"Awooo—!" With golden fur rippling like waves and muscles more powerful than a bull, the Golden Wolf bared its massive claws at the Old Magus.
"Understood, Touko."
"A Golden Wolf, eh? It makes me recall a few Phantasmal Species I once dissected."
The Old Magus looked at the Golden Wolf's two-meter-tall body and uttered words that instantly enraged the Golden Wolf. Honestly, this old man's ability to provoke was quite strong.
"Awooo!"
The Golden Wolf howled, its fur bristling. It stood upright, straightened its back, and lunged at the Magus, extending its sharp, golden-glowing claws!
"If you were a mature Phantasmal Species, I might show some apprehension, but like this…"
The Old Magus snapped his fingers. In an instant, fierce winds swirled, turning into blades of wind that violently clashed with the Golden Wolf. A grinding sound, like a chainsaw cutting through hard rock, echoed through the open space in front of the church.
Boom!!!
After all, it was still too young. The Golden Wolf was sent flying by the endless barrage of wind blades, crashing through a wall and being blasted into the church... Although the Old Magus claimed it wouldn't take much effort to deal with the Golden Wolf, and indeed it didn't take much effort, it still required some time. And seizing this rare opportunity, Touko's great sorcery also took shape.
The magic circle beneath the girl's feet suddenly flared up like a dying ember, its red light eclipsing all the stars in the sky. The red light quickly dissipated with the magic circle. When one looked back at Touko's location, a giant flame sword, seven or eight meters long, appeared above her head—
The massive sword was entirely composed of deep red flames, with clusters of orange flames swirling around its blade. The distorted air due to the heat further enhanced the flame sword's imposing power. After the flame sword appeared, the air temperature rose once more!
This was Touko's ultimate attack among her Rune sorcery, the conceptual manifestation of the demonic sword Lævateinn from Norse mythology!
Rune sorcery was one of Touko's primary and most relied-upon powers, acquired during her global search for resources after leaving the family. It was a sorcery system founded on the ancient script supposedly created by Odin, the chief god of Norse mythology, and was originally an important inheritance from a certain Nordic magical family.
However, that family not only fell into decline but was also pitifully caught by Touko. Perhaps, possibly, it should be completely finished by now.
"Die!"
At this moment, a scorching aura enveloped the entire area. And now, the Old Magus finally showed emotion, for he had not expected Touko to possess such combat power.
For the first time without speaking, the Old Magus once again chanted a strange incantation. Endless streams of water flowed from nothingness, forming a colossal shield that collided head-on with the incoming flame sword from the sky.
Boom!!!
The powers of water and fire clashed violently, the intense impact leaving the entire open space of the church battered and on the verge of collapse. Large amounts of steam erupted all around, yet the Magus remained completely unharmed.
"Get out of the way, Touko, I'm tired of playing. If you don't know what's good for you, I'll turn hostile!"
After taking Touko's attack, the Old Magus realized he and Aoko had inadvertently moved a bit far apart. To prevent any further complications, the Old Magus prepared to strike with full force.
"Hmph!"
But how could Touko possibly retreat? If there was anyone in the world who hated the Old Magus the most, it was undoubtedly Touko. This guy had messed up half of her life, and what was even more unforgivable was that he had forced her to face her beloved sister in a life-or-death struggle. Even though she had already complied with his arrangements and was willing to sacrifice herself, now he was changing his mind at the last minute and attacking Aoko! This culprit of everything... In an instant, new magical items also appeared before Touko: three large, convex mirror-shaped crystals floated in front of her.
These were three runic rune stones, imbued with immense magical power. This was the great achievement of the Norse giants, Touko's replica of "original runic."
The situation had changed too quickly before, leaving her no time to materialize them. Seizing this opportunity, Touko brought out her last trump card—
Touko's last chance lay in these three rune stones; they were her final trump card.
The runic runes engraved on the three crystal stones could expand ten million times. The powerful Mana output was enough to counteract any attack; even a Magus's Grand Magic wouldn't be this strong!
