Chapter 111
The magic circle shattered like glass shards and scattered into the air.
Franz couldn’t help but be flustered. He had thought she was somewhat strong, but he hadn’t expected her to have this kind of ability. It was like thinking a worm could only wriggle, only for it to suddenly take flight.
But that was only for a moment. Quickly regaining his composure, Franz began to analyze the situation.
'It doesn’t seem like she’s analyzing the magic…'
If anti-magic was about analyzing an opponent’s magic and intervening in the process, what she was doing seemed to be making the magic itself disappear.
If so, just how far could she take it?
Snap-.
As Franz snapped his fingers, about ten magic circles were drawn in the air. He intended to test her ability with various spells, from fire-attribute magic to non-attribute magic.
Soon, a magic circle shone, and a reasonably sized fireball was fired.
“Multiple spells have been deployed. You have quite good skills, don’t you.”
Still wearing a relaxed smile, she said that and swung her sharp nails. Then, the flying fireball disappeared, just as if it had never existed in the first place.
However, the sight Franz saw was a little different.
“Is she interfering with the mana itself?”
The fireball looked like it had disappeared, but to be exact, it had lost its properties and had returned to ordinary mana.
Franz made some of the magic circles floating in the air disappear. Since he had figured out the principle of her ability, there was less to test.
The cultist, who had no way of knowing his own intentions, seemed to be firmly mistaken about something, though.
“I thought you could provide a little fun, but it seems it was all a bluff.”
Fun…
Does the prey find it fun these days?
Unless she had a rather unique taste, that would be hard to do.
Franz let out a pfft of a chuckle and snapped his fingers.
Snap-.
With a cheerful sound, compressed air in the shape of a crescent moon shot out from the remaining magic circle. It was Wind Magic that slashed whatever it touched.
The magic flew straight toward her, and seeing it, she shook her head from side to side.
“Stupid fool, do you not know that it won’t work…”
Saying so, she raised her hand to destroy the magic.
At that moment, as Franz moved his finger, the magic that had been flying straight surged upward.
Having lost its target, her hand swung through the empty air, and at the same time, something large fell from the ceiling.
It was a stalactite that Franz’s Wind Magic had sliced off.
“Now, what will you do?”
If it went as expected, she had to either block or dodge the stalactite. Just because magic didn’t work on her didn’t mean she was physically invincible.
Franz’s thought was exactly right.
CRASH-!
She swung her fist and smashed the stalactite to pieces.
“To use such a cheap trick…!”
She expressed her anger with a distorted expression. It was the moment the relaxed look disappeared from her face for the first time.
However, Franz’s experiment wasn’t over yet.
“I will take your neck…”
It was the moment she tried to continue speaking.
A magic circle was drawn behind her, and a small fireball was immediately fired. It would only sting if it hit, not enough to deal a significant blow.
Thud-.
However, it seemed to be enough to shut her up. Struck by the magic, she stopped talking and slowly dropped her head.
Her occasionally trembling hands showed how she was feeling. She was probably quite angry.
Franz himself didn’t care whether she was or not, though.
“Only what touches her hands gets nullified.”
If so, was the secret in her nails, or in her hands themselves?
Following the Red Magic Stone, Franz’s curiosity welled up once again.
Franz always called mages magic maniacs, but he himself wasn’t much different. When a situation like this arose, he couldn’t hold back his excitement.
“Well, I have no choice but to check it myself.”
At the same time Franz organized his thoughts like that, she raised her head.
“I will never let you go easily…! I will peel off your skin little by little while you’re alive…! And I will throw the remaining flesh to the bugs…! It will be useless to beg me to kill you later…!”
Her anger must have reached its peak, as veins bulged on her forehead, and the whites of her eyes were dyed red from burst capillaries.
Looking at her like that, Franz thought.
“The way she acts is exactly like those who are all bluster and no bite.”
The fact that she couldn’t even put it into action while her words flowed like water was a clear example.
Still, well, at least this one was facing him face-to-face. Was she a little better than those who only dared to threaten from afar?
It was then.
She kicked off the ground and lunged at Franz. It was such an incredible speed that for a moment, it created the illusion that she had disappeared.
But who was Franz? Although he was currently buried in work and suffering hardships surrounded by women, wasn’t he once a great mage who subjugated the Demon Lord?
Dodging her attack was easier than breaking up a fight between mages.
In a split second, a magic circle was drawn, and Franz’s figure moved to another location. He dodged her attack with teleport.
Arriving a step too late at the spot where Franz had been, she stopped in her tracks and burst into laughter as if she had lost her mind.
And soon, she looked at Franz with a cold expression and said.
“…It’s been a really long time since I’ve been this angry…”
How filthy was her personality, to get angry just because he dodged an attack?
If she had been the Magic Tower lord, she wouldn’t have lasted a week and would have died of a stress-induced illness. Though there was no way she would ever become the Magic Tower lord in the first place.
Anyway, there was no benefit in dragging out the time, so he needed to wrap things up soon.
'It seems like it’ll be difficult to restrain her with magic…'
Then there was only one method left. He just had to beat her until she could no longer resist. However, only to the point where she wouldn’t die.
Snap-.
As Franz snapped his fingers, magic circles appeared all around.
“Do you think such a bluff will still work?”
She shouted as if she found it ridiculous. After she had assured her victory, a relaxed look had at some point spread across her face.
Franz didn’t give any answer. He would find out from now on whether it was a bluff or not, so there was no reason to bother answering.
Soon, one of the dozens of magic circles activated, and a reasonably sized fireball was fired.
“Foolish bastard.”
The cultist said so and swung her nails toward the fireball.
However, those nails never touched it.
BOOM-!
Right before her nails touched it, the fireball caused an explosion.
“Ugh?! What in the world…?!”
Hit by the sudden explosion, she revealed her bewilderment.
But it was still too early to be surprised. Unused magic circles filled the surroundings, after all. It wasn’t enough to inflict a fatal wound, but with this amount, it would be possible to beat her to the brink of death.
Noticing that, she hurriedly lunged at Franz, but there was no way she could reach him.
Franz used teleport to lightly dodge and poured magic onto her. Worried that the cave might collapse, he didn’t forget to block the impact applied to the outside.
If she dodged one fireball, fireballs would fly in from behind and the side at the same time, then from the front, and then from the side. She was helplessly struck by the endlessly pouring fireballs. It was a truly one-sided trampling.
How much time passed like that?
At first, she tried to respond somehow, but as time passed, she flailed her arms haphazardly, and as a little more time passed, she gave up and crouched on the floor.
Now, unable to even do that, she was collapsed on the floor, not moving an inch.
“I think I used magic close to a thousand times…”
Even though he had controlled his power, the force of the explosions was considerable. If it had been an ordinary person, they would have been knocked out in one hit and unable to move.
But since she endured that a thousand times, it was safe to say her durability was amazing.
“Then the question is what to do with her now…”
Just in case, Franz approached her with his magic aimed.
Confirming that she had indeed collapsed, she didn’t make any particular movements. She just lay flat on the floor, breathing faintly.
'Let’s take her to the cathedral first.'
It would be a big problem if he unsealed the armament and lost consciousness like last time. If he were attacked in that state, he might never return.
Snap-.
As Franz snapped his fingers, a magic circle was drawn in the air, and chains popped out.
If he couldn’t float her in the air to take her, he had no choice but to drag her along.
She would surely understand his feelings too.
Of course, though, they would never meet again.
By the way, he wanted to examine her nails, but would he be able to get them if he asked Yusti-ah?
Honestly, he was reluctant to pull them out himself, so he wanted to leave it to an expert.