hold back.

He darted through the forest, slashing with the Erosion—severing necks, cleaving off heads, or driving the blade straight into the mana cores in their chests.

The Automata that hadn't been destroyed by the magic bombardment were quickly reduced to just a few.

These remaining units also possessed battlefield assessment functions. Realizing the tide had turned, they rapidly retreated into the depths of the fog-veiled forest.

Shiomi's instincts screamed that he couldn't let them go.

Especially when the first unit had already been indistinguishable from those the girl had left behind—even he couldn't tell them apart.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward and gave chase deeper into the woods.

Touko, who had just finished stowing away her Mystic Code, was momentarily stunned but quickly followed.

Whether it was due to the so-called "surveillance" or simply because they were old friends, she couldn't bring herself to abandon Shiomi at a moment like this.

Shiomi hadn't gotten far.

By tracing his magical energy, Touko soon found him in a clearing nestled within the forest.

Among the dense, verdant woods, this spot stood out—an unmistakably special space.

Judging by the spring bubbling up from the earth, this had to be the spiritual wellspring of the Iselma family's sacred land.

In Western traditions, springs that gushed forth from the ground had long been regarded as divine miracles—signs of sainthood.

"We've been played," Shiomi muttered, arms hanging at his sides, addressing Touko as she approached from behind.

"Tenkei?" Touko was surprised by the tone in his voice.

But she already had a rough idea.

At some point when she wasn't looking, Shiomi had clearly attracted the attention of someone—or something—that defied Magus logic.

Back in the darkness, when she and Shiomi had been separated, she too had spoken with that mysterious girl.

And her instincts, honed over years of experience, told her the girl was no ordinary existence.

Shiomi slowly turned around and let out a scornful laugh.

Touko's gaze dropped.

She saw the golden dagger in his hand.

Its blade was stained with fresh crimson.

A heavy metallic scent lingered in the mist—the unmistakable scent of blood.

Human blood.

A dagger, of course, was a tool for killing, and it wasn't strange for one to be bloodstained.

But their opponents had just been Automata—purely mechanical constructs. Even when shattered by magic, they never bled.

Her eyes shifted to the other figure floating in the spring.

Was this another of the "gifts" the nameless girl had left behind?

That's what Touko was thinking.

That's what Shiomi was thinking too.

The more pressing question now—how were they supposed to face Iselma?

Floating in the spring was a woman.

She was the mirror image—or perhaps the other half—of the corpse they had found that morning: the Princess of Gold.

The Princess of Silver.

"This really is..." Even with her colder persona, Touko couldn't help but give a troubled smile.

She slowly put on her glasses.

Unlike the Princess of Gold, who had been dismembered, the Princess of Silver's body was almost entirely intact. She lay still with her eyes closed, as if simply bathing in the spring.

But the water around her had long been stained deep red.

The blood soaking the once-clear spring came from a slender, precise wound just below her neck—a single strike that ended her life, sending her to the same place as her sister.

"Could it be... from the very beginning..." Touko began to analyze the situation.

But time gave them no room to reflect.

"Ah, please wait. Don't move, Shiomi-kun, Touko."

A voice called out from behind them—Inorai.

The elderly woman in a green formal gown stood at the edge of the leafy forest, looking straight at the two of them.

"I didn't expect to run into you at the scene of the crime. Or should I say... am I catching you in the act?" Her tone wasn't casual—it carried the weight of severity.

Shiomi didn't move.

"This is Valualeta's domain. You already knew when Touko and I were sealed inside this barrier, didn't you, Lady Inorai?"

"Indeed. I didn't restrict your movements, and since this forest is veiled in a barrier, I simply came to see what you two were up to," Inorai replied directly. "But judging by what's in front of me... your actions might have been a little too much."

Touko adjusted her glasses, ready to explain.

"Wait, teacher. We were just—"

"Don't bother, Touko," Shiomi said in a low voice. "Look around. Where's the wreckage of the Automata?"

That shut Touko up—she was genuinely stunned.

Earlier, on her way here, she had clearly seen the scattered remains of Automata nearby.

But now, there was nothing. Not a trace.

It was as if the nameless girl had never been here at all—and Inorai had no idea she ever had.

"A dagger through the throat. Quick and clean. Not really a Magus's style, but definitely something a Sealing Designation executor would do," Inorai said as she slowly stepped forward, looking at the Princess of Silver lying in the spring.

"So, this is what you call being caught red-handed?" Shiomi raised his hand—the golden dagger was still in his grip, stained with blood.

Whether it was the Princess of Silver's blood or not was something any Magus could easily determine.

"No, that's exactly why I have to question it," Inorai said, her expression like ice. "If the Princess of Gold's death was still within the bounds of suspicion, then here—with the Princess of Silver dead, and you standing at the scene holding the murder weapon..."

She gave a faint smile, but it carried no warmth.

"And all this while my own student was shadowing you."

Not to mention—this was a forest enclosed by a barrier, where every action was being monitored.

A scene this sloppily staged, this blatant, only made Inorai's suspicion pivot in the opposite direction.

"So... the truth's starting to show itself?" Touko took out a fresh cigarette, lit it, and inhaled deeply.

Inorai nodded at her thought.

"That's right. At this point, there's no doubt—someone is trying to remove Shiomi from Valualeta, to weaken them from within."