To be honest, Darius was a bit bewildered by the current situation.
In his opinion, Beatrice and Angelica going to a parallel world this time was just to bring Miyu back. Even if there might be problems, with the Siegfried and Magni Class Cards, any issue could surely be resolved.
But what was the reality?
"Beatrice is dead, Angelica is defeated, and both Class Cards have been seized... truly an unexpected drama."
Stepping out of the light, Darius surveyed the situation within the Great Hole. His gaze finally settled on Naoki: "Though I'd like to say that those two are useless trash, even with Class Cards they couldn't do much—but fundamentally, all of this is because of you, this unforeseen factor, who disrupted the scenario."
"I didn't expect there to be a Magus like you in this parallel world. Apparently, that little girl found quite a good support."
As he spoke, Darius immediately threw a Class Card, and a gigantic ice palace emanating piercing cold suddenly emerged from the ground. In a few breaths, it had already trapped Naoki inside.
But as soon as the ice palace had just formed—
*CRACK!*
Naoki instantly kicked the ice palace, shattering it into pieces!
The Ice Palace Barrier, which would run out of oxygen after 301 seconds—the Noble Phantasm: Apneic Beauty (301 Second Ice Shrine of Eternity), in the original story, was a barrier so tough that even a Fantasy Collapse from fake-fake Spiral Sword Chloe couldn't cause the slightest damage.
Yet, under Arcueid's power, what was called tough was merely something that could be destroyed with a little force.
"Authoritarian Personalism."
Darius's voice sounded again. A mysterious, dark shadow instantly bloomed beneath him, rapidly spreading around Naoki. And upon entering this shadowy abyss, Naoki immediately felt a significant pressure fall upon him.
'Not gravity, nor body control, is this directly interfering with concepts to oppress me?'
As a Noble Phantasm effect, this was quite special.
However—
"This is also useless."
Naoki simply waved his hand lightly. As if something broke, a cracking sound instantly rang out, and the surface of another Class Card in Darius's hand also showed many cracks.
Seeing the two damaged Class Cards in his hand, Darius looked somewhat helpless, letting out a long sigh: "Ah... two cards useless in a row, this is truly beyond expectation. As an improvisational actor, are your personal abilities too extraordinary?"
"I didn't come to accompany you for a show." Naoki chuckled.
"Just for some personal reasons, I want to destroy this absurd scenario of yours."
As those words finished, Naoki immediately stepped forward, instantly appearing before Darius, and slapped his face.
Darius didn't doubt the power of this slap. Seeing Naoki kick the ice palace barrier to pieces, this slap could certainly kill him!
But he didn't think this slap could hit him. With Replacement Magecraft, he could avoid any attack—
*BANG!*
The severe impact on his cheek instantly stopped Darius's thoughts.
He was hit?
How could it be! He clearly used Replacement Magecraft; Naoki's attack should have missed.
"Eh?"
As if suddenly realizing something, Darius's expression froze.
Replacement Magecraft... couldn't be used?
No, it wasn't that it couldn't be used. His Magecraft itself had no problem; the problem was this space! The spatial coordinates within this underground Great Hole were completely chaotic, causing Replacement Magecraft to be completely unable to function normally.
"Can't be used, can it?" Naoki chuckled, "How long do you think I've known about your arrival? With that much preparation time, if I didn't prepare a big gift for you, how could that be acceptable, right?"
"A space with completely chaotic coordinates, that way your Replacement Magecraft will be dead in the water."
"Could it be... that Holy Grail girl?!"
That's right, only Miyu could possibly tell him about the situation here; otherwise, Naoki had no reason to make preparations that completely targeted Replacement Magecraft.
"We shouldn't have any grudge... do you have a reason to be hostile towards the Ainsworth Family?"
"Normally, no. If you didn't come to this world, and just stayed there waiting for the end to come, I'd be too lazy to bother with you. But what can I do? Who told you to come here to take Miyu? I'm paid by a very wealthy woman; she asked me to protect her sweet little sister."
"Hahaha! So that's it, for money!"
Darius instantly burst into laughter.
"Then perhaps I have a more suitable job for you, unknown Magus, please—"
*CRACK!*
Before Darius could finish his words, Naoki immediately swung his hand. The layers of vacuum fault fields created by Marble Phantasm instantly ripped and destroyed Darius's body until not a single trace was visible.
"Sorry, I don't have a habit of taking two jobs at once. First come, first served; I have to finish the current employer's task before I can accept the next one. Excuse me, I was interrupted just now, where were we?"
Shifting his gaze back to Angelica, Naoki walked up to her and crouched down.
"You said earlier that I couldn't defeat the Ainsworth Family on my own, right? So now, do you think I can do it? If I remember correctly, the Ainsworth Family now only has three of you left, and now only you yourself remain."
"So, what will you do next?"
"Do you want to be killed by me?"
"Or return to your original world?"
"Just pick whichever you like."
Naoki asked calmly.
Looking at Naoki, who was nearby, Angelica remained silent for a long time, then said: "Now that Darius is gone, the Ainsworth Family's thousand-year wish is also shattered. I have nothing left to do; I am just a doll. I have no will of my own; you can do whatever you like."
"I see."
After a brief pause, Naoki stood up and walked towards the exit.
"Alright... then, for now, just come with me."