From a certain perspective, the Great Source was Xi Jianxi's mana reactor.
Before long, Morgan spotted Xi Jianxi standing in the hall on this floor, the Red Spear in his hand slowly vanishing.
As though the sight of the spear had scorched her eyes, Morgan frowned in displeasure.
"If you needed a weapon, couldn't you have just told me?"
"Don't you need a weapon too?" Xi Jianxi pursed his lips helplessly. "Besides, I have my own weapon. Last time, I was only afraid of rejecting your goodwill."
As he spoke, Morgan had already approached him. "Since you are my husband, listen to my advice. Someone like you should not rely too heavily on that spear."
"Rely on it..."
Xi Jianxi felt Morgan was exaggerating a little.
He simply thought that spear was well suited for killing familiars.
"In any case, I can handle what comes next. Just stand aside and enjoy the show."
"That was what I had planned to do."
After saying that, Morgan changed back into her usual clothes and adjusted her glasses.
Color Rank versus Pride Rank
Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald finally realized something.
The Holy Grail War was not merely a contest between Magi wagering their honor and lives.
As its name suggested, it was a war through and through.
Only the victor could survive. If one lost, one's life and death would fall into someone else's hands.
Just like now.
The twenty-four layers of bounded fields he had taken such pride in were mercilessly shattered by Xi Jianxi like glass ornaments.
The Malevolent Spirits and Ghouls familiars, which he had been certain no one could break through, were all slaughtered by Xi Jianxi without a single one left behind.
In the past, Kayneth had always looked down on Magi who specialized in this sort of practical combat.
They did not clearly belong to any faction and were merely lowlifes capable of doing the Mage's Association's dirty work.
As an aristocrat of the Mage's Association and a Lord, Kayneth had instinctively looked down on the other Masters participating in the Holy Grail War.
But now, Kayneth finally understood the problem.
Unaffiliated, unconventional Magi or self-taught ones often could not even obtain the rank of Frame. As for families that had only joined the Mage's Association after the Industrial Revolution, even after several generations of effort, Cause was usually their ceiling.
But Xi Jianxi was Pride. He must have possessed exceptional ability and extraordinary achievements to receive such a rank.
If he had not been unaffiliated, Xi Jianxi might even have gone further.
Kayneth stood in the room with his hands behind his back, Moon Cell Essence already deployed.
Automatic defense, automatic tracking, targeted attacks.
His fiancée, Sola-Ui, had long since remained in the room at his urging. Kayneth himself was the final line of defense.
Should he call Lancer back to defend?
Kayneth looked at the three Command Spells on the back of his hand, still hesitating over such a matter.
He no longer had time to watch Lancer and Berserker's battle. Moon Cell Essence had already detected Xi Jianxi's presence and launched an attack.
As the heaviest substance at room temperature, mercury generated tremendous kinetic energy when propelled at high pressure and high speed. Its form could also instantly change into whips, blades, or spears at will. Its sharpness far surpassed lasers, comparable to an ultra-high-pressure water cutter.
The walls of the hallway outside the hall groaned as smoke and dust billowed.
Kayneth clearly felt Moon Cell Essence transform into a blade and strike its target.
He did not believe a single blow like that could defeat Xi Jianxi. He merely hoped to give his enemy some impact and establish an advantage on home ground.
Having lost his bounded fields and familiars too quickly, the only thing Kayneth could still rely on was the three mana reactors he had brought. They would keep him from falling into danger due to mana exhaustion in this confrontation.
"Control over fluids... If I remember correctly, your elements should be 'Wind' and 'Water,' right?"
Xi Jianxi emerged from the smoke and dust. Once Kayneth saw him clearly, his eyes widened in disbelief.
Moon Cell Essence had transformed into blades and continuously slashed at him at tremendous speed, yet every attack seemed like an act, stopping just short of touching him and unable to advance another inch.
"Scalp!" Kayneth shouted.
The mercury became countless blades and attacked Xi Jianxi all at once.
Even under Kayneth's direct control, those blades still could not reach Xi Jianxi.
"It's useless," Xi Jianxi said blandly.
The third Primordial Rune, the Rune Against Enemies.
Under the effects of this rune, the edges of weapons would all become dull and heavy, eventually becoming unusable.
No matter how Kayneth commanded or drove it, Moon Cell Essence could not strike Xi Jianxi as he wished or inflict the damage he expected.
Fortunately, Kayneth had already entered combat mode. Moon Cell Essence's chaotic attacks were merely a means of obscuring vision. His magic circuits operated at full capacity, drawing mana from the mana reactors, and then—
Mist condensed in midair, mixing with the smoke and dust to block both sides' vision.
The temperature rapidly dropped far below anything this winter could produce.
Before the mercury Mystic Code, Xi Jianxi's body heat made him seem even more like a living target.
A gale gradually arose within the enclosed space.
Wind and water—Kayneth's innate magical elements.
Controlling both elements at once and deploying ice magecraft was effortless for him.
This was not the time to display his broad knowledge of magecraft. Kayneth decisively chose the elements he was most familiar with, maximizing the reduction in casting time. With only his Magic Crest and the support of the mana reactors, he could swiftly unleash large-scale magecraft.
He had witnessed Xi Jianxi's ice magecraft at the harbor warehouse last night. Kayneth considered that scale impressive, but it was still inferior to him at full strength.
"Solid ice, freeze my enemy!"
The gale roared, and countless hexagonal snowflakes swept through the hotel's thirty-second floor. He would leave Xi Jianxi nowhere to advance and nowhere to retreat.
Xi Jianxi raised his hand and saw that his fingers had already begun to freeze. Ice spread across his entire body at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Dripping water froze into ice; exhaled breath turned to frost.
