In front of the El-Melloi Faction estate.
Reines was leading a group of servants and mercury golems, tensely confronting the Choir clone unit led by Barthomeloi Lorelei.
"Head of Barthomeloi, we at El-Melloi are entertaining an honored guest. Please return."
"I am determined to detain Tohsaka Rin today. Are you at El-Melloi truly going to oppose me for her sake?"
Facing the overbearing Barthomeloi Lorelei, Reines was not worried in the slightest, covering her mouth and chuckling.
"Sorcery Marshal Lorelei, I don't care about Tohsaka Rin or whoever. I only know that you absolutely cannot take away any guest from the El-Melloi household today."
Barthomeloi Lorelei's eyes flashed with anger upon hearing Reines's words, and she beckoned to the Choir behind her, commanding.
"Act! Anyone who blocks us is designated as an enemy."
At this moment, Kayneth also arrived at the gate. Seeing the magical aura lighting up on both opposing sides, he waved his left hand, and several mercury golems transformed into a wall, separating the two sides.
"Stop!"
Seeing Kayneth arrive, Reines signaled her subordinates to stop and came to stand behind Kayneth.
The members of the Choir still maintained their magical readiness, while watching Lorelei's back, waiting for her next command.
"Is Barthomeloi intending to declare war on our El-Melloi Faction?"
Barthomeloi Lorelei glanced at Kayneth with disdain.
Indeed, Barthomeloi Lorelei possessed the capital for this. As the "pinnacle of contemporary Magi," Barthomeloi Lorelei could, if she wished, single-handedly resolve the entire El-Melloi Faction.
Facing Lorelei's disdainful gaze, the proud Kayneth did not get angry, maintaining his aristocratic elegance as he questioned Lorelei.
"Do you really want the Clock Tower to fall into civil war?"
Facing Kayneth's repeated questioning, Lorelei could not help but hesitate. As a Magus, Lorelei was undoubtedly at the pinnacle, but when it came to politics, at only 16 years old, how could she be a match for these old foxes? Completely ignorant of the infighting between the various factions in this incident, and having been hastily pushed out by Barthomeloi in the first place, Lorelei spoke with conflict upon hearing Kayneth's mention of civil war.
"I have no intention of starting a civil war, but Kayneth, regardless, I must take Tohsaka Rin away today!"
At this moment, an aged voice interrupted the conversation between Kayneth and Lorelei.
"Oh? Must you take away this old man's disciple?"
Lorelei's pupils contracted as she looked toward the source of the voice. She saw a door appear out of thin air, and Zelretch was walking out of it with Tohsaka Rin.
"Sorcery Marshal!"
Just moments ago, after instructing Rin, Zelretch had taken out a grimoire under Rin's puzzled gaze. Then, under Zelretch's manipulation, the pages of the grimoire flipped continuously, and a door formed by magecraft emerged in the air.
"Rin, come with me. A little one is looking for you."
The confused Rin watched Zelretch turn and walk into the door, and followed in a daze.
Passing through the door summoned by Zelretch, Rin only felt a flash of light before her eyes. She then instinctively shielded her eyes from the sunlight, only to realize that she had followed Zelretch to the gate of the estate.
Kayneth and Reines came to Rin's side and nodded at her.
"Rest assured, Rin. With my brother and me here, we won't let anyone arrest you."
"Wait, Reines, what is going on? I have no idea what the situation is right now."
Lorelei also noticed the arrival of Tohsaka Rin and waved her riding crop.
"Seize her!"
"Little girl, are you certain you want to take away my disciple?"
Lorelei looked at Zelretch, who was blocking the way in front of Tohsaka Rin, knowing that she would not be able to take Tohsaka Rin away no matter what. She took a deep breath, produced a handkerchief, and threw it straight at Tohsaka Rin.
"In that case, Tohsaka Rin, I, Head of Barthomeloi, next Director of the Clock Tower, and Sorcery Marshal, hereby challenge you to a duel!"
Rin looked at the people around her, whose expressions had turned grave after Lorelei issued the duel, and asked, not understanding.
"What's wrong? Why are you all suddenly so tense? Can't I just not duel her?"
Zelretch patted Rin on the shoulder and explained to her.
"You cannot refuse the duel invitation issued by that little girl Lorelei. If you refuse, it is equivalent to looking down on the Barthomeloi family, and then you and Barthomeloi will be mortal enemies. If they then take revenge on you, no one will be able to intervene."
"How can it be like that?" Rin of course knew what kind of person the Lorelei before her, dressed in a white riding outfit with a ponytail, was. She was the pinnacle of modern Magi, capable of fighting a Dead Apostle Ancestor single-handedly.
Kayneth shook his head, looking at Lorelei with some annoyance. He truly could not imagine what reason could have led Lorelei to challenge Tohsaka Rin to a duel. One had to know that Lorelei was one of the three great noble families. Regardless of victory or defeat today, the reputation of Barthomeloi, one of the three great noble families, bullying a rural family would certainly be unavoidable.
Kayneth, of course, could not have imagined that it was his sister's words, 'You absolutely cannot take away any guest from the El-Melloi household today,' that had stirred up Lorelei's young lady temper.
"Rin, Lorelei is the same age as you, and you are now also Zelretch's disciple, so her invitation to duel you can be fairly established."
"Then I have no choice but to fight her?"
Lorelei looked at Rin, who had been chatting there, and shouted impatiently at her.
"Are you finished chatting! Tohsaka Rin, do you accept my duel invitation?"
Seeing that she could not avoid it, Rin walked forward a few steps, picked up the handkerchief on the ground, and waved it at Lorelei.
"Come on!"
Seeing that things had developed to this point, the surrounding people could only pull back to create space for the two.
Silence—yes, silence. While Rin was wary of Lorelei, Lorelei also did not take Tohsaka Rin, the genius rumored throughout the magical world, lightly. The two sides just stood there in silence, confronting each other.
One minute, ten minutes... Rin stared intently at the bead of sweat caused by the sun on Lorelei's face. The moment the sweat entered Lorelei's eye, Rin made her move.
"Spear of Venus!"
A jewel was tossed into the air by Rin and then shattered. The light of Venus contained within it converged, transforming into a beam of light that shot toward Lorelei.
"Celestial Magecraft? Hmph!"
Lorelei raised the riding crop in her hand, and a wall of wind formed by a gust of wind blocked the Spear of Venus.
Rin, of course, did not expect the Spear of Venus to have any effect on Lorelei. Knowing that the girl opposite her had magical abilities far superior to her own, Rin chose close-quarters combat, and the Spear of Venus was merely a feint to get close to Lorelei.
"Oh, you intend to engage me in close-quarters combat? Come on!"
Facing Rin, who had rushed to her front, Lorelei calmly activated Reinforcement Magic. She easily parried Rin's punch with the riding crop in her hand, and using butterfly footwork, began to trade blows with Rin's Eight Extremities Fist.
As Rin and Lorelei became locked in close-quarters combat, the gate, the walls, and the ground were all smashed to pieces during their intense fight. At this time, the guests in the banquet hall also discovered the duel and, by unspoken agreement, rushed toward the estate gate.
Fujino, pulling Sakura, looked with a grim expression at the two rapidly colliding dots in the distance, yet she recognized at a glance that the red figure was her master, Tohsaka Rin.
Sakura activated Reinforcement Magic and ran rapidly toward the gate with Fujino, looking worriedly at the two sides battling in the distance.
"Sister, you must not be hurt!"
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