Table of Contents

Color Gallery

Title Page

Table of Contents Page

Copyrights and Credits

Newsletter

Color Gallery

Color Gallery - 02

Image - 03

Image - 04

Title Page - 05

Chapter 1

STRETCHING ACROSS THE ENTIRE SKY, which was darker than even the blackest night, glittered countless stars. There were far more than one could see from down on the surface. And yet, it was still bright as day. They could distinctly see the many floating islands stretching up into the sky.

They were standing in the realm of the Valkyries.

“Hrmm… Are there more islands than before?” Mira asked.

It seemed to her that there were now even more of the interconnected floating islands than there had been on her last visit. Pondering this as she made her way up the rainbow staircase, Mira set foot on the lowest of the islands.

This time, Mira and her companions were in Valhalla to unravel the mystery surrounding the monster-repelling amulets which had become so popular in Nirvana. The amulets were likely connected in some way to dark demons. They contained a special substance known as amrute, which was only known to exist in the Sacred Domain or places near it. And so, they figured they ought to investigate right at the source.

Additionally, they’d come to discover whatever was causing the malevolent aura that was emanating from the amulets and uncover the dark demons’ sinister designs.

“I wanna take on the Valkyries!” Meilin said.

“We’ve got some rather tricky business to attend to, but… More than anything, I just can’t help thinking about how awesome it’d be to forge a contract with a Valkyrie,” Bruce added. “If I could just get a chance to forge one…! Honestly, I’ve long prepared for this day…”

The entrance to Valhalla was a giant gate, on either side of which two young women stood, looking as if they were standing guard. They were dressed in simple armor and both wore swords. It was to these two guards that Bruce and Meilin declared the reason for their visit.

It was quite clear that Meilin had completely forgotten about their original reason for visiting. As usual, the only thing she had on her mind was training. Meanwhile, Bruce, who was clearly aware of the reason for their visit, still couldn’t keep from voicing his personal desires now that he’d reached Valhalla, the place he’d long dreamt of visiting. It was just the kind of thing one would expect of a tower mage, who prioritized discovering new spells above all else.

Mira couldn’t necessarily say that either of them were in the wrong. This was because the colossal gate standing before them acted as the final interview before they could be granted admission to Valhalla. The guards would sense lies or any kind of deception, making it imperative to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. If anyone attempted to enter with dishonest intentions, they’d be turned away at the gate.

They also asked what one’s primary reason for visiting was. While the whole business with the amrute was still very important, it seemed Mira’s companions didn’t feel that it would be the appropriate answer. This was especially true of the ever-enthusiastic Bruce, who couldn’t stop talking about how long he’d dreamt of forging a contract with a Valkyrie.

“Okay, we get it. You can stop now!”

His passionate rant had apparently done the trick, as the young women standing guard finally granted him admission, albeit with a weary look on their faces. Meilin also passed the interview with flying colors. Or rather, her bluntness was enough to leave the guards blinking.

“Jeez, those two… They completely forgot why we’re here, huh?!”

After Meilin and Bruce, it was Mira’s turn. Unlike either of the pair that proceeded her, Mira’s purpose for coming was indeed to unseal whatever was contained in the amrute and to ask for assistance in doing so from Alfina and her sisters, who were well equipped to deal with any potential dangers that might arise.

As such, the guard’s reaction when Mira approached was quite different from when Meilin or Bruce had done so. At first, they looked somewhat confused. This look then gave way to an expression of bewilderment, at which point they bowed.

“It is our pleasure to welcome you again,” the two finally said.

Indeed, in addition to having visited before, Mira was the master of Alfina and her sisters. And so, for the final interview, she was granted admission on sight. Her face had changed quite a bit, but the guards must’ve picked up on something deeper, because they allowed her through without issue.

Passing through the gate, they were greeted with a sight that could indeed be described as heavenly. Amid a sea of brightly colored flowers sat a large lake, in the center of which towered a single great tree.

“Whoa… So, this is Valhalla. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard of. Incredible!” Bruce cried in astonishment. And, unable to contain himself, he dashed off.

There were seemingly innocuous areas around Valhalla which contained potent mana. Perhaps intrigued by this, he seized the opportunity to begin exploring the island.

But it wasn’t just full of beautiful nature. There were also all kinds of wildlife lazing around that one couldn’t find down on the surface. What’s more, these animals didn’t seem fearful of Mira or her companions. On the contrary, they seemed filled with curiosity, coming right up to them. More and more small animals began congregating around Mira, who then reached her hand out, at which point they rushed forward to see what she was all about. When she saw them nuzzle against her hand and lick her fingers, a truly blissful smile broke across Mira’s face.

But one corner of this lush paradise had a somewhat different vibe.

“I should’ve known… The animals in Valhalla sure are powerful!” Meilin shouted.

Unable to contain her excitement, she stood before a great bull, which gave off an imperious vibe that suggested it might have been the lord of the lakeside, spoiling for a fight.

What on earth was she thinking, getting like that in such a peaceful utopia? Mira was about to say as much to her, but apparently, this wasn’t too out of the norm. The bull stood up, seemingly having recognized that Meilin was no common foe, and then stamped its foot several times as if it too were raring to go.

And so began Meilin’s sudden contest with a Valhallan bull, which could only be described as magnificent. Seeing as Valhalla was where Valkyries trained hard on a daily basis, the animals that called the area home were also far stronger than they’d usually be. Meilin ended up clinching the victory, but the bull’s valiant fight had been a sight to behold. After the bout, Meilin and the bull were already getting along as if they were old pals.

Perhaps figuring that now was a good time, seeing as Meilin’s noisy bout had concluded, a young girl with white wings alighted before Mira and her companions. This was none other than the very guide who’d assisted Mira when she first visited Valhalla for a summoning contract with a Valkyrie.

As soon as she touched the ground, she quickly looked over toward Meilin. Perhaps not being accustomed to such battles, she seemed to be keeping an eye out for whether or not there’d be a round two. Based on the way Meilin and her new friend looked, she seemed to decide she would probably be safe for the time being and spoke.

“Welcome to Valhalla,” she proclaimed in a quiet voice that nevertheless rang as clearly as a bell, before staring straight at Mira. She tilted her head inquisitively and then added, “Ah, you are…!” A look of recognition flashed across her face, and she quickly straightened up. “Um, you look a lot different since you were last h…”

“…Actually, we’ve got more important matters at hand!”

The girl undoubtedly planned to go on about how different Mira looked now than she had when she was Danblf. Cutting her off so she didn’t get the chance, Mira checked that Bruce wasn’t around before whispering, “Is Alfina around?”

Alfina. That was a name that Bruce, who was well acquainted with Danblf, would quickly seize upon and give her trouble again. But it shouldn’t be a problem if they simply met her. After all, Bruce probably hadn’t actually seen Alfina or her sisters in the flesh.

Back then, the sisters had primarily worked defending the capital and taking part in large-scale raids. He was still young at the time, and likely hadn’t taken part in any such battles guarding the capital, having holed up in the Tower of Evocation the entire time. For that reason, Mira presumed she’d be safe so long as he didn’t actually hear her name.

And so, while she’d made sure to ask inconspicuously, things didn’t seem like they’d be going according to plan.

“No, Lady Alfina and her sisters are undergoing special training at the moment. They were invited at the behest of the newly opened Asgard training camp to celebrate their grand opening. They are the illustrious seven sisters of Valhalla, after all!” the guide declared, sounding rather proud.

According to the girl, there were various locations where the Valkyrie sisters could have overnight training camps to train intensively.

The one at which they were training this time was a state-of-the-art training camp that’d been constructed by craftsmen well known in the field, using the best available technology. It’d gathered a fair bit of interest from all of the Valkyries in Valhalla, and yet Alfina and her sisters had been chosen as the first Valkyries to train there.

“Oh ho… Is that right? Hrmm, well, nothing we can do about that, then.”

Now knowing that Valkyries too had all different kinds of connections and relationships with each other there in Valhalla, Mira wondered about her next move.

According to the Spirit King, the malevolent aura that could be felt from inside the amrute emanated in waves typical of something with demonic power.

Therefore, she’d planned on getting assistance from Alfina and her sisters, whose holy affinity meant they could help if something bad happened. And yet, there was nothing she could do about their absence. Not only that, they also seemed to be quite busy at the moment.

That said, they were in Valhalla. There was sure to be some other Valkyries whom she could turn to for help in their stead.

Or so Mira was thinking when she heard “Could that be the guide?!” and saw Bruce enthusiastically running back.

He likely knew that the girl working as a guide was also in charge of managing contracts with the Valkyries. An anxious yet hopeful look spread across Bruce’s face as he stood directly before the girl.

Hrmm… This might actually end up being quicker.

It’d no doubt be easier to just get help from whatever Valkyrie Bruce secured a contract with than it would to try finding a random Valkyrie who’d be willing to lend them a hand.

With that on her mind, Mira decided to introduce Bruce and said, “Dearest guide, this gentleman would like to undertake the trial to secure an evocation contract. Could you perhaps help him first?”

“Wow… Miss Mira, are you really okay with that?! Shouldn’t we look into the amrute first?”

Their primary reason for coming to Valhalla was to unravel the mystery surrounding the monster-repelling amulet. And so, while he was certainly very excited, Bruce still didn’t seem to have forgotten the main purpose of their visit.

His expectations that they might first get him his contract were now sky-high. Then a look of confusion spread over his face, as if he wondered if they could really go about that first. A faint smile appeared as well.

“Hrm, I am indeed. It would seem that the Valkyrie sisters I have a contract with are a tad busy at the moment, so perhaps we can get assistance from whatever Valkyrie you make a contract with.”

Advocating that they get him his contract first, Mira smiled and added, “It’ll be a lot easier to ask them for help than to ask a Valkyrie we don’t know, right?”

“I see, that’s a good point. And I suppose if I get the contract done first, I’ll be better equipped to assist with any potential complications,” Bruce answered.

By using the contract they’d forged, summoners could receive various forms of support from whoever they forged a contract with. They weren’t sure what might come flying out of the amrute, so it was best to go in as well prepared as possible.

Understanding what Mira had meant, Bruce made to answer the guide, who’d asked if he was the one who wished to take on the trial. “Yes, I’m the one. And I’m ready,” Bruce managed to answer forcefully, despite feeling rather anxious. Then he bowed.

“All right, then I shall take the aspirant to the trial,” the guide said after bowing to Mira. She then grabbed a hold of Bruce and flew off to a nearby island.

Bruce would then begin his trial in hopes of securing a Valkyrie evocation. So, just how long would it take him to clear?

Taking out the piece of amrute, Mira began discussing with the Spirit King what difficulties might arise as well as how they might tackle them.

Meanwhile, Meilin and her friend…that is, her newest animal friend, the bull, were helping themselves to fruit that they were picking from the trees there.

Having finished deciding how she’d tackle just about any situation that might arise, from best-case to worst-case scenarios, Mira then waited while flipping through some manga she’d recently bought. Suddenly, all of the small, noisy woodland creatures looked up into the sky.

Wondering what was going on, Mira looked up as well. There, on a faraway island, she saw something take off into the air.

“Ah, that must be…”

Whatever had taken off was shaped like a human, and even from far off, she could more or less gather what it was: Bruce, being carried by the guide.

But that wasn’t all. There were three other humanoid shapes flying alongside them.

After making sure of this, Mira chuckled softly and said, “Hrmm, color me impressed.” Bruce’s trial had been an overwhelming success.

After several moments, the humanoid shapes descended onto the island which served as the entrance to Valhalla.

“Sorry for the wait,” Bruce said, seeming quite different than he had been when he left. Relieved at having passed the trial, he appeared to have eased up quite a bit.

“Hrmm, looks like you didn’t have much trouble with the trial.”

Happy to see how much Bruce seemed to have grown from taking the trial, Mira glanced over toward the Valkyries that were lined up behind him.

There were three of them, each of whom stood stoically and looked as if they could be relied on no matter the situation.

However, the moment they laid eyes on Mira, they stood up as straight as telephone poles, with a look of anxiety washing over their faces.

“Yeah, thankfully. But I owe it all to you coming with me, Miss Mira. So, allow me to introduce you. Starting from the left, we have Helknae, Elenae, and Raglinae,” Bruce said, proudly introducing the three Valkyries.

Not only had he had his dream come true, but the three were all quite beautiful, such that he introduced them as happily as a husband might do with his beautiful wife. The three Valkyries, meanwhile, struck their swords into the ground immediately after being introduced and kneeled before Mira.

Speaking on behalf of her sisters, Helknae looked up and reverently declared, “My sisters and I appreciate the introduction. We shall strive day in and day out to be worthy compatriots of Master Jude.” The way she spoke was almost like the way a knight would to their liege.

But that was when Bruce tilted his head inquisitively, no doubt wondering what was up.

Currently, Alfina served Mira much like a vassal would serve a lord, and yet the evocation contracts with Valkyries didn’t start off this way. Rather, they started with both parties working together as equals. Then, after fighting alongside each other through several battles and overcoming other trials and obstacles, the Valkyries would recognize a summoner’s power and accept them as their master.

In other words, Bruce and Helknae should have been equals at this point. In which case, it was odd to see her bowing obsequiously and whatnot to his friend.

And yet, Bruce was aware of a certain situation that might very well explain it.

Knowing this very situation, Bruce said, “Miss Mira, who on earth are you…?” A look of bemusement floated across his face.

What’s more, sensing an unusual aura, he looked up into the sky and saw shape after shape taking off from the interconnected islands. Each and every one of them was a Valkyrie, and they were all headed in unison for the island they were on.

One after another they flew down around the group and bowed. What’s more, it seemed as if all the Valkyries from all the islands had come, and once they completely surrounded them, they stopped in midair and stood at attention while lined up around Mira and her companions.

Chapter 2

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON…?” Bruce asked the guide in a panic, looking around at all the Valkyries surrounding them. Perhaps it’d all happened so suddenly that he hadn’t been able to keep up.

“In keeping with our lord’s wishes, we went about with your trial first. But with that concluded, everyone’s now come to say hello,” the guide answered. Bruce, however, immediately stiffened up after hearing this and shrieked, “Huh?!” before turning toward Mira.

There’s really no need for the greeting. But I guess they’re just doing it out of respect or whatever…

All eyes, including Bruce’s, were focused on Mira, who smiled wryly as she stood before the ever-growing ranks of Valkyries.

With Alfina as their chief—or rather, because Alfina was their chief—the Valkyries assembled there were acting rather obsequiously.

And so, once Bruce’s trial, which Mira had suggested they go about first, was over, Valkyries from all over Valhalla came to greet her.

But it didn’t end there.

A light abruptly shone in front of Mira, around which all the Valkyries descended in unison.

At the very next moment, they suddenly saw seven humanoid shapes racing down from far overhead.

They were moving so blindingly fast that one might’ve mistaken them for falling stars, and yet they came to a sudden stop, wind rushing past them, as they gently swept down onto the island.

“Ah, Master! I apologize for not coming sooner!”

They were none other than the famed seven Valkyrie sisters. The one of them directly in the center rushed over to Mira and bowed like a subject would to their liege. Then the remaining six quickly hurried and followed suit.

“Whoa…! I knew you were no ordinary summoner, but I never expected you’d be a lord of Valhalla, like Master Danblf.”

From the way they’d made their entrance alone, the seven were quite clearly no ordinary Valkyries. Bruce was taken aback by the sisters’ entrance as well as their behavior and commanding presence, but he seemed to have more or less pieced together the situation.

The guide had said the word “lord,” which explained all of the Valkyries’ behavior.

Truth be told, Mira was something like the lord of Valhalla. It was a position she’d earned at some point with her exploits alongside Alfina.

“By the way, which Valhalla is this?” he asked quite casually.

He must have been simply asking out of curiosity. But just from a quick look, one could see that all the Valkyries there were quite highly trained, and so he’d recognized that he was in a fairly well-established realm of Valhalla.

Which Valhalla? Indeed, there were Valhallas other than the one they were in.

Valhalla was a celestial realm full of interconnected floating islands where Valkyries devoted themselves to training. There were many such Valhallas, and yet the entrance to each was the same one Mira and her companions had passed through. However, while one goes up the rainbow staircase, their inner nature is judged, and the Valhalla they end up directed toward is determined.

On that note, Mira was the lord of First Valhalla. It was the Valhalla that’d been around the longest and so, fittingly, it was full of the fiercest warriors. In other words, the cream of the crop.

Furthermore, because Mira had been journeying with him, Bruce had been half forced to come to First Valhalla.

Bruce, who’d been keenly looking around them, then beheld the seven sisters who had suddenly lined up in front of Mira and said, “Huh? Now that I look closer at those seven…” He meant, of course, the seven sisters of whom Alfina was the chief.

Immediately afterward, the look on his face began to change.

This was because he undoubtedly found a lord of Valhalla with seven Valkyrie sisters under their command very familiar. After all, Bruce knew a great deal about Danblf.

Observing that he might connect the dots, Mira broke in, “On a more important note…” But it was already too late.

“This is First Valhalla,” the guide answered politely, and yet with a hint of pride.

For those who knew a lot of Danblf, it was common knowledge that he was the master of First Valhalla. And so, now that Bruce knew they were indeed in First Valhalla, the astonished look on his face finally gave way to one of understanding.

“Thanks for going out of your way to come and meet us. Now that Alfina and her sisters are here, everyone can go back to what they were doing. Apologies for showing up so suddenly,” Mira said, permitting the Valkyries to leave after receiving their collective greeting.

The Valkyries then each bowed once more in turn and flew off. Still, many of them also added that it’d been a great pleasure to meet her, and so the whole affair took around twenty minutes to fully conclude.

And so, the only Valkyries left on the now-quiet, bottommost island of Valhalla were the guide, the seven Valkyrie sisters, and Helknae and her sisters. Figuring that it was finally a good time, Bruce then gingerly asked Mira, “Um, you’re Master Danblf…are you not?”

“…”

When she heard him ask this, Mira fell silent. And yet, she realized that the jig was now up, as it would be extremely difficult to evade this question after everything that’d just happened.

There was only one person recognized as the ruler of the First Valhalla. And no matter what happened, there was no way to confer the title to somebody else. The most plausible reason for the lord disappearing would be their death, and she could very well use this as an excuse. And yet, since she still hadn’t given up the hope of one day becoming Danblf again, Mira couldn’t bring herself to say that he’d passed.

Therefore, so as to preserve what was left of her prior gravitas as Danblf, which remained important to her, Mira racked her brain and resisted answering for as long as she could. But right then, she heard a miraculous voice.

“If I may say a word, the current ruler goes by the name of Mira, so please refer to her by that name,” Alfina declared, completely oblivious to Mira’s desperate search for any means of somehow talking her way out of the situation.

The ever-attentive Alfina had said this quite proudly, with her head held high, while the master in question was staring up into the sky.

The uppermost island of Valhalla was where Alfina and her sisters had been training day and night. There, in one of the rooms inside the palace, Mira recounted to Bruce everything that’d happened and informed him of the top-secret mission she’d been given by Solomon as well.

On a side note, the reason that Alfina and her sisters had suddenly flown down to meet them despite having been out in their training camp was actually quite simple.

That reason was that the guide had immediately reached out and contacted Alfina and her sisters.

And so, concerned that they couldn’t very well be away when their master came to visit, the sisters hurriedly flew down.

Luckily, this was scheduled to be the last day of their training camp, and so they were effectively just wrapping up a bit early.

They would’ve felt horrible if, after being invited as the special guests, they’d had to finish up on the very first day.

After explaining the whole situation regarding the monster-repelling amulets and whatnot to Alfina and her sisters, Mira told them they could take a break.

They’d come straight from the training camp, and so they were likely quite exhausted. Still, they had some other things to take care of first.

Meilin then promptly had her wish granted, as she was participating in an intensive training session with Helknae and her sisters in a training area near the palace.

It was a three-on-one sparring session, and yet Meilin emerged the victor. On that note, perhaps because they were Valkyries from the First Valhalla, Helknae and her sisters put up quite a good fight. Alfina looked somewhat impressed as she watched the match.

“…So, that’s the story. Listen, it’s a matter of national security, so you can’t say a word to anyone,” Mira finished, after explaining why she was in her current form.

She explained that, as one of the Nine Wise Men, she hadn’t been able to go around unnoticed. And so, for the sake of the mission and patriotically putting her country first, she changed forms into the polar opposite of Danblf. There was nothing else to it.

Apparently quite moved by Mira’s patriotism, Bruce said, “You did all that for Alcait…?! I ought to have expected as much of you, Master Dan… Miss Mira! I swear I won’t say a word about any of this!” Then he bowed deeply.

She’d unexpectedly had her true identity revealed, and yet Mira had no doubt that Bruce would keep his word. Or at least, that was what she figured, seeing how overcome he was with joy.

Mira felt confident that she’d succeeded in convincing Bruce with her excuse. And yet, that was when a question came to Mira: shouldn’t Bruce have been more surprised about Danblf suddenly becoming a girl?

When she asked him about this, Bruce replied as if it was simply common sense.

“Well, I heard that Master Danblf, Master Solomon, and Lady Luminaria are all celestial beings, so…”

Apparently, he’d heard that there were some celestial beings who could take on completely different appearances. Therefore, Bruce said that while he’d been surprised, he hadn’t been entirely shocked.

“Hrmm… I see.”

Former players were known as celestial beings, and it seemed there’d been others besides herself who’d changed their appearance by using a vanity case. Mira knew this, but she still had no wish whatsoever to come out as Danblf. This was because she wanted to consign the ideal form she’d created to the history books just as it was.

Having digested all this information, Bruce suddenly looked as if he’d remembered something and said, “Ah… Miss Mira, by the way, I’m actually using an alias as well…” Mira, meanwhile, simply answered, “Hrm, I know. You’re Jude Steiner, are you not?” and added that she’d known from the very beginning.

“Yes… That’s right!”

Regardless of how much he’d aged over the past thirty years, she’d nevertheless recognized him. Bruce was utterly overjoyed to realize this.

Truth be told, she’d simply used the [Inspect] function to figure this out. But not letting on, Mira coolly answered, “Of course I remember you. You’re one of my precious fellow tower mages.”

If it was possible, Bruce looked even more moved, and he swore that from there on out he’d do everything to advance the discipline of evocation.

Once more feeling a fire lit beneath him, Bruce calmed down after a couple of moments, at which point a look of spontaneous realization washed over his face and he asked, “By the way, is it possible that there are other Wise Men…who’ve come to Nirvana…?!”

Mira’s assignment was to locate the other Wise Men. Since she’d discussed this with Bruce, it was only natural that he should connect the dots. Furthermore, there was currently a huge tournament going on in Nirvana that everyone across the continent was talking about. With all this information, it wasn’t a difficult conclusion to jump to.

“Miss Meilin will no doubt be making an appearance, right?!” Bruce cried.

Apparently, he’d guessed who Mira had been seeking. What’s more, at the moment he suggested this, he seemed to realize that there was another likely scenario.

Looking as if it all made sense, Bruce then slowly turned his head to glance out the window. There stood Sailor Guardian masterfully employing Immortal Arts to dominate Helknae and her sisters.

“Um, Miss Mira… Is it possible that she’s…” Bruce began.

With all the information he had, it was quite understandable that he’d figure it out.

Nodding silently, Mira answered, “…Listen here, that’s a matter of national security too.”

Chapter 3

“ALL RIGHT, THEN LET’S BEGIN. I take it you’re ready?”

Having left the palace, Mira and her companions were now standing on a vacant plot of land in a corner of Valhalla’s uppermost island. They were there to finally unseal whatever malevolent presence was coming from the crystallized piece of amrute.

“Yes, we’re ready for anything.”

Then they put the pouch which housed the piece of amrute in the center of the empty area. Next, Mira positioned holy lords so as to completely surround it. And there, waiting beside Mira, were Alfina and her sisters.

They stood waiting with swords in hand, seemingly ready to cut down whatever might come out or deal with whatever might happen.

“Ready when you are!” Meilin cried out.

From the stance she was in, she looked to be ready for anything as well. Standing just close enough that she could deal with practically anything that might happen, Meilin appeared quite excited.

No doubt the more trouble they had, the happier she’d be.

“We’re ready over here as well,” Bruce said, watching with Helknae and her sisters a bit farther off.

Unlike Mira, who was standing stoically, and Meilin, who appeared to be enjoying herself, Bruce looked a tad uneasy.

But of course, this wasn’t much of a surprise, as they were about to uncover the truth behind an item that likely had some connection to dark demons. If anything, Bruce’s attitude was the most reasonable one.

However, he was also a tower mage, and so he was unable to hide his curiosity no matter how frightened he was.

“All right, God knows what we’re about to unseal…”

In order to unseal whatever malevolent entity was held in the amrute, Mira had to return that amrute to its original liquid state by following the steps the Spirit King had taught her.

With all eyes on her, Mira walked over to the amrute and, concentrating mana in her hand while also utilizing the Spirit King’s power, she touched it.

“All right, it’s transforming!” she said, sensing that something was happening.

Then, rushing past the holy lords to the spot where Alfina and her sisters were standing guard, Mira waited and watched, eager to see what might happen.

Moments passed, and the crystallized amrute began to quiver. Then, just like she’d expected, it began to melt from a solid into a liquid.

So, what exactly was sealed inside? If it was some type of energy, then it’d probably explode right away.

Having spoken about this with the Spirit King, Mira had already calculated just how much energy could be sealed inside, after taking amrute’s unique properties and strength into consideration.

While it was still quite dangerous, the holy lords that she’d assembled were more than enough to contain any such blast.

“On your toes! Something’s emerging!”

The amrute continued to rapidly melt back into a liquid. And as it did, the malevolent aura began to grow as well, causing Alfina and her sisters to quickly adopt battle stances.

Right then, something black appeared to break through the now-liquid amrute and burst forth.

It was nothing like a special kind of energy that’d been sealed away.

Nor was it any kind of curse, miasma, mana, or poison.

The thing that’d burst from the amrute stood squarely on the ground. It remained cloaked in the malevolent aura and was armored in a black, putrid-looking shell.

Indeed, the thing that’d been sealed inside the amrute was a monster of around human height.

What’s more, it was far more aggressive than any ordinary monster; as soon as it emerged, it immediately attacked the closest holy lord.

“Well, I’ll be… So that’s what was sealed inside it…”

The monster resembled some sort of insect, and yet it also had a partially lightweight frame. What’s more, judging from the way it moved as well as its odd voice, they guessed it was a type of monster that they had never encountered before.

“Lemme at it!” Meilin said, immediately leaping within the circle of holy lords. Having done so incredibly quickly, she swiftly drew the monster’s ire away from the holy lords and began battling the mysterious creature.

“It appears to be quite high-level, doesn’t it?” Mira said.

From watching the way the mysterious monster moved while it fought Meilin, she could tell that it was extremely strong.

And yet, how on earth had such a monster been sealed inside the crystal?

As she wondered this, Mira heard a strange voice pierce the air that sent shivers down her spine.

Looking, she saw the mysterious monster lying flat on the ground. Then, after squirming there for a moment, it went completely silent, apparently having breathed its last.

Grimacing at how unsettling its voice had sounded, Mira stared at the mysterious monster as it lay on the ground before walking over to Meilin.

“I’ve never seen anything like that. What about you?” Mira asked Meilin, who’d traveled all over the continent battling different monsters and fiends for the sake of her training.

Considering this, there was a chance that even if Mira had never seen it, Meilin might have.

However, Meilin simply answered, “Nope, it’s my first time seeing one. It wasn’t super strong.”

Mira figured she ought to ask Bruce as well, and yet he answered that, like Meilin, it had been his first time seeing one.

“Then how about you guys? Have you ever seen one of those anywhere?” Mira asked Alfina and her sisters.

There were likely some monsters that only appeared in special places such as the Sacred Domain. What’s more, the amrute that housed the monster only existed in a special place as well.

Since they were inhabitants of Valhalla, there was certainly a chance that Alfina and her sisters knew of such monsters.

“No, I’ve never come across any monster like that,” Alfina answered, sounding somewhat vexed that she couldn’t help.

“It was pretty creepy, so I don’t think I could ever forget seeing one of those,” Christina added, voicing her own thoughts.

But sure enough, it had looked pretty creepy. It looked almost like the kind of failed experiment that one might see in some horror movie.

Thinking this while looking carefully at the monster, Mira then heard Alfina continue.

“…But, that said, it seemed somehow different from the type of monster or fiend that we normally encounter… It gave off a particularly unpleasant aura,” she said as if thinking back to herself. Still, there was a look of certainty in her eyes.

Alfina had sensed some sort of unpleasant aura. Perhaps there was more than met the eye when it came to the monster.

Presuming as much, Mira looked toward the amrute which had housed the monster.

“Well I’ll be, I’d like to look into this as well,” Bruce said, who had already begun to investigate the substance. Perhaps it’d attracted his curiosity because nothing like it was found down on the world below.

It was odorless and oily to the touch, and yet it was so thin that it dripped right off whatever touched it.

Looking at the receptacle that’d housed the amrute, they saw that it was in an entirely liquid state. Sure enough, it’d been the monster that’d been responsible for the malevolent aura, because not even a hint of it remained.

Thinking that the remaining monster-repelling amulets must also have had mysterious monsters sealed away inside of them, Mira suddenly heard Meilin cry out in shock.

“Huh?! It disappeared! And then something came out of it!”

“Hrm? What happened?”

Turning around, Mira saw Meilin standing where the mysterious monster had been defeated.

Whatever had happened was down at her feet. Running over to check, Mira found that the vanquished monster was nowhere to be seen.

Apparently, it’d suddenly crumbled away into dust and disappeared. What’s more, just like Meilin had said, something was left on the very spot where it’d disappeared.

“It sure is a pretty sinister-looking color, huh…?”

There, on the ground, sat a poisonous-looking black fragment.

“Well now… What do you think it is?” Bruce asked, tilting his head as if intensely curious. However, his wariness won out over his curiosity, and he apparently decided against immediately touching the poisonous-looking fragment.

“Is it a stone? Or some kind of metal? I wonder. Whatever the case, it gives off a pretty bad vibe,” Christina said, peering at the fragment. She then retreated behind Alfina; a look of revulsion had quickly appeared on her face.

It was some mysterious material that’d seemingly been left behind by the equally mysterious monster. It was yet another thing Mira had never seen and so, while she wondered whether she might be able to use it for something, she heard the Spirit King’s rather urgent-sounding voice echo through her head.

“…I thought as much! Miss Mira, we need to seal that right away. Please assist me!”

“Hrm, sure thing!” she answered.

What on earth was the fragment? The Spirit King apparently knew, and yet there didn’t seem to be much time to explain.

Judging from the way he sounded, Mira immediately understood that questions could come later, and she quickly agreed to assist him.

“This is an emergency. Everyone, give me some space!” Mira said. As soon as the words left her lips, she began working silently yet urgently. The mark of the Spirit King covered her entire body. She left it unsaid that this was no ordinary situation.

Understanding that things had gotten serious, Bruce hurriedly took cover in the shadow of the holy lords. Alfina and her sisters also took heed and fell back several paces as Mira instructed. However, they didn’t draw too far away, so they could quickly take action if something happened.

But Meilin, observing how powerful Mira’s mana was when the Spirit King’s power was bestowed on her, was incredibly curious. She looked on, as if wondering what exactly Mira was doing and what kind of special technique she might unleash.

“You should step back too. This won’t be a simple sealing; I’ll have to use some pretty powerful spells.”

Meilin’s face was an open book. Immediately recognizing this, Mira quickly assured her that there was nothing to see.

“Hmm, is that right? Too bad,” Meilin said, sounding depressed. Since she wouldn’t be able to see any amazing special techniques, she dejectedly shuffled away.

Having made sure of this and completed her preparations, Mira stared at the mysterious fragment and got into position. With the Spirit King guiding her, she began the sealing operation.

Reusing the amrute, they filled it with the Spirit King’s power and sealed the fragment inside of it once more. The end result was a white crystal. But they were only half done. They needed to do this again and again before placing a special seal on it.

The whole process took about three minutes, after which the Spirit King’s powerful seal was completed.

“All right, that should do it for the time being. That was actually some excellent handiwork. I ought to have expected as much of you, Miss Mira.”

“It’s all because I’ve gotten used to Your Highness’s blessing. I could get the hang of it just by feeling the power flowing through me!” Mira replied with a smile, looking not displeased at hearing the Spirit King’s praise.

And so, now that things had calmed down, it was, of course, time for her to ask questions.

She’d done as the Spirit King had requested and immediately sealed away the mysterious fragment. So, what on earth had it been? Since this same question was on the mind of Meilin and Mira’s other companions, it seemed faster for all of them to hear the answer as well.

They held hands and stood in a circle so as to hear the Spirit King’s explanation. The sudden chance to take part in a conversation with the Spirit King made Bruce’s entire body tense up.

He wasn’t alone. Alfina piped in, “Join hands with Master…?!” sounding completely overcome with emotion.

The Spirit King said that it hadn’t been his first time seeing the fragment.

“It all took place many, many years ago. I believe I’ve spoken of it with Miss Mira before. A long time ago, there was a god who ruled over all monsters. This god was a terrible foe who menaced the entire continent…”

She’d heard about all of this the first time she met Martel.

The god was something like the sworn enemy of elves and men who appeared in that famous trilogy about a ring of great and terrible power. Similarly, the Monster-Ruling God also masterminded a huge war that took place far in the past and involved all living things.

“That all happened quite a while ago, and so it took some time to remember, but there’s no doubt about it. The aura I felt from that fragment was the same as the one given off by the sword which that god wielded.”

All of this had happened so long ago that none of it was recorded in history, and so the only ones who knew anything about it were beings like the Spirit King, who’d existed since ancient times.

However, someone else knew a great deal about a similar entity who appeared in more recent history.

“A god…that rules over monsters? Are you sure it was a god and not a king?” Bruce asked. There was a myth told on the continent which featured the Hero-King Fortesia, who fought against someone known as the “Monster-Ruling King.”

Additionally, it was said that the Spirit King had taken part in the great war against this king, something which seemed to intrigue Bruce. He wore a tense and stiff expression, and yet his curiosity seemed to have prevailed over his anxiety. He asked in such a way that he seemed both slightly confused and extremely curious.

“Hmm, yes, that’s correct. Back then, Lady Fortesia and I vanquished the Monster-Ruling King. The battle against the Monster-Ruling God took place even further back,” the Spirit King answered.

Bruce then continued his line of questioning. “Were the god and king connected somehow?”

“A fair question… All I can say is that that much is still a mystery. Why indeed did he take on the title of Monster-Ruling King? And why was he able to control monsters in the same way as the Monster-Ruling God? I had to return to the spirit palace before I could clear any of that up, so it is quite possible that you human researchers may know more than I.”

It had all happened before Hero-King Fortesia’s time. The Spirit King had used a forbidden power in the war between spirits and the oni. Having done so, he found it difficult to control his power, and lost the ability to abide in their world.

As a result, though he had descended into their world, he was only familiar with a short span of time. It seemed that he didn’t know much when it came to the Monster-Ruling King.

“Please do tell us more about the god that came before the Monster-Ruling King, and about the great war too…! But I guess we should focus on what’s going on now first. My apologies,” Bruce said, leaning forward and getting ever closer. But then, catching sight of the white crystal, he seemed to get a hold of himself. With Mira and Meilin—as well as Alfina and her sisters—glancing over at him, he sheepishly closed his mouth.

“No, I don’t mind. After all, it might very well have something to do with what’s going on right now. Let me think back for a second,” the Spirit King said in response to Bruce’s query, adding that they ought to know what the sword in question was like. Then he began clearly recounting what had happened.

Back when the Monster-Ruling God’s power was at its height, there occurred an unprecedented number of natural disasters which plunged the entire continent into chaos.

“So regarding the sword, it’s my guess that it held some kind of power that gave it dominion over monsters. By using it, the god was able to command all monsters and inflict far greater damage than they might have otherwise…”

At that time, humans and spirits fought together, even joined by the Divine Trinity. The Spirit King explained that, if only they had been able to vanquish their foe, they could’ve prevented the devastation from being so widespread.

But the tricky part was the god’s ability to command monsters. By massing all of the monsters across the continent under their sole authority, they became more than a match for the forces of good.

“…What’s more, the monsters the Monster-Ruling God kept by their side back then were considerably powerful, and they were quite different from the ones we were familiar with. They were indeed monsters, and yet they were somehow different… Yes, that’s right. Come to think of it, they were very much like that monster you just encountered,” the Spirit King said, seeming to suddenly remember something halfway through his explanation.

It seemed the monster that’d just sprung from the amrute had resembled the ones that the Monster-Ruling God had kept by their side way back when.

“Wow… But on that note, you mentioned the god’s remains earlier. Could they be planning on resurrecting them…?” Mira asked.

Mira and the Spirit King had spoken previously about the Monster-Ruling God and how its remains had been split into six different pieces before being sealed.

They guessed that one of the pieces had lain beneath the Ancient Temple of Nebrapolis, but that it’d been carried off somewhere. Could it be that things had progressed even further than they’d presumed, and the Monster-Ruling God had been resurrected, or was close to being resurrected?

“That now certainly seems to be the case,” the Spirit King said, responding to Mira’s concerns.

Were the god to be resurrected, or should it regain its former power, then a number of very distinct phenomena would likely begin occurring all across the continent.

Therefore, the Spirit King thought that the appearance of fragments of the sword as well as monsters like the one they’d just seen could be signs of this.

“In which case, our first order of business should be the sword fragment. What was a piece of the sword wielded by the Monster-Ruling God doing here?”

The sword came from an ancient period even further back than the times recorded in legend. Additionally, why had such a storied sword broken into pieces?

Not only that, they were also being used to repel monsters and had been sealed inside amrute that had been transformed. At the moment, they were drowning in questions.

“Yes, you’re right. And yet, even using my power, that sword couldn’t be destroyed. Therefore, it should be sealed away,” the Spirit King said, unable to explain why a fragment of it had inexplicably appeared in such a place.

He said he’d entrusted the Monster-Ruling God’s sword to one of his former sworn allies, who had then sealed it deep in the ocean. They’d apparently sealed it away using the power of Spirit Leylines, and so no demon, much less any human, could’ve possibly dispelled the seal.

So, who on earth had broken the seal? Even the Spirit King hadn’t been able to destroy the sword, so how had it been broken into fragments? And who had brought it up from the bottom of the ocean? Additionally, fragments aside, where was the rest of the sword? Was it still where it’d been sealed, or had someone moved it?

“This is all so confusing. Anyway, I think we should go take a look at the seal!” Meilin shouted, her head spinning from the unending stream of riddles. She appeared quite restless, and it looked as if her ability to sit still would soon be coming to an end.

“Good point. It might be quicker if we stop sitting around talking and start making moves,” the Spirit King said, somewhat mirthfully. He then suggested an even better strategy: that they unseal the rest of the amrute used for the monster-repelling amulets.

The sword was sealed deep at the bottom of the ocean. However, the fact that they had come across one of the fragments of the sword meant that something must have happened to the seal.

In which case, someone had very likely already snatched it up from where it’d been sealed. And so, rather than checking there, it’d be more productive to just try and find where the sword was now.

The fragment they’d found had originally belonged to a single sword that had once contained a terrible power.

Though it was much weakened, the power within the fragment was the real deal, and so the Spirit King concluded that they could indeed make use of this.

“By using my power, you can trace the waves being given off by the power contained in the fragment. And that should allow you to find where the sword is,” the Spirit King said, suggesting that the remaining amrute also contained fragments of the sword as well.

And so, by gathering up all those fragments and consolidating them together, they could get a fix on the location of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword itself…which contained the same power.

The Spirit King’s proposal was well worth trying.

“Hrmm, either way, we can’t leave things the way they are,” Mira said.

“Very true. I think it’s a great idea,” Bruce agreed.

Rather than thinking about the veritable mountain of riddles they were now confronted with, it was best to unravel the riddle they had in front of them. And if they could use the Spirit King’s power to locate the sword, then his suggestion was definitely their best option.

“If that weird-looking monster should appear again, please allow my sisters and me to take care of it.”

“I think that’s a great idea too! I wanna take down a whole bunch too!” Meilin added.

Chances were that more of the weird monsters would appear, just like when they unsealed the first piece of amrute. But with Alfina and her sisters, as well as Meilin, there was no need to worry.

“All right, then let’s get started,” the Spirit King declared.

As if on cue, Mira and her companions let go of each other’s hands and all started getting ready at once.

Chapter 4

THEIR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS was to determine the location of the sword of the Monster-Ruling God, which was supposed to have been sealed away.

In order to go about doing so, Mira had to first unseal all of the amrute.

“Hey, the next one is about to pop out. You ready?” Mira asked.

And sure enough, a bizarre-looking monster came flying out. They were much more powerful than the usual monsters one might come across, and yet Mira’s companions were the best of the best.

“Don’t worry, they’re not too tough. Keep ’em coming!” Meilin answered.

“Yes, you needn’t worry,” Alfina answered.

Monsters popped out one after another, and Meilin and Alfina dealt with them as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“Oh my, their shells are even harder than they look.”

“It looks like they can stretch their arms to be about twice their original length.”

Meanwhile, each of the Valkyrie sisters younger than the second-eldest sister Elezina paired up to take down the monsters.

“Don’t be thrown off because it’s a new enemy. Just remember your training.”

Bruce and Helknae and her sisters had also teamed up, and they vanquished a couple of the monsters. Bruce’s precise support coupled with Helknae and her sisters’ excellent coordination were impressive enough to make one feel as though they had a bright future ahead of them.

They’d been fighting for just over an hour and had unsealed over a hundred pieces of amrute when they finished off all the bizarre monsters. And by doing so, they also succeeded in recovering all the fragments of the sword which had been sealed away.

“All right, we’re finished,” Mira said, having just finished sealing those fragments. She had divided them into groups of ten and applied the first seal to each. She would only fully seal them once she’d used the power inside each of them to track down the location of the sword itself.

“Well, then, for the next step, we’ll need to go back down to the surface.”

“Hrmm, yes, true.”

All things considered, the sword of the Monster-Ruling God that they were searching for was likely somewhere on the world below. Even the illustrious Spirit King found it difficult to pinpoint its location down on the surface while up in Valhalla, and so they needed to return for the time being.

“Master, we can’t be sure what kind of evil those fragments are capable of, so please let me accompany you!” Alfina suggested when Mira had started to bid farewell to the Valkyrie sisters.

Sure enough, her sisters all followed suit and leaned in eagerly.

“That’d be a big help, but the seals are quite secure as they are, so there isn’t any need to worry. Also, we’ll most likely have a very long voyage ahead of us, and it’d be a bit tricky transporting so many adults,” Mira answered.

It was only then that Alfina realized Elezina and her other sisters wanted to accompany her as well.

For a second, a look passed over her face which seemed to suggest that she might offer to go by herself, without the rest of the group. And yet, she undoubtedly knew how this would make her sisters feel.

