There are two giant beasts, one slightly larger, radiating a fiery red glow. It was the angel that appeared behind Oedipus. The other one was smaller, emitting a warm orange light.
Everyone knew that the Altria family's focus was on combat magic, neglecting the study of other forms of magic. But nobody expected them to be this powerful.
Maria had a sudden sensation when she saw the red and orange lights. Two coffin-like containers, one red and one orange, appeared before her eyes but quickly dissipated like smoke.
"We don't have much time... Warlord, let me explain again the extent to which Oedipus can use the aside and dropback magic." The angels rushed towards the two monsters, with Michael and Pandora feigning attacks alongside them. Maria and the Warlord hid at the back.
"We rely on the power of your magic... You are almost the only one who can harm Oedipus now, so when you strike, it must be a decisive blow."
"Aside can be used by Oedipus to see through other people's memories, even modify or delete them. But both of these abilities require physical contact, and modifying memories takes time. So, for now, we can ignore the threat of the aside magic."
"Dropback, on the other hand, is very dangerous. It can distort others' perception of something, including its position, shape, and characteristics."
"You probably missed Oedipus earlier because of this magic. You unwittingly fell under the influence of Oedipus' magic - after all, once dropback is cast on oneself, everyone will be affected."
"But after dropback is broken, it takes time to cast again... Based on Oedipus' genius and my previous understanding of her, I estimate it would take approximately 10 seconds."
"And there is one characteristic of dropback: when a huge crack appears between reality and fiction, it will be broken."
"In other words..."
The Warlord widened his eyes and looked at Maria. "Are you asking me to cast that level of magic on Oedipus twice within 10 seconds?!"
Maria's clear eyes shimmered with a calm light. "I'm afraid so... otherwise, it won't be easy to find a loophole in Oedipus' magic."
"No matter how Oedipus retaliates, we will protect you. This is what I and our generation owe you..."
"Michael, Pandora, even if I were to die or meet a tragic fate... it doesn't matter. You must hit her."
Trembling, Maria handed over a crumpled piece of paper with the word "Farewell" written on it.
"You see, I originally planned to write this farewell letter and leave it in my room, but after much consideration, I couldn't... I'm ashamed to explain anything to the children, especially knowing that even Joan might die here."
"Help me win, Warlord."
"Unlike exceptional young people like you, just consider this as a helpless request from an inept senior."
"I haven't won much in my life... I've lost to my family, to my research, to Oedipus, to time..."
"I feel regret, deep regret. I truly hope that in the end, I can win on my own."
"But that's just the way it is... compared to the fate of so many beings in Acadia, what does my stubbornness matter?"
"If I can win with your help, I will be more than satisfied."
"I beg you, stay alive and tell my children how their mother and sister fought with all their might until the very end, okay?" Maria solemnly expressed her peaceful and calm determination to die.
Maria crumpled the paper and stuffed it deep into the hand of the War Muse, her tired eyes showing no signs of twilight.
Instead, they were vibrant, like the midday sun...
Full of vitality.
A massive, powerful angel, several times larger than the monster behind Oedipus just now, was hammered into the ground.
The orange angel kicked the head of the angel, which was sticking out of the ground with only its head visible, tearing its neck apart and kicking the head flying backwards.
The head, like a shooting star, flew towards Maria.
A giant, with muscles bursting throughout his body, towering seven or eight stories tall, emerged behind Maria imitating what the angel behind Oedipus had done, and crushed the flying head with just one hand.
This was Maria's unique magical ability.
As long as a mage was willing, she could control that mage's angel, including her own.
But controlling a mage's angel also meant that the mage temporarily couldn't use magic.
"Whispering on the battlefield, huh?"
"It seems you're not afraid of me at all."
Surprisingly, the orange monster spoke in human language, and it even sounded like Oedipus!
The angels that had just rushed forward now lay in a jumbled mess, half dead, near the monster with the Oedipus accent.
The red monster stood behind the orange one, gently leaning against the latter's shoulder, as if protecting it like a guardian deity.
Seeing this, Maria felt relieved.
This clearly indicated that Oedipus was not entirely fearless.
The fact that she kept her angel by her side was proof of that.
She also feared the move of the War Muse.
"Do you think it's always you who has the final say, Oedipus?"
"That you always get to decide everything?..."
"I'm going to make you understand... there's no such thing as a costless pursuit in this world!"
Suddenly, the angel lying behind the orange angel, grabbed the ankles of the red angel and began biting it fiercely.
Without even glancing at the assailant, the orange angel, referred to as Oedipus by Maria, faced head-on the earth-shattering angel of Maria.
Given its terrifying power and overwhelming momentum, let's call it the Power Angel for now.
With a single effortless swing of its arm, the Power Angel pressed the orange and red angels to the ground, dragging them along for hundreds of meters.
The tremendous friction and shear force gradually made the red angel, holding onto the orange angel, loosen its grip.
At this moment, Pandora flew in like a spinning wheel from beyond the heavens, with the flaming halo attached to her resembling the crimson blade of a guillotine... the sharp sensation felt as if it could tear everything apart.
"Idiot!" Just as Pandora's fire ring was about to strike the arm of the red angel embracing the orange angel, the orange angel jumped out directly, roaring in a foreign language that no one understood, and climbed onto the shoulder of the strong angel, firmly seizing its head.
