Alicia frowned slightly, thinking it through. "And Luis cut off that connection?"

"Exactly," Lumine said. "In a vacuum, there's no air, no wind, no medium for her to manipulate. Once that connection is gone, her control disappears along with it."

Alicia looked back at Aurelia, who was still catching her breath. "… So her ability has a clear limit."

"It does, for now at least," Lumine nodded. "If she were generating everything purely from her own mana, like your ice magic, it would still function in a vacuum, though the power would be a lot weaker. But Aurelia specialises in control. Without something to control…" She let the sentence trail off.

Alicia understood.

For someone like Aurelia—Luis was a natural counter.

On the field, Aurelia finally steadied her breathing. She lifted her head and looked at Luis, her expression no longer irritated but thoughtful.

The earlier frustration had faded. In its place was quiet acceptance.

"…I lost," she said.

Luis met her gaze, still calm and nonchalant as ever. "Still want a rematch?"

Aurelia looked into his eyes for a moment longer, then slowly pushed herself to her feet.

"…Next time," she said.

This time, she understood the gap.

***

Although Luis wanted to stay back and talk to Aurelia—especially about the matter of Totems—he didn't allow himself the luxury.

Time wasn't on his side. If he delayed any further, today would be wasted, and tomorrow's plan would become far more difficult than it already was.

After a brief goodbye, he left the training ground and stepped into his Pocket Space.

The environment shifted instantly. The quiet, contained world of his research greeted him. After the new equipment was brought in, this place looked more and more like a research facility.

"Lily," he called, walking toward the central workspace. "Any progress?"

A soft voice responded almost immediately.

{Not yet, Master. We can still remove the Curse Mark, but the process remains inefficient. Based on current calculations, it would take approximately four to six days to completely remove a single mark from one person.}

Luis stopped mid-step, his brows drawing together.

"That's too slow."

He exhaled through his nose, thinking.

Four to six days per person… that wasn't just slow, it was impractical. The number of people involved alone made it impossible to rely on that method. By the time they finished, everything would already be over.

He leaned against the edge of the table, fingers tapping lightly against the surface.

The real problem wasn't removal.

It was the risk involved in tomorrow's operation.

If the Dark Magician was cornered and chose to trigger the curse marks all at once, the consequences would be immediate. There would be no time to react or save anyone.

Luis' expression hardened slightly.

What use was taking control of the Norwish Mafia if there was no one left alive to control?

Nora Adams was important; her talent alone made her worth the effort, but the organisation itself mattered too. Influence, manpower, structure… all of it would collapse if the curse were activated at the wrong moment.

He closed his eyes briefly, reorganising his thoughts.

"Maybe I'm thinking about this the wrong way," he muttered.

Silence filled the space for a few seconds.

Then, his eyes opened as he thought of a different approach.

"If I can't remove it fast enough… then I don't need to remove it at all."

His fingers stilled.

"I just need to make sure it doesn't work when it matters."

The idea settled in his mind, not fully formed yet, but enough to move forward. His posture straightened as he turned back to the workspace.

"Lily, adjust the model. We're not focusing on removal anymore. I want to suppress it—temporary or conditional."

{Understood, Master. Recalculating parameters.}

Luis nodded faintly. That was enough to begin.

---

While Luis remained inside his Pocket Space, the atmosphere in the living hall was quite relaxed.

Lumine sat comfortably on the sofa, a cup of mana tea in her hand, while Alicia and Aurelia occupied the seats across from her. The earlier tension from the spar had faded, replaced by a quieter, more natural rhythm of conversation.

Aurelia leaned back slightly, one arm resting along the back of the couch. "What is Luis even busy with? He left in such a hurry."

Lumine took a small sip before answering. "Don't worry about him. He's always like that—if something catches his attention, everything else can wait."

Alicia nodded in agreement. "He went into his Pocket Space, so he's probably researching something again."

Aurelia glanced at her, one brow lifting. "Research? He's good at that?"

Alicia didn't hesitate. A small, almost proud smile appeared on her lips. "Good? He's amazing."

Lumine watched the exchange over the rim of her cup, amused.

Alicia leaned forward slightly, already reaching for her gloves. "Look—these are called Magnus Gloves. Luis made them for me."

She showed off the gloves, morphing into various weapons.

Aurelia's attention shifted immediately. She studied the transparent gloves with interest, her eyes narrowing slightly as she recalled the earlier battle.

"Oh… so that's how you used that move, Ice Lightning."

"Exactly," Alicia said, slipping them on briefly as if to demonstrate. An electric current moved around her fingers.

"Though it's still incomplete."

Her tone softened slightly at the end, the memory of the spar still lingering in her mind.

Aurelia noticed the change.

She smiled faintly. "Don't think too much about it, Sister Alicia. You're strong. At least you wouldn't lose to him as badly as I did."

Alicia let out a small breath and nodded. "Maybe. But that's only because he targeted your weakness."

Aurelia's lips twitched. "You didn't have to be so blunt about that."

Lumine set her cup down with a soft clink, her gaze shifting toward Aurelia. "I've been meaning to ask—why is your physical training so lacking?"

Aurelia straightened slightly, caught off guard. She rubbed the back of her head, a hint of embarrassment showing for the first time.

"I… didn't focus on it much. I've been taking care of Mom, so most of my time went into improving my compatibility with the Totem."