“I understand. I apologize if my suggestion was presumptuous,” Alfina announced, bowing out. She couldn’t very well put herself before her sisters.

Gladdened to hear how much they wanted to help, Mira answered, “At any rate, that’s where things stand. But once we get there, we’ll very likely be needing your help again. And we’ll be counting on you then.”

“We’ll be ready!” Alfina and her sisters answered enthusiastically.

And so, the group departed Valhalla and once more made their way down to the surface.

“But wow, Alfina really is the same as ever. It’s like she’s overly fond of you, or rather, I can tell just how loyal she is to you. It’d be great if I could quickly earn that kind of trust from Helknae and her sisters,” Bruce suddenly said as they made their way down the rainbow staircase.

And he wasn’t wrong. The devotion Alfina felt for her master was indeed enough to seem somewhat excessive. Considering how Alfina came off, it could certainly be argued that such an opinion was indeed valid.

And yet, one part particularly stood out to Mira: the part about Alfina being “the same as ever.”

“It’s a bit embarrassing… But has she always been like that? From what I remember, she wasn’t exactly that way back in the day,” Mira said.

Just what Alfina was he comparing her to when he said she was the same as ever?

He had to be talking about the last time he met her, back when Mira was still Danblf. In other words, back when they were still in the game.

Mira then recalled what Alfina was like when it was all still a game.

Alfina had certainly been loyal, but thinking back, Mira hadn’t felt that she was quite as zealously devoted to her master as she was now.

She simply seemed to have the kind of loyalty that a vassal would have for their liege. Or at least that was Mira’s impression of Alfina back when it was still a game.

And yet, Bruce had looked at Alfina and thought she was the same as ever. Was there some discrepancy between the Alfina she’d seen back in the day as Danblf, and the one that Bruce had seen? Or was it all just subjective?

Come to think of it, I wonder what kind of changes took place when the game stopped being a game and became reality?

One was that NPCs stopped being NPCs. Reflecting back on when she’d first arrived in the world, which had newly become reality, Mira felt rather odd. She recalled another thing that had stuck out to her.

…If they aren’t NPCs any longer…then what exactly are they?

Or so Mira thought to herself, as she glanced at Bruce.

What kind of changes had occurred when the game switched over to reality? Was it even possible for such things to happen? She was finally asking herself those questions.

“Is anything the matter, Miss Mira?” Bruce suddenly asked.

“Hrm? Ah, no. It’s nothing. But actually, I was just trying to recall when it was that you and Alfina first met,” Mira casually replied.

In fact, she was really asking him if he’d ever even met Alfina before. However, her words seemed to make him recall a precious memory.

“Ah, it all started on that unforgettable winter night…!”

That was the first time he’d gazed upon the majestic figure of Danblf, as well as the beautiful, heavenly form of Alfina. Bruce began passionately retelling the story of his first days as a researcher at the Linked Silver Towers.

Continuing down the rainbow stairway, the group finally beheld the exit leading back to the surface.

“All right, we’re here. Let’s go, Bruce!” Mira quickly announced before running off, deliberately prompting him to hurry after her or be left behind.

“Aaah, now let me tell you about just how incredible Master Eizenfald was back then…” Bruce continued, unable to stop talking about all of Danblf’s exploits that he’d witnessed. Failing to realize that that was why Mira was running away from him, he followed her.

And so, returning to the surface, they found that night had fallen completely, and the world was now shrouded in the darkness of night.

“Ah, wait a second. Lemme take that back!”

“Nope, don’t think so!”

They had returned to the same spot from which they’d entered Valhalla: the lake on Filz Isle to the east of Nirvana. There, they found the gatekeepers of Valhalla: the light spirit Lunanlied and the water spirit Fontiné, who were ordinarily quite careless…or rather, carefree.

Looking toward the spot where they heard the two arguing, they glimpsed a wooden observation deck near the lake. What’s more, it was quite a lavish one. It even had a roof attached, as well as a large cabinet and table which someone must have brought there. They were both piled high with what appeared to be board games and whatnot.

Lunanlied and Fontiné were sitting across from each other, playing some sort of game that resembled shogi.

The pair seemed to become aware of Mira and her companions just as one of them got checkmated.

“Ah…! Welcome back. That was fast.”

“Ah…! Well now… Yes, welcome back.”

When they noticed them, the light spirit and water spirit jumped up and, respectively, lit themselves aglow and shrouded themselves in water. It was a bit unnecessary, but they were trying to bring back some of their spirit-like grandeur.

Unfortunately for them, the damage had been done.

“Hrmm, well, it’s a long story,” Mira answered with a somewhat sympathetic look on her face. She then gently extended both of her arms toward the pair.

They must’ve understood that the jig was up, as they both took her hand with trepidatious looks on their faces.

The next thing they heard was the voice of the Spirit King.

They didn’t have many visitors, and so it was fine for them to take it easy. There was also nothing wrong with them enjoying themselves as they saw fit. However, he then admonished them for not being proper guardians and failing to immediately detect any visitors who set foot in the area.

“Come now, please use this.”

“Yes, go right ahead!”

That was what Lunanlied and Fontiné said, swiftly moving into gear so as to make up for their earlier transgression.

That said, all they really did was clean up the board games and other things which were scattered across the table.

And yet, that was when Lunanlied stepped forward and filled the area around them with light, making it easier to see what was around them.

Cleos could also cast this spirit magic, which one could use in place of other forms of lighting. That said, Lunanlied was an actual light spirit, and so he was free to change the color of the light as he pleased.

“Which color light would you like? Simply let me know, and I’ll make it happen!”

Lunanlied tried ensuring their complete satisfaction by offering to make the area bright white, as if they were beneath the noonday sun, or replicate the colors of a beautiful sunset. He went on to say that he could also change the light to be green or blue or a mix of purple and pink.

…It almost looks like the kind of lighting you’d see in a brothel.

Smiling wryly to herself that this was especially the case when she saw the area lit in a dazzling display of pink, Mira answered, “Just normal white is fine.”

“…All right, it worked. The Spirit King managed to locate where the sword itself should be, just like we planned,” Mira announced.

Looking as if a weight had been taken off his shoulders, Bruce slumped back into his chair with a weary look on his face. The reason he felt so nervous was because the fragments of the sword had been shining ominously the entire time Mira was concentrating. Even though it was sealed, he could still sense the malevolent aura within, and so was constantly on guard, wondering if another of the bizarre monsters might come flying out again.

Meanwhile, Meilin appeared to feel a bit let down. In stark contrast to Bruce, she’d actually been hoping something would come flying out.

Afterward, Mira and the Spirit King placed seal upon seal on the fragments until they were fully sealed.

After they’d done so, the malevolent aura that’d emanated from the sword finally vanished completely. With this, they could finally declare the monster-repelling amulets that they’d collected to be completely safe.

“…But jeez, why do these kinds of things repel monsters?” Bruce asked, picking up one of the amulets and staring at it intently. Now that the fragments were no longer dangerous, the anxious look on his face gave way to one of curiosity.

“Hrmm, that’s a good question…” Mira said, wondering the same thing.

The fragments of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword didn’t just unleash grotesque-looking monsters; they also gave off an incredibly sinister aura. In that case, if anything, they ought to attract monsters.

Mira had thought as much the first time she laid eyes on the amulet. Thinking about it once more, Mira began wondering whether the cloth that was wrapped around the amrute might be what was used to repel monsters.

The cloth in question was inscribed with a magic circle that neither Mira nor the Spirit King himself was able to decipher. Was there some sort of secret behind it?

It was while she was trying to unravel the mystery behind the monster-repelling amulets that Mira heard a voice.

“It’s simple. They didn’t get very close to them because they didn’t feel right,” Meilin declared, looking as if the answer was rather obvious.

“Well yes, that’s how they ultimately work. But don’t you think that feeling should have attracted other monsters?”

The most plausible scenario that Mira could come up with was that with the aid of something contained within the fragment of the sword, they’d used some sort of magic to ultimately convert the amulets into monster-repelling devices.

What’s more, according to the Spirit King, the sword was imbued with the power to rule monsters. And so, if anything, she felt as if it ought to draw all kinds of monsters.

“Hmm, no, I don’t think so. The thing that jumped out of the fragment looked like a monster, but it felt totally different. It almost seemed like a predator. So I’d guess other monsters might be wary of it and keep away,” Meilin ventured.

The fragments of the sword were filled with a malevolent aura. Having felt it herself, Meilin came to the exact opposite conclusion as Mira.

Monsters were beings whose first priority was attacking living things, and they acted entirely out of instinct. And so, Meilin thought that it was precisely this reliance on instinct that kept monsters from approaching the amulets.

“Hrmm, now that you mention it, that certainly is plausible,” Mira said.

Perhaps because she wasn’t constrained by having to think things through critically or keep all sorts of knowledge in mind, Meilin would occasionally come out and hit right on truths that others had yet to strike upon. Such was her intuition.

“You have a point. Humans are genuinely a lot less perceptive than monsters in that respect,” Bruce said, agreeing that she was very likely right because there was so much they didn’t know about monsters.

“It’s certainly conceivable. Monsters are quite impulsive, and yet they can indeed be rather prudent at times. Perhaps picking up on the fact that the sword contains the power to control them, they instinctively try to steer clear of it,” the Spirit King said, surprisingly backing Meilin’s hunch as well.

And so, it was Meilin’s assessment that ended up seeming the most likely. In other words, it was the fragment of the sword itself that was responsible for repelling monsters.

This being the case, they now knew their next question: for what purpose had the amulets been made?

“So, why would fragments of the sword be sold as monster repellents? I’m also curious about the magic inscribed onto the cloth that was wrapped around the amulets.”

“Good point. But I think it’s safe to say we don’t have enough information available here. If we could just figure out what exactly the cloth did…”

First, it was just barely possible that someone who knew nothing about the sword had gotten ahold of the fragments, happened to discover that they repelled monsters, and decided to make the amulets.

But given that they’d been created using amrute, as well as the magic-inscribed cloth, it seemed likely that dark demons were in some way involved. And so they surmised that they undoubtedly must have served some purpose other than simply repelling demons.

It could even be that dark demons themselves were responsible. And yet, such demons were extremely reluctant to produce, manufacture, or otherwise create anything.

Should they need to do so, they usually opted to trick, coerce, or seduce others who could make things for them more efficiently. This was their typical M.O.

“Either way, it’d probably be fastest to track down whoever made these. But we can’t leave the matter of the sword unattended either.”

They now had two different options for how to proceed next.

The first was to go find the Monster-Ruling God’s sword itself, while the other was to seek out those who might know how the monster-repelling amulets had been produced.

So, what should they do? While they talked this over, Meilin, who’d remained quiet and wore a displeased look on her face, broke her silence and suggested, “I’ll go find the sword!”

Her reason for suggesting this was more or less written all over her face.

If such bizarre monsters had spawned just from fragments of the sword, what kind of stuff might the sword itself contain? It seemed that she very much wanted to find out.

And yet, it was also important to get information from whoever was producing the amulets.

Having mulled it over, Bruce then said, “For the time being, we might as well split into two groups. I’ll go about finding whoever’s making the amulets, since I’ve also got a Cat Sith with me. They’re an ace when it comes to investigating, and they should at least be able to determine where their hideout is.” He felt this would be their best bet.

Chapter 5

IT HAD BEEN SEVERAL HOURS since they’d parted with Bruce on Filz Isle and taken off into the sky on Mira’s Garuda wagon. It was just about the dead of night when Mira and her companions passed over the mountainous area that towered to the west of Nirvana.

“For the time being, we ought to proceed rather carefully.”

The location of the sword indicated by the Spirit King was just a bit farther. And indeed, as they might’ve guessed, the reaction they were getting from the Monster-Ruling God’s sword wasn’t coming from where it should have been sealed.

Therefore, they couldn’t be sure what might be around it. Dark demons were likely involved, and so they had better tread carefully.

That was what Mira thought as she brought down the Garuda-drawn wagon in between some nearby mountains.

Thanking Garuda before dispelling them, Mira then called out to Meilin, who was still sleeping like a log in the closet, “Hey, Meilin. Are you awake? We’re almost there!”

Perhaps because the trip had taken a good deal of time, Meilin had started getting antsy during the journey. Mira had then wheeled her into the closet and onto a futon, where she promptly fell asleep.

“…Mmm, is it time to eat?!”

Meilin, who’d only just woken up, seemed ready for breakfast and looked around with an expectant look in her eyes. Then, when she noticed that Mira had prepared no such thing, her head sunk in dejection.

“Jeez, I guess I don’t have a choice. Here, you can eat this, but then we’re heading out.”

It wouldn’t do to go off on an empty stomach. They couldn’t be sure of what kind of danger awaited them, and so it was best for Meilin to be in tip-top shape.

Figuring as much, Mira opened up her item box, took out one of the boxed lunches she’d been storing there, and handed it over.

As soon as she did, Meilin grabbed the meal with a radiant smile on her face and said, “Thanks, I really appreciate it!” She then plopped it onto the table and dug in.

“Take your time, but be quick about it,” Mira said contradictorily while also serving her some tea. Usually, Mira was the one being waited on, but with Meilin, it was easy for their roles to become reversed.

Finally full and ready to go, the two at last began their trek toward their destination.

After putting away the wagon, they made their way through the mountains on foot.

It wasn’t the kind of place thick with vegetation and verdure which they could easily pass through, and yet it wasn’t too difficult for them.

This was because they could fly through the air unhindered by using the Immortal Arts technique [Air Step]. This was especially the case for Mira; she only had to follow behind Meilin who, having taken the lead, deftly dodged any branches or whatnot that might hinder them.

“…Okay, why don’t we take a look from over there?”

“Sounds good!”

Having taken the absolute shortest route to get there, the two descended to the ground for the time being, near a mountaintop that stood just before their destination.

The area which the Spirit King had located by tracing the power coming from the fragments of the sword was right on the other side of that very mountaintop.

“First, we’ll just scope it out. Whatever happens, we hold off for the time being.”

“Got it!”

What in the world would they find there? And was anything waiting for them? Having clearly explained to Meilin that they were only checking things out, Mira finally steeled herself and looked at the other side of the mountain.

“What the…! What’s a place like this doing here…?!” Mira gasped.

“I’ve never seen this place before! But wow, it’s super quiet,” Meilin added.

From the summit of the mountain, the two looked out over the mysterious ruins of a settlement.

Surrounded on all sides by steep, rocky mountains was an empty space measuring about six hundred and fifty feet in diameter.

Additionally, the settlement had been reduced to ruins and was devoid of any human activity. However, the most remarkable thing was the area where the ruins were situated.

The ruins weren’t in the valley surrounded by rocky mountains, but on the mountains themselves. Indeed, the settlement that stretched out across the mountains before them looked as if it’d been carved into the actual stone.

Were Mira to describe it in a single phrase, she would’ve called it a walled city. There were what appeared to be a church, a hospital, a school, places to live, and just about everything else a settlement might need.

“Who would’ve thought there’d be ruins like this here? Also, it seems like the most logical place for the sword we’re looking for.”

It was enough to make one wonder just how much time and effort had been used to build the city. Furthermore, why had the settlement been reduced to ruins? Overwhelmed by the sight of it, Mira next turned her gaze toward the thing that stood out most to her about the whole scene.

That was the space right in the center that was almost like a valley, within which towered the ruins of an enormous castle. And though it’d long since fallen into disrepair, it was nevertheless a testament to how powerful and prosperous the place had once been.

The castle must’ve been well over three hundred feet high, and it was also quite wide, such that the castle grounds comprised half of the entire valley.

Furthermore, according to the Spirit King, the object of their search probably lay somewhere beneath this castle.

“I should’ve known this wouldn’t be easy,” Mira groaned.

From her position near the mountaintop, Mira surveyed the area surrounding the castle and town and caught sight of multiple shapes.

They were none other than the bizarre-looking monsters as well as lesser demons.

The presence of lesser demons indicated that demons did have a hand in all this. Though she had presumed as much, this was pretty much conclusive proof that dark demons were indeed involved.

What’s more, it was fair to say that it also proved there was indeed something very important in the area.

The issue now was how to go about investigating the place. Among the hideous monsters prowling the area were ones different from those that’d popped out of the amrute. On top of that, there were quite a few different types, some smaller and some bigger.

Mira couldn’t deduce how powerful they were just from looking, nor could she even tell by sight how many of them there were. And yet, Meilin was raring to go.

“We’ll figure it out once we’re in there. It’ll be fine!”

It seemed she’d already used [Biometric Scan] to pinpoint where all their foes were, including those that might be hiding. Additionally, she’d also figured out where security was tightest.

“I hear what you’re saying, but if the dark demons behind this disappear once we charge in, then we’ll be back to square one.”

Just like Meilin suggested, they’d figure it out once they were there. But that was when the next problem cropped up: the lesser demons.

There was no sound to be heard in those alpine mountains, other than the occasional rush of wind or the chirping of birds. And so, if they charged into battle there, the lesser demons would likely be alerted right away.

Once this happened, they would invariably contact their dark demon overlords. Would the dark demons then show themselves, or would they simply vanish once more into the shadows?

The only thing they could be sure of was that if they let the dark demons slip through their fingers this time, it would turn into a serious headache.

Even if I wanted to go in quietly, I asked Wasranvel to assist Bruce. In which case, the first thing to do is to take down those lesser demons…

They’d be in the clear if they could just finish off the lesser demons before they could alert anyone. Then, if they could sneak their way into the castle, Meilin’s [Biometric Scan] should become even more accurate.

Once they’d gotten a fix on the dark demons’ location, Meilin could begin tracking them.

Or so Mira had been planning when she heard Meilin.

“Something’s coming toward us,” Meilin said, suddenly looking up into the sky.

Sure enough, there was a humanoid shape above them. It wasn’t one of the bizarre monsters or a lesser demon. Nor was it a dark demon.

“Well now, this is a surprise,” the man said to Mira in a merry voice as soon as he saw her.

Mira, meanwhile, said, “Wow, it’s you.” She relaxed her guard, despite her surprise. “I never would’ve expected to run into you again in a place like this.”

“You can say that again,” the good-looking fellow replied cheerfully as he alighted to the surface. He was a light demon named Barbatos who was friends with Wallenstein, and with whom Mira was also well acquainted.

It was Barbatos who’d formerly used a divine vessel to open a hole in the sealed oni tomb that contained the curse of the oni. Additionally, he was the very same Duke-ranked dark demon who’d begun Chimera Clausen.

However, after being defeated by Mira and her allies, he’d been cleansed and became a light demon who once more served his original purpose.

And now, he was one of Wallenstein and his friends’ trusted comrades.

Although they’d only just run into each other for the first time in quite a while, Mira wanted to ask what the hell Barbatos was doing in a place like this.

But Meilin beat her to the punch. Having completely forgotten about their current situation, she said, “I feel some kinda crazy power coming from you… How about we spar?!” Meilin said.

“That’ll have to wait. Once we finish up our current task, you can spend all the time you’d like sparring. But for right now, could you keep an eye on what’s going on around us?”

“Okey-dokey, it’s a deal!” Meilin agreed.

So long as she got to spar afterward, Meilin didn’t mind keeping watch. And so, she obediently hid herself in between the crags and began watching the walled city.

While Meilin seemed like she’d rather battle head-to-head, she made for a remarkable lookout. More than likely, her stealth techniques sprang from her gut instincts and intuition.

And from the way she watched, they could see just how serious Meilin was about her promise.

“Um, Miss Mira. I don’t recall agreeing to spar anyone…”

“Yeah, but if we don’t say that she’ll put up a fuss. Once we’re done with everything, you can just duck off.”

After all, if Barbatos were to break the deal, then he’d be the one incurring Meilin’s wrath, and Mira could easily use him as a scapegoat.

“I get that feeling that if I were to do that, it’d end up bringing me even more trouble…”

“It’s fine, you’re overthinking it. But more importantly! I imagine you didn’t just happen to be passing through. Is this place somehow related to the sealed tomb of the oni?” Mira declared. She pulled a face, as if they had much more important business to get to.

In any case, what mattered most was why they were all here. Barbatos must’ve thought so as well, because he heaved a sigh and answered, “…I may need your help, should things get messy.”

He then began explaining to Mira just why he was there. “Well now, where exactly shall I begin…”

First, he told her about something related to the seal oni tomb that’d happened earlier. He said that he’d dealt with the divine artifact he’d used to open the tomb, as well as with the demon worshipper to whom he’d entrusted the artifact. He’d managed to safely recover the artifact, and it was now in the care of their organization.

Also, the organization of demon worshippers was fairly tricky to deal with. They were quite fanatical and very much set in their beliefs, and so it was quite difficult to convert them. As a result, Barbatos had become a demon that the demon worshippers venerated, and he was now working from the inside to change them into an entirely benign group.

“I guess I ought to thank you for the hard work…”

“Considering my past, I’m reaping what I sowed, in a way…”

Were the demon worshippers, who had a bit of an appetite for destruction, to worship demons, they could at least worship light ones rather than dark ones… Or so Barbatos argued, showing his determination to return to the path of being a proper demon.

There was an odd relationship between the worshipper and the one being worshipped.

And so, once the whole oni issue was all taken care of, Wallenstein and his comrades would return to their original task: returning dark demons to light ones.

Thanks to the abilities demons possessed, the mission they’d originally been tasked with had been corrupted.

According to what Barbatos had taught them, their original purpose had apparently been to give “trials.” By passing these trials, humanity could further evolve. It was said that demons had been given the role of antagonists who administered these trials in order to bring this about.

And yet, thanks to two abilities that demons possessed, they turned to evil.

The first was the ability to transform demonic power. This ability allowed them to change demonic power, which came about from the occurrence of various negative phenomena, into other forms of power.

However, for some reason, this power had become corrupted into its polar opposite, meaning that it now specialized in transforming other powers into demonic power.

As a result, this huge influx of demonic power disrupted the demons’ task of administering “trials” and turned them into something evil. With this, the trials, which had once existed to help humanity evolve, were now nothing more than a painful source of suffering.

What’s more, this paired with another ability that demons had, namely the ability to feed on life so as to turn it into a source of power.

It was these very powers that’d given rise to dark demons as they now knew them.

That was when Wallenstein and his comrades used their research to perfect a spell that sealed the ability to convert things into demonic power. They could use it to suppress any excess increases in demonic energy. And thus, they’d succeeded in purifying accumulated demonic energy and could thereby prevent demons from carrying out their now-corrupted mission.

The result of all of this was light demons, such as Barbatos.

“…Or such was the case until some new information came to light,” Barbatos continued, explaining that something extraordinary had happened afterward.

Figuring he might as well study the divine artifact since he was safeguarding it, he’d apparently stumbled across something very interesting.

While it had no effect on light demons, the power of the divine artifact greatly weakened dark ones. And when he further investigated what exactly was weakening them, he’d apparently discovered the mysterious reason behind this.

Interestingly, it seemed to somehow lie in the dark demons’ ability to corrupt things. Holy energy was the opposite of demonic power, and as one would expect from this, demonic power contained negative energy. It was an extremely dangerous form of power, and yet demons could convert it into other types of power.

However, the opposite was also true. Through their research of the divine artifact, they’d discovered a mysterious source which generated huge amounts of demonic power when it was used.

Indeed, the real reason for demons transforming into dark demons had been this mysterious, overflowing source of demonic power which had gone as far as corrupting the demons’ original mission.

“Wow… So you finally figured all that out!”

“Yes, and it’s the first step toward healing.”

Up until then, their only option had been to permanently seal the demons’ abilities. They also needed to regularly check whether the seal was still holding.

But Barbatos seemed quite pleased that now they’d found a more permanent solution.

And so, after saying all of this, Barbatos went on to finally explain why he was there.

“It all happened about a fortnight ago when we managed to locate a part of this mysterious source by using the power of the divine artifact. Hoping to figure out exactly what it was, we began searching for somewhere with traces of a similar power, and we came upon this place.”

It seemed that Wallenstein and his comrades now had two basic missions.

The first was to return dark demons to light ones, like they’d been doing. The other was to uncover what had caused them to turn into dark demons in the first place.

And it seemed that Barbatos was in charge of the latter.

“But this place certainly seems quite dubious, does it not? What’s more, the fact that you’re here makes me feel that I must be on to something.”

Up until then, he hadn’t found much at the places he’d investigated, and so he hadn’t come any closer to determining what’d turned demons dark.

However, unwilling to throw in the towel, he’d continued investigating each place until finally coming to the one where they now stood. And so, while investigating, Barbatos had detected Mira and Meilin.

“On that note, what are you doing here, Miss Mira?” Barbatos asked, a hopeful look on his face.

They certainly weren’t in the most ordinary of places, and so he seemed to think that Mira must have had some reason for being there.

However, her reason for being there was entirely different from Barbatos’s. And yet, could it simply be a coincidence that they’d met up there?

“Hrmm, well, actually, we’re here to…”

It didn’t seem likely that their meeting was mere coincidence. Thinking as much, Mira explained why they’d ended up there.

“…And so, that’s how we ended up here,” Mira finished.

Having listened to her explanation, Barbatos murmured, “The Monster-Ruling God…huh?” before losing himself in thought.

After a few moments, he asked Mira to show him a fragment of the sword. Mira agreed, holding out one of the fully sealed sword fragments. Sure enough, the moment he laid his eyes upon it, a look of utter revulsion washed over his face.

“I can feel…something stirring within me. How do I put it…? It’s almost like I can recall when I was ruled by that dark power…” Barbatos said.

Though he’d only just laid eyes upon the fragment, he seemed unable to bear it any longer and drew away from it. “Thank you, but that will be enough,” he continued, bidding Mira to put the fragment away.

Concerned about Barbatos, Mira put the fragment back in the bag and asked, “It seems like you had a pretty strong aversion to it. You okay?”

“Yes, there’s nothing wrong. It just didn’t feel right,” Barbatos quickly replied, as if there was no need to worry. He then stepped forward once more and, looking rather confident, said, “I’m just starting to think that perhaps our tasks might be aligned in some way.”

“Hrmm, yes, there does indeed seem to be some sort of connection,” Mira said, indicating that she agreed.

Having come to find the sword of the Monster-Ruling God, she’d run into Barbatos, who was investigating how demons had become dark demons.

Could it be purely coincidental that the sword itself and the source of the demons’ transformation into dark demons both slept in the same place?

No matter how one looked at it, that seemed quite unlikely. In which case, they could only presume one thing. And that was that Monster-Ruling God’s sword itself had turned demons into dark demons.

“It’s pretty surprising, though, that such a dreadful thing would be resting here…” Barbatos said, explaining that he’d heard of the sword’s capabilities.

It seemed that he hadn’t personally participated in the long-ago battle against the Monster-Ruling God. Apparently, at that time he’d been stationed far away, having been tasked with defending a sacred area.

However, he’d heard from friends of the sword and its power.

In addition to controlling monsters themselves, it supposedly could also bring forth other, bizarre-looking monsters.

“I’d heard that there were bizarre-looking monsters around, but I see. So those are them, huh? It’s no wonder I’ve never seen any of their kind before.”

Glancing out toward the mountains, Barbatos stared at the bizarre monsters who were prowling about the castle.

“We can’t really know just what kind of forces they have assembled. That means, in order to accomplish our respective missions, we ought to make sure we have a full enough force to take them on,” Barbatos murmured, assessing the current situation, before looking at Mira as if that much were obvious.

“Hrmm, you have a point. From here on out, there’s not much we can be certain of. Only fools rush in,” Mira agreed, looking up at Barbatos.

She couldn’t say whether their meeting had been coincidence or fate, but standing before the enemy, they came up with a plan to work together.

Chapter 6

“I’VE CONTACTED THEM, and they should be coming shortly.”

They’d decided to work together and head into the lair crawling with the bizarre monsters. Therefore, in order to be fully prepared, he’d called in his comrades to act as reinforcements.

And so, after a short while, the cavalry would arrive.

But actually, that must mean they’re going to warp here. That’s so cool. No fair, I’m so jealous!

“Well, then, we’ll just watch and wait,” Mira said, a calm and composed look on her face. And yet inside, she was writhing about like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.

Everyone in Wallenstein and his comrades’ group was able to using warping magic.

Warping was an ability so high level that one could do nearly godlike things with it. And yet, as one might expect of a technique so difficult to use, it was also so dangerous that it could have an impact on society as they knew it.

And that was why its use was kept highly concealed.

Wallenstein and his comrades had apparently been taught how to use it, and yet they’d said they couldn’t teach it to Mira.

At the very least they could’ve given me a hint. It’s no fair. They’re so mean.

It seemed that to warp, one needed to have a marker where they were warping to.

The only thing Wallenstein had taught her involved the technique’s requirements. He hadn’t said a single word about anything else that might lead her to any useful hints, such as whether or not anyone else had been taught it.

It seemed the promise he’d made had been quite a serious one. And yet, it felt to Mira as if she’d very much been left out in the cold. That was probably why Mira’s eyes, which were trained on Barbatos as he eagerly awaited the arrival of his friends, became spontaneously filled with resentment.

They had been waiting for around ten or so minutes when a magic circle appeared beside Barbatos and reinforcements arrived from it.

“Thanks for waiting. So, where exactly is the target? We heard you needed additional forces, so I’ve come prepared,” the man said at the very moment he appeared.

Of course, this was very much par for the course with Wallenstein. His group certainly seemed to be a talented bunch. Being one of the Nine Wise Men, Wallenstein’s combat capabilities were top class.

This time, perhaps because he’d come ready for battle, he wasn’t wearing the suit she usually saw him in. Instead, he’d shown up in combat attire. Perhaps he wanted to leave his previous Wise Man outfit in the past. Rather than wearing that particular outfit, a robe consisting of jet-black bandages that covered his entire body, he was garbed in a new robe. As usual, it was also mostly black and rather conservative.

If she had to describe in a word what his outfit looked like, she’d have to say it gave off strong Christian warrior priest vibes. Whether this was intentional or not was anyone’s guess.

The manner of Wallenstein’s arrival, as well as the brief exchange with his comrade, both testified to the fact that he was indeed someone who could be relied on in a pinch. Having only just arrived and yet already having a grasp on the situation with just a minimal amount of information, he gave off the air of being a consummate professional.

The moment he laid eyes on the walled city and saw it crawling with the bizarre-looking monsters and lesser demons, he flashed a knowing smile. “It certainly does seem like there’s something here.”

“Oh ho, long time no see,” Mira said, patting Wallenstein on the back from behind as he stood facing the walled city.

And wouldn’t you know it, perhaps not having realized anyone else was there, he immediately cried out, “Agh!” in a frantic voice.

“Huh? Huh?! What the…? Mira, why’re you here?”

So surprised that he seemed about to jump out of his skin, Wallenstein turned around and looked even more confused when he saw Mira.

Image - 08

Barbatos was on a top-secret mission to find out why demons had become dark demons. In the process of doing so he’d requested backup, and so Wallenstein had come rushing over.

He must’ve never thought in a million years that there’d be a third party there, or that it would be Mira. He looked like someone who’d fallen hook, line, and sinker for some kind of practical joke.

“And it’s not just me. There’s someone else here too,” Mira declared, a faint smile playing on her lips.

“Huh…? Someone else?! Who?!” Wallenstein said, panicking once more as he looked around them. However, Meilin was quite adept at hiding, and so she wouldn’t be so easily spotted.

But at the very next moment…

“I was wondering who it was, but I recognize you. Mr. Emo!”

Meilin had come over herself, having apparently detected Wallenstein’s aura. Before speaking to him, she thought to herself for a moment, and then a look of recognition flashed in her eyes.

“Um… Seeing as you called me that, I’m guessing that you’re…Meilin?!”

Mr. Emo was the name Meilin had for Wallenstein because he exclusively wore black.

This came as another huge surprise to Wallenstein.

And yet, that much was to be expected. This was because Meilin was now dressed as Sailor Guardian and looked wildly different from how she had before.

Additionally, Meilin seemed to have taken a liking to her new outfit, as she answered, “Nope. Right now, I’m the warrior of love, Sailor Guardian!” She sounded much more enthusiastic than Mira would’ve imagined.

The disguise was so good that at first glance, no one would’ve guessed that it was Meilin.

But this wasn’t the case for fellow Wise Men. When he saw Meilin thoroughly enjoying herself in front of him, Wallenstein smiled faintly and nodded along.

“I’m honestly surprised that you managed to track Meilin down. So, what’re the two of you doing in a place like this…?” Wallenstein asked once more, after they’d finished greeting each other.

“Hrmm, well, actually…”

Mira began by explaining about the monster-repelling amulets making their way around Nirvana as well as what they contained, then moved on to the mystery of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword.

“I see… In other words, that sword is resting here. And so, that may be why dark demons are somehow involved, correct?” Wallenstein said, deducing that Mira and Barbatos’s objectives aligned here.

Wallenstein then smiled, saying that it didn’t seem like their mission would be easy. Nevertheless, he gazed at Mira and Meilin with a confident look in his eyes.

“All right, then how about we get a closer look? Our destination is beneath the castle, correct?”

He must’ve thought that, while their mission might prove fairly tricky, they could manage it with the group they now had. Standing up, he half-jokingly added, “And should worse come to worst, we can always just force our way through.” He then began preparing all of his investigation equipment.

There was one person who reacted quite strongly to this suggestion.

Indeed, it was none other than Meilin. By “forcing their way through,” Wallenstein had meant fighting them head-on. And so, beaming from ear to ear, Meilin said that this would definitely make for some great training.

“Listen, charging our way in is our last resort. We’re not doing that from the get-go,” Mira said, making sure there were no misunderstandings. Meilin certainly seemed to have gotten the wrong idea.

“Ngh… We’re not going to charge in?”

Last resorts were adopted in situations that might not have called for them, but in which they might be necessary. In all the battles Mira and her fellow Wise Men had fought, they’d only had to resort to such things a handful of times. As the name implied, one only turned to a last resort when literally all else had failed.

Charging in through the front door to take on enemies they were unfamiliar with didn’t seem like a great idea. Understanding that, Meilin hung her head in disappointment.

Working alongside Wallenstein and Barbatos, Mira and her companions started by heading toward the walled city.

Their destination lay below the castle that sat in the middle of the valley. And so, they first made their way toward that castle. However, in order to get there, they’d have to pass between the castle and the walled city. There was nothing along the way which they could use to hide, and they’d be completely visible from the city.

Therefore, their first order of business was to do something about the lesser demons who were standing in positions from which their route could be seen.

The dark demons had some sort of sinister designs. Were they to discover that Mira and her companions were sneaking in, they couldn’t be sure what kind of resistance they’d put up.

If they came personally, then it would be all the better. But in most such cases, the results of being discovered were less than ideal, as they’d end up destroying the evidence (along with whatever else happened to be nearby) before fleeing, holding someone or something hostage, or somehow forcing their hand.

Therefore, because they knew they were dealing with dark demons, they wanted to do everything they could to make sure they weren’t discovered. That was the rule of thumb when you went up against dark demons.

However, it was in these very kinds of circumstances that Barbatos’s talents truly shone. While not as much as when he’d been a dark demon, he seemed to have quite a few ways of distracting the lesser demons. What’s more, he appeared to know where they were.

The lesser demons were positioned around to keep watch, and yet, by getting within a certain distance of them, he could order them to divert their attention elsewhere. And while the effect only lasted for about half a day, that was more than enough for their current purposes.

While walking through the streets that snaked through the city, they occasionally came across the bizarre monsters that prowled about, which they then silently eliminated. This way, they diverted the attention of the lesser demons one after another, thereby shutting down the dark demons’ surveillance network.

Their stealth mission was proceeding quite smoothly.

Meilin, wanting to fight as much as possible, was following Mira and the others’ lead and silently executing monsters. While she was quite a ferocious warrior, she was also very capable of quickly and quietly silencing her foes. If anything, given her extensive background in martial arts, she seemed to excel at doing so. However, whether due to her personality or some other reason, she had the reputation of liking to take on her foes face-to-face, fair and square.

Perhaps for this reason, the longer their stealth activities continued, the more restless Meilin began to grow.

“…Hey, the lesser demons being here means the dark demons must somehow be involved, right? They could very well be lying in wait in the depths of the castle. But if they discover us, then maybe they’ll run off. They’ve run away like that plenty of times before, no? So, in that case, don’t use any excess strength, and instead save all your strength for then, okay?”

Now, the whole idea that she’d need to reserve her strength for this was a bit of a white lie. And by telling Meilin that there was something coming up for her to look forward to, Mira managed to calm her down.

“You’re right, geezer… I’ll do my best until we get underground!”

“Hrmm, that’s the spirit.”

Relieved to hear this from the ever-honest Meilin, Mira and her companions resumed their clandestine operation.

“All right, that should do it. Now there shouldn’t be any eyes on us from this side,” Barbatos declared, surveying the walled city one last time. After about two hours, they’d succeeded in diverting the attention of about half of the lesser demons.

“Now we should be able to sneak inside without anyone noticing us.” Wallenstein glanced at the castle in the center as he observed that they shouldn’t have any issue.

They’d taken care of everywhere where they could possibly be spotted from the south. And because the castle sat in the center of the valley, no one would be able to see them from the north. All they had to do now was march in and infiltrate the castle from the south.

“All right, it’s just about time,” Mira said.

“What’re you all waiting for? This is super exciting!” Meilin added.

So, just what would they find beneath the castle that stood in the heart of the valley, where they thought the sword of the Monster-Ruling God had to be, and that they believed was connected somehow to dark demons?

Having descended the mountains from the south, Mira and her companions took the shortest possible route as they dashed through the valley.

As they did, Meilin and Wallenstein noiselessly took out the bizarre monsters that happened to be along their route.

Meilin’s skills in deftly penetrating her foes’ vital spots were very much indicative of a true professional. However, because she was dressed as a transforming princess, they could only laugh at how ridiculous she looked in the process.

Meanwhile, Wallenstein seemed to be quite a practiced hand at this as well. Quickly sealing his foes in a small-scale barrier, he instantly incinerated them before they had a chance to give any signal or make so much as a peep.

Not being quite as skilled at operating quietly or clandestinely, Mira followed after the pair and, lamenting that she didn’t have a chance to show her stuff, murmured, “If only Wasranvel was here…”

On that note, she’d assigned Wasranvel to Bruce to ensure both his safety and success. Sticking out her bottom lip and pouting, Mira added that she didn’t really regret it while she watched Meilin and Wallenstein go on before her.

They had now arrived in the castle that stood in the middle of the walled city. Appreciating how the castle still stood quite solidly, even though it was in ruins, Mira and her companions successfully sneaked inside.

Near the entrance, moonlight filtered in, making visibility still somewhat good despite the darkness.

Looking around, they found that they were in a sort of lobby. It was quite a commodious space, indicating how well built the castle was. Despite being very old, it looked to have been constructed with considerable technical prowess. Even in its current ruined state, it was splendid enough that it looked like it wouldn’t crumble easily.

And yet, because of this, the cracks and gaps in the stone were so fine that light couldn’t make its way through, and so the area opening up from the entrance lobby was pitch black.

“Hrmm, I’d like to light this place up a bit, but…” Mira muttered before turning an imploring gaze toward Barbatos.

“Good point. I don’t think it should be an issue,” Barbatos answered. Apparently, there weren’t any lesser demons keeping watch inside of the castle.

“But don’t you think it’s strange? You’d think that they’d have even more lesser demons keeping watch here,” Mira said concernedly while suspending balls of light using Ethereal Arts.

There was undoubtedly something just beneath the castle. And so, if they really wanted to protect whatever it was, then security ought to be even stricter inside of the castle.

“I’d imagine that the reason has something to do with the unpleasant vibe that’s clinging to this place…”

According to Barbatos, the closer one got to the castle, the stronger an unpleasant vibe similar to the one he’d felt when shown the fragment of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword got.

Lesser demons possessed similar sensory capabilities to those of regular demons, and so they probably couldn’t handle getting quite so close. That was what Barbatos presumed, at least.

Mira concurred that it therefore made sense why there weren’t any lesser demons in the castle. At the same time, worried if Barbatos would be all right putting himself in such a situation, she asked, “I see… So, I guess it’s a bit late to ask, but is that okay? Now that I think of it, you found this place looking for whatever turned demons into dark demons, right? So, if whatever that is happens to be somewhere here, could that mean that you’ll become one again too?”

They’d only just succeeded in changing Barbatos back into a light demon. Was there a chance that, for whatever reason, he might become a dark demon once more? And were they forcing him to go with them against his will, then?

“No, there’s no need to worry about that. It just feels a bit unpleasant. Also, we’ve completely sealed the power that was responsible for that change, and I’ve got an amulet to protect the seal. Not only that, Wally made this himself, and gave it to me just in case. We all have them,” Barbatos said, taking a small bag out from his coat and showing it to Mira.

The seal should be more than enough for the time being, but perhaps because Wallenstein was a bit of a worrier, he’d given all of the light demons a protective amulet. It surrounded them with a special barrier which prevented anything from interfering with the seal.

“Hrmm, I see. You used to be embarrassed to get presents, but now you have no trouble making handmade ones. You’ve grown quite a bit, and I’m glad to see it.”

This was addressed to Wallenstein, who’d struggled to communicate even with the fellow Wise Men he was so friendly with. It was the very same Wallenstein who’d often fled when those he’d rescued had tried to thank him. Incredibly impressed that he’d given a present of his own volition, Mira patted him on the shoulder and nodded vigorously, looking quite pleased at how much he’d grown.

“Just forget about what I was like back then, please…!”

Back then, Wallenstein not only had extreme social anxiety, but also still acted very much like an edgy tween. It seemed that this embarrassing period of his life, which was still very recent, would make him the butt of no shortage of jokes. While this conversation was going on, they suddenly heard a voice.

“Let’s hurry and go. I bet it’s this way!”

It was Meilin. She’d been wandering back and forth through the entrance lobby, but it seemed that she could no longer wait.

But where exactly would they find the path leading underground inside the castle? They were supposed to look for this, but she seemed to be more preoccupied with whatever powerful enemy was waiting…or that she presumed was waiting for them underground. Meilin then suggested that there was something suspicious about the area up ahead and began forging ahead.

“All right, all right. Hold on a second, will you?”

Figuring that there was no stopping Meilin when she got this way, Mira quickly hurried after her.

“Should she be doing that, Wally?” Barbatos asked, wondering if they should carefully examine their surroundings beforehand like they usually did.

But Wallenstein simply smiled as if it weren’t a problem and said, “Well, in times like this, her gut is usually right,” before following the pair.

“It’s a surprise seeing Wally like this,” Barbatos said, following the three after a moment.

Wallenstein was always so methodical, and he would only set about a mission once he’d come up with a proper strategy. Not only had he not stopped her from following her gut, he’d actively followed her.

Noting that unexpected things did indeed sometimes happen and sensing that Wallenstein must really trust Meilin, Barbatos watched the three enviously as they continued on ahead of him.

