"Great Magic Stone, I've brought you the Demon Lord..."
This time, Annan had no luck avoiding the Flame Phantom. He offered up a Magic Stone at once.
The Flame Phantom stood before him. Annan could almost sense its faint amusement, and he obediently activated the first Magic Stone.
If I got beaten whether I brought Magic Stones or not, what was the point of bringing them?
The Magic Film began abruptly, without a title card. The Flame Phantom's attention settled on it, and Annan watched alongside it.
In all honesty, once he excluded Magic Films that used emotions to lure viewers in, what remained was mostly adaptations of famous works. They had beloved or gripping stories, but their clumsy visuals and effects kept breaking his immersion.
Every time something like that appeared, Annan glanced anxiously at the Flame Phantom. To his surprise, it remained engrossed.
The Demon Lord seems surprisingly easy to please...
The first Magic Stone ran for only thirty minutes, but its plot was remarkably good: two devout Believers of different Gods both prayed to marry Maria, a girl from their town. To grant their wishes, the two Gods launched a Divine War and fought until both were battered and nearly dead. In the end, neither Believer married Maria, because she worshipped a third God—and had prayed to devote her life to that God.
The effects, though... Annan guessed the three Gods' appearances and battle had been conjured up with tricks by a Mage Apprentice.
The next story followed a wicked warlock who sold cursed magic necklaces, openly declaring that anyone who wore one would die seven days later. He could collect their souls while escaping punishment under the law. One day, a young boy came to his magic shop with a dozen or so Copper Coins to