Saikai Academy...
We have deep ties to this place, don't we, Natsuki?
Which makes it the ideal place to serve as the foundation for my own world.
Congratulations on your return from the prison barrier.
Are you from the Library?
We are two librarians of Squad 3, the Socials.
I see. Good for you.
But I have no business with you two.
There are still things I must do in this demon district.
You can't mean you intend to continue what you started ten years ago?
What if I do?
I mean no disrespect, but if you do not accompany us...
We have orders to eliminate you and collect the Dark Oath Grimoire.
The grimoire taken from the Library's top security vault ten years ago.
You waste your time.
The Dark Oath Grimoire is already eating you both away.
Paper returns to paper, and darkness to darkness...
All in accordance with my contract.
Tokoyogi Aya, have you already...
Farewell, librarians.
He should have really died.
You're right. He went a little too far this time.
How could you get dizzy and collapse from simple hunger?!
I couldn't help it!
I didn't know Yuuma hadn't eaten anything while she was using my body!
But...
I'm sorry I worried you.
I apologize. And...
Himeragi, why are you in a nurse uniform?
B-Because... your mother...
I mean, Mimori-san said I had to change before entering her lab.
And I had just come back from there...
D-Does it look strange?
No, I think it suits you.
Too well, actually.
Anyway, how's Yuuma?
Her wounds have been treated.
It seems her life is in no immediate danger...
But we shouldn't expect any further recovery.
Even MAR's facilities weren't enough?
A witch's contract is a highly complex type of magic that
modern science can't analyze.
There's a complete lack of clinical data on it.
The only hope to save Yuuma-san now
is to rely on a powerful witch with strength equal to Tokoyogi Aya's.
That's what Mimori-san said.
Like Natsuki-chan, huh?
But Minamiya Natsuki is missing, isn't she?
Not only that, she's lost her magic power,
and the escaped inmates are after her.
We'll just have to look for her.
We have to find her before they do.
Look for her? How?
The town's full of people attending the Halloween Festa.
Could we enlist the help of the Island Guard?
I'm sure they're aware that the prison barrier has been broken,
but I think they're shorthanded right now.
It'd help if we could at least use the Island Guard's information network.
Asagi might be able to access it.
Just what is she?
What is she?
Just a student working there part-time, I think...
Aiba-senpai?!
I thought I just saw someone who looked like Aiba-senpai on the TV!
There she is again!
What is she doing?
Senpai, doesn't that girl look like...
Natsuki-chan?
Tokoyogi Aya said that the grimoire
stole the time Minamiya-sensei had experienced.
So that means...
Natsuki-chan's body itself reverted to a younger age?
Hello? Kojou?
Asagi, you're with a little girl right now, aren't you?
Huh?
How did you know?
We just saw you on TV.
Anyway, who is that girl? Do you know her?
She was lost.
I don't know why, but she's attached to me.
Lost? What's her name?
She says she doesn't remember.
Is she someone you know, Kojou?
You know, she looks a lot like Natsuki-chan.
Mama!
I'll be taking the witch of the void.
Wh-What?
Um, sir, do you know this girl?
Move. Don't get in my way.
Asagi, what's going on?
Well, this weird old guy is trying to pick a fight...
A spirit summoner?!
Sana-chan, run!
Asagi, what happened?! Asagi!
Damn!
This is seriously not funny!
Mogwai!
I hear you, little miss.
You getting all this?
I know all about it.
That's Kiliga Gilika.
He's a monster from the guerrilla force who implanted a
fire spirit in his own body to kill enemies more effectively.
Six years ago, he was arrested for attempted terrorism on Itogami Island,
and he was sent to the prison barrier.
The prison barrier? Isn't that an urban legend?
Mogwai, calculate our route!
We're heading from the underground utility conduit to entrance E of the Keystone Gate!
Give me control of the bulkhead!
Entrance E? You got it.
Turn right at the next corner!
No good! I can't get through!
Damn! Why is Asagi with Natsuki-chan, anyway?!
It may be because Aiba-senpai was in the Keystone Gate.
The Keystone Gate?
Yes. Before Minamiya-sensei's magic power was completely stolen,
she escaped by teleporting, right?
If so, then as far as I can guess,
she'd choose the safest place to escape to.
I get it!
Because the Island Guard's headquarters is in the Keystone Gate!
Yes, but before she reached the Island Guard station, she must have...
turned into a child and lost her memory.
And she met Asagi in that state?
Minamiya-senpai must have instinctively determined Aiba-senpai to be safe.
Maybe that caused something similar to the imprinting seen in baby chicks.
The thing where you believe the first thing you see is your mother?
I hope he'll give up now...
Mama...
Don't worry. I promise I'll protect you.
What's wrong, little girl? Had enough?
All according to plan!
I reversed the flow of the drainage channel.
"Go ahead and get washed away,"
is what I'd like to say,
but I'm sure it won't be that easy.
You've done it now, little girl.
I haven't hunted prey this lively in a long time.
Incinerating you will be well worth it.
Sorry, but I don't have enough respect for my elders
to play into the demands of a senile old man.
Mogwai!
Yeah, looks like we made it in time.
Go for it!
Accept.
This is entrance E of the Keystone Gate.
The Island Guard's main force is on constant standby here.
It's an emergency deployment route.
No!
Execute Rhododactylos.
You're... devouring my spirit energy?!
Affirmative.
Miss Aiba, are you hurt?
I'm okay. Thanks, Astarte-san.
But what are you doing here?
I am conducting a search for the instructor.
A search? You mean Natsuki-chan is missing?
Affirmative. However,
that girl's biological characteristics bear a high rate
of conformity with those of the instructor.
May I request an explanation?
Explanation? I wouldn't know...
Then shall I tell you?
