Chapter 7

Aura (14 Years old)

"Wh-what's going on... my-my body...!?"

My spell, "Spell of Obedience: Auserlese" is absurdly powerful, and as I watch those before me fall under its control, I can't help but feel its overwhelming strength once again.

This magic works by placing both the caster's and the target's souls on the scales of obedience and weighing their mana. The one with more mana can semi-permanently control the other, making it a ridiculously effective spell.

If I were to compare it to something, it would be like the "Alluring Skull" pyromancy from Dark Souls, but this spell's duration lasts a mere 30 seconds, affects only a single undead target, and has limited range. By comparison, my magic is overwhelmingly superior—though I will admit, the allure spell in Dark Souls does have faster activation.

"Horns…!?"

Cheat-level abilities like this usually come with some kind of restriction, but my subjugation magic doesn't have any. Once it's activated, it can control any target within my line of sight or within a certain radius where my mana can reach, even if I can't see them directly. Though, the latter consumes more mana, so I rarely use it. The former, on the other hand, barely drains my mana and allows me to place multiple souls on the scale at the same time.

Honestly, is this really an ability that a human should have? I feel like this is something that a high-ranking official or a boss character in the Demon King's army would have.

For now, it's effective on both humans and monsters alike. And so far, in my entire life, I've never encountered anyone with more mana than me.

These guys too—I just placed everyone within my line of sight on the scale and succeeded in subjugating them.

"Wh, why are you here...?!"

That aside, I'm satisfied with my subjugation magic and plan to continue honing it as my primary focus. However, drawing on the knowledge from my past life, I also realize that having other combat spells is essential.

After all, characters with overly strong abilities tend to either be checkmated like in a chess game or defeated by ambushes. They may also have their abilities temporarily restricted and beaten, or simply be crushed by the overwhelming force of an opponent with superior mana.

That's why self-defense is essential. Even though I have enough muscle strength to be able to beat my childhood friend in an arm-wrestling match with just my pinky finger, I can't let my guard down since I don't know how far my strength will go.

"You're wiping out hideouts one by one—"

There are several ways to do this, but broadly speaking they can be narrowed down to two.

One is to have the subjugated beings protect and fight for me, gradually wearing down the opponent's mana. Since controlling a subjugated target doesn't consume any mana, this is the most rational choice.

The second is for me to fight directly, while chipping away at the opponent's mana until I can use my subjugation magic on them. This option carries a much higher risk since I have to use my own mana in battle, which diminishes the advantages of my magic.

Ultimately, the best option is likely a combination of both. However, even though the subjugated beings can act on their own to some degree, they still require commands. So if I'm fighting personally, it can be tricky to find time to give them orders during combat. The safest strategy would be to have the subjugated beings do all the fighting, and when the opponent's mana is sufficiently weakened, I use my subjugation magic—or flee if necessary.

However, in my previous life, I spent a decent amount of time playing third-person shooter games like the Souls series, games where this world's atmosphere might actually fit. I spent thousands of hours on them across various titles. And from my personal experience… it's quicker to just punch them.

So I'm going to take the irrational route. I'm more comfortable swinging around huge weapons than poking around with bows and magic. Muscle-brain is the smartest build.

On a more serious note, I believe it's better to keep my subjugation magic hidden. If I use this absurdly powerful spell as a surprise attack with no prior warning, my opponent won't stand a chance. Conversely, using it regularly would completely waste its incredible advantage as a surprise tactic.

Like in those ability-battle manga from my previous life where a group of thieves with spider tattoos on their backs had their primary ability and a hidden secondary ability, this would be an extremely dangerous trump card.

So, in most situations, I'll fight with regular magic or physical attacks against opponents I think I can beat. Then, in the heat of battle, when I intend to kill, I'll secretly unleash my subjugation magic. If I'm fighting personally, that's the best way to make full use of my magic.

"Hii... my body is acting on its own...!?"

With that said, choosing the right spells is critical. Aside from the subjugation magic, body enhancement magic and healing magic are indispensable. Since my body is made of mana, body enhancement is easy and consumes minimal mana due to its simplicity. Healing magic, of course, needs no explanation.

When it comes to offensive spells, efficiency is key.

For example, when casting a fireball to attack, you use mana to create the fireball, hold it in the air, aim, and then release it—each step consumes mana.

But if you create a weapon using mana, once it's formed, it stays intact until it's destroyed, so there's no need to keep re-forming it.

