"Clap!"
The sound of footsteps rang out with an astonishing clarity, reaching everyone's ears.
"----"
In that instant, the arena, which had been bustling moments before, fell utterly silent. Even the sound of breathing seemed to stop.
Everyone turned their eyes toward one of the entrance corridors.
There, a young man appeared, clad in a magnificent, dignified black haori, with three incredibly beautiful Automaton Dolls at his side.
Looking at him, students, professors, guards, and guests from other schools all held their breath.
"Is that 'Fimbulwinter'?"
"The Oldest Magus of Modern Times..."
"Is he the Scion of the Far Eastern Akaba Family?"
"That's him..."
One by one, the spectators found their expressions and gazes growing solemn.
By now, many people had conducted extensive investigations into Luo Zhen and learned a great deal about him.
No—to be more precise, many of the conclusions people had reached came from compiling all the publicly available information about Luo Zhen.
For example, the power Luo Zhen had relied on to defeat the Strongest Magus of the 19th Century was an ancient form of magic that predated Mekuraku Magecraft. It was a traditional form of magic that had not abandoned the cumbersome chanting of incantations or the use of Magic Circles, and it was even older than the still-practiced Onmyo Arts and Spirit Arts. As a result, he could use a variety of spells with considerable power without relying on tools such as Automaton Dolls, magical implements, or Magic Stones.
And the legion that had appeared in Meccha City two months earlier had been shikigami summoned through the methods of the Onmyo Arts.
Many people knew that the Onmyo Arts of the Far East were a tradition centered on shikigami and divination. Onmyoji who had mastered the Onmyo Arts could gather miasma to form shikigami