In Ciel's room.
After tucking the last black key into her cloak and slinging the Seventh Holy Scripture, housed in its case, over her shoulder, Ciel walked to the window and looked outside.
A black forest that seemed to swallow everything—she had seen similar sights many times over the past few years. Though their forms differed, the offspring of the Forest of Einnashe were also forests.
Of course, she didn't think this time would be as easy as facing the Forest's offspring in the past. She had memorized all the records about the Forest of Einnashe itself over the years. There was no question about how formidable this opponent was.
Perhaps the moment she left the train, she'd be attacked from all directions. The nature of this forest was akin to a Reality Marble, a separate world. Fighting within it was like battling the world itself.
No, she might not even need to leave. Soon, the train itself could become a target. Once the train was destroyed, the passengers inside would be devoured one by one, becoming nutrients for its growth, transformed into its blood.
"Huuuh… Either way, this is my final battle."
Taking a deep breath, Ciel left her room.
The train felt eerily quiet. She recalled that just one or two minutes ago, the noise from the train had reached her room. The Magi, panicking over the sudden appearance of the Forest of Einnashe, were now silent.
"Have they all hidden in their rooms?"
Normally, to protect themselves, Magi would set up barriers in their rooms. But now, inside the Forest of Einnashe, natural Mana was completely unusable, making it impossible to create barriers.
In truth, the Magi hiding in their rooms were merely escaping reality. It would be better if they gathered in one place. With several Magi, constructing a barrier, even with difficulty, wasn't impossible.
After all, once the Forest of Einnashe appeared, it would vanish on its own after some time. They just needed to desperately maintain a barrier until then. But seeing the situation, Ciel was certain these Magi would ultimately be devoured one by one by the Forest of Einnashe.
Honestly, Ciel didn't care about the Magi's fates. She was in her own predicament and had no time to worry about others.
As Ciel headed toward the train's door to leave, a figure she had expected stood by the door.
Ciel sighed resignedly. "I thought I told you this is my own matter, Naoki."
"Yeah, you did." Naoki said with a smile. "But this situation doesn't allow me to just stand by, does it? If it were just the offspring of the Forest of Einnashe, I might've watched. But the Fifteenth Ancestor isn't something I can just observe. There's someone on this train I need to protect."
"So, don't think I'm here to help you. If anything, you're just incidental."
"Incidental…"
Seeing the nonchalant expression on Naoki's face, Ciel gave a bitter smile, unable to hold back. "So I'm just incidental… Fine, if you say so, I'll take it as that. But let me warn you, it's extremely dangerous out there for a Magus like you. Don't expect me to save you."
"You don't need to worry about that. I can't really be considered a Magus anymore."
*BAM!*
After speaking, Naoki turned and kicked the closed train door open. He jumped off the train first.
(Still the same, always taking the unconventional route.)
Ciel recalled how Naoki used to enjoy parkour on rooftops. She hadn't expected that, after all these years, it had evolved into kicking doors down. When it could've been resolved by simply contacting the train staff.
Even so, Ciel followed and jumped off.
As both of them leapt from the train and their feet touched the forest ground—
*SWISH!*
Countless tree branches suddenly emerged from the dark red forest. Like a swarm of dancing pythons, they surged toward Naoki and Ciel from all directions. In an instant, they enveloped the entire train along with the two of them!
Then, a massive net of thick branches pressed down!
Ciel quickly drew a black key from her cloak, but before she could throw it to create space to dodge, Naoki moved first. His right foot stomped heavily—
*BANG!*
Centered on Naoki, a storm erupted instantly. The raging wind expanded like an inflating balloon. The massive net of thick branches, upon contact, was shredded into countless fragments.
This wasn't Magecraft.
Ciel sensed no Mana. The storm Naoki caused was clearly not Magecraft. If it wasn't Magecraft, then what was it?
"Naoki, you…"
"Didn't I tell you? I can't really be considered a Magus anymore. Though I do use Magecraft, and I could in this situation, this is simpler than going through the hassle of mobilizing Mana."
As he spoke, Naoki glanced at the vampire tree branches coming again. The storm around him surged outward, and countless invisible blades sliced the branches cleanly once more.
Imaginary Manifestation—no process required, directly turning Naoki's imagination into reality.
If there were too many branches, they naturally needed pruning. Thus, wind was the first thing he imagined. After creating a storm zone, it became Naoki's domain.
He often used wind Fairies.
Standing beside him and witnessing this, Ciel quietly stowed her black key. "Alright, it seems you really don't need my help. In that case, you stay here and protect the train. I'll take down the Forest of Einnashe. If its core is destroyed, it should be defeated."
"No, I'll go with you. This can be left to someone else."
"Left to someone else?"
"Yeah… Actually, before this, to prepare for a situation where Magecraft couldn't be used after the Forest of Einnashe appeared, I sacrificed a little something and created a protective device that can last at least two days. This can be entrusted to it."
*BZZZZZZZZZ!*
As if responding to Naoki's words, a faint golden, transparent barrier gradually enveloped the entire Mystic Eye Collection Train, like a layer of gold. The light it emitted even gave the sensation of basking in sunlight.
"A barrier… and it simulates sunlight, which Dead Apostles hate. This could indeed counter the Forest of Einnashe to some extent."
"So we don't need to worry about this anymore. Come on, the core is in that direction." Naoki pointed toward where he sensed the core. "Let's deal with this troublesome thing quickly."
(I'm leaving it to you until I return, Rei.)
(Yes, have a safe journey, Master.)