The shattered Magic Stone released Mana that was no longer Iria’s.
Under Albert’s manipulation, the Mana transformed into a blade-like shape and pierced her body.
At the same time, accelerated Attack Magic poured down on her from within the Domain.
The magic unfolding with Shadow Spear was exceedingly fast.
So fast, in fact, that a multitude of Attack Magic could rain down in the time it takes to blink.
There were so many spells flying at her that it was staggering to even take a breath.
From above, Lightning Magic pierced her body, from the front, Blue Flames erupted, and from below, Ice Spikes emerged and impaled her.
Of course, she was trapped within the domain and couldn’t evade at all. She had to take the hits head-on.
It’s quite a curious thing.
Each of those spells, when directly hit, could come close to a Fatal Injury. If the target were a Human, that is.
Even the average Mages with high resistance to magic would suffer Severe Injuries if hit properly.
Yet Iria was taking hundreds, if not thousands, of those hits.
And still, she lived. Her whole body was bleeding, yet she didn’t even buckle to her knees.
“······.”
Iria took one more staggering step toward Albert.
After walking step by step while taking the spells on her body, she grasped his wrist.
And then.
–Crack!
She broke the wrist she had grabbed.
With her entire body devoid of strength, there was nothing more she could do.
Albert detached his wrist and spoke. His demeanor was remarkably calm for someone whose bone had just broken.
“This is surprising. Not only did you withstand that, but you even counterattacked in the process.”
“······.”
“But in the end, that’s all there is to it. You’re strong, but foolish. Turning the Empire into an enemy from the Central City means this. Do you finally get it now?”
No one could be stronger than the combined forces of the Empire, not even the Demon King.
Of course, the Demon King had already died and been split into many fragments a long time ago, so practically, one could say there was none.
There weren’t many, but there were humans stronger than Albert in the Empire.
Thus, it was foolish for an individual to turn a nation into an enemy.
Albert seemed intent on making her realize this fact.
When he snapped his fingers, the concentration of Mana increased. Iria’s movements faced fierce resistance.
Then, he unleashed a vast amount of Mana. It was stronger than the magic he’d previously cast.
Since Iria just wouldn’t fall, he raised the output even higher.
“Please give up. If you surrender now, I might consider letting you go with just constraints.”
Albert continued to release magic while speaking.
As he cast spells, blue flashes burst forth, pushing Iria back.
It was impossible to tell how many times those flashes ignited. Iria’s body was repeatedly pushed back from taking direct hits.
‘Not even a scream? Not even a groan?’
It wasn’t that she was unharmed. Blood was splattering, and there was the smell of burning.
She must have been feeling pain beyond words.
Yet, she exhibited no signs of it.
She remained silent, merely taking Albert’s magic on her body.
After several more blue flashes burst forth, Iria’s body kept pushing back until she was about to collide with the wall.
Why she was enduring all this remained a mystery. Was she even human? Could a human have such high resistance to magic?
To Albert, Iria was a dangerous being. Regardless of whether she was human or not, with her stamina draining away, he realized that she must be eliminated.
“Lastly, I will ask one thing. What is your purpose for coming here?”
“······.”
“You didn’t come for confidential information. If that was the case, you would have turned back the moment you found the documents locked. Yet, you descended here even after seeing that. What is the reason?”
Only questions remained, with no answers, in this one-sided conversation. Or rather, could it even be called a conversation?
Albert waited, giving it a moment.
As expected, there was no answer. Iria remained silent, keeping her mouth tightly closed.
Albert sighed.
Then, as if to conclude, he began to gather the Mana around him.
His maximum output of magic was contained in a single spell.
“Now, do you have any last words?”
“Hu…?”
A small sound escaped Iria’s lips.
It wasn’t an answer to the question. She made a sound for a brief moment before stopping again.
“The last…”
She reacted to the word “last,” while previously showing no signs in the face of the attacks.
That small sound was closer to a chuckle than a mere exhalation.
Iria pressed down the crushed pronunciation and slowly opened her mouth.
“I hope this is my last as well.”
Before Albert’s magic could be released, it was the last words Iria left behind.
Soon after, the largest blue flash erupted from the underground.
*
It hurts.
A lot.
I can’t remember the last time I felt this much pain. Has it been about a year?
Back in the past, before I got isekai-ed, it felt like a familiar sensation.
Now, even that fragment of memory is faint. A sure sign that I’m becoming more monster-like.
I feel uncertain about my purpose for being here.
Why did I come?
I slowly traced back my memories while lying on the cold stone floor.
“······.”
I came to learn about myself.
On the side, I aimed to acquire a fragment of the Demon King. It seemed that eating humans sped up the process of becoming a monster.
