Hmm... Maybe Close Combat Really Does Solve Problems / Hold My Wife Tight

Van Fem revealed a gentlemanly smile.

Then he struck the ground hard with his cane. Patterns lit up across the enormous humanoid Magic Doll's body, and its momentum began rising sharply. The Magic Doll then threw a punch with tremendous force.

Rumble—

A dull boom echoed through this ancient forest, far from human habitation.

A straight shockwave swept through the forest, snapping countless trees and sending them flying backward.

A brand-new road suddenly appeared through the forest.

Chapter 24: Hmm... I'll Solve This with Close Combat

"...What an outstanding Magic Doll!"

Van Fem sighed in genuine admiration.

The humanoid Magic Doll's full-powered punch had definitely struck Suigintou head-on. That was precisely why he was so impressed.

Facing such a terrifying punch, she had actually managed to protect herself with nothing but her wings.

Even more unbelievable was that the Magic Doll named Suigintou had suffered practically no damage.

The kinetic force she carried had already been transferred to the towering trees as she flew backward.

She had finally crashed into a huge stone jutting from the ground.

"...Perhaps you'll need to revise your assessment!"

Hearing this, Aozaki Touko smiled confidently.

At the same time, far away, Suigintou, buried beneath a pile of rubble, flashed a red gleam in her eyes. Her black wings suddenly spread and expanded, and a powerful gale sent the piled-up stones soaring into the sky.

Suigintou emerged completely unharmed. Apart from her black skirt being slightly disheveled, she had suffered no other effects. On the contrary, her aura had risen several levels.

She walked forward slowly, raised a hand, reached into the void, and drew out an exquisite sword.

Then her pitch-black wings suddenly flapped. Her delicate body became a black bolt of lightning that streaked across the void, while black sword light tore through the sunset glow.

Clang—!

The next moment, a wound suddenly appeared on the shoulder of the castle-sized Magic Doll.

The slash was roughly half a meter deep and four or five meters long. If the Magic Doll's body had not been so incredibly tough, that strike would have been enough to sever its arm.

For an ordinary human, however, this would have been a fatal wound.

For a Magic Doll with such a gigantic body, it was not fatal at all. It would not even affect her movements.

To put it simply, it was like using a small knife to cut open a wound.

It might hurt a little, but it posed no threat to her life.

However... no matter how tiny the wounds were, once they accumulated to a certain point, death would become unavoidable—unless one's healing speed was faster than the rate of destruction.

Thus, in the next instant,

after succeeding with her strike, Suigintou abruptly wheeled around and unleashed another fierce slash. Her black wings resembled enormous black dragons as they tore and carved into the giant Magic Doll.

This scene was practically... a form of slow slicing.

"...What incredible flight speed!"

Seeing this, Van Fem frowned and struck the ground hard with his cane.

The next moment, the Magic Doll, which had fallen into a disadvantageous position, glowed all over. Layer upon layer of barriers wrapped around her. She even curled up protectively, leaving her hardest back exposed to Suigintou.

Though this was undignified, it was also an unavoidable choice.

With such a massive body, increasing her speed required an enormous amount of magical power.

Yet merely supporting the movements of such a huge body already consumed an ocean of magical power.

He simply did not have that much magic at present.

Unless... someone was foolish enough to run to his base and fight.

Only then would he have enough magical power to replenish himself.

"Summon your other Magic Dolls. Some unwelcome guests will be arriving soon, and I don't want to fight while people watch us!"

Seeing that the battle had reached a stalemate, Aozaki Touko smiled helplessly and summoned all the Rose Maidens inside her Reality Marble into the present world.

Behind her now stood the exquisite Rose Maidens: Shinku, Hina Ichigo, KiraKira, Suiseiseki, and Kankanzaki, each with a different appearance.

"...What creations brimming with a girl's heart."

Seeing this, Van Fem sighed. Whoever could create such gorgeous Rose Maidens was either a lecherous old pervert or an artistic young woman.

"..."

Hearing this, Aozaki Touko pursed her lips slightly. She seemed a little embarrassed as she turned her eyes away, her face faintly flushed, like a shy and bashful young girl.

"Heh... Being watched like a monkey would indeed be unpleasant."

Van Fem seemed to understand. He smiled faintly, then tapped the ground with his cane. A pitch-black chaos spread across the earth once more, and enormous Magic Dolls crawled out of it one after another.

This time, the Magic Dolls were not humanoid.

A Three-Headed Golden Lion, a Four-Armed Giant Ape, a Soaring Sky Dragon, a Medusa with a human head and serpent body, an Earth-Lurking Giant Rat, and a Wing-Spreading Eagle.

Each one was as large as a castle, and every one of them was an exceptionally powerful Magic Doll.

It was said that Van Fem, who possessed these Magic Dolls, could destroy and conquer an entire nation. From that alone, one could imagine how astonishingly powerful he was.

In the distant sky,

the setting sun completely disappeared.

Boom!!!

Light suddenly tore through the darkness. It was as though the Age of Gods had returned and a mythological battle were being reenacted. Two beings who represented the pinnacle of modern Dollcraft fought one another with abandon.

