Shinji Matou at Your Service

In his berserk state, Svin had no idea what Touko was thinking. His mind was entirely consumed with the thought of how to quickly defeat this dangerous woman and complete his mission.

There was no need to hold back; he had to unleash all his power.

His roar, fangs, claws, reaction speed, combat instincts, the accumulation of his family's knowledge, and his teacher's teachings—all of it.

At this moment, Svin was fully immersed in the mystery of the world, converting his life into power. If Waver Velvet were to see this, he would undoubtedly feel an immense sense of pride.

However, even Svin still couldn't get close to Touko, let alone break her gaze, because—

"This level of completion and magical power is close to a Grand. But unfortunately, when it comes to dealing with wolves, I have some expertise."

Touko continued to talk as she inscribed Runes.

Sometimes, flames ignited.

Sometimes, ice spikes were created.

Sometimes, a violent wind arose.

Sometimes, thunder clapped.

Runes are such a convenient form of magecraft that, even after their decline, many continued to study them. This is why, after the restoration of the foundation, they quickly revived.

Drawing power from nature, the Runes generated a barrier that firmly protected Touko. Her relaxed demeanor fully demonstrated what it means to be a magus standing at the pinnacle of Rune magic.

Knowing that Svin alone posed no threat to Touko, Reines deployed a second person.

"Gray."

"Understood."

The Scythe carved out a dark streak, slicing through the air and breaking through the barrier created by the Rune symbols.

"Huh?"

For the first time, Touko was forced back, a faint look of surprise crossing her face.

"I didn't notice earlier, but your weapon—it's probably a mystery over a thousand years old. Could it be that it's not even man-made? Modern magus can't stand up to that."

The ancient defeats the modern when it comes to mysteries. Though reversals can happen depending on compatibility and skill, this principle generally holds. In most cases, older mysteries are stronger, making Gray, who possesses Add, a natural enemy of the modern magus.

"...If you understand that, could you please step back?"

Gray stopped her attack, earnestly asking Touko.

"Sorry, but this is still a contract. I can't give up so easily."

Touko continued to inscribe Runes with her finger. Her movements lost their casual ease, each stroke now slow and solemn, as though the air around her had turned into a viscous liquid.

"Hey, do you understand how to use something this over the top?"

Add couldn't help but exclaim, while Gray felt a deep fear.

Though she didn't understand Rune's magic, the ancient aura emanating from the text told her—and everyone else—that this was a higher-level existence than any Rune she had seen Touko inscribe before.

"The Primordial... Rune!!!"

Reines gasped in shock. She had known Touko Aozaki was a key figure in the revival of Rune magic, but she hadn't expected her to be able to use such ancient characters.

"Gray, be careful!"

"Do you have time to worry about others? Perhaps you should worry about yourself first."

Atrum's grating laughter echoed from nearby.

"It seems you're the Crownless Lord's most trusted assistant. I wonder how he'd react if you were to die. Will he be devastated?"

Atrum, having been ignored, insulted, and beaten down multiple times, had descended into a twisted madness. He was eager to prove himself, desperate to earn some kind of achievement. The most suitable target, of course, was the highest-ranking and now helpless Reines, who was immobilized by Touko's gaze.

Faced with this deranged nouveau riche, Reines didn't show fear or panic. She spoke calmly as if she were evaluating something unrelated to herself.

"I, too, am curious. If I were to die, how would my brother react? Would he cry? Or would he secretly smile, relieved that there's no one left to tease him? But if I ever meet such an end, it definitely won't be at your hands. A second-rate magus like you can't hurt me."

"You wretched girl! You want to die!!!"

Atrum completely lost his mind. He had intended to regain his confidence by targeting the weakest enemy, only to be humiliated once again.

"Gush Out!!!"

In an instant, the clouds above spun like a tornado, rapidly descending.

The dark clouds pressed down, lightning flashed and thunder roared within them, constantly exploding with deafening sound.

Heaven's wrath!

Atrum's final trump card, using weather magecraft to unleash his strongest attack, carried enough terrifying power to reduce Reines to ashes.

Faced with Atrum's furious assault, Reines remained calm, a confident smile on her lips.

"I knew you'd do that. Flat, I'm counting on you. Can you handle it?"

"Leave it to me! Let me show you what a real Faraday cage looks like! Playball!"

With Flat's confident shout, a copper net rose from the grass.

Compared to the crude version Reines had made, Flat's modified copper net was more scientific and logical, and it also looked much more aesthetically pleasing.

He manipulated the copper net with one hand while taunting the sky with the other.

"Come on, come on! If Miss Reines gets hurt, I'll admit defeat."

"You brat! You and that wretched girl can die together!"

The thunder struck!

In ancient times, it was considered divine punishment, a force to be feared in all civilizations, bringing ultimate destruction.

But this time, the mighty force of nature was stopped by a small copper net. No matter how loud the thunder was, no matter how thick the lightning, it couldn't break through the copper net to harm them inside.

"Mmm, mmm. I didn't waste all that time for nothing. Perfect, perfect."

The usually lively Flat had been unusually quiet earlier because he was secretly refining the Faraday cage's design. To ensure it wouldn't leak electricity, he had even waterproofed every single copper wire.

From a purely structural standpoint, this was perfectly correct, but from a practical defense against lightning, it was the least efficient method. It would have been far easier to add an extra protective spell to counter the risk of leakage rather than performing such complex alchemical processing. Touko couldn't help but feel exasperated watching this from the other side.

"What is this? Is he the kind of idiot who puts all his effort into pointless things? Wait, this doesn't even use the existing magical foundation. It's like he created a temporary magecraft formula to replace the foundation. It's like recreating a CPU every time you use a computer. Idiot doesn't even begin to describe it—he's a total anomaly. But then again, as an anomaly myself, I have no right to talk."

Indeed, in a sense, everyone present was an anomaly.