✲꘏ ꘏ ꘏ ꘏✲_________________________________________✲꘏ ꘏ ꘏ ꘏✲
Through the group's shock, Gauche explained that Grey and him were able to find a way to escape the mirror world:
[In the mirror world]
Gauche made a formula that allowed them to bring their souls out of the mirror using Simone's original formula and Grey transformation magic to get the materials. In the mirror world, it shows some people watching the two mages at work. They've already given them most of the material they could find so all they could do was watch and hope for the best. Grey followed Gauches instructions, creating metals from the mirror worlds glass and Gauche connecting them to make a large gate. He asks Grey to make a cauldron and other ingredients.
Gauche places a shard on the formula he wrote on the ground. The formula glows and turns the shard into a crystal. Gauche takes the crystal and crushes it into a fine powder. He does the same with other ingredients and formulas and adds all of them to the cauldron. Grey observes Gauche and thinks he looks like a witch making a potion. He spills the formula into the gate and it begins to glow. But it suddenly starts to crackle with light.
Hector tells the crowd to move back from the portal as they were trying to look over each other to see the magic in front of them.
Grey asks what's happening and Gauche responds that the gate is unstable and might explode. Grey waves her hands in distress at Gauches calm demeanor parallel to his words. Gauche tells Grey that they need to concentrate and use all they have into the spell. Grey asks what he means by that and Gauche tells Grey that they will have to use two spells at the same time. Gauche summons a mirror in front of Grey and himself and chants:
"Mirror Magic: Mirror Brigade!"
Doubles of Grey and Gauche multiply around the mirror. Gauche tells Grey that the formula will break the metal of the mirror gate so he instructs Grey to continuously reconstruct it again and again. While Gauches doubles' stabilise the light inside the gate using their mirror magic.
Gauche and Grey hold up the gate in extreme concentration. Gauches mirror eye seems to overheat but he persists and times the right moment. The people are behind the glassy structure, but still peeking out as they are awed by the magical display before them.
When he sees it, he alerts Grey and they both chant:
"Union Magic: Transmorphic Mirror Gate!"
The mirror gate flashes a bright light as it stabilizes. The light flows from the gate like water. The doubles disappear leaving Gauche and Grey exhausted but determined now that they've created their way out.
The people cheer in joy that the spell worked. Gauche and Grey bumped their fists together in success. Hector tells Gauche that he wishes him good luck on his journey and hopes he reunites with his sister soon. Gauche thanks Hector for the thought and promises the people that he'll be back to save them because his sister would be sad if he lets the people stay in a lonely world like this.
The people began to murmur among themselves, wondering if they could actually go out of their mirror prison. They wonder if they could escape the dark entities' influence. Gauche sees their insecurity and tells them. "You morons! Don't get cold feet because of your captor! The better and real world is out there with a beautiful angel on earth! Don't you want to see my sister's angelic aura!?"
The people gain encouragement and reply "Yes!"
Gauche "GOOD! Now wait here and we'll get you out of here."
Grey sighs at the odd words of encouragement from Gauche but it seemed to work so she did not question it. She guessed that the people must have gotten used to his sister-talk.
Gauche nods to Grey as she picks up the book.
Gauche and Grey jump into the mirror gate and leave the mirror world.
________________________________________________________
Luck: (curiously) What's the deal with your bodies? Are you guys just souls now?
Gauche: (matter-of-factly) Yes. As of now, our bodies are still being inhabited by other souls. We're essentially just spirits present in the physical world.
Noelle: (remembering) Wait, I remember a story from my childhood about a natural order that takes the souls without bodies. Could it be related to what's happening to you?
Gauche: (bluntly) I'm not sure exactly but I agree that our spirit-like bodies are not permanent. We exist as souls without bodies temporarily, as the magic within our souls allows us to remain in the real world. But once that magic runs out, I'm not certain what will become of us.
Asta: (confused) If that's the case, then why the hell were you shooting mirror magic at me, wasting your magic energy?
Gauche: (nonchalantly) I just felt like it
Asta: You're horrible Gauche senpai!
[Asta winces in pain from the burns caused by Gauche's Reflect Refrain spell.]
Asta: (whining) That Refrain hurts much more than usual!
Vanessa: (realization dawning) Ah, I think I know why things have been unfolding this way. You see, a person's soul contains a specific amount of mana unique to them. That's why the fakes had their own grimoires despite being in different bodies. Now that their souls don't have bodies to concentrate their mana into, their magic becomes raw, meaning it's stronger but harder to control.
Noelle: (thoughtfully) Vanessa, could your Fate Magic help keep Gauche and Grey stable until they regain their bodies?
Vanessa: (nodding) That's a good idea, Noelle. (retrieves her Fate Cat, Rogue) Here, Rogue. We need your help again.
[Vanessa unravels Rogue, turning the cat into a string, and places the strings on Gauche and Grey, connecting them to herself. The string becomes translucent.]
Vanessa: (explaining) This way, if they ever start losing mana, the string will connect my mana to their bodies, allowing them to maintain their forms.
Grey: (sighing in relief) Thank goodness
[Noelle drops some papers, catching Grey's eye. She quickly picks them up.]
Grey: (curiously) What are those papers, Noelle?
Noelle: (slightly frazzled) Sorry for dropping them so carelessly. These are the papers Simone has been studying.
Finral: (observing) The banishing ritual and summoning ritual on these papers seem quite different from each other.
Noelle: (nodding) Yeah. But I remember the circle that Marie was drawing in the chamber. It was different from both of these circles.
Gauche: (shocked) Marie is being forced to draw a dangerous magic circle? Unbelievable!
Vanessa: (examining the papers) Noelle is correct. These circles don't appear to have any correlation to each other. Summoning and banishing are direct opposites. But wait, there's something strange when I hold them up to the sun.
[Vanessa holds the papers up, and the light shines through, revealing a new circle on the ground.]
Vanessa: (astonished) A destruction circle. It's a sigil that destroys dimensions.
Noelle: (remembering) Simone's story... I think I understand why he's planning to trap the dark entity. There was a woman, possibly his lover, who was cursed with forbidden magic. Long ago, he tried to heal her with the help of hooded figures who sought to harness forbidden magic without consequences.
Asta: (making connections) So, they were trying to create dark magic that could remove ancient seals or curses, but instead, they ended up creating dark magic that consumed everything. It's like Captain Yami's black hole ability, but different somehow. When I cut through the fake Grey's dark magic, it felt... dead but alive.
Noelle: (continuing) I think Simone might be attempting to destroy the mirror world to eliminate the entity's source of power.
Grey: (remembering the people who helped them) We can't let that happen. We have to stop Simone, no matter what.
The group shares a resolute look, knowing that they must save Marie and put an end to the impostors once and for all.
Noelle: (determined) We're ready. Let's save Marie and stop the impostors once and for all.
The group rallies together, ready for the upcoming battle and the mission to save Marie.