Chapter 7

“SO THERE AREN’T ANY lesser demons, but these guys are here, huh?” Mira said.

“And they’re stronger than the ones outside! I wonder how strong they’ll be in the deepest part. This is looking promising!” Meilin added.

After ten or so minutes of searching the castle for a path that led underground, they occasionally came across the bizarre monsters. What’s more, they were clearly much more powerful than the ones they’d fought in the walled city.

That said, they were up against three of the Nine Wise Men, the top mages in all the land. So even if they were considerably more powerful, the monsters couldn’t harm any of them.

“Hm, strange… What is this…?”

And yet, something about them seemed to be bothering Wallenstein. Though he was able to eradicate the bizarre monsters with his impressive skills, something didn’t seem to be sitting right with him.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” Mira asked.

“It’s just that…” Wallenstein began.

Apparently, banishment spells didn’t seem to be working very well on the bizarre monsters. According to him, since he had a good idea of the monsters’ sizes and resistances, he should have been able to adjust the power of the flames he used to incinerate the monsters completely into ash. And yet, each time he used it, some parts of the monsters weren’t fully reduced to ash.

“Oh ho, that is a bit odd.”

On of the primary advantages of banishing was that it was particularly effective on most monsters, or anything possessing demonic power.

And yet, even the Spirit King didn’t appear to know much about these bizarre monsters. All they knew about the monsters, who had fought alongside the Monster-Ruling God and were both quite powerful and different from normal monsters, was that they all were shaped similarly and had a similar aura.

The Spirit King and Martel had said that, while they were indeed monsters, they were also somewhat different from typical monsters.

“Perhaps they have some kind of special ability or something. Or maybe they have some kind of resistance that we don’t know about,” Mira guessed while she looked at what remained of one of the monsters’ charred corpses.

She could tell that part of its corpse had been burnt white. That being visible was a sign that Wallenstein’s banishing spell had been effective, which meant that the bizarre monsters did indeed have demonic power.

But just like Wallenstein had said, part of it hadn’t been burnt into ash. The most plausible reason for this was simply that Wallenstein had made a miscalculation when he used the spell.

However, since he’d made those calculations hundreds of thousands of times, it didn’t seem very likely that he’d make such a simple mistake.

In which case, it was reasonable to conclude that the answer must have lain within the bizarre monsters themselves.

“Well, that certainly seems likely. After all, there’s still quite a lot that we don’t yet know,” Wallenstein said.

While they were still unsure of the reason behind this, it wasn’t as if they couldn’t defeat the monsters. And so, ever vigilant, Wallenstein incinerated what remained of the bizarre monster’s corpse.

“Good point. We may know a heck of a lot about spells, but given how we can only really wander about the human realm, we’re always gonna have a lot more questions than answers.”

They may have been members of the Nine Wise Men, who were celebrated as the top mages in all the land, but that didn’t mean they could rest on their laurels. Having said all this, Mira and Wallenstein decided to stop worrying and buckle down.

However, Meilin, who was going ahead of them, turned around and shouted back, “Quit chitchatting about all that obvious stuff, and hurry.” She’d said it as if impatiently wondering why they needed to discuss such things now and urged them to pick up the pace.

Perhaps because she was so intuitive, it was actually Meilin who figured things out the quickest. Looking at each other and then sharing a smile, Mira and Wallenstein did as Meilin ordered and dashed forward.

Figuring it better to be safe than sorry, they incinerated any of the bizarre monsters that happened to cross their path.

And so, quickly yet cautiously, Mira and her companions proceeded through the castle. And while they couldn’t find a passage that led underground, they relied on Meilin’s intuition and ran back and forth down the castle’s winding, maze-like passage.

If it didn’t work, then they’d just have to think up another way to handle the search.

Perhaps unable to bear seeing the exact same scenery over and over again, the Spirit King said in Mira’s head, “It seems like you’ve been running around in circles.”

“…I’ve been thinking that too,” Mira agreed.

Meilin’s intuition also seemed to have reached its limit. Perhaps they should discuss what their next plan might be?

And yet, just as Mira was thinking this…

“I thought this place was kind of weird,” Meilin said, stopping dead in the center of a passage that they’d passed through several times.

The passage was like some dark labyrinth. They must’ve gone past the same exact spot several times. This would normally make one think they were lost, but that wasn’t the case with Meilin. Having deliberately passed through the hall several times, she now spoke as if she were on to something.

“Oh ho, what do you mean by that?” Mira asked.

“What’s the matter? Did you find a trap or something?” Wallenstein added.

Their collective curiosity had been immediately piqued by Meilin’s reaction.

“Hmm, I feel like this place is the closest to getting there. Anywhere else just doesn’t feel right,” Meilin said.

Perhaps because she herself was relying on her intuition, she was struggling to explain what she meant by saying it felt weird. And while they didn’t really get it, they figured that there must have been something off about that area and began checking it out.

Meilin was most certainly not just trying to cover up the fact that she’d gotten them lost. Knowing this full well, Mira and Wallenstein joined her in searching the area for whatever was making her feel like something was off.

“Weird, you say… Then perhaps something is here,” Barbatos said, following his companions’ lead and searching the area for whatever might be there.

So, what on earth was this “weird” thing that Meilin had mentioned? Was it something physical? Without having so much as a hint, the group scanned the surrounding area.

Not knowing what exactly they were searching for, they spent about ten minutes looking around.

Then, even without knowing what this “weird” thing that they were looking for was, the group nevertheless began to figure that they were looking for some way to get underground in any case.

They then began closely inspecting the wall, checking for some kind of hidden passage.

“Huh… What’s this…?” Barbatos muttered, having noticed some faint marks on this wall.

“Oh ho, what is it?” Mira asked.

“Did you find something?” Wallenstein added.

“What happened?” Meilin asked last.

Perhaps because they’d been making so little headway, coupled with the heaviness of the mood, the group immediately seized on what Barbatos had muttered. Finally sensing a glimmer of hope, they rushed over to him.

Though he felt a bit of pressure at how excited the three got, Barbatos answered, “Well, it’s this spot right here…” while pointing to a specific part of the wall.

While it was extraordinarily old, there had apparently been demonic magic cast on it.

Barbatos continued on that, what’s more, he could figure out exactly what kind of magic had been used there. After a short moment of silence, he explained to them what he’d learned.

First off, the magic that’d been deployed there had been used for both sealing and concealing.

Next, there were very few who could use or detect this magic. In fact, only a single race could do so…namely demons.

“…There are no traces left of the mana that was used, so at the very least, this magic is well over a thousand years old. I’m curious as to what seal it is and why exactly it’s concealed, but the strangest part is this restriction on who can interact with it. If it was something they really wanted to hide, then they wouldn’t have gone out of their way to include a method of allowing anyone to interact with the seal. But they did exactly that,” Barbatos explained, adding that this was what he found most mysterious.

Having analyzed the magic, he’d figured out which group alone was able to interact with it. He found it quite curious that anyone of the same race as him could do so.

“…I get it now! Right now, dark demons and light demons are completely different. But Faust said before that he’d got caught in a trap that only allowed dark demons to pass through unhindered. So, if it only lets beings of the same race disable it…” Wallenstein said, having seemingly picked up on what Barbatos was implying.

Mira also more or less figured out what the situation now was.

“Hrmm, then you’re saying it must’ve been a light demon who placed that seal, correct?”

The seal used magic that only light demons could interact with. And seeing as Barbatos could do so, it stood to reason that the one who’d used the magic was none other than a fellow light demon.

But that brought them to the biggest question.

“That’s correct. However, this seal is at least well over a thousand years old. I managed to revert back to a light demon thanks to Wally and his comrades, but it’s safe to say that such methods of reverting demons to their original state only came about rather recently. And so, a thousand years ago, there ought to have only been dark demons around.”

This was true. As Barbatos had explained, the ability to transform dark demons into light demons was only possible thanks to a secret technique that Wallenstein and his comrades had devised as a result of extensive research.

Therefore, only dark demons should have existed during the time when the seal appeared to have been placed.

And yet, the magic there specifically targeted those of the same race as Barbatos. In other words, it was aimed at light demons.

So, what on earth was going on?

Having begun to ponder this, Mira suddenly struck on one possible answer.

“In that case, could that mean the seal is from even farther back…from before demons became dark?”

For some yet unknown reason, demons had become dark demons. And it was precisely because Mira knew about this that the idea occurred to her.

“Yes, exactly. That would make the most sense,” Wallenstein said, nodding in agreement.

He had apparently been thinking the same thing as well.

“I think so as well. But that’s exactly what makes this so confusing. What on earth would they have wanted to seal away…?”

The ones who’d placed the seal had most likely been demons who’d been around before demons turned dark. In which case, their next question was why exactly they had placed such a seal there.

“I have no doubt that beyond here lies the sword of the Monster-Ruling God that we’re looking for. In which case, it’s likely they’re indeed connected,” Mira said.

Having come in search of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword, they’d stumbled upon the seal on the wall which blocked them from getting any closer. If anything, the seal being unrelated to the sword was the much more unlikely alternative.

“Yes, we ought to assume as much,” Wallenstein said, seeming to reach the same conclusion as Mira. But then Barbatos mentioned that he still wasn’t totally sure.

Having heard from his friend that the sword of the Monster-Ruling God had previously had a powerful seal put on it with the power of spirit leylines, Barbatos continued that it shouldn’t be possible to contain such a thing with the kind of seal they were dealing with.

“Hmm, that’s true. This seal wouldn’t quite be enough to seal that sword. In which case, something else must be sealed here,” the Spirit King said, agreeing with Barbatos’s thoughts on the matter.

“Hrmm, then you think so too, Your Highness? So, something else is probably sealed here, huh?” Mira said.

“It seems like things are more and more complicated, doesn’t it…?” Wallenstein said, smiling wryly. If the Spirit King agreed as well, then things would likely become even trickier now.

Whatever the case, they couldn’t just stand there twiddling their thumbs. This was because Meilin had been pestering Barbatos for quite some time, saying, “If you can open the seal, then do it!”

This was undoubtedly because they were engaged in a rather complex discussion. And yet, the pressure she was pouring on him was considerable, and so it seemed that he’d reached his limit.

“Okay, I’ll open it. I’ll open it, all right?” Barbatos said, doing as Meilin had urged. He then meddled with the seal and modified it.

Indeed, he didn’t dispel the seal, but merely altered it. Unsure at the moment of what exactly was sealed there, Barbatos had decided that it wouldn’t be wise to recklessly dispel the entire thing, and instead he simply revised the seal’s conditions to include Mira and the rest of their companions.

“All right, now I’ll try opening the entrance.”

Having revised the magic that’d been used, Barbatos was still working when something appeared before Mira and her companions.

“Oh ho, now that’s a surprise,” Mira said.

A large door had suddenly appeared where there’d previously been nothing but a wall. What’s more, the area lying beyond it was clearly different from anything they’d seen in the castle so far.

In the midst of the dilapidated ruins of the castle, a door covered in white crystals had suddenly appeared. Judging from how imposing it looked, it seemed like the kind of thing one would stumble upon in a game just before reaching a secret boss or finding some kind of hidden treasure chest.

“I wonder where it leads. Let’s proceed cautiously,” Wallenstein began, suggesting that they carefully investigate the area before moving forward… Or at least that was what he tried to do.

“This looks promising!” Meilin said, leaping through as soon as the door opened and running across the threshold without any hesitation. To her, it didn’t seem to matter one bit what had been sealed away there.

“Ah, jeez. I guess I should’ve known this’d happen…”

“Well, considering that she’s with us, you probably should have. Just let her take the lead like always,” Mira said.

And yet, sometimes such impulsiveness actually proved beneficial, as they probably wouldn’t make any progress sitting around pondering.

But most importantly, they had quite the crew assembled. Therefore, it’d be far more efficient to just keep plowing forward than to sit around and chat over every single thing.

This was especially the case now with Meilin who, able to ceaselessly keep up her guard and capable of dealing with even brand-new challenges, was forging ahead of the group.

Given that this was the case, it could certainly be argued that she was indeed doing what made the most sense.

Thinking as much, Mira and her other companions steeled their resolves and followed after her past the now-unsealed door.

Following after the three while watching the whole situation unfold, Barbatos said, “I think I’m starting to get it now.” He was beginning to feel as if he could now better understand his friend’s friend.

Wallenstein was cautious and deliberate while Meilin was impulsive and uninhibited. Smiling somewhat cheerfully, he thought to himself how the two still managed to be good friends even though they were so different.

Past the sealed door lay a staircase.

And, just like they’d expected, they indeed seemed to have found the path that led underground.

The staircase plunged far underground. Meanwhile, the light from Mira’s Ethereal Arts spell gleamed off the white crystals that covered the passage, making the place look dreamy and surreal.

In stark contrast to this, the expressions on Mira and her companions’ faces were ones of unease.

This was because the farther down they went, and the closer they came to the deepest reaches beneath the castle, the more they felt an indescribable pressure closing in on them.

And so, the four were already prepared for battle.

Mira had encased herself in her sacred frame, while Wallenstein had taken out a bottle of holy water as well as a short sword made of silver. The pair were ready to strike a mortal blow to whatever might cross their path anywhere.

Meanwhile, the stronger this pressure got, the more Meilin’s eyes blazed with fighting spirit.

And so, they finally made their way to the bottom of the stairs and arrived at the deepest reaches beneath the castle.

“What? Is that…?”

“Is that a monster…? Or is that a…human I see inside?”

That was what Mira and Wallenstein asked when they saw what was before them. They both stopped and furrowed their brows.

Before them stretched a space that was about two hundred square feet, which had likely been something along the lines of a storage room. And there, amid the remnants of old shelves that lay scattered across the floor, they saw it.

It was a huge mass of flesh which, though it somewhat resembled the bizarre-looking monsters, looked even more bizarre. Whatever it was, it filled up half of the room.

“It seems like two people… Hm, no, that’s not it. It’s one person and one thing,” Meilin said while staring at it, having taken another step forward.

While Meilin’s meaning was difficult to comprehend, one would understand if they were to see it.

Half the room was occupied by this mass of flesh. And yet, in the center of it, through a small gap, they could just barely make out a humanoid figure which was buried in this very mass of flesh.

Seeing the shapes before him, Barbatos nodded as if it all made sense and grimaced at the same time.

“No way… So that’s what it is. In that case, I can understand the need for the seal. While I can’t quite make out their face, I’m sure that must be one of my compatriots. By which I mean, they’re likely the one who sealed themselves here,” he said, declaring that past the sealed door and sitting in the deepest chamber beneath the ruined castle was a demon.

“What the…” Mira said.

“I see… If you look closely, you can kind of see a horn…” Wallenstein added.

The sight was still quite far away, and so they couldn’t get a good look at its face or body. All they could really discern was that it was shaped like a human, and they could just barely make out its head as well as both of its arms.

However, from the horns on it, they could tell that it was indeed a demon. Furthermore, considering the seal and everything, it had very likely been around before all the demons became dark demons.

So why was the demon there? There were a few possibilities that seemed plausible given the state it was in. For one, buried within the mass of flesh, the demon held a long and thin crystal in its hand. Another fact that helped them deduce why the demon was there was the fact that it was still alive. It had become incredibly weak, and yet [Biometric Scan] told them that it was indeed alive.

“But now that I’m getting a better look, it certainly looks like the thing we’ve been searching for is inside that crystal,” Mira said.

The clear crystal wasn’t any ordinary chunk of crystal. They could glimpse a very particular, baleful-looking hue inside of it.

Indeed, it was the very same color as the fragments of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword.

The room quite clearly had an unusual vibe emanating from it. Undoubtedly thinking that it must contain a powerful foe, Meilin stepped forward and said, “Then that’s two birds with one stone. I’ll fight it!”

Meilin could both fight a powerful opponent and get what they’d come there for. Figuring this had worked out wonderfully, she was raring to go.

“Wait, hold on. We should probably analyze the situation first…”

The situation was much more peculiar than they’d expected, and they still couldn’t see what kind of foe was lurking there. Could they safely extricate the demon who seemed to have been nearly swallowed up? But before jumping that far, was there even any way to do so? And what even was the mass of flesh that’d swallowed up the demon in the first place?

Either way, they were better off consulting with the Spirit King first and analyzing everything they learned.

Or at least that was what Mira was about to suggest when suddenly the crystal glowed dimly.

The moment it did, large lumps began falling away from the mass of flesh and were then bathed in the light from the crystal.

And, wouldn’t you know it, these lumps then gathered together and formed into a single entity.

It was one of the bizarre-looking monsters, and yet it was much larger than any of the bizarre monsters they’d yet encountered. And, most importantly, the power it contained was greater by far than any of its brethren.

“I never would’ve thought it’d appear like that…” Mira said.

“I’m guessing it won’t wait around for us. We don’t have a choice anymore. Get ready for battle!” Wallenstein added.

“It’s about time!” Meilin cheered.

As soon as it finished taking form, the bizarre-looking monster, which was shaped almost like a dark demon, charged forward.

On what appeared to be its head were baleful-looking horns, and countless winged arms stretched forth from what seemed to be its back. Finally, it had a black shell that covered its entire body, including its head, and tentacle-like legs. The way these legs quickly carried it across the ground made the creature look like some abomination straight out of a truly terrifying nightmare.

Chapter 8

“I’VE COME ACROSS quite a few enemies in my day, but it’s my first time running into one quite so difficult to read. Not only that… I’ve never fought something my spells have so little effect on!” Wallenstein said, struggling with their foe’s troublesome and unorthodox nature, a short while after their battle against the bizarre monster had begun.

At first glance, it looked like a dark demon, and yet its body was almost amorphous, such that it could move and maneuver in unexpected and unconventional ways.

At first, Wallenstein had attempted to cautiously study how their foe moved. However, when he realized that there was no way to make sense of this, he’d decided to attack.

However, perhaps because it was of the same ilk as the bizarre-looking monsters, he found that his banishing spells were much less effective even though it possessed demonic power.

“Too bad. Well, in that case, you might as well leave attacking to me!” Mira said.

The creature moved very fast, and its attacks were quite difficult to read. Not only that, standing just over thirteen feet tall, it was both massive and extremely tough.

Its strikes were vicious enough to send a holy knight flying, and its hide was so tough that even a dark knight’s sword couldn’t cut through it.

The pseudo-demon possessed effectively the same fighting ability as a raid boss, which would normally be taken on with an entire party.

However, Mira didn’t show the slightest concern or hesitation. This was because she was surrounded by friends with whom she’d escaped the jaws of death countless times.

“I’ve never fought anything like this! This is a super exciting battle!” Meilin called out, fighting the pseudo-demon on the front line. The way she evaded the creature’s extendable limbs made the battle look like a choreographed performance.

Indeed, it even looked as if they were on stage, such that the scene unfolding before Mira resembled a waltz with death. And yet, blithely unaware of this despite being in such a situation, Meilin’s excitement continued to grow unabated.

Catching ahold of Meilin as she dashed about through the air was a nearly impossible task. That said, the pseudo-demon was capable of stretching its limbs, and so no matter where or at what angle she was, she’d still be within the pseudo-demon’s attack range.

The pseudo-demon struck with fairly wide swings. And so, while Meilin could easily dodge these, an arm would swing out to block any route she might take to avoid them immediately afterward. It did so just moments after Meilin signaled that she’d move to dodge the blow.

It was a well-aimed, preemptive attack which even a true master would’ve had trouble evading. Even Meilin wasn’t able to twist away from it.

[Immortal Arts Earth: Crimson Bouquet]

Therefore, she took the attack head-on. What’s more, she didn’t just instantly perceive the trajectory of the limbs that came barreling toward her—she also managed to grab ahold of them with both hands and blasted them away.

The roar of an explosion ripped through the room as the two limbs were blasted to smithereens, followed closely by what sounded like the voice of the pseudo-demon screaming.

Its screaming was dreadful to hear, and it resembled some cacophonous amalgam of noise that didn’t sound as if it could come from either man or beast.

It was the kind of scream that instinctively filled one with dread and paralyzed them with fear.

However, the scream didn’t seem to faze Meilin one bit. “Cheap tricks like that won’t do you any good!” she cried, stepping into midair, before quickly moving right before the pseudo-demon’s face by using [Shrinking Earth].

[Immortal Arts Earth: Three-Clawed Blaze]

Immediately after she used the technique, the flames around Meilin’s hand formed into three claws and slashed the pseudo-demon across its eyes and face.

But that wasn’t all. Flames then spouted out of the deep gashes, and a powerful explosion once more rocked the room.

The attack, which delivered two types of damage, cutting and explosive, certainly seemed to have had an effect. The pseudo-demon let loose another shriek, one that could’ve been interpreted as either a scream or a challenge, and swung its arms. It acted so quickly that it seemed to be a natural reflex.

What’s more, it did so wildly, as if it wanted to utterly crush Meilin. And so, its strikes were so heavy that they reduced the nearby debris to dust.

But, needless to say, Meilin was no longer there.

“Impressive as always,” Mira said.

In fact, she’d silently drawn near the pseudo-demon from behind. And, not only that, she also had one of the light swords with the power of the sacred sword Sanctia imbued in her right arm.

After Meilin’s furious attack, Mira immediately moved to attack with that sword. She hit the pseudo-demon in the back with a strike containing the sacred sword’s energy. The force of the attack could only be described as devastating. It crunched into the pseudo-demon’s back, accompanied by a flash of light and a loud blast.

“Wow, that was pretty… Whoa!” Mira said.

However, she only had a moment to appreciate how devastating it was in actual battle. Perhaps because the creature was so amorphous, it counterattacked unusually fast, and the rest of its body sprouted arms that it then launched at Mira.

Meanwhile, obviously unable to react quite as quickly as Meilin, Mira managed to pull herself away, despite the attack grazing her arm.

Though she felt the impact, Mira’s sacred frame did its job flawlessly as its protective capabilities absorbed the damage on her behalf, such that Mira herself took no damage whatsoever.

Having done all she could, Mira put some space between herself and the pseudo-demon and restored the sacred frame’s protective capabilities which had been damaged. Then, appearing rather impressed, she looked at Meilin and said, “But wow, to think she’s able to take on something like this head on…”

Quickly jumping in front of the enemy as if to switch off, Meilin once more began battling the demon, who’d readjusted its position, head-on.

Meilin’s sharp strikes plunged into the creature’s elastic body.

Once more, the pseudo-demon counterattacked with unusual speed. Because it was amorphous, it would react immediately by unleashing its own withering blow even if it took a devastating hit. It was undoubtedly an enemy that was particularly tough to fight at close range.

Understanding this quite clearly after the strike it’d grazed her with, Mira could only commend Meilin’s incredible skills, which had allowed her to unhesitatingly take on such a foe at such close range.

“But actually, there are plenty of other ways to take it down,” Mira said.

There was no chance of competing with it in pure close-quarters combat, and yet there were plenty of other ways to fight.

Feeling herself getting fired up, Mira gleefully flew forward, ready to test out her next technique.

“By the way, Wally. No matter how you look at it, don’t you think fighting that thing from a distance would be best? I seem to remember that the two of them have attacks that they can use from long range, no?” Barbatos said.

“Well, Meilin looks as if she’s having the time of her life. She’s always liked using hand-to-hand combat against enemies that are tricky to fight at close range. I really feel like she’s improved a lot. And as for Mira…she seems to be completely in combat-testing mode. Since way back in the day, she always comes up with all sorts of things that she likes to test later in battle. I can still remember the screams of the original One-Man Army’s victims,” Wallenstein answered.

Standing well behind Mira and Meilin, who were fighting wholeheartedly on the front line, Barbatos and Wallenstein watched the pair battle while analyzing their foe.

Perhaps because Meilin and Mira were master and pupil when it came to martial arts, it looked as if they were really enjoying themselves and in perfect sync, and so it didn’t seem right to intervene.

“Come to think of it, I remember Mira being a summoner… Is that how summoners usually do battle?” Barbatos asked.

“Well, I can really only say one thing about that: she’s the exception, not the rule. While she may be the preeminent summoner, she’s also completely different from normal ones,” Wallenstein answered.

Taking a break from analyzing the enemy, the two took a moment to get an idea of their allies’ fighting power and, while discussing Mira and Meilin’s fighting styles, began to chitchat.

Though their foe was quite formidable, with Mira and Meilin fighting together, it was only a matter of time until it fell. And so, Wallenstein and Barbatos had already assumed the role of spectators.

And so, the battle went on smoothly.

“…Whoa, we should probably go deal with what’s over there. Those two can handle things over here,” Wallenstein said, starting to head toward where part of the mass of flesh was beginning to swell. Looking closer, he saw another lump of flesh beginning to fall away from the mass.

“Good point. We’ve watched it long enough to see how it functions, so we should probably try to finish it off before it starts attacking,” Barbatos added, following after Wallenstein.

Behind the spot where Mira and Meilin were busy duking it out, the two jumped into action, and yet they did so silently. They planned on nipping it in the bud before the battle could even begin. This was the way Barbatos and Wallenstein chose to fight in this particular situation.

“But jeez, this thing’s pretty tough, huh?” Mira said.

Mira and Meilin’s battle had continued for quite some time. Meilin had blasted the pseudo-demon with no shortage of strikes, and Mira had inflicted all kinds of wounds upon it while battle-testing her new techniques.

They’d already inflicted enough damage to it that it would’ve been dead two or three times over if it were a raid boss. And yet, the pseudo-demon didn’t seem like it’d be falling anytime soon. Far from being defeated, they noticed that the wounds they’d inflicted upon it had actually begun to heal.

“In that case… How about this?!” Meilin cried.

That said, they weren’t just fighting it on and on needlessly.

First of all, Meilin could already see through the pseudo-demon’s unorthodox attacks. Furthermore, she’d figured out a way of matching her foe’s counterattack with one of her own.

And so, though she started at a disadvantage when fighting in close combat, she’d turned the tables.

“This is really great training, huh?!” Meilin shouted.

Delighted that she’d made the fascinating discovery of matching counterattacks, Meilin unleashed a powerful attack that slammed the pseudo-demon into the floor.

“Hrmm, then if you’ll allow me to finish it off…!” Mira said, figuring that since Meilin seemed quite satisfied, the time was right.

Were they to put an end to the battle prematurely, it would put Meilin in a bad mood, but that was no longer likely to be an issue.

Having figured as much, Mira burst forward as if to finish off their foe.

However, the pseudo-demon was exceedingly tough and had powerful regenerative capabilities, such that it could immediately mitigate whatever damage it took. That said, there were several wounds left over which hadn’t healed.

So, why exactly was this? After testing this a few times, Mira realized that the wounds in question had all been inflicted in some way by the sacred sword Sanctia.

In other words, though it had a resistance to banishing magic, holy magic was effective against it because it contrasted demonic magic.

Therefore, with this in mind, Mira went about conducting her final test.

For this test, she would imbue two of the light swords into her arm.

Positioning her right arm in front of her waist, Mira kicked off the ground. Meanwhile, the pseudo-demon slid itself off the ground and got back to its feet. Within the blink of an eye, it then healed its injury-covered body.

And after healing itself, it extended its arms once more.

“You’re getting a bit slower!” Mira said, standing directly before the pseudo-demon.

Boldy facing the creature down, Mira pulled her arm back while imbuing it with two of the light swords at the very same time.

At that very moment, a ferocious current of light raged forth with such force that it threatened to tear her arm off.

Mira still couldn’t properly control the power of the dual light swords, and so the incredible power that billowed forth began to surge out of control.

“Time to finish this!” Mira cried.

And yet, she only needed to hold out for two or three seconds. The purpose of all of this was to see if she could demolish her foe within those few seconds.

Feeling as if her entire body was being dragged by her right arm, Mira steadied herself before powerfully launching her first forward.

“WH-WHOOOOOOOAAA!”

In a single moment, she unleashed the sacred sword’s power while plunging it into her foe with a blinding flash of light. Then, having been hit with the recoil of such a powerful blast, Mira was launched in the opposite direction.

“…Did it work?!”

Though she’d been sent spinning across the floor, Mira’s sacred frame absorbed all of the impact. She popped right back to her feet to see how her test had gone—which was to say, how the pseudo-demon had fared.

“Incredible! That was an eye-opener,” Meilin said, looking in its direction.

There was nothing there. It wasn’t just that the pseudo-demon was no longer standing, but that nothing remained of it at all, not even a single chunk of meat. According to Meilin, after the pseudo-demon became completely wrapped in light, it had been unable to regenerate and had simply disintegrated.

“That’s more or less what I thought would happen. But, well, mission accomplished!”

The pseudo-demon was vulnerable to the power of the sacred sword. Having correctly guessed that this was the case, Mira had also managed to confirm just how powerful the dual light swords were. She was quite pleased with the impressive results of her test. Meanwhile, Meilin pressed her hands together in a kung-fu salute at having fought a worthy opponent.

Image - 09

As they were processing that battle and taking in their victory, the two heard a voice.

“Um, you guys. Think we could get some help over here anytime soon…?” Wallenstein said, waving.

Looking over, they saw a whole bunch of pseudo-demons near him. While Mira and Meilin were taking on the single pseudo-demon, countless more had appeared, all of them over in his direction. They weren’t merely corpses either—they looked as if they were in the state prior to coming to life.

It must’ve been the mass of flesh that was animating them. Looking closely, they saw that the light streaming from the crystal was meandering about, as if looking for somewhere to settle.

Wallenstein, meanwhile, was sealing a barrier around the pseudo-demons before the light had a chance to seep into them. As a result, the countless pseudo-demons were simply lying motionless, sprawled around the room. That said, if they were to leave them like that, the barrier would eventually wear off and they’d reanimate.

“Hrmm, in that case…” Mira said.

After they discussed the situation for a moment, she summoned Christina, who was the real expert when it came to using the sacred sword Sanctia.

“Christina here, at your serv… Eeek! Wh-what is all this…?!”

At first, she’d been ecstatic to have been summoned, but immediately after this she let out a shriek and shuddered.

But Mira couldn’t really blame her. Without the least bit of mental preparation, she was greeted with a scene of creepy, unidentified lumps of flesh lying collapsed about the floor. It’d be impossible not to be surprised.

“Uh, hrm. I’ve got a little favor I’d like to ask…” Mira asked, tapping on the panicked Christina’s shoulder before she explained the situation to her.

Chapter 9

“HRM, JUST AS I HOPED. You did a great job, Christina,” Mira said.

“When it comes to wielding Sanctia, you can always count on me!” Christina answered.

Christina had been faced with a horde of pseudo-demons who had yet to be animated. Armed with the sacred sword Sanctia, she had used her newest technique, [Christina Evolution], to blast them all away. She’d recently developed, or rather thought up, the technique, which was an area-of-effect variation on her [Christina Slash] technique.

Perhaps because it’d worked just as she’d planned, Christina was in very high spirits. Therefore, she skillfully swung Sanctia about as if she could take down any foe at that moment. Glancing inside the room, she confidently declared, “How about I take care of that too?”

She pointed Sanctia at the giant mass of flesh. There, too, was the demon that’d just about been swallowed by this massive mound of flesh. They’d taken care of the dozens of lumps of flesh that had become the pseudo-demons after falling off of it, but the giant mass itself remained. No one had yet figured out what to do about it.

Perhaps that was why Mira figured they might as well give Christina’s idea a shot. “Hrmm. Why don’t you give it a try?”

That said, it wasn’t as if they hadn’t given it any thought. In fact, Wallenstein agreed as well. “That might not be a bad idea.”

Since Christina had managed to annihilate the pseudo-demons, it stood to reason that she could also take care of the mass of flesh from which they had spawned. Their objective at the moment was to rescue the demon that’d nearly been swallowed by the mass of flesh.

And while their original objective had been to find the sword of the Monster-Ruling God, circumstances had changed. So long as the demon showed some signs of life, no matter how faint, they had to do all they could to rescue it.

And to do so, they’d need to extricate the demon from inside the mountain of flesh.

“First off, we ought to eliminate everything hanging off of it. From what I can tell, you shouldn’t have much trouble taking care of the exterior parts. After all, it’d be trouble if more of those monsters showed up while she’s trying to deal with it,” Wallenstein said.

It seemed as if Wallenstein and Barbatos had learned a few things while they were sealing the pseudo-demons. They said they hadn’t been able to establish anything resembling a link between the demons and the mass of flesh, so eliminating them shouldn’t pose any issues.

“Hrmm, got it.”

“Yup, leave it to us!”

That was what Mira and Meilin said, readily agreeing to do as Wallenstein had proposed.

This was because it was often best to simply do as Wallenstein said whenever it came to anything involving monsters or demons.

And so, under Wallenstein’s direction, they went about dealing with the swollen mound of flesh.

“Whoa… Wow…”

First up was Christina. Since she was the best of the group with a sword, she very efficiently sliced away at the mass of flesh.

While she could’ve used her [Christina Evolution] technique to blast them away again, the newness of the technique meant she wasn’t sure she could use it without hitting the demon as well. Therefore, she decided to deal with it the old-fashioned way.

It’s worth noting that they couldn’t be sure that her [Christina Slash] wouldn’t reduce the room to rubble, and so she couldn’t use that either.

The mass of flesh had a fairly strong demonic affinity, and so Sanctia was immediately effective. The parts Christina had cut vanished to dust.

And yet, because it took some time for them to disappear, the flesh squirmed and pulsed on the ground rather unsettlingly for some time after it was lopped off.

Every time one of the lumps plopped onto the ground with a squelch, Christina screwed up her face and wondered why in the world she’d ever volunteered.

“Hrmm, not bad. It’s working pretty well!”

Meanwhile, Mira was taking care of business elsewhere.

The power of her sacred frame allowed her to draw out some of Sanctia’s power, and so she was now testing just how much she could handle while going about her task.

The light pouring out of the blade of the sword turned whatever part of the mass of flesh she touched with the sword into dust.

Mira was in exceedingly high spirits that, while the way she had set its power wasn’t very economical, that was precisely what made it such perfect practice.

“I see. So, this part is like this…and then these parts are…” Barbatos muttered.

In order to rescue the demon safely, he was examining the situation very closely.

“But who could it be? I feel like I recognize them from somewhere, but…” he continued.

Because the mass of flesh had enveloped the demon, it was impossible to make out its face. From what he could see of its arm, head, and horns, the most he could do was determine that it was not, in fact, a dark demon.

Additionally, if it’d indeed been from a time before demons became dark demons, it must’ve been considerably ancient, and his memory was somewhat hazy.

However, whatever the case, they’d soon learn who the demon was if they succeeded in their current task. Rigorously examining the situation, Barbatos prayed that his comrade would be all right.

“This is pretty fun, huh?”

Meanwhile, Meilin was standing parallel to Mira and was also dealing with the mass of flesh.

For that reason, she was holding Sanctia in her hands.

Yes, that’s right. Meilin, the girl obsessed with martial arts, who could level a horde of enemies with a single punch, was also quite accomplished with a weapon.

There were several weapon-based martial arts styles that’d grown out of the school of martial arts that Meilin practiced. Meilin had mastered all of them and could fight with particular grace and power using a staff.

While not quite as talented with a sword as she was with a staff, she was nevertheless proficient enough to wield one in battle.

She’d been able to draw more than enough power from Sanctia that she could now smoothly slice through the mass of flesh with a light sword.

“Hrmm, it looks like that just about takes care of all of it,” Mira declared, after looking around the room to make sure that their work was done, a little over an hour after they’d started.

There was no longer anything left of the lumps of flesh which had previously filled the room. All that remained was the area near the crystal.

“All right, time for the main event…” Barbatos began.

With everyone crowding together for what would be the most crucial part of their task, Barbatos began explaining to everyone what he’d learned from his investigation.

It seemed that the demon that’d been swallowed by the mass of flesh was in an extremely unique position.

That is to say, it was in a completely inactive state. In order to maintain itself in its current state, it was virtually comatose and showed only extremely faint signs of life.

“…I’d venture that this is something close to a seal. And it quite likely did it to itself,” Barbatos explained, seeming to think this was reasonable given the state the demon was in.

The reason for his belief was the crystal in the demon’s hand.

“The sword you can see within the crystal gives off the same aura as the fragment of the sword of the Monster-Ruling God that Mira just showed us. In which case, it must be the real thing…” he continued, stating that, in other words, the demon must’ve sealed itself as well as the sword.

As for why the demon had done this, Barbatos surmised that its own mana and life force was seemingly maintaining its inactive state.

“That said, this is just my theory, and it would probably be a lot faster if we just asked the demon itself. But therein lies the problem…” Barbatos declared, hoping to stop them from sitting around pontificating. He then continued that the issue was how to lift the seal.

Since it seemed like the mass of flesh had no connection to the demon or crystal it encapsulated, it didn’t seem like there’d be any problem with eliminating it.

However, Barbatos then warned that they needed to be very cautious when dealing with the crystal. His thorough investigation had apparently confirmed that the area in between the demon and the sword was somehow linked to the demon’s consciousness. And so, if they forcefully tore it away, it would likely have some sort of negative effect on the demon.

“I see… This could be tricky.”

“I had guessed as much, but it really does seem like it’s up to no good…”

The crystal encapsulating the sword was undoubtedly a seal. However, according to the Spirit King, there was no way to completely seal such a thing without the use of spirit leylines.

And were it not entirely sealed, it wasn’t hard to imagine it having some sort of negative impact.

Mira had begun to wonder if there wasn’t something she could do. Then she heard the Spirit King say, “In that case, it looks like it might be my time to step up to the plate. Connection is my specialty, which also means the opposite is true. So, please, allow me!”

Having been listening in, the Spirit King boldly volunteered, as if it were finally his time to shine.

The more Mira got used to the Spirit King’s blessing, the more power he could wield through her. And lately, the Spirit King had been on a tear testing just how much this was the case.

And while Mira had been forced to go along with all of this, there was nothing she loved more than testing things.

“I think you can leave that part to the Spirit King and me!” Mira confidently declared, quickly signing on to the Spirit King’s proposal.

Having more or less figured out their strategy, they quickly began their demon extraction plan.

All that remained of the mass of flesh was the middle section in which the demon was buried. Christina would be in charge of dealing with that section as well.

However, given that the center was the root of the flesh mass, it boasted much greater strength compared to the rest of it. Additionally, it also had much higher levels of demonic power, so even with Sanctia, dealing with it would be no small task.

That said, if they drew out Sanctia’s full power, they should be able to destroy it with no problem.

And yet, were they to do that, the demon would likely be collateral damage. Therefore, their first priority wasn’t to destroy the mass of flesh, but to extricate the demon.

“If you cut from here to here, we should be able to pull them out,” Barbatos instructed.

Following his instructions, Wallenstein used purified flames to draw a line on the mass of flesh which Christina then slowly traced with the tip of Sanctia.

By using banishing magic, they could temporarily dissipate the demonic power present and thereby cut a little bit into the central mass of flesh.

It was only a faint cut, and yet it looked deep enough to drag out the demon.

That said, this operation would be taking place extremely close to the demon’s body, and so they would need to be very careful. Therefore, Christina needed to slice using cuts that were both very fine and accurate.

“Urgh, actually, now that we’ve come this far, can’t someone else do this part?!” Christina asked.

If Alfina had been doing the cutting, she would’ve sliced through just like she’d been asked in a flash. However, Christina wasn’t quite that confident, and so she couldn’t help but proceed slowly and steadily. Truth be told, it wasn’t a swordsman but a surgeon who would really be the more appropriate choice to use a sword like this.

The more the sword cut, the more the mass of flesh writhed, so much that Christina could begin to feel herself losing it. Luckily, there was no blood spraying about, or she might very well have lost her nerve.

Meanwhile, Mira and the Spirit King were beginning their experiment…or rather, their extrication procedure using the Spirit King’s power.

“Right there. Check a little deeper there,” he said.

“Hrmm, here, right? Let’s see…” Mira answered.

“Good. Well done, Miss Mira. You’ve got it. Now, let’s figure out exactly what’s going on, and then we can begin extricating it.”

“I see, so that’s what’s going on,” Mira commented.

Covered entirely in the mark of the Spirit King’s blessing, she focused as she very finely adjusted its power.

At the moment, she was touching the demon’s arm, which had ahold of the crystal.

That very arm was the direct point of contact between the demon and the sword itself.

Using the Spirit King’s blessing and checking around, she discovered that if she were to disrupt and separate that connection, then she’d be able to extricate it without any problem.

At the moment, Mira and the Spirit King were investigating exactly how the demon and the sword were connected.

Such connections, or links, were naturally formed in various situations, often of their own volition.

The Spirit King, who had many such connections, could very well cut off whatever parts were corrupted. This time, he was planning on using this very power to discover the link between the demon and the sword, so that he could then sever every connection that lay therein.

Given the current situation, it seemed like it’d be quite easy to discover their connections.

“There it is; that’s the one. Now, I’ll be cutting it away, Miss Mira,” the Spirit King said confidently, before quickly preparing to sever the connection.

“Hrmm, I’m ready when you are,” Mira answered.

That said, these invisible connections couldn’t be discovered by human beings. Unable to help feeling impressed, Mira readied herself while keeping the sensation firmly imprinted in her mind.

“…”

And so, the Spirit King began the separation.

The longer he continued, the darker and blacker the crystal became. The Monster-Ruling God’s sword seemed to be resisting the separation.

“Great, it was a success. Now, Miss Mira, hurry and tear it out.”

“Got it!”

The operation had gone off without a hitch, and they’d managed to completely sever all connections between the two.

But right after this, the sword began to fight back once more.

While the Spirit King was putting a stop to this, Mira imbued one of the light swords into her arm and grabbed ahold of the demon’s arm.

Sure enough, the mass of flesh that was coiled around the demon’s arm vanished into dust, almost as if it’d never been there.

“All right, now!”

Seizing the moment, Mira ripped the crystal out of the demon’s hand in a single go. Then, immediately feeling the mark of the Spirit King’s blessing reach full power and fill her with mana, she strengthened whatever remained of the seal there.

The Spirit King had said that the seal should prevent the Monster-Ruling God’s sword from doing anything to the demon, though it might only work for a limited time.

“Everything looks good over here,” Mira called out, at which point Wallenstein and the others began finishing up their work.

“This should do it…!” Christina cried.

“Good work. That should definitely do!” Barbatos replied.

“Okay, I think we’ll be able to get it out,” Wallenstein added.

Christina’s hard work had paid off. She’d finally managed to significantly cut into the mass of flesh, such that it was now possible to extricate the demon. All they had to do now was pull it out once and for all.

Wallenstein and Barbatos then thrust their arms into the mass of flesh and, syncing their timing, both tugged at once.

“What is that…?!” Mira gasped.

Right afterward, while the connection with the demon had been cut, the sword apparently still had some control of the mass of flesh. This was because the mass of flesh glowed dimly and moved to close up once more, as if telling them to hold their horses.

