Chapter 779: Out of Control and Suppression 

Touko's Mystic Eyes restrained Reines, using fear to overpower Svin and Gray, leaving only Flat as the remaining combatant from the El-Melloi classroom.

"What kind of shabby magecraft are you going to show me next, genius boy?"

Touko, who had been in control of the battle, said this while taking out her compact mirror, using it to direct her gaze onto Flat.

"Oh, you mentioned optical reflection earlier? Not a bad suggestion. Let's go with that."

"Eek, eek, eek~~~ This is bad, this is bad!!"

Realizing Toukos' gaze was on him, Flat panicked and tried to hide in the bushes. His swift movements indicated that he had already cast an enhancement spell on himself, making his reactions and spell-casting speed top-notch.

However—he had only run two steps when he slipped and collided headfirst with a tree trunk ahead, knocking himself out cold.

"..."

Even without wearing glasses and while in her colder, more calculating personality, Touko was stunned by the scene. She could swear by any means that she hadn't done anything, and there was no external interference in Flat's actions. This guy had simply run too fast, didn't notice the muddy ground beneath him, and knocked himself out.

"To think he'd self-destruct... This is really... A talent so lopsided is also a kind of rarity."

Enhancement isn't just about boosting strength—it also affects reflexes and balance, but it doesn't enhance one's experience or judgment. Flat's situation was one where his physical abilities had greatly improved, but his ability to use them was utterly lacking.

"Or maybe it's because of exceptional talent that they end up exposing fatal flaws in certain situations—this seems to be a common trait among you."

Before she could finish her sentence, Touko already got her answer from the continuous twitching of Reines' eyelids.

"The El-Melloi classroom certainly is an interesting place, no wonder he likes it. Heh, let's put that aside for now—looks like I've won this round. Oh, wait, there's one left—Lord Byron, will you surrender, or would you like to engage in a magecraft duel? Considering the pleasant time I've spent in the castle, I'll give you the choice."

The last remaining Byron was pale and trembling all over, whether from the sudden turn of events or Touko's attitude or perhaps both.

The middle-aged gentleman pondered and hesitated, while Touko took her time, silently savoring what might be her last limited-edition cigarette.

As the cigarette was about to burn out, she heard a song.

"Gray... Rave... Crave... Deprave..."

With each word, the surrounding source was devoured bit by bit.

"I see, so that's your secret."

Touko's long-maintained Mystic Eyes finally lifted, as she looked at the struggling Gray with a slight frown.

"Now that I think about it, your face... Ah, I didn't expect you're use the same method as me. This could be a problem—he might take an interest in this."

As if in response to her words, the handbag trembled slightly.

The handbag's essence was a seal, sealing a terrifying monster inside—a power even Touko couldn't fully control.

The same went for the seal on Add and Gray, which guarded the Holy Lance.

Similar seals influenced each other, and the same otherworldly mysteries stimulated one another.

The monster within the handbag made Gray feel a fatal threat and her powerlessness. Stimulated by this, the Holy Lance began to awaken, and Gray started transforming into the original wielder of the lance.

She had been created for this lance from the start. She just needed to wield it as the lance demanded. There was no need to think from the beginning. There was no point in trying to escape from the start, so all she had to do was accept it.

"Grave... me..."

Her head bowed, her voice low. Gray's consciousness was fading away, while another consciousness lurking deep within began to awaken—a monster created by her homeland.

In response to this monster, the handbag automatically opened.

This time, it wasn't an illusion but something happening in reality.

"Such a monster, such a weapon... Are you trying to destroy this place, destroy Iselma?!"

Following Atrum, Byron was now on the brink of collapse.

The darkness within the handbag spread outward, with vine-like tendrils ready to act.

"Grave... for you..."

The devoured magical energy began to return.

Within Gray's body and Add, a contract began to circulate.

That mysterious, undiminished environment caused flesh and bones to be reborn by magic, allowing the genetic factors of a certain past hero to be hypothetically constructed.

——"What you should destroy is—"

——"You are a child to be proud of."

——"Because you are more like a hero than anyone else."

The voice echoed in her mind.

The voice of her homeland.

The people.

The parents and relatives were purely delighted by her change.

Ah, yes.

All she had to do was completely give herself over.

She just needed to transform.

Into someone who was no longer herself, an ancient hero.

"You'd better run now, or else you won't be able to run later," Touko said, pressing her temples as she began reinforcing herself with enhancement magecraft.

"There's no need."

Accompanied by a cold voice tinged with resignation, two figures, one red and one black descended from the sky.

The red one charged towards the handbag at Touko's feet, sending it flying with a single blow, then chased after it with even greater speed, striking it again and again until, in the blink of an eye, the handbag had flown into the sky.

The black figure came to Gray's side, forcibly seizing the Scythe of Death, which had been infused with magical power and was transforming into the Holy Lance, despite Add's consuming effect.

The half-lance, half-scythe weapon struggled to return to its owner, but Shinji, refusing to let it go, forcefully subdued it.

"Behave!"

With a loud, rough command, the struggle subsided, along with the star's brilliance contained within.

The Holy Lance could only be used by Artoria herself or Gray, who was born to recreate King Arthur. Once separated from Gray, the connection between the person and the lance was severed, and the seal was reactivated, returning it to its original form—a small caged box.

Deprived of the Holy Lance's stimulus, the monster within the handbag ceased its agitation and was pressed back into the bag by Katou.

A potential disaster of uncontrollable magnitude was thus quietly averted.