Fate: How About a New Savior?

"I lost in the end, huh."

Touko, slung lazily over Shiomi's back, sighed.

She was filthy too, but definitely in better shape than Atrum, who was left to await death. She looked more like someone who had just rolled around in the mud on a rainy day.

"If I'd let you win, I might as well crawl back to my old master now," Shiomi muttered. "Besides, your outfit was way too bare. You didn't bring anything at all."

As expected, their match had ended in Touko's defeat.

Since their duel was meant to be a Rune Magecraft contest from the start, Touko hadn't brought any familiars or Mystic Codes. The only familiar that might've helped wouldn't appear unless Touko "died."

Of course, she knew full well that the creature sealed in her box couldn't do anything against Shiomi.

"Bringing it would've made no difference." Touko pushed her glasses up. "Still, experiencing it firsthand wasn't enough to grasp the essence of the Primordial Runes."

Shiomi pursed his lips and stated plainly, "We both base our Magecraft on Runes, but we're not using the same foundation."

Magecraft functions by channeling Mana through a Thaumaturgical Foundation to trigger supernatural phenomena.

In theory, a foundation can even be improvised on the spot. But in such cases, the performance would be affected by a range of variable factors.

Using her genius, Touko reconstructed the decaying Rune system and sold it to the Clock Tower.

These days, Rune Magecraft is so widespread there that most Magi can perform at least the basic techniques.

But Shiomi was different. The foundation he used for his Rune Magecraft was tied to a far older mystery.

"If I'm right, it's the foundation first discovered by Odin himself," Touko said, her innate talent and sharp instincts letting her see its true nature clearly. "I can't believe you actually got your hands on something like that."

"Wouldn't go that far," Shiomi replied vaguely.

He trudged forward through the forest, uneven terrain underfoot. The Twin Towers was still out of sight—there was more walking to do.

"I should've brought you along when I went back to Misaki," Touko said, resting on his shoulder and speaking idly by his ear.

She had fought with everything she had. So had Shiomi. But the gap in their foundations ensured Touko's defeat.

If he hadn't held back, her body would've ended up just like Atrum's.

"We didn't even know each other back then," Shiomi said, exasperated. "Besides, going up against a Magician who inherited the Fifth Magic? Win or lose, it wouldn't have ended well for me."

If he lost, who knew what kind of curse Aoko Aozaki might've thrown his way. Touko had already been hit with one: return to Misaki City and she'd turn into a frog.

And if he won... that would be an even bigger problem.

A Magus defeating a Magician would shake the entire magical world—and draw the attention of the other still-living Magicians.

That was a risk with no reward.

Shiomi just wanted to quietly continue his deep dive into what his master had passed down to him.

Even now, he hadn't fully grasped the power of the eighteen Primordial Runes discovered by Odin. Every time he came up with a new idea, the system would naturally unfold further, as if it had no end.

As for the true power of the final Primordial Rune... Shiomi still had no idea.

"You actually thought you could win."

Touko smiled—not mocking Shiomi's reaction, just amused.

"So, what did that mysterious girl promise you? What made you jump in at a time like this?" Shiomi asked.

"The foundation of the Primordial Runes," Touko replied bluntly.

Whether it was true or not didn't matter. The girl had told her to challenge Shiomi, and either way, she had nothing to lose.

Normally, Shiomi would never agree to a fight with Touko—not even a friendly one—unless forced by circumstance.

Apparently, that nameless girl had given him just the kind of push he couldn't ignore.

"Seriously... you're the textbook definition of a Magus," Shiomi said, exasperated. "So obsessed it's almost impressive."

"At its core, Magecraft is obsession. It's about turning yourself into a cog in the machinery of mystery," Touko said matter-of-factly. "Still, if any of my old classmates saw me now, they'd say I've completely lost my way."

"They're all dead. If they could see you, that'd be a whole different problem," Shiomi muttered.

He kept walking, then came to a sudden stop.

"There are actually two others who share the same Rune foundation as me," Shiomi said.

"Let me guess—your two daughters?" Touko didn't seem the least bit surprised.

Shiomi said, "The one who taught me the Primordial Runes didn't set any conditions. It was like she handed them to me and said, 'Do whatever you want with these.'"

"...Don't tell me you're thinking of giving me that foundation," Touko said, feeling that she was already pretty free-spirited—but Shiomi clearly took it to another level.

"If you don't want it, forget it," Shiomi said as he started walking again. "It was just a whim."

"That's kind of a heavy gift to accept on the spot. Let me think it over." For once, Touko wasn't entirely composed.

Somewhere in the lineage of Magi, something buried deep—a reaction to touching the core of mystery—had begun to stir inside her. Excitement. Anticipation.

"Whatever. Your call," Shiomi said without concern. "That reminds me—what was Atrum Galliasta trying to steal from Iselma? I forgot to ask. Feels weird to go back now just to check."

"Oh." Touko's voice took on a note of dry surprise. "So you didn't even know why he came after you—you just killed him."

"Lady Inorai didn't tell me not to, so I figured it was fine," Shiomi said with a chuckle.

Touko nodded in agreement, then explained, "Galliasta was after a bloodstained bodhi leaf that Iselma recently picked up at an auction."

"A bodhi leaf? Bloodstained... wait—don't tell me. The one that blocked Siegfried's back when he bathed in dragon blood?"

"Exactly," Touko confirmed.

"How do you even know that? Iselma never made it public, right?"

"Because that was my reward," Touko continued. "I came to Iselma for a social event, but I was actually working a commission for them."

It was definitely a significant deal—something that should have been kept under wraps.

But compared to what Shiomi had offered her on a whim, Touko figured telling him this much was no big deal.

...

(90 Chapters Ahead)

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