Marvel's master of cosmic magic

Chapter 542

"That was fast."

Backtrack Water’s pupils contracted.

"So you’re skilled."

He hadn’t been exerting himself earlier, but that didn’t mean anyone could casually force him back. He carried both the power of the Archangel Gabriel and the authority of a Saint, fused into a single existence where one plus one became something far greater. Even without invoking magic, his physical strength alone was monstrous.

"Young lady," he said coldly as he reached up and removed the hand pressing on his shoulder, "I’m here in the name of justice. Don’t stand in the way of justice."

Rowan Mercer raised an eyebrow.

"Justice isn’t something you get to declare on your own. What you call justice might look very different to the people you trample."

He felt it clearly now. Backtrack Water’s raw physical power exceeded even his own unenhanced body.

"Your name is Itsuwa, right?" Rowan said calmly. "Take Kamijou Touma and get medical help. Leave this place."

Itsuwa hesitated for only a second.

"Understood."

She lifted Touma, badly injured, and ran toward the end of the bridge.

Backtrack Water didn’t stop her. He had already decided to give Touma a day to think. Killing him immediately had never been the plan.

"I reviewed the intelligence," Backtrack Water continued, eyes fixed on Rowan. "Your ability should be electrical and electromagnetic. But clearly, the information was wrong."

The churches had long treated Academy City as an enemy. Detailed records existed on its strongest espers. Misaka Mikoto, in particular, was thoroughly documented.

To him, none of them mattered except Accelerator.

Especially not someone who relied on ranged attacks and possessed a fragile body.

"I don’t care about hidden data," Backtrack Water said. "I don’t care about you either. I serve only my faith. So I’ll ask once more. Will you interfere?"

"You’re not interested in me," Rowan replied, studying him thoughtfully. "But I’m very interested in you. There’s more than angelic power inside you, isn’t there?"

He could sense two immense forces within Backtrack Water. One unmistakably angelic. The other aligned with the power described in grimoires as that of a Saint.

Members of the Right Seat of God inherited angelic authority by removing original sin through specialized rituals, gaining access to fragments of the four archangels’ power. Even incomplete, those rituals could level cities. The cost was absolute. Once bound to angelic power, conventional magic was forever out of reach.

Saints were different. Chosen figures granted power akin to that of the Son of God, their bodies and spells vastly exceeding ordinary magicians.

"Then I’ll eliminate you," Backtrack Water said flatly.

He drew his spiritual weapon from his shadow. A massive lance over five meters long, grotesque in design. In his hands, its enormous weight meant nothing.

He thrust.

The attack crossed the distance faster than the human eye could follow.

It missed.

Rowan vanished an instant earlier, reappearing at a distance.

He could enhance his body and match Backtrack Water in close combat if he wanted. But why bother?

He had no reason to trade blows with someone whose physical strength rivaled his own. Only against truly insignificant opponents did he bother with brute force. This was not one of those cases.

Transforming would end the fight instantly, but that was unnecessary.

"Teleportation," Backtrack Water said, surprised. "So you have multiple abilities."

He lunged again, convinced that short-range teleportation couldn’t outpace his speed. There was always a brief delay after relocation. That moment was enough to kill.

"Disarm."

Rowan whispered the spell.

Blue light expanded outward from him, washing over the bridge.

The lance tore itself from Backtrack Water’s grip, spun through the air, and landed cleanly in Rowan’s hand.

The upgraded wide-area disarming spell stripped weapons from anyone caught within its range.

"That wasn’t an ability," Backtrack Water said sharply. "That was magic. How is that possible?"

Shock replaced certainty.

Esper powers and magic could not coexist. That was an absolute rule. It was the reason Academy City and the magic world maintained a fragile balance. If that rule were broken, war would be inevitable.

If Academy City had truly found a way for espers to wield magic...

"Why can I use magic?" Rowan said calmly. "Because I’m a magician."

He exhaled.

A torrent of tri-colored flames poured from his mouth.

"So you really are a magician," Backtrack Water said grimly. "Then I’ll take you back to the Church."

He raised both hands.

"Angel Ritual: Endless Waters."

The world answered.

Water surged from every direction. Rivers, pipes, moisture in the air itself. Within a two-kilometer radius, all water answered his call, forming a vast domain centered on him.

Gabriel’s nature was water. Within this domain, Backtrack Water controlled every drop. The liquid no longer behaved like water at all. It shifted shape, attacked, defended, and obeyed him alone.

Within the Endless Waters, defeat was impossible.

Rowan watched as his tri-colored flames raged, evaporating massive quantities of water, only for the domain to replenish itself endlessly.

"That defense is impressive," Rowan admitted.

The flames were terrifying. Even angel-enhanced water couldn’t fully resist them. But there was simply too much of it. Steam rose, was reclaimed, and replaced by more water drawn from the surroundings.

The domain remained intact.

For now.