This time, Miss Fíliya finally did nothing, silently watching as Aura successfully cast Magic of Obedience (Auserlese).
Fíliya watched as a gray, flickering flame emerged from her own body, while simultaneously, a black flame leaped out from Aura's body.
Eh? How interesting.
Fíliya thought to herself.
Is my soul gray...? That's different from what the books say. Aren't human souls supposed to be white?
The Demon Race, however, is just as recorded, possessing black souls.
Seeing that the Magic of Obedience was about to take effect.
Of course, Miss Fíliya was not without a plan. The reason she hadn't acted sooner was precisely because she wanted to use Aura's 'absolutely fair' magic to confirm the nature of her own soul.
Now that the confirmation was complete, she could deploy her own methods.
From the very beginning, Miss Fíliya had never taken Aura's magic seriously. It was a simple matter, because for her, an opponent who dedicated their entire life and energy to mastering a single spell was the easiest to deal with.
"Aura, you are not to use the Magic of Obedience again."
Fíliya conveyed this command to Aura's ears in a very gentle tone.
The moment she heard this voice, Aura felt an invisible pressure envelop her entire body.
A strange sense of fear began to bloom in Aura's heart. She felt her body temperature suddenly drop by several degrees.
And the two souls, about to be weighed on the scales, instantly flew back into her and Fíliya's respective bodies.
Her Magic of Obedience had failed... This terrified Aura, as she had never encountered such a situation before.
Even that time against the Hero, it was because the Hero's movements were too fast for her to cast the Magic of Obedience, not that an already-cast Magic of Obedience had failed.
Fíliya, what had this human done?
She didn't understand. So she began to recall Fíliya's earlier words.
That baffling command.
What did 'Aura, you are not to use the Magic of Obedience again' mean?
Unable to process it, Aura, in a fit of desperation, tried to channel her mana again, but her mana did not respond to her call at all.
This is... what's happening? I really... can't use the Magic of Obedience anymore!
For a moment, Aura even felt the urge to cry.
After all, she had poured all her passion and effort into her magic.
And it was sealed just like that, with a single, casual sentence from Fíliya?
What in the world was going on?!
"What a terrifying curse, to be able to seal a spell that a Greater Demon poured hundreds of years of effort into... Fíliya, what is this magic called?"
Solitär paid no mind to Aura's tearful expression, asking Fíliya with an excited look on her face.
"'Magic that Seals the True Name.' Its effect is to designate one of an opponent's spells and make it unusable."
Fíliya explained her magic casually.
It was a spell she had acquired from the System in her early years, but she rarely used it herself.
Because the magic's effect was both strong and weak.
Magic that Seals the True Name could indeed ignore power levels and mana disparities to seal one of an opponent's spells, but its drawback was also obvious: it could only seal one.
For modern mages, there are few fools who specialize in only one type of magic. Modern mages usually have many techniques at their disposal, so sealing just one would rarely have a decisive effect.
Moreover, the nature of this magic was actually a curse, and any reasonably skilled priest could dispel it on the spot.
Therefore, the most suitable occasion for this magic was a situation just like this one.
For a dolt like Aura, who spent hundreds of years researching a single spell.
Magic that Seals the True Name was her greatest weakness, and besides, a priest would never help a member of the Demon Race.
"Oh... so it trades the ability to 'only seal one spell' for an absolute binding force that ignores power levels? If it were to seal multiple spells, the effect would weaken and become unusable against stronger opponents... It does share a certain similarity with Aura's Magic of Obedience."
Solitär quickly analyzed the underlying logic of the spell. Then she looked at Fíliya with a teasing expression.
"Which means..."
"Mm, the weakness is obvious. For an 'all-rounder' like you, Solitär, it's meaningless. If you wanted to kill me, you'd have countless ways to do it, right?"
Fíliya also looked at Solitär with a smile.
Hearing Fíliya's playful tone, Solitär just rolled her eyes at her and said nothing more.
Just then, a purple figure lunged directly at Fíliya.
How should one put it... Fíliya hadn't sensed the slightest trace of killing intent from Aura, which is why she failed to dodge the lunge.
"Hiss... Ouch, Aura, what are you doing? Since your magic didn't work, you're resorting to physical attacks now, is that it."
