Language transformed into pure conceptual power within the barrier, and that power materialized into reality, descending upon the boy. But the target—who should have immediately prostrated himself on the marble floor in complete submission—instead stood casually with his hands in his pockets, looking back at him with mockery.
Aureolus's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "W-What is going on?!"
Himegami Aisa, who had stepped forward to shield Takahashi Yuuya, was equally stunned. Recovering her composure, she turned to Aureolus and pleaded, "Wait! You've already reached the final stage of your plan. Please don't hurt others! He's my benefactor. If you kill innocent people to achieve your goal, your ultimate fate will also be..."
"Tsk..."
With a dark, irritated expression, Aureolus reached into his coat, pulled out another long silver needle, and drove it straight into his neck, his voice turning icy. "You have fulfilled your purpose, Himegami Aisa. Now, get out of my sight."
Now that the Index Librorum Prohibitorum was in his hands and his preparation was complete, the Vampire Killer was no longer necessary. Since she had obtained the protection she wanted, she could disappear from his sight forever.
Vvvvmm—!
Aisa's body instantly levitated off the floor, caught in a invisible gravitational vector preparing to hurl her through the window. With her ordinary human constitution, being launched at that velocity meant breaking dozens of bones, if not dying on impact.
Yuuya reached out, pressed his hand firmly onto Aisa's shoulder, and activated World Rejecter. The conceptual, higher-dimensional power of Ars Magna affecting her body was instantly severed and banished into the void.
"Heh. Index was completely right," Yuuya said, stepping in front of Aisa as she landed softly on her feet. "A Magician who has abandoned his magic name loses the core principles that bind his mind, losing his future in the process. A normal Magician wouldn't sacrifice thousands of innocent students—forcing them to chant the Gregorius Chant until their nervous systems collapse—just to form a human mana battery. Nor would he attempt to murder the girl who helped him."
Yuuya looked down at the green-haired Alchemist, whose face was contorted in sheer disbelief, with disdain.
"I don't care how tragic your past motivation was," Yuuya said, a grin spreading across his face as his eyes gleamed dangerously. "Infiltrating Academy City, holding thousands of civilians hostage, and trying to lay a finger on my people? Even if I'm not on official duty for the Dark Side right now, I don't mind handling a rogue intruder like you myself."
He leaned forward, his voice dropping into a chill declaration. "Allow me to introduce myself properly: I am the shadow that governs the Dark Side of this city. And I am issuing your death sentence right now."
Aureolus's expression shifted. 'The Dark Side of Academy City?'
He knew he would eventually cross paths with the city's covert assets after invading this scientific fortress, but he had never expected a vampire to be leading them. A non-human creature from the Magic Side acting as the top commander of the Science Side's underground?
Recovering his composure, Aureolus let out a maniacal laugh. "Hahaha! So you claim to be an operative from the Dark Side of Academy City, and a vampire at that?! How entertaining! But my previous command was merely a casual attempt. Now... I am getting serious."
Aureolus pulled a handful of gleaming silver needles from his coat, driving another deep into his nerve cluster to forcibly align his thoughts.
"A vampire's physical resilience may be superior to an ordinary human's, but your body cannot resist pure, conceptual authority! I still need your biological properties, so I won't kill you—I'll simply force your consciousness into slumber!"
"Sleep, vampire!"
The command echoed through the air as Ars Magna attempted to rewrite the laws of reality. Yet, Aureolus's pupils trembled violently. The boy before him stood completely unbothered, looking at him with utter pity, as if watching a tragic clown performing on a stage.
"The Golden Alchemy Technique—Ars Magna—is certainly impressive on paper, but your implementation is utterly pathetic," Yuuya said casually. "It's nothing more than a crude, fragile imitation of phase manipulation. However, when it comes to turning imagination into reality..."
Yuuya reached out, wrapping his arm securely around Aisa's waist once more, completely ignoring her startled gasp as he focused his mind.
'Skill Activation: Imperial Privilege.'
'Target Professions: Master of Military Logistics, Master of Metallurgy, Senior Ordnance Scholar.'
Vvvvmm—!
Through the authority of Imperial Privilege, three distinct, peak-level professional skillsets flooded his consciousness.
Yuuya pointed his right index finger directly at Aureolus. A dense wave of mana erupted from his body, and twenty-four deep crimson Magic Circuits materialized beneath his skin, pulsing like radiant, abstract tattoos.
With the Star Cup bound to his soul, his reserves of mana were conceptually infinite. The only variable was the physical "sluice gate" through which he outputted that power. By augmenting his internal Magic Circuits and structural comprehension, he opened that floodgate wide.
'Magecraft System: Projection Magic.'
'Target Construct: Phalanx CIWS — Vulcan Gatling System (x100).'
FLASH—!
A blinding, crimson magical light enveloped the grand hall. In an instant, one hundred naval-grade Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS)—the heavy 20mm Vulcan rotary cannons typically mounted on 50,000-ton guided-missile destroyers—materialized out of thin air, their multi-barreled assemblies locked directly onto Aureolus.
A single Phalanx unit fired at a rate of 4,500 rounds per minute. One hundred units firing simultaneously outputted a staggering 450,000 armor-piercing rounds per minute. Within seconds, an entire city block would be ground into subatomic dust.
Imperial Privilege provided the technical mastery, Projection Magic granted the physical manifestation, and the Star Cup provided the endless power source.
"W-What is this...?!" Aureolus stared wide-eyed in absolute horror, stumbling backward until he collapsed onto his hands and knees on the marble floor. "Such astronomical mana...?! Why are there so many scientific weapons materializing out of thin air?! What is happening?!"
"You wanted to see a miracle?" Yuuya grinned, his eyes cold as he raised his hand. "Bow down before the combined authority of magic and modern industry, you fallen Alchemist."
Yuuya brought his hand down.
TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!
An deafening, ear-splitting roar shattered the air inside the barrier. The atmosphere vibrated violently as a wall of blinding muzzle flashes illuminated the entire complex, instantly robbing the room of sight.
Index, protected by her Walking Church, screamed and buried her face tightly against Yuuya's chest. Aisa covered her ears, her face pale with pain until Yuuya casually applied vector control to muffle the kinetic shockwaves around them.
"I don't care what your tragic backstory was," Yuuya's voice carried clearly over the storm of lead, his eyes cold as he watched the space where Aureolus had been standing turn into a sea of absolute destruction. "If you harbor malicious intent toward the people around me, your only option is to vanish from this world. Since you couldn't save anyone, you should have saved yourself instead of becoming a delusional clown."
Within a microsecond, Aureolus Izzard was completely disintegrated beneath the concentrated barrage of one hundred naval cannons. The intense heat and kinetic force left no physical residue behind.
Yuuya had carefully calculated the projection parameters: the projected 20mm rounds were programmed to dissolve into harmless mana smoke after traveling fifty meters, preventing collateral damage from reaching the Outer World.
Three seconds later, the barrage ceased.
The entire eastern wing of the inner phase had completely ceased to exist. Because the primary foundation of the barrier had been obliterated, the alchemical boundary dissolved entirely, and the inner phase collapsed back into normal space.
The three of them found themselves standing back in the quiet, undisturbed main lobby of Misawa Juku.
Yuuya shook his head, brushing a speck of dust off his shoulder. "That was almost too easy. Only amateur villains give the enemy time to finish their monologue."