Execution (3)
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“—Hmm.”
Amidst the echoing sounds of explosions, gunfire, and someone’s shouts and screams reverberating in all directions, Eleanor wiped away sweat and took a deep breath.
In reality, she had just exhausted all her energy manipulating reality, so there was nothing she could do to help.
“Are you satisfied?”
—
With those words, it felt like someone inside her heart was responding.
Though she couldn’t hear the ‘voice’ properly yet, the indication that the other party was satisfied could be felt as well as ever.
‘…It’s a bit strange, but well.’
If one observes the vessels of other demons to some extent, it won’t be difficult to notice that communicating with what resides within and is embedded in the body is not that challenging.
With the complete assembly of Phainole, not to mention, even Uria seems to have no difficulty conversing with the white demon.
Only Eleanor finds herself in a situation where she cannot properly speak with what is embedded within her body.
In the current circumstances, it feels like the demon is trying hard not to reveal itself to her.
‘…What could it be hiding?’
As Eleanor pondered this, sighing, the doctor’s voice gradually emerged from her heart once again.
Well done. Daoud will probably have a stronger perception of her after this incident.
“-Is that so?”
However, if she does not harbor any complaints about the other party’s attitude, it is because they share a goal in at least one aspect.
“With this, Daoud must have understood for sure.”
By coming alone to the vicinity of the martial peak and monopolizing his “past,” she gains overwhelming superiority in “competition” by helping him at a decisive moment when he was about to be affected by it.
From the start, even if she had to resort to all kinds of tricks, coming up to the martial peak with him, it was correct to see that she achieved her goal to the fullest.
“-Some concessions are unavoidable.”
Since there is already more than one woman around him, she already had the thought that it would be difficult for her to monopolize everything alone.
However, at least she must become the center of his attention.
By breaking down the “barrier” that he had sharply erected around him, she becomes his first.
In fact, the current situation is already a battle in the past. If the situation has come to this point, there hasn’t been a single time when a man named Daoud has not overcome it. Within the set plan, he is a human who has achieved a 100% win rate.
More than that.
“So, when the situation comes to an end-“
This time, it is Elnoir’s turn to fill him with the ‘restraint spell’ that she had truly prepared.
With that thought, Elnoir toyed with the small box that she always carried inside her chest.
Inside it was the ring that she had exchanged with Daoud a while ago.
Now, the time has come to truly make use of it-
“…?”
Elnoir’s eyes, which were continuing that thought, caught onto something.
In the vicinity of Daoud, who had reached Moebius, she could see the world being tainted with ‘color.’
If it were just that, she could have passed it off as Daoud handling someone else’s magic again – but what unsettled her a little was something different.
It was because she noticed that someone else’s ‘color’ was strongly mixed in with the black magic emanating from the mark on his chest.
In Daoud’s ‘heart,’ it seemed as if someone had taken residence.
Almost like the two had merged into one.
-!
And the subject within her heart, upon seeing that sight, started to wildly fluctuate.
Even in a state where they couldn’t communicate, there was one thing she could feel with certainty.
This guy right now, is incredibly furious.
It was as if he was boiling with anger because the other party had broken a ‘promise.’
“-Hm?”
Eleanor’s eyes crescented like a waxing moon.
●
Sullivan Jaesang was adrift in a profoundly peculiar sense.
In lieu of her physical form existing in the material realm, she was present within Dowd’s body merely as ‘energy,’ granting her an odd sensation.
Suddenly, sentences she had heard before passed through Sullivan’s mind.
Starting from the discussion of ‘fusion’ to the exchanges she had with Dowd.
-Actually, there were quite a few things about you, Jaesang-nim, that left me curious.
-…What are you talking about?
-Going back in time, how exactly did that happen? Controlling time is the prerogative of the Gray, not any other demon’s power.
-…
-Even if demons are divine beings existing beyond the timeline, they shouldn’t be able to encroach upon the powers of other demons. Jaesang-nim brought ‘memories of the future’ with her. A vessel that isn’t even the demon’s true form?
-…
-Considering how intensely you expressed your favor towards me from the beginning, it seems you and Jaesang-nim had quite a special connection in the ‘past’ timeline. Isn’t that right?
-…Yes.
Undoubtedly, the words were accurate.
Her companion.
Her other half.
Her entire remaining life, bound by a contract, all of it.
