Thus, Rei Ao abruptly appeared in the most clandestine heart of Academy City.
"Impressive security system," Rei Ao remarked, glancing around. His eyes passed over the faintly glowing arrays of runic or technologic formation, then settled on Aleister.
"Since you've been monitoring me ever since I arrived, it'd be rude not to pay you a visit."
"Aleister Crowley, the General Superintendent of Academy City," Rei Ao continued, his voice cool with a hint of amusement.
"Or should I call you Edward Alexander?"
A slight ripple coursed through the life-support fluid.
"It looks like you know quite a bit," Aleister responded, still calm.
"So, won't you introduce yourself, trespasseror rather, visitor from beyond this world?"
"Rei Ao," the young man answered succinctly, his gaze sweeping every corner of the room.
"I come from another world."
He wasn't surprised Aleister had identified him as an outsider. Rei Ao's line of sight shifted to a shadowed portion of the room, and a faint smile played on his lips.
"And isn't there another friend hiding out there, perhaps ready to say hello?"
""
[]
From that patch of darkness came ripples in the air, and a hazy figure gradually emerged. A golden light traced a humanoid outline, though its exact features were indistinct. This was the "Physical Angel," Aiwass.
[Indeed, you are not of this world.]
Its voice was like countless people murmuring at once.
[Your existence itself contradicts this world. You aren't found in any phase we know, yet you haven't distorted this world's laws. How curious.]
Aiwass drifted over to Aleister's side, tilting its head to study Rei Ao with eyes that glowed like streams of data.
[Your composition is unreadable. Your form of being exceeds the physical laws of this current world.]
Rei Ao gave a slight smile.
"As expected from a top-tier phase existence, the Physical Angel. You can sense how I'm different."
Aleister went quiet for a moment. Even with his centuries of wisdom and experience, he couldn't immediately comprehend this self-proclaimed "visitor from another world." What alarmed him more was that the stranger not only knew his true identity, but also recognized Aiwass at a glance.
"Visitor from another world"
Aleister's voice was as tranquil as still water.
"Your arrival has upset many of my plans."
"Oh? So you want me to apologize? Or maybe compensate you somehow?"
Rei Ao teased, spreading his hands.
"Then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."
""
Aleister didn't address his banter but continued to analyze Rei Ao's temperament.
"Otherworldly visitor," he said plainly, "what exactly is your goal?"
"At first, I came because of a certain person," Rei Ao answered, meeting Aleister's gaze.
"Mikoto Misaka. Of course, that also includes the people she's gotten involved with."
Bubbles churned in the life-support apparatus.
"What is your relationship with her?"
Aleister asked.
"I never observed any connection between you two although she has undergone a certain change."
Rei Ao's lips curved slightly.
"That part's unimportant."
He guessed they couldn't perceive the existence of the chat group anyway.
"What matters is that, as of now, she's no longer your pawn."
Suddenly, the air pressure in the room seemed to plummet. Aiwass's golden form began flickering, poised to act at any moment.
"Shall I take that as a threat?"
Aleister's voice went icy.
"If that's how you want to interpret it," Rei Ao replied evenly, his tone laced with irresistible authority.
"Not just hereveryone connected to her as well: Kuroko Shirai, Misaki Shokuhou all of them are off your board."
Aleister's mind raced. It appeared this "visitor from another world" had a thorough grasp of Academy City's entire layout.
"How much do you know?"
he asked in a low voice.
Rei Ao sighed softly, as if pitying Aleister's ignorance. He took a few steps forward, the click of his shoes on the metal floor echoing sharply.
"I know you were once the leader of the Golden Dawn. I know how you fell into despair after your wife died. I know why you built Academy City."
He paused, his gaze keen as a blade.
"I also know you plan to eliminate all 'Magic Gods' and annihilate magic from this world entirely."
Rei Ao's grin widened.
"The greatest magician of the 20th century, leader of the Golden Dawn
And now you're holed up in the bastion of the science side, scheming to destroy all magichow ironic."
Aiwass suddenly floated before Rei Ao, raising a golden arm.
[Warning. Keep your distance.]
Rei Ao halted, his eyes settling on Aleister past Aiwass's form.
"Relax. I like to negotiate before fighting. What about you, Aleister?"
The fluid in the life-support device churned wildly. For the first time, Aleister's face showed obvious agitation. These were his most secret planseven Academy City's top brass knew none of it.
