The moment the magic was activated, Green and Blue's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Huh? You can lower the dark attribute!?"
"Fia, that's too much! You've completely surpassed the realm of a saint!!"
I was taken aback by the voices of the two.
...Ah, that's right.
The setting was that "I was able to temporarily use the power of a saint," but it was beyond the scope of what was generally considered a saint's ability.
But if I didn't do this, we wouldn't be able to defeat the demon...
Alright. It's because of Curtis who insisted on defeating the demon no matter what, so I'll let him come up with an excuse.
I decided in my heart to press Curtis, so I turned my head back and fixed my gaze on the demon standing in front of me.
Then the Bird Imitator stood there in silence, unable to believe what she was seeing.
...Ah, that's right.
Every time this magic was activated, all the demons showed the same reaction, so it's surprising even for them.
For demons, humans were a low-ranking race and were only prey to them, so they probably didn't even think that we could interfere with our abilities.
"Darkness is the highest attribute and no one can be involved in it."
——That's common sense regarding the dark attribute.
To be more precise, it was known that the light attribute could interact with the dark attribute, but since the light attribute was originally specialized in recovery, it directly affects the demon's attack power and defense power. The common understanding was that it was not a thing.
And it was because we believed in that common understanding. The Bird Imitator stood still, as if she couldn't believe the magic she saw.
In reality, I could interfere with the dark attribute—whenever I activated this magic, my companion always contained demon, so they didn't know anything about the existence of magic that directly affects the dark attribute. It must not have leaked outside.
Besides, it's not hard to understand that the demons had the misunderstanding that "no one can get involved with the dark attribute."
This was because magic that involved the dark attribute was significantly more difficult than magic that involved other attributes.
That's why it was necessary to chant spells, and it consumed many times more magical power than normal.
——It's the same even now.
Due to the dark attribute weakening magic, I continued to consume a tremendous amount of magical power.
Even if I had more magical power than usual, if I kept being fed this much, I was sure I would run out soon.
Actually, this was the first time I had activated this magic without the help of a spirit, so I didn't even know how long it would last...even if Zavilia shared the magic power with me.
I was worried, but I couldn't show my weakness in front of the Bird Imitator.
I tried to put on a neutral expression, and as if to say go ahead, I opened one hand and smiled at Curtis and the other three.
Even though I looked like this, I was a former princess.
I'm good at keeping a poker face that doesn't let anyone read my emotions.
However, when Curtis checked my expression, his expression became serious for some reason, and he readjusted his grip on the sword with both hands.
...Ah, that? When Curtis held a sword in both hands, it's when he switched to a short-term decisive battle...how did he realize that my magic power wouldn't last that long?
Behind me, I felt Zavilia move, and at the same time I heard a small growl.
"Grrrrrrr!" (Zavilia)
Since Zavilia was connected to me, he must be able to sense that my magical power was being consumed moment by moment.
That's why, even though he would have liked to intimidate the demon with a loud roar, he kept it to a growl because a dragon's roar would shatter human hearing. He's a smart dragon.
No, in the first place, he would have wanted to fight a strong opponent due to his monster instincts, but he was already a smart dragon because he understood that there was a connection and I handed over the fight to Curtis.
And with just a growl, Zavilia was more than capable of fulfilling his role.
From the Bird Imitator's panicked expression, she must have understood that she was now at a disadvantage now that she had lost the benefit of the dark attribute.
Under such circumstances, Zavilia was showing that he, the Black Dragon, was standing by behind me.
Well, Zavilia is good at pushing.
While I was admiring this, Curtis took a sharp step and slashed at the Bird Imitator.
Unlike before, Curtis's blow entered the demon's body and definitely caused damage.
As Curtis pulled the sword from the Bird Imitator's body, black liquid sprayed from her abdomen.
The Bird Imitator put her hand on her stomach where she was cut, with an expression of disbelief.
"My body was cut? Is this me!?"
——Weakness of dark attribute.
However, with just that, the strength of the demon in front of me weakened, as if she had become a creature one step below.
And Curtis, Green, and Blue, who understood this firsthand, began to work together all at once.
