At that moment, Roswaal, disregarding the fact that Ryou was holding Rem, struck without mercy. Sharp wind blades, capable of slicing through steel, instantly engulfed the two, and the entire room was shrouded in dust, obscuring the view. Roswaal pretended to pull out a handkerchief from his chest and covered his nose.
"Ah, oh dear! It seems the mansion will need renovations again; how troublesome~"
"Lord Roswaal..."
At that moment, a maid appeared behind Roswaal—it was Ram. She looked worriedly in the direction hidden by the dust.
"Don't worry, Ram. I avoided hitting Rem. Do you still not trust my mastery of magic?"
"My deepest apologies, Lord Roswaal!"
Ram, who trusted Roswaal absolutely and saw him as a father figure, immediately responded with a firm, resolute tone. She was certain that Lord Roswaal would never harm her beloved sister. Ram was convinced of this.
Of course, Roswaal wouldn't harm Rem right now. After all, Ram was his trump card against the Divine Dragon. If he could find a way to temporarily restore the horn on her head, her combat power might even surpass Puck in his full form.
Ram and Rem were from the Oni tribe, a rare race in this world. When Ram was born, she was recognized as a once-in-a-century genius of her tribe. Moreover, the Oni were naturally adept at using magic, akin to the elves in other fantasy worlds. It wasn't surprising that Ram possessed such immense combat power in her prime.
Following the guidance of the Book of Wisdom, Roswaal saved the twin sisters, still children, when the Witch's Cult attacked their Oni village. Through these manipulative actions, he deceived Ram into trusting him as one of the most important people in her life.
Now, as the dust gradually settled, the scene became visible. To Roswaal's utter surprise, not only was Rem unharmed, but even Ryou, his intended target, was without a scratch. Roswaal's face darkened.
"It seems our guest has some tricks up his sleeve~."
Ryou smiled slightly and casually tossed Rem aside. Ram quickly caught her sister.
"Cough! Cough!"
Freed from Ryou's grip, Rem collapsed into Ram's arms, coughing violently. A flash of pain crossed Ram's eyes before she looked up angrily.
"You bastard!"
"Hey, hey! Just because you're cute doesn't mean you're right. Get it straight—she came at me out of nowhere, trying to kill me, and now I'm the one to blame?"
Ryou spread his hands, feigning innocence.
Ram fell silent, biting her lip as she tended to her sister. However, Rem, now catching her breath, was filled with rage.
"You took my sister's horn! All of you Witch Cultists deserve to die!"
"By that logic, the clown next to you deserves it even more. After all, he's the famous disciple of the Witch of Greed, Echidna."
"!!!"
Both Ram and Rem's faces displayed shock. It made sense. Roswaal had never shown genuine care for them when he took them in; he had always seen Ram as a pawn, and Rem was merely an extra. Such secrets would never have been revealed to the two sisters.
"You're lying! Don't try to drive a wedge between us and Lord Roswaal!"
Filled with anger, Ram swiftly made several strange gestures in the air.
Whoosh!
A giant tornado formed in her hands, rushing toward Ryou. He didn't dodge, and as the tornado reached him, it split into several streams, like whips that lashed violently against the walls, tearing the windows and curtains to shreds.
The immense power of the dispersed tornado was undeniable. However, when it reached Ryou, it seemed to avoid him, parting as though repelled by some invisible force.
Magic Resistance EX—this was Ryou's greatest weapon against magic users. With this ability, no magic, whether single-target, area-of-effect, or curse, could harm him. It was as if magic instinctively avoided him. Unless it reached the level of authority wielded by the Witches, even the world's top magic user was no more than a minor obstacle to him.
Now, facing an entire group of magic users, Ryou was their complete nemesis. Rather than rushing to wipe them out, he took his time. Watching Ram's furious and helpless expression, Ryou smiled slightly.
"Girls really shouldn't be so explosive. By the way, let me give you one more piece of information. Listen carefully..."
Perhaps fearing Ryou would reveal even more damaging secrets, Roswaal suddenly made his move. With a flick of his wrist, his nobleman's cane swung upward, and he grabbed its end like a staff. Or rather, the cane that resembled a gentleman's walking stick was Roswaal's magic staff!
Pointing the staff at Ryou, Roswaal's lips moved rapidly, chanting. Soon, green wind and red fire elements became visible, swirling together into a head-sized fireball before him.
By compressing his magic power and fueling the flames with wind, the fireball shifted from orange-red to blue, then faintly white. The heat was terrifyingly intense, palpable even from where Ryou stood.
As expected of Lugunica's most formidable magic user. Such a fearsome composite spell was effortless for Roswaal, and his speed left other magic users in the dust. Without a word, Roswaal aimed his staff at Ryou, and the blue-white fireball shot toward him.
Boom!
The scorching firestorm transformed into a massive fiery tornado, engulfing Ryou. Yet, it stopped precisely three meters from him, leaving him unharmed. The sheer control Roswaal wielded over his magic was astonishing—but useless.
"In such a hurry to strike... are you trying to kill me to cover things up?" Ryou's voice rang through the firestorm, his silhouette almost unscathed, save for the faint distortion caused by the heat. Roswaal's face darkened further.
