-734- Make you regret

"Swish...!"

In the pitch-black moonlit night, a automaton dressed as a butler moved like a streak of silver, cutting through the air as he moved through the forest.

Alice stood on the back of Shin, who was racing forward at incredible speed. Her beautiful face, usually filled with joy and cheerfulness, now showed a sense of dissatisfaction.

"It's turned out like this, huh?"

Alice muttered in frustration.

This wasn't about how well she could accept failure. In fact, if it were only about failing, Alice wouldn't have cared at all. As long as the process was enjoyable, she would be content, even if the result was her self-destruction and a bleak future ahead.

This was the essence of Alice Bernstein, someone who brought misfortune to others and herself.

But there were still some things even she couldn't accept.

"You want to dispel the magic on me?"

The thought of what this would mean for her, how it would expose her, made Alice look less than her usual charming self.

However...

"Right now is not the time to think about this."

Alice took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

"Miss."

Shin allowed Alice to stand on his back as he activated the magic circuit of "Fragarach." This kept the molecular motion of his body moving forward while resisting gravity and inertia, allowing them to freely fly through the air at high speed.

"Toward the main gate, Shin."

Alice commanded Shin without hesitation.

The academy was no longer safe, and even England itself had become inhospitable. Before they attracted too much attention, they had to leave.

Alice had considered using her own magic to disguise herself as someone else and hide within the academy temporarily. However, since Rozen had already seen through the disguises on her body, he might have a way to unveil her deception.

So, Alice didn't want to take any chances and decided to make a quick escape from the academy.

As long as they left the academy, it wouldn't be easy for anyone to catch her with her abilities.

Of course...

"The prerequisite is that you get out of the academy first."

Alice suddenly turned her head as if she had eyes on her back.

"Bang!"

Almost simultaneously, with the sound of a gunshot, a bullet came flying, grazing Alice's cheek and landing in the air.

Alice turned to look behind her.

Below, in the forest, a group of guards was chasing them.

Some were armed with rifles, while others controlled automatons directly.

Unlike the student-led Disciplinary Committee, the guards within the academy were all equipped with weapons and equipment. They had standardized automatons for use, as well as things like rifles and even cannons. They even had vehicles. So it was not surprising that the guards could catch up to Alice before the Disciplinary Committee.

"There she is!"

"Capture her!"

One by one, the guards either stopped to shoot or sent out their automatons.

In the hail of bullets, shadows came flying from behind, catching up to Alice like lightning.

These were small automatons resembling toy soldiers with helmets, each the size of a child, composed entirely of inorganic mechanical parts.

They were mass-produced guard automatons of the Royal Walpurgis Academy for Machinart——"Home Guardians."

Some of the Home Guardians were armed with rifles and were shooting, while others moved agilely like monkeys, emitting flashes of bluish-white sparks.

Those were the beams of high voltage generated by the automatons. Once they hit their target, not only humans, but even automatons would lose their ability to resist on the spot. It was magic designed to suppress enemies.

So, standing on Shin's back, Alice was being shot at by countless bullets and was also being targeted by high-voltage discharges.

"Shin!"

Faced with this intense gunfire and a massive threat, Alice acted as if she didn't care about the guards, and she spoke to her butler below.

Following Alice's instructions, Shin disappeared abruptly like a mirage, causing all the attacks to land in empty space.

"They... vanished...!?"

The guards were instantly astonished.

Perhaps these guards had received information beforehand, knowing that Shin was a Maschinensoldat soldier with the magic circuit "Fragarach." That's why they were so surprised, right?

After all, under the effect of "Fragarach," Shin could exhibit astonishing speed comparable to disappearing, but he wouldn't actually disappear.

But now, Shin had truly disappeared.

No, to say he disappeared would be inaccurate.

Shin was merely concealed by another magic that Alice had been continuously using – the magic of illusions and hallucinations.

"Swoosh!"

The next moment, Shin's figure appeared behind one of the pursuing Home Guardians.

"Thud!"

With a swift kick, Shin decisively crushed the Home Guardian, turning it into mechanical fragments that scattered on the ground.

Following that, Shin disappeared again.

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Shin's figure reappeared behind one Home Guardian after another, relentlessly kicking and shattering them. He even charged into the midst of the guard squad, wreaking havoc.

In an instant, the guards' roars, shouts, screams, and painful cries resounded continuously.

Before long, a group of guards had all fallen to the ground, and only Shin continued to fly overhead. Alice appeared behind him once again, as if teleporting, standing on his back, and they continued toward the main gate.

Alice demonstrated her astonishing power in this way.

Although Shin was an MK4 Maschinensoldat, compared to the members of the "Kreuzrittern," Alice had pushed Shin's performance to the limit. She could effortlessly switch between the directions of molecular motion for movement, stillness, and acceleration, enabling Shin to display formidable attack, defense, and speed. She could even switch between "Fragarach" and the magic she was using, allowing her to overwhelm the guard squad single-handedly.

Facing an Alice like this, Rozen might not be a match, right?

In other words...

"You are clearly the strongest in the 'Kreuzrittern,' yet you cunningly push Rosenberg out to act as the visible commander. It's quite sly, but it suits your style."

A voice conveyed this to Alice.

"Namu Hachiman Daibosatsu."

The leisurely incantation resounded beneath the moonlight.

"Clap!"

As the sound of the clap echoed, a terrifying impact, as if breaking through the constraints of space, hit Shin like an invisible sledgehammer.

"Thud!"

The impact exploded on Shin, causing both the master and servant, who were flying through the air, to be thrown and tumble into the dimly lit forest.

"Miss...!"

Shin immediately stabilized his posture, searching for his master's figure, his voice filled with anxiety.

"Ugh..."

Alice, on the other hand, struggled to stand upright after tumbling.

In front of her, a figure descended slowly from mid-air.

"As you said."

Rozen's voice carried a mocking tone.

"I've come to make you regret."