As the ice encasing the deofolized human cracked from the impact, the next second, after the air sparkled with ice particles from Rotsard creating a barrier, the former Royal Magician burst out!
Both from the ice and from its human form…
A flesh-colored naked slime with dozens of thin feelers, three of which ended with human eyeballs… that was its true form after deofolization!
"HOW DARE YOU!?"
The creature's main body, which could be mistaken for some internal organ, howled while wiggling and trembling from cold and anger.
"YOU CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE THE EXTENT OF MY POWER! A PATHETIC FAE-LIKE BA…!"
"Hey, filth. For the kid's sake, you're going to die with dignity, back in your human form... Whether you like it or not."
The deofolized human's roar was interrupted by Rotsard's ice-cold statement, and the mere glare of his beastly yellow eyes sent shivers along the main body and all the feelers of the slime-like creature.
"PUNY HUMAN! DO YOU BELIEVE YOU STAND A CHANCE AGAINST ME!?"
Nonetheless, the deofolized human chose to mask its fear with aggression.
Its feelers shoot out, sprawling out like a grotesque wings…!
"&^$&^%&$!"
Then it spoke again, but its voice had changed...! It sounded as if dozens of voices, each speaking a different phrase as fast as it could, layered on top of each other, resulting in an incomprehensible cacophony.
As a result of that, on the tips of each and every one of them a different spell would form…!
All different, the weakest being that of a 6th tier, the strongest that of 9th, from all elements without exception.
"DIE!"
The deofolized human roared, unleashing all of its spells straight at the white-haired giant.
*CRACK*
"...wha…?"
Once the fastest spell reached Rotsard, it pierced right through him, shattering the body of an ice puppet replacing him, to the former Royal Magician's utter disbelief…!
"Wh-what?! WH-WHERE ARE YOU?! I HAVE MANA SIGHT! HOW CAN YOU HIDE FROM M…!"
*WHAAAAM*
The snail-like creature howled, as the feelers ending with human eyes spun around in desperate search, only for a fiercely brutal kick to send the deoflozied human right in the middle of the erupting spells it unleashed…!
"You…! YOU BASTARD…!"
The former Royal Magician growled in agony, as it didn't manage to activate the shield spell on time, and many of its own spells struck it with great effect.
The thing is, it still didn't know where Rotsard was, so it was just growling in general as a way to vent its frustration.
"YOU THINK THIS IS OVER!?"
The lack of response from the opponent, it couldn't perceive even with its praised Mana Sight, pushed the former Royal Magician over its limit.
"EMPOWERED SUN DROP!"
*^%%^%^*
The deofolized human once again spread out its feelers, but this time for only one spell that caused the air itself to cry out and tremble so much as if the entire area had been suddenly submerged in water.
The spell that the chant birthed was difficult to spot at first.
Born in the sky, imposed on the position of the sun in the heavenly firmament, it only became obvious once it began descending onto the ground.
Not just a single droplet of the sun's energy condensing and dripping down, but the sun itself falling upon the enemies of the caster!
Since the deofolized human couldn't perceive Rotsard, it decided on the most efficient solution that was also the most drastic.
Complete erasure of all remains of the Royal Academy from the face of the earth.
The third princess would end up dying too, of course, but it wasn't like she was essential, after all.
Even the body of the homunculus that the former Royal Magician created and fostered, for almost a decade already, wasn't comparable to the burning desire to kill Rotsard Vallhall…!
Only that…
*THUMP*
"...?"
Instead of the normal descent, the spell dropped down and half-buried itself into the ground without ever detonating.
At first, the deofolized human thought that it might just be a delayed reaction because of the amount of additional mana it poured into it, but…
*crack*
Once the unnaturally blueish-white, for a fire spell, partially buried sphere split apart with a snappy sound, revealing that it was completely frozen to its very core!
"N-no…! Th…! AH! I GET IT! ILLUSION! It's an illusion!"
