Rowan sensed the shift behind him instantly.
He vanished in a blink, reappearing several meters away as shadows lashed through the space he had occupied a moment earlier. Against a mage as complete as Amagiri Rōen, hesitation was fatal. Being restrained for even a second would be enough to lose.
Rowan muted his presence entirely.
His body faded from sight. Magic, breath, intent. All of it disappeared.
Invisible blades tore through the air toward Rōen.
The sun staff tapped the ground.
A radiant array flared beneath Rōen's feet, releasing a violent pulse of magical energy in all directions. The blades shattered mid-flight, and the shockwave swept across the mirror world, forcing Rowan out of concealment. He raised a defensive barrier just in time.
Then Rōen smiled.
And vanished.
Rowan exhaled slowly.
"So you really are thorough."
This was new territory for him. He had built his fighting style on versatility. A spell for every situation, answers layered atop answers. That approach had carried him through countless battles.
But Rōen was the same.
Armed with Clow Reed's memories, Rōen wielded nearly every category of magic with equal ease. Tricks wouldn't decide this. There was no blind spot to exploit.
Rowan lifted his hand.
"Reveal footsteps."
A tracing spell unfolded, lines of light marking a path through empty space. The moment it locked on, Rōen was forced back into view.
He responded instantly.
"Mirage."
The world fractured.
Dozens of Rōens surrounded Rowan, each casting spells, each real enough to demand a response.
The illusion lasted less than a heartbeat.
Rowan's will surged outward, crushing the false images like glass.
Rōen laughed softly.
"Incredible. Truly incredible. You're the strongest magician I've ever faced."
He meant it. In forty-one years of life, no one had pushed him this far. Most magicians weren't even worth measuring. Rowan, however, stood on an entirely different tier.
"And yet," Rōen continued, lifting the sun staff, "this should be enough play."
The array shifted.
"Hidden darkness. Flood the field."
Blackness erupted outward, swallowing the mirror world in an instant. It wasn't mere absence of light. It pressed, consumed, erased.
Rowan felt the difference immediately.
"This is far beyond what the Dark Card showed."
No more holding back.
If both were masters of everything, then only raw force remained.
Rowan raised his hands.
"Gather. O river of light guided by the fair folk. Shine forth. Tear down the fangs of shadow."
A colossal circle of light ignited above him. Stars converged, collapsing into a single pillar that slammed into the advancing darkness.
Light and dark collided head-on.
Clow Reed had mastered both. Rōen favored darkness, but neither power was inherently corrupt at this level. They were tools. Expressions of will.
Rōen's eyes widened.
"So you can reach this far."
His assessment shifted again.
The sun staff swung.
Darkness surged harder, compressing, overwhelming the beam of light inch by inch. In pure magical output, Rōen still held the advantage.
Rowan didn't flinch.
"Of course it wouldn't be that simple."
He inhaled.
"Animagus. Transform."
His body expanded violently, bones reshaping, magic roaring outward. In an instant, Rowan's human form was replaced by something vast and draconic. Not a creature of myth from east or west, but something older, forged by magic itself.
Power surged.
The beam of light stabilized, then pushed back.
Rōen froze.
"A transformation into a magical creature…?"
He had seen familiars created. Guardians shaped. But this was different. Self-transmutation on this scale wasn't part of any system he knew.
And it worked.
Rowan's power now rivaled his own.
"Dragon-slayer magic," Rowan roared. "Tri-color flame!"
Fire poured from his jaws, burning not just matter but magic itself.
Rōen reacted instantly.
"Spinel. Ruby."
Two summoning circles flared. The guardians of sun and moon emerged, combining their power to intercept the flames.
The clash shook the mirror world.
Then, abruptly, the darkness withdrew.
Rōen stepped back, gathering his companions, and vanished from the mirror realm altogether.
Rowan watched the space where he'd stood for a long moment.
Then the dragon shrank, folding back into human form.
"That settles it."
He stepped out of the mirror world, expression relaxed.
Rōen had made his decision. He couldn't win cleanly. Not without injury. And not without consequences.
That was enough.
...
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