Their attacks cut off the Bird Imitator's hair one by one.
In no time, the three of them cornered the Bird Imitator, whose defenses had weakened.
Even though their opponent was a demon who had lived many times longer and was better at fighting, these three were really strong and could ignore the difference of their experience. My eyes widen, and I glanced at Curtis.
I was curious as to what Curtis was going to do now that the match was about to be decided.
The biggest problem was that we didn't have a box to seal the demon.
If she was not sealed in a box, the moment the demon was defeated, all the demons would notice that the Bird Imitator had disappeared, and they would know that there was someone who could defeat demons.
Therefore, 300 years ago, demons were always weakened and sealed away, but the boxes that sealed demons were rare and valuable, so only a limited number of people could obtain them.
In the first place, the number of production was small because it was a special specification that could only be made in cathedrals.
While I was worrying about this, Blue thrusted his sword into one of Bird Imitator's shoulder blades—the hairline of her torn feathers.
"Aargh!"
Blue looked back at Curtis; his sword still stuck in front of the Bird Imitator who dropped to the ground while letting out a pained voice.
"Curtis!"
One more place.
At the same time as I thought this, Curtis thrusted his sword into the Bird Imitator's other shoulder.
"Okay!" (Green)
Green, who saw the Bird Imitator crouching on the ground without a sound, let out an excited voice.
Meanwhile, Curtis seemed calm and puts one hand above Bird Imitator's head, as if it was not over yet.
In his open hand was a box with intricate patterns engraved on it.
"What!? The box that sealed the demon?" (Fia)
Surprised by the presence I had seen for the first time in 300 years, I couldn't help but cry out.
Huh? Curtis had a box!?
As my eyes widened in astonishment, the sealed box began to unfold and took on its correct shape, making a cracking sound.
The power contained in the box oozed out, and the surrounding air changed.
――Ah, the lonely box would take in friends.
At that exact moment, Curtis spoke a spell in a calm voice.
"O Box of Capture, seal your brethren!" (Curtis)
With those words, Curtis and Blue pulled out the sword that was stuck at the Bird Imitator, as if to show each other.
At the same time, the sealed box, which was small enough to rest on Curtis's hand, swelled in response to the spell, splitting apart like a bud blooming and swallowing the demon whole.
Then, as it wrapped around the demon, the box itself twisted and turned, became small again.
Then, in an instant, the sealed box returned to its original size and tried to close its open mouth, but for some reason, part of it remained unable to close.
"Damn, can't you block it!?" (Curtis)
When Curtis noticed the condition of the box, his face instantly distorted, and he spat with a worried look on his face.
...Ah, the compatibility between the sealed demon and the box probably wasn't good.
Unfortunately, in rare cases, the two were not compatible, and the box could not be closed.
Panicked, Curtis raised his sword with a determined look on his face and was about to injure himself in the abdomen, so I hurriedly raised my voice.
"Curtis! Please stop!" (Fia)
Curtis wanted to close the box no matter what and seemed to be trying to use his own blood as a medium, but no matter how big Curtis was and how much blood flowed through his body, it was impossible.
Even if he used all the blood in his body, the sealed box wouldn't close.
"There is a saying, Right person in the right place!'" (Fia)
I ran as fast as I could to Curtis, who had stopped following my words, put my sword I was holding to my wrist, and pulled it to the side.
"Lady Fi!" (Curtis)
By the time Curtis cried out in surprise, it was already too late, and there was a scratch on my wrist.
And, the moment blood dripped from the wound onto the sealed box, the box slammed shut with a loud bang.
"If I'm going to use it as a medium, it should be the blood of a saint." (Fia)
While saying that, I nonchalantly pressed the wound with my uninjured hand and casted a recovery spell on myself.
"Recovery!" (Fia)
Immediately, a sparkling glow appeared, and the scar disappeared in an instant.
"Okay, that's it." (Fia)
I put my hands together and looked around at everyone with a smile on my face, as if this was the end, but...for some reason, no one gave me the same expression in return.
Author's Note
Thank you for always reading!
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