Chapter 775: The Black Cat

This was the most perfected and powerful magecraft cast since the battle began. Although in the world of magecraft, the connection between perfection and power isn't always direct, Aozaki Touko, who stood at the pinnacle of magus, had seamlessly combined them, unleashing a strike that would astonish anyone.

Anyone hit directly by this attack would suffer severe injuries, even someone as protected as Svin, who was guarded by his Phantom Wolf, or even Touko herself, the creator of the technique.

However, despite the light from the runes illuminating her face, there wasn't a hint of assured victory on Touko's face. Instead, there was an unexpected trace of surprise.

"That reaction, that speed... someone could do that?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the shockwave formed by countless runes dissipated, revealing a ground level to the earth, spotless except for some charred ashes of grass and trees, with no other trace—no sign of anyone.

Reines, who should have been trapped within the runes and unable to escape, was now by Flat's side, both of them being protected by Gray, who held the Scythe.

The last member of their team, Svin, was at a distance, locked in a fierce battle with the strange black cat, slashing with his claws.

In the instant the explosion was about to occur and the black cat launched its attack, Gray unleashed all the magical energy Add had consumed in one burst, converting it entirely into speed. At the last moment, she managed to carve out a gap in the explosion, rescuing Reines.

Of course, the black cat wasn't about to let Gray off so easily, following her at an equally astonishing speed. At first, Gray managed to maintain some distance, thanks to the advantage of her magic burst, but after she grabbed ReinesLainurys and was caught by the explosion's aftermath, her speed inevitably decreased. The bizarre black cat, however, was unaffected by the explosion.

The distance between the two girls and the cat quickly shrank, with the cat closing in fast. Fortunately, Svin arrived just in time, engaging the black cat with his sharp claws, buying the two girls time to escape.

Touko, true to her reputation, although unable to see the exact movements of Gray and Svin, accurately inferred the entire process through experience. After a brief moment of surprise, she clapped her hands in praise.

"First of all, congratulations, ladies, on escaping. However, it seems your companion is in a bit of a tough spot."

It's not just a bit tough—it's very tough.

Both the Phantom Wolf Svin and the black cat possessed extreme speed. During the time Touko spoke, the wolf and the cat had already clashed dozens of times.

The cat's claws raked across Svin's fur, while Svin's wolf claws pierced the black cat's body.

On the surface, it looked like the black cat was at a disadvantage, but in reality, Svin's wolf claws felt no solid contact, as if they were striking water. The flat cat that had been pierced showed no sign of bleeding, nor did its movements pause for even a moment.

On the other hand, the cat's claws inflicted real and effective damage on Svin, tearing apart his external Phantom, and causing his golden fur to revert to its original magic form and scatter.

Though the damage hadn't yet reached his physical body, if things continued as they were, it wouldn't be long before the Phantom Wolf's form was stripped away, leaving Svin at the mercy of the cat—not a man, but a cat.

"Hehehehe! What the heck is this thing? Is it something created by a modern magus?!"

ADd, unable to hold it in, burst out laughing.

This laughter caught Touko's attention, diverting her sharp gaze away from the dominant black cat to focus precisely through Gray's weapon—or more accurately, on the Scythe's mouth.

"Oh? A talking weapon? I've never seen anything like that before. Hey, girl over there, could you lend me that weapon to study?"

"Eeeeeek!"

Before Gray could answer, Add let out a scream. At that moment, he remembered the terrifying experience when Waver wanted to dissect him; Touko's tone was identical to Waver's back then.

Unbeknownst to him, this reaction only heightened Touko's interest.

"You can feel fear; that makes me even more intrigued. What kind of technology was used to create you? Sealing a spirit or simulating a personality?"

"Aozaki-san, we're still in the middle of a battle."

Seeing Touko's attention starting to drift, Atrum quickly reminded her.

But his well-meaning reminder was met with complete indifference from the female magus. She frowned, exhaled a puff of smoke, and seemed to suggest that the head of the Galliasta family was less important than smoking.

"Sigh, the taste is still terrible."

Alright, not just seemed—it was less important.

The cigarette in Touko's hand wasn't the Dragon Smoke she usually smoked but a rarer, handcrafted cigarette. Over ten years ago, a Taiwanese collector had produced just one box out of personal preference, and it had long since become a collector's item.

The half-pack in Touko's hand was an old item that Lord Valualeta had kept for her for nearly 20 years. Back when Touko was studying at the Clock Tower, she accidentally left the cigarettes in the lab, where her teacher, Valualeta, found them and applied anti-moisture magic to preserve them. Last night, during a conversation between master and disciple, she returned them to Touko. It was a treasure money couldn't buy, and someone with nothing but money like Atrum could never compare.

Of course, Atrum wasn't aware of the story behind it. He felt humiliated once again, and for a moment, he even considered killing her who was so close to him. However, when he met those orange eyes, the coldness in them instantly extinguished his killing intent.

"Although it's a bit troublesome, let's wrap this up quickly."

At her master's command, the black cat suddenly sat down.

Though it was sitting, its speed didn't decrease; instead, it became even faster. Maintaining that sitting posture, it slid through the trees and shadows, its pupil-less eyes drawing closer and closer to Svin.

Svin sensed the danger, swinging his claws faster and faster, but that couldn't stop the black cat's advance.

Gray gripped the Scythe tightly, about to rush to help, but was stopped by Reines.

"Not there, above."

The raindrops in midair, outlining a faint shadow beneath the dark clouds.

In the next moment, Gray left the ground, and at the highest point, she swung the Scythe, colliding with the falling raindrops.

Although it was invisible, she hit something.

After being slashed by the scythe, the invisibility magic on it instantly failed, and the object became visible as it fell to the ground.

It was a bird-shaped familiar. Its body and wings were woven from brass wires, and its eyes were rubies. Inside, there was something resembling a miniature old-style film reel, rotating and projecting some kind of light through the gemstone eyes.

As that light faded, the cat also vanished.

"So it was a projection," Flat murmured as he observed the black cat.

"That's why it couldn't be cut," Svin, whose Phantom had been mostly destroyed, gasped in realization.

To be precise, it wasn't that it couldn't be cut; it was that no matter how many times it was cut, as long as the projector was intact, it would continue to absorb magic from the Great Source and restore itself. This was technology beyond its time, a Mystic Code that only a Grand Magus could create.

"Ah, it's been destroyed. Was it a problem with the materials? If I had asked Justeaze to make it—no, she probably wouldn't agree because she'd be on the opposite side of him. What a loyal woman... well, I don't have the right to judge others."

Shaking her head regretfully, Touko with the cigarette looked up at Reines, who had just deciphered her trick. A rare glimmer of recognition appeared in her orange eyes.

"Good eyes. As expected, we're quite alike."