"bite!"

"Hmm~"

Satan's crimson scythe was knocked away by Ira's slender, bee-like rapier... It was hard to imagine that a long-handled weapon held in both hands could be knocked away by a seemingly light rapier.

This is the power of the [Fourth Wing Pillar - Giant Bee - Wingspan]. The transparent, cicada-like wings extending from Ira's spine near her waist prove that Mana's origin is a giant bee that Ira killed in the previous battle.

"I lost."

As Satanye said this, she reached out and recalled the Crimson Demon Scythe, silently reflecting on her shortcomings in the previous battle. She made a rough summary... indeed, she was still unfamiliar with how to use the scythe.

“If you find it difficult to use, then you don’t have to use it. You don’t need to conform to your father’s ways in everything.”

As Ira said this, he shook his head helplessly and said, "In fact, your father's scythe seems to have no skill whatsoever. I still believe that he used the scythe only because it was a [staff] of a not-so-low level."

Recalling her battle with the Crimson Dragon Demon King on the battlefield, Ira seemed to realize something and said, "He uses a scythe, and his most common attacks are smashing or releasing light cannons... that is, beam attacks formed by mana."

"..."

"Hmm, is that so?"

Satan Ye, seemingly unfamiliar with her father's fighting style, said this while looking hesitantly at the scythe in her hand, instinctively channeling Mana into it.

Mana filled the scythe... Although Satan Ye was not up to par in terms of the quality and control of Mana, due to the strength of the Crimson Dragon race, and after the training in the past few days and witnessing the battle that day, the number of Mana she had produced had increased by leaps and bounds.

It is at least strong enough to withstand use by both Satan himself and Ira at the same time.

Therefore, this is also the source of her confidence as she continuously infuses Mana into the sickle at this moment.

"..."

The injection continues, guided by the sickle... and so on!

Realizing something was wrong, Satan's eyes widened. Ira's warning came belatedly: "Great, but you'd better stop injecting Mana and then quickly release it... Your control isn't enough..."

Before Ira could finish speaking, Satanie felt the scythe in her hand slipping out of control. She quickly severed the connection between her mana and the scythe, shouting, "Mr. Ira! Get out of the way!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the crimson demon scythe she inherited from her father unleashed a crescent-shaped slash in an instant, flying towards Ira's direction to Shirina's astonishment.

"Ah, so..."

As Ira watched the crescent-shaped Mana scythe hurtling towards him, he helplessly used the Mana he had tricked directly from the World Tree to strengthen the needles in his hand, and continued, "Be careful of your limits..."

As she said this, the crescent-shaped Mana weapon, spinning with immense wind pressure, collided with the fine needle that Ira had suddenly swung out, producing a crisp and sharp sound: "Ding!!!"

"bump!!!"

With a soft, explosive sound, the crimson Mana was instantly shattered by Ira's sword strike, scattering into the air and turning into dense red dust.

Under Satan's guilty gaze, Ira gently flicked the bee sting in her hand, bathed in the crimson mana, and said, "There's no need for that expression. Actually, I expected this to happen. You still have a lot to learn."

“Um…yes, Mr. Ira!”

——————————

Vera, who was fiddling with the giant bee's corpse, seemed to sense a faint explosion. She looked up slightly while engrossed in her research, and realizing that this was the teacher-student segment between Satan Ye and Ira, she quickly ignored the explosion.

"So, the difference between monsters and monsters isn't just in their minds, but also in their souls?"

Vera muttered to herself, but she still couldn't understand whether the wisdom of the mind determined the quality of the soul, or whether the soul's destiny determined the mind's limits.

"Giant bees, whether worker bees, soldier bees, or queen bees, cannot have their souls used to craft the Philosopher's Stone."

Vera rested her chin on her hand, and because she was a little tired, she put the thing that was covering her chest on the table. She tapped the table lightly with her other hand, as if she was thinking about something.

On the table lay a murky stone, but Vera desired a colorful, stone-like object, even if such a quantity of soul could only be refined into a tiny bit of residue.

"Sigh, I still don't quite understand."

Vera said helplessly, casually playing with the murky stone. She decided to give this magic stone to the construct leader of the Demon King's territory later. She sighed, "Alchemy is indeed very difficult to understand. If only Gurera were here."

In her soliloquy, Vera mentions "Greira," who is the empire's court alchemist. It's worth noting that... all the empire's alchemists are fanatical Ira worshippers.

Because they always idolize Ira's sketches drawn out of boredom in an unimaginable way, and there are also some fanatics who shout things like, "Hehehe! My Lady Ira! So cute and fragrant! Hehehe!"

That kind of fanaticism makes one wonder what kind of image they actually have of Ira... Their behavior became the subject of many bards who made a living in taverns, who described the fanatics of the Church.

Since the entire alchemy lineage is considered to be part of the "Ira faction," and now that Ira has defected, it's uncertain whether they will be suppressed by the Empire... Based on her understanding of Isabella, Vera believes that at least she won't suppress them.

But it's hard to say about the other nobles... after all, those guys are nobles!

"I remember, Gurera used to really dislike Ira..."

Vera, seemingly having thought of something, looked at the pseudo-Philosopher's Stone (junk) in her hand... It seemed that some theory of Ira had turned Grella into a fanatical fan overnight.

What theory was it again?

Vera frowned as she thought. She should have some recollection of it. If all else failed, she could ask Ira... although Ira might not remember what happened ten years ago.

"Hmm...right!"

It seems so...

...

[Hmm? The difference between alchemy and magic? Hmm, the mana consumed in magic is used to create magic; properties like the fiery heat of flames and the frigid cold of ice appear out of thin air.]

However, the mana consumed in alchemy is merely a medium, because...

"Because [the essence of alchemy is not creating something from nothing, but equivalent exchange]?"

Vera thought about what Ira had said, and she seemed to understand something. With bright eyes, she threw herself into a new round of experiments.