"Boom!"
In that very instant, a fierce surge of magical power erupted from Astrid.
It was so powerful that it could even surpass the Headmaster of the Academy—an overwhelming force that didn't seem like something a human should be capable of possessing.
Although it still couldn't compare to Rozen, this magnitude of magic alone was enough to terrify anyone—so long as the comparison wasn't with him.
Astrid injected her magic into the lion-type automaton behind her, causing the lion to raise its head, its eyes glowing.
At that exact moment, the world itself seemed to fracture.
It was as if something had been forcibly severed and then reconnected in a rigid, unnatural manner.
"Hm?"
Rozen, who had been watching Astrid with a half-smile, suddenly narrowed his eyes, a flash of genuine surprise briefly crossing his gaze.
"This is…"
Rozen suddenly turned around, as if he'd sensed something.
And then—he saw it.
Right in front of him—what had been behind him just moments ago—the witch had appeared.
"Thud!"
With a crisp sound, a hand with razor-sharp nails was suddenly caught tightly in Rozen's outstretched grip, unable to move.
The hand belonged to Astrid.
"You actually sensed my move… and reacted to it?"
Astrid, who had somehow appeared behind Rozen—before he even turned—maintained her striking pose, her face visibly surprised.
And if Astrid was surprised, then the three sisters of Setsugetsuka, who had been on alert around Rozen, were outright stunned.
"You…!?"
"When did you…?!"
"So fast!"
Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki instinctively leapt back, putting distance between themselves and Astrid.
None of the three girls had noticed Astrid's approach. Eve Kinu appeared to be startled, clearly finding it unbelievable.
Yes.
Astrid's attack had slipped by even Kinu's detection.
The only one who could sense Astrid's move was Rozen—blessed with both Wise Eye and Mind's Eye, divine skills that transcended normal perception.
"What kind of magic is this?"
Rozen locked eyes with Astrid, the calm confidence on his face turning into genuine interest.
Seeing this, Astrid quickly recovered from her surprise.
"Wanna know?" Astrid glanced at the hand tightly gripped by Rozen and sneered. "If you agree to come with this old lady, maybe I'll consider telling you."
"Is that so?" Rozen narrowed his eyes and chuckled. "That might not be necessary."
After all…
"If everything's already here, I'll just take it back with me. I'm not interested in you as a person—just give me the lion and consider it compensation."
Rozen's smiling words made Astrid furious.
"Buzz!"
From the hand gripped by Rozen, a wave of black miasma instantly burst forth.
"Sizzle...!"
Rozen's hand made a boiling sound as if corroded by acid under the miasma's attack.
This was…
"Gift of Foul Decay?"
Rozen recognized the nature of the miasma.
It was the same ability once summoned by the Headmaster from the Lemegaton grimoire—Astaroth's magic circuit, capable of generating miasma and commanding spectral armies to attack enemies—known as Gift of Foul Decay.
At this moment, Astrid was using that very same power.
"Be careful, Arneet-kun!"
The Headmaster, witnessing the scene, couldn't help but shout.
"Astrid was originally the master of Lemegaton, and Gift of Foul Decay is an ancient curse technique passed down by the Seth Family. Besides their use of Spirit Magic, they also inherited Miasma Magic—enabling them to manipulate miasma for both offense and defense. Although it's nowhere near the scale used by Astaroth and is essentially a simplified version with much weaker power, it can be activated without a puppet and is extremely troublesome!"
That's why Astrid's aura was more like miasma than pure magic—it was because she was a practitioner of Miasma Magic, allowing her to directly control the substance.
Anyone touched by the miasma would have their life force drained and body corroded.
Now, Astrid was clearly attempting to corrode Rozen with a flood of miasma.
Unfortunately for her, no matter how much the miasma eroded, Rozen's hand remained completely unaffected.
"What?"
Astrid was visibly shaken.
Rozen, however, sneered.
"Too bad. Miasma doesn't work on me."
With the protection of Gyokuto, how could Rozen possibly be corroded by miasma?
"Even the miasma of Astaroth can't harm me—what chance does your simplified version have, old hag?"
As he spoke, Rozen suddenly tightened his grip.
"Crack!"
Astrid's hand was instantly broken by Rozen, bones snapping.
Rozen didn't even need to use any body-enhancing magic. Thanks to the blessing of the sun from Kinu, his strength was naturally tripled—enough to shatter the bones of a woman.
"Ah!"
Astrid screamed in pain, instinctively retreating.
At that moment, two figures rapidly approached from her left and right.
"Haaah!"
Yaya launched a punch that triggered a shockwave, striking toward Astrid.
"Don't you dare harm Rozen-sama!"
Irori charged in as well, wielding twin ice daggers like a snow assassin, lunging toward Astrid.
While Astrid was retreating in pain, she was simultaneously assaulted by the powerful attacks of Yaya and Irori.
"Bahamut!"
Clutching her broken hand, Astrid shouted at her lion-type automaton.
The automaton's eyes once again lit up.
And once more, the world fractured—as if something was being forcibly extracted.
By the time things returned to normal, Astrid was no longer in her original position—she had appeared in a different direction.
"Spacial Transfer?"
Yaya's punch missed, and she exclaimed in shock.
"A magic like Rozen-sama's?"
Irori also missed her strike and tensed up as she realized.
The Snow Maiden and the Moon Maiden immediately charged at Astrid again, launching a storm-like assault.
Both Yaya and Irori possessed astonishing destructive power. Their punches, kicks, and blade swings were enough to shatter stone walls on contact, leaving massive holes in the ground. Debris flew and air vibrated with their momentum.
However, Astrid evaded all their attacks using some unknown magic—constantly teleporting out of harm's way—leaving Irori and Yaya unable to land a hit.
Still, Astrid was clearly frustrated.
"Even Loreley's magic doesn't work on these two puppets?"
She clearly didn't regard Yaya and Irori as living beings, but merely as tools and weapons—speaking more to herself than anyone else.
Realizing that her Multi-Controller had no effect on them, Astrid shouted toward the surrounding Rose Stocks.
"All of you, attack! Take down the puppeteer first!"
Hearing this, the black-robed magus immediately began to unleash their magic.