And if they took the initiative to attack, it would be certain death.
"Um, were magi from the Age of Gods... really that hard to deal with?" Gray was not a magus and had no idea what kind of beings magi from the Age of Gods actually were. Hearing everyone here discuss it, she was rather bewildered too.
"Yes. Magi from the Age of Gods are simply that different from modern times." Lord El-Melloi II explained it to his student. "When we fought, that Hephaestion deployed magecraft with just a single incantation. That was the 'High-Speed Divine Words' commonly mastered only by magi from the Age of Gods."
As Lord El-Melloi II spoke, he used his cigar to draw several symbols in the air. That was about all his magecraft could accomplish.
"The High-Speed Divine Words just now were one example. No matter what modern magi do, they are constrained by several forms." The cigar smoke formed segments of text. "Modern magecraft ranges from a single process using only magical energy, to simple rituals of one verse or ten verses. The depth of magecraft that can be exercised through such forms is automatically determined. You have met that Grand Magus, Aozaki Touko, before, haven't you?"
Gray nodded. "The one she used was said to be restored Rune Magecraft, right? It did not seem like she needed to do what other magi did, either. Was that also magecraft from the Age of Gods?"
Lord El-Melloi II shook his head. "Even Touko's Rune Magecraft merely involved making such preparations in advance—if anything, it takes even more effort. It only looks so simple because a massive amount of preparation was done behind the scenes. But true magi from the Age of Gods are different. Magecraft from the Age of Gods can easily leap