Chapter 231: The Confrontation of Magic is the Confrontation of Magical Energy
Vivian watched Zelretch, who had already flown to mid-air and created some distance between them, her expression unchanged.
And she had seen everything Zelretch had done.
Vivian was undoubtedly one of the pinnacle Magi from the Age of Gods, capable of executing seven large-scale Magecraft of the Age of Gods simultaneously, while also possessing an immense reserve of such Magecraft. Moreover, she—
"Alone, she could meet the activation conditions for super-large-scale Magecraft of the Age of Gods. Relying on her Magecraft reserves, if she were to activate fixed Spell Formulas, at full power she could actually execute three fixed super-large-scale Magecraft of the Age of Gods simultaneously. And if she attacked with all her might without regard for consumption, she could even unleash one Divine Authority-level Magecraft of the Age of Gods, which surpassed normal Magecraft standards."
If the exceptionally high Magical Energy manipulation ability among the Ladies of the Lake was Vivian's innate talent, then her Magecraft reserves were the accumulated foundation of the Ladies of the Lake over so many years.
It was the combination of these two aspects that created Vivian, one of the pinnacle Magi from the Age of Gods.
But even though Vivian's attainments in Magecraft had reached such profound heights, Merlin—who was no longer someone ordinary Magi from the Age of Gods could compare to, and was even a Grand Candidate—still evaluated Vivian as follows: "The most terrifying thing about Vivian is her Spiritual Sense. And with such powerful Spiritual Sense, she is also the longest-lived seer I know."
Thus, it was only natural.
Under Vivian's incredibly powerful Spiritual Sense, Zelretch's preparations, which he believed to be concealed, were actually all seen clearly by Vivian.
Whether it was the Magecraft Workshop on the ground, the Magecraft prepared on Zelretch's person, the number of Mystic Codes he carried... or even the storage pouch at Zelretch's waist, which in her Spiritual Sense had the highest presence and seemed to contain gems.
Vivian was fully aware of all these things.
Magecraft battles are battles of utilizing all available resources.
Zelretch understood this, and Vivian understood it just as well.
Therefore.
Under Zelretch's gaze, Vivian directly stepped forward and entered Zelretch's Magecraft Workshop!
Seeing this, Zelretch immediately activated the entire Magecraft Workshop without hesitation.
As a sapphire emerged from underground and exploded in mid-air, a previously medium-sized Magecraft Workshop was directly upgraded to a super-large scale!
This was the trap Zelretch had laid.
Concealing the Magecraft Workshop was the first layer; hiding a gem at the center of the Magecraft Workshop was the second layer.
Zelretch was not such a rigid individual.
Although he had decided not to reveal Jewel Magecraft, using gems pre-sealed with Magecraft was still permissible.
After all, if noticed, the opponent would only think he possessed many gem-type Mystic Codes, not Jewel Magecraft...
—This was a path unique to him, developed by Zelretch himself by fusing multiple theories!
Merely using some gems sealed with Magecraft, no one would ever think of this!
Because Zelretch's Jewel Magecraft was unprecedented, a Magecraft only he knew!
Large-scale use would certainly be noticed by the opponent, but if it was only this much, it would not.
And being able to use gems to this extent is sufficient!
The Magecraft Workshop left by Zelretch is a formation where different effects exist based on the area within the workshop—its principle is similar to the once highly popular Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation among the spell formulas in the East.
Thus, this Magecraft Workshop has positional significance. If it were only medium-sized, the effects would be minimal, and the range would be too small to make good use of the workshop's positions.
However, after being expanded to a super-large scale, those Oni maids would be enclosed within it, this head maid would be enclosed within it, and Zelretch himself would be enclosed within it!
Moreover, these positions were arranged by Zelretch long ago.
The positions where those Oni maids are located have the negative effect of gravity suppression. The position where Vivian is located has the negative effect of slowing the flow of atmospheric Magical Energy, specifically targeting the Lady of the Lake. As for Zelretch's own position, it has the positive effect of highly concentrated Magical Energy!
Thus, the moment the Magecraft Workshop was activated, four Magic Circles lit up around Zelretch.
Although none were large, only medium-sized Magecraft of the Age of Gods, Zelretch felt this was more or less sufficient.
Even if Vivian could instantly cast large-scale Magecraft of the Age of Gods, once enclosed within this Magecraft Workshop, her speed of casting Magecraft would significantly decrease, and its power would also be diminished.
Under such circumstances, he would use four Magecraft of the Age of Gods—not the most powerful but the fastest to activate—to directly defeat her!
And if he could defeat this head maid, although he would need to send gifts as apologies to both the King of the World and this head maid afterward, the King of the World would then begin to value him and his fellow disciples!
This is what Zelretch thought.
But as his thoughts concluded, he realized that the four Magic Circles around him... had still not activated!?
...
Zelretch was first puzzled, but he quickly discovered the problem.
That was, around him, the Magical Energy in the air had nearly solidified!
Under such conditions, the Spell Formula he was driving could hardly mobilize the Magical Energy in the atmosphere, severely reducing the resources he could use!
And that wasn't all.
This situation also caused all the Defensive Spells and counter-spells on his person to be affected!
Moreover, Zelretch felt a gravitational force pressing down on him, while multiple curses also fell upon him, nearly immobilizing him in mid-air!
At this moment, he understood!
Because the Magecraft Workshop below was designed by himself, he knew very well that this was the manifestation of all the negative effects of the workshop falling upon him!
"...!"
Even if Vivian had instantly taken over his Magecraft Workshop, the regional effects of the workshop shouldn't have changed!
Zelretch found this very difficult to comprehend.
Meanwhile, Vivian looked at Zelretch, immobilized in mid-air, and smiled as she began to explain to him.
"Ultimately, a Magecraft Workshop is also an application of Magecraft, and no matter how profound the Magecraft, it is essentially a pattern formed by using Magical Energy to guide resources. Thus, saying that a Magecraft battle is a battle of resources is not incorrect—but for me, the confrontation of Magecraft is also a confrontation of Magical Energy, a confrontation of control, and a confrontation of knowledge reserves."
"So, no matter how many resources you mobilize, I only need to target the Magical Energy guiding these resources to control them."
"Your own Magical Energy is inferior to mine, your control over Magical Energy is inferior to mine, and your knowledge reserves are likewise inferior to mine. Therefore, I have absolutely no reason to lose to you."
As he spoke these words, Zelretch could sense an extremely mysterious aura rising from Vivian.
Without even thinking, he instantly transformed into a human-shaped gem in mid-air, which then shattered into the atmosphere.
As for him, along with the Magus he had brought, they were all teleported away in that instant!
Zelretch had not originally intended to reveal Jewel Magecraft or modern Magecraft, but when faced with the choice between exposure and death, he chose the former without hesitation.
This was only natural.
Vivian watched him leave and promptly dispelled the Magecraft Workshop.
The Oni Kind only now rushed to Vivian's side.
"Mistress, the other party had ill intentions. We—"
They had only spoken halfway when Vivian interrupted them.
"There is no need. I intentionally let him go..."
It was then that the Oni Kind noticed Vivian's heterochromatic eyes, like a deep starry sky, half-open, and her entire being radiating an intensely mysterious aura.
—This was Vivian activating her prophecy.
"Although the backlash this time is particularly severe, I have glimpsed something... There is no need to kill them. I can sense it, and I have seen it—the King has use for them, and they will not cause any major trouble. If we do not intervene, others naturally will. So now, take me back, back to the King's side. I must tell him everything."