“O-okay, calm down. Please?”

“You know the only thing that I listen to, Kuzon.” The intensity all around me rose again.

A brief moment of tense silence pervaded the air, and even I found myself gulping in suspense.

“Um… ah, this is embarrassing…” Kuzon rubbed his hand on his face and sighed.

For some reason, it felt like he was reporting to his mother, or a superior.

That was the vibe I was getting from the boy’s interaction with the Familiar.

‘This is crazy!’

“Pweety Pwease?”

“Eh?”

Did Kuzon just make a cute sound, or was it only me that heard it?

I looked behind me, to see my team, and they were all laughing. Ana was blushing for some reason, though.

‘Does she find that hot? What a weirdo.’

“Hahaha! Now that’s what I like to see. Kuzon, you’ve sure grown, but you can never outgrow me! Hehehe.” The Familiar laughed.

‘I shouldn’t waste this chance.’

While Kuzon was still in a flustered state, and his Familiar was conversing so casually, I had to take my shot.

‘Original Magic… The Tower… and then Vermillion Nova!’

Vermillion Rupture would have been better, but that took too long to prepare.

Since I was simply exploiting a window of opportunity, I had to make do with the time I had.

>WHUUUUSSHHHHH<

My body was shrouded in Mana, and my Memoir appeared, right on time.

Flipping its pages in a flash, I felt the space around me warp. The destructive Mana of my Spell began converging, and I prepared to devastate the targets.

“Oh? What’s this? Mana?” The flaming lady glanced in my direction.

‘Uh?!’ Did she notice what I was doing?

I was using The Tower Arcana to conceal the immense Mana I was gathering.

By teleporting the Spell to their location so it would explode at point-blank, I would ensure complete accuracy.

However—

‘How did she figure it out?

—The flaming lady’s eyes were sharply on me.

“You interrupted our conversation. That’s quite rude, you know? You want me to handle this guy for you, Kuzon?”

“No. There’s no need for you to do it. I just need a bit of your power.”

“Hmmm? Okay then.”

For some reason, the Familiar didn’t bother with the Spell I was preparing. Was it really going to be powerless before the might of both Kuzon and the flaming lady?

Vermillion Nova was one of my most destructive Spells, and since I could use it quickly, it was simple.

‘So far, I’ve not gotten nearly enough information to record in my Great Sage’s Memoir…’

I couldn’t get very close, so feeling things out was the best I could do.

>VWUUUUSSSHHH<

The flaming lady merged with Kuzon, and I saw his body glow for a moment until it returned to normal.

‘Nothing happened? No, wait… he feels different from before.’

I couldn’t describe it, but the Mana I felt around and on Kuzon had vanished. At this point, I could only feel energy.

And it was intense.

“Let’s try this again, shall we?”

Several more of his golden blades appeared, formed by his threads weaved together.

>WHOOOOOSSSSHHHH<

Once again, they launched at me with blinding speed.

I didn’t need to react to the golden blurs, so I once again went for my Anti Magic option. However—

‘Uh?! It didn’t wor—’

The blades were already close to piercing my body and impaling me on all ends.

Fortunately, I got teleported to a different location thanks to my Original Magic’s response.

‘A-ahh… Haa…?!’

I was now looking around in utter confusion.

‘Why didn’t Anti-Magic work?’

It was working earlier, but suddenly…

‘It must be due to that Familiar’s interference. But, what did she do?’

More questions sprang up in my head, so I decided to observe a little more.

“Now that I know it works, I’ll be finishing this quickly.”

>SWUUUUSSSHHHHH!!!<

Kuzon’s golden threads swirled around, and several Magic Beasts were formed with nothing but his thin wires.

The creatures all looked like genuine beasts, having distinct features.

Not only were they humongous, but they appeared feral, and the concentration of energy on them was immense.

>WHOOOOOSSSSHHHH<

The golden beasts lunged at me, and I teleported every time they got close.

‘Running away is getting annoying!’ I snapped in annoyance, ready to retaliate.

‘Vermillion Nova’

I manifested the vermillion orb that was filled with condensed energy.

Its power was enough to clear the entire area, and I launched it at the center of the creatures.

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!<

“That packs quite the punch,” Kuzon murmured.

As the smoke cleared, I noticed he was unharmed.

‘Then, what of the constructs…?’ My eyes bulged as I noticed that they too… were unharmed.

The entire area had suffered damage, yet the golden creatures were completely fine?

‘How is this?!’

One of them jumped at me, but I instantly made to switch positions with it, making its attacks futile.

But…

‘It’s not working?!’

… Nothing was effective!

‘Does Kuzon have Anti-Magic too?’

I found myself hung up on so many questions. This wasn’t a battle any longer. I was simply trying to unravel a mystery.

‘I’ll have to use Spellcraft!’

>VWUUUUSSSHHH<

Using Grand Fusion Mode, Mage Mode, and Elemental Chamber all at once, I felt my body swell with power.

It was time to take this fight seriously.

With several elements, like particles of light, dancing around me, I hovered in the air within an indestructible orb of Mana.

My body glowed brightly, a culmination of several Familiars—half bright, and half dark.

‘I’ll be using Mana and Miasma in tandem, alongside Anti Magic…’

If I utilized Spellcraft, the attacks would be even more lethal.

My Original Magic would also respond to any situation I couldn’t foresee.

Kuzon was giving me more trouble than I expected—and he seemed to be holding back—but I was sick of playing defense.

‘I should wrap this up quickly… and make him join our group!’

>WHOOOOOSSSSHHHH<

I darted in Kuzon’s direction, fully aware of the threads that always danced around him.

The concentration of energy grew denser the closer I approached, but I could use Spellcraft to turn everything in my favor!

‘U-uh…?!’ I noticed something as soon as I got closer to Kuzon.

My eyes widened, and I saw a smile form on his face.

At that moment, I knew… that something was awfully wrong with the situation.

“What’s wrong with your face, Jared?” Kuzon’s smile grew more intense as he stood still and watched.

He seemed to be enjoying the show.

“Teleporting around, testing the waters, critically examining me… it makes no difference.” Taking one step forward, Kuzon sent shivers down my spine.

“In the end, no one beats the Emperor.”