That girl doesn't just look similar. She is Minamiya Natsuki.
A little curse just made her smaller.
The Dark Oath Grimoire...
You were an escaped inmate from the prison barrier, correct?
I believe you were called Meiga.
I'm only a failed attack mage.
I'm not worthy of giving my name.
By the way, what happened to your handcuffs,
Tokoyogi Aya?
What do you mean?
If you stole Minamiya Natsuki's memory,
it should include the key to the prison barrier,
the decode program, as well.
You didn't tell the other inmates that you had acquired
the key to the prison barrier.
Because of that, they're all out looking for Minamiya Natsuki.
What of it?
Did you come to take a share of the decode program?
No. I only wanted to see with my own eyes
what you were attempting to do while the rest of us escaped inmates
were distracted by Minamiya Natsuki.
Damn it! Out of gas?!
The monorail isn't running, either.
It's bad enough that traffic is backed up because of the parade...
Senpai, there!
A bike?
We'll apologize to the owner.
You go on ahead!
Hurry, Senpai! We'll follow as soon as we can!
Thanks, Himeragi! I owe you one!
Who are you?
Does the name Gigliola Ghirardi ring a bell?
The diva of Cuartas Theater?
I'm so happy to see there's someone who still remembers me!
Why are you on Itogami Island?
I went a little overboard at the demon internment camp in Hispania,
and ended up in the prison barrier.
So I have no grudge against the demon district.
If you give that girl to me without resisting,
I'll let the rest of you go.
You really expect me to agree to that?
Agreed. Please retreat, Miss Aiba.
A homunculus sharing a body with a Familiar...
That's a demon district for you.
What an unusual doll you have.
But what do you think of this?
Why?
I recommend escape, Miss Aiba.
They are under attack by a Familiar.
Attack?!
This looks bad, little miss.
The power of Gigliola Ghirardi's Familiar, Rosa Zombiemaker,
is mind control!
I will stall them.
Please leave here quickly.
Sana-chan...
I won't let you escape.
Go, Aguijón!
Sorry, Sana-chan!
Don't worry, Mama.
The tragic diva and the heroic maiden?
I like it.
An appropriate performance for the night of a fiesta.
Dimitrie Vatler!
It's an honor to meet you, Gigliola Ghirardi...
Tribe princess who carries the blood of the Chaos Bride.
A lord of the Warlord's Domain is going to stand in my way?
I, a diplomatic envoy to the demon district as outlined by the sacred treaty,
will remove all criminals from a humanitarian perspective.
Makes for a rather nice plot, don't you think?
Are you saying you aim to hunt down all the escaped
inmates of the prison barrier?
But do you think you can defeat me?
Sagara!
Finished already?
If the strength of the Third Progenitor's
tribe amounts to no more than this,
it's quite a letdown.
Don't worry.
I won't give you the time to feel disappointed!
I see.
Looks like humans aren't the only ones you can manipulate.
I'll show you, snake charmer! Aguijón!
Nice! Very nice!
That's why you're the tragic diva!
Aguijón!
It's been a long time since I met someone who forced me
to summon this, Gigliola!
Someone, help! Stop him!
Vatler!
Kojou!
Hey, Kojou.
Don't just greet me like nothing's happening!
You're going too far!
The prison barrier system is running?
I got to see something very interesting thanks to you, Kojou.
Indeed, I never feel bored on this island.
Took you long enough, Kojou!
Sorry.
How about you, Astarte? You okay?
Affirmative. However, I am no longer capable of fighting.
I require rest and readjustment.
All right. I'll take care of the rest.
You'll take care of nothing!
What is going on? What do you know?
What about you? Why are you with Natsuki-chan?
With Natsuki-chan? You mean Sana-chan?
Sana-chan?
Yeah. Osana-chan, short for "osanai (young)" Natsuki-chan.
Oh...
Minamiya Natsuki? I see. So that's it.
The escaped inmates are trying to kill the witch of the void.
Vatler, are you...
If you try to kill Natsuki-chan,
I'll stop you with everything I've got.
Even if it means Asagi seeing me in vampire form...
Really, what a form to be stuck in!
You look nothing like yourself, witch of the void!
V-Vatler...
It appears you're injured, too.
You think you can protect her like that?
What are you saying?
I'll keep her on my boat.
Huh?
Of course, you can come, as well.
I'm sure that would be more fun.
The escaped inmates will most certainly attack again.
I believe it would be safer than allowing the people in town to get hurt.
What do you think?
You're saying you'll guard Natsuki-chan?
All right. I'll take you up on that.
What?! Wait a minute! Why are you deciding this on your own?
And how are you acquainted with a lord of the Warlord's Domain?
Stuff happened, okay?! I'll explain everything later!
Do you really think that will convince me?
Guess not, huh?
Fine. I'll leave Sana-chan with you on one condition.
Condition?
I'm going with you, too.
You're going to stand in my way, too?
No. Your experiment may actually be useful to me, as well.
I see. You're from the Lion King Organization.
This is the power of the Dark Oath Grimoire?
The Dark Oath Grimoire itself has already been lost.
Minamiya Natsuki burned it,
and the wisdom it contained now exists only within her memory.
So you are now attempting to recreate the Dark Oath Grimoire
from her stolen memory?
I see. This is why you're called the Witch of Notaria.
It is not only words that I can copy.
I can perfectly recreate the magic spells
and curses contained within a grimoire.
That is my power.
Even now, this Saikai Academy building itself is serving as
a giant Dark Oath Grimoire.
Next Time
Aiba-senpai and Sana-chan are with Lord Ardeal and his maids?
Senpai, you know well, don't you...
that Schneesturm Wolfin's blade is incredibly sharp?
Fiesta for the Observers III
"Fiesta for the Observers III."