Magic Perseus Fist: Third Wave.
The name was something Shinji came up with on the spot, but the power behind this strike was nothing short of real.
The entire earth's desire for life was mobilized by Shinji and materialized into magical energy through his magic.
There were so many living beings on the earth, and although the power each life contributed was minuscule when accumulated, it was enough to move mountains and overturn seas or create a massive Spirit Bomb.
Compared to such an overwhelming force, Kirei Kotomine's power was insignificant. The mystery he relied on lost its effect in the face of this even greater mystery—Magic.
The outcome was without suspense.
The light of magic pierced the heavens and the earth.
An indescribable torrent of magical energy obliterated everything in the sky, even the sparse clouds were swept away, leaving only the distant moon and the even more distant stars.
In the northern sky, there was a particularly bright constellation. Stars, some dim and some bright were arranged in a specific pattern, outlining the image of a hero holding a sword in one hand and a severed head in the other.
That was Perseus—an ancient Greek hero—and the origin of Magic Perseus Fist. It also marked the point at which Shinji's strength began to grow, a symbol forever intertwined with him.
As a resident of Fuyuki City, Shinji naturally contributed his strength, drawing upon the power of Perseus from the northern sky.
After clearing the sky, the starlight of Perseus gradually returned to normal, and Shinji who had summoned the power of the stars lowered his fists.
"The reason for your failure, Kirei Kotomine, is simple—there's only one. You angered me, and you angered this city."
A fitting and dramatic closing statement, or so Shinji thought, but Aoko couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"Alright, stop pretending. Do you think you're Jotaro Kujo?"
"Huh?"
Shinji twitched his mouth.
"You watch JoJo too?"
"Why, is that a problem?"
Aoko crossed her fingers, cracked her knuckles, and in the next instant, she was right in front of Shinji, throwing a flurry of punches like a storm.
As she punched, she shouted:
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA~~~~"
Shinji responded in kind, either defending or counterattacking, and his mouth wasn't idle either:
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA~~~~"
Though it looked like playful cosplay, the amount of magical energy behind each strike had long since surpassed the realm of mere play.
Moreover, as time passed, their punching speed increased, and the magical energy they unleashed grew even more immense. It seemed that the battle would not end until one of them couldn't take it anymore and collapsed.
The result, however, came much sooner than anyone expected. It wasn't the bodies of the two Magicians that gave way first, but the ground beneath them, which couldn't bear the strain. Both lost their balance and retreated simultaneously, bringing the ORA ORA vs. MUDA MUDA clash to a halt.
Shinji flexed his fingers, shaking his slightly numb wrists, and raised an eyebrow.
"Sister Aoko, you were serious?"
"I never said I wasn't serious. Don't forget, we agreed to fight after you wrapped things up."
Aoko crossed her arms, adopting a provocative stance.
"Hey, Aoko, don't overdo it."
Touko couldn't stand it any longer and tried to intervene, but Aoko silenced her with one sentence.
"This is a matter between Magician. If you're not a Magician, keep quiet!"
"You—"
Touko was furious.
Shinji quickly attempted to calm the situation.
"Don't worry. In Misaki City, maybe it's hard to say, but in Fuyuki, I have no chance of losing."
"Oh? You're quite confident."
Aoko's expression grew more and more dangerous.
"You've only just become a Magician."
"Since when can Magician be measured by common sense?"
Shinji's expression didn't change.
"Besides, unlike a certain late bloomer, I've been familiar with Magic for a long time."
Aoko, already fiery-tempered, couldn't hold back after being provoked. "As expected, you're just as annoying as Touko."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Heh heh heh heh heh~"
"Hahaha~"
As they exchanged smiles, the temperature around them plummeted, but the heat in their gazes only intensified.
By now, everyone knew what these two (relatively) young Magicians were about to do. More than one person sighed inwardly—Another fight? Haven't enough things happened tonight already?
However, the will of the Magicians would not be swayed by outsiders. With no other option, Lorelei had to turn to the old Magician present for help.
"Second Magician, could you possibly step in and stop them? A battle between Magician, frankly…"
"I understand your feelings, Lord Barthomeloi. But I'm afraid that would be impossible. If I interfere, they'll drag me into it too."
As if to confirm his words, Aoko immediately turned her attention to Zelretch.
"Old man, it's a rare opportunity. Since you're idle, why not join in?"
"That's not a bad idea."
Shinji's eyes brightened.
"Shishou once said you're one of the few people she couldn't fully understand. If I take you as an opponent, I might be able to gauge my current level."
Zelretch turned his palm up, a gesture that said it all—See? I told you.
Lorelei's headache worsened.
A battle between Magician—just one wrong move, and it could become more troublesome than everything that had happened so far combined. Couldn't they consider the consequences? After all, they were doing this right in front of me, the Lord of the Department of Policies.
At that moment, she finally understood Waver's pain—the pain of being surrounded by a bunch of reckless troublemakers.
She could only say:
"At least consider the matter of concealing the mystery and cleaning up afterward."
"Don't worry, I'll use the Second Magic to contain the battle as much as possible. As for the environmental damage, Arcueid, I'll leave the repairs to you."
As he spoke, Zelretch began manipulating space, creating a small, semi-independent world embedded within the greater world.
But even if he wanted to be reliable, that depended on whether the other Magician would cooperate.
Just as the small world was completed, Aoko launched her attack.
Not at Shinji, who was closest, but at Zelretch, who hadn't planned on getting involved.
"——Circuit, connect!"
Aoko raised her left hand to eye level.
The magical energy released at that moment was something not just visible, but audible.
Aoko's magic circuits were mediocre—so mediocre that they could be found anywhere in the magical world. They were low-level circuits with a single function. Every magus present, except for Waver, had circuits far superior to Aoko's in terms of magical energy generation and capacity.
But the speed was completely abnormal.
It had surpassed the speed of blood flow, and more importantly—
Setting aside the vibrations (sound) caused by magic itself, the fact that just activating her magic circuits produced a wave (sound)—even the Mage's Association, which governed the world of mystery, had never heard of such a thing!
PS; Kirei: Umm.. Guys..What about me? I was the last boss, right...?