The Future:
Aura stared at the creature before her.
The exposed, metallic seams running along its pale skin. The golden, inorganic eyes that held no moisture, no empathy, no life. The complete absence of any biological aura.
Except for the violet-blue hair, which differed from the pure white described in the ancient myths, every single detail matched the apocalyptic legends perfectly.
Facing such an existence, Aura couldn't even muster the will to fight. Her pride as a great demon was entirely gone.
Her signature magic, Auserlese, the Scales of Obedience, was an absolute power. It weighed her soul against her opponent's. The one with more mana gained total, irreversible control over the other's body. For five hundred years, she had used it to build an army of headless, undying slaves.
But against a monster that had survived for over a millennium? A monster that had annihilated the Demon King's castle? Aura knew the truth. If she summoned her scales, the balance would tip instantly against her. She would become the puppet.
Around her, her "servants", the headless knights she had collected over centuries, were already gone. Stell had fired a single burst of purifying, golden flame. The magic binding the corpses had been shattered, and the bodies were instantly reduced to white ash, returning the tormented souls to the earth.
Stell had wiped out the guards to force Aura into a corner. She wanted the demon to panic, to use her signature magic out of sheer desperation so it could be analyzed and copied.
But Aura's fear was stronger than her pride. Her mind was focused on a single word: Run. She had no intention of fighting back.
This was inefficient. Stell's clone did not have the patience for a game of cat and mouse.
"Warning: You have one opportunity to use your 'magic'," the clone stated, its voice cold and mechanical. "If you attempt to flee again, I will execute immediate termination."
Stell dropped the pretense. If this demon wouldn't use her magic willingly, Stell would force the issue.
During the chase, Aura had scrambled blindly, ultimately backing herself up to the edge of a towering, thousand-meter cliff.
Stell didn't care why the demon had chosen a dead end. She just wanted this to be over. If Aura still refused to cooperate, Stell would simply extract her memories by force.
However, because this was a clone with restricted processing power, a forced "Mind Hack" carried a high risk of damaging the target's brain, potentially corrupting the data. It was far better for Aura to cast the spell herself.
But Aura just stood there at the edge of the abyss, trembling. During the pursuit, the demon had repeatedly tried to cast defensive spells to slow Stell down. To optimize the chase, Stell had preemptively locked the demon's mana flow.
"If you want me to use magic..." Aura finally spoke, her voice shaking as she turned to face her pursuer. She let out a frustrated, hysterical laugh. "Then you have to lift the seal you put on me, you idiot!"
"..."
The clone fell silent.
Without the Main Unit's direct oversight, the clone's basic AI had encountered a minor logic error. It had demanded a magical response while simultaneously keeping the target's magic sealed.
Furthermore, this specific clone's loaded spell inventory was limited; it did not have access to wide-area barrier magic, or it would have simply trapped Aura from the start.
"Correction: Remain where you are. I will release the lock," the clone stated.
Stell raised a hand, and a small, ornate key materialized in her palm.
Pseudo-Endo: Michael.
It was the armament this specific clone had been granted permission to use, alongside a single bullet from Zafkiel. The immense mana cost for summoning these tools was paid directly by the Main Unit, bridging the gap across space and time.
Stell turned the key in the air.
Instantly, the heavy restriction on Aura's body vanished. Her mana rushed back into her veins.
And in that fraction of a second, the terror on Aura's face was replaced by a sly, triumphant smirk.
Just as planned!
Before Stell could speak, Aura threw herself backward, plummeting off the edge of the massive cliff.
A human would die instantly from such a fall. But Aura was a Great Demon with a body far tougher than steel. She knew the impact would break her bones and shatter her organs, but she would survive. The dense forest at the bottom of the ravine would hide her, buying her enough time to heal and escape this mechanical nightmare.
It was a desperate, ugly gamble. But reality is often cruel to those who gamble with monsters.
BANG!
A gunshot echoed through the valley, startling the birds from the trees below.
A crimson-gold bullet erupted from the revolver in Stell's hand, striking Aura squarely in the chest just as she began her descent.
There was no blood. There was no impact.
Pseudo-Endo: Zafkiel - Zayin.
The Seventh Bullet. The power to freeze time for the target.
Aura's body locked completely in place, suspended mid-air just past the edge of the cliff. Her smug, triumphant smile was frozen on her face, completely immobilized in the flow of time.
Stell walked calmly to the edge, reached out, and grabbed the frozen demon by the collar. She effortlessly hoisted Aura back over the ledge, dropping her unceremoniously onto the dirt.
Without another word, Stell placed her cold, metallic hand directly onto the top of Aura's pink hair.
"Initiating forced data extraction."
…
The Past:
"Guh!"
A massive demon warrior was blasted backward, a gaping, bloodless hole punched straight through his chest. Before his body even hit the ruined stone floor, he dissolved into ash, erased from existence.
Similar scenes were playing out across the enclosed battlefield. Within the absolute boundary of Stell's barrier, the remaining elites of the demon race were being systematically deleted.
At the center of the devastation, the Demon King was on his knees.
Thick, glowing chains of pure energy, a spell Takson had favored, now perfectly replicated by Stell, bound his massive frame tightly, forcing the ultimate ruler of demons to bow before his conqueror.
Stell stood quietly in front of him.
She raised her hand, and the golden key of Michael appeared in her grasp. Without a hint of emotion, she stepped forward and plunged the key directly into the Demon King's chest.
"Endo Armament: Activate"
"Pseudo-Endo: Michael - Segva"
The Demon King's eyes widened in sheer horror.
In an instant, the vast, bottomless ocean of mana within him simply vanished. It wasn't drained or exhausted; the very concept of his magic had been sealed away and locked tight.
His physical body was bound by unbreakable chains, and his magical power was entirely erased.
The undisputed ruler of the demon race, a being who had terrorized the world for centuries, was now nothing more than a helpless fish on a chopping block, quietly waiting for the blade to fall.
….
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