Aleister Crowley knew perfectly well that if Yuuya became the "One God" of this world too quickly, his own meticulous calculations would not be able to keep up with the cascading changes. Once Yuuya became truly omnipotent, it would inevitably cause fatal deviations in the Plan.
"Even if I attempt to slow you down, you will still keep your eyes on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum," Aleister said calmly, his synthesized voice echoing in the dark chamber. He seemingly had no intention of hiding his thoughts. "It is strategically better for me to simply bypass this point of conflict with you. If I try to actively prevent you from seizing the 103,000 Grimoires, I will prematurely face a full-scale assault from the Magic Side while my own preparations are incomplete. That would be a net loss."
Yuuya shrugged. Yes, he was absolutely determined to steal the library. Memorizing 103,000 magical texts would be more than enough to elevate him to the pinnacle of a human Magician.
Moreover, Yuuya had long anticipated that Aleister, with his monstrous, supercomputer-like intellect, would naturally deduce his goals and adjust his targets accordingly. After all, Aleister didn't strictly *need* to use Misaka Mikoto to hone Kamijou Touma's Imagine Breaker. There were other ways to level up the city's main protagonist.
"Then I'd like to thank you for the professional courtesy, Aleister," Yuuya smirked, before turning and vanishing from the Windowless Building via Spatial Movement.
A few moments after Yuuya disappeared, a glowing, translucent white figure manifested behind Aleister's life-support tube.
Aiwass.
Its voice sounded utterly alien—like an old-fashioned radio broadcast heavily distorted by static interference.
"What will you do next, Aleister? Your master plan has gone astray. Takahashi Yuuya is hijacking your carefully laid groundwork to make up for his own shortcomings. Heh. This is the first time in a century I've encountered an anomaly like this. It's quite an intriguing story... I am really looking forward to seeing how it ends."
"Aiwass. Do you truly think that this alone will change the ultimate outcome of my Plan?"
Aleister floated upside down in the fluid, his expression unreadable. "For me, the situation is quite the opposite. Human history is like a wheel rolling forward, and every era is no different. The emergence of a powerful third force will inevitably create a three-way balance of power. For me, this third force can act as a trump card in my hand, or a smokescreen to confuse the Magic Gods. As long as I execute the final killing move at the crucial moment, everything will end exactly as I desire."
A slight, imperceptible smile appeared on Aleister's lips. Everything in creation could become his pawn; the only difference was how the board was played.
"So, what about this third force that you cannot eliminate?" Aiwass continued to ask, the static crackling with amusement.
"A third-party anomaly that possesses the power to transcend reality will not remain confined to a useless, shallow pond forever... just as you did not remain confined when you crossed over into this world," Aleister's resolute voice rang out.
"You do not fully grasp human greed, Aiwass. If my calculations are correct, he is gathering the power systems of various worlds to step into an absolute realm that I cannot currently fathom—just as mortals cannot comprehend the domain of the Magic Gods."
"Is that so? He has produced the chaotic results I've been hoping for, without a doubt," Aiwass buzzed. "Then let us wait until your Plan reaches its climax before making a final judgment. I am very pleased that you have talked more than usual today, Aleister. I am truly looking forward to the moment the Artificial Heaven finally manifests."
"The core framework has already been given a personality," Aleister said calmly. "With the anomalous addition of Takahashi's World Rejecter vectors, the Artificial Heaven is forming three times faster than projected. The subsequent peripheral plans must be accelerated to keep pace."
District 7.
After teleporting out of the Windowless Building, Yuuya scratched his temple, looking somewhat shaken.
'That was a terrible experience,' Yuuya thought, exhaling a long breath. 'No wonder everyone who meets Aleister is so terrified they never want to see him again. It's a primal fear that comes from the very depths of the soul—a fear of an incomprehensible concept.'
Yuuya's eyes had been fundamentally altered by his Star Grail, allowing him to perceive the underlying fabric of reality that ordinary people couldn't see.
He hadn't even wanted to look Aleister in the eye back there. Because standing densely packed behind the man in the tube were countless overlapping, ghostly figures. Every so often, a face would pop out of the metaphysical static, screaming or whispering, trying to break free.
Those figures were all Aleister himself. They weren't clones; they were the billion branching possibilities of his existence. Each possibility represented a version of Aleister Crowley operating at his absolute peak.
'It's exactly like it was described in the Light Novels,' Yuuya shivered. 'Aleister has effectively completed the path to becoming a Magic God. He could ascend to godhood at any second if he truly desired it.'
Looking into Aleister's eyes was like staring simultaneously into the eyes of a billion insane, genius Magicians. If it weren't for the cognitive barriers of the Windowless Building and Yuuya's own System protections, an ordinary person would probably go brain-dead the moment they made eye contact with him.
"I don't want to think about that monster too much right now. Let's go farm some Treasure Chests first," Yuuya muttered, shaking off the dread. "I haven't opened any of the Dark Side's chests yet, and there's also Saten Ruiko's chest waiting for me."
Yuuya opened his virtual System Map and quickly collected all the unclaimed chests below the Silver tier scattered across the district. His System Inventory was already piled high with various low-tier items and cash, giving him the amusing illusion that he possessed Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon.
'The high-tier chests belonging to Suzushina Yuriko, Mugino Shizuri, and Misaka Mikoto only have one final lock left to break.'
As expected of the System's harem mechanics, the final lock could only be shattered by hitting a "home run"—taking them to bed.
'Well, although we're all quite familiar with each other by now, we haven't quite reached the point where that final step has to happen naturally. Though... if it were Mugino, I could probably manage to convince her if I pushed hard enough.'
'It's time to finally crack open a Gold-tier Treasure Chest. I've decided. Tonight's the night for Mugino.'
While harboring these highly questionable, malicious intentions, Yuuya didn't notice that he was currently being stalked down the sidewalk.
A Few Blocks Away.
"Hurry up, Uiharu! I just saw that Senpai! He helped me out so much the other day, but I didn't even have a chance to thank him before he disappeared in a flash! It was really dangerous!"
A lively, energetic girl with long black hair and a signature flower hairpin hurriedly grabbed her friend's hand, dragging her down the sidewalk.
Saten Ruiko.
"S-Slow down, Saten-san!" Uiharu Kazari gasped hurriedly, her sweet, breathless voice drawing the amused attention of pedestrians.
"Run, run! If that Senpai disappears again, who knows how long it will be before we see him?! We must thank my savior properly!" Saten said innocently, her eyes shining brightly as she locked onto the back of the white-coated senior turning the corner ahead of them.
'That day was incredibly dangerous,' Saten thought, shivering slightly at the memory. 'I never imagined I'd actually get caught up in a real urban legend and almost get assassinated by men in black suits. If it weren't for that Senpai happening to pass by and saving me, I probably wouldn't have lived to see Uiharu ever again.'
"Saten-san... slow down... I can't breathe..." Uiharu wheezed, her stamina utterly depleted.
Although Saten had excitedly told her yesterday that a certain upperclassman had helped her out of a jam, she had stubbornly refused to tell Uiharu the specific details, claiming it was a "top secret" between her and the Senpai.
'Could it be...?' Uiharu wondered, her exhausted mind spinning a romantic narrative. 'Has my best friend actually fallen head over heels for some mysterious, bad-boy senior?!'
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