Emotion Taster

Arc 4 New Stage: Chapter 25 - Pure Animus

My guess that the guy was just playing at first was just a fleeting thought. He might just be pranking me to provoke anger or maybe just deceiving me so my mind can't focus.

Because, his appearance is far from the word of a humorous person. High body, black robed, wearing a mask with a terrible complexion, and of course he who speaks using a rough hoarse voice. Those traits made me throw away those early possibilities. But ....

“Play games?” my friend asked to make sure.

This time it was him alone who made me draw this kind of conclusion. The person blatantly offered me to enter the game.

“Iya, game.”

“Why is the topic so off in that direction?”

“Not really, this is still in the same discussion. This line of conversation is so easy, you just have to accept my game offer and play the bet in it. If I win, I have the right to the territory here. If you win, I will go and free you without leaving anything behind. The end of the game will affect the condition of each. How?”

“Hmn ... what happens if I decline the offer of the game?”

“Nothing, you guys will just get kicked out of here and crossed out on the guest list. I'll do what I do, and you won't be able to interfere without raising your knife to battle. That is, if you want to end peacefully, this is the last chance.”

“...”

I see, yes.

So, this offer also discussed about my position in her eyes. If I take it, it means I will accept his negotiation request. Indirectly, he and I received a bloodless settlement.

And vice versa. I'm the one who rejected the game means I don't want to deal with this guy. I might be able to come out without any problems, but I have simultaneously closed my heart to her. Indirectly, he and I should not deal back. If at any time there is a collision either intentionally or unintentionally, then he and I will become enemies.

“How?” back asked the man with his distinctive hoarse voice.

Perhaps this is my golden opportunity, his shrewdness of controlling the situation is even at the level of being able to know what I want. But ....

“Entah.”

I answered passively that question.

“What's up? Isn't this your goal from the beginning?”

“Actually it's not that. It's true that I have a goal to end non-violence. But, the choice to reject this game is more tempting. I will be released and only forbidden to not disturb you again, ‘kan? It is better than having to put effort just because it does not want to neighbors with animus.”

I don't know what game he's going to propose, I don't know if it's a profitable game or a disadvantage to my side to play, I don't know if it's worth a bet. The point is, to throw away that opportunity so as not to put that risk more humane to me.

“OooOoohhHH .. In essence, you just lack hatred for me. You are at a level where you can accept me for hearing my purpose just to be able to live here. Is that true?”

“So, your goal just now was a lie?” ask me while squinting.

“No, I'm not lying. What I want is just to be able to stay in this human world longer than anyone. But, are you sure you want to let me be like this? From your statement just now, it seems you still do not understand, yes.”

“If you think so, yes I take it. I don't know much about you guys, no matter how much you explain it, I still don't know much.”

This always happens, it always repeats itself when I learn the world about magic. One fact is answered, then a follow-up question will arise. When I have confidence in knowledge, there will be events where I fall into ignorance again. How many times I repeat, still I am in the realm of not knowing. I am not directly tied to the world of magic.

But, it was not just about the magic world. I have been like this from before. All the events in the world are indeed going on without anyone being able to predict precisely. Even if I have studied various sciences, there will still be a point where I find a hole of uncertainty.

“One of your group has a crow, ‘kan? At least you know the value of our existence as animus,” said the person with a conjectural tone.

“Iya, I know,” and answered by me quite firmly.

“Then do you know why the animus contracts with humans?”

“Animus has a purpose to be human, he needs mana to do great magic that will be collected together with his human partner later.”

“That's right,” he replied in a hoarse voice.

“Keep, what does the same fact have to do with the conversation just now?”

“Of course there is, of course directly related. If indeed the animus needs to contract with humans. What happens if they don't?”

“Not that for you animus can take where?” ask me with a little doubt.

“Yes, humans might indeed be able to help us in taking mana. But, basically the animus itself can already take mana independently. After all, the contracted magician powers were all purely from animus.”

“...”

Hm?

If I think about it in detail, there is a point as well. Pero says that he contracted with Amalia to be able to retrieve the mana from the human collected in her bottle. However, such a simple thing should be able to be done on his own, it was quite strange if he did not know about this. Moreover, the animus will also later need to teach the magician to do his magic.