The Soaring Sky Dragon's breath collided with Shinku's petals. The Giant Ape's tremendous strength struggled against Hina Ichigo's vines, while Medusa's long hair transformed into countless serpents that snapped toward Suigintou.

This was a seven-against-seven battle.

"...We won't be able to determine a victor in a short time."

After activating the Three Realms Gene Lock and simulating the battle's development, Aozaki Touko realized that the timing was unfavorable. It was impossible to finish the battle before those people arrived to spy on them.

"In that case!"

Thinking this, Aozaki Touko sighed softly. She then walked toward Van Fem with firm steps. Since she could not deal with the Magic Dolls, she would simply deal with the person controlling them.

"...???"

Van Fem was somewhat stunned by this sight.

He was the progenitor of the Dead Apostles, with an incredibly powerful physique. This was absolutely not a gap that could be closed through reinforcement magecraft alone.

Did this... girl not understand that?

Chapter 25: Hold My Wife Tight

The full moon hung in the sky.

Silvery moonlight fell from the heavens, illuminating snowflakes drifting down one after another.

At that moment, Van Fem stood alone on the devastated battlefield. He looked up at the bright moon radiating a clear glow, his expression silent and numb.

The result of the battle had been decided not long ago.

He had actually lost to an underage girl. Although he had long predicted that Aozaki Touko would eventually surpass him, that should have happened only after she inherited the Fifth Magic.

Yet in reality, he had lost without the slightest suspense.

"...What kind of magecraft is this?"

Muttering, Van Fem raised a hand and touched his face. The pain from Aozaki Touko's punch still faintly lingered there. That strike had carried strength surpassing even that of a True Ancestor Dead Apostle and had shattered the hardest part of his skull in one blow.

If not for his extraordinary regeneration as a True Ancestor Dead Apostle, he would have died from that single attack.

However, if that had been all, he believed he would still have held a great advantage.

No matter how powerful a human body could become, its recovery ability could never compare to that of a Dead Apostle. As long as the battle became a war of attrition, he could grind Aozaki Touko to death.

That was how it should have been.

But in reality, the battle had been extremely strange.

All his movements seemed to have been predicted. No matter how he tried to attack, his blows were easily avoided, and she would even use his momentum against him to inflict even more serious injuries.

It was as if... this girl could foresee the future.

"...Looks like you lost."

A proud and malicious female voice rang out. Narubaleck approached from a distance, looking at the clearly dispirited Van Fem with a delighted smile, like a villain who treated other people's misfortune as food.

"..."

Hearing this, Van Fem came back to himself. He looked toward Narubaleck as she approached with a group of people, his expression turning unpleasant. Clearly, he did not want any contact with these people.

The woman leading them was the head of the Gravekeepers under the Holy Church.

Every member was exceptionally powerful and difficult to deal with. They also held obvious hostility toward Vampire Species such as Dead Apostles and True Ancestors.

Although there was the bizarre situation of a Dead Apostle progenitor, 'Merlin Solomon,' being among their members,

Van Fem, as a Dead Apostle himself, certainly could not feel happy about it. After all, they would show no mercy when killing Dead Apostles.

"That's right. I lost this battle!"

Van Fem calmly admitted the truth.

"Oh... So that girl is quite extraordinary!"

Narubaleck was slightly startled by his answer, then smiled with interest. She was extremely curious about the girl who had defeated a True Ancestor Dead Apostle.

After all, as far as she knew, this girl had yet to inherit her Magic Crest.

Without the assistance of accumulated ancestral experience, formulas, and knowledge, she had reached this level through her own talent alone. Her gift was simply excessive.

"She will definitely become a great person whose name is recorded in history!"

Van Fem spoke with absolute certainty. "She won't merely leave her mark on the world of magecraft. She'll become an extraordinary figure in technology as well."

After this battle, he became even more certain of his belief.

The existence known as Aozaki Touko would definitely become a great person whose name was recorded in history.

Just like the great figures of the past who had driven their eras forward.

"Ha... You make it sound so serious~"

Narubaleck tilted her head and smiled maliciously. "Were you beaten stupid, or are you praising that girl so extravagantly because you're afraid of losing face?"

"Whether it's true or not, you'll know after examining the battlefield!"

Van Fem shook his head and turned to leave the battlefield.

He was not particularly worried that Narubaleck would attack him. He and the Holy Church had always maintained a relatively harmonious relationship, and they even cooperated in business.

If he died, the Holy Church would suffer financial losses as well.

"...Interesting."

Narubaleck watched Van Fem leave with a hint of killing intent in her eyes. She then revealed a malicious smile and turned to the Executors who had followed her.

"Reconstruct the information from this battle. I want to see exactly what happened. I hope it was a thrilling fight!"

With that, she turned and left the battlefield.

"..."

The remaining Executors exchanged wry smiles. They then divided up the work and began trying to reconstruct the battle, as well as making a rough assessment of the powers possessed by Aozaki Touko and Van Fem.

Not long after the Executors began their work,

several magi who had heard the news arrived from afar one after another. They began using magecraft to reconstruct the battle. All of them wanted to learn what extraordinary talent this heir to a Magic User truly possessed.