Coreal
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[Crossover] Ch 188: The Fate of a Witch
🕑 Added 2025-08-07 19:09:00 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
The moment Ryo walked in, Aya Tokoyogi instinctively took a small step back.
Then, with her eyes narrowed in displeasure, she turned to Natsuki and said coldly: "Natsuki, you're overstepping."
Sure, they were more or less on good terms now—but the rift between them hadn't fully healed. Even back when their relationship was close, they'd always kept out of each other's personal lives… and family business was definitely off-limits.
So Aya had every reason to be annoyed.
Natsuki, knowing full well she was guilty, casually raised her parasol to cover her face, flashing a playful smile as she replied:
"Aya, I think you're misunderstanding something here. I only asked Ryo to come collect the spoils of war."
Spoils of war, huh…?
Aya went quiet for a second, then wordlessly pulled out a grimoire.
It was a strange-looking book—entirely silver, with crimson runes embroidered along the edges. A magical storage grimoire.
This particular book sealed an entire warehouse's worth of magical grimoires inside it using dimensional storage. In the L.C.O, it had been a high-level item, specifically used to hold other grimoires.
"All the grimoires the L.C.O collected—aside from the ones out on loan—are in here," she said flatly, tossing it to Ryo without the slightest hesitation.
As the L.C.O's High Librarian Witch, she had already studied every book in its collection. Thanks to her unique ability, any grimoire she memorized, she could reproduce.
So to her, handing over the originals wasn't a big deal.
Ryo flipped through it, quickly confirming the contents. Satisfied, he tucked the book away—then turned to glance at Yuuma Tokoyogi.
"What about her? Isn't she a spoil of war too?"
Aya's expression instantly darkened. But faced with Ryo, she clenched her teeth and forced herself to stay composed.
"You probably heard it already," she said through gritted teeth. "I've already given the girl her freedom."
At that, both Nagisa—who had been fuming—and Yuuma, who still looked dazed and hollow, glanced up in surprise.
So Aya wasn't as heartless as she appeared, huh?
If she truly didn't care, she would've just agreed to whatever deal Ryo offered and disposed of Yuuma like an unwanted asset.
Instead, she insisted on calling it "freedom."
Realizing that even her tone sounded off, Aya quickly hardened her face again.
"But if you want her," she said icily, "then feel free. She's yours to use however you see fit."
Ryo didn't hesitate to go for the jugular. "Even if I dressed her up like you and… used her however I wanted?"
Aya froze for a second, completely blindsided by the shamelessness of it.
Natsuki's eyes widened like she just saw a crime being committed. "Oi—Oiii! That kid's my niece!"
Ryo didn't even blink. "Not for real, though."
She had to admit—he had a point. And it pissed her off even more.
Natsuki clenched her folding fan so tightly it creaked, staring at Ryo like he was her husband caught sneaking into a shady massage parlor.
Aya, meanwhile, spoke in an unnervingly calm tone.
"If that makes you happy, then be my guest."
She was desperately trying to stay composed—because if she let her emotions get the better of her, she might actually lash out.
And if that happened, it wouldn't be Yuuma getting manhandled—it'd be her.
Ryo watched her with a smirk, clearly enjoying the frustration she was trying so hard to bottle up.
Then he turned and looked down at Yuuma, who lay weakly on the futon, drained from losing her guardian.
"Don't you think this girl's the perfect example of a witch's fate? Born to be used, from the very start."
Aya's face went pale.
"That's right," Ryo said, voice like a blade. "And the one who used her… is you. Her mother."
His words hit her like a hammer. He didn't even need to raise his voice—they landed deep, cutting and quiet, like needles under the skin.
"How's it feel? Going from victim to abuser? From dragon-slayer… to dragon?"
Aya stood frozen, completely pale. Her body swayed like she could be knocked over by a breeze.
"Aya…" Natsuki murmured, feeling an ache in her chest.
She couldn't help but think back to her own life. Back when she was born, everyone around her tried to use her—twisting her life until she had no choice but to build that prison barrier and become the Witch of Void.
Aya Tokoyogi had been the same. At first, she was just a tool—created by the L.C.O's mages to catalog dangerous grimoires as the Witch of Notaria.
But somewhere along the line… the persecuted became the persecutor.
How had it come to this?
Natsuki let out a long breath, then looked toward Yuuma.
"Show the girl some kindness, would you? At least enough so she doesn't end up like we did."
"…Do what you want," Aya muttered, turning away, ready to leave the room.
But then Ryo spoke up again.
"Aya—if I made Yuuma my adopted daughter… would you mind?"
Under normal circumstances, Aya would've assumed he was just looking for an excuse to call himself her husband—since if Yuuma was her daughter, and Ryo became her 'father,' well…
But right now, that thought didn't even cross her mind. She just found the idea completely baffling.
Why the fuck was Ryo even getting involved in this? It had nothing to do with him.
Why take responsibility? Why play the hero?
Frustrated and annoyed, Aya snapped. "I'm just your tool, remember? You don't need to worry about how I feel."
Ryo smirked and quipped back, "Tools can get promoted, you know. Become the lady of the house."
Aya didn't respond. Instead, she turned her head and looked at Natsuki with a mocking smile.
It practically screamed: "Look, your man just casually fell for me."
Natsuki was stunned for a moment—then immediately exploded.
"Hey! Aya! You stop right there! What the hell was that look just now?!"
"It means what you think it means," Aya said, dripping with sarcasm.
"You damn hag! You're gonna explain this right now!"
Their bickering echoed down the hallway as they disappeared out of sight.
Ryo, now alone with Yuuma, knelt beside her and gently activated the power of his Eleventh Familiar. As her wounds began to heal, he asked: "How're you feeling?"
"…I don't even know how to describe it," Yuuma replied with a weak smile.
First, she'd been shocked to suddenly meet the mother who was supposed to be locked away.
Then terrified when that same mother rejected her.
Then… slowly, she began to understand—maybe her mom did have her reasons.
It was all too much to take in at once. After a day like this, all Yuuma really wanted was to sleep.
Ryo gave her a small nod.
"Take your time to adjust. Tomorrow, I'll bring you to Itogami Island."
"You're basically a 'princess' now, so don't embarrass me. And I do mean proper studying."
"I got it," Yuuma said, nodding firmly.
As Ryo turned and left the room, he heard her whisper softly behind him—
"…Okay, Daddy."
His expression twitched at the word, caught somewhere between a smile and confusion.
But in the end, he just shook his head and stepped into the hallway, gazing out at the thick forest beyond the shrine.
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Comments
Coreal
Natsuki and Aya destroyed L.C.O or know as the library. Then they come to Ryo here (the last chapter) Nagisa is the childhood friend of Yuuma and that's why she was here with the group plus they were all staying at her shrine
Lost4rt
You've used Nagisa a few times in the chapter, did you mean Natsuki? Also, you mentioned Nagisa in the last chapter too. Shouldn't she still be in Japan?