When the animus contracts, he will experience a drastic decrease in strength. His magic was split in two, or even handed over a lot to the magician he contracted. Shouldn't the animus just slow down on its own? He could use magic on a large scale, only needing to capture mana from his actual human it could also be trained without the need to contract.

In that case, there are still other factors that Pero missed to tell me. One factor is another reason why animus depends on humans.

“True, normally it is,” replied the person firmly to me. “Animus without a contract has great magic power. But, on the other hand he also needs which one does not lose big. Consumption where it will not be controlled, burning by itself like a gasoline spill that splashed fire.”

“...”

I was still listening, waiting for further explanation from the big man. Although I understand what he's explaining, I still haven't got the gist of this conversation.

Okay, not a surprise. When there is the word great power, it means that the fuel source must also be large.

“What? Why are you silent? You still don't understand?” the tananya a little jerking. “Intinya, being weak when the contract with humans is not a side effect. It is indeed a procedure that must be passed to survive.”

“Hn? Ah .. so, animus who have got a contract with humans will have magic under control. That small amount of magic power would be in line with his mana consumption. That is, he can live longer.”

“OoooHhh .. yes, finally, you can understand.”

“If so, what do you want to say now?” ask me back who still hasn't touched the core of the conversation.

“You know, which is a rare thing. In fact, with the cooperation of humans and the help of magic, it was still a difficult thing to find. You who work with an animus can also understand, ‘kan?”

“...”

The state of animus without a contract is arguably unstable. He who uses too much magic will make himself have great mana needs. So, the way he could survive without a contract was to collect more mana according to his needs.

“Hh!?”

Suddenly my face changed drastically. My eyelids opened wide, my face veins strengthened, my breathing gasped, and some of my muscles shuddered. I just realized one thing in itself, where this one scarcity makes an event that scares me.

I remember for sure, Geza did the mana gathering in his own way, killing the dying. Even so, he still had trouble gathering a large amount of mana. If he says pure animus needs a source where it is large, then the question is only one.

“Jadi ... how long have you been able to survive?” my question with a slight threat, a sharp gaze and a cold voice came out with him.

“Ohoho, ahaha, ahahaha .. in the end we arrive at the end of the event.”

“...”

The person laughed, laughing in a disgusting tone above an emotion of annoyance. I didn't manage how he lived, it was just that I smelled the incongruity of every sentence and what he wanted to say.

“Yes, yes, yes ... You know, humans are indeed useful creatures. When I suck where they are in their maximum state, I can reset their memories and make the settlement forget.”

“...”

“I can control them, I can make them repeat what they gave me. Rather than getting everyone to solve the problem, humans are more deserving of such control.”

“...”

“Ahaha .. yes, you guys are very easy to control. The way I can live is by doing cattle on you humans. There's no way I'm going to contract with a creature lower than me. When humans are brainwashed, I can produce as much mana as I want.”

“...”

Hoo .. so this is what it means.

“How? If you don't stop me, I'll keep doing this—“

“I don't care.”

“...”

“...”

“Huh?”

The person's response was a little confused when he heard my answer. His self-confidence seemed to be destroyed instantly by my flat neutral answers and tone without emotion.

I don't know why he did it, but it's clear that he's now fuming my anger. A negotiation will fail if your opponent knows what you want, it becomes a loss where your opponent can take advantage of it by doing the fishing line.

After all, he was dealing with the wrong person. I'm a person who doesn't get his emotions out of the way. A few times I might be able to get annoyed, but for the later stages towards getting angry, I almost never felt it straight away.

“I don't know what they're feeling. But, when one takes out mana and is successfully sucked, it means that he experiences true happiness. If you reset your mind to be able to repeat that true happiness again, I'm not here to see the bad results.”

“...”

We both have reverse positions. I who had always been silent was now the leader of the conversation, the big man was just silent not understanding what was in my mind.

“Sorry, only. I refused the game offer. The way you take mana may be a little inhumane, but that doesn't mean inner torment. If your goal is just to survive, I wouldn't mind sharing a place and neighbors with you. That's it.”