Eiji quickly changed direction, dodging the enormous pincers, shook off the giant lobster, and continued sprinting.
"Where exactly are you trying to run to?"
After being jostled for several minutes, Aoko felt like her insides were churning and couldn't help but shout.
"First, find a safe place, then we'll talk!"
"Then head to the edge of the barrier!"
"You could've said that sooner!"
They ran for a full ten minutes.
During that time, they avoided several gigantic monsters. As they kept sprinting, the number of monsters gradually decreased, and finally, the edge of the barrier came into Eiji's sight.
It was an open space paved with stone bricks.
There were no shops or facilities around, so no fairy-tale monsters appeared. It was eerily quiet, and with the bushes blocking the way, it was relatively safe.
Only then did Eiji let out a sigh of relief and set Aoko down.
Then, pointing at the scene before them, he continued questioning.
"What is this?"
Aoko took a moment to calm the turmoil in her stomach, then couldn't help but curl her lips in disdain.
She had half a mind to run away, but after recalling the wind-like speed from earlier, she decided against it. She answered honestly while glaring at Eiji with resentment.
"It's just the edge of the barrier, isn't it?"
"I know it's the edge of the barrier, but this is just too..."
Eiji stared at the "ocean" before him, frowning deeply.
What lay before them was an ocean.
An ocean made of steel railings.
The reason it could be called an ocean was that it consisted of dozens of layers of railings, swaying left and right like waves. Beyond the ocean was a pitch-black night sky.
Eiji stepped forward and tugged hard on the railing, only managing to make the first layer wobble slightly—it didn't even bend.
Given his current strength, which allowed him to crush steel bare-handed, this defied all logic.
"If you could easily escape from this thing, it wouldn't have such a notorious reputation."
Aoko rubbed her stomach with one hand and her butt with the other, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly.
It was frustrating—just crossing these railings would mean freedom, but the railings were impossible to break through, leaving them stuck.
So Aoko was feeling particularly smug, even wishing she could pop a party popper to celebrate.
Seeing Eiji hit a roadblock made her incredibly happy.
But she couldn't say that out loud—her still-stinging backside was a reminder not to provoke this man.
"Aozaki, do you think I could tame that familiar?"
Eiji rubbed his chin.
For the moment, he wasn't thinking about how to escape. Instead, he approached the problem from an entirely different angle.
His words left Aoko utterly stunned.
"...Huh?"
"Think about it—that familiar is so strong, and its style points are off the charts. It'd suit me perfectly, right?"
Truth be told, Eiji was genuinely tempted.
Just look around—the air was thick with mana, and incredibly dense mana at that.
As a familiar related to the First Magic, the Oil of the Moon could generate infinite mana. If he could tame it, he could activate this fairy-tale barrier before a fight and let it supply him with mana. Wouldn't that be a dream come true?
But was the mana from the Oil of the Moon even compatible with him?
Since he'd never had the chance before, he'd never compared whether his own mana aligned with the mana of this world.
That was another hurdle.
"What the hell are you even thinking?!"
Aoko looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Do you know Familiar Magecraft?"
"Do you have Magic Crests?"
"More importantly, this thing isn't something you can just tame by beating it—and you haven't even beaten it yet!"
To control a familiar, one first had to learn Familiar Magecraft, engrave it onto their body, and then form a contract with the familiar to make it obey.
Moreover, the Oil of the Moon was a particularly special type of familiar.
It wasn't created by Alice Kuonji herself—it was passed down to her by her mother. Rumor had it that its personality was downright nasty, with an unusually high degree of freedom. Sometimes, it wouldn't even listen to Alice.
And since it already had a master, stealing it was impossible—after all, there was a contract between it and Alice.
Unless Eiji killed Alice.
And then convinced the Oil of the Moon to willingly submit.
And on top of that, he'd still need to know Familiar Magecraft.
The last one was simple, but the first two were practically impossible.
In conclusion, Aoko thought Eiji was delusional.
She even wanted to crack open his skull to see what was inside—how could he be thinking about such a suicidal idea in such a tense situation?
Eiji chose to shut up.
Killing Alice and winning over the Oil of the Moon might not be hard for him… but the last requirement stumped him. He genuinely might not even be able to learn Familiar Magecraft.
He only said "might" because he still held onto some unrealistic hope.
Whatever.
For now, he should focus on figuring out how to escape.
"Does this familiar have any weaknesses?"
Seeing Eiji finally start thinking about practical problems, Aoko's gaze returned to that of looking at a normal person.
"If there's one weakness, it's the main body."
Aoko rubbed her still-throbbing butt and reluctantly gave him the answer.
After all, this was common knowledge in the magecraft world—Alice definitely wouldn't blame her for it.
Yeah, that's right, absolutely!
"If you can find its main body and defeat it, the barrier will disappear."
"Wait, it's that simple?"
Eiji was shocked.
"What do you mean 'that simple'?!"
Aoko's temper flared again. She pointed at the chaotic amusement park in the distance.
"Its main body is hiding somewhere in this huge barrier—it's not easy to find at all!"
By now, the barrier was fully formed. The entire amusement park's space had expanded to the size of Kinoko Town.
And the Oil of the Moon's main body could freely change forms, shrinking down to the size of a palm. Who could possibly find it that easily?
"Assuming we find it, what then? Does it have any special defensive abilities?"
"No idea… but you'll have to get past that horde of monsters first."
Aoko shook her head, then tilted her chin toward the distance.
The amusement park had now completely transformed into a demonic realm.
Not only were there countless bread-men filling every corner, but all sorts of dolls had also come to life, baring their fangs and claws as they radiated malice.
They were all things abandoned or discarded by humans. The Oil of the Moon had turned them into fairy-tale monsters driven by resentment, and with their deep hatred for humans, they would kill anyone they saw.
But these were just the appetizers.
Look at the sky in the distance—
A pirate ship covered in spikes swung back and forth.
A massive pumpkin head floated in the air.
An over-18-meter-long lobster waved its enormous pincers.
An 80-meter-tall Ferris wheel rolled around the park like a unicycle, crushing buildings in its path.
And even—
A nearly 100-meter-long Chinese dragon coiled through the sky, its slender body exuding a terrifying pressure that surpassed all the other monsters.
This is just fucking ridiculous!
***
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