Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1545: Chapter 1543: Fierce Battle (Autumn Really Is Quite Comfortable)

”Don’t look into her eyes!”

In the brief moment of confrontation, Seo Shizune suddenly screamed to remind everyone.

”Don’t let her activate her Magic Eye!”

”Twist!”

Before Shizune’s voice had even faded, Fujino’s magic eyes widened immediately. In the next instant, the black-haired woman’s expression changed slightly, and she suddenly leaped backward. Almost less than a second after she left, the ground where she had been standing was ripped and twisted by an invisible force.

At the same time, Ryougi Shiki’s figure flashed as she charged forward.

”Oh? Interesting.”

At this moment, the black-haired woman’s expression finally changed.

Just as Shizune said, she also possessed a Magic Eye. Originally, she intended to use her Magic Eye to coerce the few girls into submission, but she was one step too slow. Before she could make a move, her hidden trump card was revealed by the opponent.

Magic Eyes come in several types: some require eye contact to take effect, while others don’t. Like Ryougi Shiki and Fujino’s Magic Eyes, they don’t need to make eye contact; they can take effect directly upon activation. However, the black-haired woman’s Magic Eye requires eye contact to be effective.

Moreover, maintaining the Magic Eye also requires concentration. In this battlefield scenario, as long as Fujino keeps targeting her with the Distorted Magic Eye, then the black-haired woman can’t use her own Magic Eye against them. Because if she stops, Fujino would immediately seize the opportunity to tear her to pieces.

Let alone, there’s Ryougi Shiki as well.

As the black-haired woman retreated, she too flashed forward and charged towards the woman in front of her.

Under normal circumstances, without even considering anything else, in terms of physical prowess alone, Ryougi Shiki would not be a match for the black-haired woman. After all, the other party is a Heroic Spirit, while Ryougi Shiki is just an ordinary human. Heroic Spirits are the kind who can lift a steamroller with one hand; although Ryougi Shiki can slice a steamroller in half, as a delicate girl, she doesn’t have the strength to lift it with one hand.

But now is different.

Just a moment ago, Ryougi Shiki had already cast Brute Strength, Beastial Power, and Acceleration Technique on herself, boosting her physical attributes to a level similar to that of a Heroic Spirit. In the context of the Holy Grail War, Ryougi Shiki could be considered as equivalent to a C-Rank Servant.

”Oh? Interesting.”

Seeing Ryougi Shiki being able to keep up with her speed, the black-haired woman revealed a hint of surprise. She knew the girl in front of her was an ordinary human, not a Heroic Spirit like herself, yet she could keep up?

Fascinating!

Unfortunately, she’s still too inexperienced.

Watching the straight-forward thrust of the knife in Ryougi Shiki’s hand, the black-haired woman smiled slightly. Although Ryougi Shiki’s speed was fast, her combat style was too naive. This direct approach was very...!

However, just when the black-haired woman was about to use her dagger to block Ryougi Shiki’s knife, a sudden chill surged from behind her, straight to the top of her head.

It was the threat of death!

This was an instinct honed by countless battles, warning her that if she continued like this, she would die!

How could this be?!

Although she was shocked, the black-haired woman didn’t choose to confront the danger and risk her life; she quickly flipped and distanced herself from Ryougi Shiki. However, the empty strike did not make Ryougi Shiki give up. She twisted her wrist and charged towards the black-haired woman again.

Something’s not right!

Keeping her guard up, the black-haired woman engaged in several more exchanges with Ryougi Shiki but still couldn’t figure it out. To her, Ryougi Shiki’s physical attributes were barely ”passable,” but her combat technique was unimpressive. For someone who had fought in countless battles like her, she could confidently say she had ten thousand ways to counter and defeat her.

But every time she got close, her intuition, honed through countless battlefields, would immediately sound the alarm.

She would die, without a doubt.

The black-haired woman was completely baffled. Her experience told her that facing Ryougi Shiki should not lead to her death. But her intuition, however, provided the exact opposite conclusion.

However, as a Heroic Spirit, the black-haired woman wasn’t foolish.

Although she didn’t understand why she felt Ryougi Shiki was dangerous, if Ryougi Shiki was indeed dangerous, couldn’t she just go after someone else?

With this thought, the black-haired woman made a feint, prompting Ryougi Shiki to lunge at her. Suddenly, she changed direction, charging towards the girls standing a short distance away.

Specifically, towards Olga Marie, who was standing behind the crowd.

She took a quick glance and noticed that Asakami Fujino and Seo Shizune were both Magic Eye users. As a fellow Magic Eye user, she knew how troublesome such individuals could be. In comparison, the young girl who seemed only twelve or thirteen appeared to be an easier target.

However...

”Don’t even think about it!”

Just as the black-haired woman was about to make her move, she saw Seo Shizune’s eyes flash. She quickly pulled Olga Marie to hide behind Asakami Fujino. Meanwhile, Gray, holding a scythe, stepped forward with a swift stride, blocking the black-haired woman’s path and raising her scythe high to counter the attack.

At the same time, the black-haired woman felt an invisible force abruptly appear from the air, beginning to pull at her body. Realizing this, she quickly retreated to escape the range of the Distorted Magic Eye’s effect.

This is such a hassle!