"Impossible" he muttered, "I shared those plans only with Aiwass"
Aiwass's golden aura flared, turning brighter.
[Crowley, his source of information goes beyond anything in this world.]
[Crowley, this man is extremely dangerous.]
~~~
400 Powerstone Bonus Chapter! Let's try reaching 500 Powerstone!
For Every 100 Powerstone = 1 Bonus Chapter! Please Vote for more Chapters!
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
Currently You can Read 220+ Chapters Ahead of Others!
Chapter 682: Becoming Something Akin to Magic God! True Demon!
Rei Ao seemed completely unperturbed by Aiwass's warning. He took another step forward, and as he did so:
All around the room, the magic circles flared to life. Countless runic symbols rose into the air and arranged themselves into a complex array.
"Stop," Aleister warned.
"Move one more step, and you'll be confronting the entire defensive system of Academy City."
Sure enough, Rei Ao haltedbut not because of Aleister's warning. He raised his head to look at the life-support capsule floating overhead, and a trace of pity flickered in his eyes.
"You really think these little toys can stop me?"
Rei Ao asked softly.
"In my calculations, you haven't exceeded our level of power," Aleister responded without hesitation.
At a mere thought from him, the magic circles in the room all activated at once. Dozens of magical beams, powerful enough to annihilate anything in a heartbeat, shot at Rei Ao from every direction.
Yet Rei Ao merely raised his left hand, and all those beams froze about a meter away from his body, as though hitting an invisible wall. Even more shocking, the beams twisted and deformedthen dissolved into countless motes of light, vanishing without a sound.
"Heh, your little tricks won't work on me. I'm sure you already knew that," Rei Ao sneered. This was clearly a small ploy of Aleister's.
"Of course," Aleister said, unsurprised.
"But after that I have a real 'present' prepared for you, my 'guest.'"
In an instant, the entire interior of the Windowless Building lit up. Countless magic arrays stacked atop one another, enclosing Rei Ao. More critically, they carried the power to manipulate phases.
Inside the Windowless Building, cold blue light rippled across metal walls, and a certain ancient heaviness permeated the airtime itself seemed to slow. Rei Ao stood in the center of the chamber, a ten-meter-wide magic circle beneath him, while runes swirled around him like living creatures.
"A truly warm welcome," he commented with a chuckle, his black coat fluttering despite no wind. His voice echoed in the vacant metal room, tinged with faint mockery.
"So this is how you 'entertain' guests, General Superintendent Aleister?"
"Your very existence is a variable. In my calculations, you shouldn't even be here,"
Aleister replied.
Rei Ao tried lifting an arm, only to discover a formless energy seeping from the magic circle, like countless transparent threads winding around his limbs.
"'Sevenfold Phase Sealing' plus 'Conceptual Lockdown,' a special version for travelers from other worlds?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"You came well-prepared."
The magic formation suddenly grew brighter. Seven differently-colored halos rose from the floor, each etched with mysterious charactersHebrew, runic symbols, Sumerian cuneiform They represented seven distinct sealing systems, now flawlessly merged into a single spell.
"Your power system is totally foreign to this world. Ordinary measures can't bind you,"
Aleister's voice remained calm.
"But no being can escape the binding of concepts'Otherworldly Existence,' 'Life,' 'Motion,' the fundamentals that shape your restrictions."
"My calculations indicate these can hold you,"
he said, as though regaining the upper hand.
"So what will you do now?"
"You're right," Rei Ao admitted coolly, folding his arms.
"And you're pretty adept at predicting human nature. If I forcibly break your seal, it'll wreak chaos in this worldand Mikoto, plus the others, will be caught in that mess."
"You really are a seasoned magician,"
he said sarcastically.
"Thank you for the compliment," Aleister observed the captive Rei Ao carefully. Suddenly, he noticed Rei Ao wearing a faint smile.
Rei Ao glanced at the rings ensnaring him, lips curling in a smirk. His black hair swayed in the flow of magical energy, revealing the faint outline of a dark-red mark on his forehead.
"Your calculations are accurate. I won't just brute-force my way out right now."
He lifted his head, an odd glimmer in his eyes.
"But what about the part of me that doesn't figure into your calculations?"
The fluid in Aleister's life-support tank rippled unnaturally. Aleister's brow creased slightlyan extremely rare show of emotion.
"What do you mean?"