To Sullivan Jaesang before the ‘reversion,’ Dowd Campbell was such a presence.
-So.
She recalled opening her mouth with a somber tone.
-I… made a deal with the Gray.
-Hmm.
-I will give up my powers, my essence, everything. In exchange, allow me to meet you again.
One of the seats among the Seven Demons, even if it meant relinquishing it.
To go back to the past, to meet him.
Gray accepted the terms, even if it meant giving up the demon’s abilities.
-Well, let’s call it a static removal. If the powers are taken away, Gray can, at will… turn me into ‘nothing.’ Erase me as if I never existed.
-…Ah, you mean that.
I remember Dowd scratching his head nonchalantly to that tune.
“I’ll try to prevent that from happening.”
“…Pardon?”
“You held such tender feelings and even regressed to the past. Shouldn’t there be some form of reciprocity for that?”
…?
Looking at Sullivan’s face, full of questions and dotted with question marks, Dowd chuckled before continuing.
“Well, if Sir Master and I can synchronize properly, we can do something truly amazing.”
As he concluded that thought…
Suddenly, consciousness was dragged back to reality.
I recognize Dowd standing before Mobius. Then I hear the voice.
“Let’s begin.”
In sync with Dowd’s voice, the swirling colors of magic spread more vividly around.
“Ha!”
Suddenly, I hear Professor Mobius in front of me chuckling.
“-Admit it, Dowd Campbell. This time, it’s your victory! However-“
“I know. No matter how many times I kill you, you won’t die.”
And calmly, over it, Dowd’s voice continued.
“…What?”
“You’re not an ordinary guy. You’d prepare for the worst of worst-case scenarios, right down to the very last contingency plan.”
The easiest thing to imagine would undoubtedly be a failsafe to secure his own life.
From the start, if Mobius was the opponent, dealing with him in battle would be more of a headache than winning.
Just considering the technology of the Matop, this cunning guy would have a backup of his consciousness somewhere to try to revive himself.
“In that regard…”
Dowd placed a hand over his heart.
The black magic surged.
“I’ve got one ready too. A surefire way to kill you, no matter what you do.”
“What are you talking about-“
“The moment I managed to get this close, you already lost.”
Mixing magic yields quite a distinct effect, as proven abundantly in the battles so far.
In that aspect…
Mixing the abilities he should have originally lost with the abilities he can wield together.
It can yield quite interesting results, more than one might think.
“-I really wanted to try using it at least once.”
The abilities that the Yellow Devil originally handles stem from ‘deception,’ deceiving the opponent.
Hallucination is just one of the sub-abilities among them.
In other words, it could be said that it is an ability on the side of deceiving the opponent’s ‘senses.’
And, when such abilities are combined with Dowd’s own ‘power’ that can completely subdue the opponent.
It takes on a somewhat intriguing nature.
—
–!!!!
The swirling magi, writhing and spreading, soon converges in one place.
Like an embrace, it engulfs Professor Mobius.
“Ah, so that’s it.”
Dowd, who had cleared his throat, uttered the sentence that would turn the opponent into his ‘puppet.’
“-Obey.”
From Noble mtl dot com
If you can’t kill the opponent.
Then, shatter their ‘mind.’
Hallucination, deception.
Combined with that, a ‘command.’
It strikes a ‘prohibition’ into the opponent’s mind that they can never escape.
Even if the opponent has a thousand tricks, if you break their ‘will to fight’ altogether.
They are no longer an enemy.
[…So.]
Kallibar, who had been silently observing, spoke in a suspicious tone.
[The one who reaches this state completely loses their mind and follows whatever you say, right?]
‘…Well, to be precise, it’s brainwashing that inserts false information rampantly to greatly amplify their liking for me-‘
[So, it’s not about completely modifying their mind to use them as a puppet, is it?]
“…”
[His abilities are damn foul. Seriously? Even if he’s a cheap guy, he deserves a bit of a beating.]
“…. Back off a bit.”
●
“–”
I exhale deeply, looking at Mobius, frozen as if he were dead.
Yeah. For now, I’ve subdued him.
I did this to him because he’s got a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
Right now, though, there’s something more urgent than that.
“Eleanor.”
I, sighing, quickly continue speaking.
“Listen to me for a moment.”
If I don’t say something like that quickly, I might just split him in two right now.
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