Absolutely Do Not Touch ELdmia Egga – Chapter 101

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuzio
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It was the first time in my life that I had ever been so frustrated by my inability to use magic properly.

I had suspected it might have been some kind of illusion magic, but I quickly dismissed that possibility.

While illusion magic could be incredibly powerful depending on the situation, it required prior preparation, even for a demon.

No illusion magic could create this level of hallucination without pre-prepared tools and a staged setting.

If I were in the heart of enemy territory, I might have entertained the idea, but the notion that demons had been setting up such an elaborate illusion throughout the forest without anyone in the Empire noticing was ludicrous.

There was a slight chance that he was a hero-class demon, a first-of-its-kind illusion magic specialist, but if that were the case, he wouldn’t be here.

“Damn, that was intense.”

The wound itself was small, barely a scratch, and it hadn’t pierced through.

I wasn’t sure if any organs were damaged, but if they were, I wouldn’t be able to move, would I?

It should probably be fine.

However, the process leading up to that injury was so utterly unexpected that it felt like a grave mistake on my part.

I forced myself to rein in my increasingly negative thoughts and regain my composure.

Right.

Kidnapping or assassinating a princess wasn’t an easy feat.

It made sense that they’d send some strong individuals.

He was undeniably powerful.

Even so, those strong enough to handle everything single-handedly were typically sent to the front lines.

There was a reason the front lines had held strong for seven years.

In other words, no matter how strong this guy was, waiting here with the grunts meant he wasn’t on the same level as the generals on the front lines.

“Then… I can win this, dammit.”

I had to take out the commander, there was no way I could lose to someone who couldn’t even participate in the war properly.

“Instead of talking nonsense, why don’t you tell me how you dodged that?”

He had overheard my quiet mumbling, which was supposed to be a way for me to gather my thoughts.

How embarrassing.

“Tell me why your head isn’t rolling on the ground, and then I’ll think about it.”

“This? It’s nothing special. I’m cursed.”

My words, meant to convey my lack of intention to answer, were met with an immediate response.

Caught off guard, I stared at him in silence as he continued, his gaze fixed on the sky.

“That which exists shall not exist, torn but not slain by flesh and blood. Thus, you shall live in stasis, and the only way to break the curse is through death… or something like that. Was that too dramatic? It’s been a while.”

I think it was about 80 years ago, but I couldn’t quite recall.

I fought the urge to gag as he tapped his temple, seemingly trying to jog his memory.

Who in their right mind would curse this lunatic with immortality?

If they were going to curse him, they should’ve cursed a warrior, or better yet, someone incapable of using magic.

“What kind of imbecile would thoughtlessly cast such a curse…”

Unable to contain my true feelings, my words seemed to have reached him.

He burst into another fit of laughter before speaking.

“Hahaha. Your reaction is amusing. It’s the first time I’ve heard someone say that. To be honest, I thought the same thing at first, and I laughed. But then I realized, this curse… it’s something else.”

Was this demon, whose lifespan was three times that of a human, going to launch into some melodramatic monologue about the woes of immortality after a mere 80 years?

I kept my mouth shut, half-listening to his ramblings, half-focusing on formulating a plan and conserving my energy.

However, contrary to his casual tone, his madness seemed to be intensifying.

“That damn bitch! The core of that curse was ‘stasis’! 80 years… dammit, 80 years!! For 80 long years, my magic and mana… haven’t grown a single bit!! I, who was hailed as a prodigy of magic… because of that… that wretched bitch… I should’ve ripped off her horns and burned her alive! My life is ruined because of her!! You call this magic? If it weren’t for this damn curse, I wouldn’t even consider this shoddy trickery as magic!”

What?

Trickery?

Ignoring the rest of his insane ramblings, this caught my attention.

“Isolated and separated from mana… this… this is bullshit… whew. Lost my temper again.”

Contrary to my hopes of him remaining in his frenzy, he suddenly calmed down, scratching his head as if nothing had happened.

This wasn’t an act; he was truly insane.

“That stasis thing, it affected everything. Even my emotions. My memory too. That’s why, even when I lose my temper, it vanishes as quickly as it came. I can barely remember what I did a week ago, but I remember things from 80 years ago as if it were yesterday.”

I was convinced that he had gone mad after living for 80 years like that, and I began analyzing his final words.

Isolated and separated from mana.

Magic used through unconventional means.

Stasis.

I hadn’t completely abandoned magic, so with that information alone, a plausible hypothesis began to form in my mind.

And the more I thought about it, the more incredible it seemed, lifting my spirits.

“That’s it. You… you’re using mana, aren’t you?”

As expected, my words had the desired effect.