Looking at the scene before her, the black-haired woman genuinely felt a bit of a headache. Her intention was not to kill these girls; her MASTER wouldn’t allow it. Originally, she hoped to achieve her goal by capturing Olga Marie, but was intercepted by Shizune’s foresight...

Future Sight + Prophet Mage, it wouldn’t even let you leave the door before causing trouble.

However, for the black-haired woman, the biggest problem lay elsewhere.

From being blocked by Gray to the black-haired woman retreating, only a couple of seconds had passed. However, for Ryougi Shiki, a few seconds were more than enough.

”Lethargy Spell!”

The invisible magic power suddenly spread out, and in the blink of an eye, the black-haired woman felt her movements slow down significantly. Although it didn’t last long, for Ryougi Shiki, it was already sufficient.

The sharp blade gleamed with a cold light, flashing swiftly.

At the same time, the black-haired woman turned, kicking out with her foot.

”Bang!!”

Ryougi Shiki was violently flung out, flying continuously for five or six meters before landing heavily and rolling several times before she finally stopped. Then, she coughed a few times before getting up again.

Logically speaking, that kick from the black-haired woman should have been enough to rupture Ryougi Shiki’s organs and leave her for dead. However... the Endurance Technique isn’t just for show.

As for the black-haired woman...

”I really didn’t expect you to be able to injure me.”

The black-haired woman turned her head and glanced at her left hand — it was now empty.

Though she managed to dodge Ryougi Shiki’s fatal blow at the last moment, Ryougi Shiki’s blade still managed to cut off her arm from the shoulder.

Of course, if it were any closer, she would have been dismembered entirely.

”Looks like I cannot complete my mission.”

Glancing at Ryougi Shiki who had flipped over and stood up again, as well as Gray and Asakami Fujino and the others who were ready for battle, the black-haired woman shook her head with a helpless bitter smile.

”I never thought I’d encounter warriors like you in this era...”

”Are you planning to run?”

This time, however, the black-haired woman did not answer Ryougi Shiki’s question but instead vanished into thin air through Spiritualization.

”Hoo.......”

Only when the black-haired woman disappeared did Olga Marie sit down on the ground with a long sigh. Ever since the black-haired woman’s appearance, her entire being had been oppressed by her aura. That was Realm Record, the reappearance of the heroes in human history, such a degree of mysterious existence that not even Olga Marie had ever seen before. So much so that she was completely shocked, almost stupefied like a wooden figure.

And now...

”What do we do now?”

Shizune asked her question, and Fujino hesitated for a moment.

”Let’s head back for now.”

They hadn’t found the core of the Son of the Fuhai Forest yet, but the sudden encounter with the black-haired woman had already been enough for them.

”My spells are almost depleted.”

”Me too, how about you, Shiki?”

”I need to go back and rest for a bit.”

Ryougi Shiki wasn’t happy about it, but she knew her body well. Though she had blocked the black-haired woman’s kick thanks to the Endurance Technique, it had still affected her body to some extent. More importantly, her spells were almost depleted after that fight.

Out of the group, only Asakami Fujino was a Third-Tier Mage, while Seo Shizune and Ryougi Shiki had just started on Two-Loop Spells, so the number of spells they could use was limited. Gray had already been slightly injured while fighting the Son of the Fuhai Forest and was wounded in the leg during the confrontation with the black-haired woman, and given their current status, pressing further would just be suicide.

As much as they disliked it, at this stage, continuing was meaningless, so after a brief discussion, they decided to retreat.

”Hey, welcome back.”

Fang Zheng, lounging on the sofa playing PSP, greeted them with a wave when he noticed the door opening.

”So, how did it go?”

”Sorry, Little Hong, we weren’t able to eliminate the Son of the Fuhai Forest...”

”We encountered a Servant...”

”I know.”

Listening to Fujino and Shizune’s report, Fang Zheng nodded.

”For you all, this was a good experience too, right, Shiki?”

As he spoke, Fang Zheng glanced at Ryougi Shiki, who remained silent.

”Come on, don’t look so downcast.”

Seeing the girls looking like they had failed a test, Fang Zheng turned off the PSP, walked over to them, and patted their shoulders cheerfully.

”You’re all just Mage Apprentices for now. Even with the Magic Eye’s boost, you’re still apprentices, but you’ve already managed to stand up against the Son of the Fuhai Forest and a Servant, which is quite remarkable. After all, many magicians would only have death as an option facing either of them.”

Saying this, Fang Zheng looked cheerfully at Olga Marie.

”Right, Olga Marie?”

”...Hmm.”

Faced with Fang Zheng’s question, Olga Marie didn’t want to answer. As he said, most magicians, even those from the Animusphere family, would probably just surrender to such enemies, yet these three girls had used their odd spells and Magic Eye to fight them to a draw, even forcing back a Realm Record... if this achievement were reported to the Clock Tower, it would be enough to impress even the Lords of the Twelve Families.

What frustrated Olga Marie more was that they were still just Mage Apprentices, only students with around three to four years in the Clock Tower’s Magecraft courses.

But her noble pride wouldn’t let her lie, so she said nothing more than ”hmm.”

”But... if we keep going like this...”

Gray was clearly more concerned about other issues.

”Don’t worry.”

Fang Zheng waved his hand dismissively.

”Leave the rest to me to handle.”