Chapter 60: Actively Seeking Punishment?!
The moment Elias's name was called,
the entire crowd stirred to life.
All eyes turned toward that pitch-black figure as whispers spread rapidly.
"Elias… That's the mage who fought Queen Carlile for a full hour!"
"If it's him, maybe he can last a bit longer against Erwin."
"I doubt it. Beating the Queen only proves he's good at that kind of thing."
"Exactly. Erwin's strength is already close to that of a grand mage. A nobody like him—"
"Sigh… He's actually pretty handsome. What a shame he's about to be crippled."
Before Elias even stepped onto the stage, the crowd had already reached a consensus—
A nameless mage stood no chance against the Deep-Cruel Executioner.
The tide of skepticism washed over him, but Elias neither heard it nor cared.
Or rather, there was no need to.
Every spell Erwin cast, every mana thread he controlled—
Elias saw them all with perfect clarity.
And as long as a spell could be seen,
there was no such thing as "unable to be cut."
"—Elias."
He turned toward Flamme.
The faint tremor in her deep teal eyes—
Was she… worried about him?
But the next instant, she spoke solemnly:
"Elias, please don't kill anyone."
"Erwin is already insane—and he loves provoking people. I'm afraid you might lose control and—"
"Heh heh heh…"
Elias had been about to laugh—
only for Erwin to laugh first.
That alone was enough to warrant death.
"What a beautiful scene~"
Erwin tilted his head, propping his face in his hands as he gazed dreamily at Flamme.
"Serie's most prized disciple. The Valkyrie of the battlefield.
Grand Mage Flamme—showing concern?"
"That tightly knit brow… those slightly trembling lips…"
"If I pushed just a little harder…"
"Wouldn't it make for an even more moving expression?"
Seeing the debauched expression on Erwin's face,
Flamme suddenly regretted telling Elias to hold back.
"And this little group of yours…"
Erwin bared his teeth in a grin as his gaze swept over the four people below the stage.
"Grand Mage Flamme."
"A mercenary who ran away."
"A timid little elf."
"And this one here… hm?"
When his eyes landed on the unfamiliar face, confusion flickered across Erwin's features.
A second later, it turned into mocking amusement.
"Lady Flamme…"
"You still have living comrades?"
"I heard that all of your former companions were rather…
cleanly dealt with by the demon race."
Flamme's fingers clenched quietly, anger igniting deep in her chest.
Her countless military achievements had earned her admiration—
but even more fear.
Some in the army envied her.
Some resented her, believing she had stolen glory that belonged to soldiers alone.
As a grand mage revered by all, she had never cared about the army's opinion.
But Erwin pressed further.
"Still, it's probably for the best they died~"
"If they'd fallen into enemy hands and faced interrogation, who knows what secrets they might have spilled?
They might even have betrayed us~"
"—You—!"
Flamme was about to erupt when Elias stopped her with a single gesture.
"Flamme. This is my battlefield."
"I can discipline him for you—
though unfortunately, as you said, I can't kill him."
Flamme took a slow breath and closed her eyes with a cold smile.
"Death no longer matters."
When she opened them again, an unprecedented glacial light blazed within.
"Elias…"
"I want him to wish he were dead."
---
Under countless gazes, Elias and Erwin stood facing each other on the central platform.
The moment Erwin sensed the mana radiating from Elias, he paused.
"Hm?"
"You look no older than thirty, yet your mana's quite abundant.
You'll probably last longer than those useless trash before you~"
Elias fell briefly silent.
He had merely released a trace of his mana before stepping onto the stage.
And that alone earned Erwin's respect.
Which meant—
Erwin couldn't perceive the true fluctuations of his sealed power at all.
So he really was just a deranged idiot.
"Enough talk," Elias said flatly.
"You go first."
The principle remained unchanged: return unto others what they give you.
What kind of end Erwin met
depended entirely on the path he chose himself.
Elias didn't understand the pleasure of torment—
but copying another's techniques was trivial.
"Hah? Asking to be abused?!"
Erwin's eyes went wide, delight blooming across his face.
"So that's what you're into!"
"If our tastes align so perfectly—"
"Then don't blame me for being rough!"
Erwin crossed his arms.
Ten rings flashed with cold brilliance as he slashed his hands outward—
Shrrrk!
A massive X carved through the air.
Elias didn't move.
To ordinary spectators, nothing seemed to happen.
But Flamme and Frieren saw it clearly—
Countless razor-sharp mana threads, woven like a spider's web, clinging tightly to Elias's body.
Satisfied, Erwin turned his back and gazed skyward once more.
"Ahhh~"
"Here comes the begging."
"I wonder what delightful sounds you'll make this time. Don't disappoint me~"
—Twang.
—Twang, twang, twang.
"…Hm?"
Erwin frowned.
That sound was nothing like the screams he expected.
He slowly turned around.
"That noise feels a bit—"
"—What?!"
In the next instant, Erwin froze.
The smug smile on his face shattered into disbelief.
His lifeless pupils stared as Elias calmly extended a finger—
and lightly tapped one of the mana threads.
—Twang.
It snapped.
To the crowd, Elias had merely poked the air.
But to Erwin—
It was the collapse of his entire magical career.
"How… is this possible?!"
His threads were sharpened to the absolute extreme!
How could they be broken by a casual touch?!
A second passed.
When Erwin saw the faint curve of Elias's lips,
his already trembling pupils began to quake violently.
"Your magic… what is it?!"
"—Thread magic," Elias replied calmly.
"Impossible!!"
"My thread magic has reached perfection! There is no one in this world whose threads are sharper than mine!"
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
From Erwin's expression alone, they realized—
The tide of battle had turned.
Every gaze in the arena converged on Elias.
Then the great demon, whose identity none knew, spoke casually:
"If this is what you call 'perfection,'"
"then all it proves is that your understanding of thread magic hasn't even reached the beginner's level."
The words fell—
And the entire arena was shaken to its core.
Erwin's face twisted in utter disbelief.
"—W-What… did you just say?!"