So, constructing a sword or another weapon to control in battle would be ideal. You could also extend the blade or adjust its weight and sharpness, creating an advantage beyond simple sword fighting.

"Is there anyone who can move...?! What is this――"

Unfortunately, my village, which is practically on the brink of being abandoned, didn't have a single sword. Even in my previous life, I never saw a real sword, so I couldn't replicate it. And even if I managed to make one, its strength and integrity would be questionable.

I had no choice but to improvise with the closest weapon-like tool I could find—a large scythe.

It was a farming tool used to cut tall grass or harvest crops like wheat. The one I used was wooden, about 170 to 180 cm long, taller than me, with a blade attached at the end, curving out from the handle in an L-shape. There were short grips at two places along the handle.

A common misconception is that the blade of a scythe is at the top, but it's actually at the bottom. You don't swing it down from above; rather, you sweep it horizontally to cut grass at the roots. Of course, I wasn't very familiar with farming tools in my previous life.

Still, it definitely looks like a weapon meant to reap lives. By the way, a large scythe is called a scythe or sized, while a smaller one is called a sickle. So, if you hear "Death Scythe," that refers to a large scythe, while a small sickle would be a "Death Sickle."

"I look like someone who'd wield a giant scythe, don't I?"

At first, I wasn't too keen on using a substitute, but seeing how this tool didn't look like a farming implement at all changed my mind. Plus, considering my demon-like or grim reaper-esque image, it would look great if I had a weapon like the scythe of Death.

So I crafted a large scythe reminiscent of the one Death wields, with an even longer blade, removing the grips. I created several of these scythes and made them spin around me as part of my magic. I could also adjust the length of the handle and blade as needed.

"And that's how I came up with this magic "Spiralig: Spiral Scythe."

The giant scythes spinning through the air right now, making strange noises as they circle around, are my magic. Everyone is kneeling on the ground, unable to move, also thanks to my spell.

Technically, I could stop the scythes from spinning to save mana, but having them move erratically works well in this situation.

Do I need the scythes to spin around like this? Maybe not. But in my previous life, in that game where you survive against vampires for 30 minutes and then fight death itself, I just felt that scythes should be flying around me like this.

Some of the scythes stopped spinning and hovered above the heads of the humans, each one poised to strike at a neck.

"Wait… stop! Please, wai—"

One head rolled.

This was the perfect practice to improve my precision.

"Please! I'm begging you, I'm not—"

Another head fell.

It's quite difficult to cut cleanly, including the bone.

"No… I don't want to die—ugh!?"

A blade partially embedded itself in a neck, stopping halfway.

Oops, made a mistake. I still need more practice to sharpen my precision.

"I'll handle this one at a time… Don't worry, I won't waste any of them."

There are still plenty of humans left here.

Ah… I need to master my magic even more… I need to refine it, research it… push further, to become the strongest… I'm still far from my goal… still far from it…

———————————————

In front of me, dozens of human heads were lined up, and nearby, an equal number of bodies were piled up into a mountain.

I would have liked to practice a bit more, but since they were already gone, it couldn't be helped. I'll leave the heads as proof, and as for the bodies, burning them to prevent the spread of disease should be enough.

I used magic to set the pile of bodies on fire. It took a bit of effort to get the fire started, but once it caught, the human fat would keep it burning, so I didn't need to worry about it anymore.

Having finished one task for now, I let out a sigh for no particular reason, as a way of marking the end.

At that moment, my eyes fell on one of the heads lined up on the ground. I picked it up slowly and checked the cut surface. It was cut well, but... that aside, I should improve the sharpness a bit. I wonder if there are pros and cons to increasing the strength of the blade and making it thicker or thinner.

As I thought about such things, I realized my eyes were lingering on the bright red flesh of the severed neck and the blood still dripping from it.

Speaking of which, I was taught that I am a long-lived species. Furthermore, perhaps because my body is made of mana, I in fact hardly need to eat. However, when I look at this, I somehow feel hungry and hungrier.

Well, no one's watching. When I think about it, there's not really any reason to worry. Just a little taste wouldn't hurt, I thought as I opened my mouth――

"Aura...!"

A familiar voice called out to me, and I turned to see a young man around my age standing there.

He was the grandson of the village chief, the one who had taken me in, and we had grown up together.

"This is... this is..."

"It's over now. They've been wiped out."

He looked like he was about to vomit as he stared in shock at the burning pile of bodies and the heads lined up. After a moment of stunned silence, he walked over to me.

I remembered that the head I was holding had the highest bounty, so I offered it to him, but he just stood there trembling, unable to take it. Well, it's not like I cared either way.

