The enemy’s body had been hidden under a robe, with only his face exposed.

At a glance from an outsider—

this was exactly what a very traditional Caster was supposed to look like.

Only now, when he stripped off his disguise, did the peculiar details of his gear show themselves.

Underneath, this Original Text holder wore a set of coarse-cloth battle garb that had actually been reinforced by Spells. A simple yet sturdy T‑shaped leather harness wrapped his waist and left chest; from a metal ring on the left hung three Potions in a vertical row, while on the right a bundle of scrolls tied to spools ran down along his thigh, nearly reaching the knee.

Besides that, the pocket on his chest had also been modified and stitched with several small metal cases.

He couldn’t be sure what was stored inside.

But judging from this fully armed appearance, it wasn’t hard to guess that they were definitely not ordinary goods.

"Its name is Styx,

that black water flows downward, all the way to the dark and perilous cliff-foot!"

Ronald stood on full alert, immediately chanting the incantation from Divine Comedy - Hell.

An enemy dressed like this was someone truly good at fighting, a practical combatant rather than a Spell‑research addict.

Today’s battle might be a completely different experience from any he’d had before.

Magic Power flowed out from his Original Text, and Hell’s black mist began to spread through the sky around him. Just as Ronald was trying to alter the environment—

the Caster of the Nine Commandments secret meeting below directly drew out a scroll, tore it open, and flung it toward the sky above his head.

Whoo—

The next second, a Gale swept in.

The air current summoned from the scroll was unlike any other; the torrent, normally colorless, showed a dark violet hue, and its ferocity carried the dead stillness of extinguished life.

And this Gale was especially fast and fierce, charging at the enemy like a swooping raptor.

Ronald stayed wary.

Seeing he couldn’t get out of the attack range in time, he naturally prepared to cast a defensive Spell and meet it head-on.

Yet just one second before the demonic wind arrived—

the Spell driven by that powerful Magic Power suddenly veered away, blowing toward the outside of the battlefield, and soon dissipated into heaven and earth.

If not for both sides suddenly freezing in place—

just from subjective impression alone, one would almost think everything that had just happened was an illusion.

"..."

This time, Ronald reacted far faster than the enemy.

He looked up, and the moment his gaze caught that faint trace of Magic Power, his expression relaxed.

"Knew it was you."

The reason the scroll‑borne Spell had abruptly turned aside was completely because Costate, high above, had come to assist her master.

The maid might have been taking Nicole up and away from the battlefield,

but that didn’t mean Costate had no way to cast Spells.

Once she sensed the sudden appearance of a wind‑type Spell below, the maid directly extended her control over the airflow, altering the scroll Spell’s attack trajectory.

Though, there had also been some coincidence in the details of this outcome.

Catherine had been able to achieve her goal so effortlessly mainly because this Spell hadn’t been created on the spot by the enemy’s Original Text, but was released from a scroll, unleashing a pre‑stored power.

This method excelled in convenience and speed, and in mystic‑side battles that required chanting it often gained the upper hand.

But in exchange, control and adaptability were greatly diminished.

"Two monsters..."

The Caster of the Nine Commandments secret meeting below spat a quiet curse.

His scroll casting, combined with extremely fast wind‑type Spells, normally produced excellent results, yet today his opponent actually had aerial support, turning his surprise strike into nothing.

At the same time, Ronald did not seize the chance to launch a chase.

He hadn’t forgotten the chant the other had just recited, nor the Spell that had wound itself around his body.

With both sides fighting for their lives, how could he possibly ignore something like this?

Ronald followed standard mystic‑side practice, trying to use his own powerful Magic Power to directly disrupt the Spell.

But the attempt was completely ineffective.

"Hm?" Ronald’s brow furrowed.

In a short span he tried several more methods to get rid of the Spell, but both common techniques and some specialized approaches all failed to work.

The Spell wrapped around him wasn’t concealed; it continuously emitted rhythmic fluctuations, and the obvious Magic Power changes it caused could be sensed even by ordinary Casters.

In other words—

the Spell locked onto Ronald was not only hard to dispel, it also turned him into a walking torch in the dark night, glaringly obvious to every Caster’s eyes.

Question one: Catholicism, witches...

Recalling those key words in the enemy’s incantation, Ronald felt a stab of foreboding.

He stopped conserving the target‑lock of Greed Original Sin, immediately activated the Spell, and confirmed the nature of the enemy’s ability.

—Spell: Witch Hunting Mark

—Place a Spell mark upon a "Wizard", causing them to continuously emit Magic Fluctuation for tracking; remains effective permanently unless the Caster cancels it.

—A Caster bearing this mark will suffer increased damage from Spell attacks, with a fivefold increase against women.

"Witch hunting... special attack against women..."

The constant flow of information laid itself out before him.

Even though Ronald had never read this Original Text, the obvious stylistic features told him that the other side’s Original Text could not be separated from medieval witch hunts.

Now that he understood the enemy’s background, Ronald naturally made his decision; the Original Text seal flashed across his hand:

"Mother of Rome, the joy of all gods and all living things..."

At the moment the chant ended, the Spell mark on Ronald’s body vanished without a trace.

—Criticism of Divine

The first Spell recorded in the Essence Theory Original Text.

Given the limited time, Ronald couldn’t possibly read the Original Text dozens or hundreds of times and master all the Spells within.

But using this first Spell posed no problem.

The enemy’s Original Text, tied to witch hunting, was indeed extremely dangerous, but Ronald had more than enough Spells at hand to find a counter.

Down below, however, the Caster of the Nine Commandments secret meeting looked agitated.

He stared at Ronald above with wide eyes; even the hands gripping his bone hammer and Original Text began to tremble under the influence of rage.

"You... you bastard!"

"That’s Mr. Nade’s Original Text—you actually killed him too!"

Nade?

Ronald immediately realized that was the name of the Caster from whom he’d taken the Essence Theory Original Text.

The enemy in front of him seemed to have been extremely close to that man.

Once he recognized that Ronald was using Spells from Essence Theory, endless fury surged up from his heart.

Ronald’s attitude toward battle was ruthlessly efficient.

The moment he noticed this, Wrath Original Sin silently attached itself to the man.

He even felt that wasn’t enough.

So he deliberately held the Essence Theory Original Text up in his hand and waved it at the enemy below:

"Look, his Original Text is right here."

"If you can defeat me, you can naturally take it back."

"..."

"I’ll kill you!"

The tactic Ronald had chosen took effect immediately.

Seeing his friend’s Original Text in the enemy’s hand, the enemy’s reason snapped like a broken string; he no longer cared about tactics or caution.

"You monster, don’t even think about walking out of here alive today!"