“You’re asking me what magic is… Uh…?”
Duke scratched his head.
How was he supposed to know what magic was?
He could only make stuff up based on what he’d seen in anime.
“Magic is a legendary, mysterious power. Actually, I don’t really get it myself; I’ve only just started using it. The theory is… everything around us contains some kind of power, and a mage can draw upon it to achieve effects like attack, healing, defense, or other things.”
“Like this, for example.”
As he spoke, Duke extended his palm.
A fiery red Dark Script began to spin in his palm, and the next second—a torrent of raging flames erupted from his hand, just like a fire dragon.
The spot where the attack hit instantly turned charred black.
In truth, Dark Script could be written with the mind alone, and spell formulas could be formed the same way—after all, spell formulas were composed of Dark Script.
It just needed to be materialized through the act of “writing.” You could materialize it as you wrote, or condense it first and then unleash it all at once.
It was just that complex ones were hard to cast with the mind alone, while simple ones became easy once you got used to them.
Diana’s eyes sparkled with interest.
“This is a form of magic,” Duke ‘explained.’ “The atmosphere contains volatile fire elements. A mage can draw upon these elements, condensing them into flames to enhance an attack. Of course, there is also this.”
Then, he wrote—*Absolute Defense*—upon his own chest.
“Rocks, soil, and metal contain the power of the earth, which are earth-element factors.
Once drawn, they can be used to strengthen one’s defense.
You can try punching me!” Duke added, “Remember to control your strength.”
The System had already informed him that Diana currently possessed the strength of a mid-stage Legendary, but she had not yet fully unleashed it.
Because the women of Themyscira were so weak, she had never fought at full strength, instead suppressing her power to the Hero Peak level.
With her divine equipment, she could reach the late Legendary stage.
During her final battle against Ares, the God of War, she awakened her power to reach Legendary Peak.
Combined with the strength of the God of War’s lightning, she briefly broke through to the Demigod realm, which was the only way she could slay Ares, a fellow Demigod.
But after the kill, she immediately dropped back to her Legendary Peak state.
Duke’s current strength was also at Hero Peak, so Diana wouldn’t be able to hurt him.
Power Levels: Fodder → Mortal → Elite → Hero → Legendary → Demigod → Main God.
Fodder refers to those with a few fancy tricks.
Mortal is at the level of a secret agent.
Elite includes levels like Captain America and Black Widow.
Hero includes the likes of Wolverine and Sabretooth.
Legendary includes Wonder Woman, Magneto, and Professor X.
Demigod includes Superman, Ancient One, and Odin.
As for Main God…
I can’t write to that level yet.
“Of course, come on.” Duke also wanted to test his own strength.
As a result, Wonder Woman charged in with a punch, and he was sent flying in a spectacular fashion—far, far, far away…
“Holy crap!”
Duke, spinning in mid-air, felt his head swimming.
Of course, he wasn’t injured, but his Absolute Defense had still been shattered.
This proved that Wonder Woman had used Hero Peak-level strength to break through it in a single blow.
She was just like Superman—super strength, super speed, super reflexes, super defense.
The only difference was that Diana lacked Superman’s Kryptonian Heat Vision.
After being sent flying over a hundred meters, Duke finally regained his composure.
His black Archangel wings unfurled once more as he flew back.
Though he landed with a cool and dashing flair, his hair betrayed him.
Blown into a complete mess by the wind, it was just a hair’s breadth away from looking like a chicken’s nest.
The Heroine smiled faintly.
Though her expression remained steady, she was inwardly astonished.
She knew her own strength all too well—no one on all of Themyscira could withstand a single punch from her.
She was a terrifying being who could punch through tanks.
If this punch had hit a normal person, it wouldn’t have sent them flying; it would have punched a hole right through them.
Yet Duke had merely been sent flying, only to return completely unharmed, muttering, “Is this the power of ‘magic’?”
“So you’re a mage, not… a Fallen Angel?”
They always said Diana was quite naive.
“A Fallen Angel?” Duke paused, then seemed to understand.
*So it’s the wings’ fault?* “My apologies. My magic is called ‘Dark Script,’ which is why the wings are black. I’d actually prefer them to be white, so I could be an angel, but unfortunately…”
He shrugged, his expression one of helplessness.
“Dark power?” Diana’s brow furrowed.
*Oh no.*
Amazons were born to oppose evil.
Could it be…?
“There is no absolute evil,” Duke said.
“Dark power can be used for good just as easily. Diana, there is no such thing as ‘evil power’ in this world—only evil people.”
“That’s not true! The humans Zeus created were righteous, passionate—”
Duke waved a hand dismissively.
“Diana, your mother was right. Humans are easily corrupted. They are a mixture of good and evil, making them susceptible to the temptations of external malice. Once they fall, it’s nearly impossible to climb back out.”
*Evil and righteousness, darkness and light?*
Though his magic was based on the Dark Script, there was actually no distinction between good and evil.
Of course, the claim that “there has never been such a thing as evil power in this world” was just Duke bluffing Diana.
In truth, there really were evil powers—the kind that couldn’t be purified even by the most profound Buddhist teachings.
*Wing* was silently inscribed upon Diana’s body.
“Heads up. The first time I cast this, I felt like the blood in my back was boiling. It might…”
*Shu—* The Dark Archangel Wings unfurled.
*Uh…*
“…How does it feel?” Duke asked.
“Not bad. I don’t feel my blood boiling,” Diana said, then flapped her wings and soared into the air.
Duke froze for a moment.
*Could this be because of her divine bloodline?
After all, with Zeus’s lineage, he was vastly inferior to Diana on a purely genetic level.*
*Vastly* inferior.
He spread his own wings and flew up to join her.
In truth, Diana could fly.
The divine messenger Hermes had granted her both super-speed and the power of flight, but she had never actually flown.
She had only ever done those massive leaps, like Dr. Banner’s.
“So, does this prove I’m not a Fallen Angel?” Duke asked with a grin as he caught up to her.
“I never doubted you for a second,” Diana replied, shaking her head.
She had never seen a Fallen Angel before, but her instincts told her Duke could never be one.
“Heh,” Duke chuckled.
“Want to race?” Diana challenged.
A sudden sense of liberation washed over her—the feeling of breaking free from all constraints, servitude, and restraint, finally seizing control of her own life with exhilarating freedom.
“You’re on!”
The two of them accelerated, racing around Themyscira.
One ran, the other chased, sometimes pulling ahead, sometimes falling back, their joy never-ending.
Duke suddenly felt like reciting a line from Bai Juyi’s poetry: *In the heavens, we shall be birds flying wing to wing; on earth, we shall be trees with branches entwined.*
Below them, the Amazon warriors looked up, utterly bewildered.
*What the hell is that?*
Queen Hippolyta’s brow furrowed deeply.