"These guys… they were a band of thieves who've been attacking travelers and villages in this region for years, and—"

"Isn't that why the whole village raised me? It's much better to raise a strong monster and let it kill than to be helpless like your murdered parents and the other villagers, and one day be kidnapped and killed by a group of thieves again."

"Ugh…"

He looked at me as if to say, "You knew?" After all, he had been taking good care of someone like me for 14 years... no, he had been keeping me as a pet. That would be abnormal if there wasn't a reason for it.

And that was the whole reason. I was raised to be the ultimate killing tool. Well, I'd already figured that out. I'm probably quite close to being a monster, at least in their eyes.

"Either way, I've fulfilled my role now."

"W-Wait! Where are you going…?"

I casually tossed the head aside and turned my back to him, starting to walk away when he called out to me.

It was such an obvious question that I almost laughed. Without turning fully, I glanced over my shoulder and answered.

"There's no reason for me to stay in the village anymore, is there? I would've liked to stay a little longer, but there's no reason to keep a monster who's finished its job. And besides, I'd rather not be disposed of."

"That's... No, don't worry. I won't let that happen! I swear!"

"Unlike me, you have no magic nor strength, and you're lazy so you just dump all your work on me. What can you do?"

"Ugh... No, I can do it! I'll make sure you can stay in the village!"

"Talk is cheap."

It's pointless if you can't at least trust him, and the fact that he's done so many things to lose trust makes it completely pointless.

I gave up on the conversation there and started walking again. Now, where should I go? Well, I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out. For now, I can just pretend to be a remnant of a bandit gang and attack a traveler without being noticed if I need money.

"Aura...!"

"…Haa."

I felt a sensation of being wrapped around my back and arms. It seemed like he had hugged me from behind.

It seems that he is quite attached to me. If he does anything more than this, it may cause trouble later. So should I just get rid of him and the village?

Just as I began to think such things, he turned me around to face him. He looked at me with a serious expression I had never seen before, his trembling body giving off a different kind of intensity than earlier.

"Aura, in the hundreds or thousands of years you have left to live…"

"--Can't you just give me one hundred years?!"

His words sparked a certain interest and curiosity in me.

"…Oh?"

It seemed that I had a tendency to be drawn to submission. Perhaps it was because I could use magic to subdue others?

I placed my hand on his cheek and gazed back into his eyes.

"Not bad at all…"

And he answered back with a kiss.

———————————————

"――――sama. A――――. Aura-sama..."

When I woke up, the first thing I saw was the face of a girl—Fern—who had a somewhat lifeless look in her eyes, much like that of a demon.

It seemed that I had dozed off in the middle of my magic research. The first time in decades.

Rubbing my eyes and rotating my neck, I heard a cracking sound. Why is it that both humans and demons have such similarities in these areas?

"Um... Aura-sama?"

"What is it?"

"That ring... um, are you married, Aura-sama?"

Fern was staring intently at the silver ring on my left ring finger. To modern eyes, it would probably seem plain and cheap. But 500 years ago, it had been worth a decent sum.

"Yes, I was. Over 500 years ago, to a human. But it's such an old, insignificant story, it's not even that interesting—"

"I'd like to hear it."

"Huh...? Well, it's not really an interesting story—"

"Aura-sama, I want to hear it."

Somehow, Fern seems to be more interested in my stories than the ones I usually tell her about my heroic deeds, or the troubles I suffered at the hands of Frieren...? And it also feels like her eyes are sparkling.

"If you insist that much, I suppose I can tell you... but really, it's not a big deal."

"Oh, you're really going to tell me?"

Well, you were the one who asked in the first place, weren't you? But judging by her reaction, it seemed she hadn't expected me to agree. Human sensitivity in moments like these is so unpredictable, and all my knowledge from my time as a human is completely unreliable.

"Um... and there's something else. Why do you care about me so much?"

"Even if I'm a demon?"

"I wasn't going to say it, but... yes, that's part of it."

Hmm? There's only one reason for that.

"That's because you're my descendant, Fern."

"...Excuse me?"

Now then... where did I store anything useful related to him besides the ring? My personal storage space has become like a castle due to all the modifications I've made, allowing it to hold more than Frieren's trunk. Most of it is junk that Frieren couldn't fit into her own trunk, though.

Demons don't hold onto memories very well, so it's hard for me to recall things unless I tie them to something physical. Feeling the inconvenience of this, I began placing items related to him in front of Fern, who still looked dazed.