-1181- [ Witch of the Void ]

"Boom——!"

As the booming sound turned into a shockwave, the Valkyrie's sword sliced through the seal of the prison barrier, causing the entire barrier to ripple like a reflection in water, first being split open and then gradually reverting to its original form amidst the ripples.

However, this transformation made the previously unstable prison barrier increasingly solid, even turning the floating bridge connected to the island into a tangible entity.

At this point, the seal of the prison barrier was broken, returning completely to normal space.

The spatial disturbance dissipated.

What remained was a tangible reality.

"Not good!"

Seeing this, Kojou couldn't help but exclaim, while the Meyer sisters showed signs of joy.

As for Yuuma, there was not a hint of joy on her face.

"Even though the seal of the prison barrier has been broken, the prisoners still haven't appeared."

Tokoyogi Yuuma simply confirmed this fact.

"Indeed, we need to deal with the source."

Tokoyogi Yuuma shifted her gaze, first glancing at Kojou, then towards Rozen's direction.

"If you want to know the truth, come with me, Minamiya Nichiyo."

With that, Tokoyogi Yuuma, accompanied by No. 6 and Avrora, merged into the space and disappeared.

Thanks to this, the Valkyrie in mid-air also disappeared with rainbow-colored ripples, as if retiring after completing her task.

"Wait! Yuuma!"

Kojou finally reacted, shouting in the direction where Tokoyogi Yuuma disappeared.

But all he got was a response from Tokoyogi Yuuma.

"This isn't where you should be, Kojou. Go back, I don't want to hurt you."

Leaving behind these words, Tokoyogi Yuuma disappeared completely.

No. 6 silently followed suit, leaving with the struggling Avrora.

"Damn it!"

Kojou slammed his fist hard on the floating bridge, causing the skin on his fist to crack and blood to seep out.

Beside him, Rozen looked towards the direction of the prison barrier, gazing at the cathedral atop the peak.

Recalling Tokoyogi Yuuma's words and Natsuki's situation, Rozen had already made some guesses in his heart.

"Natsuki-nee..."

Rozen murmured softly, taking a deep breath.

"The seal of the prison barrier has been completely broken, but the prisoners haven't escaped yet. Presumably, there should be mechanisms inside to prevent the prisoners from escaping, right?"

Rozen looked at Kojou and spoke.

"Now that the prison barrier has completely manifested and the space has stabilized, I can use spatial transfer to enter in one go. Are you still coming with me?"

This question naturally elicited only one response.

"Yes, take me with you."

Kojou answered without hesitation.

"Good."

Rozen reached out and placed his hand on Kojou's shoulder.

The next moment, the two of them disappeared together, leaving the area silent once again.

Only the Meyer sisters remained, gritting their teeth as if abandoned completely.

...

Prison barrier, cathedral.

Here, there was no light at all, presenting an entirely black appearance throughout, like a true prison, the interior of the cold and dark cathedral.

The entire hall of the cathedral is empty, without any furniture or decorations, only an expansive hall and a chair placed in the center.

Sitting on the luxurious velvet armchair, there is a young girl, leaning against the armrest, with her eyes closed in a deep slumber.

The girl is both beautiful and young, with a face like a doll and a figure resembling a witch. Sitting motionless in her sleep, she looks like a princess, breathtakingly beautiful.

In this cathedral, which is usually deserted, guests have finally arrived at this moment.

"Buzz!"

"Buzz!"

Amidst the trembling of space, two groups of people arrived here simultaneously.

Then, each side saw the young girl sitting on the luxurious armchair.

"That... that is...!?"

As brought in by Rozen, Kojou couldn't believe his eyes and was astonished.

"How could this be..."

Avrora, who was caught by No. 6, also completely forgot to struggle, staring blankly at the sleeping girl, completely stunned.

"Is this the key to the prison barrier?"

No. 6 silently watched the scene.

"It's indeed here."

Tokoyogi Yuuma breathed out a sigh of relief, with a surreal smile on her face.

As for Rozen...

"..."

Watching the peacefully sleeping girl who looked like a doll, Rozen remained silent, only keeping his gaze fixed on her.

His heart was in turmoil.

Completely in turmoil.

In such a situation...

"To ensure the containment of the most heinous magic criminals, the Artificial Island Management Cooperative entrusted the entire control of the prison barrier to one person."

"Just like I was created to save my mother, the Artificial Island Management Cooperative created a witch to build the prison barrier."

"This witch serves as the guardian, gatekeeper, gateway, and key to the prison barrier."

"The so-called prison barrier is just the name of the magic used to seal the heinous magic criminals, and this witch is the only one who can use this magic."

Tokoyogi Yuuma explained in this way.

Perhaps Kojou couldn't understand, but Rozen had no doubt about this at all.

Because, Rozen was familiar with magic like the prison barrier.

————Reality Marble.

It's a great magic that can materialize the user's mental world.

The prison barrier is a great magic similar to the Reality Marble.

However, it doesn't materialize the user's mental world; instead, it turns the user's dream into reality, becoming a prison.

The prison barrier is nothing more than a dream created by this witch.

All the prisoners are imprisoned in her dream, so they can never escape.

As for this cathedral, this island, they are just shells used to contain the prison barrier.

This cathedral is the castle where she lives, where she has been sleeping since ten years ago, and has never been outside once.

Tokoyogi Yuuma's voice resounded clearly in everyone's ears.

"The one you know outside is just a clone created by her magic. She has been dreaming all along, experiencing the experiences of her clones outside through dreaming."

Therefore, Tokoyogi Yuuma said that no matter how you deal with her outside, it is meaningless.

"Now, we finally see her true self."

Tokoyogi Yuuma bowed respectfully to the sleeping girl sitting on the armchair.

"I'm honored to meet you, the guardian of the prison barrier."

"Witch of the Void."

"Minamiya Natsuki."

Tokoyogi Yuuma called out the girl's name. Rozen watched his sister's peaceful sleeping appearance and finally closed his eyes.