Chapter 770: Atrum Joins the Battle

In the minds of ordinary people, lightning is the second fastest thing in nature, surpassed only by light. By the time the thunder roared, it was already too late for Flat and Svin to realize something was wrong and try to warn the others.

Luckily, the boys didn't have time to react, but someone could—Add. This consciousness attached to the Mystic Code had an abundance of combat experience and a mental link with Gray. Whenever Gray was in danger, Add was always the first to sound the alarm.

When the mana started accumulating abnormally, Add had already noticed it. Because of this, Gray was able to raise her shield in time to block the lightning strike.

"Damn it! Someone ambush my precious Gray!"

Svin roared in fury, his voice reverberating through the forest, even more terrifying than the thunder itself.

This roar had the power to disperse a magus' mana and had often given Svin an advantage. However, this time, his usually unstoppable roar had no effect.

The spell that the man emerging from the bushes had woven remained solid. This could only mean one thing: the enemy's mana was so concentrated and stable that it was difficult to interfere with, a sign of high-level magic proficiency.

The expressions of the attackers confirmed this; it was a different kind of fear, mixed with reverence and concern, the attitude of subordinates toward their superiors.

Seeing this man, Byron's eyes flared with obvious anger.

"Atrum Galliasta!"

The dark-skinned young man didn't even glance at Byron. His eyes were fixed only on Flat, who was scrutinizing him, Svin, who was baring his teeth at him, and Gray, who was peeking out from behind her shield, completely unharmed.

"The El-Melloi classroom, huh? Very impressive!"

◇◇◇

Not far away in the spectator stands, Shinji was also speaking similar words.

"So he's Oil king, huh? Impressive!"

"That nickname is quite fitting," Reines chuckled briefly before quickly restraining her smile.

"But it's impossible for him to have earned such a reputation solely from oil. Are Gray and the others going to be okay?"

"They'll be fine. If it's just Galliasta, even if he brought a hundred men, he wouldn't stand a chance against those three. But I'm worried there might be more enemies than just Galliasta. When that happens, it'll be up to you to handle their lightning."

As Shinji spoke, he melted a piece of brass. The molten metal, instead of solidifying upon contact with the ground, was drawn by an unknown force to gather near Reines' feet, eventually forming a nearly one-meter-wide sphere of liquid metal.

"If that Faraday cage you mentioned is as powerful as you say."

Noticing the unease in Reines' voice, Shinji smacked his forehead.

"I forgot you haven't attended high school yet, so you haven't encountered high school physics. I wonder if Waver ever told you—anyone who messes with lightning without understanding science is doomed to be third-rate. Forget about geniuses like Edison, Tesla, Faraday, or Franklin—even an electrician could leave him powerless."

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

Although she already knew Shinji was very capable, hearing him speak so dismissively still made Reines a bit uncomfortable.

"Knowledge is power, young lady. It's a truth that applies to everything, except maybe magecraft. The more you read and learn, the less you'll regret it."

"Yes, yes, you sound just like my brother even though you're only a few years older than me. So prematurely old-fashioned."

"Hey, don't compare me to that workaholic Waver! Be careful, or I'll—hmm?"

Mid-sentence, Shinji suddenly stopped, closed his eyes to sense something, and then spoke with some resignation.

"Ah, it seems I was right. It's going to be up to you next."

"What about you?"

Reines' expression changed slightly.

"I have to go settle a score with an old friend."

Shinji raised his head, his gaze piercing through the mist ahead, where a pair of barely visible eyes gleamed with a golden hue, revealing a faint trace of orange deep within.

◇◇◇

"I see. So not just the El-Melloi classroom, but even you... Hmph, we're barely reunited, and now we have to face off. If I had known, I wouldn't have accepted this commission."

At the same time, a female magus at the Moon Tower opened her orange eyes, a hint of distress on her intellectual face, followed by a pout.

"No, this isn't my fault; it's yours. If you had told me that secret, I wouldn't have agreed to this additional commission. Underestimating a woman's curiosity has its price—you deserve it. But opposing him... is not going to be easy. In a way, he's just as troublesome as Aoko, perhaps even more so. I might end up facing the full power of the Third Magic."

Taking a deep breath, the woman who both hated and relied on the color orange stood up from the sofa.

"I have no choice. Since I accepted the commission, I must fulfill it. That's my creed. So, Shinji, let's have a long-awaited duel. Don't you dare lose to me."

The woman removed her glasses. At her feet was a peculiar, somewhat bulky, and oversized leather bag, strange compared to the other items she carried.

◇◇◇

The moisture in the cumulonimbus clouds finally reached its limit, condensing into raindrops that fell heavily.

In an instant, it began to pour.

Amidst the downpour, Atrum spoke in a voice colder than the rain.

"El-Melloi classroom, you have nothing to do with this. Withdraw now, and I can still pretend nothing happened."

"Sorry, but the professor said we need to take you down."

If Atrum's expression at that moment resembled the dark clouds overhead, then Flat's face was like the sunshine of a spring afternoon, beaming so brightly it was hard to believe they were on a battlefield.

"To ambush my precious Gray, you must pay the price."

In his phantom wolf state, Svin licked his claws, his eyes gleaming like those of a wolf eyeing its prey.

"That's truly unfortunate. I thought the highly-regarded New Age would be smart, but it turns out they're just a bunch of fools. To have such students, that professor must be overrated."

Atrum shook his head in regret as he retrieved a small object from his suit, a small pot-like device.

"You've heard of it, haven't you? The primitive battery... or the Baghdad Battery."

The world's oldest battery was discovered in the ruins of Khujut Rabu, on the outskirts of the Middle East.

It's generally believed to have been developed accidentally with the aim of gilding, despite no knowledge of battery construction. However, this structure has also been passed down through magus hands, evolving through a completely different route from science.

When one of the families researching this structure declined, Galliasta bought their knowledge and history with money. For a family originally specializing in ore and oil, the primitive battery was an ideal vessel.

After some time of research, the Galliasta family succeeded in infusing their mana into electricity. By harnessing a power revered as divine or godlike in many ancient cultures, they have thrived ever since.

The primitive battery in Atram's hand and the weather magecraft overhead both utilized this technology. Now, the contemporary master of this technique was about to unleash its true power.

"Unleash fury (Gush Out)."

Thunderstruck!!!