Under Touko's control, the colossal rune stones transformed into countless radiant holy swords, stirring up a storm of blades before the Magus—
Looking at the incoming light blades, the Magus neither dodged nor defended, charging directly into the torrential downpour of holy swords. Countless holy swords passed through his body, yet caused him not the slightest harm.
Watching the Magus rapidly approach, Touko fought and retreated, simultaneously feeling a sense of disbelief—
Touko didn't know much about the Aozaki Family's magic, but she understood that this guy was using the Fifth Magic, repeating time travel by the second.
"That's absurd!"
Although she had already learned some news from the phone, after witnessing it firsthand, Aozaki Touko still had to admit that it was too absurd. Magic was indeed a miracle that was difficult to comprehend.
"So, this is magic!"
The Old Magus laughed loudly, rapidly approaching Touko. In an instant, a magical wind swept up, completely shattering the core rune stones. The next moment, six Black Keys appeared in his hands, and the priest unhesitatingly charged at Touko to kill her.
Bang!!!
At this critical moment, a black figure, who had appeared from nowhere at some unknown time, suddenly punched the Magus in the face, unleashing a powerful Mana Burst!
Boom!!!
The Magus, disguised as a priest, was struck in the face by a sudden punch. Unable to even use magic, he was sent flying, then crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The entire scene fell silent for a moment. Even Aozaki Touko, who hated the Old Magus the most, was stunned.
In fact, Touko also had to admit the old man's profound skill in magic. Her previous fight with him couldn't even be called a battle; it was a completely one-sided situation.
Yet, such a man was actually sent flying by a single punch.
A punch that rivaled the burst of a Grand Magic! A subsequent kick was dodged by the Old Magus through time travel. The Old Magus swiftly retreated, and where he had just been, the missed kick smashed a large crater into the ground.
Touko, having escaped from a desperate situation, regained her senses and looked at the black figure that had suddenly appeared, subconsciously shouting, "Rin..."
Under the moonlit night, with the long wind sweeping, Rin, clad in dark night colors, appeared before the Old Magus again. Rin let out an annoyed "Tch": "Old man, you really made me search for you."
And what a search it was! The spiritual pulse entrance was in the deep mountains north of Misaki City, outside. Rin contacted Touko, who used her familiars to gather information. The results fed back to Rin told her that Aoko had gone to the Church Sanctuary, which was in the southern suburbs of Misaki! After Rin burst out of the leyline, she traversed the entire Misaki City, heedless of causing a sensation. She sped along the roads like lightning, causing who knows how much chaos. But thankfully, she made it in time.
However, feeling the sensation of her punch connecting, Rin couldn't help but raise her hand and look at her right fist in doubt. Actually, Rin hadn't intended to land that punch at all; she just wanted to force the Old Magus back, but it happened to hit him! She looked back at Aoko, who couldn't intervene, and a raised eyebrow immediately made her understand.
The old man was no longer the controller of the Fifth Magic—
Aoko and the old man each controlled a part of the Fifth Magic. In that instant, the old man's magic had failed!
Although he activated it again afterwards, there was no doubt that the previous extensive use had created an irreparable rift between the Fifth Magic and the Old Magus.
This old geezer was "eating medicine sooner or later" if he couldn't retrieve the Magic Crest!
Moreover, that punch to the face absolutely could not have left him unharmed. He must have used magic to time-reverse to an uninjured moment, or thrown the damage from that punch into the future.
"Touko, this old man can't use the Fifth Magic many more times. The more he uses it, the faster the connection between the Fifth Magic and him will collapse. Aoko's delayed awakening might not be unrelated to this old man's continued presence." Then Rin glanced at the hole in the church wall, a smirk on her lips, and said to Touko, "Your Phantasmal Species is a dud, gone in one encounter."
As if contradicting Rin's words, a powerful Mana fluctuation erupted inside the church. A gigantic Golden Wolf, its entire body enveloped in Mana fluctuations, burst out of the wall it had just smashed through.
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