-1040- Really?

"Come forth, the first Beast Vassal———Mesarthim Adamas."

Zaharias summoned his Matrice's Beast Vassal without hesitation, allowing the immense magical energy swirling around him to materialize into a gigantic diamond sheep, rising like a mountain peak, towering into existence.

It was a Beast Vassal capable of reflecting all enemy attacks, combining offense and defense, theoretically invincible.

It represented the essence of vampires' immortality, unbeatable due to its resilience and vitality.

Faced with such a Beast Vassal, Avrora immediately reacted.

As if ignoring her own will, a chill emanated from Avrora's surroundings, gradually freezing the ground.

However, Avrora, despite her efforts, was pulled back by Rozen.

"I'll take it from here, you just watch from the sidelines."

Rozen didn't turn back, just said calmly.

"But...!"

Avrora tried to say something but was interrupted by Rozen.

"Once you lose, even if I can keep fighting, I've lost in this ritual as well." Rozen smiled at Avrora and said, "So, just watch for now. I'll handle the vanguard alone."

With that said, Rozen didn't wait for Avrora's response but slowly walked forward, facing the massive diamond sheep Beast Vassal, his black cloak fluttering in the wake of magical currents, swirling around him, making Rozen, compared to the Matrice's Beast Vassal, not seem small at all, but rather giving the impression of overwhelming the opponent.

Of course, to others, Rozen, as a mere human, facing alone a Beast Vassal comparable to a natural disaster, seemed to be seeking death.

But for Rozen, it was just an appetizer.

"Clap!"

Rozen walked forward, clapping his hands.

Almost simultaneously...

"Eliminate him!"

Zaharias suddenly commanded, causing the eyes of the diamond sheep to light up, and countless crystal formations appeared around its body, like a storm, raining down towards Rozen's direction.

As the rain fell, the atmosphere moaned, and the ground of the artificial island trembled slightly, indicating the power of the attack.

Compared to their previous encounter, the first Beast Vassal was undoubtedly stronger now.

The reason was simple; back then, Zaharias deliberately restrained his power to prevent Itogami Island from being sunk and showed mercy. After the ritual of the Blazing Banquet, the first Beast Vassal's magic had greatly increased, making its power incomparable.

Last time, faced with this wave of attacks, Rozen temporarily avoided the edge using Space Manipulation Magic.

This time, the power was greater, and Rozen had no choice but to retreat, with no other option.

At least, that's what Zaharias thought.

Unfortunately, Rozen had no intention of retreating at all.

"————"

This was a technique used to deflect curses, completely isolating oneself from the outside world—Divine Purity Incantation.

Rozen snapped his fingers a few times and stomped his foot, covering himself in a green light.

"Boom—!"

The rain of crystal formations fell on him like countless meteorites, destroying the ground of the artificial island and creating a terrifying shockwave.

In an instant, the ground collapsed, the atmosphere shook, and the reinforced glass around the central square of Quartz Gate was shredded like paper, collapsing amidst deafening destruction.

"Ah!"

Caught off guard by the sudden destruction, Avrora hadn't even been swallowed by the shockwave yet; the ground beneath her feet collapsed first, causing her to scream as she fell into the collapsing ground, descending into the abyss.

Just as Avrora feared, unsure where she would be buried...

"Huh?"

Accompanied by Avrora's slightly stunned and astonished voice, an invisible force acted upon her, as if someone was holding her, leaping several times, instantly escaping the collapsing ground and the incoming shockwave.

At the same time, Zaharias, who had summoned the Beast Vassal and caused such a scene, spoke.

"What?"

Zaharias exclaimed in surprise.

Because, amidst the destruction caused by the raining crystals, a figure covered in green light ignored the meteorite-like attacks, flying into the sky as if becoming invisible, carried by the flying cloak, ascending into the sky.

"—————"

Rozen chanted a new spell.

"————"

Rozen's entire body surged with jutsuryoku, forming a whip of curses.

It was the cursed jutsu that had once caused the most powerful magus in the nineteenth century in the automaton world, Edward Rutherford, to be injured to the point of coughing blood—the divine whip of Marishiten.

Rozen tightly gripped the curse whip and fiercely whipped it towards the direction where Zaharias was.

The curse whip whistled through the air, tearing through the atmosphere, and struck towards Zaharias.

"First Beast Vassal!"

Zaharias immediately commanded his controlled Beast Vassal, causing pieces of crystal formations to flash around him, forming a barrier of gemstones in front of Zaharias.

"Bam—!"

The curse whip struck heavily, stirring up an astonishing impact.

However, this power did not affect Zaharias. Instead, it rebounded like a ball, crashing towards Rozen's direction.

Fortunately, Rozen was still enveloped in the barrier of curse deflection. Even as the cursed whip was bounced back towards him, it merely grazed past him and was not reflected back onto Rozen himself.

"It's useless. No attack can harm the first Beast Vassal, let alone me, who can control it," Zaharias said with a smug smil

"Oh, really?" Rozen chuckled dismissively.

"Clap"

Rozen suddenly clapped his hands again.

The immense jutsuryoku instantly pierced through space, slamming into Zaharias, who hadn't even had time to react.

Abandoning the chant of the Taoism technique, hitting a mountain from afar, Rozen resolutely employed it.

"Boom—"

Accompanied by the explosion of impact, Zaharias was blasted away by the jutsuryoku piercing through space.

"Pfft."

Immediately, Zaharias spewed out a mouthful of blood.

However, more than the pain, Zaharias felt shock.

"H-How... could this...!

Protected by the Mesarthim Adamas, he actually got injured?

Wasn't it supposed to reflect all attack?