Chapter 230: Zelretch Thinks the Winner Will Be Himself
Zelretch's level of Magecraft is truly not weak.
Whether it's him or his fellow disciples, as students of the King of Magecraft, they all possess considerable skills.
The future Zelretch would even become the Second Magician.
And even now, before becoming the Second Magician, his proficiency in Jewel Magecraft is quite outstanding. He has almost carved out a unique path for himself in Magecraft.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have become the Second Magician in the future.
But...
Not weak is one thing.
However, in front of Vivian, a top-tier Magus from the Age of Gods, not using his most skilled and nearly specialized Magecraft is one thing, but deliberately using the Age of Gods Magecraft she excels in... this is simply too disrespectful.
Even if Zelretch were to go all out with Jewel Magecraft now, without the Second Magic, he likely wouldn't be a match for Vivian.
Let alone deliberately hiding his greatest strengths and challenging her in the very field she excels in.
So, seeing Zelretch like this, Vivian couldn't help but laugh.
"Your level, at least from what I've seen so far, is indeed crystal clear... So, is this the value you intend to demonstrate?"
Vivian can see the future, but she doesn't casually use this ability because each time she does, depending on the value of the prophecy, she requires Noah to replenish her life force.
With Noah not by her side now, Vivian naturally wouldn't use her prophetic power.
Moreover...
Given the Magecraft level of these people around her, there's no need to use prophecy anyway.
Because.
Vivian maintained the perfect smile of a maid and simply tilted her head.
With that single motion, aside from the large-scale Age of Gods Magecraft sealed within the staff-shaped Mystic Code Zelretch held, the four medium-scale Age of Gods Magecraft he had prepared, as well as the medium or small-scale Age of Gods Magecraft prepared by the others, all vanished instantly with Vivian's gesture!
Those unfamiliar with Magecraft might not grasp the significance of this.
But these Magi, who each knew at least a few Age of Gods Magecraft spells, understood perfectly—just now, this head maid had forcibly executed the Magecraft they had prepared with nothing more than a slight gesture!
If Magecraft were akin to computer programs, then what Vivian had just done was no different from two hackers attacking each other, only for her to walk right into her opponent's home, take control of their keyboard, and forcibly terminate their attack.
This was an external factor, akin to cheating, leaving these Magi utterly dumbfounded.
Zelretch, however, quickly snapped out of his daze and grasped the situation.
"...So the World King's head maid is actually a Lady of the Lake. I truly never expected that. But perhaps this works out just fine."
As a disciple of King Solomon, Zelretch's knowledge is extensive.
So, although he too was startled by Vivian's simple action, he understood the situation immediately.
That is, Vivian is a Lady of the Lake!
Because he realized it—the method used to forcibly terminate their spell just now wasn't interfering with the spell formula itself, but rather with their Magical Energy itself!
For other races, achieving something like this so effortlessly would be nearly impossible—a great miracle.
To accomplish such a feat with ease, the opponent could only be the Lady of the Lake—a powerful Lady of the Lake could easily do such things.
This is because the Lady of the Lake possesses an innate affinity for the Magical Energy in the atmosphere and an inherent mastery over its manipulation.
Thus, what would be a miracle for humans is not particularly difficult for the Lady of the Lake.
And once this was understood...
Zelretch raised his staff toward Vivian.
With a few subtle movements, he directly cast Magecraft simplified to rely on gestures and implications, bypassing the need for incantations.
[Mana Interference], [Mana Hyper-Interference], [Low-Level Territory Creation], [Intermediate Territory Creation], [Mana Burst], [High-Output Mana Burst]
Combat between Magi is not a straightforward confrontation like that between warriors.
To put it more accurately, it is a type of resource war intricately tied to factors such as the environment, territory, Mystic Codes, weather, time... and many others.
Magecraft is merely the catalyst for utilizing these resources, and a Magecraft battle is a war of leveraging every available resource.
So, if Zelretch had previously acted with a certain degree of confidence, even bordering on arrogance, he now proceeded with caution.
Although he still had no intention of using Jewel Magecraft or revealing modern Magecraft, Zelretch approached this confrontation with the seriousness befitting a proper Magus.
First, he used Mana Interference and Mana Burst to disrupt the opponent's control over their own Magical Energy. Next, he employed Territory Creation to plan the types of Magecraft to be used subsequently...
For now, he would start with this to break the deadlock!
Zelretch's eyes gleamed, and along with them, the round ruby at the tip of his staff began to glow.
A crimson Magic Circle materialized alongside intense heat, and under Zelretch's command, violent flames like ocean waves crashed down upon Vivian and the ghostly horde, covering everything in sight!
Faced with such flames, the Oni Kind all turned their gazes toward Vivian. Vivian, in response, rapidly moved her lips.
From her mouth emerged sounds utterly different from normal language—as if speaking in reverse—extremely awkward and delivered at a speed so fast it seemed as though she alone had been granted a speed multiplier.
With Vivian's actions, the previously raging flames vanished completely the moment she finished her incantation.
From the flames themselves to the heat they radiated, not a trace remained, as if the fire had been nothing but an illusion, never having existed at all.
Witnessing this scene, Zelretch had already instructed the less capable Magi to retreat. He himself activated a flight Magecraft, lifting off the ground to position himself slightly higher.
Zelretch, who had been sent flying backward, furrowed his brow.
——He actually used Reverse Incantation to directly dispel such a large-scale Magecraft of the Age of Gods!?
Moreover, the opponent definitely used High-Speed Divine Words just now—and at an incredibly high level!
Upon realizing this, a question occurred to Zelretch.
If the opponent could use High-Speed Divine Words so swiftly to almost instantly reverse-incant a large-scale Magecraft of the Age of Gods, then that meant... if the opponent didn't use Reverse Incantation but instead chanted normally, they could likely cast large-scale Magecraft of the Age of Gods instantaneously as well!
Understanding this, Zelretch immediately prepared defensive and countermeasures.
Although he had flown away from his previous position, the magecraft array he had left on the ground remained largely unchanged.
Moreover, Mana Interference and Mana Burst could effectively conceal the array he had just set up.
This way, he could draw attention in the air, defend against the opponent's large-scale Magecraft of the Age of Gods, and even counterattack... No, he shouldn't be too optimistic.
He had to consider the worst-case scenario.
Given the opponent's skill level, they might be an exceptionally powerful Magus from the Age of Gods.
Therefore, he couldn't rule out the possibility that the opponent could simultaneously cast two large-scale Magecraft of the Age of Gods... No, he should overestimate them even further. Even though such a level was described by his teacher as extremely rare when speaking of the Lady of the Lake, it wasn't impossible for the opponent to simultaneously control three large-scale Magecraft of the Age of Gods!
So, counterattacking was merely the best-case plan, but he couldn't rely on it.
He had to withstand the opponent's potential triple-cast of large-scale Magecraft of the Age of Gods!
Though it would be difficult... it wasn't impossible!
And once he withstood the opponent's initial barrage, when the opponent stepped into his array, the situation would reverse!
With this in mind, Zelretch's thoughts were crystal clear, and he quietly prepared multiple layers of protection.
When he and Vivian locked eyes once more, he remained confident.
Because he believed... even without using Jewel Magecraft, the victor would be him!