"Ding, ding, ding, ding."
Accompanied by the loud chime from the Clock Tower, the time for the Night Party had finally arrived.
From this moment on, until midnight, it would be the time for the Night Party.
At this point, Veyron hadn't arrived yet, and Charl and Frey were still absent. However, except for Frey, who was in the infirmary, anyone else who could reach the Night Party's battlefield before midnight and complete an hour of standby duty would not be disqualified from participating.
In other words, the Night Party was very flexible, and participants were free to decide how to act from the beginning to the end.
Naturally, initiating a battle right away was also an option.
And Rosenberg clearly intended to do just that.
"Go."
Rosenberg's ruthless and cold voice immediately sounded.
The ones who responded to his command were a total of five students.
"Buzz!"
Among the Knights of the Cross, five students stepped forward, each releasing their magic into the five automatons they carried.
"Boom!"
Each knight-like automaton erupted with astonishing magical power one after another.
In the audience seats, the spectators began to exclaim.
Because at this moment, the magical power released from these five automatons was incredibly astonishing.
In terms of magical power alone, it was approaching the level of the "Thirteen."
"They've indeed hidden their strength!"
"Are all the members of that knight order this powerful!?"
"It's terrifying!"
The audience was buzzing with excitement.
Only Rozen could see through the secrets with his ability "Spirit Vision."
"I see."
Rozen muttered, his voice revealing a subtle, imperceptible coldness.
"Yaya."
Rozen spoke expressionlessly.
"Yes."
Yaya, as if she had been waiting for it, leaped forward and arrived in front of Rozen.
In that instant, five knights made their move.
"Swish!"
It was the sound of the flickering afterimages.
Suddenly, the knights emerged without any signs, acceleration, or motion. They were like bullets, launched without warning, and in an instant, their speed reached its maximum, leaving a trail of afterimages.
"So fast!"
Yaya exclaimed, taken aback.
Indeed, it was fast.
Not in terms of their speed but in the speed at which their burst of speed occurred.
The five knights had not accelerated, nor had they started running. They naturally and effortlessly pushed their speed to the limit, leaving afterimages as they traversed the entire area, darting around Yaya.
It was as if there were countless knights surrounding Yaya, making the entire area full of knightly afterimages.
Faced with this scene, ordinary puppeteers would likely have panicked and been defeated, and even Yaya was momentarily disoriented, not knowing what action to take.
In this situation, the enemies launched their attack.
"Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!"
Amidst the continuous flickering and breaking of the sound barrier, the knights suddenly rushed from all directions at Yaya with astonishing speed.
"!"
Yaya responded in time, without hesitation activating the magical circuits of "Kongouriki" to prepare for the attack and defend against the five knights.
However, the next second, the five knights seemed to ignore gravity and inertia, suddenly changing direction and flashing to Yaya's side.
"Huh?"
Yaya suddenly felt a blur before her, and the enemies had disappeared. Instead, she sensed hostility and killing intent from her side.
The five knights, like bullets, rushed towards Yaya and launched their attacks. Their hands held sharp swords, which cut through the air with a silvery gleam, aiming for Yaya's body.
"Clang!"
In a crisp clash, the sharp swords struck Yaya's body simultaneously, creating intense sparks. However, the sharp weapons failed to cut through Yaya's skin, and not even her kimono was torn. Instead, they produced a metallic sound upon impact, as if hitting steel.
But...
"Ugh."
Yaya let out a faint groan. The force applied to the knights' swords was unexpectedly powerful. Yaya felt a tremendous force emanating from their blades, impacting her and even attempting to penetrate her body, causing internal vibrations.
Fortunately, Yaya's "Kongouriki" magic circuits resisted this impact, allowing her to respond by lifting her leg and delivering a powerful kick to the knights.
"Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Yaya's kicks transformed into a rapid flurry of leg strikes, each landing on one of the knights. This generated strong winds and explosive impacts, matching the force of the knights, sending them flying like kites with severed strings.
However, after enduring such a tremendous attack, each of the knights suddenly halted their backward flight. Then, as if completely unaffected, they glided back to their masters' sides, completely unharmed.
"How is this possible?"
Yaya was surprised once again.
The students who had initiated the attack wore a cunning smile on their faces, displaying pride and satisfaction. Not only the students but even Alice did not find this result surprising at all, and Rosenberg remained unfazed.
"I've heard that your automaton has the power and defense to withstand even 'Gram,'"
Rosenberg sneered at Rozen.
"Now it seems that it's just as they say."
Hearing this, Yaya couldn't help but feel angry.
On the contrary, Rozen cast a brief glance at Rosenberg and spoke calmly.
"So, this is the source of your confidence?"
Rozen's gaze swept over the unscathed knights, and he made a surprising remark.
"To be able to enhance attacks, defense, and speed by interfering with the molecular level of physical movements, with magic of this caliber, no wonder you're so confident."
As these words left his mouth, Rosenberg's mocking expression froze completely, leaving Alice, as well as the astonished onlookers, in shock.
"You..."
Rosenberg wore a disbelieving expression.
There's no helping it.
"Just after one round, he actually saw through their magic circuits?"
Alice furrowed her brows deeply.
But isn't this the most normal thing?
With Rozen's "Mind's Eye" ability, he could have already seen the sigils well before the Great Transformation and manipulated them through Yaya's "Kongouriki." Now, when the enemy used magic to interfere with the molecular motion of the automata, how could they possibly hide it from him?
It's more like...
"To see through something so easily makes it less interesting."
Rozen grinned and chuckled.
"No need to hold back. Dismantle them all."
Rozen issued the order impassively.
"Understood!"
Yaya unleashed a terrifying surge of power throughout her entire body.