Rei Ao didn't answer immediately. He slowly closed his eyes, as though sensing something. The oppressive force from the magic formation intensified, and tiny cracks began forming on the metal floor. Yet Rei Ao's expression only grew calmer.
"Aleister," he said suddenly, his voice deep and resonant.
"Do you know how one becomes a Magic God?"
For a moment, the air froze. Aleister's mind raced. A Magic Goda supreme entity in the magical domaincould warp phases and reality at will.
"To reach the pinnacle of magic, master every phase, and transcend humanity," Aleister answered evenly, while secretly ramping up the seal's power.
"What's your point?"
Rei Ao opened his eyes. Where once his pupils had been dark, now they flickered with a dim red glow.
"Then allow me to tell you: I'm about to become a Magic God."
Sensing something, Aiwass's form rippled strangely.
[Crowley, something's changing!]
Before the words had fully rung out, the mark on Rei Ao's forehead flared with a glaring crimson lightunlike any known magical system. It felt more primordial, more fundamental.
A strong wave of unease hit Aleister. His calculations had never accounted for this possibility.
"True Demon's Aspect, Release."
Only five words, yet it made the entire Windowless Building quake. Rei Ao's body began floating off the ground, and the seven sealing halos crackled under the strain. His skin took on a dense pattern of dark-red lines, which moved across him as though alive, continuously rearranging.
Aleister immediately activated the highest-level defensive spells. But to his shock, any magic that got within three meters of Rei Ao simply dissolved.
"This is impossible He's rewriting fundamental magic rules?! That's the power of a Magic God!"
~~~
For Every 100 Powerstone = 1 Bonus Chapter! Please Vote for more Chapters!
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
Currently You can Read 220+ Chapters Ahead of Others!
Chapter 683: All Things and Plans are Significant in the Magic God's Eyes
Compared to Aleister's inner turmoil, Rei Ao was experiencing an unprecedented transformation at that very moment.
The instant he activated True Demon's Aspect, he felt the concept of "demon" rushing into him. Each world defines "demon" (or "magic"/"evil") differentlysome see it as pure destructive force, others as a manifestation of chaos, and still others as a form of existence that transcends all laws. But now, all these concepts were being integrated and elevated under the power of True Demon's Aspect.
Most importantly, this world also had the concept of "demon"the Magic Gods.
"So that's how it is"
Rei Ao murmured deep in his consciousness.
"A Magic God is a Magic God, not just because of sheer power, but because they can define 'magic/evil' itself."
Upon understanding the concept of Magic God, his physical body began to collapse. It wasn't a decay or rot, but some sort of exalted reconfiguration. Skin, muscle, boneevery material structure was disassembling into a more fundamental "form of existence."
Meanwhile, his soul was infinitely expanding, sensing unknown realms he had never before imagined.
Back at Aleister's side, he witnessed a scene so horrifying it made his skin crawl.
Through his surveillance spells, he could see Rei Ao's body shifting into something that existed between existence and non-existence. Even the space where Rei Ao had been standing was distorting, forming a miniature "phase gap."
"A human ascending to a Magic God That's not possible"
The liquid in the life-support chamber boiled furiously. For the first time, Aleister lost his usual composure; his eyes shot open.
"Aiwass! Intervene immediately!"
""
Howevernothing happened.
For the first time, Aleister felt a pang of fear.
Aiwass wasn't responding! As if something of an even higher level was blocking it.
Aleister felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
By then, Rei Ao's transformation had reached a critical moment. His awareness broke through the confines of conventional space-time. He saw the "backside" of the world: countless phases layered atop each other like transparent veils, forming all of this world's reality.
A Magic God, then, was one who could freely switch out these veils.
"So this is how the world is structured."
Rei Ao's thoughts were no longer shackled by language, though he still instinctively used a human framework to interpret it.
"Magic, science They're just different manifestations of various phases."
All of a sudden, Rei Ao sensed "Them"the other Magic Gods. These beings beyond reason observed him from outside the phases. Some were curious, some wary, and others openly hostile. But Rei Ao ignored them, too focused on his final stage of metamorphosis.
His previously disassembled body began to re-form into something no longer human, but a far more perfect "conceptual vessel." A vortex of dark-red energy swirled around him, then contracted and merged into his newly shaped body. When the light faded, ''Rei Ao''or rather, "Magic God Rei Ao"floated quietly in midair. Outwardly, he looked much like before, but Aleister knew that this being was no longer human at all.
