Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

'Hmm. That transcendent-grade spell requires a live consciousness.'

Layla spoke up when the water wyvern was formed. Eren raised his eyebrows and decided to ask the obvious.

'What do you mean?'

Layla took a short pause before continuing.

'You know how animated spells work right? They use your elemental mana as a basic building block to create a mana body for the stray consciousness of a beast corresponding to that spell.

They say that the world's mana has higher consciousness. It encompasses everything and anything– the living and the dead, as well as everything between the two nodes.'

Layla's words caught Eren's attention. He had come to understand that Layla dabbled in a lot of animal experiments. Those Draconic Lizards were her creations using Eliza's blood as the base.

So it was natural that she would study everything related to animated spells, beast contract spells, and any spell or experiment that dabbled with the subject of mana beasts and demon beasts.

'Does it mean the animated spell works like necromancy?'

Eren asked while he was watching the duel between Altashia and Rodrick. He could ask such a question without worrying about missing crucial details of the match because he had his Sedated Perception active.

Layla was able to keep up with his enhanced perception. It seemed like this was her favourite topic. So she didn't take long to answer.

'No. Not necromancy. That's an entirely different ballgame.

This is more of a consciousness borrowing. The reason one can only start casting animated spells after they experience the epiphany related to it is due to this fact. It enables you to temporarily separate that vestige of consciousness from the higher consciousness.

And since the basic building block, which means the mana body for the beast's consciousness to reside in, is made of the mana you used, it would always contain your mana signature. Additionally, a part of your consciousness is added to allow you to remain in control of the animated beast.

The animated beasts born out of such spells follow the basic commands given to them through your mana signature. This is because your influence is integrated into their updated form of existence. Otherwise, why would a stray consciousness follow a ranker's orders?'

Eren recalled that he was able to cast Fire snake only after drinking the Potion of Serenity and coming in touch with higher consciousness through his forced epiphany. He hadn't thought of these things in the past. So it only started to make sense to him at this point. He asked his next question while pondering over many things at once.

'How does Rodrick's spell differ from the normal animated spell?'

Layla smiled as if she was expecting this question. She explained it to him quickly.

'The transcendent-grade spell Rodrick has used skips the part where he needs to borrow the beast's consciousness. The hand signs he performed required more time to cast this spell. It was because he was trying to call out to a live consciousness that wasn't mixed with the higher consciousness.

This makes the animated spell more complicated than it already is. In addition, the fact that it is a wyvern's consciousness places more burdens on Rodrick's mind than he is willing to show in public.

The fact that he can do it while still being in the Ace rank can only mean one thing. The live beast whose consciousness Rodrick has summoned here using his unique means is already tamed by him. Thus, he could afford to do something like this. Otherwise, the spell would have gone haywire by now.

Do you understand what I'm getting at?'

Eren opened his eyes wide in surprise before raising a doubt.

'Rodrick has a water wyvern as his demon beast?'

Layla chuckled before confirming his doubt.

'That's right. I guess the royals have their own perks after all. Using a spell like that is different from using regular animated spells. Although it increases the casting time, you still get to have some perks.

First of all, the consciousness won't get affected no matter what you do with the mana body. It can regenerate indefinitely as long as your mana storage keeps up.

Second, the animated spell stops being a spell. The beast summoned into existence this way can use all its spells as long as the right elemental mana is provided to it. That means, it can cast almost all the spells its main body uses.

I guess that just like you guys, Rodrick has come here with his demon beast. He must have gotten special permission to keep the beast inside the city. Or he must have used some spatial support spell to summon the beast's consciousness from afar, possibly outside the city's borders.

Either way, Rodrick wanted Altashia to not be able to use her demon beast while he faces her with his. That guy must be desperate for a win.

While not everyone will understand his trick, I'm sure that the high-ranking entities watching the fight have already realized this. What kind of honour would he gain if one of them decides to address his act to the public?'

Eren listened to Layla's explanation and focused on the battle. The latter looked at Rodrick in a new light before mumbling to himself.

'Heh! Screw the high-ranking entities. Fuck the public. What would one have to do to cheat so creatively like this? I'm not complaining. Just want to know his secrets.'

Eren wasn't worried about Altashia even when he knew that Rodrick was kind of playing dirty. Even if she didn't get the whole picture, she showed no signs of stress on her face. That meant that Rodrick was still something she could manage on her own just fine.

Plus, Rodrick had followed all the rules of the games while exploiting the loopholes. If Eren could have his way, he would invite the guy to join his guild for his talent at finding the legal way to cheat.

Alas, no matter how distant he was from the main branch, Rodrick was still royal. Why would he join the butcher's guild that had no reputation?

AN: Always wanted to describe the animated spell ever since its introduction in chapter 291. The purgatory mini-arc was focused on battles so couldn't include it there. Fortunately or unfortunately, this seemed like the ideal time and place to explain.