“I don’t think so!” Christina cried, reacting immediately. Not wanting to have to go through what she’d experienced yet again, she unleashed a dreadful blow with Sanctia.

It could only be described as a masterful stroke, not only cutting open the exact area she’d sliced through previously but also utilizing Sanctia’s power such that the mass of flesh couldn’t regenerate or do anything else for a short time.

“Beautiful!” Barbatos exclaimed, taking the moment to redouble his efforts.

At the same moment, Wallenstein also threw his back into pulling.

Sure enough, when they’d just barely caught sight of the demon through the gap, it slid out completely.

And with that, Mira and her companions had succeeded in extricating the demon from the mass of flesh in which it’d been trapped.

“Jeez, that was quite the struggle,” Mira said. Glancing at the sword as it rolled on the floor, she then gave Christina the signal.

Seeing it, Christina got into position with Sanctia, as if it was the moment she’d been waiting for.

Then, she unleashed the sword’s power in a blinding flash of light, and whatever was left of the mass of flesh vanished into dust.

Chapter 10

“BUT NOW WHAT’S GOING ON?” Mira asked.

“Well, actually, this is the first time I’ve seen something like this…” Wallenstein answered.

“It seems kinda weird, huh?” Meilin added.

A closer look at the demon they’d managed to free from the mass of flesh revealed several mysterious things about it.

At first glance, it looked like the same kind of light demon as Barbatos and his comrades. And yet, the tips of its toes as well as its back were covered in the same black skin that dark demons had.

Basically, the demon looked as if it were neither a dark nor a light demon, but something in between.

“And its face… I remember it. His name is…Marchosias. I heard that he’d agreed to be the guardian of a special seal, so I suppose this was what he was guarding,” Barbatos continued, saying that he recognized the demon even though they’d only crossed paths a long, long time ago.

But, at the same time, a troubled look came onto his face. He recalled how the guardian of the seal he’d heard about had been required to sacrifice themselves in such a way.

“I remember him as well. Or rather, there’s no way I could forget him. Marchosias… To think you’ve been in a place like this…” the Spirit King said, visibly surprised. It sounded as if he were speaking to himself unconsciously, and his voice was full of the kind of bittersweetness one speaks with when they’re grieving for an old friend.

“Miss Mira,” he continued, “his hand…”

This was not the case, but Barbatos nevertheless felt hurt by this misunderstanding. Agreeing to let the Spirit King speak with Barbatos, Mira quietly walked over to him and touched his hand.

According to the Spirit King’s story, Marchosias was the demon who’d agreed to step up and seal the Monster-Ruling God’s sword.

After the divine Trinity and the Spirit King had placed layer upon layer of seals upon the sword, Marchosias had brought it to the spirit leylines and used them to complete the seal.

Marchosias was the only one who knew where the spirit leylines were, and so, from there on out, he assumed the role of a guardian who periodically checked to make sure that nothing was wrong with the seal.

The Spirit King had received countless reports from Marchosias in the past saying that the seal was holding just fine.

However, as they could now very well see, the sword of the Monster-Ruling God was not only broken but also nowhere near any spirit leylines.

Clearly, something had happened.

Looking at it chronologically, whatever had happened, it was after the Spirit King was no longer able to leave the Spirit Palace.

“…At any rate, once he wakes up, we can get to the bottom of what happened,” Mira concluded simply, after listening to the two discuss various things.

Why was the sword of the Monster-Ruling God there? And why had Marchosias been sealed there?

The demon himself would be the one most likely to know the answers to these questions. He would give them the quickest explanation, should he be able to wake up, if he were even alive.

“Yes, good point,” the Spirit King said.

“Indeed. Let’s rouse him,” Barbatos added.

Then, Wallenstein turned toward them and said, “It would seem you’re done talking,” before revealing what he’d learned after examining Marchosias.

First, he’d gotten no response when he tried to speak to him. Moreover, Marchosias didn’t respond the least bit to any stimulus whatsoever.

It was as if he were a corpse.

And yet, after duly using [Biometric Scan], Meilin had discovered that there was no issue with his vital signs, despite the state he was in.

“…And so, in a word, the seal he placed on himself is perfect. Therefore, we won’t get anywhere until we first lift the seal,” Wallenstein said, thus concluding what he’d gathered. Furrowing his brow, he added that this would be yet another troublesome task.

After investigating the seal in detail, he’d confirmed that there were very specific conditions for lifting it.

“So, just what are the requirements? We’ve got to figure those out first,” he continued.

According to him, if they tried to forcefully undo the seal without first meeting these conditions, it’d cost Marchosias his life.

“What the…?” Mira gasped, shocked at this development.

And yet, a cursory look hadn’t revealed anything nearby that said anything about the seal. Wallenstein had apparently looked through several of Marchosias’s possessions, but he hadn’t uncovered anything that might help them lift the seal.

“Conditions, huh? I wonder what they could be?” Barbatos pondered, before glancing about the room in search of something which might give them a lead.

“Hrmm… What could they be?” Mira groaned, unable to even venture a guess as to the nature of the conditions. At the same time, she understood just how committed Marchosias had been.

Some time earlier, Barbatos had mentioned that he himself had placed the seal.

Depending on how things turned out, the seal could’ve held forever, which would mean the demon’s death. Even so, Marchosias had placed such a seal on himself, meaning that he must have had a good reason for doing so. That told her just how committed he’d been.

So, what were the conditions necessary for lifting the seal that Marchosias had put on himself? And for what reason, for what dire purpose, had he placed the seal on himself? Did it have something to do with the sword of the Monster-Ruling God, as she presumed? Or was there some other reason?

And so, while Mira and her companions were racking their brains about all of this, someone suddenly spoke.

“Hmm, are you sure? It looks like he’s stuck mid-transformation. And because he didn’t finish, he looks like this,” Meilin said, while staring at Marchosias.

They took another look to see what she was on about. Meilin was talking about what they’d originally noticed.

That is, Marchosias looked to be neither light nor dark demon, but something in between.

“That…is certainly conceivable,” Wallenstein said.

“I see… That’s a good point. Come to think of it, he definitely isn’t in a normal state,” Mira added.

It was just as Meilin said. Marchosias’s body looked as if it were in the middle of a transformation.

When Mira realized this, a single idea popped into her head.

Maybe to stop it, he…

Judging from the seal that’d been placed on the earlier door, which could only be modified by someone of the same race, Marchosias had still been a regular demon at that time.

But for some reason, he’d begun transforming into a dark demon. And to suppress this transformation, he’d sealed himself before he fully became one.

Or so Mira hypothesized.

“So, he must’ve been…fighting against becoming a dark demon,” said Wallenstein, who’d had the same thought as Mira.

The moment he said this, he glanced toward Barbatos as if to ask what his thoughts were.

“It’s certainly plausible. Were I to feel that I’d once again be controlled by that black will, then I might very well seal myself as securely as he,” Barbatos said, agreeing that it was certainly conceivable.

Were he to realize that he was going to become a demon, he’d certainly be willing to seal himself. Also, he added that the transformation would probably just continue if the seal were broken without doing anything about it. And so, he’d make addressing this a condition for lifting the seal.

“It seems like it’s worth a shot,” Mira said.

“It is indeed,” Wallenstien agreed.

Given the situation, it certainly seemed plausible that one of the conditions for safely lifting the seal was to Stop Marchosias’s transformation into a dark demon.

“The issue is, how do we go about stopping it? That’s your guys’ specialty, isn’t it? Do you know how it might be done?” Mira asked.

Dark demons were indeed Wallenstein and his companions’ area of expertise.

“This is my first time seeing a demon half-transformed, but I assume the same thing is causing it, so why don’t we give it a try?” Wallenstein said.

“So, we try the usual way, then,” Barbatos added.

After answering Mira, they quickly began preparing.

They arranged all the tools they normally used for the ritual to transform dark demons into light demons around Marchosias.

The tools were used to seal away demons’ key ability to transform demonic power, which was what was behind them transforming into dark demons.

If they could remove what was making him transform into a dark demon, then they could likely fulfill the condition necessary to lift the seal. And then, once Marchosias had woken up, they should be able to unravel the rest of the mysteries that lay before them.

“Okay, let us begin.”

After preparing, Wallenstein and Barbatos set about sealing this ability.

Billowing waves of light then began to swirl about, soon growing even brighter.

Then, once the light became brightest, it was suddenly absorbed into Marchosias’s body.

After observing him for several moments, Wallenstein nodded approvingly and said, “Good, it worked.”

They’d seemingly managed to seal the demon’s power without a hitch. And yet, Barbatos wore a faintly grim look on his face.

“It was a success, but there hasn’t been any change,” he said.

Apparently, if that alone had satisfied the condition, then there would’ve been some change in the seal—but he hadn’t detected any such change.

“Could the condition be something else…?” Mira said.

They’d removed what had been behind his transformation into a dark demon. With the transformation ability sealed, the production of corrupted demonic power ought to cease, meaning he’d no longer transform into a dark demon. There shouldn’t be any more problems.

“Hmm, it looks like he hasn’t really changed at all,” Meilin piped in again, while Mira and her companions were racking their brains as to what on earth was going on.

Wallenstein and Barbatos’s seal had worked without a hitch, and the cause of the transformation had been dealt with. It was a seal that, no matter whether there was any physical change, worked by interacting with the power inside of one’s body. For that reason, the change wasn’t one that someone could perceive with the naked eye.

However, when they heard Meilin’s observation, they picked up on something incredibly obvious.

“Aaah, yeah, that’s it. Come to think of it, that must be why.”

“Indeed. That seems more likely.”

That was what Mira and Wallenstein said, both nodding as if it all made sense when they saw it.

“Perhaps because we know so much about such things, we missed it. In such a state, there wouldn’t be any time to come up with such specific conditions for undoing the seal.” Barbatos said. He seemed to have figured it out after thinking back to the distant past.

So, what had they seen that’d led to this realization? It was none other than the black skin, characteristic of dark demons, which remained on his body.

The change into a dark demon had begun suddenly. According to Barbatos, he wouldn’t have had much time to think or plan in great detail. In which case, when sealing himself to prevent this transformation, he would most likely target the black skin, which was most emblematic of the transformation, when setting the condition for undoing the seal.

And so, Mira and her companions suspected that Marchosias had set this as the condition for lifting it. They had an idea, but what were they to do next?

“But now what should we do?”

“Hmm, normally, it just peels off naturally.”

Wallenstein and Mira murmured those words while standing before Marchosias.

According to Barbatos, once a dark demon reverted to a light one, another of the demons’ key abilities, [Evil Expulsion], caused it to reject and then shed the black skin of dark demons.

However, Marchosias was in a state of suspended animation with only very faint vital signs. That meant his other powers were likely also suppressed, and so the skin probably wouldn’t shed naturally.

“Then we’ll have to do it by hand… Or I’m guessing that won’t really work, huh?” Mira asked.

“No, it won’t,” Barbatos answered, saying that they’d better not.

They’d taken care of what caused the transformation into a dark demon. It should have been fine just to peel it off…but sure enough, it wasn’t that simple. Until this layer of skin naturally shed itself off the demon’s body, it remained connected to his flesh. And so if they peeled it off by force, it’d be no different than skinning someone.

Waking up to find yourself being skinned alive would surely make for a good scene in a slasher movie, but not so much in this situation.

So, what should they do? Everyone stood around contemplating the question until Barbatos suddenly came up with an idea.

“Why don’t we try that medicine I created? Either way, it’s not like it could hurt,” he said, immediately glancing at Wallenstein.

After thinking it over a moment, Wallenstein answered, “That medicine…? Ah, that one, huh? Sure, I suppose it’s worth a shot.” He agreed that it wasn’t a bad idea.

“Hrmm, what medicine are you talking about? Is it the kind of thing that might help in a situation like this?” Mira asked excitedly, wondering what exactly it could be.

This medicine apparently had the potential to help them break through their current impasse. What’s more, it’d been developed by Wallenstein and his comrades’ organization, to which even demons themselves belonged.

“Um, well, about that…” he prefaced.

Perhaps it wasn’t that big of a secret, or perhaps it was because he was speaking to Mira. Regardless, Wallenstein began telling them about the medicine.

As a result of everything that’d happened previously, Wallenstein’s organization became partners with Kagura and her people, namely the Isuzu Alliance. When they did, they met Kagura as well as the angel, Tyriel, with whom she was affiliated, and received quite a bit of knowledge and assistance. With angels and demons working together, they collaborated to develop a spirit medicine that would completely turn dark demons back into light demons.

However, spirit medicine was still very much in the research stage, and they hadn’t had many big breakthroughs. It was still unclear what exactly caused light demons to turn into dark ones. In fact, they’d encountered Barbatos here precisely because he was working on perfecting this very medicine.

“Once we perfect the medicine, we’ll have a much easier way of turning dark demons back into light ones. Additionally, we’ll be able to dispel the seals we put on Barbatos and his comrades. And once we do that, we’ll be one step closer to accomplishing our goal,” Wallenstein said.

Indeed, transforming all dark demons into light ones was the aim of Wallenstein as well as the organization to which he belonged.

And it was for this reason that they were moving forward with researching the spirit medicine. Apparently, it was the medicine that they’d refined during this process that they were now talking about using.

“Believe it or not, angels and demons actually have a lot in common when it comes to their powers. It’s just that the similarities they share decrease substantially when they turn into dark demons. And so, the medicine we’re planning on using now is actually filled with the concentrated power of angels. Basically, we came up with it after thinking that we might revert dark demons to light ones by stimulating these areas that they ought to have in common,” Wallenstein explained.

After requesting that she not ask him how the medicine had performed, he took a small bottle out of his item box.

The bottle apparently contained the very medicine that he’d mentioned, the one which contained concentrated angel power. It gave off a faint, warm light, which made it look like it might very well contain some kind of special power.

“Earlier, Barbatos mentioned the [Evil Expulsion] ability, which happens to be the very power that angels and demons both share. And so, with him in a state of suspended animation, I’m hoping that this medicine will work in place of that power,” he concluded.

“I see… In that case, it probably is worth a shot, huh?” Mira said, agreeing that it certainly seemed worth trying.

By having Marchosias ingest the medicine, they could get him to shed his black skin through exposure to the [Evil Expulsion] power contained within.

Meanwhile, Meilin, who didn’t seem as if she’d quite wrapped her head around all of this, nevertheless seemed to have a good feeling about it. When Mira asked her what she thought about giving him the medicine, she promptly answered, “I’ve got a feeling it’ll work!”

“All right, then it’s decided,” Mira declared.

At the very least, it didn’t contain anything that might cause any negative side effects. And so, with everyone agreeing to give it a try, Wallenstein quickly squatted down at Marchosias’s side.

With Mira and the rest of her companions watching, Wallenstein took the cap off of the small bottle and poured its contents into Marchosias’s mouth.

So, what would happen? They observed him for about ten seconds, and then a definite change began taking place before their very eyes. The black skin at the end of the demon’s feet began to shed off with a loud crackling sound.

It was working.

Confirming as much, Wallenstein then poured a few more drops into Marchosias’s mouth.

The effect of the medicine was, in a word, dramatic. Sure enough, every last fleck of the black skin peeled off and crumbled away. One could very well say this was proof that the [Evil Expulsion] power was working properly.

What’s more, there was yet another change as well.

“Great, we were right. We satisfied the condition, and now all that’s left to do is lift the seal,” Barbatos announced.

Indeed, their hypothesis had been correct. So now, it was finally possible to safely undo Marchosias’s seal. Undoing the seal required some rather ancient magic, but this was no issue for Barbatos.

As soon as he was given the green light, Barbatos undid the seal that Marchosias had placed on himself.

Chapter 11

“ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, Marchosias? You’re okay. Come on now, open your eyes.”

The seal that was on Marchosias had been completely lifted, as had the state of suspended animation that he’d been in, such that he was fully functional once more.

However, perhaps because so much time had passed, he was in an extremely deep sleep. His consciousness was buried deep, and there was no sign of it making a return.

Deducing that he might need to do something to wake him up, Barbatos unsparingly filled Marchosias with a surprising amount of concentrated mana.

Sure enough, the shock from this did indeed evoke a response. As he abruptly filled with mana, they suddenly saw a sign of life.

“…!”

Seemingly reflexively, Marchosias’s eyes darted open and he rose to his feet. However, he did so somewhat chaotically, and immediately afterward, cried out, “Ooouch!” before clutching at his abdomen and flipping over.

“…Was that the best way to wake him up?” Mira asked.

“I guess that’s just how demons do it,” Wallenstein answered.

It’d surely been quite a long time since he lost consciousness. Mira and Wallenstein couldn’t help feeling that Barbatos was treating him rather roughly.

Seeing Marchosias before him, Barbatos smiled faintly. However, he didn’t seem to be smiling out of happiness at seeing his friend released from such a perilous state, but that Marchosias’s reaction had been exactly the same as it’d been long before.

“Wow, could it be…?” Marchosias said.

Having calmed down a bit, Marchosias was now examining his body with an incredulous look on his face.

Having sealed himself and bet all his chips on the future, Marchosias probably hadn’t held out much hope for himself. Realizing that his transformation into a dark demon had indeed stopped completely, he murmured, “No… It can’t be.” His eyes opening wide, he continued, “Is that you… Barbatos?!”

Despite his surprise, he’d recognized his friend. Quickly turning his head, Marchosias was visibly shocked to see someone very familiar standing before him.

It seemed that, after grasping the current situation and thinking things over, he’d found a faint glimmer of hope. Still quite bewildered, he glanced at Barbatos and asked, “…Hey, have I been saved?”

“Yes, the sword in question is just as you see it. And we’ve dealt with the change that was going on inside of you,” Barbatos answered.

And when he said that, a wave of joy washed over Marchosias’s formerly anxiety-ridden face.

That wasn’t all. Next, he said, “Wow, Barbatos! My beloved brother!” before leaping through the air.

Rather than trying to avoid him, Barbatos simply knocked him out of the air without hesitating for a second. Marchosias should still be recovering, but Barbatos really wasn’t taking it easy on him.

Seeing how worried Mira and the rest were about whether he was alright, Barbatos laughed and answered, “He’s nothing if not tough.”

Sure enough, Marchosias seemed quite hale and hearty. Springing back up as if he were perfectly all right, he clung to Barbatos and asked, an anxious look on his face, “But on that note, are you okay?! You are, right?!”

“By all right, you’re referring to the state you were in up until now, no?” Barbatos replied.

From his curiosity about Barbatos’s body, as well as everything that’d happened there and the seal that he’d put on himself, he deduced that Marchosias was referring to transforming into a dark demon.

“Yes, that’s right,” Marchosias replied, indicating that this had indeed been what he was asking about. Then, looking again at Barbatos, who was perfectly all right, he once more asked, “So, how about it? You’re okay, right?”

“Judging from how you’re acting, I’d guess that you do indeed know something. Why don’t you tell us what exactly happened first?” Barbatos replied.

Having an idea of the answer that Marchosias was looking for, Barbatos nevertheless urged him to start by sharing with them just what had occurred.

When they’d first entered the room, they’d found the sword of the Monster-Ruling God, a giant mass of flesh, and the bizarre monsters. It seemed likely that Marchosias knew why this situation had come about.

“Sure thing,” agreed Marchosias.

But then, just as he was about to begin, he finally noticed Mira and their other companions. Looking at them with intense curiosity, he asked, “By the way, who are those three?”

“This is Wally. He’s one of my comrades from the organization that I belong to now. And this is Mira, who I’m deeply indebted to, as well as Meilin, a friend of both of them,” Barbatos said, introducing them.

Wallenstein said hello, while Meilin seemed intensely curious about Marchosias’s power. “You’re pretty strong, huh? I’d love to spar with you,” she quickly proposed.

Marchosias, who seemed to be of a similar disposition, cheerfully replied, “Sure, that sounds like fun. Let’s do it!”

That said, they couldn’t very well spar there and then.

“Meilin, perhaps we could do that some other time.”

“I see no problem with that, so long as we finish up everything we need to do first.”

Wallenstein and Barbatos called off the abrupt sparring session with their responses. And while Marchosias and Meilin looked rather displeased, it was quite obviously not the right time.

“On that note, I’m Mira. A pleasure to meet you,” Mira said, straightening her face and holding out her right hand.

Seeing her hand, Marchosias responded, “You must mean to shake hands, huh?” He smiled proudly at knowing of this custom, before taking Mira’s hand.

“It’s been a long time, Marchosias. My gosh, I wasn’t quite sure how things would turn out, but I’m glad to see you back to your usual self,” the Spirit King said immediately, seizing the opportunity to speak as soon as his hand touched Mira’s.

“Huh?! Wh-what the… I heard the Spirit King’s voice… Where’d it come from?! What’s going on?!” Marchosias cried.

Having never expected such a reunion, he’d been caught completely off guard. That shocked him beyond words, and his reaction was indeed priceless.

“You got him,” Mira said.

“Indeed, that was too good,” the Spirit King replied.

As soon as Marchosias had opened his eyes, the Spirit King had been quietly scheming to give him his [Sudden Spirit King Surprise]. Having pulled it off flawlessly, Mira and the Spirit King admitted as much, and they shared a chuckle.

“I believe that day I was going about my fourth check…” Marchosias said, finally beginning to explain what on earth had happened there, after he and the Spirit King had joyously caught up with each other.

It all happened a very, very long time ago, after the Monster-Ruling God had been vanquished.

Its body had been split into six different pieces, but its sword was indestructible, and Marchosias had been tasked with sealing it.

“That was because, among all the demons, I was the most proficient at using seals!” he continued, taking a moment to brag.

The seal that’d been placed on the Monster-Ruling God’s sword, which was fashioned using spirit leylines that lay at the bottom of the sea, had apparently been set perfectly.

And so, from that day on, Marchosias assumed the role of the “Guardian of the Seal.”

Over the next tens of thousands of years, he went about periodically checking the seal and occasionally strengthening it and whatnot.

“I never would’ve thought that all this would happen to the Spirit King while I was busy with that.”

While he was doing his duty, conflict had erupted between the Spirit King and oni-kind, which ultimately led to the Spirit King being shut within the Spirit Palace.

The trouble all began many, many years after all of that. Marchosias was going about his regular inspection, just like usual, which meant he was at the bottom of the ocean.

“…But something unusual happened. The seal was perfect, and it had more than enough strength to suppress the power of the sword. I also had plenty of time to go about the inspection. Furthermore, I’d enhanced the seal with the power from the leylines, and so even the Spirit King shouldn’t have been able to break it. And yet, there was a tiny tear in it,” Marchosias said.

But by the time he realized this, it was already too late.

It had been waiting for him to set foot there the entire time.

And so, the power of the Monster-Ruling God that was contained in the sword flooded out of the seal.

“Just before the Monster-Ruling God was defeated, he transferred a portion of his power into the sword. Over the course of tens of thousands of years, that power grew, little by little, such that it created a hole in one part of the seal by pouring forth,” he continued, explaining how the once perfect seal had been broken.

But then Wallenstein suddenly had a question. He asked how Marchosias knew all this in such detail. Marchosias answered that it was because he had been caught in the trap that’d been laid for him there. Having set foot in the area with the seal, he was corrupted by the Monster-Ruling God’s power, which had spilled forth from the tear in the seal.

As a result, he didn’t just begin to have his consciousness gradually taken over by the power—he also started being controlled by it. That said, Marchosias was quite a powerful demon, and so he fought against it with all his might.

“That must’ve been what caused it. What was left of my will connected with whatever was within the sword,” Marchosias continued. This link between him and his foe might have been established because it was trying to take over his consciousness.

For that reason, his foe’s thoughts and intentions also began to seep into his consciousness, and so he learned how the tear had been put in the seal.

“…That said, the opposite was also true, and the sword analyzed my power. That was when I realized that something about the power in the sword resembled an aspect of us demons,” he added. According to him, the Monster-Ruling God’s sword used this similar aspect to conjure an incredible power.

This power was none other than the one used to transform demons.

“In place of the Monster-Ruling God, it was by our own hands that the world would be thrown into turmoil. That was what the sword planned,” Marchosias said, continuing that he’d put the seal on himself in order to prevent this.

By the time he’d finally regained control of himself, he was already somewhere very far from the spirit leylines. And so, after this and that, he found himself where they now stood.

They seemed to be in one of the nations that’d fallen during the war with the Monster-Ruling God. And because no one lived there anymore, he’d chosen the place because he’d be sure not to trouble anyone.

And so, though he was being gradually corrupted by the sword’s power, he once more went about sealing the sword so that no one else would get hurt.

And yet, that area lacked the power of the spirit leylines. He made up for their absence by using his own power as the basis of the seal.

But right before he could seal it, the sword absorbed his power and unleased a wave that began transforming him.

It was at that very moment that Marchosias realized just how dangerous the sword was.

And so, at the very same time, he also sealed himself, since the sword was using him as a vessel to wield its power. Mira and her companions had seen the results of this when they first stepped into the room.

Now, while Marchosias himself had served as the basis of the seal, he was indeed a good deal weaker than the spirit leylines. As a result, the power that leaked through the seal had turned into the mass of flesh as well as the bizarre monsters that were nearby.

After Marchosias finished his story, silence briefly fell over the group. They knew there was something very grave contained within his words.

“I see… So that’s what happened. Now we know what was behind all of it,” Barbatos said, being the first to break the silence. As if following up after him, Wallenstein added, “To think, we didn’t just get one step closer to the truth, but actually figured it all out,” sounding rather impressed.

“I never would’ve expected it’d be something even the Spirit King hadn’t heard about. Color me surprised,” Mira said.

“I see… To think such a thing happened,” the Spirit King added.

They had wondered what had happened in the past that caused otherwise healthy demons to transform into dark ones. And thanks to Marchosias’s story, they now knew how it all began.

It was the sword of the Monster-Ruling God as well as the power it wielded which had given rise to dark demons.

“So, getting back to it, Barbatos… From how you look right now, am I correct in assuming that you’re fine?” Marchosias asked once more, moving on after he’d finished explaining what’d happened in the past.

Judging from what he’d said previously, his reason for checking Barbatos’s status was likely to make sure he hadn’t been corrupted by the wicked power of the sword.

Had the wave that’d been unleashed earlier had any sort of effect? Or had the seal worked? Had he been able to protect his comrades? Now that he’d finally been released from his seal, these were the questions that Marchosias was burning to ask.

Thanks to Wallenstein and his comrades’ efforts, Barbatos was now a light demon. Therefore, seeing this very Barbatos, Marchosias held out hope that his friends were also unharmed.

Unfortunately, this was not the case.

“Marchosias, listen carefully…” Barbatos said to Marchosias, who still looked hopeful, before explaining the truth.

“My god. So I was too late…”

The state of demonkind was that they were now called dark demons, and they had brought about no shortage of tragedy.

When he heard as much from Barbatos, a shocked look came over Marchosias’s face, and he dropped his head.

He must’ve felt responsible for what’d happened. For having failed to perceive the unusual state the Monster-Ruling God’s sword was in, and for having set foot within the seal. For having let the sword take control of him. And, finally, for all this triggering the transformation of his people.

“In that case… Why are you all right…?” Marchosias asked through gritted teeth, as if deeply regretting what he’d done. And yet, he asked in a hopeful voice…as if clinging to a glimmer of hope.

Even though he’d put his own body on the line, he hadn’t been able to protect his friends.

However, though he’d heard about them turning into dark demons, the Barbatos who now stood before him was the same as ever. This alone made Marchosias hopeful.

“Ah, well, that’s all thanks to Wally here,” Barbatos answered while glancing at Wallenstein. “Speaking of which, I haven’t talked about the organization that we both belong to…” he continued, as if suddenly remembering this fact, before explaining about it in depth.

The organization they were involved with returned dark demons who’d been corrupted to their prior states.

“Before Wally and the others rescued me, I was about as evil as they come. While it’s partly to atone for everything I’ve done, I’m also concerned about my comrades. And so, we’ve been working together since then,” Barbatos concluded. “I’m sorry for the trouble I caused back then,” he said, looking toward Mira and bowing his head.

“It’s water under the bridge,” Mira replied.

Barbatos had been the one to create Chimera Clausen. Given how much damage they’d caused, it wasn’t easy to forgive him. However, those were the crimes of Barbatos, the dark demon. You might say that he was still the same, and yet he was very different.

“I see… So, you’re just like you were way back then. Not only that, your friend figured out how to turn everybody back… He’s incredible!”

The misfortune that’d fallen upon the demons as well as the disaster they’d brought about had happened in the past, and there was no changing the past. And yet, this wasn’t the case for the future.

Eyes brimming with hope, Marchosias looked at Wallenstein, who took a single step forward and stood directly before him.

“In order to save all the demons, as well as everyone else, would you be willing to lend us a hand?” Wallenstein said, as if hoping to not let him down. And, declaring that they’d make Marchosias’s wish of saving his brethren come true together, he offered his hand.

“Yeah, sure thing. Please allow me to help!” Marchosias promptly replied.

And yet, he hesitated a moment before shaking Wallenstein’s hand.

“…Hey, am I gonna hear someone else’s voice when I do this?” he asked.

Mira’s previous surprise, with the Spirit King’s voice suddenly ringing through his mind, seemed to have been quite effective. Of course, anyone might be startled if something like that were done to them without the slightest warning.

Seeing Marchosias’s newfound wariness to shake hands, Barbatos let out a laugh. “Actually, she’s the only one who can do that,” Wallenstein added, also beginning to laugh.

In that case, Marchosias figured he didn’t have to worry. He replied, “Let’s do it!” and shook Wallenstein’s hand firmly.

Right after this, an incredibly devious grin snuck onto Mira’s face.

Silently approaching Wallenstein, she lightly grabbed his other hand.

“Boo!” the Spirit King exclaimed, not holding anything back.

“Whoa!”

“Waaagh!”

Needless to say, Wallenstein and Marchosias both jumped at the sound of his voice.

“I forgot to mention that the Spirit King can talk to multiple people at once if they’re all holding hands at the same time,” Mira said, smirking devilishly.

Mira and the Spirit King had worked in sync to strike at the opportune moment.

Wallenstein gave a chagrined smile, while Marchosias, seeming to regret just how badly he’d been surprised, cried out, “I shouldn’t have let my guard down!”

Chapter 12

“THE SWORD IS…BROKEN?” Marchosias said, speaking first.

Having finished discussing what’d happened, Mira and her companions stood around the Monster-Ruling God’s sword.

Thanks to Mira and the Spirit King, the seal on the sword itself had been fortified. From the fragments of the sword they’d used to trace the power coming from it, they already knew that it had been broken long before they arrived.

And yet, seeing the broken sword in front of him, Marchosias looked both curious and surprised.

However, there was no blaming him for this. The sword, which even the Spirit King would’ve been unable to break, was indeed broken.

“How did it get broken?” he asked.

If such a thing had been possible from the beginning, it would’ve been a cinch to seal, and most likely the calamity that’d befallen demons because of it would’ve never come about. That was why Marchosias was so curious how it’d happened.

And yet, to Mira and her companions, it’d always been broken. So, it wasn’t like they were much use asking.

“As far as we know, it’s always been broken. We only managed to find this place in the first place by tracing the sword’s power from its broken fragments,” Mira answered simply.

Showing him the fragments that they’d kept, Mira explained that the sealed sword had already been broken.

“There’s no way…” Marchosias began after hearing this, appearing visibly shaken. Putting together the bits and pieces of what he said after that, they understood that he’d sought to seal the Monster-Ruling God’s sword there in the exact state it’d been in.

However, when he thought back on everything that’d happened, his confidence faltered.

“…Come to think of it, back then… I didn’t have a chance to look at it too closely, did I?” Marchosias concluded after thinking back.

When he’d sealed the sword where they now stood, he hadn’t had any additional time to scrutinize it more closely.

In short, another possibility began to emerge, other than the one in which someone came in, broke the sword, and left with the fragments.

“I also think that’s the most likely explanation. Even using his power, Marchosias probably couldn’t have perfectly sealed the sword without using spirit leylines. Given that, it would seem that the sword was broken at some point and lost around half of its power. We can’t be sure whether this was a coincidence or intentional, though,” the Spirit King proposed.

Mira then let the group know his thoughts, and Marchosias and Barbatos both agreed that this was most likely the case.

While bringing the sword from the spirit leylines’ location to where they currently stood, Marchosias had been taken over by the sword’s consciousness. And so, it wasn’t particularly hard to imagine that the sword had been broken sometime during that period.

It was still unclear what’d happened to the broken parts afterward, but they’d already finished gathering them up. In which case, they didn’t have to worry about the sword of the Monster-Ruling God causing any more trouble.

But just to make sure, Mira and her companions strengthened the seal further, and Marchosias then reinforced it.

“Now, that’s just perfect.”

“It is what I excel at, if I do say so myself.”

Given that he’d been entrusted by the Spirit King with placing such important seals, Marchosias’s sealing skills were indeed masterful.

Watching the way he doubled and then redoubled the seals was like viewing a master go about his craft, such that one couldn’t tear their eyes away from it. Even Wallenstein looked intensely interested.

That said, the skills of modern masters were nothing to scoff at.

“Now, if we just add this, it should make it even more stable,” Wallenstein said, taking out a black cloth which generated a barrier around the seal, as if it were fastening it shut.

And, sure enough, the moment the black cloth was laid around it, the faint, unpleasant aura that’d been emanating from the sword subsided completely.

“Whoa! That’s incredible. Or might I say fascinating. So, you can do it like that too, huh?” Marchosias said in an impressed tone while staring at how the barrier was composed. The combined use of the seal and the magic-infused tool, and the way they complemented each other, was only possible thanks to the advancement of technology.

But that wasn’t all. There was someone else who was also impressed by this seal.

“As I ought to have expected from one of Miss Mira’s friends. You could say this seal is quite marvelous because it’s so localized. Even without spirit leylines, it looks as if it’ll hold just fine like this for the time being.”

Indeed, it was none other than the Spirit King. What’s more, he wasn’t just giving the seal high praise, he’d even spoken of how useful it was. Being that this had come from the Spirit King, it really was high praise.

“It seems like the Spirit King gives your work a thumbs-up as well. He said the way things look, the seal should be able to hold, even without spirit leylines,” Mira said.

“Is that so? W-wow, that’s some pretty high praise,” Wallenstein laughed, looking both shocked and gladdened.

And perhaps for this reason, he became somewhat chatty and explained that the barrier was a special technique that he’d enhanced by utilizing all the information he’d learned from his friends.

In contrast to Wallenstein, who was still feeling rather on top of the world, Barbatos moved on to what they’d be doing with the sword. “I’d say that’s pretty good news. After all, if we no longer need spirit leylines to seal it, then we can bring it back as is and study it further.”

From a safety perspective, they ought to bring the sword back to the spirit leylines and have Marchosias securely seal it there once more.

However, while the seal around the sword coupled with Wallenstein’s barrier wouldn’t hold quite as long as the spirit leylines, the seal would no doubt still remain unbroken for a considerable amount of time.

So, he now had the option of studying the sword.

According to what Marchosias had said, the cause of demons turning dark was indeed this very sword.

If they analyzed the power that’d brought about this transformation, they might also formulate a means of nullifying it or develop a medicine that’d cure it completely. By studying the sword, they might very well make some progress on either of these fronts.

Careful not to let his excitement get the better of him, Wallenstein cleared his throat and, after regaining his composure, suggested, “You have a good point… Hmm, then I’d like to keep it in our custody. I take it that’s fine?”

Barbatos agreed that he should go ahead.

“Hrmm, I think that might be for the best,” Mira said.

In other words, the Monster-Ruling God’s sword would be kept with Wallenstein and his comrades’ organizations. From Mira’s point of view, it would be a lot safer there than it was sealed away god knows where.

What’s more, if they were successful in studying it, they might even figure out a way to completely restore dark demons to their original state, which was even more reason for them to keep it.

Figuring it was best to put all such things in Wallenstein and his comrades’ safekeeping, Mira held out the fragments of the sword and said, “Oh ho, by the way, then would you take these along with you as well?”

“Oh yeah, those. Sure thing. I’ll take them too,” Wallenstein said. He took the fragments, quickly wrapped them in the black cloth, and enveloped them in the seal’s barrier.

Now there was no longer any need to worry.

“All right, now there’s only one problem left,” Mira declared.

You could say that they’d solved most of the issues they currently had before them. They’d discovered and secured the Monster-Ruling God’s sword, which had been behind all the trouble.

Not only that, they’d managed to rescue Marchosias, one of the sword’s victims, and they’d even discovered why demons were transforming into dark demons. The results of their trip had been far above expectations.

However, though she might’ve wanted to call the case closed, the most pressing and important mystery yet remained.

“You mean figuring out who the criminal is, right?” Meilin answered with a triumphant smile, after having stayed silent almost the entire time.

When investigating the monster-repelling amulets which had started this entire search, they’d managed to stumble upon the answer to the mystery of the demons’ transformation.

While all of these parts were a bit complicated for Meilin, who could only scratch her head in confusion, she seemed to have grasped the most important aspect.

“Hrmm, that’s correct. We still haven’t figured out who was behind the amulets, which was our whole reason for coming here…” Mira clarified, nodding in agreement with Meilin. Figuring that there was no better time since they had Barbatos and Marchosias there, Mira took out the cloths she’d been keeping.

They were the very cloths that had been used to make the monster-repelling amulets, upon which was inscribed some sort of magic inscription that neither Mira nor even the Spirit King could decipher.

“I see. This is… Yes, I’m familiar with this magic,” Barbatos said.

“There are additional enhancements that I don’t quite understand, but at its core, it’s the same,” Marchosias added.

Perhaps she ought to have expected as much. Sure enough, it seemed that the magic inscribed on the cloths was indeed a kind used by demons.

According to what the pair had testified, it was indeed demons behind everything that was going on with the amulets.

From what Barbatos had said, while they’d been significantly altered such that they were no longer typical of the kind of magic demons used, the core components still fit that description.

“Regarding how it’s activated, whoever inscribed this was a tad eccentric, and so I can’t quite make it out. That said, I can tell you what it does, no problem.”

“Whoever made this had very dark thoughts. Everything they did was for these evil purposes…”

Barbatos and then Marchosias offered those diagnoses as they checked the cloths, of which there were nearly a hundred. The pair then declared that the magic inscribed on each and every one of them had the exact same effect.

That effect being [Diffuse].

However, the two of them couldn’t identify the conditions and whatnot for activating them.

That said, the two agreed that the amulets, which were being passed off as monster repellents, were rigged so that the fragment of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword that was sealed inside would begin dispersing its power throughout the nearby area after being triggered in some way.

“Disperse the fragment’s power…? What kind of disastrous effect would that have…?” Mira asked.

Just as she’d presumed, that power was no trifling matter. And so, Mira worried about just what would happen should that power spread throughout a wide area.

“I’m not sure, but probably…” Marchosias prefaced. Then he predicted what effect this would have.

Perhaps because he’d been taken over by the sword, he could foresee just what kind of havoc it would wreak.

He went onto to explain just what’d happen if the dispersal magic was activated after the amulets made their way into the hands of humans and were carried off all over.

First, the bizarre-looking monsters would appear. Once unleased, the fragments would spawn monsters like the ones Mira and her companions had fought, who’d then take control of the areas near where they spawned.

Next, they’d contaminate the land, which would turn it into a breeding ground for them.

Additionally, the monsters already living there would likely mutate into an even more fiendish form. It seemed the Monster-Ruling God’s sword secretly contained the power to transform demonic power.

“And if that happened in many different areas all at the same time…you can imagine how much of a disaster it’d be. We dodged a bullet.”

She couldn’t even imagine how many lives would’ve been at risk. And yet, when it came to the misdeeds of dark demons, Wallenstein seemed worried about what other evil acts they might be plotting.

“We have Mira to thank for preventing that from happening. Thank you.”

It was Barbatos who added that he was glad Mira had stopped such a thing from happening, and he bowed once more to her.

“There’s really no need to thank me. We were just curious about it,” Mira laughed, suggesting that it’d all happened simply because the amulets had intrigued her.

And yet, after they heard what Marchosias had said, there was one person whose eyes were shining brightly.

You guessed it, Meilin’s.

“Let me just say, that is extraordinarily dangerous, okay? Don’t even think about it,” Mira said.

The sword could spawn the bizarre monsters and could transform other monsters as well. That made it give off the unmistakable, dangerous scent of a powerful enemy.

For that reason, she seemed to have her eyes on it. And yet, perhaps because Mira had warned her, Meilin seemed to take the hint and meekly answered, “…I know. It’s fine…” She sounded disappointed, and yet she gave up on the idea.

They were now certain that demons were behind what’d happened with the amulets. Hoping to learn more, Mira and her companions investigated the area around the castle.

Additionally, thinking they might be able to extract some information from the lesser demons, they captured some from within the city. However, this didn’t quite work out as they’d hoped.

And that was because the lesser demons in the nearby area actually seemed to all be under Marchosias’s command.

According to him, though he couldn’t quite remember clearly, he felt as if he must’ve created them while he was still under the control of the sword. But because he’d managed to regain control of himself while this was happening, the lesser demons were simply waiting nearby in standby mode to receive orders. And so, it only looked as if they were acting as lookouts around the castle.

And yet, as luck would have it, Mira picked up on some information that she wasn’t yet privy to when she heard this.

Apparently, lesser demons were artificial beings created by dark demons using demonic power.

Seemingly for that reason, the lesser demons that’d been standing around the castle still took orders from Marchosias, even though he’d returned to being a light demon.

That said, they’d been created by the ill will of a dark demon. And so, Marchosias, as the one who’d brought them into being, returned them to dust.

“Hrmm, it doesn’t look like there’s anything around here that’ll give us any leads,” Mira concluded, after she and her companions had finished investigating the nearby area.

And yet, their search hadn’t yielded any information that might lead back to the dark demons. At the very least, they’d managed to determine that no one had visited there within the last few hundred years.

“Could this perhaps have been an entirely separate matter?” Wallenstein ventured, voicing the conclusion he’d drawn after looking at the information they had available to them.

“Indeed, that seems to be the case. Judging from what we just heard, the parts used to make the monster-repelling amulets most likely came from somewhere else,” Mira answered.

Initially, they’d assumed that a dark demon had come there, found the Monster-Ruling God’s sword and used it for whatever reason.

In that case, by finding the sword, they’d also find clues which would lead back to the dark demon itself.

However, the sword hadn’t been broken anywhere nearby, but in fact somewhere completely different, and so naturally they weren’t likely to find any clues nearby.

“Hrmm, it seems like we’re right back to where we started,” Mira groaned.

Unfortunately, they hadn’t managed to catch the dark demon who’d been up to no good with the monster-repelling amulets.

That said, they’d successfully secured the Monster-Ruling God’s sword, which was an exceedingly dangerous artifact. What’s more, they’d figured out the secret behind the creation of dark demons.

Considering all of this, their visit had certainly been a success.

“Well, then, in that case, I wonder if he learned anything on his end,” Mira asked.

