Provocation

"Frieren."

Dunkel's introduction is very simple, consisting of only his name.

Macht paused for a moment after hearing the name.

As one of the Seven Sages of Destruction of the Demons, he had certainly heard of that resounding name.

[The Frieren the Slayer].

But what he wanted to ask was not the identity of the elf before him.

After quickly reviewing the information about Frieren in his mind, Macht smiled slightly, his tone indifferent, as if he didn't care at all.

"I see. This must be Lady Frieren, the elven mage who once fought alongside the hero to defeat the Demon King."

"How nostalgic! Dunkel Duncan has always loved the adventure stories of the hero and his companions."

Logically, the discussion about introducing oneself should end here.

But Macht's gaze fell on Rienta.

And this one?

Everyone was taken aback, including Rienta.

But he quickly realized what was happening.

His expression suddenly turned serious, his eyes narrowed slightly, he leaned back in his seat, propped his chin on one hand, and looked at Macht with a detached expression.

"I am, the Great Mage of the Mythical Era, the strongest below the Goddess, known as the Living Grimoire, the disciple of Lady Serie, the founder of the Continental Magic Association —the legendary Great Mage, the disciple of Lady Flamme, the progenitor of human magic—the elven mage among the heroes who defeated the Demon King, the disciple of Frieren, who was given the name [Slayer]—the future Sword Immortal, the Dao Lord who will wield all magic— the First-Class Mage Rienta."

Rienta has finished her self-introduction.

But everyone present fell silent.

Frieren: "..."

Fern: "..."

Stark: "..."

Dunkel: "..."

Even Macht, Demons, couldn't help but find this self-introduction somewhat absurd.

It simply wanted to know who this young human was who could rival it in Mana for a short time.

But what's the deal with this long list of titles?

The various etiquette rules he had learned in the past told him that it was time for him to speak.

Just like you complimented Frieren earlier.

But when he opened his mouth, he got stuck.

"Mythology... no, the strongest... no, humanity... no... yes, humanity."

Macht remained silent for a long time, mentally dissecting and analyzing Rienta's self-introduction word by word.

Finally, we managed to extract useful information.

"A first-level mage— Rienta, right?"

"Hmm, very... strong, and very unique."

Rienta was naturally very dissatisfied with such a perfunctory answer.

When Dunkel introduced Frieren using only her name, Macht immediately began praising her.

Although he said it with a stern face, at least he said it wasn't true.

When it came to reciting such a long list of names, Macht started to try and smooth things over.

Coincidentally, the purpose of this trip was to test the waters.

Rienta was very annoyed, so she simply accepted Frieren's previous provocation.

"Macht, you're pretty arrogant, aren't you?!"

"Knowing that Lady Frieren is the elf mage among the heroes who defeated the Demon King, she remains so calm."

Don't you want to avenge the Demon King?

"And most importantly, how dare you treat me like this!"

Fern, standing nearby, quietly tugged at Rienta's clothes.

"Rienta..."

She didn't quite understand why Lady Frieren and Rienta suddenly started taking turns provoking Macht.

Wasn't this just a test?

Wasn't the plan to wait for Lady Serie and the other First-Class Mages ' reinforcements to arrive, and then discuss how to deal with those who had been Golden Transformation before taking action?

Stark was still immersed in what had just happened, those intimidating titles flashing through his mind, and he didn't react at all.

Frieren seemed quite pleased with this and made no attempt to stop Rienta, quietly sipping her tea.

Dunkel hesitated, but ultimately sighed and chose to remain silent.

Macht paused for a moment, frowned, and began to explain:

"Revenge means nothing to me."

"I've never been particularly loyal to the Demon King, and besides, I've always hated fighting."

"My only wish is to live a peaceful life here, but humans keep bringing conflict and disturbing my peace."

At this point, Macht paused, his tone becoming much more serious. "Just like all of you now."

"I've always been a moderate in the Demon King's Army, and I've always been searching for a way to coexist with humanity."

"It's been like this ever since I wore the [Dominion Stone Ring], and it hasn't changed."

Rienta chuckled dismissively and said, "Demons really do lie as frequently as they breathe."

Macht muttered to himself, repeating the sentence over and over.

"He speaks as frequently as he breathes..."

"That's a very apt way to put it, but I wasn't lying."

Macht picked up his teacup, took a sip, looked at Dunkel, and said:

"Dunkel Duncan has already read my memories through that little girl, hasn't he?"

"You surely understand that there is no lie in my words, right?"

Dunkel nodded, not revealing that Frieren had also seen that memory.

"Macht was certainly not lying about his desire to coexist with humanity."

Rienta hadn't seen that memory, but even if she had, so what?

The facts speak for themselves.

Rienta chuckled and then said:

"You keep saying you want to coexist with humanity, yet you refuse to restore [The Golden Land], and even continue to expand its boundaries, ruthlessly killing those who enter."

"Not to mention, the entire Fortress City of Weise, whose inhabitants have been Golden Transformation."

Why would a Demons that wants to coexist with humans kill so many humans?

Macht didn't quite understand why Rienta would ask such a question.

Is there any necessary connection between coexisting with humans and killing countless humans?

To the Demons, humans are nothing more than food.

No reason is needed to satisfy some restless foods.

It simply wants to coexist.

That's all.

Macht looked at Rienta calmly and replied indifferently:

"That's a strange question."

Why would you ask me something like that?

Rienta looked at Macht, who had a matter-of-fact expression, stood up, and walked towards the door.

Let's stop here for today.

Macht remained seated, neither trying to stop him nor attempting to prevent him from leaving.

Seeing this, Frieren and the others also got up and left.

There's no point in continuing the conversation now.

Moreover, this conversation was simply a waste of time.

There is an insurmountable gap in the understanding between Demons and humans.

To Macht, humans are like livestock to humans—merely food.

But the objective of this mission has been largely achieved.

Macht was unaware that Rienta had entered the Barrier for the experiment.

This can be seen from Macht's behavior after meeting him.

The [Dominion Stone Ring] still restricts Macht.

Even if Dunkel brings the four of them Rienta, into the Barrier, Macht will still treat them with courtesy.

This information might be useful for making some arrangements in the battles to come.

The Mana clash that occurred earlier in the corridor also illustrates a lot.

Since obtaining the [Sealed Origin], Rienta has been virtually unmatched in terms of Mana.

It should be said that no one can compare.

Even achieving a break-even point is impossible for anyone.

But Macht did it.

Judging solely from the amount of Mana, Macht is even significantly stronger.

However, she still can't compare to Frieren.

Keep in mind that Six Hundred Years Ago, Frieren's Mana was already greater than Macht's, let alone now.

Before they arrived, there was new progress in the analysis of Frieren's memories.

Macht and Qual are old friends, and he has a strong understanding of [Zoltraak].

It can even unleash [Zoltraak] that covers an entire battlefield.

In other words, without considering the factor of [the Magic That Turns All Things to Gold],

Macht can also be considered a powerful mage.