-714- Give us a tour?

"Whoosh!"

A wave of red-hot air rushed through the corridor, blowing away the suspended fireballs in mid-air and sending Charl and Henri, who hadn't reacted in time, tumbling to the ground in painful gasps.

The only person the heat wave didn't affect was a fiery red figure that had caused this grand explosion.

Wearing a pitch-black formal outfit and a foreboding veil, this petite figure emitted an unusual magical aura from her entire body. On the veil, there was the character "火" (fire).

Other than the automaton Hotaru, who else could it be?

Hotaru extended a hand, releasing a terrifying heat wave that turned into a red-hot blast, engulfing those she deemed as foes.

However...

"I didn't expect to meet you in a place like this. Is it a coincidence or destiny?"

A voice filled with a hint of amusement and indifference emerged from the searing heat, making Hotaru's concealed expression change as if she hadn't anticipated the outcome of her attack.

However, Hotaru's reaction was not slow, and she immediately tried to withdraw.

Unfortunately, this girl was a step behind.

"Boom!"

An invisible projectile, formed purely from thought power, struck Hotaru like a substantial iron hammer, causing a powerful explosion.

"Ugh...!"

Hotaru groaned, sent flying, and tumbled on the ground for several rolls before managing to regain her composure. She got up but held her chest, seemingly having endured a considerable impact.

It was only at this point that the heatwave in front began to gradually dissipate, revealing a magnificent crimson coat that resonated like falling sparks.

Rozen was wearing this coat, standing unharmed in the center of the dissipating heatwave. His gaze wasn't directed at Hotaru, but at the passage behind her.

There, a figure was slowly approaching.

In their hand, they held an oil lamp.

They were draped in a formal attire.

Their face concealed behind a mask.

Their eyes exuded determination.

It was indeed Magnus.

Magnus fixed his gaze on Hotaru and issued a cold command, "Hotaru, return."

Hotaru complied with some reluctance, retracting her magical energy and returning to Magnus's side.

It seemed that Hotaru had taken it upon herself to view Rozen as a threat and had initiated the attack on her own. Rozen also knew that the previous attack did not come from Magnus, but from Hotaru's own magical power.

This wasn't particularly surprising.

The six girls in the team were all created as Banned Dolls using the flesh of the Akabane clan, allowing them to generate magic on their own. Due to the use of "Crimson Wing Blood" as their material, these girls could generate much more magic independently than typical Banned Dolls, almost reaching human levels.

This high autonomy of the team's girls gave them the capability to engage in combat independently even when separated from their puppeteer. However, it was naive to think that this alone would harm Rozen.

Magnus' gaze briefly fell on Rozen's coat.

Back when they had their first encounter in the academy, sending Hotaru to attack Rozen had been futile because of this coat. Now, it was the same; Hotaru's attacks did nothing to Rozen, landing harmlessly on his coat.

In such a situation, even someone as obtuse as Magnus could guess that the coat was extraordinary.

"A magical device? Or a special Automaton?" Magnus murmured quietly.

In response, Rozen merely smiled, taunting and mocking all at once.

"Why don't you take a guess?"

With their gazes clashing intensely, the atmosphere became tense between the two.

"Why... why is Magnus here?"

"A second... man..."

Charlotte and Henri struggled to get up from the ground, watching the situation with one filled with surprise and the other with fear.

Hotaru, on the other hand, began to emanate magic all over her body, ready to attack once again at any moment.

The atmosphere at the scene was so tense that it left everyone speechless.

And then...

"You two should calm down a little. Fighting in a place like this isn't commendable."

A voice, bearing an indescribable sense of presence and pressure, seemed to suppress the tension in the air and slowly echoed.

The speaker was a person well-known to everyone.

"Arneet-kun and the Belew childrens, you're all surprisingly well."

With these words, a magician with a robust physique and powerful magic, positioned at the top of this academy, as well as at the pinnacle of the 19th century, appeared.

"Headmaster...!?"

Charlotte and Henri exclaimed in astonishment simultaneously.

It was Edward Rutherford himself.

Rozen, of course, couldn't have missed the Headmaster's presence around him. However, Rozen didn't look at the Headmaster, continuing to gaze at Magnus until now and only shifted his gaze slightly, casting a smirk at the Headmaster.

"The school headmaster and the first seat both appear in such an unknown secret facility. It really makes one curious," Rozen sharply brought up this sensitive topic, rekindling the tense atmosphere that the Headmaster had just managed to suppress.

But this is precisely the most puzzling question. Only Rozen's group fell into this place, yet both the Headmaster and Magnus appeared here together. Isn't that worth pondering?

"It seems there are many secrets hidden here that would pique the interest of many, right?"

Rozen continued to address this sensitive topic indifferently, causing Magnus to narrow his eyes and fall silent, while Charlotte and Henri remained on edge.

Only the Headmaster remained composed.

"Don't make us sound so suspicious. We came down here specifically to find you and prepare for a rescue," the Headmaster said helplessly and wryly, finally easing the expressions on Charlotte and Henri's faces.

However...

"It seems you two came in from the other side of the passage, rather than from the collapsed area, proving that you were aware of the existence of this secret underground facility and that you can freely come and go here, right?"

Rozen, as if not recognizing the importance of the situation, smiled and said.

"While I do appreciate the rescue, and now that our safety is assured, how about you two show us around here, give us a tour of what's going on?"

One sentence made the tense atmosphere even heavier.