Most importantly, they weren’t necessarily all the way back to square one. There was another of Mira’s companions conducting a separate investigation: Bruce.

They’d gotten ahold of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword and left its fragments with someone they could trust and rely on.

That said, they couldn’t say for sure whether or not they’d gotten their hands on all the fragments. And so, Bruce was in charge of searching for any remaining fragments while also pursuing the culprit behind their distribution from a different angle than Mira and Meilin.

And since they hadn’t found any leads, all they could do was hope that he’d come up with something.

“I’m gonna go check in with him for a second. Wait for a bit, okay?” Mira said.

Thinking he must’ve made some progress, Mira quickly asked the Spirit King, “How’s it looking on their end?”

By “their end,” she meant Bruce’s end. And on that note, Wasranvel was with him.

Because they were so far away, Mira couldn’t communicate with him via the evocation contract they had, but this didn’t apply for spirits. By using the Spirit King as the go-between, Mira could share information with any spirit, no matter how far away they might be.

“All right, it looks it’s my time to shine. Okay, let me ask him,” the Spirit King answered jauntily, no doubt happy that Mira needed his help.

But, much to her surprise, she heard another voice a moment later.

“In that case, why don’t I tell you?” Martel said.

Apparently, while the Spirit King was busy working with them, sealing things, pranking demons, and whatnot, Martel had been receiving reports from Wasranvel.

“But it’s my time to sh…” the Spirit King said, dismayed at having Martel usurp his big moment.

“How about you worry about coming up with your next prank, Sym?” Martel said, somewhat bitterly.

She appeared to enjoy pranks herself. Therefore, she seemed none too happy that she hadn’t been able to join in on one.

And so, in the Spirit King’s place, she began relaying the reports she’d received from Wasranvel.

Chapter 13

AFTER LISTENING TO THE REPORTS Wasranvel had relayed to Martel, Mira and her companions exterminated the bizarre monsters prowling about the area before heading off to where Bruce was.

It was a bit of a tight fit getting all five of them into the wagon, but it wasn’t much of a problem since they’d just be sitting around talking.

“…And so, if the one behind all of this is hiding in…”

“…Yeah, leave it to me. I can expand it to cover a wide area…”

Mira and her companions were going over the situation on Bruce’s end, and also figuring out what they’d do if they managed to find a dark demon.

First, when it came to the situation with Bruce, it seemed that he’d managed to identify who was selling the monster-repelling amulets, and he’d also discovered where they lived.

Bruce and Cat Sith had shown up to the flea market first thing in the morning and discovered who was selling the amulets. Then, making use of Wasranvel’s powers, they’d tailed the seller and located their residence.

In addition, after getting tipped off, Bruce had his associates purchase all the monster-repelling amulets so they wouldn’t make their way into anyone else’s hands.

They’d taken a quick nap as they made their way there, and it was just after noon.

“Sorry for the wait. We had a bit more company than usual,” Mira said.

Halfway down the main road that headed west from the Empire of Nirvana stretched a forest, deep within which was the cabin they were looking for.

Alighting from the Garuda wagon at the foot of the forest, Mira and her friends met up with Bruce and his companions, who were hiding in the grass about sixty-five feet away from the cabin in question.

“Wow, these are all specialists I’ve heard stories about. My name is Bruce; it’s a pleasure to meet you… And I feel like I’ve met him somewhere before…” Bruce said the moment he caught sight of Barbatos and Marchosias. Then, his gaze fell next on Wallenstein and he stopped.

Unlike Wallenstein now, the Wallenstein of the past had very much been dressed like an edgy tween, and he’d had black cloth wrapped around his entire body, including his face.

But, unlike Mira, he was still in the same exact form. For that reason, Bruce seemed to have picked up on something and was racking his brain to figure out just where he’d met him.

Bruce hadn’t just figured out Mira’s true identity; he’d picked up on Meilin’s as well.

And yet, everything regarding the Nine Wise Men was a state secret. And so, hoping to prevent any other sensitive information from leaking, Mira said, “N-nah, you must be imagining things. But more importantly, how do things look?”

Desperate to change the subject, she emphasized how the most important thing at the moment was the matter of the monster-repelling amulets.

“Ah, yes. Good point…” he said.

Perhaps because he revered Danblf…that is, Mira…so much, he quickly switched gears.

According to him, the seller had entered the cabin that was straight ahead of them and had yet to emerge. What’s more, their target didn’t seem to be doing anything particularly notable. Or so he’d heard from Cat Sith, who’d ventured next to the cabin to listen in and check if anything was going on.

“In that case, all that’s left is to bust in,” Mira said.

The seller they were after was inside the cabin. From the report they’d gotten from Cat Sith, they could assume that they were already relaxing inside.

And so, Mira thought it’d be best to burst inside and strike while the seller still had their guard down.

And truth be told, the fighting force they had there might very well be considered the cream of the crop. Each member of the group was capable of handling whoever might be waiting inside the cabin with brute force alone.

“I think that’s best too! Let’s bust right in through the front door!” Meilin, who always fought on the front line, eagerly agreed. Cat Sith had also finished making sure there were no traps or anything along those lines in the cabin.

And so, there was no longer much point in sitting around pontificating.

“That would indeed be fastest,” Wallenstein, also seeming to think it was the quickest solution. Nodding in agreement, Barbatos said, “Sure thing, let’s do it.”

“Sweet, we’re gonna storm the place! It doesn’t get any simpler than that,” Marchosias said, suddenly enthusiastic.

With his ability to convert demonic power now sealed, just how much power was he capable of using? His expression seemed to indicate that he hadn’t gotten a good enough idea of this yet.

“I might’ve figured…” Bruce murmured.

Was this the end of the cautious way they were proceeding with their plan? Looking at Mira and Meilin, who were the best at raids out of everyone in the group, Bruce backed down with a word of protest.

“But of course, they can only go ahead like that because we completed our mission so flawlessly,” said Wasranvel, the only one in the group to sympathize with Bruce. He then praised Bruce, saying that they only been able to gather intel, expand their intelligence network, and locate the cabin thanks to his skills.

Bruce answered that, rather, it was all thanks to Wasranvel’s power of silence.

Following behind Mira and the others, who were fired up to charge into the cabin, the pair quietly applauded each other for a job well done.

The cabin the seller was holed up in didn’t seem big enough to fit a whole family. At most, it looked like a living space with rudimentary plumbing that doubled as a workshop.

At first glance, the small cabin looked more like a way station than any kind of residence.

Furthermore, there was only a single person inside. Meilin had used [Biometric Scan], and so they knew this for a fact.

“…Okay, I’m ready over here.”

“Hrm, I’ve got everything in position too.”

Wallenstein had expanded a barrier around the hut, while Mira had summoned several holy knights who were now lurking hidden in the shadow of the trees. They were stationed there just in case the seller tried to make a run for it.

“All right, then I’m going in!”

“Yeah, let’s do it!”

Meilin and Marchosias were speaking as if they could hardly wait.

The pair were gazing directly ahead at the door of the cabin. Meanwhile, the seller was sitting somewhere a little ways away from that very door.

No doubt because of this, the two moved in perfect sync, simultaneously dashing forward and vigorously kicking down the door in one go before bursting inside.

They hadn’t just busted the door open; they’d smashed it to pieces. “Looks like she’s in even higher spirits now that she’s found a kindred spirit,” Mira said as she and her companions followed the two into the hut.

But only a couple of moments later, she heard Meilin’s voice ring out, “All right, surrender!” Then, there was a brief pause, before she continued, “I feel like this isn’t quite right.”

“Umm…” Marchosias mumbled bemusedly, with his fist raised.

“Well, this isn’t really what I expected…” Mira said, also pausing when she caught sight of the scene. Likewise, so did Wallenstein and Bruce.

Their reason for doing so was that the one selling the insidious monster-repelling amulets was none other than a young girl. What’s more, perhaps because they’d so suddenly barged in, the girl looked utterly terrified.

“Ah… Ah…”

Having tumbled out of her chair in surprise, the girl scrambled to a corner of the room and pulled her hood over her eyes. Furtively looking in their direction, her eyes shone with terror.

“Bruce, is there any chance that you…?”

Could he have gotten the wrong person? Turning around, she glared at him as if to ask what was going on. Bruce, shuddering under Mira’s gaze, nevertheless straightened himself up and said, “Nope, nope, no way,” vigorously shaking his head. He then took a hurried step forward and, leaning in, asked the girl, “You were the one selling the monster-repelling amulets, weren’t you?”

Bruce’s gaze had suddenly turned deadly serious. Seeing this, the girl answered, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” vociferously denying the charge.

Whatever the case, the girl seemed to know something. Convinced of this, Bruce pointed to the robe hanging on the wall as evidence.

“But you do know something, do you not? That robe over there is the very one the seller of the amulets was wearing…” he continued.

The robe in question wasn’t a normal one; it was instead a magical tool inscribed with anti-recognition magic.

Looking closer, one could see a small paw mark stamped on the sleeve of the robe. The mark had been left by Bruce’s Cat Sith. Therefore, Bruce added that there was no doubt about it; the seller had indeed come to the very cabin they were in.

When he declared this, a clear change came onto the girl’s face.

And it wasn’t a look of contempt or frustration that one might feel when they were caught in a lie. Rather, it was one of fear.

“Allow me to jump in,” Mira said, having recognized the change that’d come onto the girl’s face. Bruce then stepped back.

She figured that rather than having an adult man speak to the girl, things might go more smoothly if a fellow young girl like herself were to speak with her.

Of course, Meilin was a young girl as well, but she wasn’t really one for things like negotiating, so she simply waited where she was.

“It looks like we startled you. Sorry about that. But we’re actually in a big hurry. So, would you just hear us out for a minute?” Mira said, once the men had stepped back far enough.

The results were immediate. Perhaps because Mira’s appearance gave off such a different impression, the girl clearly became somewhat calmer. She was still pretty shaken up, but the fear had receded from her eyes.

“Okay…” the girl mumbled, nodding her head despite still looking down.

“Great, are you ready, then? We haven’t come here to do anything bad to whoever was selling the amulets, but rather, to warn them about how dangerous they are…” Mira began, before asking if she really didn’t know anything about the amulets, and whether or not she knew anything about whoever was making or selling them.

However, the girl still looked rather apprehensive. She made no attempt to answer, perhaps because she had a reason not to.

“Actually, the crystal used inside the amulets contains something holding an ancient curse, which is extraordinarily dangerous,” Mira continued.

Figuring that the girl’s resolve wouldn’t waver simply from trying to convince her, Mira decided to switch tactics. And instead, she decided to appeal to the young girl’s conscience.

So, why exactly were the monster-repelling amulets so dangerous? Most people didn’t know about the Monster-Ruling God or history stretching that far back, and so it wouldn’t be easy to convince her with any of that. However, it’d be quite easy to get the girl to understand if she simply said that the amulets contained an ancient curse.

“…!”

The effect of this was readily apparent, as a look of visible dismay came onto the girl’s face.

Not failing to notice this change, Mira began to feel there was indeed some chance that the girl had been either tricked or coerced into selling the amulets from the get-go.

“Oh yeah, come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself yet, huh…” Mira said.

With the girl wavering, now was the time to strike. Her gaze focused on the girl, Mira had come up with a plan to encourage her to lower her guard.

Naturally, it was much easier to trust and feel comfortable speaking with someone you knew, rather than a complete stranger.

This was even more the case should you recognize the person’s name. And so, in such a situation, her status as an adventurer very much came in handy.

“My name is Mira. As you can well see, I’m an adventurer. Lately, people have taken to calling me the Spirit Queen,” Mira said gently, showing the girl her adventurer’s license and telling her about her nickname.

And, sure enough, just like Mira had expected, the effect of doing so was very clear. The girl seemed to have heard of the Spirit Queen, and Mira could tell that the suspicion that’d been on her face had lessened.

Mira then took a step forward.

“So, perhaps this will do for proof. Will you try touching my hand?” Mira said with a smile, then, walking closer to her carefully so as not to alarm her, she held out her right hand.

Surely this must’ve been a tall order given they’d only just met. However, now knowing that Mira was the Spirit Queen, the girl, though somewhat puzzled, obediently held out her hand.

Mira and the girl’s hands met, and right then…

“Hello, my lady. My name is Symbio Sanctius, and I’m the Spirit King! Miss Mira is a good friend of mine!” the Spirit King said, jovially addressing the girl the moment she and Mira had touched.

The fact that the Spirit Queen had a connection to the Spirit King was a rumor that’d spread alongside that of Mira’s nickname itself. Therefore, by showing her that the rumors were indeed true, Mira could earn even further trust from the girl.

“…!”

Surprised by this, the girl then began looking around the room as if to see where the voice she’d heard had come from. While she was doing this, she realized that the mark of the Spirit King, from which his power poured, had appeared on Mira’s body.

It was a somewhat distant-feeling aura as well as a warm-hearted affection.

The girl must’ve felt the Spirit King’s power, as the look on her face went from one of shock to one of peace and comfort.

“By the way, the people you see behind me are my merry friends, so you can just relax. I know one of them scared you earlier, huh? I promise I’ll give them a talking-to about that later, so do you think you could forgive us?” Mira said with a smile. She joked around with the girl, who was gradually loosening up.

The girl then answered, “Okay…” having seemingly forgiven Bruce.

However, hearing this exchange, Bruce didn’t seem as if he could keep himself together. A look of fear passed over his face that rivalled the one the girl had worn only moments before.

Chapter 14

THEY WERE SPEAKING with a girl they’d found inside a cabin deep in the forest which they’d discovered by tailing the seller of the monster-repelling amulets.

With Mira’s efforts appealing to the girl having paid off, she had now opened up to Mira and her companions and promised to tell them everything she knew.

The girl’s name was Etoto.

When Mira asked her about the monster-repelling amulets, Etoto answered that one day, a kindly man had brought the materials and taught her how to make the amulets.

Indeed, the girl wasn’t only selling the amulets, but making them as well.

They then asked Etoto how she created the amulets, and she explained it to them in detail.

First, she took the materials she received, those being sacred crystals, black fragments which were used to drive away monsters, and the cloths with a magic inscription which brought out the power of both of the previously mentioned materials.

Then, just like she’d been instructed, Etoto embedded the black fragment within the crystal before wrapping it in the cloth and, finally, casting a spell upon it.

Everything considered, I’d have to say the kindly man she spoke of was most definitely a dark demon. What’s more, the crystal she mentioned is most likely amrute. By “black fragment,” she’s got to be referring to the fragments of the sword.

Whoever it’d been had said the amrute was sacred crystal and had lied that the fragment of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword drove away monsters. But the most notable things were the cloths with the magic inscriptions. Those could’ve only been crafted personally by a demon.

But jeez, she said it like it was no big deal, but how in the world did she embed the fragments into the amrute?

The amrute crystal couldn’t naturally be found in their world, and so to return it to its original liquid state, they’d had to bring it all the way to Valhalla.

And yet, Etoto had worked on it right where they now stood.

When she checked with the Spirit King about this, she learned that this was very much something that shouldn’t have been possible to do by human hands.

Indeed, even Mira had only been able to return the amrute to its original liquid state because she could use the power of the Spirit King.

“Etoto. The crystal you’ve been working with is called amrute. It’s a substance that’s not naturally occurring here. That means it isn’t something you should be able to find here, much less something a human should be able to craft with,” Mira said.

Having been pressed on this point, Etoto’s eyes suddenly opened wide. It seemed as if she had indeed picked up what Mira was insinuating.

Her expression didn’t seem to indicate that she was in any way surprised that she’d received such materials.

Rather, the look on her face was one of surprise mixed with unease, as if Mira had picked up on something that she’d rather have kept a secret.

“I thought something must be up. If possible, could you tell me a little more?” Mira asked.

The girl was most definitely hiding some sort of secret. Having judged as much from the look on Etoto’s face, Mira put on a friendly smile.

Based on the girl’s reaction, Mira had no doubt that, whatever kind of secret she had, it was a source of considerable bitterness.

It was also conceivable that this secret had to do with why the demons were using her. Therefore, Mira didn’t push the girl any further and simply looked at her solemnly.

Perhaps it reminded the girl of her early memories, as she squeaked, “Um, well…” before dropping her head and falling silent. And yet, her eyes, which were trained on Mira, were filled with fear.

Still smiling gently, Mira waited for the girl to make her decision. It required courage to open up about a secret, especially when it was a painful one.

And so, Mira simply watched over Etoto as she gathered the courage to speak.

Several moments then passed, during which nobody said a word. Neither pushing nor hurrying Etoto, everyone stood in silence.

Etoto glanced furtively at Mira and her companions time and time again, with apprehension in her eyes.

Having just about lost count of how many times she’d done this, Etoto finally looked up. She then drew her mouth tight as if having made up her mind and slowly grabbed ahold of her hood before pulling it down.

The hair that came tumbling out was black as the night sea and disheveled in such a way that it looked like she rarely took care of it.

What’s more, now that they had a clear look at her features, they got the impression that she was on the slim side.

But the most noticeable of her features was her head. Growing forth from it were a pair of horns which, though quite small, were the same kind demons had.

“Yes, that explains it…” Barbatos said, speaking first.

Judging from her appearance as well as her behavior, he’d known from the very beginning what the girl was, as well as the nature of the situation.

Unconsciously…or rather, perhaps unable to hold himself back any longer, Barbatos walked over to Etoto.

Then, surprised by his sudden approach, Etoto shuddered in fright. At the very next moment, she squeaked, “Ah…” as she looked at him.

This was because Barbatos had an even more impressive pair of horns atop his head.

These very horns were proof one was a demon. And while Barbatos usually hid them because they could occasionally cause trouble, he now showed them for the world to see.

Looking up, Etoto stared at Barbatos, who’d made his way just in front of her. Fascination as well as surprise passed over the girl’s face, and it seemed she was feeling quite a complicated mix of emotions.

Standing before her, Barbotos slowly squatted down and gently grasped the trembling girl’s hand.

“You must’ve been through a lot. I don’t think anything I say will be of much comfort to you, but you’ve done a very good job. A terrific job. But I… We are here now, so you don’t need to worry. You’re safe now,” Barbatos told her, a profoundly sympathetic look in his eyes.

Looking closer, Wallenstein was also gazing at her with an expression of deep compassion in his eyes.

Judging from how the two were behaving, it seemed that they’d seen situations like Etoto’s somewhere else before. And so, seeing her seemed to have brought back painful memories.

“Thank you for choosing to continue living,” Barbatos whispered, sounding as if he was both regretting and trying to repent for what he’d done in the past. And yet, also giving the impression that he’d discovered a small glimmer of hope, Barbatos gently hugged Etoto.

Etoto stood with her eyes blinking in surprise, as if completely thrown off by the sudden embrace. However, perhaps some of what Barbatos was feeling managed to reach her, or maybe she could recognize how warm he was being. Or perhaps, most likely of all, she’d realized that the emotion she was being showered in was kindness.

Etoto’s face began quivering. And then, clutching Barbatos, she cried, as if she were finally letting loose everything she’d felt up until that moment.

A half demon. That was Etoto’s true nature.

She was a child born as something between human and demon, and she generally looked just like a normal human. However, traits particular to demons would occasionally appear on her body.

These included parts of her skin turning black, or her growing sharp nails or fangs.

Of these, her horns proved to be the biggest problem. They were the most notable feature, and what’s more, demon’s horns were such a classic trait of demons that they immediately gave away that she was a half demon.

Demons brought devastation upon humans. This was something that’d been commonly believed to be true for a very long time.

Therefore, it was difficult to even imagine how the poor girl must’ve been treated.

And so, Barbatos gently consoled her, while Wallenstein looked on sympathetically. Marchosias also seemed to pick up on the situation. Though he’d figured it out a bit late, he said, “I see. Yes, I see now,” his voice thick with emotion.

Image - 10

Meilin seemed to have picked up on the situation as well. She’d realized just how tough of a spot Etoto had been in, and how she’d simply been taken advantage of for evil purposes. However, she simply watched silently before shifting her gaze, as if suddenly concerned. She was looking at the door that she and Marchosias had smashed apart.

From the look that was clearly written all over Meilin’s face, she seemed to be wondering what she should do.

And so, while everyone was feeling all sorts of emotions welling up within their hearts, Mira was empathizing with the girl’s predicament while simultaneously analyzing the situation.

“Hrmm… So that’s how she was able to work with amrute, huh?” Mira pondered.

“Precisely. It should be no trouble for a half demon,” the Spirit King responded.

Because she had a reasonable amount of demonic power, Etoto had been able to work with the amrute, something which no normal human would’ve been capable of doing.

However, Mira continued that there was something that concerned her if this was the case: why had the dark demon, who was able to work with amrute themselves, not done so and instead entrusted the task to Etoto?

“That would likely have to do with how it’s done. Crystallizing amrute could simply be done with raw power, yet this isn’t quite the case when it comes to inserting something into amrute. Doing so is quite a delicate task that requires precise control. With the kind of power dark demons have, it wouldn’t matter how much a dark demon tried to reign in their power while going about such a thing; they couldn’t hope to accomplish it,” the Spirit King explained.

Therefore, they’d turned to a half demon, Etoto, who could accomplish such a task. According to the Spirit King, she was extremely technically capable at this task, perhaps due to her human blood.

And so, when she finished her conversation with the Spirit King, Mira noticed that Etoto seemed to have calmed down as well.

Looking down awkwardly, she pulled her head away from Barbatos. Then, looking up gingerly at him, she saw him smiling warmly, and a look of relief washed across her face.

After this, Etoto answered all of Mira and her companions’ questions.

First off, they wanted information on who was not only having her sell the monster-repelling amulets, but making them as well.

Etoto answered that the person who’d done so was a kindly traveler.

In addition to always lending her an ear, this person had also taught her how to make her dream come true.

“Your dream?” Mira asked.

Etoto’s dream was to live normally in the human world.

She explained that she’d never been able to fit in with anyone because she was half demon.

Wherever she went, she was bullied, chased away, and even had occasional brushes with death.

As she talked about the horrors she’d experienced, Etoto more or less summarized all the terrible things that human beings were capable of. Hearing all of this was enough to make one wonder why she’d still want to live alongside humans in the first place.

Despite this, Etoto still wished to do so. Apparently, this was because she had been very fond of her human mother, who would kindly hug her, pat her on the head as if to say everything would be all right, and drive away scary monsters. Etoto said that because she had a mother like this, she didn’t believe that all humans were bad.

This was indeed why Etoto held on to her wish of living in a place full of people like her mother, if there really was a place with people who’d treat her as kindly as her mother had.

“My, what a beautiful soul the girl has…”

“Indeed, she warms my heart.”

Perhaps due to the great purity of her wish, or because one becomes more emotional as they get older, the Spirit King and Martel immediately began tearing up after they heard what the girl said.

What’s more, the two added that they’d do whatever they could, should there be any way in which they could help.

“Hrmm, I’ll let you know if the time comes…” Mira said.

And so, while this was going on, Etoto continued answering questions.

The kindly traveler had taught her that she could make her dream come true by making and selling the amulets.

Every year, countless people were victims of monsters. And yet, if they had amulets with powerful monster-repelling capabilities, fewer people would be hurt by them.

The amulets were handy tools that would protect a good many people. If she made them, then humans would no doubt appreciate her hard work and would surely accept her as one of them.

However, it wouldn’t be a good idea to rush things. As she very well knew, there were some humans who were bad. And so, if those humans were to learn that they could make money off the amulets, then they’d take complete advantage of her.

Therefore, it was best to start by selling the amulets far and wide, so that many people would come to know about them. She was also to not show herself in public until more influential people recognized her efforts. Or at least, this was what the traveler had advised.

“I have to admit, he does have a point.”

Surely, the kindly traveler whom Etoto was speaking of was a dark demon in disguise.

Perhaps needless to say, this was why they’d easily managed to dupe a child like Etoto.

This very well explained why Etoto had hidden her true identity while selling the amulets.

Logically, it made sense. But, when you looked at it from a different point of view, it became quite obvious that they were tricking the girl.

So, what would’ve happened if Etoto had sold the amulets out in the open?

Just like the traveler had said, villainous people with minds for nothing but money would have likely bled her dry.

But that wasn’t the only possibility. There was also the chance that, since she’d helped protect so many people from monsters, a benevolent friend would step forward.

If anything, judging from the amulets’ effectiveness as well as how hot of a topic they’d become, it was likely a legitimate merchant, benevolent or not, would step forward to suggest teaming up.

But of course, if this happened, more people would likely notice how the amulets were made. What’s more, before they were finished, someone aside from even Mira and her companions would probably notice that there was something suspicious about the materials used to make the amulets.

Therefore, the fewer people involved, the better. By having only Etoto, whom they’d fooled completely, create the amulets, they planned on slowly having their use spread.

“…U-Uh… Um… Was what you said true? About them being cursed…? Is everyone who got them okay…?” Etoto asked, with an uneasy look on her face, after finishing her explanation.

Having genuinely believed the amulets would protect people from terrifying monsters, Etoto had gone about selling them. However, when she heard that they were fake and actually contained something cursed, she’d become worried.

“Hrm, it’s true. But you needn’t worry about that. We’re collecting all of them. And also, they remain powerful monster repellants until they’re used for their evil purpose,” Mira said with a nod before smiling kindly and informing her that she didn’t need to worry.

Up until the magic that was inscribed on the cloth was activated, the effect of the monster-repelling amulets was precisely what their name implied. Though she had most certainly been duped, the amulets Etoto made had likely saved people.

That said, they weren’t in the clear yet.

“But, just to be safe, there are a couple of things I’d like to clear up first…” Mira began before checking with Etoto to make sure that she wasn’t overlooking anything. She asked how many of the amulets Etoto had made.

Bruce had collected most of them, but that didn’t mean he’d managed to get all of them. And, while they were only making their way around Ratnatraya, the capital of Nirvana, it was certainly possible that someone had taken them elsewhere.

And so, they needed to check how many had been made against how many they’d managed to find.

After having this explained to her, Etoto readily acquiesced.

It seemed that on the days she sold the amulets, she had duly noted the details of each sale in a ledger, which meant she seemed to have a record of how many had been sold.

“Ah… I just sold some today as well!” Etoto said, seeming to suddenly realize this when she checked her records. She then made to run out the door with the money she’d received so as to get back the amulets she’d sold.

“My dear, it’s okay. We’ve already taken care of that,” Bruce said, stopping Etoto. He then told her that the ten amulets she’d sold that day had been bought by his associates who were aware of the whole situation.

“I see. That’s a relief,” Etoto answered, seeming quite relieved to have heard this.

She then calmly stopped before handing the day’s proceeds to Bruce and adding, “Um, can you give this to them?”

“Ah, actually…” he answered.

They hadn’t actually been terribly expensive. And such a sum was pocket change to his merchant associates, meaning there was no need to go out of their way to repay them.

And yet, Bruce answered, “…Sure. I’ll make sure they get it back,” and took the money. He did so because, at that moment, Etoto’s eyes were more serious and earnest than he’d ever seen them.

Etoto then proposed that, though she couldn’t do it immediately, she wanted to pay back all the proceeds she’d earned from selling the amulets.

In other words, she wanted to compensate Bruce for all the amulets he’d collected, as he’d paid for all of them out of pocket. That meant it was up to Bruce to decide how to proceed with this proposal.

Not accounting for those who’d price gouged, the amulets weren’t terribly expensive. And yet, considering just how many he’d bought, the sum Etoto would need to repay would likely be a fortune to her.

“If you insist, then I’ll take you up on that,” Bruce said, nodding once more.

This was because he wasn’t about to disregard Etoto’s determination to live an honest life.

However, it wasn’t with money that he wanted to be repaid.

“That said, what my friends want at this point is information, and the information you have right now is quite valuable. If you tell us everything you know, then we’ll call it even. That sound all right?” Bruce continued.

Truth be told, Etoto very likely had information pertaining to the dark demons. This was precisely the kind of thing Mira and her companions wanted to obtain, even if it meant paying for it.

Etoto answered, “Sure, I’ll answer whatever questions you’ve got for me!” She was beginning to run around the room, piling not only the ledgers but everything having to do with the monster-repelling amulets on the table.

Chapter 15

AFTER THEY LISTENED to everything that Etoto had to say, quite a few things became clear.

The first was just how many monster-repelling amulets had been created.

Checking this number against the amulets they’d recovered, they deduced that they were only missing a single one.

However, they managed to quickly cross this one off the list, as it happened to be the one that Etoto always carried with her in her bag.

This was because it was safest to always keep one with her. Or at least that was what the traveler had told her, and so she’d held onto one for her own personal use.

Taking this amulet from Etoto, they now had the exact number of amulets that’d been created.

Having recovered each and every one of the amulets, Mira and her companions let out a collective sigh of relief.

That said, it wasn’t time to celebrate yet. They still had yet to deal with the amulet Etoto had carried, as well as the ones the merchants had bought up that day.

“…All right, then I’ll grab those!” Meilin said, volunteering for the task.

“Hrmm, I’ll leave it to you, then,” Mira answered.

Quickly running off, she left to get the monster-repelling amulets from the merchants.

Figuring she might as well kill two birds with one stone, Meilin took the proceeds from the amulets and, playing up just how much she was trying to help, dashed through the ruined doorway.

That said, considering Meilin’s speed, the trip wouldn’t likely take her very long. Additionally, should anything happen with the amulets, she could undoubtedly handle it. And so, one could argue that she was, in fact, the ideal candidate for the task.

Having seen Meilin off, Mira and her companions then began their next task.

With the girl’s consent, they began searching every nook and cranny of the cabin.

According to Etoto, the cabin had originally been vacant, but the traveler had fashioned it into a place for creating the amulets.

Given this, there might very have been some evidence left behind by the traveler…or rather, the dark demon.

“Okay, how about we split up?” Wallenstein said, as they began their search for evidence left behind by the dark demon.

He could indeed attest that he’d found a good many dark demons, whom he’d then restored into being light demons. Taking out some specialized magical tools, he began investigating one end of the room, looking very much like a seasoned professional.

Barbatos followed soon thereafter. That said, he was investigating in a somewhat unique way. He held his hands over the area where he stood, then moved elsewhere and repeated the process.

Since he was a demon himself, he must’ve been able to figure out something that way. He taught Marchosias how to do this as well, and they began investigating from the area opposite Wallenstein.

Mira and Bruce, meanwhile, were standing in front of a cupboard.

“Um, this is everything that’s left over!” Etoto exclaimed, opening up the cupboard.

Inside were the tools she used to make the monster-repelling amulets, the remaining amrute crystals, and fragments of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword.

She still had yet to make them and, what’s more, she explained that the traveler had provided her with all of them.

This meant they’d quite likely left some very definitive traces. Thinking as much, Mira first summoned Woofson to check whether any scent remained of the traveler.

Following her lead, Bruce summoned Cat Sith, who, with their spot-on intuition and observational skills, was the natural choice to assist him.

When it came to investigating and whatnot, there was no more reliable pair.

That said, Woofson and First Pupil didn’t get along with each other one bit, so much so that Mira wondered if it might be explained by some kind of enmity between their respective species.

But that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Would you happen to be the young legend from the Cu Sith world, meow?! You’re the wonderful detective, Master Woofson, are you not, meow?!”

“Indubitably. You must be pretty sharp to know my name, woof,” Woofson answered.

“Meow would I not know it?! After all, Master Woofson, you were one of the central figures who masterfully solved the case of the tree of stars withering, which was a crisis of the greatest magnitude for the demi-fairy world, meow!”

“It’s good to know that there are respectable folk among the Cat Sith. So, shall we get to work?”

“Sure! It’s an honor to be working alongside you, meow!”

So, the two went on, apparently getting along particularly well.

First, they checked for any scents that might still be hanging in the air before scrupulously looking over each item in the cabin to make sure they didn’t miss anything. Though they’d only just met for the first time, Woofson and Cat Sith were a fantastic team, and so they went about their work with great efficiency.

From time to time, the fragment of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword would emanate a malevolent aura, but Mira and the Spirit King were quick to suppress it.

Meanwhile, Bruce was making his way around the perimeter of the cabin, thoroughly checking that there weren’t any magical traps cast on or around it.

And so, with everyone going about their respective duties, they finished their investigation of the cabin and the area surrounding it without issue.

“Hrmm, we didn’t pick up anything,” Mira lamented.

“Not even with my nose… A shame, woof.”

In the end, they hadn’t come across any clues.

What they knew was that the dark demon who’d been involved in all of this had been extremely cautious, and they had ostensibly eliminated any traces that might lead back to them.

What was their reason for doing so? They must have foreseen that someone might come to the cabin to poke around.

In other words, they’d even considered how, after the magic contained in the amulets was activated, an investigation would be sent to the cabin to determine what’d happened.

What’s more, considering how they’d advised Etoto to carry an amulet as well, they’d also planned on getting rid of her once she was no longer of any use.

…What a despicable trick!

Had they not discovered the amulet in her possession, then it would’ve likely spelled the end of innocent little Etoto’s life.

And yet, they had discovered it. That alone made their trip to the cabin worth it.

Indeed, while they still didn’t know much about the dark demon who’d orchestrated the whole operation, there was no helping that even skilled investigators such as themselves couldn’t find any evidence that’d lead them back to this demon. While she was trying to boost her spirits with this mindset, Mira heard a voice call out.

“They were most definitely a crafty one, but they didn’t anticipate a group like us to show up. I got some solid evidence,” Wallenstein said, as he and his companions returned after expanding their search beyond the house to the entire perimeter.

“Well, they probably hadn’t anticipated that members of the same race…or rather, demons with the same powers would be trying to track them down. It seems that they didn’t put too much effort into concealing themselves. And so, we were able to find traces of power characteristic of demons,” Barbatos continued with a cool look on his face, as well as a hint of pride.

He said they’d found things around the cabin that only someone capable of wielding demonic power would be able to detect.

And by following this power, they’d managed to determine where the demon who’d gotten Etoto to make the amulets was.

“So, let’s go over there right now!” Marchosias said, getting ready to rush off as soon as they finished talking.

“Hrm, yes, we can’t let them get away!” Mira said.

Enraged that the demon had thoughtlessly trampled upon the tenderhearted girl’s feelings, Mira rose to her feet. Utterly livid, she declared that she’d make the demon pay for what they’d done a hundred times over.

“Now, now, let’s cool down first,” Wallenstein said, gently urging the two, who’d gotten to their feet in preparation to stand up for Etoto, to slow down.

“I feel the same way you do, but first, let’s deal with the issue that sits before us,” he continued, reasoning that since they’d caught the demon’s trail, they’d figure out pursuing them later.

And so, before that, they ought to figure out what to do with Etoto.

Because they knew of Etoto’s circumstances, their emotions had gotten a bit away from them. “Good point. Yeah, you’re right,” Mira said, having realized as much. She took a second to regain her composure.

Just like Wallenstein had said, their first priority right now was Etoto’s safety.

“So, what should we do?” Mira asked.

Then, subtly glancing over, she saw Etoto hanging her head like a criminal waiting to hear their sentence read out. Though she hadn’t known what was going on, she seemed to feel guilty about what she’d done. Not attempting to run, she simply shut her eyes as if willing to accept whatever punishment she was handed.

And yet, she was a tad hasty in assuming this, as Mira and her companions weren’t discussing how to punish her, but rather what to do with her.

Needless to say, they couldn’t leave her there to continue making the amulets. And yet, knowing the truth about them, she wasn’t likely to make them anymore anyway.

And yet, this was precisely the issue. If Etoto stopped making the amulets, sooner or later the dark demon who’d tasked her to do so would discover as much.

Even if they managed to take care of this dark demon, they had no way to be sure that someone else wouldn’t step in to exploit her yet again.

This was because dark demons believed half demons were quite easy to use and exploit. This was especially true when it came to a kind-hearted girl like Etoto. They would certainly have no qualms maliciously taking advantage of her.

And so, what Etoto needed right now was protection that could shield her from such malice.

“You have a mom, don’t you? Considering what happened this time, something bad might very well befall her too,” Wallenstein said.

Etoto wasn’t the only one who needed protection. Dark demons were both cruel and cunning. When it came to manipulating Etoto, they’d undoubtedly try to use her mother as a bargaining chip.

That meant they would both be needing protection.

However, perhaps because of her current attitude or because of Wallenstein’s phrasing, Etoto misunderstood what he was suggesting.

“My mom had nothing to do with this! I was just a bad kid! So please, only punish me! Please!” she bawled.

Wallenstein was blindsided by this unexpected reaction. But looking at the exchange objectively and knowing Wallenstein as well as she did, it was quite easy for Mira to understand how such a misunderstanding had come about.

“Sorry, Etoto. I think he probably could’ve phrased that a little better. What he meant to say was that whoever made you make amulets, as well as the ones they’re in league with, might try to do something bad to your mom. That means both of you will need to be protected,” Mira said sweetly, gently stepping in.

Having perhaps been convinced by Mira’s words, Etoto calmed down a bit, the tears vanishing from her eyes.

But now, it was Etoto who was suddenly in a hurry.

“Mom…!” she gasped. Now the sole thing that concerned her was that her mother could be in trouble.

“She should be fine for now. At the very least, right now there aren’t any traps or whatnot that could be used to monitor the situation here, so most likely they haven’t discovered that anything’s up yet,” Wallenstein said. He reassured Etoto, who was about to run to where her mother was, that she didn’t have to worry just yet.

He’d apparently checked whether or not there were any surveillance spells in place before storming the cabin.

That said, it was only a matter of time. They couldn’t know for sure when exactly the dark demon would pick up on what’d happened, and so it would no doubt be best to move quickly.

“But they already know where the two of you live, so you’ll have to move somewhere else,” he continued.

There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the dark demons knew where Etoto and her mother lived. And moving forward, this information might very well make its way to others too. In which case, they needed to flee somewhere away from the dark demons’ grasp.

Hearing all of this, Etoto looked down sadly and murmured, “Once again, it’s all my fault…”

And in her words, one could grasp the anguish she’d felt having had such a difficult life.

Judging from her backstory as well as everything she’d said, it was easy to imagine that Etoto and her family weren’t very well tolerated, no matter where they went.

And after they’d finally found a place they could settle down, they’d now be forced to move elsewhere because of her. Etoto had surely begun to sink into a depression darker than they could even imagine.

But just then, a ray of light cut through the gloom. It was Wallenstein.

“If you don’t mind, how about coming with us? With your mother too, of course. We’ve got plenty of friends, so I think it’s where you might be safest,” he said, boasting that the organization he belonged to had a sort of safe house where it’d be best for them to live until the whole situation was resolved.

“But I look like this…” she began, reluctantly. Perhaps because she’d endured such hardship, she showed some trepidation despite finally being invited to join a group.

If she joined such a collection of companions, wouldn’t she just end up ostracized again and once more cause problems for her mom? Deep down, Etoto constantly feared such things.

In stark contrast to the mournful-looking Etoto, Wallenstein playfully answered, “You’re gonna go on about that now? Look, have you forgotten? So does he. And him too.” Then, glancing beside him at Marchosias and Barbatos, as well as the horns atop their heads, he smiled.

“Whatever the case, we welcome you with open arms,” Barbatos declared. He spoke solemnly, as if swearing an oath, but also decisively, like a father talking to their child.

“Sorry, I’ve only just woken up, so I’m not too sure about everything that’s been going on recently. But, for the life of me, I can’t tell what it is that’s wrong with you,” Marchosias said.

The world he knew was the one before the advent of dark demons. Therefore, he couldn’t quite comprehend just how much people detested half demons in the current age. Standing before Etoto, he continued, “Well, if any kids bully you or give you a hard time, I’ll clobber ’em!” apparently not quite understanding the situation.

And yet, it was likely the first time she’d ever heard such words. Though she was slightly taken aback, Etoto gently lifted her head and smiled happily.

It was a very cute, girlish smile.

“Yes, there are other children just like you. If possible, I’d love for you to become friends with them. If you could do that, it’d definitely be a huge relief to us. There’s no need to worry about it or think you’re inconveniencing us. This is what we’re asking for, and you’d be doing it for our sake,” Wallenstein continued, beseeching Etoto to let them protect her and her mother.

Wallenstein and his comrades’ organization had always consisted of demons as well as humans, and so it certainly made sense that there would be half demons as well.

Etoto appeared quite shocked to hear all this. And yet, at the same time, she seemed profoundly moved. “Is that really okay?” she asked timidly yet hopefully.

“Why, of course!” Wallenstein replied cheerfully. And yet again, Etoto smiled.

And so, they decided what they’d be doing with Etoto. It was more than fair to say that they’d settled on the absolute safest option.

Heartened by the news, Mira looked toward the cupboard, and onto the remaining issues at hand.

“Next up is this. It’d probably be best to take them all to use for developing some sort of cure, but it’d be a bit dangerous to leave them as they are, so we probably ought to seal them first,” Mira said.

There in the cupboard were the materials used for making the monster-repelling amulets. Most of them were fairly innocuous in their current state, and yet there was one portion of the materials that they needed to deal with right away.

Those were the fragments of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword, which had been one of the main causes for demons turning to darkness. Just to be safe, it seemed best to seal them before handing them over.

“Good point. Please do,” Wallenstein said.

“Hrmm, leave it to me,” Mira answered.

Quickly lining them up on the table, Mira worked with the Spirit King to place an initial seal on them.

“Their power seems to have gone down quite a bit,” Wallenstein added.

“Yes. They should be safe for right now…” Mira responded.

With the seal in place, nothing would likely happen anytime soon. And unless anything happened to the seal, they’d likely stay in the exact state they were in for at least several years.

“But just to be absolutely sure…” she continued.

“Considering what we’re dealing with, it’s better to be safe than sorry,” the Spirit King added.

That said, that seal alone was surely not enough. Mira thought that it’d be best to place a second seal using the amrute, like they’d done with the other amulets, if possible. The Spirit King appeared to be of the same opinion as well.

But they’re still in their crystal form. It’d be pretty dangerous to use them now…

The amrute they might be able to use was right here. However, since they needed to return it to its original liquid state, they couldn’t safely work with it there on the surface.

Etoto had been able to work with the amrute crystals when making the amulets, but when they further questioned the girl about this, they learned that she was only capable of slowly embedding the fragments into the crystal. Rather than changing the physical state of the amrute, the girl had simply embedded the fragments into the crystal, meaning that she wasn’t able to take them out.

I guess we’ll have to go back to Valhalla again to do it.

In order to take every possible precaution, it seemed best to return to Valhalla and go about the second sealing before handing everything over to Wallenstein.

Or so Mira was thinking when…

“Got ’em!” Meilin said, returning from her errand. Looking proud that she’d accomplished her task, she then held up the bag in her hand.

“Wow, good job,” Mira answered.

Inside the bag were all of the last monster-repelling amulets that Etoto had sold. In other words, they’d now recovered each and every one of amulets that she had created.

Those amulets would need to be taken care of in Valhalla as well.

