Chapter 93 — The One Who Executed the Seal
Under Elias's heavy, unblinking gaze, Serie wore an unmistakable expression:
«(=ω=)»
Was this thousand-year-old hag really trying to play cute like some clueless kid to muddle her way through?
Elias spoke coldly.
"Serie. What is that expression supposed to mean?"
"Are you welcoming me?"
Or—
"Did your so-called premonition already foresee that this day would come?"
At the word premonition, Serie felt a flicker of bitter irony.
She also keenly sensed it—
A chill flashed through the Great Demon's eyes, sharper than she had ever seen.
Colder even than two thousand years ago, when Elias caught her stealing Aivis's rations.
Serie slowly rose to her feet.
She knew it clearly.
This time… she had pushed things too far.
The Great Elf.
The Great Demon.
Two beings who embodied incompatibility itself—
their mutual killing intent suppressed for over a millennium.
Neither capable of killing the other.
Yet still…
This day had arrived.
For the first time, Serie had no choice but to face the mythical-era Great Demon with complete seriousness.
She made her decision.
---
«(=_=)» "Elias…"
«(..)» "S-sorry…"
---
Elias: (≖_≖'')
"As expected…"
"Should I say this is so very you?"
"So that incident with the seal a few years ago—that's why you fell out with the military."
"You realized the demons might make a move against them, so you had no choice but to use me—an outsider."
"To buy time, you kept me by Leiya's side, suppressing Grausam…"
"And deliberately hid the fact that Elias was sealed using Robin Green."
"You were afraid that the moment I obtained the artifact, I'd disappear, weren't you?"
Serie: «(=ω=)»
"I don't know what those two names mean…"
"But yes. You're absolutely right."
"If you'd run off halfway through, then both Flamme's and my plans would've collapsed."
"…Flamme?"
At the mention of Flamme, Elias noticed something immediately.
He couldn't sense her presence anywhere in the palace.
"So Flamme knows the truth too?"
"You're mistaken, Elias," Serie replied calmly.
"Flamme, just like you, is merely a component of the plan."
"Heh."
"So even your beloved disciple is nothing more than a chess piece in your hand?"
"…A chess piece?"
Serie smiled faintly, as if amused.
"Elias, you really do think of Flamme as a three-year-old child, don't you?"
"As a Great Mage, she is simply fulfilling her duty."
"Even if she knew the truth, she would still carry the plan through—without hesitation."
Elias fell silent.
Because something felt… off.
Just moments ago, he had instinctively believed that Flamme would stand on his side.
That she would understand him.
Why had he assumed that?
Elias cut the thought off decisively and changed the subject.
"So you arranged everyone else—and left yourself idle?"
"—Who says I'm idle?"
Serie suddenly produced a potion jar from somewhere.
Inside it shimmered a swirl of multicolored powder.
"I've been busy brewing potions~"
Elias glanced at it.
"That color… don't tell me that's—"
"Magic-Range Expansion Powder?"
"—You still remember that?"
Serie smiled.
Serie lifted the potion jar in her hands.
"This is one of Aivis's old toys," she said casually.
"Back then, he mixed this powder with fire magic and burned every giant rat in an entire mountain range to death."
Elias: (≖_≖'')
"But this thing was supposed to be lost," he said coolly.
"Where did you get it?"
Serie: «(=ω=)»
"Before Aivis died…"
"I grabbed it while I had the chance."
...(≖_≖'')...
Under Elias's openly contemptuous gaze, the blond elf suddenly shouted:
"Anyway! Elias!"
"It was me, Serie, who dragged you into this mess with ulterior motives. I apologize."
"Once this whole ordeal is over, I'll do my best to give you some form of compensation."
"Compensation?"
Elias sneered.
"Sounds like the start of another scam."
"—Cough! Cough, cough!!"
Serie nearly choked.
"Elias… has my image in your heart really fallen that low?!"
"Your image?"
Elias lowered his head, pretending to think.
"Hm…"
"Something that never existed for two thousand years—why bring it up now?"
Serie: «(´-ι_-｀)»
…Completely written off.
"Five years from now," Serie said, taking a deep breath.
"At the Staff of Proof selection five years from now, I will give you an answer."
"But before that, I need you to continue helping me deal with the Seven Sages of Destruction."
"Consider it… for the sake of humanity."
Elias looked at the blond elf.
There was no smile on her face.
Nor on his.
"One last time, Serie," Elias said coldly.
"I also advise you to think about humanity."
"After all, you should remember what happened when we first met."
Serie tilted her head, as if recalling something.
"Ah… yes. If something like that happened in the Holy City, it would indeed be terrifying."
"Elias, I'll give it careful thought."
...
Elias turned to leave.
"—Wait!"
He stopped and looked back, expression icy.
"Anything else you'd like to confess?"
Serie lightly raised her right hand.
From the mountain of books piled behind her, a grimoire flew out and landed directly in Elias's hands.
"This is the Sealing Magic."
"…What?"
Elias was genuinely stunned.
Robin Green—the spell—had fallen into his hands far too easily.
"How did you get this book?"
Serie: «(=ω=)»
"Also grabbed it while I had the chance."
Elias: (≖_≖'')
"I really should've known."
"—Hahahaha~"
Serie laughed smugly.
"It's because this seal is fascinating."
"It can store magic and memory inside a person's mental world."
"After the seal was completed back then, I swapped it with a fake while Theodore wasn't paying attention~"
At this point, Elias seriously suspected—
The military's hostility toward Serie might largely be her own fault.
"…Alright. Thanks."
After leaving the palace, Elias suddenly remembered the appendix page Robin had given him.
It was said that only by returning it to the main grimoire could its contents be read.
No time to waste.
Elias inserted the fragment back into the book.
Words slowly surfaced on the page.
---
[Important Notes]
[Must Read Before Executing the Seal]
1. Robin Green is bound to the Green family bloodline.
Any non–Green family member who forcibly uses the seal will suffer bodily damage.
Elias understood immediately.
So this was the reason the sealing accident occurred—and why Leiya had fallen gravely ill.
He moved on to the second line.
2. The unsealing incantation is forbidden from leaking outside the Green descendants.
[Hint: It's the first thing 'he' said to me.]
...!!!
Now, Elias could free Leiya's seal and reclaim [Elias] on the spot.
But...What was the first thing he'd said to Robin?