Chapter 181: Screening of "Kara no Kyokai" Concludes! (2)
At the top of the Alchemist's Tower.
"Who exactly is this Araya Souren? It seems like he's deliberately causing all sorts of trouble, and the problems of the last two episodes were all his doing."
In response to Dean Hohenheim's statement, the archmages began to murmur among themselves.
"This Araya Souren claims to be a magus, and he is quite powerful. Do you remember that in Aozaki Touko's dialogue, she mentioned a friend who seemed to be called Araya Souren?"
"Oh, that's right. How do you still remember something from so long ago in the story?"
"An archmages's memory is second to none. Have you started to suffer from senility and memory loss?"
"Wow, are you looking for a fight?"
"Haha, it's true, we haven't sparred in a while due to the movies and Magic Alchemy."
"Shall we head to the arena for some practice?"
"..."
Noticing that what was originally a normal conversation was about to turn into a physical confrontation, Dean Hohenheim quickly said:
"Let's not get carried away. In any case, Araya Souren is very likely to be an important character in the upcoming plot. Even the earlier episodes of 'Kara no Kyoukai' are closely related to him, and he shares some connection with Aozaki Touko, so it's clear he will play a significant role in the story."
Hearing Dean Hohenheim's words, the other archmages nodded in agreement.
After all, the recent developments in the movie have made it clear—with both Asagami Fujino and Kirie Fujio being significantly influenced by Araya Souren, leading to their harmful actions.
Based on the previews, the upcoming fifth episode, "Paradox Spiral," is set to feature Araya Souren in person, promising to be extremely thrilling.
Thinking of this, the archmages couldn't help but start to complain...
"That Durin kid is really something, releasing a teaser like that—what's the deal? Trying to annoy us?"
"Exactly, he's a real piece of work, deliberately picking exciting scenes for the trailer. What's he up to, betraying his teachers?"
"If I see him again, I'll make sure he experiences the pain of a sixth-tier forbidden spell!"
"Uh, that might be overkill."
"..."
Just as the archmages were unified in their verbal assault on Durin, almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy, Durin himself, fresh from escaping Edward's Tavern, arrived at the top of the Alchemist's Tower.
"You all are…"
At that moment, faced with the intimidating gazes of the archmages, Durin's expression shifted slightly. Sensing the trouble, he immediately attempted to use teleportation magic to escape again.
Unfortunately, against such formidable sorcerers with far superior magical prowess, Durin had no chance of fleeing. His teleportation circle was swiftly intercepted by a counterspell.
"Instant counter magic? Isn't that a bit excessive?"
Seeing Durin's troubled expression, Pollock, the Archmage of Special Elements, smiled and said:
"Kid, I've spent my entire life studying the mechanics of teleportation magic. Don't try your little tricks in front of me."
"Uh..."
Realizing that he was facing possibly the most knowledgeable mage on teleportation magic in all of humanity, Durin lost any desire to argue.
Privately, Pollock was also surprised by Durin's casting speed—the teleportation magic just now was so fast that he almost couldn't counter it. It's hard to believe that such incredible casting speed came from a fifth-tier grand mage...
While Pollock was still in awe, Durin gave up on the idea of fleeing. He approached them as calmly as possible and said:
"Alright, how did you all enjoy the preview? Is there anything I can explain for you?"
Hearing Durin's questions, the eyes of the archmages brightened.
However, in order to maintain their dignity as archmages, they refrained from asking too enthusiastically, instead posing highly specialized questions.
For instance, they inquired about how Saber unleashed her Noble Phantasm in "Fate/Zero," whether fantastical devices like missile-firing planes could actually be constructed, and when the next episode of "Kara no Kyoukai" would be released.
Faced with such questions, Durin could only explain them one by one, albeit reluctantly. After all, while he might put on airs as a grand mage in front of ordinary people, each of the archmages present far surpassed him in power as sixth-tier mages.
Of course, he refrained from divulging anything about Laetitia—not out of concern for her, but rather out of fear of what might happen with this group of archmages...
Apart from that, he shared as much information as he could with them.
....
While Durin was being bombarded with questions by the archmages at the top of the Alchemist's Tower, the production team members at Edward's Tavern were fuming over his escape.
"Damn it, his teleportation magic is getting more and more proficient. That casting speed is way too fast!"
Helena's astonishment echoed through the room, and Wiz, who also had a talent for magic, shared her surprise:
"Yeah, Durin's casting speed seems to be increasing lately. Although it's just speculation, could he be on the verge of reaching the threshold of an archmage level?"
"What?! That can't be, right?"
Everyone present was shocked at Wiz's suggestion. They all knew very well that if Durin were to ascend to the rank of archmage at his current age, the feat would be an astounding achievement, having a terrifying prestige.
As the youngest archmage in history, such a title would follow him throughout his life, with no one surpassing him for quite some time!
However, not everyone in the room was surprised. Laetitia, who was playing with will-o'-wisps nearby, remained completely unaffected.
It was clear that as an archlich, she didn't care about the title of the youngest archmage in history.
Perhaps this was also due to her inability to read, making her unaware of the significance of achieving the sixth-tier archmage status in her twenties.
Meanwhile, Beldia couldn't help but ask:
"Leatitia, were you unable to stop Durin's teleportation magic just now?"
In response, Laetitia replied with a question of her own:
"Is that thing called teleportation magic? I've seen some people use it before, but I couldn't stop it. Thinking about it, I guess if I haven't learned it, I can't stop it."
"Uh, this..."
Hearing her words, everyone once again grasped the sad reality of illiteracy.
Just as the group was about to continue discussing Durin's escape, there was a sudden knock on the door.
During the Frost Film Festival, Edward's Tavern had put up a sign indicating it was closed for business.
Curiosity piqued, they wondered who would come to disturb them at such a time. Wiz was the first to move and open the tavern door.
"Yo, it's been a while, everyone."
In walked General Wilhelm, greeting them as he entered with a group of knights, the emperor, and the princess.
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