“All right, then allow me to take those first. I’ll take them to Valhalla later to deal with them, and I’ll strengthen the seal on them while I’m at it. I suppose we ought to settle on a time and place to get them to you once I’m done,” Mira continued.

Dealing with the amulets and placing a second seal on all of them wasn’t something she could accomplish right away, and so they’d have to meet up at a later date.

“Ah, yes, that’s right. It’s dangerous to do that here on the surface, yeah?” Wallenstein replied. He then nonchalantly continued, “Any time after you get back down here works for me.”

This reminded Mira that Wallenstein and his companions were able to use warping magic.

In order to do so, they needed to place a special magical tool wherever they were warping to, and Wallenstein had given Mira one of these very magical tools previously. In short, he could zip to her location wherever and whenever he chose.

But judging from how he mentioned doing so any time after she returned to the surface, it apparently wasn’t possible to teleport to special locations like Valhalla.

That said, even with this limitation, it was still an incredibly handy magic technique.

“…Got it. In that case…” Mira began.

At any rate, even if she demanded he teach it to her, he’d just reply that he’d sworn not to and wouldn’t do it.

Why was he so cruel? Glaring at Wallenstein with resentment burning in her eyes, Mira simply told him when her work would be finished, assuming everything went according to plan.

Chapter 16

“ALL RIGHT, then I’ll leave you to it, Marchosias. Make sure she’s well attended to.”

“Sure, leave it to me!”

That was what Barbatos and Marchosias said to each other while they stood in front of the hut that Etoto was in.

“Please get her back safe.”

“I’ll be with her, so there’s no need to worry.”

Beside them a similar exchange was going on between Wallenstein and one of their friends, the light demon Liliella, who’d been called in for reinforcements. It was her job to lead Etoto and the others to Wallenstein’s hideout once they’d completed their assignment.

This was because they’d be splitting up into two groups once again.

Mira, Wallenstein, Meilin, and Barbatos would follow the trail that they’d discovered and capture the dark demon who left it.

The first three were the strongest of the group, and they could each handle whatever foe awaited them, no matter how powerful they may be. And they also had Barbatos, who could follow the traces of the unique demonic power that the dark demon had left behind. Collectively, they’d be the pursuit team.

That left Etoto, Bruce, and Marchosias who, together with Liliella, made up the protection team.

Since Wallenstein and Barbatos, who were members of the organization, would be away on the pursuit team, they’d decided to call in Liliella who was also a member.

Perhaps because she’d been assigned this task by Wallenstein, she burned with extraordinary enthusiasm.

“…So, that’s the situation. I leave the rest to you.”

“You can count on me, Master. I will do everything in my power to accomplish this task that you’ve assigned me!”

Meanwhile, Mira was having a similar exchange beside them. Not with Bruce, however, but with the three Valkyrie sisters he’d summoned, Helknae, Elenae, and Raglinae.

They’d been summoned after considering what kind of impression the protection team might give to others.

First, there was Liliella who, regardless of her genuine age, looked like a young girl. Then there was Etoto, who actually was a young girl.

And with them was Bruce, who was a middle-aged man, as well as the cheerful, carefree, and happy-go-lucky Marchosias.

If anyone saw the four of them marching down the street together, just what would they think? How exactly would they come off?

The chances were undoubtedly very high that they’d get the wrong idea, and so they summoned the three Valkyries.

Hrmm, now it shouldn’t be an issue.

And so, Bruce and his companions finally left Etoto’s house. Watching as the group departed, Mira nodded to herself that they should be fine now.

With Elenae and her sisters in tow, they looked much less suspicious. At first glance, the group just looked like a team of adventurers guarding the two girls.

Such being the case, they should have no trouble avoiding any unnecessary suspicion not only on the road, but when they met Etoto’s mother.

“Well, then, I suppose we should head out as well,” Mira said.

There was no longer anything to worry about, and so all that remained was to find the dark demon who’d tricked Etoto.

About an hour or so after Barbatos began following this dark demon’s trail, the party arrived at a small village in the mountains.

“Hrmm… At first glance, it looks like a normal village, but there’s some sort of unsettling vibe coming from it…” Mira said.

Hiding atop a hill that overlooked the village, Mira and her companions scoped it out. The trail that’d been left by the dark demon had led them here.

Had the dark demon simply passed through? Or were they hiding there?

The village looked so tranquil that it was quite difficult to decide just from looking at it. And yet, Mira felt something wasn’t quite right and deemed it to be suspicious.

“Hmm… It doesn’t feel human,” Meilin said, as if in agreement with Mira.

She observed that the villagers may have looked like normal humans, but they likely weren’t.

Guided by instinct, they turned to Wallenstein as if to ask what the deal was.

Perhaps because the magic demons used to disguise themselves was fundamentally different from the kind she was familiar with, even someone with Mira’s talents couldn’t easily see through such disguises. And to do so, she needed considerable preparation as well several different spells.

However, they had Wallenstein and Barbatos, who were experts in this field, with them, and so it didn’t take very long to have their assumption verified.

“Ah… This means… Yes, indeed. You’re right. They’re in this village,” Wallenstein said.

Thanks to his specialized exorcism equipment, he was able to quickly clarify their true identities.

He explained that the village was ruled by demons, and all the villagers weren’t humans; they were in fact lesser demons.

“And it seems our target is in that large mansion. I can sense the densest amount of demonic power coming from there,” Barbatos added, pointing out exactly where the dark demon was residing.

The power from the dark demon seemed to be concentrated inside this mansion deep in the village. What’s more, it was the exact same power as the one they’d followed from Etoto’s cabin.

In short, the very one who’d exploited Etoto was there.

“Judging from how strong their power is, I’m guessing they’re a considerably powerful Count-rank demon… But, with everyone we’ve got here, I’m sure they shouldn’t be a problem,” Barbatos said, somewhat surprised that the demon lurking there was stronger than he’d imagined. And yet, glancing at Mira and her companions, he smiled as he suggested they should be able to handle the demon that very day.

“That said, we’re up against a dark demon. I used to be one as well, so I can attest to just how cunning they are. We ought to be ready for anything,” he continued.

Currently, they had enough fighting strength to take on a Duke-rank demon head on. And yet, Barbatos added once again that this didn’t mean that they could be too confident.

“Hrm, good point,” Mira said.

“First, we ought to check whether they have any hostages, and we’d better make some preparations as well.”

In addition to their foe being a dark demon, the fight would be taking place entirely in an enemy stronghold. That meant they had no way of knowing what sort of traps might have been set up there.

Knowing full well the cruel and cunning tactics used by dark demons, Mira and Wallenstein agreed that preparation was half the battle. They began investigating the village and readying their own plans.

Meanwhile, Meilin, who’d wanted to charge right in through the front door, felt a little let down.

“It doesn’t seem like they’ve captured anybody,” Mira said.

Having used Woofson’s nose as well as Meilin’s [Biometric Scan], she’d gotten a reading on everyone in the village.

Including the dark one, there were fifty-four demons in total. As one might expect within a demonic stronghold, they didn’t seem to be bothering with disguises. Having distinguished each and every one of those Meilin had detected, Woofson concluded that none of them were human.

“I’ve detected and taken care of several traps on my end. I set them to explode instead of disabling them, so if you see white flames suddenly flare up, don’t worry about it.”

It seemed as if Wallenstein and Barbatos had more or less completed their preparations as well.

Sure enough, traps had been set all over the village. But because there were traces that they’d all been set by the dark demon, he’d opted to rig them with an explosive spell rather than disabling them, so they wouldn’t be discovered.

Afterward, when they began their battle against the dark demon, white flames would flare up to neutralize those traps if they were activated.

“Hrm, understood. But jeez, you’ve picked up some even more cool tricks, huh?”

“Yes, and you’re making me use them all up,” Wallenstein answered.

Wallenstein also seemed to have very much improved from what he’d been capable of in the past. Mira began wishing he’d show her his research notes, but now wasn’t the time for that.

Finally, their preparations were complete. Now all that remained was to deal with the dark demon.

“He and I will see if we can’t deal with the dark demon, so can you and Meilin take care of the lesser demons?” Wallenstein asked.

Their opponent was a dark demon, the type that Wallenstein and his comrades worked to rescue. And so, as soon as he asked this, he took out some unfamiliar tools and armed himself with them. They were used to weaken dark demons while harming them as little as possible.

“Hrm, leave it to us.”

“…Sure.”

Knowing it was best to leave dealing with the dark demon to Wallenstein and his comrades, Mira readily agreed with his proposal. Meilin, once more, seemed let down.

She’d explained the situation regarding the dark demon as well as what Wallenstein and his comrades were trying to accomplish, and so she must’ve known that it was best to split up. However, the dark demon was undoubtedly the strongest foe there, which was precisely why she felt so disappointed.

“Come on, don’t be so bummed out. One of the lesser demons might have a demon’s crystal. And if a fiend makes an appearance, you can take them on,” Mira said.

A demon’s crystal was a special item that summoned a random fiend. It was rare for lesser demons to carry one, but considering how many of them there were, at least one would most likely have one.

Having been enticed with this, Meilin then responded, “You promise, okay!” as her eyes smoldered with fighting spirit.

“All right then, let’s go,” Mira said.

Having formulated their battle plan, they were done being stealthy.

Going their separate ways from Wallenstein and Barbatos, Mira and Meilin marched into the village.

Proceeding straight through the village, they came upon a villager who turned around and said, “Well, I’ll be. It’s pretty rare for us to get guests this late at night. There isn’t much here, but we can at least provide you with food and shelter. So, come right over here.”

If they hadn’t known better, they might’ve simply thought him a kind villager.

However, the village they were in was ruled by a dark demon, and so the words sounded as if they were filled with nothing but malice.

“Oh ho, what a warm welcome. By the way…do you plan on burying that knife in our backs while we’re sleeping?”

Mira did a complete one-eighty and dropped the whole naïve-young-girl act. Her eyes flashed sharply like a detective who’d just cracked a case.

In truth, she simply looked as if she were very full of herself. And yet, because she’d indeed made an accurate assessment, a look of visible dismay washed over the villager’s face.

“Show us who you really are! If you do that, then we’ll wait until you use your demon’s crystal!”

Mira was cross-examining her foe from the advantageous position of knowing the whole situation. And yet, this rather predictable exchange must’ve been moving a tad slow for Meilin, who was drawing closer to the villager as if there was no longer anything to hide.

“I don’t know who the two of you are, but it sure was bad luck to come here!” the previously peaceful-seeming villager cried.

Abandoning its disguise and assuming its true form as a lesser demon, it then shot a red ball of fire into the sky.

And, wouldn’t you know it, all the surrounding villagers flew toward them at the sight of this signal, instantaneously surrounding Mira and Meilin.

“Now what’ll you do? Everyone you see around you are innocent villagers that I’m controlling. Would you really hurt them?” the lesser demon said, a cowardly sneer stretching across its face.

Had they happened to just be passing through the village and managed to deduce the lesser demon’s true identity after speaking with them, then this tactic might very well have worked.

And yet, they were already well aware of the village’s secret.

“Yup, sure can,” Mira said, partially summoning a dark knight and cutting down one of the villagers right away.

Seeing the way in which she’d cut down one of them without a moment’s hesitation, the lesser demon’s eyes grew wide. Its gaze fell on the villager who’d been cut down, now back in lesser demon form since their disguise had worn off.

Next, when the vengeful spirit pouring out of its corpse failed to find someone it could possess, it dissolved and melted into the night.

“You just got luck… No, you must’ve known from the very beginning!” the lesser demon said.

He’d been about to say that Mira had just gotten lucky to have cut down a demon and not a real villager, but when he noticed the fearless look on Mira and Meilin’s faces, he looked at them once more and seemed to realize the truth: They already knew all about the village.

Immediately, all of the lesser demons reverted to their true forms. And then, just as Mira and Meilin were thinking that it was finally time to do battle, the lesser demons flew off in every direction.

“Hrmm, so far, everything’s going according to plan.”

Alone, lesser demons weren’t terribly powerful. Generally, they were mildly strong, just about as much as a C-rank adventurer. But Mira’s partial summon seemed to have shown them just how powerful she was.

Seeing that they were at a disadvantage, they’d fled. And yet, Mira and her companions had already predicted that they’d do just this.

Therefore, Wallenstein had surrounded the village with a barrier which no lesser demon could break through.

Now they just had to hunt down and exterminate them.

But just as they were about to split up and give chase to the lesser demons…

“Hmm…?”

The lesser demons began acting in a way they hadn’t predicted.

They’d predicted that they’d attempt to flee outside the village and then get stopped by the barrier. And yet, for some reason, the lesser demons were running into their homes rather than out of the village.

“I feel like this isn’t going how we’d planned!” Meilin said.

Did they perhaps have an escape door in their homes? Had they set up some sort of underground tunnel for such situations? Or was there something else going on that they couldn’t even imagine?

While things were no longer going according to plan, Meilin began watching with intense interest, as if anticipating some super-powerful foe to make an appearance.

And yet, even if they did attempt to escape underground, Meilin’s [Biometric Scan] was effective enough to catch every one of their movements. What’s more, so long as they didn’t go too far underground, they still couldn’t evade Wallenstein’s barrier.

In short, it didn’t matter what they tried; they were caught like rats in a trap. And so, Mira and Meilin’s plans remained unchanged.

“Well, whatever…”

Figuring they might as well make their way to each and every house, they were starting to move out when something happened.

So, what happened? The lesser demons weren’t attempting to hide or flee. Instead, they came out from their houses.

“Hm? Huh?! Could those be…?”

Why on earth were they doing this? Wondering and glancing around at the demons, they noticed something quite unexpected.

Each of the lesser demons who’d exited the homes had something in their hands.

They were all holding black crystals. Indeed, they were none other than the demon’s crystals that were rarely carried by lesser demons.

But this time, even though they were so rare, every single one of the lesser demons was holding a demon’s crystal.

Being that they were operating out of the village, the dark demon’s forces also seemed to be quite well prepared. Without a second thought, they then used their respective demon’s crystals and began summoning.

Demon’s crystals summoned a random fiend. That said, about half of them or so were duds that only summoned one or a few monsters.

But given the number of lesser demons here, they would definitely be facing a fiend.

Even the weakest fiend would have no trouble easily razing even a rather well-fortified village. If dozens of them were to appear, it would likely take a considerable amount of time to deal with them all.

“Once again, it looks like this is gonna be a serious pain…” Mira muttered.

What’s more, they couldn’t forget that they needed to deal with the lesser demons as well. Indeed, handling their vengeful spirits was going to be an issue.

Considering just how many demon’s crystals they were dealing with, they’d quite likely be facing a high-level fiend as well. Were one of the lesser demon’s resentment-filled spirits to possess a high-level fiend, their troubles would go from bad to worse.

And so, Mira stood smiling bitterly to herself while thinking all of this as fiends appeared all around her. Half of the crystals had been duds and had only summoned monsters, but the other half had all summoned fiends. What’s more, while half of them were lower-level fiends, there were quite a few intermediate-level as well.

And, sure enough, there was one that stood out clearly from the rest. It gave off extraordinary power and intensity, and the earth shook as its tree-trunk-sized legs crashed down.

It had a torso like a mammoth, a head like a goat, and it stood well over thirty feet tall.

But what stood out the most about it was the black horns atop its head. Looking as if there was something horribly wrong with it, the scorched-looking horns branched out from its skull in such a twisted way that it looked almost as if it had two heads.

It seemed most apt to call it a monster, not just from the way it looked at first glance, but from its tremendous ferocity and power.

It was a fiend known as a “reichengiebel.”

Faced with these fiends—and in particular, the reichengiebel—Meilin cried, “Just what I’ve been waiting for!” while breezily stepping forward.

Her eyes were fixed on the powerful foes before her.

“Well, I knew this was what’d end up happening…” Mira groaned.

Though there was a whole slew of things she’d wanted to try out against powerful foes such as the fiends, Mira kept her promise and headed over to deal with the monsters.

When working alongside Meilin, one pretty much had to let her take on the strongest foes. When it came to this, she wouldn’t budge an inch.

Therefore, Mira shifted her focus to testing out ways of utterly annihilating her foes.

Mira and Meilin were tasked with taking on the dark demon’s combined forces, which consisted of lesser demons, monsters, and fiends.

As soon as the two faced down their respective foes, the battle began.

Aiming for the reichengiebel, Meilin began pummeling the other demons head-on.

“There are loads of fiends to the front and back. It’s been a while since I’ve had this much fun!” Meilin cried.

Her fighting was, in a word, magnificent. Listening to her go, one heard an unbroken series of blows accompanied by wave after wave of pained howls echoing unceasingly through the air.

Meilin was in the zone.

Meanwhile, Mira, who was tasked with handling hordes of monsters, had sent in an experimental force to unleash havoc on the front line.

“Perfect, now it’s all coming together!” Mira cried.

This experimental force was made up of armor spirits that used different elements.

Using holy knights to defend her, she’d formed a team of dark knights, five in total, which had either fire, water, electric, or wind power.

This particular test was to determine whether it’d be more effective to focus on imbuing her armor spirits with elemental power, rather than just trying to summon as many as possible.

And while they were currently surrounded by a great many monsters, they were working together quite well. And so, considering it was her first time trying this in a combat situation, the results were fairly impressive.

“Now, how about this!”

Once again, Mira was using herself for an experiment.

That said, it wasn’t a very complicated one. She was equipping herself with her sacred frame to figure out just how well she could handle it and just how responsive it was.

Fighting by herself and not with the armor spirit team, she slew the monsters one after another.

Chapter 17

“ALL RIGHT, you’ve got nowhere else to run.”

“Just give in; we won’t hurt you.”

Not far from the fierce battle raging in the city, Wallenstein and Barbatos had already managed to corner the dark demon.

While all eyes were on Mira and Meilin’s diversionary attack, the two had been stealthily operating behind the scenes.

They’d managed to flawlessly corner the dark demon, who’d gone to an isolated spot to see whether his minions had gone to join the battle or had fled.

The dark demon had then fled itself, at which point they pursued it while warding off its attacks until they’d driven it to the barrier.

Wallenstein reinforced a portion of the barrier there, ensuring that the dark demon had nowhere else to run.

The first thing they needed to do was knock it out. Then, after the battle, they could have Mira summon Leticia. She would be able to mollify the dark demon’s powers, at which point they could place a seal on it, and that would be that.

Or so Wallenstein was thinking while he tried to put the dark demon to sleep. But right then, something happened.

“As if I’d listen to you!”

Surprisingly, the cornered dark demon did something unexpected.

Working together, Wallenstein and Barbatos should have had the wits and capabilities to deal with whatever he might throw at them.

And yet, the dark demon neither resisted nor counterattacked; instead, he did something that only took a split second.

He produced a small bottle from somewhere and then guzzled down its black contents in a single gulp.

“What did you…?!”

What could he have drunk? Why was he drinking the liquid? Not knowing what to make of this behavior, Wallenstein’s guard was up.

A moment later, Barbatos’s eyes opened wide.

“What in the world is…? He’s overflowing with power.”

And indeed, the moment these words left his mouth, the dark demon let out a scream of agony.

“GAAAAAGH!”

But that wasn’t all. A miasma so thick that it was visible with the naked eye began pouring out of his entire body, which then grew to at least twice its normal size.

“What did he…?!”

He didn’t know what was causing it, but Wallenstein could sense the dark demon’s demonic power suddenly skyrocket.

It shot two, then three times higher. His power kept growing greater and greater until it was finally around ten times what it had been before.

And that was when it happened. The dark demon, which had been desperately thrashing, suddenly went berserk.

“Ngh…!”

Drunk with power, the dark demon released masses of demonic power which were far more powerful than any attack he’d yet unleashed.

“He’s suddenly gotten so powerful… I’m guessing he’s about at the level of a Marquis-rank demon. No, he’s even stronger than that,” Barbatos said. Having determined that the attack was quite dangerous, he’d put up a shield.

And yet, cracks started to show in it very quickly.

Wallenstein had also put up a barrier to reinforce this shield, but it quickly began to dissolve after being hit by the seemingly endless amount of demonic power.

“This might be tricky.”

While they’d been holding back so they could transform him back into a light demon, they were now being pushed onto the defensive.

While they’d somehow managed to withstand its attack, Barbatos predicted that unless they got more aggressive, their defenses would be the first to fall.

“What the hell did it drink…? I don’t know what caused this, but we can’t give up now…!”

The dark demon had drunk a black liquid. That was undoubtedly the cause of all this.

So, what could it have been that’d caused it to dramatically grow in power and go completely berserk? Much was still unclear, and yet that didn’t mean they could give up on turning the dark demon in front of them back into a light demon.

Wallenstein firmly believed that there had to be a way to do it. Killing the dark demon would be their absolute last resort, and they’d only do it when they’d exhausted every other option.

About a minute after this unexpected turn of events had befallen Wallenstein and Barbatos, Mira and Meilin were holding off the lesser demons while trying to defeat the fiends so that they wouldn’t get possessed, and thereby strengthened by the lesser demons, vengeful spirits.

“What the… What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but something feels weird.”

Mira and Meilin had both detected a sudden change.

Perhaps due to some aftereffect of the dark demon’s increase in power, the lesser demons under his command began to mutate.

Currently, they’d managed to defeat all of the monsters as well as several fiends. Right after they detected this ominous sensation, the lesser demons began thrashing about in pain.

What’s more, the way they were doing so was by no means normal. Soon, they let out bizarre howls, at which point they began thrashing about even more.

So, what in the world was going on? Mira and Meilin stood perplexed as they watched the unprecedented turn of events, in which the lesser demons began to violently transform.

Right then, they could feel another power begin to swell, at which point a chorus of agonizing howls erupted and the lesser demons burst into smithereens.

“What the…?!”

Had they self-destructed, or had something else happened? Either way, Mira was quite shocked, as she’d never expected they might take care of themselves.

But, wouldn’t you know it, the lesser demons’ deaths acted as a trigger and their vengeful spirits spawned forth.

And that wasn’t all. For some reason, these particular vengeful spirits were all far denser and bigger than any they’d encountered so far.

“I feel like things are about to get intense.”

Having slain yet another fiend she was fighting, Meilin approached the remaining fiends while staring at the vengeful spirits, a fearless grin spreading on her face.

“Damn… I don’t think we’ll make it in time!” Mira cried, finishing off a fiend that was being approached by a vengeful spirit with a single blow.

There were significantly fewer fiends left. But at this point, regardless of what they did, it’d no doubt prove quite difficult to defeat all the remaining ones before they were possessed by the vengeful spirits.

And so, the vengeful spirits that’d spawned possessed each of the remaining fiends.

The fiends’ transformation was immediate, and the bodies of the possessed ones suddenly turned jet black.

“Now these guys seem pretty tough!”

Meilin seemed to feel how strong their foes were and, if anything, she was quite pleased by this development. Watching them as they transformed, she got back into her fighting stance.

However, something else unusual happened next. The now-transformed fiends transformed yet again. And instead of simply powering up and going berserk, they suddenly mutated in some way.

The fiends lost all of what made them natural, living beings, and they became like machines bent only on destruction. When they changed form, they began their destructive rampage. They began by attacking whatever was directly in front of them.

“No way. Like this, it’s as if they’ve all become upper-level fiends.”

Perhaps because they were an experimental force, the armor spirit team that was standing in the front wasn’t quite a match for upper-level fiends. Though they held on for ten or twenty seconds, they were completely wiped out.

Next, the defensive line she’d set up, a wall of holy knights, was completely smashed through by the fiends. What’s more, the fiends’ charge was so ferocious that they even began to push back the holy lords that comprised the second defensive line.

There were only very few who were capable of such offensive power. One could confidently say each of the fiends was indeed quite high level. The assortment of fiends they were facing down was certainly powerful enough to warrant mobilizing the military.

Jeez, I can’t believe they transformed so much…

The level to which the vengeful spirits had powered them up far surpassed Mira’s expectations. She smiled bitterly to herself that they weren’t just at the level of an A-rank adventurer, but far above even that.

Furthermore, this had happened to all of the remaining fiends, which was a considerable number. The most troublesome of the group was the reichengiebel that Meilin was taking on.

It had originally been an upper-level fiend, so now that it had been powered up, it was about equal in power to a raid-level boss.

And Meilin was fighting this very fiend head-on, by herself. And yet, even she seemed to have her hands full dealing with that fiend alone.

Still, it was fair to say that individually taking on a raid-level boss, which was meant to be fought by multiple parties of players, was actually quite insane.

“We’ll have to do something about these guys. Looks like it’s time to roll up our sleeves.”

The rampaging fiends destroyed whatever around them they could get their claws on. The houses in the village had already been razed, and they’d even started mowing down the trees that stood in the surrounding forest.

At this rate, they’d inflict catastrophic damage to the area around them.

Realizing this, Mira used her holy knights to catch the fiends’ attention while she chanted an incantation.

Sweeping through the dark demon’s village, which had suddenly been transformed into a warzone, came the resplendent seven Valkyrie sisters, as well as the awe-inspiring Imperial Dragon Eizenfald, to take on the fiends rampaging there.

Each of them took one fiend, thereby succeeding in putting a stop to their destruction of the surrounding areas. What’s more, their brilliant coordination and tactics allowed them to pick off the fiends one by one.

And yet, that was when another problem sprang up. This had to do with the aftereffects of the fiends’ multiple reckless and indiscriminate attacks.

The worst of these were the ones that used fire, as the flames flew every which way and were now beginning to engulf the forest.

“Undine team, take care of that spot. Lady Anrutine, would you and Hippogriff mind helping out over there?”

“Yes, sure thing. Leave it to us!”

When they both agreed, Undine leaped atop Pegasus, while Anrutine went in the opposite direction atop Hippogriff.

They’d left to extinguish the fire that was sweeping through the forest from the air. And yet, even though the fiends were running amok, they seemed to still have some wits left about them. They began changing their attacks so that they were now targeting even more of the surrounding area.

What’s more, needless to say, their transformation had now made them far more powerful than lesser demons. Therefore, they could easily break right through the barrier that Wallenstein had put up.

Now that they’d caused significantly more damage, Alfina and her sisters were forced to maneuver carefully so as to avoid any errant flames. This meant they were now taking down the fiends at a much slower rate.

I need more fighting power, but there aren’t many more I can summon. Should I try partial summoning, or maybe an arms evocation? Or maybe…

With the additional evocations she’d summoned, along with the remaining dark and holy knights that were still battling it out, Mira could only summon one more evocation.

Figuring that she might as well finish things, she thought to herself that she might very well be able to defeat the remaining fiends if she summoned Fenrir.

And yet, this would only work if there weren’t a time restriction.

Currently, she could summon Fenrir for only about ten minutes. In addition to this, Fenrir was in a weakened state at the moment, so they could most likely take down only about half of the fiends in that time.

Should she do this first, or perhaps save Fenrir for dealing with the reichengiebel?

Trying to figure out what to do, Mira worried for a few more moments before making up her mind and beginning an incantation.

A few moments earlier…

“What was that? What in the world is going on over there?!” Wallenstein said, turning his head away from the dark demon right in front of him and toward the village in the distance, from which he’d detected a sudden surge of demonic energy.

And at the very next moment, from there on the hill slightly above the village, he saw the moment the fiends turned into even more unsettling monsters.

“It isn’t just happening here. Things are going south over there as well.”

Having managed to withstand the rampaging dark demon’s vicious attacks, Barbatos had somehow managed to put some space between them, and he was now squinting slightly as he looked toward the village.

Barbatos could see the wave of demonic power engulfing the area, and he observed that the dark demon going berserk had affected things on Mira and Meilin’s end as well.

“This sensation… I sense an aura on the same level as a raid-level boss… But since they’re both there, they should be fine. At any rate, let’s deal with him first.”

No doubt Mira and Meilin were also in a fairly fierce battle. Or so Wallenstein predicted, and yet he knew quite well that they wouldn’t lose that easily.

And for that reason, knowing that their first priority was apprehending the dark demon so they might restore it to being a light one, Wallenstein turned his head back around.

The now-berserk dark demon was an extremely tricky foe. What’s more, having grown larger, it now had about the same strength as a Marquis-rank demon. That meant it was now a match, or even more than a match, for even a top-ranking player, such as one of the Nine Wise Men.

The foe they were facing was so powerful that they could no longer pull their punches. And yet, Wallenstein hadn’t yet given up on restoring the dark demon to a light one. He tried every means available to him to apprehend it.

“Wow, I might’ve expected as much of Mira and Meilin. I’ll have to step up my game as well!” Wallenstein said, a joyful grin spreading across his face.

While going about the battle, he’d looked to see how Mira and Meilin were faring, and he saw that things were starting to move in their favor.

With the addition of Eizenfald, the seven Valkyrie sisters, and a wolf cub that seemed to have majestic power dwelling within it, the fiends were beginning to find themselves on the back foot.

Now that the divine beast Fenrir had entered the battlefield, Mira and her companions began pushing the fiends back. One after another, they slew the now extraordinarily powerful creatures.

It was only a matter of time until they were finished.

Or so Wallenstein had been thinking when something happened.

“Wally, I think there might be a bit of a problem.”

Having been rebuffed in his attempt to hold the dark demon in place, Barbatos swatted down a black mass that’d been launched at him and moved in to fight at close range while warning Wallenstein about the situation.

Mira’s team had gained a definite advantage. Especially with the divine beast now on their side, they were incredibly powerful at this point.

But one could say that this was precisely what caused the next incident.

The fiends may have been rampaging about, but their instincts still seemed to be working just fine, and so they had begun to plan how they might escape.

“Yeah, it definitely might be… No, it really would be a problem…!”

Were the now even more dreadful fiends to escape every which way, there was no telling how much havoc they’d wreak. Eizenfald and the others were struggling desperately to contain them, but there were still too many left, and so some were likely to slip through and escape.

“Wally, go back them up. With your barrier, I’m sure you can even seal in fiends as powerful as them. I don’t think I could protect you by myself while you put it up, but I’m sure Mira and her companions would be able to!” Barbatos proposed. He took a blow from the dark demon while just barely evading a demonic blast that followed immediately thereafter, then jumped back.

Indeed, he was correct in suggesting that Wallenstein could use his banishing magic to put up a barrier powerful enough to keep even fiends from escaping. But doing so would take a fair amount of time, and the magic power he’d need to set up such a thing would be so conspicuous that it would likely make him a very easy target.

And because he knew this, Barbatos had suggested that he go to join Mira and her team. Realistically, the only option they had was to put up a barrier.

“But…!”

Wallenstein hesitated. The now-berserk dark demon was incredibly powerful. Even with the two of them fighting together, it’d been a very close contest.

And while Barbatos had formerly been a Duke-rank demon, he was very much weakened now thanks to the seal that’d been placed on him. Therefore, Wallenstein worried that the battle might slide in the dark demon’s favor if Barbatos were left to fight alone.

“Don’t worry. He might be a fair bit more powerful, but he seems to have completely lost control of himself, and so I’ve got the edge in terms of wits,” Barbatos said, before using a magic spell, as if to emphasize what he’d said.

Sure enough, dozens of Barbatoses then appeared.

Indeed, they were all phantoms that looked exactly like him. Then, rushing to attack these phantoms, the dark demon crashed headfirst into a wall.

“Okay, now’s your chance!” Barbatos said. His gaze was very much self-assured, and in it, one could perceive a deep sense of trust.

“…All right. I’ll leave him to you!” Wallenstein answered with a ready nod.

He then dashed off to the spot where Mira and her companions were.

Turning back around as Wallenstein left, Barbatos heaved a sigh and said, “All right, I suppose I should say that now the fight really begins…” while fixing his gaze on the dark demon.

Chapter 18

“MIRA, I’M GOING TO USE the King of Seals. Protect me!” Wallenstein explained simply, having made a beeline for Mira and rushed straight to her side. He then immediately began preparing to use the spell.

It was a Veiled Art which used extremely powerful banishing magic to create a barrier through which monsters, fiends, demons, and anything with demonic power couldn’t pass.

“Great, you’re here. That’s exactly what I was hoping for!” Mira said, perceiving what he was planning just from those words.

Calling back Alfina and dispelling the holy knights that were fighting on the front lines, she then resummoned them around Wallenstein.

Wallenstein then began giving off vast amounts of mana, which he began converting to banishing power shortly thereafter.

Immediately afterward, all of the fiends in the area—including those that would’ve been planning their escape—turned their eyes toward Wallenstein.

Once that spell was complete, it’d be over for them. Or at least that was what the fiends’ remaining instincts were screaming. They needed to stop him, no matter what.

And so, the fiends attacked Wallenstein with even greater ferocity than they’d yet exhibited.

“I thought they’d come! Intercept them!”

Thanks to the rain that Undine and Anrutine were working to bring down together, the effect of the balls of fire that were raining down from afar had been mitigated.

Next, Alfina took care of any fiends that made it through and then leaped into battle against the ones that stood directly before her.

Nearby, Fenrir had slowed down several demons in their tracks using [Gleipnir].

And coming in from behind, Eizenfald attacked the fiends, who now both moved and attacked more slowly.

If they had any sense, they wouldn’t have allowed themselves to be so hopelessly outmaneuvered. And yet, having fallen back into exclusive reliance on instinct, they had turned their backs on the baleful imperial dragon.

What’s more, Christina and her sisters had stopped several other fiends, such that their charge had now effectively been halted.

Even so, they couldn’t possibly hold back dozens of fiends, and so several of the ones that managed to slip through drew toward Wallenstein.

“You shall not pass!” Mira cried.

“You won’t get to Mr. Emo!” Meilin added.

Waiting on the last line of defense was Mira along with Meilin, who’d made it back quicker than the fiends.

The pair then unleashed simultaneous crushing blows to either side of a fiend that was making a beeline to attack Wallenstein.

Having been hit with the attack, the fiend howled in pain and lurched forward. And yet, because it was tougher now, it held its ground. Straightening itself up, it quickly shot a blast of fire from its mouth.

It’d been aiming for Wallenstein and had shot it at great speed right after Mira and Meilin had unleased their attacks, such that they couldn’t block it.

“This one’s tough!”

“In that case, take this!”

Mira and Meilin ignored the flames erupting near Wallenstein and continued attacking.

Figuring that now was the perfect opportunity, Mira whipped one of her newly developed blasting stones into the fiend’s open mouth. Next, Meilin slipped beneath the fiend and, stomping so powerfully that the earth split beneath her feet, drove herself powerfully into its abdomen.

Having been launched high into the air, the fiend then burst into smithereens a few moments later. Afterward, the air was filled with lights which glittered like colorful explosions in the sky.

Having seen the entire thing right in front of him, Wallenstein commented, “You may be acting like it was no big deal, but that attack was pretty gruesome…” His face tensed up as he continued preparing the spell.

Meanwhile, Mira’s holy lords stood surrounding him with their massive shields raised. It would be no mean feat to breach the ring of steel around him. Even a powered-up fiend couldn’t hope to break through it, unless they managed an absolutely perfect blow.

Furthermore, so long as he had Mira and Meilin beside him, they weren’t likely to land any such blow.

Perhaps because of this, Wallenstein was able to focus on preparing the spell. If he did get a tiny bit distracted, it was to see the results of the dangerous combat tests taking place just in front of him.

And then, several minutes after this fierce fighting began, something happened.

“You, who hath disturbed the King’s slumber and entered this sanctuary of tranquility. Shall anything demonic step foot here, know that the path before you shall lead only to ruin.

Beyond here is the path of no return, and abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

In the prison of the void, may ye await the judgment of the unforgiving persecutor.”

[Banished Arts: Guardian of the Sealed Royal Tomb]

Having finished preparing the spell, Wallenstein chanted the incantation while activating his banishing powers.

A single ray of light shot high into the air, and everyone looked up at its incredibly bright glow.

It then burst high up in the sky, at which point the light which spilled from it washed over the land below. And the moment it did, an incredibly powerful barrier was created.

This barrier’s border consisted of light as white as snow. It was a barrier that kept in everything demonic, setting it up as the area where the final battle against the fiends would take place.

“Now we can fight without having to worry.”

Wallenstein’s barrier was complete, and so now they didn’t need to worry about any collateral damage to nearby areas. Nor were they concerned about how to handle fiends that were thinking about making a run for it.

Now, there was but one thing to do: eliminate every last one of the fiends that they had sealed within the barrier.

“I wouldn’t have expected any less, Mr. Emo! All right, we’ll be back!”

Now there was no need to worry about protecting the surrounding areas or keeping the fiends from escaping. And so, eager to fight her heart out, Meilin headed straight for the reichengiebel, as if it were obvious that that was what she’d take on first.

“I was hoping we might work together a little more, but oh well. If she can bring down the toughest one by herself, then I suppose I ought to let her.”

“True. Like this, the two of us should be more than enough to deal with the rest of them.”

Like usual, Meilin had pranced off before they even had a chance to stop her. Watching her go, Mira and Wallenstein went to deal with the fiends making their way toward them.

Perhaps because Wallenstein had activated his spell, the fiends’ ferocious attack was somewhat lessened. And now, it seemed that they had grown fearful of Eizenfald and Fenrir again, and about half of them began to flee.

Up until a moment ago, they would’ve hurriedly pursued them so that they didn’t manage to escape, and yet with the barrier up, the number of fiends attacking them had dropped quite a bit. Actually, those fiends having run away was working in their favor.

“All right, then how about we start with the ones in front?”

“Sure, we’ll handle the closest ones first.”

But right as they were about to get started, time was up.

“Oh no, Miss Mira, I apologize. It seems time is already up. Well, then, happy hunting,” said Fenrir, who still had several limitations placed upon him. Because of these, he could only be summoned for a certain amount of time.

Having informed Mira of this, Fenrir was dismissed as if he’d been forcibly sent away. This also meant that the fiends that he had been fighting up until then were now free.

“All right, guess it’s time to get serious…”

“At any rate, how about we take down the fiends in order, starting with the ones that’ve been weakened the most?”

Alone, they wouldn’t have been very difficult opponents to defeat, but that wasn’t the case with the amount they were facing now. Mira knew better than anyone that there was strength in numbers.

Therefore, the pair collected themselves and began the final battle against the fiends.

“These techniques and this power… It must be you…”

Meanwhile, Barbatos was holding off the rampaging dark demon by himself. While doing so, he’d picked up on several peculiar aspects regarding his foe. In fact, he’d realized just who the dark demon he was up against was.

The dark demon’s name was Rayafraeben. He was an old friend of Barbatos, with whom he’d once engaged in silly hijinks and joked around with.

“I never would’ve imagined we’d meet again like this.”

They’d been reunited as enemies. At the same time as he was lamenting this unfortunate reality deep down, Barbatos hesitated on the verge of making up his mind.

Because Rayafraeben had gone berserk, his newly increased physical capabilities meant he was now fast enough that Barbatos couldn’t afford to let his guard down. And though his wild attacks were easily telegraphed, he was fast enough that several of his attacks breached Barbatos’s defenses.

While intercepting waves of these attacks, Barbatos tried simply avoiding any direct hits as he looked for an opening.

“I suppose this too is fate.”

In the midst of his battle with Rayafraeben, Barbatos realized an unfortunate fact.

It had to do with the dark demon before him.

Demonic power swirled about inside of him. Having grown to an unbelievable degree, it had become distorted. And so, Barbatos realized that Rayafraeben’s own power had been so corrupted that it could no longer be returned to its original form.

Wallenstein and his comrades could seal the power that turned demons into dark demons, but they couldn’t regenerate one’s power. In other words, now that he’d gone berserk, there was no longer any way of turning Rayafraeben back into a light demon.

Right now, he was just a seething mass of demonic power.

But if he told Wallenstein that, he’d no doubt keep putting himself in harm’s way in an attempt to somehow find a way to help.

And the more he did so, the more danger he’d be in. What’s more, the now-berserk dark demon’s power was so great that it was sure to overwhelm anyone who slipped up even a little.

“I guess I’ll have to do this myself,” Barbatos said with a bitter smile. He hadn’t known Wallenstein for very long, but when it came to such things, it was quite easy to predict what he’d do. And so, he stiffened the resolve he had deep down.

There was something which Barbatos felt very keenly.

While he’d been turned back to a light demon, he couldn’t possibly atone for all of his sins. This was something he grappled with on a daily basis.

And so, Wallenstein, who shared the burden of these sins alongside them, was like a dazzling ray of hope to the light demons that were now his friends.

Barbatos couldn’t very well allow such a person to put himself in danger. He couldn’t let him suffer some horrific injury just to search for some way to help Rayafraeben when there very well might not be. This was what ran through Barbatos’s mind.

But, most of all, Barbatos felt that he couldn’t let Wallenstein, who was a source of hope to all of them, sully his hands.

“The same situation may very well come up in the future. In which case, we’ll need to…” he began.

Having found himself in such a hopeless situation, they would have to eliminate his former friend. And so, Barbatos had firmly resolved that he’d take personal responsibility for doing so.

More than anything, Wallenstein wanted them to hold onto their hope.

“Time to fight fire with fire. Though I no longer use demonic power, this is a technique from when I was still a Duke-rank dark demon. So, Rayafraeben…will you be able to see through this?”

He attacked like a merciless tempest. Unleashing a flurry of masterful blows, Barbatos fought at a certain distance from his foe.

However, more so than when he’d been steeling his resolve, Barbatos was now moving much more offensively.

Even when facing down a barrage of demonic missiles, he hurtled forward without hesitation. And, though he got hit by several of them in the process, he closed the distance.

A vicious blow then plunged into Barbatos’s shoulder. But he’d resolved that it was fine so long as he evaded any direct blows, and so he took a step forward, not stopping for a moment.

“…!”

He was hit with another strike, and then two more. Ignoring his growing number of injuries, Barbatos kept moving forward. And, despite the damage he was sustaining over his entire body, he then took one final step.

As he did, Rayafraeben struck with his fist, as if he’d been waiting for that very maneuver. It was a perfectly executed counter, which one might use against an approaching foe. It was a flawless strike, taking advantage of the moment when retreat was no longer an option.

“Jeez, some things never change,” Barbatos said.

With the fastest and smallest possible movement, Barbatos grabbed ahold of Rayafraeben’s arm, thereby completely nullifying his counter. He’d guessed that Rayafraeben would unleash that very blow as soon as he took that last step forward.

Even though he’d gone completely berserk, Rayafraeben’s strikes still closely resembled those he’d used in the past, which meant Barbatos had been able to see his counter coming.

By stopping the counter, Barbatos had created the perfect opening. And, with that final step he’d taken, he was now at the right distance to land his finishing blow.

Then, focusing demonic power in the palm of his hand, he created a single thin needle from the swirling vortex of power.

“Now, be at peace,” he said, his voice filled with unwavering determination. Then, inside this slight opening that’d been created, he used the needle to pierce Rayafraeben’s breast.

Barbatos had aimed for the part of Rayafraeben’s body where his demonic power was densest. It was in this exact point, the very part which was now so out of control, that he pierced Rayafraeben with the needle of concentrated demonic power.

