Huh?
Ever since stepping into this abandoned shipyard, Aura's worldview had been under constant assault. But if she had to pick which of Fíliya's words shocked her the most today, it would undoubtedly be the one she had just uttered.
Is this human insane?
she thought.
Her Magic of Obedience (Auserlese) was independent of any other factors. No matter how advanced the target's magical skill or how admirable their control over mana, it was all meaningless.
The Magic of Obedience could be said to exchange the most straightforward mechanism for the most powerful effect: a simple contest of total mana between two parties. No other factors were taken into consideration. Once the Magic of Obedience took effect, the one with less mana would instantly become the victor's slave, completely subservient to their commands.
That was why Aura couldn't understand how this human dared to make such a wild claim.
Judging by the fact that she could coexist peacefully with Solitär, this human was likely a powerful individual, though Aura couldn't comprehend where Fíliya's strength lay. Still, she was certain of it, because if she were an ordinary human incapable of piquing Solitär's curiosity, she would have been killed long ago...
But even if this human was special, Aura still couldn't believe she could stand against her Magic of Obedience.
"Don't believe me? Then go ahead and use it, Aura. As it happens, I'm quite interested in your Magic of Obedience as well."
Fíliya's face still held that same carefree, serene smile.
This only made Aura more nervous. She now felt stuck, not knowing whether to act or not.
So, she cast a pleading glance at Solitär.
"Solitär... what do you think? This human said it herself. She told me to use the Magic of Obedience. You can't beat me up for this, right?"
Solitär also looked puzzled. In her view, it was impossible for Fíliya not to know how powerful the Magic of Obedience was. Why was she still so confident?
As expected, Fíliya really is fascinating. Let me see how you pull this off... Hmm, even if something goes wrong, I'll just make Aura release the Magic of Obedience. And I can use it as another chance to beat her up.
Solitär thought to herself, and after exchanging a look of confirmation with Fíliya, she nodded at Aura.
"Alright... Just remember, all of you! I'm not the one who wants to do this; Solitär, you're the one who agreed to it! You're not allowed to use this as an excuse to beat me up!"
Aura shouted at the top of her lungs, then held out her right hand.
A set of scales materialized in her palm. She intended to use these Scales of Obedience as a medium to cast her magic.
"Hmm, Aura, don't you think those scales are a bit cumbersome? So slow and sluggish. If you were using this against a warrior, that long wind-up would be more than enough time for them to launch a surprise attack on you."
Fíliya, who was about to be subjected to the Magic of Obedience, remained perfectly calm, even teasing Aura with a playful tone.
"Shut up!"
Miss Aura yelled at Fíliya, flushed with shame and anger.
Because Fíliya was right. In the past, Aura had never considered her magic to have such an obvious weakness; after all, she had never seen a human warrior capable of attacking her during that brief wind-up.
Except... for that hero named Himmel. That man moved with ghostly speed. Calling him a hero... he was faster than any assassin.
"I'm casting it now."
Though thoroughly annoyed, Miss Aura was still considerate enough to give Fíliya a heads-up.
"Mm, wait!"
Fíliya suddenly held up a hand, halting Aura's casting.
"Huh?"
Aura, who had abruptly retracted her mana, was startled. You wretched human, she thought, why would you call a stop at such a critical moment?
If I, the great Lady Aura, weren't so powerful, do you have any idea how close I came to suffering a backlash from abruptly retracting my mana?!
"What? Having second thoughts? Heh, it's good you're finally scared. You're a few hundred years too early to make an enemy of the great Lady Aura."
Aura placed a hand on her hip with a triumphant look.
"No, no, no. I was just thinking, Aura, is your Magic of Obedience really fair? You're not using rigged scales or something, are you? Saying it's a one-to-one, fair comparison of mana, but in reality, you can adjust the multiplier for your own mana or something?"
Fíliya asked with a light laugh. Of course, she was purely teasing Aura, wanting to see more of her amusing expressions.
How could she not know?
In this world, the more powerful a magic is, the greater its limitations usually are.
In other words, greater restrictions are exchanged for stronger effects.
Aura's Magic of Obedience achieved its [absolute] binding power precisely because it was [fair]. If Aura could actually use [rigged scales], the magic's effect and binding power would plummet accordingly, turning it into a useless spell that wasn't worth the trade-off.
"Of course not! Don't look down on me, you! Only absolute fairness can bring about absolute obedience. You don't even know that much?!"
Miss Aura scolded angrily. If there was anything in Miss Aura's life that she took pride in, it was this Magic of Obedience. That's why she wouldn't tolerate the slightest insult toward her magic from anyone.
Not from this human, and not even from Solitär!
"Hmm, is that so... In that case, I'm practically your hero, Aura."
Fíliya ignored Aura's furious expression and changed the subject.
"Huh??"
Aura's eyes widened. She was getting confused. This human's train of thought was so erratic. One moment she wanted to see her magic, and the next she was off on a completely different tangent.
"Just think about it. If I weren't here today, if I hadn't stopped you from attacking human cities, this might have happened... Imagine if you had foolishly run into Lady Frieren, arrogantly assumed she was nothing special, and then foolishly used this Magic of Obedience only to be defeated by it. You would have certainly met a very tragic end."
"Huh? Is that Frieren person really that strong? I remember encountering her over eighty years ago. In the hero's party, only Himmel was particularly strong, right? That Elf has very little mana; she's no match for me at all."
Aura looked skeptical.
"As expected. Someone of your level wouldn't be able to sense it. Lady Frieren has been concealing her mana this whole time."
"Impossible!"
Aura immediately retorted.
"I remember it clearly. The pillar of her mana didn't waver in the slightest. There was absolutely no sign of mana concealment."
"Yes, and that is what makes Frieren so terrifying. To think that someone in this world would actually persist in such a boring practice as mana concealment for hundreds, even thousands of years, ultimately perfecting the... boring technique of flawless mana concealment."
"Let me be blunt, Aura. Lady Frieren's true mana capacity is certainly far greater than yours."
Fíliya said slowly. Though she called it a boring technique, in her heart, she knew exactly what that level of mastery represented.
______
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