His calm facade crumbled, his expression twisting in anger.

“Goddammit! To think that there would be a time when those who don’t believe in the hero would appear… the world is ending! Don’t you agree, you lunatic?!”

Whether it was embarrassment or rage at having his secret exposed by a mere human, he started pulling at his hair, grinding his teeth in frustration.

Well, it made sense.

He was a demon who used to wield magic power, and now he was stuck using mana like a pathetic human whose body would explode if they tried anything fancy.

Of course he’d find it humiliating.

He was using mana instead of drawing upon his own magic power, so naturally, I couldn’t sense any magic from him.

And because the entire process, from activation to completion, was fueled solely by mana, only the finished spell would bear any trace of magic power, obscuring the process itself from my perception.

Of course, considering his claims of past glory, he had probably poured his heart and soul into perfecting this unconventional method, like a student cramming for their entrance exams.

But he was cursed with stasis.

No matter how much he had honed this method over the past 80 years, how much could he have truly improved with his growth stunted?

His limited range of spells, their overwhelming power despite their simplicity, his decision to remain holed up here instead of joining the front lines – it all made sense now.

And because sharing is caring, I decided to enlighten him with my newfound understanding, condensing everything into a single, succinct sentence.

“You’re nothing but a washed-up has-been.”

“I’ll kill you!!”

Perhaps it was an adrenaline rush, but the pain in my side was completely gone.

He was about to unleash another spell, his eyes blazing with rage.

I quickly created some distance between us.

Let him shoot all he wanted.

As long as I could see them, his spells were no different from arrows.

I was confident I could dodge them, unless he managed to exploit a blind spot.

The problem was his volatile temper, swinging from one extreme to the other in the blink of an eye.

And the fact that I still had no way to attack him, despite knowing his weakness.

The “flesh and blood” part of the curse probably referred to living beings.

That would explain why my sword hadn’t worked on him.

It wasn’t that my sword couldn’t cut him; it was designed to draw blood.

“I need to research curse magic when I get back.”

I vaguely remembered hearing that curses with no way to break them couldn’t exist.

The key was to make the method of breaking the curse incredibly convoluted or extreme, ultimately leading to the target’s self-destruction.

And the more powerful the curse, the easier it was for the caster to break it.

That was to prevent the caster from suffering the consequences of their own magic.

This lunatic had talked about ripping off horns and burning someone alive, so the caster was either a demon or some other horned species.

As far as I knew, the only horned species on the continent capable of casting curses were dragons and demons.

And dragons were, well, dragons.

Even demons wouldn’t dare to mess with them.

The one who cursed this guy had to be a demon.

That meant the key to breaking the curse was somehow related to magic power… but how could you tear someone apart with magic power…?

Wait a minute…

“Whew. That lasted longer than usual. You can’t kill me anyway, can you? Just tell me how you’re dodging my magic, and I’ll make it quick and painless…”

“What are you talking about, you mana-wielding has-been? Even I don’t use mana. Just shut up, I’m about to end your misery.”

“I’ll kill you!!”

I couldn’t use mana, but there was no better way to trigger an inferiority complex.

Perhaps his pride was already wounded, but my words seemed to have pushed him over the edge.

His attacks, fueled by his renewed rage, started transitioning into piercing magic.

Was he subconsciously trying to conserve magic power to maintain his last shred of dignity?

Whatever the reason, it worked in my favor.

These attacks might pierce my flesh, but they wouldn’t be able to penetrate my defenses.

For now, I focused on dodging, using the surrounding trees and terrain to my advantage.

I sheathed my sword, gathering my scattered thoughts and focusing on a single sensation.

The sensation I had felt while passing through the gate – the feeling of countless threads woven from my very being, forming a giant tapestry that swept me away.

That was definitely magic power.

And based on how my senses had expanded at that moment, I surmised that magic power resided not only within living beings, but also within objects.

That was why humans couldn’t imbue their refined aura into their swords.

Aura, transformed through the process of refinement, became something entirely different from magic power.

Objects, unlike humans, couldn’t adapt to that.

Enchantments and magic swords were possible because they used mana as fuel to ultimately manifest magic power, activating their effects.

That’s why I was able to imbue my sword with magic power.

It was all the same energy in the end.

Which meant that magic power, whether it originated from within oneself, from an object, or even from another being, could be synchronized to some extent.

And if that were the case, if I could use my magic power to connect my sword and its scabbard to his head and torso, and then manipulate my magic power to draw my sword…

Wouldn’t his head be ripped off along with it?

Even I had to admit, it was a brilliant, if slightly satanic, idea.

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[I gotta be honest i dont really understand what the hell eldima was yapping about, but it’s probably something cool]