Magician in Type-Moon

Page 574

A clue leading back to the scene connects the gold coin, the red-haired woman, and the unsolved afterimage of the spell.

The Second Emperor was fully aware of all of this.

Aozaki Touko did indeed accept Matou Ike's request to analyze the Start gold coins left behind by Hartles.

At the time, she casually remarked, "Tsk, this level of deconstruction really treats me like a tool."

She had indeed touched the "bait," and she did know the magical logic hidden within it—

Therefore, the surgical clues she now possesses may very well be the key to deciphering the "ancient heart surgery technique".

In the blink of an eye, El-Melloi II's gaze sharpened.

If this is a signal from Matouike—

This means that somewhere, the magic gear called the "Start Coin" has finally begun to mesh with the entire system.

That wasn't a standalone prop, nor was it simply bait.

Rather, it is some kind of "key component"—

Once its "location" within the network of techniques is found, the true entrance to the entire Hartres apparatus may be exposed.

In other words, as long as we know where Matouchi used it,

Then the Hartres spell, which was originally like a closed maze, may reveal its first passage.

But now is not the time to delve into the details.

King El-Melloi II slightly raised his head.

His gaze swept across the conference table, through the still-unresolved silence, and landed on Aozaki Touko, who was seated in the neutralist seat.

The red-haired woman was casually playing with the end of her pocket watch chain while crossing her legs, seemingly completely undisturbed by the atmosphere of the meeting.

The Second Prince's lips moved slightly.

The movement was extremely subtle, like an incomplete sound, yet with an incredibly precise sense of rhythm.

temperament.

Those were syllables that were almost identical to the encrypted frequency previously transmitted from the engraving.

But at this moment, he is not speaking in the form of magic.

Because in a meeting of monarchs, any magical fluctuations could be detected, amplified, or even misinterpreted as provocations.

Using spells to communicate—it's too conspicuous.

Moreover, there is an even more fundamental reason:

—As a monarch, El-Melloi II's magical abilities were inadequate.

He could not overwhelm detection with overwhelming output, nor did he possess the skill to force a message through the noses of seven monarchs without being detected.

But precisely because of this, he was able to cleverly choose another approach:

The melody is hidden within the chaotic flow of magic at this moment.

Yes, at this very moment—

It was precisely the time when the flow of magic was fluctuating violently.

Whether it was Matouchi taking some action or Hatteres' ritual entering a crucial stage, this upheaval was entirely expected.

The convergence, collision, and turbulence of magic create layers upon layers of noise.

These "noises" could interfere with the procedure.

But conversely,

—It is also the most ideal cover.

As long as you mix in the melody, and slightly disguise the frequency...

As long as the recipient is familiar enough with this rhythm code—

This would allow for the precise delivery of information without resorting to magic.

This is the probability they calculated beforehand.

It is to communicate magic using "extra-techniques" that are not worthy of being called magic.

And of course, the orange can understand it.

She tilted her head slightly, her smile unchanged, and deftly curled a strand of red hair with her fingertips, as if responding to the key words in the melody with her own rhythm.

The Second Prince pondered in a low voice:

"...She received it."

well.

In this monarchical council filled with intrigue, suspicion, and repression.

The faint connection between him, Matou Ike, and Touko was finally established.

.........

Before the dark, abyss-like passage, Matou Ike listlessly tossed and caught the gold coin in his hand.

The metal traced a short arc in the air before falling with a "snap" from the fingers and being gripped again.

The events that occurred during the Grand Order decision were transmitted to his mind intermittently.

He also learned that the Grand Prix decision was about to be suspended, and even gave him two hours to stop Hartres's actions.

So he needs to hurry!

Matouike pondered his next move.

The next second, a massive, distorted sound suddenly pierced into his mind.

Syllables intertwine and overlap, like echoes from another world, trembling within the engraving.

--coming.

The procedure data was transmitted via an encrypted channel.

Within ten seconds, a massive amount of information was compressed into a continuous rhythm, received by the imprint, and then forcibly decoded by the brain nerves in an almost violent manner.

The inverse structure of the technique completed by Aozaki Touko was instantly imported by him with an intensity that was almost suicidal.

"……call."

Matouchi let out a breath.

But it wasn't fatigue; rather, it was a cooling response, as if the computer was detached from a high-load computing load.

His expression didn't change much, only his eyebrows trembled slightly, as if a processor had just recovered from extreme computation.

"Damn oranges... was it really necessary to cram everything in at once?"

He gritted his teeth and muttered a curse under his breath, but his tone was not resentful; it was more like a matter-of-fact complaint.

After all, this information about the technique originated from Aozaki Touko, passed through El-Melloi II, and then reached him. It must have undergone multiple compressions, disguises, and restructured processes.

First, it is converted into a melody, and then mixed into magical noise through a specific rhythm.

Here, he aims to restore those musical notes to structural images, interpreting their displacement structures, anchoring symbols, and coordinate instructions.

It's like trying to run a server without a cooling fan inside your brain and then completing all the decoding before it burns out.

"...The circuit is practically smoking."

Matou Ike muttered to himself, pinching the space between his eyebrows.

That sigh just now wasn't an emotional reaction, but rather a physiological cooling down.

But that's how he saw the true structure of the Hartres technique.

He closed his eyes and repeatedly recited the diagrams he had just deconstructed in his mind.

In his mind, the magical patterns of the Stat Gold Coin slowly reassembled and were embedded into the vast ritual framework, like a missing relay symbol suddenly filling in, allowing the entire spell system to close.

However, now is not the time to ponder the intricate construction of techniques.

What he should do now is reverse this technique.

Matou Ike tried several times, but failed every time.

Although through Orange's interpretation of the data, Matou Ike had completely restored the structure of the spell engraved on the "Stadt Coin" into his mind, like a huge and complex star map, and even the hidden nodes in it were clearly identified by him.

But the issue isn't whether or not one understands.

Some things cannot be controlled just because you understand them.

Just like even if you know every move of the Seven Star Sword perfectly, it doesn't mean you can use the Reverse Seven Star Sword.

The same applies to techniques.

A complete magic trick structure is more like a program coding system written in a certain language.

Supporting the operation of the technique are hundreds of "commands" that are nested together to form a self-consistent and closed logical system.

If any part of it is changed rashly—even just a sequence of symbolic signs or a turning point in a sentence structure—the entire technique may collapse and disintegrate.

Not to mention, what Matouchi needs to do right now is not to repair the program, but to make it run in reverse—

Let this "self-driven ritualistic structure," compiled by former Minister of Science of Modern Magic Hartress, go against the current and devour itself.

This is almost an impossible task in the realm of magic.

What's more complex is its foundation.

This technique does not exist independently.

It is based on the "Stadt Coin"—

An ancient coin made of gold that once symbolized imperial order and eternal authority.

Gold itself is a symbol of planets and a medium of eternity in the magic circuit.

In the magic system, its stability, guiding properties, and symbolic properties all play a role, making it almost the "closest to the mystical essence" of a real substance.

Hartles's careful choice of using the Stat gold coin as the medium was precisely to capture this connection of **both symbolic and physical** characteristics.

The technique borrows the symbolic structure of a gold coin.