Fíliya quickly rubbed her head and looked at Aura with annoyance. But in that instant, a strange phenomenon caused her brain to freeze for several seconds.
Because Miss Fíliya discovered that something like water droplets was trickling, drop by drop, from Miss Aura's face and splashing onto her own.
In a daze, Fíliya even touched some of the moisture with her hand and then put her finger in her mouth.
It's a bit salty.
Eh? Wait a second.
Miss Fíliya finally realized the truth.
This incredibly conceited and arrogant Greater Demon, who had lived for over five hundred years, was actually crying in front of her.
"Give it back! Give me back my magic! You monster! Give it back~~!!"
Miss Aura's gaze was no longer clear yet foolish, but was now filled with distinct sorrow.
This tear-streaked appearance made Miss Fíliya find it all quite incredible.
This is a Greater Demon who has lived for five hundred years?
She looks like someone's little sister.
She could no longer pay attention to the notification sounds ringing incessantly in her mind.
Looking at Aura's piteous state, Fíliya couldn't help but feel a sliver of guilt—of course, only a sliver.
"Hmm? And what if I don't give it back?"
Fíliya immediately asked in an incredibly provoking tone.
"I... I'll fight you to the death."
Aura cried out in grief and indignation, then prepared to strangle Fíliya with her hands. It was clear that in her extreme sorrow, Miss Aura had even forgotten she was a mage.
Of course, it was also possible that Aura felt magic was simply insufficient to vent her emotions, and she wanted a fist-to-flesh showdown with Fíliya.
Unfortunately, just as Aura was about to grab Fíliya, she was kicked several meters away by Solitär.
"Waaaaah... Give it back."
This time, Miss Aura had no motivation to get back up. She truly regretted why she had come here today, why she had to be treated like this.
Bullied by Solitär, and her most prized magic sealed by Fíliya.
What's the point of living! What did I do wrong to run into these two plagues today? I regret it, can't I just change my ways? I never should have come here to get Solitär to join me in the first place. If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have been subjected to such abuse.
The light in Miss Aura's eyes dimmed slightly.
"Mmm... Poor Aura. Even I feel sorry for her."
Miss Fíliya got up from the ground and dusted off her skirt.
As for whether she truly felt sorry for Aura, only the ghosts knew.
"Sob..."
Aura was still letting out whimpering sobs.
Yes, indeed. Aura is a real treasure trove for me.
Isn't Aura's existence the best proof that the Demon Race can have emotions? she thought.
So she called out to Aura.
"Stop crying. Anyone who didn't know better would think we were abusing you."
"But you are abusing me! I protest! I demand demon rights!"
Hearing this, Aura had a new reaction. She sat up from the floor and vigorously wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
Then, she glared at Fíliya with the look of a hero meeting their doom.
"Alright, Aura, I can remove this curse and give you back your magic. Of course, there's a small condition."
"What condition?! If you would show mercy, Aura is willing to do anything!"
Heh. Miss Aura was a living embodiment of the phrase 'arrogant before, obsequious after.'
Upon hearing there was a chance, Aura immediately put on a fawning expression. While Aura was a fool, she wasn't completely witless. In fact, she had already thought of a way to break the curse herself.
It was simple: the caster just had to die. Even with her Magic of Obedience sealed by Fíliya, the gap in their mana was as wide as a chasm. In a real fight, she could still easily finish off the current Fíliya.
But that was impossible. Who knew why that Solitär was mindlessly shielding Fíliya. If she entertained such a dangerous thought again, she would surely be the one to die... Besides, Aura had to admit something: much of what Fíliya had said to persuade her today might have genuinely saved her from a fatal outcome... In all of Aura's long life, this was the first time she had felt an emotion other than 'hatred' from a human. So, perhaps, maybe, she was just a little bit grateful to Miss Fíliya.
Since she couldn't kill her, and wasn't allowed to... didn't that leave poor Aura with only one path: playing the victim?
At this thought, Aura silently wiped her tears again.
Meanwhile, Fíliya, the culprit behind it all, casually exchanged a smile with Solitär.
For no particular reason.
As they say, the joys and sorrows of this world are not shared; the two of them simply found Aura amusing.
______
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