Rin looked at the Golden Wolf beside her, its entire body surging with Mana, and felt a twitch in her face, because she was too familiar with this skill.
Damn it, this is Mana Burst!
Actually, Rin wasn't too surprised by this, because it was already written in the grimoire that recorded Mana Burst: Mana Burst was originally a skill created by the wise among humanity's ancestors, imitating Phantasmal Species. It was only later that Mana Tempering was invented to allow frail humans to use this skill, and further applications like Mana Solidification were developed using human wisdom.
Even knowing this, seeing a beast use her signature skill, why did it feel so awkward? Especially since the Golden Wolf looked at her with a questioning gaze, as if seeing a kindred spirit.
You damn sister! Who's your kindred spirit?!
Touko breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Beowulf was just provoked by that old ghost and became somewhat reckless." Then she said to Aoko beside her, "Aoko, leave the next battle to Rin and me. You stay behind us and fully focus on sensing the Fifth Magic. Close contact with magic should allow you to awaken as quickly as possible. As long as you can awaken in time, victory will be ours."
"Okay, I understand."
Aoko pulled back her sleeve to reveal the Magic Crest on her arm, closed her eyes, and placed all her energy into the crest on her hand, fully searching for that elusive sense of mystery.
Seeing the Old Magus with a gloomy face in front of her, Rin felt a pang of anxiety. After all, here she didn't have infinite magic to use; in the outside world, she was merely a high-ranking Magus skilled in close combat, and Touko's strength was not far from hers. The Old Magus, even without considering the Fifth Magic, was definitely a Grand Title Holder, and of the highest level. Although his possessed body would rapidly collapse due to being unable to bear the weight of the mystery, the Old Magus's strength could still be fully unleashed. Otherwise, he wouldn't have so effortlessly blocked Touko's Greater Magic.
"Little girl, this is the last time this Old Magus asks you, do you truly not wish to cooperate with this Old Magus?" The Old Magus spoke again, trying to persuade her, as his current physical condition was truly unsuitable for direct confrontation.
"Tch, did that punch just now not wake you up, or did my punch hit your spiritual body's head too hard, causing you to still be dreaming?" To be contemptuous of any opponent in words, yet to be fully vigilant against all enemies in one's heart—this was an iron rule Rin had set for herself after seeing too many strong individuals in her previous life who had 'capsized in the ditch'.
"In that case, don't blame this Old Magus for being merciless!"
"If that's the case, then I'll join as well."
The sudden voice made everyone pause. Looking in the direction the voice came from, they saw Alice, with her jet-black attire and snow-white skin, emerge from the bushes. As she spoke, Alice took a crystal bottle from her bra pocket. The moment she uncorked it, endless white smoke filled the area. A full moon appeared in the sky out of nowhere, and then, an inexplicable song began to play... "London · bridge · is · broken · down"
"broken · down, broken · down"
"my · fair · lady"
"..."
Accompanying the song was a dense wave of magical power that covered the surrounding forest. The powerful magic instantly pushed away the enveloping white mist, forming a unique zone.
As the peculiar song played, the earth trembled. The trees behind Alice continuously fell, emitting mournful cries, and the ground cracked, as if an unknown monster was about to crawl out from beneath.
Boom boom boom!!!
The puppets that had just been destroyed by the Old Magus returned to their original state, surrounded by mist. Immediately after, an endless variety of monsters, recorded in various fairy tales, emerged from underground and from the sky.
One of the three ploys, the Demon King's tool that was stolen before Rin even entered the fight last time, the untouchable, the malicious Clown King: Moon Oil!
The oil hidden in the bottle could transform a designated area into a fairy tale world, resurrecting things that were abandoned, damaged, or forgotten. Its true form was hidden in the clouds and mist, but it had no effect on products of modern civilization.
The Old Magus's expression immediately turned incredibly grim. His gaze fell upon Alice, saying, "The descendant of the Great Witch."
"It's been a while, senior." Alice's expression was always unperturbed, and her tone was always calm.
"You have no reason to interfere in this matter," the Old Magus said, suppressing his anger.
