Chapter 105 — Face to Face
—BOOM!
Elias suddenly unleashed a bit of his mana.
Every pane of glass in the room shattered at once.
As shards exploded with a deafening crash, Theodore's expression changed instantly.
He was completely thrown off.
That night—when Elias lifted his mana suppression—he had clearly been weaker than him!
"Y–you… what exactly are you—"
Theodore stared at Elias in disbelief, his feet unconsciously retreating.
His once imposing figure seemed to shrink by the second.
What terrified him even more was this—
Elias's mana was still expanding.
Relentlessly.
At this point, even a fool could grasp the truth.
Theodore realized he was standing in an absolute disadvantage, yet he couldn't stop himself from shouting in accusation:
"Elias, you—"
"You were still hiding it!!"
"That's not the point."
Elias advanced calmly, step by step.
"The point is that I removed Leiya's seal—and took back what was hidden inside her."
"What?!"
Theodore's shock turned into rage.
"How could you—no, wait!"
"How dare you?!"
"That was a treasure of the Cole family!"
This time, his reaction was fast.
He jabbed a finger straight at Elias's nose.
"So that's it—your real goal was our Cole family's Arisols!"
"—Wrong."
Elias's sudden shout hit like a thunderclap.
Theodore's pupils shrank violently.
"Theodore, you know perfectly well that spell was never called that."
"Your ancestors altered its name without permission, turning their sin into something passed down generation after generation."
"Leiya doesn't need to know this."
"But you—standing on the edge of disaster—do."
Elias smiled, and the smile was unsettling.
"The spell's true name…"
"…is Elias."
The moment the words fell, Theodore began shaking his head wildly.
Whether he was denying his ancestors' crimes,
his own impending fate,
or the sheer absurdity of that name—
no one could tell.
"That's impossible…"
"That man was supposed to die."
"Don't tell me—you're his son?!"
At that, Elias turned his head aside.
And laughed.
It wasn't Theodore's words that amused him—
but the realization that, in the end,
Theodore hadn't denied anything at all.
He didn't even question the coincidence that Elias shared the same name as "Elias."
Instead, he hastily identified him as a descendant of the Green family.
No matter how Elias looked at it, Theodore felt less like a brilliant strategist
and more like a hot-blooded brute.
Elias turned back and smiled calmly.
"I am the reason the Green family created that spell—and the reason it was protected."
"I am also the true owner of what you call 'Arisols.'"
"Robin created that magic and named it after me."
"So that a thousand years later, Elias would return to my hands."
"A–a thousand years?!"
Theodore stared at Elias's pale face, looking him over again and again.
His thoughts tangled into knots before finally arriving at a conclusion.
"So you're…"
"A demon," Elias said for him.
"And not just any demon—
a great demon who has lived for over a thousand years."
Theodore went completely numb.
His lips turned ashen, and no sound came out.
On one side lay the blood debt he and his family owed.
On the other, the overwhelming power of an ancient demon.
Both paths led to the same end.
He was already standing at the edge of the abyss.
"Elias…"
"Before I die…"
"I want to see my daughter."
"No need," Elias replied coldly.
"I informed Miss Leiya beforehand. She said your fate is well deserved."
"I see…"
Theodore let out a hollow laugh.
"I truly wronged the Green family."
"And I wronged her as well…"
He took a deep breath.
"Alright, Elias."
"We can go."
---
Frieren had already returned to the village.
She greeted the villagers warmly, all the while recalling the false village from her dream.
It had been beautiful—almost too beautiful.
For a fleeting moment, she had even wondered
whether living there forever might not be so bad.
But the Elias in her dream—ghostlike and persistent—kept reminding her:
Fake was fake.
Fake would never become real.
…That's true.
Lost in thought, she found herself standing before her home.
Then she froze.
"No mana…"
"But I hear rustling."
"Don't tell me…"
"Did someone break in?!"
Eyes sharp, Frieren tiptoed to the window and peeked inside.
No one.
She circled around to the back garden, quietly opened the rear door,
and slipped inside like a thief herself, wide-eyed and alert.
The next second—
A smooth-moving young man stepped out of the bathroom.
Their eyes met.
(「「π—Ⅱ）...（Ⅱ—Ⅱ「「)
"PERVERT!!!"
---
Half an hour later.
Elias stood outside the house and felt a tense atmosphere—
the kind of stillness before a storm.
He pushed the door open.
In the center of the living room, two figures stood locked in a deadly standoff.
Frieren glared fiercely, a spinning light blade humming in her hand.
Robin, a towel wrapped around his waist, clenched his fists as shockwaves burst from his body.
They were so focused on restraining each other
that neither noticed Elias enter.
Elias tilted his head.
"A violent mage versus an iron-blooded warrior—
now that's a rare sight."
At the sound of his voice, both froze and turned toward him.
Frieren rushed over first.
"Elias!"
"You're finally back!"
She pointed at Robin.
"There's a pervert in the house!"
Robin took the chance to get dressed, then stared silently at Frieren.
Elias sighed.
"Frieren, don't make a fuss. Robin came with me."
"What?!"
Frieren exploded.
"You brought a pervert home?!"
"I'm NOT a pervert!" Robin finally snapped.
"I was brought here personally by Lord Elias!
I just borrowed your bathroom to take a shower—was that a crime?!"
Frieren glared.
"If you were just showering, then why did you come out like that?!"
Robin snorted and turned his head.
"I'm a warrior!"
"This is how warriors are!"
"Straightforward. No shame!"
Frieren: (speechless)
"That's your excuse?!"
"Enough," Elias cut in.
"Robin, take your weapon and follow me."
---
In the Forest nearby:
Robin carried his great blade and followed Elias to a clearing.
When he saw Theodore kneeling there, his grip trembled.
"Theodore…"
"When you grievously wounded my father,
did you ever imagine this day would come?"
Theodore slowly raised his head.
Through his blurred vision, he saw the short brown hair.
He remembered the day he came of age—
his father warning him to beware those with brown hair.
Perhaps back then, he should have let go of family and reputation entirely.
Then it wouldn't have come to this…
"I have nothing to say."
—Slash!
Robin's blade fell.
With it, the thousand-year entanglement of two families—
their sins and grudges—was finally severed.