Dealing with Him

Inside the basement, the light was blended into a stable and uniform cool white by several illumination magic stones embedded in the walls, illuminating the room clearly.

Clematis leaned against the wall, his head drooping to his chest. He was still wearing his black priest's robe, but the fabric was now disheveled and had lost its usual crispness. Pale golden chains made of magic were wrapped around his body, the patterns of the chains glowing faintly, firmly binding him in place and suppressing the flow of magic within him. He had lost consciousness, his breathing slow and heavy.

Lowell crouched down in front of him, placing one hand lightly on Clematis's forehead, a faint aura of magic swirling around his fingertips. After a moment, he withdrew his hand, scratched the back of his head, and looked slightly puzzled.

"That's a bit strange," he tilted his head, looking at Serie beside him. "We can't read the memories? It doesn't seem like a mental defense, it's more like... the memories themselves are locked, or the structure is completely different."

Serie stood a little distance away, arms crossed. Her golden eyes calmly swept over the unconscious Clematis.

"Hmm," she replied briefly, her voice clear in the quiet basement, "An unfamiliar spell. Not any known memory protection or mental Defensive Magic. The structure is very peculiar."

Ruby was squatting next to Lowell, looked up when she heard this, her turquoise eyes blinking.

"Huh?" she whispered, her fingers unconsciously twirling a strand of her fiery red hair. "So you guys can't read it either? I thought my Mental Magic training wasn't up to par."

Just now, she had tried it too. But when her magic probed into the other person's consciousness, what she felt was not a solid barrier, but a strange, distorted "emptiness," as if the memory itself was sealed in some incomprehensible format.

"As for his mental strength, this guy isn't anything special," Serie added casually, her gaze lingering on Clematis's "serene" profile. "And he's not even in the realm of Goddess Magic. He belongs to another system."

Lowell stood up and patted his knees.

"Hmm... In other words, they are forces from different systems." He crossed his arms. "That's not surprising. The world is so big."

Gazella, who had been leaning against the basement door, clicked her tongue upon hearing this.

"Hey, hey," he scratched his head, "Isn't that terrible? Magic that even you guys don't know about... What if they have some other weird tricks over there..."

Serie glanced at him without saying a word, but her eyes conveyed a hint of "be quiet."

"It's alright," Lowell waved his hand, his tone relaxed. "Different magic systems don't necessarily mean you can't win. For example, if two warriors are fighting and the other suddenly uses a move you've never seen before, does that mean you've lost? Not necessarily. The essence of power is the same; the key is how it's used and who uses it."

Gazella's shoulders relaxed slightly, but her expression still showed some unease.

"That's good..." he muttered softly, "I thought I was really going to have to write a will..."

Iris, who had been standing quietly in the shadows, stepped forward. With a sweet, almost unreal, harmless smile on her face, she knelt down in front of the unconscious Clematis, extended her index finger, and gently poked his cheek with the tip of her finger.

Then she looked up at Lowell, her voice clear and crisp.

"So, can you hand him over to me now?"

She tilted her head, her tone innocent, as if asking for an interesting toy.

"Those 'interesting' things the enemy used on me before. I'd like to try them on this wretched guy too."

Fern stood a little further away on the steps. Upon hearing this, a hint of curiosity appeared in her pale purple eyes. She took a small step forward.

What is that?

Frieren also peeked out from behind Lowell, blinking her emerald green eyes.

"What?"

Lowell immediately turned around and grabbed Fern and Frieren's arms, one in each hand.

"Children shouldn't look." He pulled the two of them towards the basement entrance.

Fern was pulled along by him, and pouted.

"I'm the big sister now."

Frieren turned her head, looked at Fern, then at Lowell, and pointed out seriously:

"Lowell, she's not older than me, is she?"

Lowell led the two towards the door while coaxing them:

"Frieren will always be the cutest and prettiest child in my heart. So you can't look at that, be good."

Upon hearing this, Frieren's lips immediately curled upwards, a hint of smugness on her face, and she obediently let herself be led away.

"Of course."

Lowell pushed the two out the door and closed it behind him. But he didn't leave immediately; instead, he opened the door a crack and peeked back in.

In the room, everyone else, whether standing or sitting, had their eyes on him.

"Alright," Lowell waved his hand across the room, "Everyone, you can leave now. This guy's not worth questioning for the time being. Iris, you... whatever. Oh, right."

As if remembering something, he walked back a few steps and knelt down in front of the unconscious Clematis. This time he did not touch him, but simply raised his right hand, palm down, and held it about an inch above Clematis's forehead.

He murmured a few short, oddly syllableed words. With each word, a faint, multicolored aura of magic fell from his palm and silently entered Clematis's forehead.

"'Pain Realization,'" he murmured, as a flash of red light appeared.

"'The Pain Amplification.'" A bluish light entered.

"'The Pain Doubling.'" The yellow light fell.

"'Unconsciousness Prohibition.'" White light seeped in.

"Resistance Weakening." The last glimmer of gray light vanished.

Having done all that, Lowell clapped his hands and stood up.

"A guy who likes to use people as tools," he glanced at Clematis, who was still unconscious on the ground, but whose brows seemed to be unconsciously furrowing, "Enjoy yourself."

Iris's smile deepened, her sweetness undiminished, but something seemed to flicker deep within her eyes. She bowed slightly, her tone light and cheerful.

Thank you so much!

Lowell said nothing more, turned around, and this time walked out of the basement completely, closing the heavy wooden door behind him.

Click.

The soundproof barrier activated. In the last instant before the door closed completely, a faint, distorted, and mournful sound seemed to leak out from the crack.