He prided himself on being able to duel the kingdom's strongest Sword Saint, Reinhard, to a draw—yet he found himself completely powerless against this unknown figure. Indeed, Roswaal's actions sparked a flicker of doubt in Rem's eyes. Only Ram remained firm in her faith.
"It was under the guidance of the Book of Wisdom, given to him by the Witch of Greed, Echidna, that Roswaal found your village. He waited for the Witch's Cult to slaughter your clan, even for Ram's horn to be severed, and then seized the perfect moment..."
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!!!"
Ram clutched her chest and screamed, her eyes squeezed shut. Mana surged around her, and torrents of wind blades shot toward Ryou through the firestorm. Yet Ryou's voice remained unbroken, mercilessly revealing the truth, disregarding Ram's anguish.
"Even if you were too young to understand back then, surely you've doubted it as you grew older. But, bound to this despicable clown, you chose to ignore it. A margrave of the borderlands, the chief court magician of Lugunica, just 'happens' to travel to a secluded Oni village, 'happens' to witness a massacre by the Witch's Cult, and 'happens' to rescue the only survivors—a pair of twin Oni girls, one with terrifying magical talent. Isn't that far too many 'coincidences'?"
Ryou's final words shattered Ram's resolve. Drained of mana, she collapsed to the ground, her eyes hollow.
"Sister!"
Rem hurried to support her, but Ram gently pushed her away, looking up at Roswaal with a glimmer of pleading hope.
"Lord Roswaal, what he said… it isn't true, is it?"
Roswaal's face turned ashen. He didn't even look at Ram; she, who now doubted him, was no longer a pawn he could easily manipulate. His cold gaze remained fixed on the firestorm.
Finally, the flames slowly dissipated, revealing Ryou, completely unharmed.
"It seems our guest has some remarkable skills. Just a few words, and I've lost a crucial pawn~"
Roswaal's tone carried a hint of malice.
"As the saying goes: 'What goes around, comes around.' Besides, you haven't lost just one pawn—you've lost two."
Ryou smirked, snapping his fingers. In the corner, a shadow bulged, and two slender figures emerged—Anastasia and Emilia.
With her simple, trusting nature, Emilia might not have believed Ryou's accusations alone. But Ryou had suggested that Anastasia take her into the shadows to secretly listen to everything. Now, Roswaal was cornered, and Ryou's accusations were undeniable.
Silence fell over the room.
Anastasia glared coldly at Roswaal. Emilia hung her head, her eyes hidden in shadow, lost in thought. Ram lay on the ground in despair, while Rem tried to console her.
Clap, clap, clap!
Roswaal broke the silence, clapping slowly.
"Impressive tactics, guest!"
He dropped his affected tone.
"Oh, not at all. Having opponents this inept is troubling, too," Ryou grinned.
Roswaal showed no reaction to Ryou's taunt. After four centuries of life, he had seen it all. Though Ryou possessed strange powers, Roswaal deemed him no true threat. He turned toward the shadows behind the door.
"Enjoying the show? Isn't it time you stepped in?"
"Don't be mistaken, Roswaal. Betty's only here because he might have a clue about that person—not to help you, I suppose."
Accompanied by a slightly haughty voice, a small figure appeared at the door. With creamy, golden curls, a doll-like face, and an ornate red dress, the girl known as Beatrice entered. Like Puck, she was an artificial spirit created by the Witch of Greed, over four hundred years old and the guardian of the forbidden library in Roswaal's mansion.
Unlike Roswaal's destructive elemental magic, Beatrice specialized in yin-element and time-space magic. Together, they represented nearly every magical attribute known in Lugunica, except for water magic, the symbol of healing. Roswaal remained confident, even after witnessing Ryou's apparent immunity to elemental magic.
In Lugunica, no blessing allowed for full immunity to magic, not even against a single element. Magic immunity was seen as the realm of gods—an authority. Even Reinhard, the world's strongest Sword Saint, could only reduce magical damage by 80%. Both Roswaal and Beatrice understood this well. They dismissed Ryou's feats as a mere blessing or skill, believing they could eventually break his defenses.
Seeing Beatrice, Ryou felt a wave of clarity. It was obvious that she, too, was being manipulated by Echidna, hidden in the Sanctuary. Ryou couldn't help a slight smirk, feeling some schadenfreude.
Beatrice, noticing his smile, grew impatient.
"You'd better behave. If you resist, don't blame Betty if you end up seriously injured, I suppose."
Ryou's expression turned strange. Did they think he was that easy to defeat?
Forget it...
Too lazy to argue, Ryou simply instructed Anastasia, "Take care of her." Leaving Anastasia to protect Emilia, he charged toward Roswaal and Beatrice.
"Hmph," Beatrice scoffed, pointing her finger. A five-colored magic circle appeared, unleashing a barrage of magic missiles at Ryou.
"Hmph! Now you see how strong Betty is, I suppose!"
Beatrice smirked, flicking her curls. But the missiles veered away from Ryou as if the space around him had warped.
Beatrice's expression darkened. Even against Reinhard, she could use her rare abilities to hold her ground. But this opponent… he was beyond anything she'd ever faced.