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n“You must be utterly confused right now. I should enlighten you, shouldn’t I?” I said, stroking Liliana’s cheeks lightly as I watched her glare stiffen, relax, and stiffen once more.

nThe assassin had made two errors in her judgment. They both stemmed from the fact that once again, she underestimated me.

nWho could blame her? I was but a trifling child. The events that had occurred thus far were surprising enough. She was certain to think that was the limit of my capabilities.

nUnfortunately for the poor miss, she was wrong.

n“You were clever, young lady… stalling for time while circulating your mana throughout your body. A most impressive strategy. It’s too bad, you failed to notice…” I began calmly.

nShe should have suspected that it was unlike me, someone so meticulous, to reveal my plans in such details. I was being a chatterbox and conveniently bought her enough time to fully utilize magic. The reason for that was simple.

n“… I was stalling for time too!” I smiled devilishly.

nHer eyes bulged, but she couldn’t make any other reactions or expressions. Her body still throbbed painfully, and I knew why.

nAs for the second error in judgment she made, or rather, the oversight she assumed on my part, was concerning her use of magic. Liliana was a skilled mage to have been able to nearly kill me with my own spell at first glance.

nShe must have calculated the technique and amplified it accordingly to give her the results she required. A truly frightening woman.

nWhy didn’t I think of the fact that she could easily use magic to free herself from my paralysis and turn the tables in moments?

nThe answer was simple… I did!

n“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice the circulation of your mana? Or did you think I didn’t predict the outcome where you would use magic? In fact, I counted on it!” I said, taking a few steps back while looking at the sky.

nI inhaled slowly, enjoying the night breeze. Now that things had progressed so far, there was no need to be tense anymore.

n“Liliana, or whatever your name is… do you know what is happening to you right now?” I asked, narrowing my gaze as I still observed the bright streaks of stars in the sky.

nSuddenly, I felt a burst of mana surge from the assassin. This made me lower my gaze, once again looking at her.

nThe brilliant surge of mana covered her whole body, causing her to move once more. Her vengeful eyes were locked onto mine, full of hatred toward me for shaming her to this state.

n“You… how dare you! Forget the contract… this is personal now. I’ll make sure to rip you to shreds!!!” She growled, increasing the tempo of her Mana.

nHer body now had an ominous blue glow as she clenched her fist. A single blow would tear my body apart, I was well aware.

nLiliana was very strong! However…

n“I wouldn’t do that if I were you…” I slowly remarked.

nIgnoring my words, Liliana made to move at me, but froze once again, this time it wasn’t just tremblings that shook her.

n“A-arghhh… Gahhh… Gahhhhhhh!!!” She screamed out in pain, stiffly moving her hands to touch her body, and then her neck.

n“U-urkkhh… Ahhh… Arghhh!!!”

nLiliana’s voice slowly faded and her body slowed down, but her lips moved nonetheless. Even with her voice gone, they displayed pain unimaginable. Her eyes bulged, nearly out of their sockets, and her body trembled violently, swerving uncontrollably.

nI watched the erratic dance Liliana displayed before me, leaping a little away from her so I could watch everything from a distance.

n“This… is…?!” Her voice returned, but was quickly drowned in screams of pain and faded again.

n“That’s right…” I proceeded to complete her words.

n“It’s Mana Shock… and an extreme one at that!”

nHer body trembled more violently as she shrieked, swerving more uncontrollably. Veins began showing on her skin, as though wanting to pop out of her body, and her formerly clear and flawless skin began paling up and showing signs of emaciation.

n“I-impossible… how can this…be?!”

nI moved closer to her, watching as her body danced, freezing at a certain moment, then continuing its frenzied state.

n“It is. I made it possible… with the formula Alphonse gave me!” I said, mercilessly gazing upon Liliana’s suffering state.

nIn medical treatment, there are concepts known as conflicting effects. This occurs when a deadly condition in the body is combatted by another equally deadly one.

n“Poisons are often cured with another type of poison. Both neutralize each other and cancel out their effects. It’s the same with the Mana Shock cure…” I revealed.

nI had no idea why this hadn’t been discovered yet, but by altering the dosage slightly, I extracted the chemicals found within the cure ingredients, amplifying their effects. The results were as I suspected.

n“I can now induce Mana Shock… and you’re my first target!”

nAlthough, this was no ordinary condition. Unlike the case with my mother, Liliana suffered one even worse. By increasing the dosage to a frightening degree, I made sure that the consequences for suffering my induced Mana Shock… would be death!

n“The moment you decided to use magic against me, it was all over. I merely waited until the effects of the Mana Shock solution had spread across your body and seeped into your Mana Core. The more you use your magic, the more complicated it gets for you…” I shook my head.

n“… So tell me, Liliana… just how much magic have you used?”

nThe answer was simple.

n“Guarkkkk!!!” She coughed violently.

nHer eyes were turning bright red, the color of blood. Her body kept shriveling while her skin became even paler.

n“P-please… don’t… don’t do this…” I heard her whisper.

nAt this point, the assassin was struggling to breathe. I watched her pitiful state, not flinching from where I stood.

n“Don’t you… want to… know who the mastermind… is…? I-I can tell you… so please, spare… spare my life…!”

n‘Oh? So she’s pleading for her life now.’ My mind rang in a little surprise.

nMoving closer to her stiff body which was too weak to make any more movement, my face drew closer to hers, directly staring into her red and bulging eyes.

n“No!”

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