Chapter 342: No Concept of Evil
On the other side, Rhodes naturally noticed the subtle wrongness in Serie's expression.
It could only be said that the elf lady was somewhat jealous of Olivia's arrival, but fortunately, she didn't truly show it.
So Rhodes first said to Olivia warmly, "Olivia, thank you for your hard work. Welcome to the Magic Association."
Then, he walked over to Solitär-Flamme, crouched down, and looked her in the eye.
Solitär-Flamme's eyes remained placid, reflecting Rhodes's figure without any emotion flowing—no curiosity, no fear, as if she were merely receiving an ordinary visual signal.
In response, Rhodes leaked a little of his own mana aura to test her reaction.
However, Solitär-Flamme still showed no reaction.
"Can you see it?" Rhodes asked.
Demons were naturally able to see the mana aura on a person and judge their strength based on the quantity of that mana.
"Yes," Solitär-Flamme answered.
In her eyes at this moment, the mana capacity of the people before her was so massive it was simply blinding. Especially the man asking her—the mana on his body gave her a feeling of her heart pounding wildly.
But she didn't know what this feeling was.
"Is that so..." After hearing Solitär-Flamme's answer, Rhodes fell silent.
With his current strength, let alone all demons, at least ninety-nine percent of demons should flee in terror upon seeing him for the first time, unable to muster even a thought of resistance.
But Solitär-Flamme showed no such expression.
Is it because I didn't reveal killing intent?
Rhodes tried asking about Solitär-Flamme's origin and name.
But aside from her name, even she knew nothing about her own origins.
"Where on earth did that fellow Carlo find such a strange demon?" Serie couldn't help but speak up.
She had learned later about what her "good disciple" Flamme and Carlo had done. She naturally remembered Carlo, as she was the one who had granted him the Second-Class Mage qualification.
But because he wasn't a combat-oriented mage, Serie hadn't paid him much attention.
"It was in an underground labyrinth, Lady Serie," Olivia answered proactively, recounting what she had learned from Carlo about Solitär-Flamme's origin again.
"I have been to that underground labyrinth too. There is a very powerful creature inside, probably lived for at least a thousand years," Flamme chimed in.
"Interesting." Hearing that such a powerful unknown creature existed, Serie developed a bit of interest.
Unfortunately, that interest was quickly overshadowed by her desire not to go out.
The elf lady liked fighting and battling the strong, but she also had somewhat of a shut-in attribute. If only there was an opponent she could fight anytime, anywhere without leaving the house.
Coincidentally, she had such a perfect guy right beside her.
A pity Rhodes was a bit too ridiculously strong. Except for when she first taught him magic, Serie had never won against him.
Truly hateful!
On the other side, unaware that Serie was complaining about him, Rhodes continued to size up Solitär-Flamme.
He carefully sensed her mental fluctuations. It was a near-dead silence, without any emotional ripples.
"As expected... near blank in terms of emotions. Only the most basic instincts for life maintenance and energy exchange," Rhodes murmured, confirming his preliminary judgment.
Such an existence, unable to understand what "evil" was, would behave completely unpredictably by common sense. She might be harmless, or she might cause massive destruction unknowingly.
A rule that absolutely could not be violated had to be established.
Thinking of this, Rhodes moved his mind. He slowly raised his hand, seemingly about to touch Solitär-Flamme's short black hair like petting a child.
However, just as his hand was about to touch her hair, an invisible, terrifying pressure locked onto Solitär-Flamme like a physical weight.
This aura wasn't targeting her body but acted directly on the most primal survival instinct at the bottom of life itself.
In Solitär-Flamme's blank consciousness, Rhodes's seemingly ordinary hand instantly transformed into a shadow blotting out the sky, rushing toward her carrying endless aura of death.
It was a terrifying majesty that made her soul tremble, as if she would be completely erased from this world in the next instant.
"Wuu..."
Solitär-Flamme, who had been unresponsive as an exquisite doll, suddenly trembled violently.
Intense fluctuations appeared in her eyes for the first time. It was the primal fear originating from life itself. Even a life form devoid of emotional fluctuations would generate emotion before death; she was no exception.
Her small body tensed abruptly. Unable to move at all, she could only stiffly endure this pressure.
Rhodes's hand finally landed slowly on the top of her head. The movement could even be called gentle.
Then he spoke, word by word, incomparably cold, as if branding it into the depths of Solitär-Flamme's blank mind filled with fear.
"Remember this feeling."
"Regardless of the reason, regardless of the situation, you are absolutely forbidden to attack others."
"If you violate this..."
Rhodes's voice dropped lower.
"I will make you experience a hell more despairing than death!"
His hand lingered on her head for a moment before the suffocating, terrifying pressure gradually dissipated.
Solitär-Flamme's tense body went limp instantly. Her small frame swayed, nearly collapsing to the ground.
She panted weakly, the emptiness in her eyes replaced by a deep fear.
She might still be unable to understand good and evil, unable to experience human emotions, but from this moment on, "forbidden to attack others" had been added as an absolutely prohibited restriction by Rhodes in the most crude and direct way.
This was a necessary insurance.
For an existence that couldn't be communicated with by common sense and possessed extremely special power attributes, only the profoundest fear could constrain the uncertainty she might bring.
And this was only the first insurance.
Serie watched Rhodes's actions without speaking. She knew this was necessary.
Flamme and Olivia were also silent, feeling the heart-palpitating aura from that moment just now.
Solitär-Flamme, with the instinct of fear carved into her, curled up her body, revealing a fragile-like posture for the first time—though perhaps it was just an instinctual reaction to seek advantage and avoid harm.
After all, existences like demons, when facing an invincible opponent they couldn't escape from, would occasionally show reactions of actively showing weakness.
Once the opponent relaxed, they would strike decisively!
It was no exaggeration to call them the most cunning creatures in the world.
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