Normally, Barbatos would then release the demonic power within the needle and destroy this area from within. But next, he did something different.

Continuing to manipulate the needle, he stirred the demonic power raging within Rayafraeben before withdrawing it. He was hoping that, at the very least, he might get an idea as to what had happened to Rayafraeben.

“Ngh…!”

That said, it wasn’t easy for Barbatos to maintain control of this power. In fact, it might very well have been impossible for just about anyone. And so, as he pulled out the baleful-looking, now-distorted needle, an incredible blast of power erupted out of Rayafraeben and shot forth.

Barbatos was thrown back by the impact, but he somehow managed to regain control of himself. Landing on his feet, he looked toward Rayafraeben.

The dark demon’s body, which had been launched back much like his own, had been reduced to a pile of smoldering ash. All the demonic power that’d been holding his body together had suddenly escaped, and so the pile of ash was all that remained of him.

While he stared at the ashes dancing on the wind, Barbatos murmured, “I’m sorry, friend. May we cross paths again someday,” as if whispering a prayer.

Image - 11

Chapter 19

“AM I IMAGINING THINGS, or are they getting stronger for some reason?”

Facing down a horde of fiends which had gone berserk, Mira and her companions continued defeating them without yielding so much as an inch. As they did, Mira suddenly got a bad feeling and turned to Wallenstein to ask what he thought.

It may have been an extremely fierce battle, but thanks to Eizenfald, Alfina and her sisters, and now Wallenstein, who was skilled at taking on fiends, they’d managed to successfully thin the fiends’ ranks. You didn’t need to be a math whiz to figure that out.

And yet, though there were undoubtedly fewer of them, the battle still didn’t seem to be moving in their favor.

In fact, now, it took two holy knights to withstand an attack which before had only required one. This, as well as several other things, seemed to indicate that the remaining fiends were growing even more powerful, if anything.

“I’d say…that you aren’t just imagining it,” Wallenstein answered, seeming to have come to the same conclusion. Taking a look at everything going on around them, he pointed out what he figured the cause must be.

It was incredibly faint, but it certainly seemed that it might very well explain it.

Looking closely, one could see a black mist—that is, the lesser demon’s vengeful spirits pouring forth. Furthermore, these spirits were then possessing the remaining fiends yet again.

“Mira, I’d say that the way the lesser demons you mentioned died might very well have had some effect on their vengeful spirits,” Wallenstein continued.

Just after meeting up, Mira and Wallenstein had explained their respective situations to each other while battling the fiends.

That is, they discussed the dark demon going berserk as well as the fifty some-odd lesser demons self-combusting. He’d concluded that there had to be some connection between those things and the situation they were now witnessing before them.

Previously, they’d observed how the vengeful spirits had simply disappeared alongside their host after the latter was defeated. But that wasn’t the case this time. This time, they’d slowly seeped out of the fiends’ corpses before possessing yet more fiends.

“This is gonna be a problem…”

The fiends continued getting stronger and stronger, until it became quite apparent that the final one would likely become an absolute monstrosity.

Pondering this, the two began thinking that they needed some sort of plan.

While they discussed this, Meilin was having the time of her life, thinking that it truly was the ideal training opportunity.

The reichengiebel was commanding the fiends like a boss would their subordinates. Hoping to fight against it, Meilin defeated fiend after fiend, after which even more powerful ones would take their places. Hoping to fight even stronger opponents, Meilin had begun battling even more ferociously.

“Hey, Meilin…”

“Um, Meilin…”

Meilin was so focused and ferocious that even Mira and Wallenstein’s voices failed to reach her. What’s more, she was now fighting so seriously that she was unleashing techniques they’d never seen before, one after another.

“Damn… What’s she doing having so much fun at a time like this…?!” Mira said, watching as Meilin successively chained together new techniques.

Seeing this, Mira felt an agonizing mix of wanting to watch and take notes, wanting to try out all of her own new techniques, and wanting to do something about the vengeful spirits.

“Mira, I know how you must feel, but right now we really have to worry about the vengeful spirits…”

Once Meilin got into her current state, stopping her was next to impossible. In which case, their first priority was dealing with the vengeful spirits. The plan Wallenstein had come up with was to seal them away after they emerged while finishing off the fiends.

“Ngh… Yeah. That ought to come first,” Mira said.

She’d also been planning on taking on the fiends which had been powered up the most, but since she didn’t know just how powerful they might get, she decided that eliminating the fiends first was the safest and most surefire option.

Having given up on her previous idea, Mira began doing everything she could to assist Wallenstein in dealing with the vengeful spirits which were welling forth.

And so, they had Eizenfald and the other evocations, who could control the rate at which they were destroying the fiends, as well as Meilin, who couldn’t.

Even so, having figured out how the fiends were getting stronger, and sealing them within a barrier, the battle began to shift somewhat in their favor.

However, they couldn’t keep up completely. Needless to say, they had no way to match the rate at which Meilin was defeating the fiends. Furthermore, those vengeful spirits were all sucked into the reichengiebel that was waiting in the rear.

“Damn… And I was hoping I wouldn’t have to deal with such a troublesome foe…”

“I might’ve known this would happen…”

The battle continued until there was finally just one fiend remaining: the reichengiebel.

However, having been possessed by the last dozen or so vengeful spirits, it’d become so deformed that it no longer resembled its original self. Simply put, it looked like some apocalyptic monster that’d crawled out from the abyss.

Furthermore, the miasma that poured out of it created a field around it that they couldn’t simply approach willy-nilly.

“I’d like to see if we could do something about it with dragon’s breath, but that might be an issue considering where we are…”

“Indeed. What would Alma think if we reduced this place to a smoking crater? Not only that, the barrier I put up is specifically tailored for fiends, so I fear it might not be able to stop dragon’s breath.”

Because the miasma was so thick, they couldn’t know for sure whether they could manage to blow it away. What’s more, considering all those nearby who might get hurt, as well as the effect such an attack might have on Wallenstein’s barrier, dragon’s breath seemed to be a bit too destructive.

In that case, she figured the seven Valkyrie sisters, who had a resistance to miasma, might be able to do something. However, the miasma was so unimaginably thick that they appeared to struggle with breaking through it. They had their hands full just keeping their distance while evading the fiend’s attacks.

At close range, the miasma lowered one’s defensive abilities, such that Eizenfald was counterattacking from a distance with dragon magic. Due to all the hard work he’d put in training, his dragon magic attacks were looking even more impressive, and they were both powerful and accurate enough to use in combat.

And yet, the miasma shrouding their foe was indeed on another level. Even if Eizenfald blasted it away with a ball of fire, it’d quickly return to its original state less than a second later.

“It would seem that this is where I ought to come in.”

It seemed likely that the miasma blanketing the fiend came from the demonic power that’d previously surged forth. Or so Wallenstein hypothesized before stepping up and suggesting that this made him the man for the job.

They hadn’t quite figured out the source of the miasma or what was causing it. However, there was one thing they were sure of.

And that was that it seemed to emanate whenever any strongly negative situation occurred.

“Well, true enough. That certainly seems like it’d have the best chance.”

The pair were discussing how banishment seemed the key to victory over the fiends, whose demonic power had suddenly skyrocketed, and also over the lesser demon’s vengeful spirits.

“All right, then I’ll be painting the town white. Help me out, you two,” Wallenstein said, before taking out some holy water.

Then, letting a single drop fall to the ground, he activated a spell.

“Hrmm, let’s beat ’em to a pulp.”

“Got it. Ready when you are!”

So, what exactly was Wallenstein about to do? They knew very well, and so they turned to look at the reichengiebel and got into position.

Thanks to the vengeful spirits, the reichengiebel had turned into some ungodly monster, and its body was so remarkably massive that it now moved quite ponderously.

And yet, as if to make up for this, it had a dozen or so tentacles which it could move dexterously, and which it would launch out to unfailingly grasp and then knock away any and all targets that came within range. For this reason, even the large number of dark knights Mira had directed to charge forward had quickly been routed not long after they got close to the miasma.

That said, if they tried to keep some distance from it, it’d just stand there continuously increasing the range of the miasma.

So, while Alfina and her sisters kept up the fight, an opportunity to counterattack finally presented itself.

“…And thus, here the sky ends. Beyond the night, the white sun shines. Turn to thy sins, those who wander, and give yourselves to the flames of purification.”

[Banished Arts: Garden of the Executioner and the Dead Saint]

As Wallenstein activated the spell, the world around them changed dramatically.

Within the blink of an eye, flames of banishment swept forth, dyeing the entire area bone white as the forest and just about everything else were covered in white flame. It swept over Mira and her summons, who were near Wallenstein, and it spilled over Alfina and her sisters to Eizenfald and even to Pegasus and Undine who were aloft in the sky.

However, all of them were unburnt. Nor did the flames have any effect on the forest itself whatsoever.

And yet, a single agonized howl erupted from the spot where they were.

Indeed, it was coming from the reichengiebel.

This could be explained by the special properties belonging to the flames of banishment which Wallenstein wielded.

They were sacred flames which only burned entities possessing demonic power. They were also the flames of salvation, which purified and restored all that had been corrupted by such power.

“Beautiful work. Keep it going!”

“I think that just might do it!”

As they’d predicted, the miasma seemed to be caused by demonic power, as the white flames easily burned it away.

As a result, the miasma that blanketed the reichengiebel all but dissipated, and now they finally had a perfect opening to attack.

Eizenfald began moving at once. With its massive body, it closed the distance between itself and the reichengiebel in a single bound. And yet, the tentacles belonging to the reichengiebel, which was now writhing in agony while covered in white flame, were still very much functioning, and they attempted to fight off the attack.

Batting them aside with his dragon magic, Eizenfald cut through several more tentacles, while seizing and holding down many others.

Despite his efforts, more tentacles rushed his way. This time, Alfina and her sisters sliced through them.

“All right, perfect!”

“That was beautiful!”

On the opposite side, Mira and Meilin charged in at once. The reichengiebel, meanwhile, had most of its tentacles busy dealing with Eizenfald and the other evocations.

Few tentacles were left to deal with the pair, and so Meilin quickly smashed through those that remained, which hadn’t been enough to stop her assault.

“I’ve been wanting to try this one!”

Upping her speed even further, Meilin started repeatedly hammering it with sharp blows from her right fist.

They were very heavy attacks, and yet the massive reichengiebel barely shuddered, seeming not to sustain much damage from them.

She’d said she was going to try something, but perhaps it hadn’t worked. Or so Mira thought for a moment, before it happened.

“Whoa!”

An ear-piercing explosion split the air, and the portion of the fiend’s midsection where Meilin had delivered her withering attack looked as if some invisible force had blown through it.

“I won’t let you hog all the glory!”

Just what kind of technique had Meilin used? Mira was curious, but she also felt herself growing a little competitive, and so she decided to show off some of the new spells she’d just come up with.

[Evocation Conversion: Vermillion Frame]

The technique involved combining the power of a fire spirit and an arms evocation. However, she’d used this technique in the past, and so what she was showing off took things one step further.

“All right, here I go!”

Dashing through the air with [Air Step], Mira flew right in front of the reichengiebel, which was still writhing in agony, and fiercely drew back her right hand.

Then, she used all of the tremendous amount of mana that was coursing through her body and converted it into heat energy with the vermillion frame.

And then, concentrating all of this energy on one specific point, something which she couldn’t have endured without the vermillion frame, it began to glow red.

“Now, eat this!”

The technique, which generated pure heat energy, was fairly complicated to construct and called for precise control. What’s more, it also required one to handle massive amounts of mana with great finesse. While it was a considerably high-level technique, smashing one’s foe in such a way was fairly primitive indeed.

And so, Mira blasted the reichengiebel with her red-hot right fist.

The strike was not nearly as heavy as the one Meilin had hit it with, and yet the power of the technique was by no means inferior.

At the moment her fist connected, a pillar of bright red flame erupted forth. The heat that she’d been concentrating in her right hand was unleashed in a single moment and transformed into powerful flames which swelled outward and shot straight through the fiend’s body.

“Whoa! That was a close one…”

The flames swirled violently, threatening to burn even the nearby area to cinders. Then, having shot through the fiend, they hit Wallenstein’s barrier and just barely managed to dissipate and vanish.

Panicked that she might’ve gone a bit too far and feeling relief wash over her as the flames dissolved just in the nick of time, Mira checked to see how the reichengiebel had fared.

That said, having taken a direct hit from Meilin’s [Pyroblast Punch], about half of its body had already been blown away. There was no chance it could still be alive.

“How very odd.”

“This is wild. It’s still moving.”

Somehow, the reichengiebel had survived. Not only that, the parts of it that’d been blown away had already started regenerating.

Despite being inside the burning white flames, its demonic power continued to work, such that the damaged parts of its body rapidly regenerated. However, it was a power that had a tendency to go out of control. And so, it wasn’t regenerating properly; rather, it had begun transforming into something even more bizarre and grotesque.

“Well, I might’ve expected as much from a creature that can regenerate.”

However, it was regenerating a good deal faster than she’d expected. Additionally, it was now guarding itself with all its tentacles, making it difficult to land any further blows.

And in less than ten seconds, it’d not only fully regenerated, but had transformed into an even greater monstrosity.

Since they now very much had to hurry, Mira and Meilin quickly retreated from the area.

And at the next moment, the place where they’d been was dyed black.

Having flowed out as if from nowhere, the darkness enveloped the reichengiebel. It looked as if demonic power itself had become armor that now encased it.

However, whatever darker-than-jet substance had enveloped the fiend was an even purer black than demonic power.

At that moment, a shriek pierced through the air which made everyone’s hair stand on end.

Indeed, the thing covering the fiend was in fact flames which Wallenstein had created with his spell.

“Just like I expected,” said Wallenstein, who’d been waiting to use the spell.

“Right?” Mira added, watching as if her work was done.

Wallenstein had indeed expected that the mutated fiend was capable of regeneration.

And so, he’d used a spell which ignited demonic power before burning it away. If the fiend were to use this very demonic power for regenerative purposes, then the flames would become the blaze of the fiend’s very own destruction.

The flames would go out if it only needed to regenerate after taking some light damage, but the gaping wounds Mira and Meilin had inflicted had made them spread at a faster rate than the fiend could regenerate at.

And so, far from managing to regenerate, its body quickly began falling apart.

“You really are crazy strong.”

Whether fiend or monster, Wallenstein had a surefire way of killing anything with regenerative capabilities, so long as it was dealt a certain amount of damage.

One could certainly say that this was one of the exorcist Wallenstein’s most terrifying capabilities.

“Not quite. I could only do it thanks to you two. If it hadn’t been so focused on healing itself, then it wouldn’t have worked,” Wallenstein said humbly, suggesting that their victory was thanks to all the damage Mira and Meilin had dealt to the fiend.

The tricky part about that particular technique was to have the fire begin fully spreading before the one it’d been inflicted on had a chance to notice. Therefore, Mira and Meilin putting it in a panicked state with their attacks had allowed him to successfully use the technique.

“Hrmm, that really was something, huh?” Mira said, proud at the performance of her experimental technique.

There were still a few areas to tweak, but in terms of power, the results left her quite satisfied.

Meanwhile, having apparently not had enough fighting yet, Meilin stood nearby looking a bit let down. Nevertheless, when dealing with such a terrible foe in a place like this, it was best to deal with them quickly. Seeming to acknowledge this, Meilin stood before the crumpled reichengiebel, not uttering a single complaint.

“I’m sorry, Wally. There was nothing I could do to save him in that state.”

After they’d finished wiping out the fiends and lesser demons, Barbatos rejoined them and immediately apologized.

For some unknown reason, the dark demon had gone completely berserk. While he and Wallenstein had meant to rescue him, it had apparently been impossible.

With his power completely out of control, he’d apparently destroyed himself from the inside out.

According to Barbatos, he was in such a state that they couldn’t have turned him back into a light demon, even with the help of Mira’s power. And upon reaching such a state, a dark demon could be nothing other than a vessel of malevolence. Therefore, his only option had been to put the dark demon down.

“I see… No, I’m sorry. You ended up having to destroy your own friend.”

Judging from the calm and yet sorrowful look in Barbatos’s eyes, it had certainly been a decision that he’d made with a heavy heart.

And so, Wallenstein felt sorry as well. Not just because he knew this, but because Barbatos had had to do it with his own hands. It was as if he’d forced him to kill his own former friend.

“Please don’t worry about it. I deemed it necessary, which is why I did it with my own hands. He was my friend, and so it was only right for me to be the one to do it. Such is the demon way,” Barbatos informed them quietly.

It was a friend’s duty to set another friend straight when they went astray. He added that demons had originally felt very strongly about this.

And yet, this was nothing more than a white lie that Barbatos had come up with on the spot. However, there was an earnest look in his eyes that showed how serious he was.

In any case, the dark demon who’d personally been behind the whole monster-repelling amulet trap was no more.

They got in touch with Liliella and her companions and learned that they’d successfully accomplished their mission as well.

Thanks to Helknae and her sisters, they’d managed to put Etoto’s mother’s worries at ease and persuaded her to properly hear them out.

Currently, they’d successfully brought Marchosias, as well as Etoto and her mother, back to their base, where they were now giving them the grand tour.

“…And just one other thing. There was a message that Bruce wanted to leave for Mira,” Wallenstein added, after finishing explaining to everyone else the situation on the other end. Apparently, Bruce had said that afterward, when Mira and her companions returned to Valhalla to deal with the remaining monster-repelling amulets, he wanted to tag along as well.

The reason was that he wanted to see just what kind of place Helknae and her sisters, who were now his ride-or-die companions, lived in.

“Hrmm, well, they’ll be spending quite a long time together, so I suppose he ought to know that much.”

This was Bruce they were talking about, and so, while at least half of it was probably just curiosity, his justification for wanting to go was undoubtedly sincere.

And at that moment, someone else spoke up.

“I wanna go too!”

Indeed, it was Meilin, who then began babbling about how she wanted to train more with the highly skilled Valkyries.

However, a moment later—when her stomach loudly rumbled, Meilin’s expression changed completely.

And yet, it wasn’t a rumble of hunger, but rather, something closer to impatience.

“Ah, I promised that I’d train with them…!”

Recently, it’d been Meilin’s morning routine to have breakfast together with the Adamses.

What’s more, in exchange for being allowed to stay at the Adamses’, she’d volunteered to train the children of the household.

And yet, if she were to go to Valhalla that day, then she couldn’t make it back by the end of the day, meaning the children would miss out on a day of training.

What’s more, now that she thought about it, she hadn’t trained with them the day before either.

The main thing Meilin felt deep inside now was that she couldn’t very well keep breaking her promise.

And yet, going to Valhalla sounded so awesome, which made her quite conflicted.

“I can take you to Valhalla any time, so go train with the kids first,” Mira said. Seeing Meilin’s hesitation about whether or not to keep her promise and return, she’d felt compelled to reassure Meilin that Valhalla wouldn’t be going anywhere.

And, sure enough, a bright smile flashed across Meilin’s face, and her steps, which seemed to have been weighed down by her conscience, suddenly became light.

“You promise! Okay, geezer? You swear?!” Meilin said, her eyes burning with anticipation.

“Hrm, yes, yes. I promise,” Mira answered with a nod, as if to say that Meilin didn’t need to worry.

“Thank you, thank you!” Meilin said, looking extremely pleased. She then turned her hopeful gaze toward Barbatos. Her eyes glittered brightly and seemed to be saying, “Next time, we’re definitely gonna do some sparring.” This feeling was so clear that anybody could understand it without needing to hear her say a single word.

“S-sure thing. Then, perhaps the next time we meet…” Barbatos found himself saying unconsciously, having seemingly caved to the unspoken pressure Meilin was pouring on him to agree.

“That’s a promise, okay? You swear!” Meilin answered, smiling faintly now that she’d gotten Barbatos’s word. She then started hurrying off before saying, “Ah, Mr. Emo, bye for now. See ya next time!” and departing.

Wallenstein smiled wryly that not much had changed, while Barbatos fretted over whether it’d been a good idea to answer as impulsively as he had.

Meanwhile, Mira simply smiled faintly as she watched Meilin leave, appreciating how she was the type of person who repaid any kindness done to her with interest.

Therefore, so long as you delivered on a promise to her, you could ask considerable favors of her in return.

In short, she could later ask the girl for help testing spells and techniques, gathering materials, and all sorts of other things.

Since Meilin could also fight well on the front lines, Mira’s options grew further.

A very useful ally had dropped right into her lap. Happy about her good luck, Mira smiled and began thinking about what she’d have Meilin help her with next.

Chapter 20

“ALRIGHTY THEN, we should be finished tomorrow sometime before the time we discussed.”

“Sure thing. Then I’ll come by tomorrow to pick them up.”

The pair once again confirmed that Mira would hand the remaining monster-repelling amulets over to Wallenstein after she’d finished dealing with them.

And when that was done, they’d both be going their separate ways.

“Thank you, Miss Mira. You helped a lot.”

“Likewise. Thanks to you two, we managed to get everything sorted out smoothly.”

If they hadn’t met Barbatos when they had, then she and Meilin would’ve had to fight the whole battle by themselves. And so, Mira had been extremely lucky to have had both of their help.

And so, with this final exchange, the two parted.

Wallenstein and Barbatos used their warping magic to instantaneously return to their base, while Mira looked on jealously. Finally, as if she’d given up, she leaped atop Pegasus and flew off.

After meeting up with Bruce on Filz Isle, Mira headed toward the entrance to Valhalla while listening to what’d happened on Bruce’s end.

They’d run into some monsters while they were on the road, but they had more than enough combat strength to repulse them without issue.

And so, they arrived at Etoto’s home. Apparently, Etoto’s mom was both an incredibly cheerful woman and a strong one. Bruce had a very high opinion of her. He said that while she might’ve been distressed about everything that’d befallen Etoto, the beautiful woman was instead so stouthearted that she laughed off all of it.

One could only assume that having such a mother was what caused someone in Etoto’s situation to still grow up to be kind. Indeed, Bruce seemed to have been quite impressed by her.

“I’d like to meet her sometime myself.”

Just what kind of woman was she? Curious, Mira began thinking that she’d say hello if she were ever to visit Wallenstein and his companions’ base. Furthermore, she began plotting that when she did, she’d definitely have them teach her how to warp herself.

“Oh ho, so you’re going to participate in the tournament? That sounds like fun!”

And so, in the midst of this chat, Mira learned just why Bruce had been in Nirvana.

Apparently, he’d gone there to test out his skills by taking part in the tournament. That said, since he was going through all the trouble of participating, he wanted to do well. And so, he was trying to acquire the Valkyrie evocation that all summoners longed to possess.

Hearing that Bruce was going to participate in the tournament was like music to Mira’s ears.

Having been forbidden from fighting in the tournament by Nirvana, Mira had been invited to be a commentator, and she was therefore unable to compete.

And so, her dreams of showing the world the wonders of evocation at the tournament had been utterly dashed. Yet, right then, Bruce, the new savior of evocation, had shown up.

There was no doubt that he was considerably skilled. Not only that, having secured a contract with Helknae and her sisters, he would most definitely fare well in the tournament.

In other words, now that Bruce was there to promote evocation in Mira’s stead, a brand-new avenue was open to her.

Straightening up, Mira looked at Bruce with a very serious expression and said, “In that case, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

Detecting a shift in her tone, Bruce straightened his own posture before answering, “I’m at your service.”

Mira then explained to Bruce how she hadn’t been allowed to compete because she’d been invited as a commentator. She then continued that the tournament was an excellent opportunity to showcase the wonders of evocation.

“That’s where you come in. People from all over the continent will be watching the tournament, so can you imagine what it’d be like if a summoner absolutely blew through the competition…? You catch my drift?” Mira whispered as if it were some big secret, in spite of the fact that the two of them were traveling alone together.

The tournament would see mages and warriors of every age from every corner of the world come together to fight and see who reigned supreme. There were sure to be many competitors seriously vying to come out on top, which meant they could very well use it to improve how people perceived evocation.

Mira’s words implied as much, and the look on her face looked positively fiendish.

Bruce looked surprised for a moment. “I see… If a summoner could succeed in mowing down a whole bunch of tough competitors… I might’ve expected as much of you, Miss Mira. Is that what you’re thinking of doing? At a tournament this chock full of powerful competitors from all over?” Bruce whispered, smiling with the same expression as Mira.

There were sure to be a good deal of elite competitors, and what’s more, Bruce seemed to think that he might as well showcase evocation, since his objective was to test out his skills.

Bruce was a comrade who hoped to see the art of evocation restored to its former glory. Therefore, he picked up on their new chance which Mira was alluding to. There was, after all, no better stage on which to showcase evocation.

“But I…”

And yet, lacking the skills which would even warrant him thinking this far, Bruce worried as to whether he could even put up the kind of fight that would change anyone’s perception of evocation.

What Mira truly wanted of Bruce was something like him taking the place of one of the Nine Wise Men and then doing a phenomenal job in the tournament. Thanks to his studies, combat experience, and research, he was fairly confident in his evocation abilities. And yet, finding himself compared to the Nine Wise Men, his confidence went right out the window.

“Don’t worry. Knowing you, you’ll do fine. And that’s because you’ll be even stronger after next week!” Mira said, smiling brashly.

Figuring that she didn’t want to waste even a small amount of time as they made their way through the cave, Mira began teaching him while the two walked.

“It’s a combat tournament, so you won’t have anywhere to run. That means the weakness of evocation will be clear from the beginning.”

Normally, summoners fought from a distance, assessing the battle situation while giving the optimal and most appropriate orders as they deployed the forces necessary to take on their opponents.

However, in a combat tournament, they’d have to fight on the very same stage as their opponents. In short, they’d need to fight at a much closer range than they otherwise would, in which case they’d very easily come within range of their opponent’s attacks.

“And that’s where this will come in,” Mira said, partially summoning a holy knight as she explained all of this.

Indeed, she’d been plotting on teaching Bruce how to use partial summoning.

Perhaps because he was quite like-minded, Bruce hopped right on the bandwagon. And, upon being taught just how to do it, he immediately began practicing.

And so, Bruce, who was busy coming up with all kinds of ideas, made his way up the rainbow stairs together with his instructor Mira. They continued preparing even after arriving in Valhalla.

In the training area that Alfina and her sisters normally used, Bruce practiced partially summoning over and over and over again. And yet, this was a technique that even Cleos had needed a considerable amount of time to pick up. Ultimately, they called it a day when he could somewhat stably summon a tower shield. Bruce had hit his limit.

Barely even able to stand, he put his arm around the shoulder of Elezina, who helped him back to one of the guest rooms in the palace.

Furthermore, while teaching Bruce how to use partial evocation, Mira had been sealing the remaining fragments of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword.

Standing close beside her was Alfina, armed and ready in case she needed to step in.

“…All right, that’s the last one. Now I just have to give the fragments to Wallenstein tomorrow and it’ll all be done,” Mira declared to Alfina, having successfully sealed all the fragments with the amrute that she’d recovered from the shack.

“By the way, I’d like to stay here for the next week to train Bruce. Would that be all right?” she added.

Her first priority, sealing the fragments of the sword, had been completed. This meant that she no longer needed to stay in Valhalla, and yet it seemed to her that when it came to training Bruce, the most effective way would be to simply stay over in Valhalla.

Not only did it have training facilities, but it would also be easy for Bruce to work together with Helknae and her sisters. What’s more, thanks to the denseness of mana in Valhalla, the natural speed at which one regenerated mana was higher as well. In short, they could train longer and harder than they might down on the surface.

One could certainly say there was no better place to teach Bruce how to become proficient enough to use partial summoning in combat.

“A week?! Of course!” Alfina replied immediately. Hearing that Mira would be staying not just for a day or two, but for a whole week, Alfina looked as if she’d died and gone to heaven. She was so joyful that she said Mira could call her over whenever and wherever she needed; in fact, she said she could do so even if she didn’t need anything.

Being the ruler of First Valhalla, Mira’s personal room was the ruler’s quarters inside the palace.

Relaxing in this private abode, Mira discussed everything that’d happened with the Spirit King.

“…I never would’ve thought that that quick chat you had before would’ve led us to find out how dark demons were created.”

“I was surprised as well. To think something like that happened while I was cooped up in the Spirit Palace… When I came down to the surface to fight the Monster-Ruling God, I learned a good many things from everyone, but never did we figure out what caused them to come into being.”

“When we talked before, you mentioned its remains and whatnot. It looks like its malign influence is starting to let itself be known. I wish I could write it off as a coincidence, but that doesn’t quite feel right.”

Even though it’d died, the Monster-Ruling God was indestructible. Therefore, they’d split its body into pieces and sealed them very securely. However, someone or something had carried off one of these pieces.

In addition, there was the incident with the monster-repelling amulets. Mira wanted to believe that nothing further would come of it, but there was no blaming her for not feeling terribly optimistic about the whole situation.

“But it’s strange. Responding to the demon situation, they assigned an angel to take over the job inspecting the seals. And so, if the sword had disappeared, they should’ve reported that it’d gone missing,” Martel added, raising yet another question.

All of the demons had transformed into dark demons, and so Marchosias’s old job of inspecting seals and whatnot had apparently been reassigned to an angel.

In which case, they ought to have realized something wasn’t right when they did their very first inspection. This was because, at that point, the sword was already missing from where it should’ve been sealed.

“Maybe I should go do a little investigating myself. I could try to see if I can get in contact with an old friend of mine,” the Spirit King said, apparently now harboring some doubts after hearing the question Martel had raised.

The world as the Spirit King knew it today was drastically different from how it’d been way back then.

It was one of the Spirit King’s great joys to learn about just how different the world was through Mira’s eyes, as well as through the spirits she had contracts with. And yet, there were some issues that he needed to learn about right away.

Or so the Spirit King said before announcing that he’d put in a bit more effort to gather information. And to do so, the first step seemed to be to get in contact with someone.

Sensing that the Spirit King’s old friend had to be some sort of bigwig, Mira, hesitant yet curious, asked who exactly this friend was.

“Ah, he’s the leader of the angels, the Archangel Gabriel. I believe he’ll know what the angels are up to, so if I can chat with him, we might very well learn something.”

“I-I see…” Mira stuttered, feeling understandably intimidated at hearing of the great Archangel Gabriel, who inevitably came to mind whenever anyone heard the word “angel.”

What’s more, the Spirit King’s investigation centered around the spirits that Mira had contracts with. Now unable to leave himself, it seemed that he now relied on Salamander, Wasranvel, and other such spirits who could hear his voice to handle various things behind the scenes.

In short, if he could get in contact with Gabriel, Mira would be involved in all of this because it was done through those spirits. And yet, this was something that she had yet to realize.

Chapter 21

THEIR NEXT STEPS would be determined by how the investigation went, and so there was nothing else to do at the moment. After wrapping all of this up, Mira, Martel, and the Spirit King began casually chitchatting with each other.

“…Little Etoto was so adorable. And I’m guessing from the look in her eyes that she must’ve been quite taken by Barbatos.”

“What are you on about? The look in her eyes was the same kind a child would give their father. If her father was a dark demon, then she must’ve grown up without knowing him. And so, when she met Barbatos, who happens to be a very friendly demon, she would quite obviously look up to him as a father figure.”

Indeed, the battle between Martel and the Spirit King, who both saw romance just about everywhere, was continuing as usual.

“Master, the bath is ready for you,” Alfina said, somewhat enthusiastically.

“Oh ho, is that right? Thanks. All right, then I’ll hop in,” Mira said. And, ignoring the two arguing about Etoto, she walked sprightly toward the baths. In fact, the palace baths were yet another place she looked forward to visiting while in Valhalla.

“Aaah, this is the life.”

While the fountain baths of Alcait Castle were a wonder to behold, anyone who was to see the palace baths would surely find them even more unbelievable. This was because the hot water for the baths looked as if it were dancing through the air.

“But seriously, I wonder how exactly they did this.”

The baths consisted of a spacious area where one could wash off before getting into a large tub. The hot water, meanwhile, began in the center and stretched toward the ceiling, where it then flowed down like a waterfall. It almost looked like a dragon suspended in midair.

Were one to go into the center, they could even ride the stream of hot water and let it take them all the way up toward the rather high ceiling before dropping down. And because the center of the bath was deeper, they could do so safely.

“Hrm… This is more fun than I’d expected!”

Mira enjoyed doing this over and over again, and the next thing that caught her eye was the pool of hot water that was spread across the floor.

However, it was no normal pool of hot water. It was about three feet high, and there was nothing like a tub in which to contain it.

In other words, it looked like a free-floating block of water.

Mira quickly figured out how the block of hot water worked and, when she set foot inside of it, she immediately tried it out.

It was actually very easy to use, as all one had to do was lie down on it.

Surely everyone has thought about lying down flat and sinking into a bath at least once in their life, and this very pool of water allowed people to have this dream come true.

“Aaah, this is great,” Mira said, lying spread eagle, with only her face poking out from the water. The liberating feeling of floating freely as well as the moderate amount of pressure the water was putting on her skin felt incredibly soothing.

Mira had never thought that she could bathe like this. Thoroughly impressed at just how much the palace baths had evolved from the last time she’d been there, she enjoyed her time in the incredible baths to the very fullest.

To Alfina, who always put her master first, taking care of that master was among her top priorities. And so, after having gotten out of the bath, Mira heard her call out, “Master, dinner is ready.” When she arrived in the dining hall, Mira found there was so much food that it looked like they were throwing a party.

Additionally, once dinner was over and Mira was relaxing, Alfina asked, “Master, would you like some tea and snacks?” while carrying over a tea set.

It seemed that she wanted to spend a bit more time with Mira. She also told Mira how good she was at giving massages, asked her what kind of incense she ought to burn when she went to bed, walked over with an armful of pillows and asked which she preferred, and came up with just about whatever reason she could think up to visit Mira’s room.

Image - 12

“Hrmm, I might’ve expected that you could wield it so easily.”

They looked as if they were merely master and servant, and yet they really were Valkyrie and Wise Man of evocation. Before Mira knew it, they had naturally begun excitedly chatting about battle, and Alfina soon found herself testing her compatibility with the sacred sword, Sanctia.

“I’m overjoyed to hear you say that!”

At some point, Christina had become the one to use the sacred sword. It seemed that seeing Mira bestow the sacred sword upon her had nearly driven Alfina mad.

Therefore, now that she was given the sword to test out her compatibility with it, Alfina’s emotions ran wild. Smiling more brightly than Mira had ever seen from her, Alfina swung the sword around. And yet, each swing was terrifyingly sharp, as if she was trying to assert something.

While this was going on, a sudden knock on the door reverberated through the air.

“Master, listen to this!” they heard Christina say, as if on the verge of tears, as she poked her head in from the door. She looked fairly distressed, but her face froze within a second. This was because, having seemingly come to get help, she’d found Alfina happily swinging the sacred sword around.

“What’s the matter, Christina?” Alfina said, stopping dead. Perhaps because Christina had crashed her fun time with the sword, Alfina glared at her with a baleful expression.

Her voice had sounded tranquil enough, and yet, having been hit with this glare, Christina said, “Actually, it’s not important!” before turning on her heel and running out of the room.

“Jeez… Coming to visit our master without a good reason,” Alfina murmured in exasperation. “I apologize on my sister’s behalf,” she added.

“No worries, it’s fine.”

This was Christina they were dealing with, which meant she’d likely come to talk about Alfina’s training and whatnot. And, having done so, she’d come face to face with that very Alfina, and so there was no blaming her for running. Guessing as much, Mira defended the girl and asked Alfina not to chew her out too much, before changing the subject to how it felt to wield the sacred sword.

It seemed to do the trick.

“Yes, well, it’s my first time using a sword as magnificent as this!” Alfina answered. “I suppose I ought to have expected as much of Master’s sacred sword,” she continued, proudly brandishing Sanctia.

Afterward, having been assured by Mira that she wouldn’t dismiss the sword so that she could get used to using it, Alfina hurried off toward the training area with an eager look on her face. She explained that she wanted to be able to use the sword as an extension of her own body if the need to use it arose.

While she’d come to wait on her master, it seemed that serving in her role as a warrior was her number one priority.

Shortly after Alfina began her nighttime training, Mira heard another knock on the door. This time, the second oldest sister, Elezina, poked her head into the room.

“Master, do you have a moment?”

While she was the second oldest, she gave off an even stronger older-sister impression than Alfina. This had to spring from her mild-mannered demeanor, as well as the kindly expression she always wore. But most of all, it was likely because she had the biggest heart of all the sisters, and she was the most maternal.

“Hrm, what is it?”

Because they were in the palace, Elezina was garbed in simple casual clothes rather than armor, which further accentuated the big-sister vibe she gave off. She was undoubtedly the kind of girl that one could imagine being gently tucked into bed and sent to sleep by.

“Well, there is something I’d very much like to discuss with you, Master.”

She then explained that the reason for her visit had to do with combat.

Elezina, who was the most skilled with a bow of all her sisters, or rather, of all the Valkyries in general, had one other special talent, which was granting magical buffs. In particular, she specialized in conferring them onto weapons, a power she mainly used on arrowheads. She could use the kind of buffs which would increase weapons’ accuracy, have them catch fire, explode, become electrified, and so on.

This same Elezina seemed to have been quite intrigued by the flash grenade-style blasting stones that she’d used when she came to assist Mira during her previous battle with Fuzzy Dice.

Apparently, she was now looking into whether she could recreate their effect using magical buffs. She said the ability to obscure a target’s vision and hearing without even hitting them was revolutionary, and there were a ton of different applications and potential uses for such an ability.

“I keep coming up with prototypes, but it isn’t easy to replicate just how deafening and blinding those blasting stones were, and so I’m a bit stuck. And so, if possible, I was wondering if you might let me look at one of those blast stones once more,” Elezina asked, kneeling before Mira.

Truth be told, magical buffs and blasting stones actually had something in common. Or rather, in fact, it was Elezina’s magical buffs that’d given her the idea for refining in the first place. In short, it was very much possible that Elezina could figure out how to reproduce a blasting stone’s effects by analyzing it.

“Hrm, no problem. No need to give it back; take your time examining it.”

If she could figure out how to reproduce the blasting stone’s effect, then she could cause the exact same result without having to waste a blasting stone. That would definitely be a powerful addition to Mira’s arsenal, and so Mira told Elezina that she could inspect and examine it to her heart’s content before handing the stone over to her.

“Thank you very much, Master.”

Then, having taken the stone as if it were some great treasure, she hurriedly added, “I’ll get to it immediately. Pray excuse me,” before dashing off.

“No matter how she looks, she isn’t any different.”

In some ways, she was similar in nature to tower mages. Confident that Elezina’s passion would soon lead her to come up with a magical buff similar to that of the blasting stone, Mira began thinking about whether she might consider using it in combat next time.

“Um, Master? There’s something I’d like to ask you about. Do you have a moment?”

Shortly after Elezina had left, Mira had yet another visitor. It was Charwiena, the fourth sister. She had a bit of a bookworm vibe and, as this might suggest, she did possess a deep fondness for books. Additionally, she was the hardest-working of the sisters, and she had a calm and mild-mannered demeanor.

She arrived with a rather meek look on her face. Judging from this, it seemed to Mira that she must have had something very important to ask. Presuming as much, Mira calmly answered, “Hrm, sure. Ask away.”

“Thank you very much,” Charwiena answered, bowing while taking a knee.

But at the very next moment, the normally calm look on her face suddenly transformed.

“It’s about the day back when you arrived in Valhalla. I was just so intrigued by that book you were holding! I didn’t recognize the cover, and I was wondering what kind of book it was. It was full of such vivid pictures, and yet it wasn’t a picture book!” Charwiena exclaimed, moving toward Mira with curiosity positively bursting from every pore.

The love, nay, obsession, she had for books was incredibly strong.

Especially thanks to the industrial revolution that’d taken place over the past thirty years, printing technology now existed, and so the prevalence of books on the surface had increased dramatically. When she was helping to surround Fuzzy Dice the other day, Charwiena had apparently looked around Haxthausen to get a read on the situation. She continued that, while there, she’d felt the greatest excitement of her life when she saw all kinds of unfamiliar books.

However, because she was in the middle of an important operation, she’d held back. And yet, ever since that day, she’d continued to wonder about those books. That was until she saw Mira with just such a book, and she couldn’t hold back any longer. Or so Charwiena recounted excitedly.

“I-I see…”

Mira could understand how strong her passion was, but she hadn’t imagined it’d burst forth quite so powerfully. Now knowing a brand-new side of the girl, Mira recalled the book she’d had with her on the island that served as the entrance to Valhalla.

I think back then I probably had…

It had been after her conversation with the Spirit King about how to work with amrute, and so it must’ve been the book she was casually reading while she waited for Bruce to forge his contract with the Valkyries. She’d said it wasn’t a picture book but had been full of vivid pictures.

Thinking back on what book it could’ve been…Mira suddenly recalled that it’d been manga.

“You mean this book?”

Thinking that manga didn’t necessarily seem like something up a bookworm’s alley, she nevertheless held it out to her. It was the newest volume of the manga titled “Treasure of Avalon.”

It was a school-life comedy filled with jokes that Mira recognized and was otherwise familiar with, meaning that the author was undoubtedly a former player. Because it had such a familiar setting and a similar vibe to the manga he enjoyed reading in the real world, it was Mira’s current favorite.

“Ah! Yes, that! That’s the cover! I’ve never seen such an adorable cover! Just what kind of book is it?!” Charwiena said, clinging on to Mira’s arm and pleading for an answer.

Her eyes shone with curiosity and glittered as if she were looking at some great treasure.

And yet, up until then, she’d only read normal books. So just how incredible might it have looked to her? Worried that she might be disappointed by how different manga was, Mira said, “Why don’t you give it a look?” and handed the manga to her.

“Can I really?! Thanks so much!”

Taking the book that’d been proffered to her in the same way as one might a sword, Charwiena closely inspected the cover while occasionally murmuring things such as “I see,” and “And on this cover…” After doing this for about ten minutes, she finally opened the book up.

Then, flipping through the manga, her eyes racing over each and every page, she looked up excitedly and once more implored, “Is this…?! Could this be a book in which the pictures tell a story?!”

The novelty of the manga seemed to have won out over normal books.

“Hrm, that’s right. It’s called ‘manga.’ As you can see, it’s a book with both writing and pictures.”

Hearing this explanation, Charwiena murmured, “Manga…” as she flipped through each page. “So, they’ve come up with books like this, huh?” she continued, seeming even more excited.

“I wonder how many hours it must’ve taken to illustrate something like this…? You can tell just how much painstaking effort was put into each and every page,” she said, offering her thoughts while she looked at the volume. Apparently, the world of manga had left a massive impression on her.

Divided across each page were pictures of the manga’s characters who were drawn dynamically at some times and chibi-like at others. Seeing these, Charwiena gave it a rave review, saying that the illustrations had their own unique composition which were quite different from traditional paintings.