Instead of feeding on humans, I planned to consume the fragment to extend my grace period.
And here I am now.
‘······It hurts.’
As a reflection of having been hit by the Empire’s strongest Mage, it was definitely pain.
My whole body was soaked in blood, a few bones were broken, and there was the smell of burning flesh.
But that’s all. Pain means I’m still alive.
Once again, I survived.
Once again, I couldn’t die.
After taking all of Albert’s magic, I realized one clear thing.
Albert couldn’t kill me either. He was also incapable of killing me.
It was somewhat expected, yet…
Albert was strong. There’s no disagreement on the point that he was a foe that’s hard to beat without using magic.
But I questioned whether there was any reason to hide his identity to such an extent.
After all, if there were no witnesses, it wouldn’t matter.
He could simply kill me or erase my memory.
Since right now, this place was occupied solely by me and Albert.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
I removed the lenses I had been wearing on both eyes. I felt relieved to be free from that irritating sensation.
Unleashing my magic without hesitation.
This damn body regenerates automatically once it’s hurt to a certain degree, regardless of my will.
And healing consumes stamina. Without stamina, the hunger becomes excruciating.
Moreover, if the hunger reaches a certain level, it goes berserk.
The rampage driven solely by instinct will continue until I satisfy my hunger.
This is why I cannot die. I want to die, yet my flesh does not allow it.
If I take a few more hits, the situation will spiral into the worst, so there was no hesitation in unleashing my magic.
Hair dye? Well, my magic unraveled it all. In the end, I returned to my pre-disguise appearance.
Albert’s expression became slightly ambiguous.
Yeah, it’s me.
I’m Iria, the student you taught magic during lectures.
Having unleashed my magic and removed my disguise, Iria stood up right there.
Beneath her feet, a sinister aura swirled with shadows. It was magical energy.
Her red eyes glimmered in the darkness. Without any external stimuli, her eyes radiated light on their own and were sharp.
As if she were a predator looking at her prey.
“Iria?”
Albert displayed his confusion. He was familiar with the Iria who had discarded her disguise.
Her face and voice bore a strange resemblance, so it was indeed her.
But it didn’t really matter.
What was more important was that the intruder in the underground was actually a student from the Academy, and that the substance emanating from her was magical energy.
She was a monster.
Albert prepared another spell to subdue her.
But she didn’t listen.
The magic Albert shot scattered before it could even reach Iria.
Before he could even comprehend what was happening, he could only assume that Iria had used her magic to deflect his spells.
And then.
“Did you know?”
This time, Iria asked Albert.
It was the same question, but the positions had reversed.
“I can open a Domain too. I’m good at it.”
The black shadows covered the entire floor.
The thick magical energy radiating from Iria enveloped Albert’s Mana.
She had covered his Domain with her own.
Her magical energy was more abundant than Albert’s.
Thus, this place was no longer Albert’s Domain.
This entire area, no, the whole floor cloaked in shadows was essentially Iria’s Domain.
“I had a feeling you might be, but it turns out you weren’t. I’ll remember that your magic hurts.”
“What do you mean······.”
Albert attempted to escape using his magic, but it was futile.
In Iria’s Domain, everything was under her control. Even if it were Mana, there were no exceptions.
The Mana that had once belonged to Albert changed direction in the air and returned to him.
Transformed into a sharp shape, it pierced through his body.
With a thud, blood poured from his body. It was her way of taking a small revenge.
Albert knelt down, and Iria stepped forward.
Just with that, she emanated a sense of intimidation.
Have you heard the story of the Back Alley Monster? A terrifying monster that lures humans with hallucinations and devours them.
Such a monster appeared now, not in the back alley, but right here in the underground.
Iria focused on Albert’s eyes.
Once she released her magical energy, removed her lenses, and locked eyes with him, he had no chances left.
Albert couldn’t even move his body until she approached him.
“I’m stronger.”
She lifted his chin, making him meet her gaze from a closer distance.
At this proximity, even his high mental defenses couldn’t shield his memories from being manipulated.
She erased all memories from here. No, to be certain, she wiped out all memories from the past week.
What followed was…
As she drew closer to the blood-soaked human, she couldn’t control her surging hunger and opted to bite into his neck.
It wasn’t particularly tasty, so she stopped after a brief suckle.
As long as she filled her stomach enough to regain her senses, it was fine. After all, she was supposed to receive the fragment of the Demon King in the underground.
“Good night, Albert. I have no idea when you’ll wake up again.”
She showed him the strongest hallucination she could muster.
Since she used magic and approached at such a close distance.
To be exact, even she wasn’t sure, but she figured he would be out for at least a week.
With blood on her lips, she walked toward the place that Albert had blocked.
