Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Eren's provocative words reached Eliza, inciting an angry laugh.

"It seems a little success has gone to your head, little kitten. Do you think I won't teach you a lesson just because you assisted me in obtaining a new vessel?

Do you believe we're equals now simply because you've attained the Grandmaster rank?" Eliza retorted, her annoyance evident as she adjusted her recently reattached left arm using Layla's potions.

Eren chuckled before responding.

"Are you trying to feel "pride" by acting boastful? You think you will be able to justify your "pride" by confronting me?" Eren asked and watched Eliza's expressions change.

"Why do you look surprised now? Do you think I don't know about your Sin Series Abilities? Especially the one that is related to the Sin of Pride?" Eren asked as he stared at Eliza.

"The Sin of Pride Mark that you have on your soul has indeed granted you a rather peculiar Ability. It is not related to the physical buff of magic. That Ability affects your very soul itself, doesn't it?

This Ability makes you cultivate more Spiritual Force the more prideful you become of your actions. Surprisingly, it's an always-active Ability that allows you to wield a crazy amount of Spiritual Force and use it without seemingly no backlash.

The more Spiritual Force you have, the more effective your intent-based magic is. The more potent our intent-based magic is, the more powerful you become.

From slaying multiple Titans to escaping the deathtrap the Anfang Alliance had set for you, all your feats in the past are based on this Ability of yours.

Even your Enderflames are powered by your near-endless reserve of Spiritual Force, allowing them to defy the norms and become so destructive that they defy the logic of mana. Those green flames are primarily fueled by your Spiritual Force which never runs out in your case.

It's as if you have already solved the mystery that I want to find the answer to in the future– infinite mana. Or rather, infinite spell-casting."

Eren said while looking at Eliza as if he could now read her like an open book.

'This man… How did he know about my Sin Series Ability?'

For the first time, the emotions of shock and trepidation, which Eliza was trying so hard to keep at bay, were trying to overwhelm her. After all, this was the first time anyone could figure out her Ability like this.

Only a select few knew about Eliza's Ability related to the Sin of Pride. And except for Layla and Leela who happened to be one of the chosen few, nobody had survived the test of time.

Eliza knew that the records about her couldn't have mentioned this Ability of hers. It meant Eren had managed to learn this Ability of hers just recently.

This was not good news for Eliza. This was because if her opponents knew that Eliza's prideful nature was required to support her always-active Ability, they would do everything to hurt her pride. This was the easiest way to counter the seemingly overpowered Ability.

Emotions were tricky. And cultivating them was trickier. This was why intent-based magic was not meant for anybody to wield.

Eliza had kept her always-active Sin of Pride Ability a closely guarded secret. She knew that those who knew about how the Ability worked would eventually figure out how to counter it.

Eren liked the silence observed by Eliza. He knew that she couldn't lie to him now that her secret was out. It would hurt her pride if she did. He flashed a crooked smile at her before speaking further.

"I have to say your always-active Ability is really too powerful. It's the solution to a lot of my problems. If I knew how to steal Sin Series Abilities from others, this would be the first one I would have my eyes on.

The Ability has made your Soul Space abnormal. No wonder you were able to recover from the backlash I gave you by disrupting the Soul Seed Insertion Array. No wonder I had nightmares for months after being exposed to your Soul Sense. And no wonder you were able to overpower Demonmir and the demonic powers given to him by Samael even while you were practically running on fumes in terms of your mana reserves.

It all makes sense now," Eren said casually.

"Heh! So what if you know about my Ability? At the end of the day, my actions justify the pride I feel in my heart. My pride enhances my powers, which in turn, helps me cultivate my pride better.

Others claim that their strength is their pride. However, in my case, my pride is my strength. And it will always be that way.

So to you, I'm still as powerful as I was before you figured this out about myself. It changed nothing for you, little kitten. It will never," Eliza said confidently while adjusting her grip on the sword she was wielding.

"Not so fast," Eren chuckled as he altered the runes of Array Eye that contained the Mana Essence Sphere right in front of his audience. As the Array Eye started exuding altered illumination due to the changes in the runes, the butcher spoke further.

"I agree that there are a lot of benefits to your Ability. However, it also forces you to preserve your pride at all costs. Otherwise, there would be serious repercussions.

This was why you decided to kill Demonmir even when you knew he was manipulated by me to keep you busy. In short, you are enslaved by the Sin of Pride.

The way you talk. The way you look down on others. It's all needed to support the Sin Series Ability you have been bestowed with.

However, let me assure you that Ability will not work against me. At least not in the same way it worked against Demonmir. You can try if you want to though," Eren declared, taking command of the Array Eye that securely held the Mana Essence sphere.

"Realistically speaking, you have two options now: observe what I do and wait patiently for your turn, or attack me now and discover what I can do in return.

Either way, I'll make sure that your pride gets broken here."

The butcher stated calmly and composedly.