Stumbling back in sheer panic, the deofolized human suddenly stopped and exclaimed, clinging to the ray of hope it came up with all by itself.
*WHAM* *THUMP*
"GUAGH!?"
But its last moments of existence were shortened even more by yet another brutal kick that caused it to tumble all the way back to the ice barrier… ironically, right in the spot where its illusion was declaring it must pay its dues.
"Was Mana Sight that easy to fool? That makes it so much easier to deal with, then."
"...!?"
Rotsard's scoffed without revealing his presence, making the former Royal Magician attempt to get back up and use more spells, only to…
*WHAM*
"GU-HUGHGHUAGH…!?"
The small main body as well as all the feelers surrounding it suddenly slammed against the ice barrier, forcing a cry of pain and shock from the unprepared deofolized human, as well as ending all of its attempts at counterattacking.
*WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM*
The initial unseen attack wasn't the only one, with repeated ones slamming the body of the deofolized human against the ice barrier again and again, slowly beating back into a somewhat humanoid shape…!
"How are you doing this…? Mana Sight is supposed to show its user the inner workings of the flow of mana…! No spell should be able to fool it…!"
With the beating so severe that the deofolized human could feel the pain with every cell in its body, it didn't try any more spells, nor did it beg for mercy, but instead, it cried for explanation.
"As long as you will play along and make your last moments seem like you honestly wished for redemption in front of the kid, I'll show you."
"...so, it's something that can be seen, after all…"
Rotsard's voice resounded from all around the deofolized human, making it sigh in as much content as pain was allowing it to.
But that was it. No signs of remorse or even compliance.
"So, you believe yourself to be above apologizing to a child calling you his father. That's what I get for trying to do something nice with no ulterior motives for once."
The white-haired giant scoffed, sounding like only a third-rate villain could, and appeared right in front of the former Royal Magician, seemingly materializing out of the thin air with a slight bluish-white glow to his outline.
Funny…
That was actually very close to the truth.
"...!"
So close, in fact, that it actually allowed the deofolized human to figure out the inner working of that method.
"...you…!"
As the pupils of the eyeballs on top of its feelers widened, it let out a gasp of understanding.
"You didn't use illusion… you… you dispersed your own body, spreading your consciousness thin amongst the ice mana particles that were smaller than the ones already in the air…! From the very start…! My Mana Sight could perceive you…! It wasn't paying enough atten…!"
*WHRRRRRWAAAAAAM*
The former Royal Magician called out with manic ecstasy and got cut off by the very particles of ice mana it was talking about, shredding its body into a paste!
"...what a… monster…"
The ego connected to the physical form was so strong it managed to form the last whisper before dispersing for good.
"..."
On the other hand, Rotsard, looking down on the puddle of remains, had an expression of utter disgust.
There were many descriptive words that almost passed through Rotsard's lips, but he kept it all to himself.
Not because of some higher purpose or good will, but rather because any word would be wasted on a filth that was already dead anyway.
Well… that and because he still had to keep up an act in front of Syon, as the curtain on the performance going on on the other side of the ice wall was about to fall.
The illusion of the former Royal Magician was cleansed, and, as the air sparkled with ice mana as the wall dispersed, two separate scenes became one again.
"...my boy… I am proud of you…"
"...d-dad…!"
As the deeply moved Syon was kneeling over the puddle, Rotsard made it so the voice of the former Royal Magician resounded over it, making the homunculus to let out an emotional sob.
"Since you were able to settle things between you, let me grant you one act of mercy."
"...?"
Rotsard, who managed to take control of his expression, spoke towards the puddle, causing Syon to look up at him in confusion.
"Goodnight."
*&^%$&^*
And then, the white-haired giant used the shortened chant for the Descent of the Silent Night spell, and complete darkness swallowed the puddle of remains with a chilling sound…
Unlike the full-scale version, that one dispersed within a few seconds, leaving a spotless spot of land in place of the remains, freeing the world from every trace of the deofolized Royal Magician's presence.