"If it were a battle between Touko and Aoko over the family crest, I would indeed be an outsider with no reason to get involved. But senior, you now appear to be nothing more than a ghost, an inhuman ghost trying to harm my three closest friends. Why can't I interfere?" Alice replied matter-of-factly, her face expressionless. As she spoke, the glass cat bell "Night Banquet" had already landed, making the night even darker. Subsequently, the black and white pig "Talking Twins," the "Bridge Giant," the "Rose Hound," and a host of other familiars appeared from behind Alice.
The Old Magus's face was truly hideous at this moment. He laughed in extreme anger, "Good, good, good, indeed, new generations replace the old! Today, this Old Magus will see if you three juniors can truly stop this Old Magus!"
As if waiting for the Old Magus's declaration of war, fairy tale monsters from all directions swarmed forward! Fire-breathing dragons, goblins wielding stone knives and clubs, jelly-like slimes, pig-headed orcs carrying spiked clubs... various, even somewhat comical-looking creatures charged at the Old Magus.
The domain unfolded by the Moon Oil was a recreation of a fairy tale world. This space had become a world unto itself; therefore, no matter how large-scale the magic cast, it would not be detected by others.
Two giant hundred-meter-tall tornado hurricanes suddenly appeared beside the Old Magus. The roaring hurricanes swept up countless fairy tale familiars, shredding them, and pushed towards Aoko's side.
Projection: Nameless Bow.
Projection: Spiral Sword.
Two lightning-fast arrows shot into the center of the tornado hurricanes.
Phantasm Collapse!
Boom!!!
Boom!!!
The exploding demonic swords, with their violent magical explosions, unleashed ten thousand bolts of lightning, instantly destroying the stable center of the tornadoes. The tornadoes immediately vanished.
The fairy tale monsters, shredded into pieces in mid-air, rapidly reassembled, reconnected, and returned to their original state under the envelopment of the Moon Oil, then charged at the Old Magus once more.
Rin, holding the Nameless Bow, stood behind the monster army, feeling the magic within her body recovering at an extremely fast rate. She couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder Touko jokingly calls it 'Moon Oil Magic.'"
Within the Moon Oil's dominion, magic could be generated infinitely, and discarded and forgotten objects could be freely manipulated, achieving the regeneration of a fairy tale world. Therefore, the fairy tale familiars in this world, no matter how much they were damaged, could instantly return to their original state. And thanks to Alice, Rin could also freely draw infinite magic in this space.
Because it absorbed pure magic rather than life force, it could be used directly without conversion and would not cause complex effects on the Magic Circuits. Although it was not as powerful as directly mobilizing boundless great magic in the dragon source hall, it could ensure Rin's sustained consumption.
One Hundred and Four: The Old Magus Aozaki's Gamble
Just as she was about to detonate the projection to activate Phantasm Collapse, a tall, thin priest wearing glasses and a priest's coat suddenly appeared in front of Rin... Fumito... Yoriko? No, he had already been possessed by the Old Magus! Then this was... countless powerful, instantaneous wind blades swept across the ground where Rin had just stood. Rin's body moved faster than her consciousness, dodging the frontal wind blade attack, instantly circling behind the Old Magus, and directly pressing down on the Old Magus's head, twisting off his head with a "crack!" Rin was stunned for a moment... Dead? With his head twisted off, it was impossible to escape the outcome of death with magic.
No, this old fox wouldn't come to his own death. Then... Rin quickly regained her composure and looked behind her... Damn it!!!
At the same time, seven Old Magus Aozaki appeared simultaneously! Four of them jointly cast Greater Magic, and unimaginably powerful hurricane blades tore through everything, stopping the advance of all the fairy tale armies and familiars. Even Rin and the Golden Wolf found it impossible to move under this world-sweeping, indiscriminate attack that ignored target locations. The remaining three had already appeared behind Touko, Aoko, and Alice, who were standing together!
Summoning one's deceased self! This was the highest level of application of the Fifth Magic, directly utilizing the timeline to re-summon one's past, deceased self to the present! These multiple Old Magus who appeared could have been from a second ago, two seconds ago, or even decades ago, but there was no doubt that these were all true Fifth Magus! Each possessed one hundred percent of his strength!
"This Old Magus is betting his life!"
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