Shinji Matou At Your Service

Chapter 243: Sakura and Fujino vs. Alba

People can influence their environment, and the killing intent released by Araya Souren and Shiki Ryougi is a perfect example of that, making the air scorching hot.

Similarly, the environment can also affect people. Under the stimulation of this murderous atmosphere, Alba's originally despondent mood became uplifted. He took a deep breath, brushed off the dust from his body, and walked towards Fujino and Sakura.

"Ah, two lovely young ladies, it's wonderful that you're here. With Aozaki absent, having you two around is a pleasant surprise. Though killing you won't quell the everlasting anger and humiliation I feel, just the thought of the expression she might make when she sees you dead brings me genuine delight."

Despite his careful preparations, Alba still lost to Touko. This outcome drove him mad, and now he only wanted to seek revenge against Touko using any means necessary.

Alba extended his arms as if giving a speech. His smile contained malice, resentment, unwillingness, jealousy, and the joy of revenge and venting.

"If you want to hate someone, don't hate me. Go hate your master. Rest assured, I won't keep you waiting in hell for long. I'll soon send your master down to join you. Only then can I satisfy the grudge in my heart."

The two girls, one tall and one small were not intimidated by Alba. They didn't retreat or escape; they simply looked at this man, who was clearly in his fifties but still trying to act young, dressed like a magician in a red evening gown, with undisguised disgust.

"Fujino, he's the stalker that Brother talked about, right?"

"Yes, whenever we encounter someone like him, we should keep our distance."

"Understood, Fujino. My Brother said the same thing. But what if the stalker keeps chasing after us?"

"Then we'll show him what we're made of."

Upon hearing the girls' conversation, Alba's joy grew even greater.

"Hahaha, that's right! You must resist, or it won't be fun at all. Let me see what Aozaki has taught you."

Alba continued to advance, and the distance between him and the girls narrowed to only ten meters.

"Come on, what are you waiting for? Let me see your Mystic Code. Ah? Is it Rune? Or a puppet? Or perhaps a familiar? Regardless of which, it must be a crude and vulgar shade of red that contradicts Aozaki's surname and matches her name."

Fujino and Sakura remained indifferent, their apathetic attitude provoking the anger of the red magus.

"Even your arrogant attitude is just like that detestable woman. Well then, since that's the case, just go ahead and die."

Losing patience, Alba uttered a simple syllable, and the invisible air was honed into blades that flew toward the girls' legs.

Although he said he wanted them dead, Alba had no intention of letting them die so easily. He wanted to slowly torture these two girls, and inflict injuries all over their bodies before taking their last breaths.

The rushing air blades had yet to touch the girls' bodies when they were deflected away. The two girls didn't even flinch.

This was the effect of magical resistance.

Every person has a certain level of resistance to magic, which is determined by factors such as their physical constitution, magic circuits, magical inscriptions, and compatibility with magic.

Sakura's naturally resilient magic circuits, combined with her body strengthened by the Golden Apple, gave her a stronger resistance to magic than Shinji. Not to mention a simple wind-based magic attack, even if two more layers were added, it wouldn't necessarily harm Sakura.

Sakura lowered her head, her gaze sweeping over the marks left on the lawn by the wind blades. "Hmm... Touko-sensei was right. This stalker doesn't seem to be very strong."

"Yes, that's why our sensei told us not to bother with him," Fujino replied earnestly.

Sakura blinked, looking confused and adorable. "But isn't he sensei's classmate? Why is he so weak?"

Fujino, in her role as the elder, answered the question and dispelled the confusion. "Don't your classmates also have different levels of academic performance?"

"Right."

"That's true."

The innocent words and innocent expressions almost burned through the already raging flames of Alba's anger.

"Know your place!"

The red magus tore off his gentleman aristocrat disguise, revealing his wicked true nature.

"I am the truth of all things, and before me, you shall inevitably face destruction!"

This was the fire-based magecraft he once used against Touko, and it was Alba's most proficient magecraft. With his proud chanting skills, scorching flames that could melt gold and iron rose from the ground, quickly engulfing the withered yellow lawn and trapping the two girls inside.

Facing such powerful high-level magecraft, Sakura dared not rely solely on her magical resistance. She bent down, pressing her hand against the slightly warm ground, and carved a protective primal rune on the ground—"EIHWAZ!"

Invisible power spread outward from the rune as its center, and once the flames entered the rune's influence range, they would be dispelled.

What also dispersed was Alba's anger. Did she just say "EIHWAZ"? Could it be that he misheard? EIHWAZ was a primal rune that had been lost for a long time, and he had researched it extensively but had no clue how to restore it. How could this little girl possibly master it?

However, when he saw the flames being obstructed by the rune, he started to waver.

At that moment, Sakura's other hand, which had been free, carved another rune at a distance from Alba.

The next second, flames ignited around Alba as well.

Neither Sakura nor Alba directly applied their magic to each other. Not because they didn't want to, but because they couldn't. It was because there was magic flowing inside the magus' body, and it was difficult to directly affect the body of a magus through indirect interference from a distance unless the magic was directly inscribed on the opponent's body. That was precisely why magus had a stronger resistance to magic than ordinary people.

Therefore, when magus fought, they often chose alternative carriers to unleash the power of their magecraft before striking. Of course, cooperating with the injured to receive healing magecraft was an exception.

Although the flames ignited by the rune didn't have the same range as Alba's flames, they were no less intense in heat. A single rune could summon such flames, undoubtedly the power of the primal rune.

"It's impossible, impossible—ah!"

To verify the authenticity of the flames, Alba reached out with his bare hand to touch the flames. Even with his resistance to fire magic, he couldn't help but cry out in pain.

"It really is 'FEHU' after all, and this effect... Could it be that woman has truly restored all the 'Primal Runes' and passed them on to her disciples? This... this is just too absurd!"

But what hurt Alba more than his hand was his inner turmoil. He stared intently at Sakura's face, hoping to find answers from her.

Sakura, with her kind heart, fulfilled his wish. "Although I didn't learn my Rune Magic from Sister Touko, she indeed mastered the 'Eighteen Primal Runes.'"

Sakura's voice, still tinged with innocence, struck Alba like a heavy hammer, plunging him into the depths of despair.

Not only was he overwhelmed in terms of puppets, but the gap in Rune Magic was even greater. How could Alba, who placed such importance on his reputation to the point of being pathological, endure this? The dark emotions consumed his heart, dragging him into the abyss called "jealousy."

"Why can you juniors walk ahead of me? Why can you little brats boss me around—Repeat!"

The sea of flames erupted once again, merging with the previous flames to create blue flames with even higher temperatures.

The defense line of "EIHWAZ" was on the verge of collapse.

PS: This guy is Type-moon punching bag. 

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