Ciel stared at Naoki, who had suddenly appeared before her, her mind immediately flooded with questions.
'What is this person? Did he just destroy that barrier with a single punch? That was a barrier I couldn't even penetrate with a Black Key!'
'And earlier, was he flying? He really was flying, right?'
'Is this person even human?'
While Ciel was lost in confusion, Naoki also felt a sense of shock in his heart.
'Ciel? Why is she in Paris right now? The year 1995... Ah, right, she's already joined the Burial Agency. So, it seems there's nothing strange about it.'
Since Ciel was a member of the Burial Agency, it made sense for her to appear wherever Dead Apostles were present. Considering that Naoki had just beaten a vampire half to death earlier…
'Eh? Could it be that was Ciel's target? Did I steal her points?'
If that was the case, it felt a bit awkward.
"Anyway, are you okay?"
After a brief silence, Naoki repeated his question. However, before Ciel could respond, the giant dragon Cocytus beneath his feet suddenly moved!
"GAAAAAA!"
Accompanied by a loud roar, Cocytus spread its wings and immediately flew into the sky!
The core of this creature was made of fairies, and mentally, it was just like a fairy—its brain only thought about "playing." Although Aleister had previously controlled its mind and body, now that Naoki had beaten him up, Cocytus could no longer suppress its desire to play.
First target, let's aim for that tall triangular tower over there. It looks fun!
"I said—"
Like a bucket of cold water poured onto a fire, Naoki's voice rang out from above, reaching Cocytus's ears.
"You dragon species might not know because you've been in the inner world for so long, but there are unwritten rules in this world that need to be followed. Giant creatures like you—don't fly around recklessly and draw attention!!"
As soon as those words left his mouth, Naoki, who had strengthened himself to his maximum limit using reinforcement Magecraft, swung his fist and struck Cocytus's head with all his might!
*KRAKKKK!*
Its protective barrier was once again shattered by a single punch!
If calculated based on Servant stats, Naoki's current physical strength had reached Rank C. Combined with the highest level of Mana Burst inherited from Arthur, the barrier, which was merely formed through Magecraft and its inherent nature, was no stronger than paper against him!
*BOOM!*
As if struck by a cannonball, Cocytus, which had been flying, was immediately slammed back down, its massive body crashing back onto the rooftop.
Seeing this, Ciel couldn't help but feel numb.
One punch brought down a fake dragon species. Though it wasn't a real dragon, this power…
"Is this person even human?"
"For now, I still consider myself human."
Hearing Ciel mutter, Naoki jumped down from Cocytus's body and said: "But still, this is quite surprising. When I saw it was a dragon species, I briefly wondered how to deal with it, but given its condition… This dragon seems weak?"
"This is a fake dragon, only having the appearance of a dragon on the outside. Essentially, it should be a fairy."
Upon hearing Ciel's words, Naoki immediately let out a deep sigh, then removed his glasses: "Ah, so it's just a fairy. In that case, it's easy. One look is enough."
Soul Eater Mystic Eyes.
Naoki's biggest trump card. If the opponent was human, one glance meant instant death; if it was a fairy, it would be directly pulled into the brutal realm of pure love, leaving even the god of love nodding in admiration. The only weakness was that it was almost ineffective against evil spirits.
Since this wasn't a real dragon but a fairy hiding inside a dragon shell, Naoki didn't need to think of ways to kill a dragon.
Opening his Mystic Eyes, which resembled a blue sky, Naoki stared at Cocytus in front of him.
'Alright, let's see your core… Eh?'
What his Mystic Eyes captured shocked Naoki. At first, he assumed that the dragon's body was just a shell, and the fairy inside was the main core, but…
*GAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
Its body turned from blue to black, and the corrupted Cocytus let out a deafening roar that shook the air! With a single flap of its wings, it shot straight into the sky!
'The dragon's body itself is a fairy!? My Mystic Eyes can't see its true core!? How is that possible!?'
All fairies revealed their identities before Naoki's Mystic Eyes—even Beast: Sajyou Manaka was no exception. This was an absolute rule, yet Cocytus's situation…
"Is its true core… fully fused with its body?"
"Though I don't fully understand what you mean, I feel like the situation is getting worse, right?" Ciel asked, "So, what should we do now?"
"Just leave it alone. It'll self-destruct on its own. Didn't you see the fragments continuously falling from its body? It seems this dragon was originally an unexpected product, and its existence is unstable. After my attack, it has already begun its countdown to self-destruction." Naoki explained.
"Even so, we can't just leave it like that. Before it completely collapses, it'll do anything to cause chaos. If left unchecked, Paris will be doomed."
"In short, what needs to be done hasn't changed—kill this dragon, right?"
Ciel sighed helplessly: "So, you came to add trouble, huh?"
"It's not like that either. At least I'm helping shorten your battle."
'However, clearly you came to make trouble!'
Annoyed, Ciel glared at Naoki, put away her Black Keys, and leapt off the roof—now that she confirmed her opponent was a fairy, the Bible of the Seventh Heaven she'd left behind earlier could be used.
'Going to retrieve the Bible of the Seventh Heaven, huh?'
Realizing Ciel's intention, Naoki let out a deep sigh: "So, my task is to bring this dragon down? At least until it reaches a height reachable by pile drivers—it's ridiculously difficult."
"However, if it were an evil spirit, that'd be a different story."
Naoki stared at the dragon again and said seriously: "Descend!"
"GAAAAAAAAA!"
A thunderous roar echoed through the sky as Cocytus immediately turned around and rammed its head straight into Naoki!
'You told me to descend! You made me take this form! Just watch—I'll ram you to death!'
Although it couldn't resist Naoki's command to descend, he hadn't specified how to do it. So, the playful fairy immediately chose its favorite method!
To retaliate against Naoki's rude behavior!
'You bastard!'
Seeing Cocytus charging straight at him, Naoki hurriedly shouted: "Ascend! Then descend normally!"
"GAAAAAA!"
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Below, while watching Cocytus go up and down, Ciel, carrying the Bible of the Seventh Heaven, couldn't help but furrow her brow.
"That dragon… is it epileptic?"