He truly was a genius of the Clock Tower, the Lord of the Mage's Association's Department of Mineralogy.
Xi Jianxi slowly closed his eyes. In the blink of an eye, his entire body was sealed beneath solid ice, like a primitive human buried deep in snow-covered mountains tens of thousands of years ago.
Through the colorless, transparent ice, Kayneth saw Xi Jianxi open his eyes again and look at him.
"Scalp!"
Kayneth gave the order once more. This time, he would shatter Xi Jianxi completely along with the solid ice.
This was the Holy Grail War. A duel between Magi was inherently a contest of life and death. Even if someone from the Mage's Association wanted to trouble Kayneth over it, they would have no excuse to use.
Then Kayneth saw Xi Jianxi's lips move slightly, as though he were saying something.
"What? Begging for mercy? You didn't run even when faced with my great magecraft, and now you know fear?" Kayneth revealed a smug smile. "Unfortunately, you are too much of a threat, and you have caused me losses of this magnitude."
Before he could finish speaking, a faint red light appeared within the blizzard barrier capable of destroying everything.
The fist-sized red glow pulsed like a heartbeat, then suddenly swelled. Blazing radiance broke through the barrier, devoured the thick blizzard that made it impossible to open one's eyes, and surged toward Kayneth.
Realizing something was wrong, Kayneth hurriedly recalled Moon Cell Essence to defend himself, wrapping his entire body within it. Only then did he block the blazing flames and avoid being burned into charcoal.
Xi Jianxi had not spoken to beg for mercy. He had been activating magecraft.
A great fire magecraft that required only a single brief word—Titanomachia.
Ice turned into water, and water dried into vapor.
The still smoke-filled thirty-second floor had become as hot as the most sweltering season of a rainforest. Even Xi Jianxi had to use magecraft to isolate himself from the heat.
Life and Death
He looked at Kayneth, who was completely sealed within mercury. The flames could not burn through it; fiery tongues licked weakly around the mercury, unable to breach Moon Cell Essence in the slightest.
However...
Xi Jianxi stood amid the flames, folding his arms as he watched that sphere of mercury.
Mercury was highly toxic. The Mystic Code Kayneth had made from mercury must have used mana to suppress its toxicity, or perhaps his own Crest could help its bearer suppress the harm.
In any case, under normal circumstances, the danger posed by Moon Cell Essence could mostly be ignored.
But what if it was roasted like this by a great fire magecraft?
Xi Jianxi did not know. He cautiously guarded against mercury vapor that might escape into the air while waiting for Kayneth's reaction.
Using fire to counter ice and snow was actually a risky method for a Magus. Without sufficient ability, one would only trap oneself.
The hotel's fire alarm suddenly rang. Xi Jianxi froze for a moment, then silently sighed.
At this rate, he would probably attract the fire department and police.
He traced a shape through the air with his index finger.
The seventh Primordial Rune, the Rune That Quells Fire.
It weakened and suppressed flames with an incantation. Extinguishing fire was merely its simplest application.
At the same time, a crack gradually appeared in Moon Cell Essence, which had been wrapped around Kayneth to shield him from the flames.
"Wind..."
Kayneth was about to activate wind magecraft when his breathing suddenly caught, followed by violent dry heaving.
He covered his mouth and retched several times. When he lowered his hand, his white glove was stained with red blood. His body suddenly began to ache, and pain started spreading through his head and abdomen despite the absence of any injuries.
"Mercury... poisoning..." Kayneth immediately realized the problem.
Moon Cell Essence was indeed an excellent Mystic Code, capable of both attack and defense. Kayneth had always been immensely satisfied with and trusting of his creation.
Only today had he miscalculated one step.
He had not expected Xi Jianxi to disregard the elemental disadvantage and counterattack with fire magecraft. After deploying his defense in desperation, even Moon Cell Essence had begun to vaporize because it could not withstand that fire magecraft.
Just now... Kayneth had placed his entire body in an extremely high concentration of mercury vapor without any protection.
"I thought you knew to watch out for something like that." Even Xi Jianxi could not help but comment.
An academic Magus was still an academic Magus. Once removed from the study and lecture hall, he lacked sufficient consideration for the ever-changing conditions of the battlefield.
After silently criticizing him, Xi Jianxi slowly raised his right hand.
"Panta Rhei."
Gales transformed into blades and swept toward Kayneth from every direction.
"...Verteidigung!" Kayneth rasped in a voice strained by his difficulty breathing.
Moon Cell Essence spun at high speed, blocking every wind blade. But Kayneth could no longer rapidly mobilize mana, and cracks appeared across Moon Cell Essence under the assault before slowly closing again.
But that was only a matter of time. Kayneth would soon be unable to sustain the mana needed to maintain Moon Cell Essence's form, and its defense gradually crumbled beneath the fierce winds.
Mercury slowly writhed across the floor, gathering together like slime as it awaited its next command.
Dark circles began to appear around Kayneth's eyes. He could feel his concentration fading and his judgment weakening.
Someone... could someone help him...
His will to survive drove him to instinctively beg for aid.
As though a god had heard that plea, a hand rested against his back.
"What a useless man, ending up in such a predicament because of your own Mystic Code." Sola-Ui mocked Kayneth coldly, but her hand was performing healing magecraft.
Xi Jianxi stood there silently watching the man and woman. He knew they were engaged.
Yet no matter how he looked at them, he could not sense the affection expected between fiancés. Instead, they were filled with the cold cooperative relationship between Magi.
Thinking of this, he could not help turning to look at Morgan in the shadows.
Morgan, however, looked away with an expression that said, Don't look at me. I'm not that kind of person.
Before you continue