CHAPTER 373: CHAPTER 373: A DUEL OF MAGES

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"A pity it’s not paired with Banquet of the Night. The effect is greatly reduced."

Touko’s voice was filled with a cold and ruthless tone.

Her brownish-red eyes sharpened, instantly transforming into a blue kaleidoscope.

Like repelling poles of a magnet, Mystic Eyes clashed with Mystic Eyes. And in the face of being sealed by Mystic Eyes, the best method was, naturally, to use Mystic Eyes to break the seal.

Unfortunately for Alice, Touko was also a natural-born user of Mystic Eyes.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The magical shackles binding Touko suddenly made a strange sound, and the next moment, they disintegrated into a cloud of magical power, dissipating into the atmosphere.

Sensing the change in Touko, Alice’s pupils constricted. She immediately began to run, and as she moved, she silently smashed her familiar, the robin, into a snowdrift. The crunching sound of snow echoed in the silent park.

By the time Touko had broken free from the Mystic Eyes’ restraint, Alice, who had long since left her original position, had already run to her side.

Touko seemed completely defenseless, allowing Alice to run to her side. But in truth, this was a mutual choice.

Mystic Eyes were a secret art that was activated by ’Seeing.’ The range of the Mystic Eyes was as far as the eye could see.

And this convenient activation condition also represented a flaw.

That is, when the enemy was not looking at you, when a part of their body was out of your line of sight, the effect of the Mystic Eyes would be greatly reduced. And with the reduced effect, the resistance of the magical formal wear they were both wearing was enough to nullify it.

So, when Alice started running, Touko didn’t turn her head to lock onto her direction and launch a counterattack.

The reason was simple: when a person turns their head, their vision will be blurred for a short time. And that time was enough for Alice to meet her gaze and unleash the power of her Mystic Eyes.

This was something both of them knew.

So, Alice focused most of her energy on not meeting Touko’s gaze, while at the same time, looking for an opportunity to activate her Mystic Eyes magic, and even her Fairy Tale Magic.

’And this is exactly what I want.’ Touko lifted her hand, pushed aside the brownish-red hair covering her left eye, and exposed her Blue, kaleidoscope-like Mystic Eye to the air.

Alice’s brow furrowed slightly. She averted her gaze, and while not meeting Touko’s eyes, she focused her energy on guarding against her magic.

She looked at the white snow on the ground, as if she could see the rune of the sun, shining with a brilliant light, beneath it.

An idea suddenly appeared in her mind. A deceptive move once again.

Five Banquets of the Nights appeared in the palm of her black-gloved hand.

The next moment, a scene suddenly flashed in her dark eyes. It was the scene of Touko looking at her side and imprisoning her with her Mystic Eyes.

’Spiritual vision? Why this scene?’ The confusion flashed through Alice’s mind, and at the same time, her body paused for a moment. And it was because of this momentary pause that she missed her chance to dodge.

The Blue kaleidoscope in Touko’s left eye began to spin rapidly. Then, at the bottom of her eye, a series of kaleidoscopes, with the rotation, appeared on the surface of her eye, continuously overlapping with the original kaleidoscope.

Touko looked at Alice. Due to her fast movement and averted gaze, she could only see Alice’s back, but.

"It’s enough!" Touko’s eyes widened.

The magical power in her body surged out, and the frantically outputted magical power completely ignored the fragility of her eyeball, filling her eye with a violent force. Then, the magical power, following her line of sight, poured out, instantly enveloping Alice.

Alice froze for a moment, her black, pearl-like eyes shrinking to a small dot, her placid face filled with an unshakeable bewilderment.

"...Can’t... move??" Alice said, maintaining her one-legged running posture, her brow furrowed, her voice exceptionally strained.

She felt as if she were encased in dense concrete, with not a single bit of space to move. The familiar aura made her immediately realize that this was the effect of Mystic Eyes.

She turned her only movable eyeball. Since she was already sealed, Alice looked at Touko’s eyes without hesitation, and retaliated by activating her own Mystic Eyes.

She couldn’t possibly lose a duel of Mystic Eyes.

Even without the support of Banquet of the Night, as a witch, both her magical power and the level of her Mystic Eyes were superior to Touko’s.

"Ugh—!" A pained grunt suddenly came from Alice’s cherry lips. Her eyeball felt as if it had been stabbed with a chopstick, and a sharp pain shot through her.

Her body instantly went limp, completely losing its strength. This was the consequence of a crushing defeat in a duel of Mystic Eyes.

"As I thought, you fell for it," Touko said, her lips curving into a faint smile.

Alice struggled to lift her head. Her vision had been blurred in the earlier clash, and she could only see a sea of red. But relying on her perception of the Mystic Eye formula, she saw Touko’s overlapping kaleidoscope left eye.

"...Madwoman!" A curse, mixed with a pained cry. Alice’s brow was tightly furrowed, her once-pale face now ashen.

She knew she had underestimated Touko’s madness.

Mystic Eyes were divided into natural and artificially created. Touko and Alice were both natural-born users of Mystic Eyes.

However, Touko had actually artificially created Mystic Eyes in her own natural ones, and the number was definitely more than one.

To create Mystic Eyes in Mystic Eyes that were of the same type, and more than one at that, this kind of behavior, which could cause your eyeball to explode at any moment and lead to a chaotic magical system, Touko had done it who knows how many times.

What was this kind of behavior if not madness?

————

"Oh my, don’t be so surprised. I’m just learning from your mother, that great witch who modified your eyes before you were even born. It’s just that I can’t seal a high-level mystery in your eyes like she did. I can only mass-produce them."

Touko’s lips curved upwards, a hint of pride on her face. Alice’s mother, that great witch, was a close friend and teacher to her.

To be able to win against that woman’s technique was naturally a source of great pride for her.

"Well then, checkmate." Touko chuckled softly, waved her hand, and her fingertips traced a strange symbol in the air. It was the rune for ’wind.’

The next moment, the atmosphere suddenly compressed.

Chirp~ Chirp~

The mournful cry of a bird suddenly rang out.

At the same time, a cold voice slowly sounded.

"It’s time to end this."

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