Touko's foot moved slightly, seemingly carving a simple character into the ground. Atrum, who was closest, noticed it first but couldn't understand why she did it until—
"Le Chien!"
Flat waved his arms, the sa way he reversed Galliasta's lightning magecraft a few minutes earlier.
But this ti, before the spell could take effect, Flat's body was blown away.
"You, the blond brat over there. You've been smartly trying to find my weaknesses since earlier, but it's too obvious."
The spell was interrupted, and the dust-covered Flat looked up in confusion. It was the first ti he had encountered such a situation.
"...How did you know?"
"It was impossible not to notice. Weren't you using that trick on Galliasta's people just now? It ans you're using so thod to read the flow of magic. This ability is quite common, but the precision is astonishing. Directly intervening in a spell to reverse it is sothing no proper Clock Tower lecturer would teach. After all, giving an opponent's spell a boorang effect could easily lead to self-destruction. But for geniuses, the conventional doesn't apply. El-lloi's classroom, Waver Velvet, truly lives up to its reputation."
Touko rambled a bit, but those who knew her understood that she only acted this way when sothing piqued her interest.
"Your spell is the nesis of most magecraft, but unfortunately, that 'most' doesn't include mine. My magecraft is already complete by the ti the mana flows through it."
With a wave of her finger, Touko traced a rune in the air.
Rune magic.
What blew Flat away earlier was an Algiz she had quietly carved with her foot, symbolizing protection. Now she carved Fehu, symbolizing primal and untad fire.
"Hmm, we're not a match. The best strategy is to run away. Le Chien, Gray!"
Seeing the rune before him, Flat quickly made a judgnt.
Ordinary magic refines mana and weaves spells simultaneously. Rune magic is different; the spell weaving and mana refining are separate. First, you carve the character, then simply channel mana through it to complete the spell. The ti between mana generation and spell activation is almost zero. Although carving the characters takes ti, and the effects aren't necessarily stronger than other magecraft, this structure left no room for Flat to intervene.
Of course, that alone wouldn't scare Flat.
After the deal at the end of the century, rune magic saw a complete revival, with the Clock Tower even establishing several classrooms dedicated to its study. During his tour of the Clock Tower, Flat had analyzed rune magic and could casually carve out a few basic spells.
But this woman was different. She wasn't on the sa level as other rune users.
If the completion of magecraft could be seen as beauty, then Touko's expertise in runes rivaled that of the Golden Princess and the Silver Princess. Her connection to the rune magic foundation was so ideal it felt like a dream.
She had no magic crest, few magic circuits, and her mana was unremarkable. She didn't even have the terrifying Mystic Code that other magus at the Clock Tower possessed. Yet, the mana circulating her moved seamlessly, like a Mobius strip—perfect and unassailable.
Flat, who was extrely sensitive to mana, knew better than anyone that Touko had already mastered a cycle of magic, from life to death, and back to life again, endlessly.
Not even soone like the Grand Magus Kenneth had such a presence.
This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!
At that mont, Flat felt like a frightened sphinx, hair standing on end, ready to flee—if not for the voice that stopped him.
"I stand here representing the El-lloi classroom alongside my brother. Even a 'Grand cannot make us retreat without a fight."
A white formal suit, dark scarf, golden hair, and eyes burning like flas, different from usual.
"El-lloi classroom, Reines Archisorte, joining the battle."
Two pairs of similar-colored eyes t across the distance, quickly recognizing that they shared a certain resemblance.
Both were resolute, never turning back once they set their sights on a goal, and both had once left their hos in pursuit of that goal.
"Though it may sound rude, you'd do well to heed this boy's advice. You're not my match."
"I don't deny it, but our goal isn't to defeat you. Even though you stand on Galliasta's side, that doesn't an you share his purpose, does it?"
Reines's words brought a hint of surprise to Touko's face.
"You figured that out so quickly? The lost princess of El-lloi... impressive. So, what are you planning to do?"
"To stall you and quickly drive off Atrum Galliasta."
Reines made no effort to hide her intentions, displaying strong confidence in her every move.
"Will it be that easy? A word of warning: though Galliasta isn't my employer, I won't let you take him down."
"Thanks for the warning; I'll keep it in mind."
Touko offered a sincere reminder, which Reines accepted with a smile. The two won didn't look like enemies but rather like friends.
"So, who will stall ? You, the lost princess?"
"You can call Reines."
The fourteen-year-old girl lifted her skirt and curtsied. "It's an honor to learn from the highest-ranking Grand Magus."
"Then let's begin. For a certain soone's sake, I won't kill you."
The red rune suspended in the air was activated, sending fiery serpents flowing.
"Fervor!"
With Reines's chant, the snow on the ground began to stir. This was fluid manipulation magecraft, the specialty of the Archibald family, with the water from the sacred land of Iselma as the natural dium.
"Um, um, Miss Aozaki, I have a suggestion."
At the critical mont when water and fire were about to clash, Flat suddenly raised his hand.
"If your goal is money, wouldn't it be more efficient to beat up that brown guy, make a doll that looks exactly like him, and take over his fortune? That way, everyone can be happy!"
"You...!"
The brown guy ground his teeth in frustration. The humiliation he suffered today exceeded all he had experienced in his entire life.
Touko closed one eye, gazing at Atrum's profile as if deep in thought, then shook her head.
"Too bad, he's got no sense of beauty. I have no interest in making such a boring doll."
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