Charwiena had now spoken in depth about her surprise as well as the strong impression manga had left on her. Perceiving that it was like a whole new frontier to the girl, Mira asked, “Would you like to read a couple to see how you like them?”

“Could I really?! But actually, does that mean you have more than one?!” Charwiena said, a hopeful look dawning on her face. And yet, up until then, she’d always just been a reader of more serious books. Therefore, Mira wasn’t quite sure whether she had any manga that might live up to her standards. That said, she was so interested in it that Mira wanted to do what she could to make her wishes become reality.

“Hrm, I do,” Mira confirmed.

She then opened her item box, took out volume after volume of manga, and stacked them up on the table. They were all volumes that she’d purchased whenever she happened to stop by a bookshop. She had school-life, mystery, comedy and romantic comedy, adventure, and even sci-fi manga. It must’ve been several years since manga first made its appearance in that world, and she’d assembled quite the collection in that time.

“Whoa… You have so many!”

In total, there were about fifty manga stacked on the table. Seeing these before her, Charwiena let out a cry of delight and leaped atop the table with an ecstatic grin breaking upon her face. Up until then, Charwiena had always given off a stoic and intellectual vibe, but now she seemed as fascinated as a kid looking at a shining jewel.

Having discovered this side of her for the first time, Mira told her she could take whatever volumes struck her fancy.

“Can I really?!” Charwiena blurted out, just as she was trying to decide which volume she’d borrow. Blushing a bit because Mira had said it with such perfect timing that she seemed to have read her mind, the girl’s face was now shining with delight.

“Sure, of course. I’ve actually already finished reading all of those,” Mira said, pleased that buying all of those manga had been worth it since they’d made Charwiena so happy. “You can take all of them, if you’d like,” she added, smiling.

And as soon as she did, the smile on Charwiena’s face shone even brighter.

“Really?! Thank you so much!”

Now that she had permission from Mira, there was only one possible option for her. And so, after a couple of seconds, Charwiena gathered every volume of manga into her arms.

“Then I’ll hurry and read through them!” she said, grinning with a smile of pure joy.

Then, after bowing, she lightly pranced over to the door.

“Don’t stay up all night reading,” Mira warned.

Having warned her of this, Mira then realized that Charwiena wouldn’t be able to open the door with her hands full of manga.

It’d be a pain to put down all those books just to open it, so Mira decided she ought to open it for her and Mira stood up to help.

Right then, Charwiena bent forward ever so slightly. Suddenly her right hand vanished, and the door before her opened with a click. By the time it did, her hand had already shot back to its original position. She’d opened the door extremely quickly while the manga were still floating in midair before they had a chance to fall.

“All right then, if you’ll excuse me.”

The door didn’t seem to have impeded her whatsoever. Turning around to bow once more, she used the exact same trick to politely close the door again. What’s more, regardless of all the manga she was holding in her arms, the sound of her seemingly sprinting echoed through the hallway.

“I wouldn’t expect any less of a Valkyrie…”

She must’ve wanted to read the manga right away. But just what would she think of them? Wondering this to herself, Mira thought about picking out some books that Charwiena might like the next time she happened by a bookstore.

Chapter 22

AFTER CHARWIENA LEFT, Mira was relaxing and reading her Encyclopedia of Skills when someone else came to visit. This time, it was the third sister, Floedina.

Opening the door, she asked, “Master, there was something I was hoping to ask you. Would you happen to have a moment in which I might speak with you?” before bowing elegantly.

Her speech, demeanor, and appearance all gave off a princess-like impression, and yet she was actually the most domestic of all the sisters.

When Mira asked what was on her mind, the girl responded, “Is there anything you’d like to request for tomorrow’s breakfast?”

Indeed, Floedina was the one in charge of preparing all of the sisters’ meals. She’d made all of the extravagant dishes that’d been prepared for dinner as well.

“Hrm…breakfast, you say? What do I want…?”

Already knowing full well just how skilled Floedina was at cooking, Mira agonized over what she ought to have her make. Whatever she asked for would surely be incredible.

“Yes, that’s right… I feel like I want French toast for breakfast!”

Having given it quite a bit of thought, Mira eventually decided on French toast, which felt to her like a refined and almost aristocratic breakfast. She undoubtedly decided on this due to Floedina’s ladylike vibe, as well as her own rather poor understanding of what constituted “ladylike.”

“Your timing couldn’t be better! Actually, just yesterday, I just happened to come by an uzofnir egg for the first time in a good while. I’m sure I can make the ultimate French toast with it,” Floedina said, a refined smile breaking across her face. Showing uncommon enthusiasm, she then added, “I can hardly wait.” Apparently, uzofnir eggs were such a rare ingredient that she always agonized over what to make whenever she was lucky enough to come across one.

“What luck! I must’ve been destined to find it for this very occasion!” Floedina said enthusiastically.

Then, continuing that she’d begin preparing right away to make the ultimate French toast, she eagerly hurried off to the kitchen.

The French toast that Mira was thinking of was simply the classic kind made with sliced bread that was soaked with egg and then cooked.

It seemed that she’d be in for an even more authentic treat next morning than she’d expected. Her anticipation building, Mira wondered if she might ask Floedina to teach her how to cook next time.

Mira had first been visited by Alfina, and then by Elezina and Charwiena, and finally by Floedina. Even though it was right after their training, the Valkyries seemed to still be quite active. Impressed by this, Mira then caught sight of Elievina, the fifth sister.

“Hey, Master? Could you help me choose?” the somewhat brusque girl said as soon as she arrived. Mira wasn’t sure what exactly she wanted her to choose, but seeing as the girl had her arms full of some kind of cloth, Mira presumed this was what she was talking about.

“Hrm. I’m not really following, but sure.”

After Mira agreed, Elievina tossed what she was holding in her arms onto the sofa. Then, one after the other, she unfurled them where they lay.

The things Elievina had been holding that she wanted Mira’s help picking out were clothes, but not any ordinary ones.

“These aren’t…normal clothes, are they?”

They looked like somewhat fashionable, long-sleeved dresses, and yet a closer inspection revealed that they were indeed quite different.

There was exquisite embroidery stitched in all the most vital areas, underneath which there was padding. The joints, meanwhile, were all reinforced with gorgeously dyed leather.

The way in which they’d been stitched made it clear that they were no ordinary clothes. “They’re gambesons,” Mira guessed immediately when she wondered what they might be.

A gambeson was a padded jacket worn underneath armor. They were padded with cotton to absorb impacts and designed to protect joints that weren’t protected by armor because the wearer still needed to be able to move around. One might say they were something like the unsung hero of defensive equipment.

“Yeah, so I wanted to ask you…” Elievina said. While standing before a dozen or so gambesons, she began explaining what she’d meant earlier about “choosing.”

The gambesons that the Valkyrie sisters were currently using were on their last legs, and so they’d decided to get some new ones about two months earlier. And so, being skilled at sewing, she’d been chosen for the job. And yet, it had proven to be much more difficult than she’d expected.

She continued that the biggest problem had been combining functionality with style. While they weren’t meant to be very conspicuous, gambesons served a critical role not only in protection but also in serving as the layer between one’s body and their armor. Therefore, they tended to have a heavy emphasis on functionality. And yet, Elievina had never been one to compromise when it came to style.

However, when she tried to add stylish elements, she’d apparently realized just how incredibly difficult it was to incorporate any of them into its design.

That said, having taken on the task, she had to see it through. Therefore, after compromising again and again, she had apparently produced the gambesons she’d come in holding.

“I tried using every material I could get my hands on, but I couldn’t figure out anything for the joints.”

Having tried out all kinds of materials, she hadn’t been able to find anything that was both flexible and sturdy enough to use for the joint sections that didn’t make the gambeson look frumpy. This was why she’d given up on trying to choose a design.

There was no issue when it came to the gambeson being functional in combat, but there was no particular design that spoke to her, and so she couldn’t decide. And so, she’d come by because she figured that she ought to at least ask her Master, Mira, to pick the one she liked.

“I see…”

Despite what Elievina said, every one of the gambesons was chock-full of ingenuity. Looking at them simply as thick clothes, Mira noted that each and every one looked utterly complete. That said, upon closer inspection, the joint sections did seem a tad unnatural.

And so, after checking each and every gambeson, Mira finally came upon one that didn’t have this issue.

“Hrmm… This one seems a bit different from the others.”

It was a thick gambeson woven with impact-absorbent material. The other ones had all been reinforced with leather around the shoulder and elbow sections, and yet the one she’d finally come upon simply had a differently colored cloth sewn in these areas.

“Ah, that one is…!” Elievina blurted out. She explained that she’d brought that particular one by mistake.

It was apparently a piece of clothing made from fabric woven from a metallic fiber taken from a type of grass that only grew in special areas, such as near mineral ore veins. It was strong enough that a blade couldn’t pass through it and yet much lighter than leather, and so it seemed like the ideal choice. However, it had one drawback.

“Actually, it’s incredibly flammable, so…” Elievina said, before going into an example of an accident that’d happened because of this very drawback. Surprisingly enough, when someone swung a sword around back and forth, the friction of it rubbing against the armor had ignited a fire.

***

“I still feel terrible about what happened to Christina…” Elievina murmured apologetically. She continued that while it seemed like the ideal material, she’d had to give up on using it.

“Metallic fibers into fabric, you say?”

Regardless of what happened to Christina, she seemed to have come up with something close to the ideal gambeson using this method. Thinking about whether there might be anything that would do the trick, Mira suddenly remembered a material that could very well work.

“Why don’t you try using this?” Mira said, opening up her item box and taking out a long length of rope—or more precisely, cable that looked like rope. It was a precious material known as “machilite cable” that she’d got when she’d vanquished the Machina Guardian in the Ancient Underground City.

It was a very versatile material that was both very durable and heat-resistant, and it was quite effective given its light weight.

What’s more, it was molded like rope, such that you could undo it and make it into metallic strands. Were Elievina to weave that into fabric, it’d likely be just the kind of thing she had had in mind. Thinking as much, Mira asked the girl what she thought of it.

“These fibers are much more flexible than they look… I think this’ll work!” Elievina said, a bright look blossoming on her face as she closely examined the cable. She’d found the exact material that she’d been searching for, or so the satisfied smile on her face seemed to say.

“Is that right? I’m glad to hear it.”

Happy herself to see how satisfied Elievina looked, Mira told the girl that she could take all of it, as she still had a ton of it left.

Surprised at how much Mira was giving her, Elievina nevertheless took it and, vowing to make the ultimate gambeson, returned to her room. It was quite heavy and yet, in Valkyrie-like fashion, she brought it all back in a single trip.

Shortly after Elievina departed, the sixth sister, Selestina, came by.

Looking somehow like a student council president, she kneeled quietly before Mira as soon as she was inside the room and asked, “Master, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you… Do you have a moment?” She looked as if something was troubling her.

“Hrm, I don’t mind. What’s up?”

Selestina had a strong sense of personal responsibility and was very reliable. If she were to visit to discuss something, then it had to be a fairly serious issue. Mira didn’t know whether she could fix any such problem, but she could certainly listen. Adopting a more serious attitude, she turned to face Selestina.

“Master. I’ve…been thinking…” Selestina started, with a grave expression on her face. However, what she had to discuss wasn’t grave at all. And yet, from the deadly earnest look in her eyes as she spoke, it was clear that from her point of view it was likely a matter of life or death.

However, it ended up being something that made Mira wonder why she’d considered it such a big deal. That said, it wasn’t as if she didn’t get where Selestina was coming from. It was likely precisely because they were all sisters that she was so concerned.

Selestina had come to talk about her special attack. Upon asking why she was so worried about something like this, the girl explained as if the answer pained her.

Apparently, it all had to do with Christina’s recent exploits. In particular, the attack she’d used against the Machina Guardian with the sacred sword had apparently astonished not only Selestina, but the rest of the sisters as well.

Selestina was the second youngest sister, while Christina was the very youngest. Therefore, the two of them often trained together. And so, up until then, Selestina had always helped Christina with her training as an older sister and had watched as she’d grown.

To Selestina, Christina had been a rather high-maintenance little sister. But beyond that, she still wanted her little sister to look up to her.

However, on that day, Christina had leveled a strike that outdid even their eldest sister Alfina. And now, Christina had further polished the mana concentration skills that she’d used for that technique.

Therefore, Selestina had gotten it into her head that she couldn’t let herself be outdone and had begun working to come up with her own special technique. She wished she could use some awesome move, just like Christina.

“But it’s my first time thinking about coming up with a special technique, so I have no idea what I should do,” Selestina said, sounding depressed. Opening a notebook, she continued, “What do you think?”

Taking a closer look, Mira saw that she’d written down a whole list of ideas for special techniques in the notebook. What’s more, next to the explanations of these techniques, she’d included drawings roughly outlining the movements used for them. And yet, these drawings were about as good as the kind a loving parent of a kindergartner would put up on the fridge. They looked more like cutesy sketches than instructions for finishing moves.

Mira remembered having a sort of special technique notebook that she’d kept when she was younger, and so she felt nostalgic as she carefully looked through the notebook. Finally, she said, “Hrmm… I don’t know if you could call these special techniques…”

Selestina’s notebook mostly reflected her own skills, and so most of the moves there weren’t necessarily what one could consider special techniques.

Selestina’s special skills had a lot to do with her status as a prodigy.

Each of the seven Valkyrie sisters was normally equipped with a sword, and yet, all of them were more than proficient with just about every weapon. Additionally, each of them was particularly skilled with a different weapon. Alfina was especially skilled with a long sword, Elezina with a bow, and Christina with a sword and shield. And were they to get whatever weapon they specialized in, they could demonstrate outstanding combat capabilities.

Meanwhile, incredibly, Selestina was a prodigy who was very skilled with most weapons. What’s more, the weapons the sisters were normally equipped with were all created from light crystals. Therefore, they could summon and dispel them at will. This worked perfectly with her ability to wield most weapons extremely well, allowing her to make use of her full potential.

For that reason, her special technique notebook was full of ideas using each different weapon. But, from what Mira could tell, the moves were entirely combo moves—that is, they were just sequences of ordinary attacks, like the kind one might use in a video game. While it may have been a finishing move notebook, it looked more like a list of combos.

Of course, with her level of training, Selestina had included quite a few follow-up techniques that could be used mid-attack, and the combos were so polished that they almost felt like works of art.

If she were simply looking for a rush-style special move, she already had what she needed. However, considering that she was looking for some kind of grand finishing move like Christina’s with the sword of light, Mira could only say that she wasn’t quite there.

“You started to get a bit off track too, huh?” Mira said, observing as much while she flipped through the notebook.

Selestina herself had picked up on this while writing as well, seeing as halfway through, the notebook simply transformed into a record of special techniques that all used a single strike. However, they were all just the same technique as Christina’s but with different weapons. The most important part of the technique was concentrating one’s mana, in which respect Chistina’s skills were unsurpassed, and so using the same technique without those capabilities made for one which was strictly inferior.

One might even say that looking to come up with a special technique just so she could keep up with Christina was a bit like putting the cart before the horse.

“What should I do…? How does one learn how to do a special technique…?” Selestina muttered hopelessly, when Mira closed the notebook. She’d asked her older sister, and they’d apparently all said that the answer would suddenly strike her in the midst of training or combat.

Lamenting that she had yet to have such a revelation, Selestina looked at Mira imploringly.

I guess even geniuses have issues.

Or so Mira thought, as she felt Selestina’s gaze fall on her. And so, she gently put her hand on the girl’s shoulder and softly said, “In that case, why don’t we come up with something together?” When one feels stuck, all they need to do is talk it over with someone else, and then suddenly a solution will come to them surprisingly often. This was especially true in this case, as one could safely say that Mira was an expert when it came to things like special techniques. Mira smiled while thinking back on all the practical as well as completely silly techniques that she’d come up with alongside Solomon and Luminaria.

Seeing Mira’s supremely confident demeanor, which suggested it’d be a piece of cake, Selestina looked more reassured than ever and said, “Th-thank you, Master!” and, with a truly radiant smile blooming on her face, she bowed.

Chapter 23

IN ORDER TO COME UP with a special technique, Mira first wanted to get an idea of Selestina’s fighting style again, and so the pair had gone outside into the garden. Standing in the mellow garden, which was dotted with flowers in full bloom, Mira summoned several holy knights that Selestina could practice against.

Selestina then demonstrated all sorts of techniques against these holy knights. She focused on exhibiting her prowess with different weapons, switching between them, and displaying her reactions to various combat scenarios.

“What did you think?!”

This wasn’t a regular training session; with her master watching, Selestina had likely shown off the full extent of her abilities. And so, her voice sounded quite confident.

“Hrm, that was brilliant. You chose which weapon to use based on the situation, as well as the enemies you were facing. Not only that, your skills with each of those weapons was a sight to behold,” Mira said, appraising Selestina’s skills now that she’d gotten another look at them.

One might very well call her a weapon prodigy. In terms of raw combat ability, her skills were such that she almost rivaled even Alfina.

When Mira told her as much, a look of relief washed over Selestina’s face. However, Mira’s next words turned this look to one of anxiety and distress.

“But I think that’s precisely why you can’t come up with a special technique.”

Having observed the way in which Selestina fought, Mira had picked up on something about the girl that perhaps she didn’t even realize herself. Or rather, she couldn’t pick up on it precisely because it was herself.

While special techniques are usually all lumped together, there are various different ways of understanding them. But, in this case, the definition was quite clear. This had all started with Christina’s special technique that she’d used with the sword of light. This meant that the kind of special technique that interested Selestina was a dramatic finishing move that’d turn the tide of battle in a single blow.

And yet, in order to pull off these types of special techniques, one needed skill, hard work, and a willingness to push themselves beyond their limits.

When it comes to special techniques used by mighty warriors, most people think of some powerful blow strong enough to split a boulder or the very ground itself. In other words, they used a power that transcended their normal limits.

So, what did this mean for Selestina? She certainly was no slouch when it came to skill and hard work. She’d gone through Alfina’s special training, so she certainly had a solid foundation. And so, all that remained was to discover what lay beyond her limits. But what exactly were those limits?

“What did I do wrong…?” Selestina implored. In response, Mira began explaining what she’d noticed during the girl’s mock battle with the holy knights.

Because she was so proficient with most weapons, Selestina could respond effectively to most combat situations. By switching up the weapon she was using, she could continue making the most of her skills during any combat situation and from any distance. This was her unique ability, and nobody else could hope to replicate it.

And yet, Mira explained, therein lay the problem.

“Let’s say, for instance, that there are enemies both close to you and far away…” she explained simply, using an example of a situation that occurred fairly regularly.

In such a situation, there was an enemy one needed to defeat in front of oneself, as well as another one farther away. And yet, one couldn’t leave the spot where they currently were. What would Alfina, the longsword master, do in this kind of situation? First, she’d likely cut down the foe in front of her before unleashing some extraordinary slicing attack that could even slay a faraway enemy.

She’d use a close-quarters weapon to fire off a long-range attack. At first glance, this seems a bit contradictory. But having wielded a longsword for so long, Alfina had become capable of using such attacks. Now, she had enough tools at her disposal using a single longsword that she could deal with just about any situation. In other words, she’d surpassed her limitations, realized the full potential of longswords, and achieved the impossible with them.

“I know I’ve said this before, but your big sister really is incredible.”

And, of course, this wasn’t all that Alfina was capable of. Thinking back on all the times she’d personally seen her tremendous courage, Mira smiled in awe.

Selestina knew this very well herself.

“I know, right…?” she responded, smiling bitterly.

“But Selestina, in your case…”

Having finished talking about Alfina, Mira moved on to the results of the mock battle she’d just witnessed and how it differed from the way Alfina fought.

When faced with the exact same situation, Selestina had first cut down the enemy immediately before her, just like Alfina had done. However, her next move was quite different. In order to take aim at the faraway foe, she’d switched to using her bow and, without moving a muscle, flawlessly loosed an arrow that struck her foe right through the head.

“The speed at which you switched from using a sword to quickly nocking an arrow before shooting was blindingly fast. I have nothing to say on that front. And yet, this made me notice that you tend to rely a little too much on your weapons.”

Mira went on to suggest that precisely because she could simply switch weapons in order to deal with just about any situation, there wasn’t much of a need for her to use special techniques. She then pointed out that this explained why she hadn’t managed to come up with any that she might want to use.

“Yes… You do have a point…” Selestina murmured after thinking to herself for a minute. It seemed that Mira’s reasoning made sense to her as well. Selestina’s style of fighting was to make use of every weapon in her arsenal. Therefore, when she found herself in a disadvantageous situation and wanted to turn the tables, she didn’t think of what technique or move to use, but what weapon to deploy.

“Well, I suppose you might say that being able to switch weapons is your special technique.”

And indeed, Selestina had pursued her strengths to become the warrior she now was, as Mira explained before adding that this had indeed been the right move. In fact, Selestina was plenty strong even without a special technique.

“That still doesn’t make me feel much better…”

“Hrm, me neither.”

That said, they’d only really been talking about the most conventional kind of special techniques. That is, the ones that were extremely powerful, flashy, reliable in a pinch, and that anybody watching would take for a special technique. This was how true special techniques were understood, and what the two of them were after.

And so, they returned to the beginning of their conversation. But this time, not only Mira but Selestina herself had a better idea of her capabilities, and so they could now decide on a direction to take when it came to coming up with a special technique for her.

When up against fast enemies, she used quick weapons such as a short sword or a rapier, and she switched to using a battle axe to smash heavily built foes. This was Selestina’s fighting style, and the battle strategy most often employed thus far.

And so, this time, she basically wanted to use a special attack in which she could strike a foe with a short sword, using the same kind of force she might deliver with a battle axe. That said, thanks to Selestina’s unique capabilities, there was no need to be quite so specific.

“Basically, we just need to create a situation where you can land a devastating battle-axe blow.”

Using each of her weapons, she’d create an opportunity to use her battle axe with the absolute maximum amount of power possible. Regardless of how her opponent moved or how they tried to strengthen their defenses, she’d get a hold of them, break through their defenses, and then utterly smash them. Having determined that this would likely be the most fitting special technique for Selestina, they discussed it at length and began special training.

Being not just skilled with weapons but with techniques using them, she could transition into using her battle axe in all kinds of situations and under various circumstances. Or at least this was the conclusion they reached after working further on her special technique notebook.

By keeping her foe occupied with her bow, she would close the distance between them before slashing at their legs to hinder their mobility. Then, seamlessly transitioning mid-attack, she would suddenly switch to using her battle axe and bring it crashing down on her foe. While the technique already made full use of her skill set, the two thought of other variations that also used her battle axe, as well as other similar techniques.

And so, shortly after they began their special training session in the garden…

“Is that Selestina and…Master?! I came to see what all the noise was, but to think…” Alfina said, coming down from the roof rather than her own room for some reason.

Taking a look around, she seemed to have realized that Mira and Selestina were having a special training session.

“Selestina. Did you come to consult with Master on that matter we spoke about the other day?”

What’s more, from what she could see going on, she’d even guessed what exactly they were doing. She then turned to Selestina and gave her a look as if she was half impressed and half jealous…or rather, ten percent impressed and ninety percent jealous. Meanwhile, underneath her withering gaze, Selestina looked away and answered, “Yes,” with a nod.

“I do apologize for my sister bothering you like this. And I thank you for giving her your time,” Alfina said, kneeling formally.

Having watched over her sister’s efforts from the sidelines, she appeared to be pleased from the bottom of her heart that Mira had helped her rekindle her hopes. But, of course, that wasn’t all.

“Master, if you’re doing special training, then please allow me to join as well!” Alfina said with a bow. The hand she held the sacred sword in was shaking.

While she felt that it was a bit too forward to ask Mira to join her in training, Selestina had set a precedent. And so, figuring she might ask as well, Alfina had boldly stepped forward.

Hearing what Alfina had said, Mira looked toward Selestina to see what they should do.

Selestina was in a panic as she considered what’d happen if the training drill sergeant known as Alfina were to join. Thinking as much, it was no surprise that she was so flustered. However, judging from the vibe Alfina was giving off now, rejecting her offer would quite obviously mean bigger trouble later.

“I don’t mind, but this is special technique training. And seeing as you’re already quite competent in that area, I don’t think you’d get much out of it,” Mira said, gently implying that even if Alfina did join she didn’t really need the training since she’d already perfected such techniques.

And a brighter and brighter expression shone on Alfina’s face when she heard this.

“That’s perfect! I was actually just thinking about whether I could come up with any new techniques using this sacred sword you bestowed on me!” Alfina said enthusiastically, suggesting that the timing couldn’t have been better.

Apparently, even though she’d only just received the sword, she’d already gotten the hang of using it. And now, she’d begun doing a deep dive into what kinds of special techniques she could use.

“I-I see… Well, in that case, sure. You two can train together. But on one condition…”

When it came to preserving Selestina’s mental health, it would be better for the two of them to train separately. But Alfina had a legitimate reason, and she was so fired up that it wouldn’t be possible to cool her down. And so, Mira gave her permission to train with them on one condition.

That condition was that Mira would be in charge. Selestina seemed to nonverbally communicate to Mira that with Alfina in charge, it would no doubt transform into a hellish training session, and so Mira added this stipulation. Meanwhile, far from being disappointed, Alfina’s mood seemed to only brighten further. Apparently this was because she now felt as if she’d be getting taught by her master.

How do I put it…? This all feels a bit nostalgic.

She, Soul Howl, Meilin, Lastrada, and Wallenstein had all worked on developing special techniques together once upon a time. Thinking back on that day, she said, “All right, then how about we get started?” before turning eagerly to face the pair.

Things were proceeding smoothly with developing Selestina’s special technique. Contrary to what Mira had expected, things actually took a turn for the better once Alfina joined them. It seemed as if Mira’s decision to have Alfina take the holy knights’ place was bearing fruit. Because Alfina was more skilled at blocking Selestina’s blows, it became very clear which attacks would work and which wouldn’t.

Another explanation could be that she was taking more of an interest in Selestina’s weapon skills. During normal mock battles, Selestina would be hit with a devastating counterattack if she left herself open. But this time, Alfina could only point out what Selestina had done wrong with her words. This was per Mira’s instructions, of course.

Likely thanks to years of hard work and dedication, the fiercely determined Selestina’s blade shone brilliantly during this session.

Now, while this was going on, Alfina’s special training was happening as well. While not much time had passed since she’d entrusted the sacred sword to her, Alfina could already draw out Sanctia’s power without the slightest flaw.

While she dodged Selestina’s vicious attacks, the sword spun in her hand toward the ashen knights which Mira had positioned.

A sound as clear as a bell then rang out, and there was a flash of light, from which a rainbow-colored streak followed. What’s more, thanks to one of Sanctia’s special effects, this streak then exploded. While the sacred sword itself was quite sharp, this special effect substantially increased Alfina’s attack power.

It was, in fact, a master-level technique. From a seemingly impossible position, she’d leveled a mighty slash that went flying toward the ashen knights.

And yet, being ashen knights, they withstood the attack quite impressively. These armor spirits, which were capable of learning and were also being deployed by the military, had now learned from fighting against Alfina and her sword. Furthermore, the ashen knights, which were a mix of holy knights and dark knights, had inherited the techniques used by holy knights. On top of that, they could make use of Sanctia as well.

Even if she went up against the improved ashen knights, they wouldn’t prove to be much of a challenge one-on-one. But now, she also had to deal with a weapons master like Selestina, who was going at her full-bore and not worrying about defense whatsoever. Sure enough, fighting them while having to dodge all of Selestina’s attacks wasn’t easy, not even for her.

On top of that, she wasn’t only fighting one ashen knight. Mira had summoned three of them and put them in a defensive position such that they would work together to help each other, making it even more of a challenge.

Hrmm… I guess they’ve been pretty evenly matched. But come to think of it, they really are quite powerful. They’ve sure grown a lot since the old days.

Perhaps finding the training to be a bit nostalgic, Mira thought back on the first time she came to Valhalla. She remembered how the seven Valkyrie sisters, who were now the foremost Valkyries in all of First Valhalla, were just ordinary, not particularly powerful Valkyries back then.

She’d first come to Valhalla as Danblf in order to make an evocation contract with the Valkyries. Then, having easily cleared the trial required to do so, she’d had her prowess noted by multiple sets of sisters.

However, there was a limit to how many Valkyries one could make a contract with. Even someone as skilled as Danblf could only make a contract with two or three sets of Valkyries.

Of all the skilled sets of sisters arrayed before him, Danblf had chosen only the seven Valkyrie sisters, those being Alfina and her sisters, whose skills still had yet to truly blossom.

And yet, there were several sets of sisters who were already endowed with skills that made them ready for battle. However, it was what Alfina and her sisters said that truly resonated with Danblf. Unlike the other sets of sisters, who had merely detailed what they each were capable of, Alfina and her sisters had simply said that they wanted to get stronger together. This just so happened to be precisely what Danblf had been looking for.

And so, after making a contract together, Danblf and Alfina and her sisters fought in all kinds of battles and faced off against all kinds of foes. Thanks to the defensive abilities afforded by using evocation, the sisters had even been able to throw themselves into some nearly impossible battles, which just might have been even more grueling than Alfina’s training.

However, the seven sisters, whose prowess in battle hadn’t been particularly notable, had swiftly developed their skills, thanks to this. By now, they’d grown enough that they could take their place at the very top of First Valhalla.

Now that I think about it, these two have always fought on the front lines since back then, huh?

Alfina and Selestina had sharpened their skills even further from when Mira had been Danblf. Though they were only training, the tension in the air was palpable every time their swords crossed. And at every moment, one could clearly see just how much skill and experience they’d built up over the years.

“Listen, Selestina. This is something my weapons master taught me. No matter how skillful an opponent is, they’ll leave themselves open the moment they attack. And the technique that you’re trying to learn follows this same principle.”

“Got it!”

Feeling a tad sentimental while she mused that they had indeed gotten stronger together, Mira occasionally offered the two advice as she observed their training session.

Chapter 24

“ALL RIGHT, THAT’S ENOUGH!” Mira said, calling an end to their special training session about thirty minutes after it’d begun.

The session which they’d set up to help develop their own special techniques was proceeding at full tilt, and yet it was starting to get pretty late.

Before they knew it, it was already the dead of night, when one might ordinarily begin preparing for bed.

And yet, not surprisingly, Alfina suggested that they continue for just ten more minutes. Truth be told, she looked rather exhausted, and yet her expression seemed to say that she was just getting started.

“I can keep going too,” Selestina said, echoing Alfina.

She must’ve been quite happy about finally making some headway on her special technique, which she previously hadn’t made any progress on, as she appeared to still have quite a bit of energy.

And yet, unable to keep her eyes open much longer, Mira turned down the suggestion.

“No, let’s call it a day for today,” she said, telling them once more that practice was over.

She was indeed getting sleepy, but most importantly, she was ending the session out of consideration for the two themselves.

When things were going well, it was very easy to keep pushing oneself while losing sight of when it might be best to stop and call it a day. This was something Mira had learned countless times from personal experience.

“Sleep is yet another part of training. You’ve got training tomorrow as well, no? That means you’ll really need the rest.”

The Valkyrie sisters trained every single day. Effectively being professionals at training, they ought to know very well the importance of rest.

When Mira said so, Selestina answered, “Yes… You’re right.” Her once sky-high spirits falling, she suddenly felt fatigue washing over her entire body. She seemed to recall just what kind of training was in store for her the very next day.

Their special training session would no doubt have an effect on the next day’s training. Presuming as much, Selestina nodded along and said, “Thank you for your help!” before hurrying off.

Meanwhile, Alfina’s expression hadn’t changed one bit when she was reminded of the next day’s practice. But now that her training partner, Selestina, was gone, she seemed to accept that it was no longer possible to continue training. “As you say, Master,” she assented.

And yet, Mira hadn’t missed just how much Alfina was still raring to go. Nor had she failed to notice how the hand in which she held Sanctia was still trembling eagerly.

“Get some nice rest tonight, so that you’ll be ready for tomorrow,” Mira told her once more, before dismissing the sacred sword Sanctia that Alfina had been holding.

“Agh!” she exclaimed, a cry escaping her lips. No doubt she’d been thinking about sneaking out again to practice more after they’d gone back. While Alfina’s expression had remained unchanged until then, it finally began to crack as she turned and looked at Mira diffidently.

“Got it?”

“Fine… I’ll do as you say,” Alfina replied in a panic.

She must’ve guessed from Mira’s words that she’d seen through her plan.

And so, after watching Alfina stalk away in dejection, Mira returned to her quarters and started getting ready for bed. Wearing the blue pajamas that Mariana had picked out for her, Mira sank into the king-size bed.

Night in Valhalla was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, and the only thing Mira could see from the sole window in her room were the stars twinkling brightly. But even these vanished as she closed her eyes, having fallen into silence herself. And indeed, the silence was so deep that the loud, spirited training session they’d just had seemed like a distant dream.

The only thing that remained was a profound feeling of tranquility. Wrapped in this mysterious sense of peace, Mira drifted to sleep.

“Hrmm. What a beautiful morning.”

In a word, Mira felt refreshed upon waking up in Valhalla. Having been roused by the strong yet gentle light of the sun, Mira was surprised to discover that she felt a sense of contentment that she’d never felt in the morning before. Usually, she was by no means a morning person, but on this particular day she felt remarkably clearheaded.

Checking what time it was, Mira was surprised yet again. Somehow, it was six in the morning, just about three hours before she usually woke up. And yet, she still felt in tip-top shape and not one bit sleepy.

“I guess it isn’t bad to wake up early every once in a while,” Mira said, feeling so good that she figured it’d be a waste to go back to sleep. And so, having leaped out of bed, she quickly changed clothes and took care of her most pressing morning business. She then headed out to stroll through early-morning Valhalla.

The warm light of the sun felt pleasant against her skin as she took in Valhalla’s wonderful springlike weather. Wondering to herself whether the place even had seasons, Mira strolled about the palace.

She saw some people warming up in the No. 2 training area, as well as washhouses filled more with armor than clothes. While the palace was indeed magnificent, the facilities within it seemed to be quite different from what someone might normally find inside a palace down on the surface. It was just what one might expect of a place where Valkyries resided.

“Oh, is that it…?”

Aside from those, there was also a blacksmith’s shack lined with all kinds of imposing weapons, and just ahead sat Mira’s destination.

“This place is beautiful.”

Compared to the size of the palace, it was by no means large. What’s more, compared to the other places she’d seen around the palace grounds, it undeniably felt rather out of place. And yet, a well-kept and assiduously maintained park stretched out silently right in front of her.

Mira scratched her head, wondering to herself just what kind of techniques had been used to transform the No. 2 training ground into the dreadful place it now was.

She also shuddered as she wondered to herself just how much blood had been splattered to sully the now accursed-looking armor she’d seen in the laundry area.

Finally, she struggled to imagine just who or what might’ve needed to use the colossal sword she’d seen at the blacksmith’s shack as a fighting tool.

Considering how frightful some of the surrounding areas of the palace were, the park did indeed stand out. And so, while staring at the colorful flowers there, Mira began looking all around the garden to see if there wasn’t anything else there.

There were beautiful beds of flowers that were grouped together by color and were all in full bloom. The well-kept grass and the elegantly blooming flowers contrasted in perfect harmony, elevating both to a level of beauty that neither could’ve reached by themselves.

There was no doubt that whoever was in charge of maintaining the park had a prolific understanding of flowers. It was the kind of garden in which one could glimpse just how much love had been put into caring for it.

Just by walking around it, Mira’s heart felt at peace. In the center of this garden, she also found a lovely bench. Mira felt that if she were to look at the flowers while sitting on it, she might achieve complete peace of mind.

Thinking this, she inadvertently found herself enjoying a stroll through the park, as if she’d been beckoned there by the warm, early morning light and the refreshing scent of the flowers growing there.

“Oh, looks like there are some on the opposite side as well, huh?”

After walking through most of the park, Mira discovered a break in the splendid-looking hedges and managed to catch a glimpse of what lay further inside. And sure enough…

“Well now, good morning, Master.”

There she found Floedina, dressed like an old farmer, but holding a rather expensive-looking silver watering can that shone brightly.

“Hrm, morning,” Mira replied. Then, staring at Floedina, she asked, “Are you by any chance the one in charge of taking care of this beautiful park?”

Likely happy to hear Mira describe it in such a way, Floedina answered, “Yes. I thought the area around the palace wasn’t terribly colorful, so I started tending to this space a decade or so ago.” Her tone was slightly abashed.

“Colorful, huh…? I walked around the surrounding area, and everywhere besides this park feels rather brutal and savage,” Mira said, giving her impression on what she’d seen.

“I know, right…?” Floedina agreed with a wry smile.

It seemed that she’d had the exact same impression of the place for quite a while. And so, this, combined with her love of flowers, had led her to start gardening in the once-vacant plot of land. Laughing, she continued that the area she tended had gotten bigger and bigger, until it became the park where they were now standing before she knew it.

What’s more, according to Floedina, Alfina seemed unexpectedly fond of the park. After busting her butt training until she could barely walk, Alfina would apparently often come to rest on the bench. It seemed that she herself had brought the bench there from elsewhere.

“That bench has had quite a history. I find that hard to imagine, given what she’s usually like.”

Alfina gave off the image of living solely to do battle and train with her bow, and yet, surprisingly, she also seemed to have a girly side. While Mira was still surprised to learn of this new side of her, something suddenly seemed to come to Floedina. “Master… Actually…” she began, a faint smile appearing on her lips before she let slip a certain secret.

Apparently, the truth was that Alfina hated tomatoes.

“Oh ho! I wouldn’t have expected that of Alfina.”

Alfina had a somewhat perfect and faultless air about her, and yet even she had this kind of childish aversion. While shocked at how out of character this seemed, Mira also felt vaguely like she had gotten to know her better. And then…

***

“And so…” Floedina continued. Then, looking around as if to make sure no one was listening, she whispered, “Would you like to help me with my plan to help Big Sis get over her dislike of tomatoes?”

“Hrmm… Why don’t you fill me in on the details,” Mira said. She’d agreed half because it intrigued her and half out of consideration for Alfina.

According to Floedina, Alfina had an intense dislike of tomatoes. Floedina had worked hard to come up with various ways of cooking so that she might be able to eat tomatoes despite her dislike of them, but as soon as Alfina found out that tomatoes were in a dish, she’d flat out refuse to eat whatever had been cooked.

“She especially hates the mushy part in the middle of the tomato with all the seeds. But even if I cut that out completely, she’ll just say that there might somehow still be some left…” Floedina said, sighing unconsciously.

Even so, she confidently attested that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her food itself. She continued that, while her other sisters were picky eaters as well, she’d gotten all of them to eat all her food by putting in a little extra effort. Christina was a particularly picky eater, and there’d been a period when all she ate was sweets.

Floedina continued that, while studying various ways of cooking in order to get Christina to eat her cooking, she had dramatically improved her cooking chops. Smiling wryly, Floedina said that she’d finally been extended an invitation to the All-Valhalla Culinary Competition.

Having heard this surprising tale of the unexpected hard work that Floedina had put in, Mira said, “Wow… Well done,” extending the Valkyrie her congratulations.

Mira had no idea what the All-Valhalla Culinary Competition was, but it certainly sounded impressive. Floedina, seeming a tad embarrassed but nevertheless happy to hear Mira’s praise, smiled and answered, “Thank you very much.”

“And so, I’m sure that if I could just get her to eat some of my cooking, it’d all work out.”

She did have an impressive track record to back up her current campaign of helping Alfina overcome her dislike of tomatoes. Or so she said, holding her head high.

Even Christina had once detested tomatoes, but thanks to a certain tomato dish that Floedina had come up with, she seemed to have overcome this. And now, she happily scarfed down pizza.

What’s more, Floedina had apparently even attempted an experiment where she reached out to all the Valkyries in Valhalla who disliked tomatoes and had them try her tomato dishes. It ended up being a huge success, and a whole bunch of Valkyries successfully overcame their dislike of tomatoes. Most notably, afterward, some of them would only eat food that had tomatoes in it.

Therefore, Floedina confidently declared that if she could just get some of her food into Alfina’s mouth, she’d become a tomato fan. And yet, no matter what she did, she couldn’t get Alfina to do so. Floedina’s shoulders then dropped as if she were utterly out of options.

“And this is what I’d like to ask for your assistance with, Master.”

Floedina’s plan was quite clear and simple. Because Alfina was so dedicated to her master, she would surely give it a try if Mira suggested that she have some food with tomatoes in it. And then, once she’d taken a bite, the food would speak for itself. Or so Floedina seemed to think, feeling revved up and ready to give the plan a try.

“Hrmm, I see. Yeah, why not? If it’s something like that, I think I can help!”

While it was a bit of a strong-armed approach, it would be a shame for Alfina to never experience the deliciousness of tomatoes. Using this as a pretense, Mira quickly jumped on board, as if it might be fun. The pair began stealthily crafting a battle plan right then and there.

It was worth noting that the only one who knew about Alfina’s dislike of tomatoes was Floedina herself. Therefore, they needed to deploy their plan without letting any of the other sisters know about it.

Chapter 25

HAVING DECIDED how they’d go about their operation to help Alfina overcome her dislike of tomatoes, Mira followed Floedina deeper into the park.

“Oh ho… This is quite impressive,” Mira said, standing before several plots.

The garden there was about thirty-five feet wide, and partitioned into ten plots, each of which contained abundantly sprouting fruits and vegetables. It seemed that, having first dipped her toe into maintaining the garden, she’d then started to explore gardening, until, before she knew it, things had reached the point they were at now.

The field was full of all sorts of commonly eaten vegetables such as spinach, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, and lettuce, among other things. There also seemed to be some fruit as well, such as strawberries and blueberries.

On that note, Floedina complained that even though no wild animals came in to eat from her garden, the fruits and vegetables in it sometimes disappeared. What’s more, the one responsible for this was quite wily. As such, the thief always managed to slip right through whatever means she developed to protect the fruits and vegetables and disappear without a trace.

Taking a closer look, Mira indeed noticed that various preventative measures had been hidden around the exterior of the garden. Floedina had taken some pretty serious precautions.

And yet, a rather playful look twinkling in her eyes, Floedina said that one day, she’d catch the thief red-handed and turn them over to Alfina.

Come to think of it, I think this is my first time seeing vegetables growing in a garden like this.

Alongside Floedina, who was determined to make the ultimate tomato dish, Mira went into the field to carefully choose the tomatoes. Having learned how to pick perfectly ripe ones, she examined them closely.

“Floedina, how about this one?” Mira inquired, calling Floedina over after she’d found a particularly plump, bright-red tomato.

The tomato was ripe enough that a single glance clearly showed it was ready to be eaten. Not only that, it had a prominent star-like pattern toward the end of it. This proved that it’d grown in harsh conditions, without much water, which would make it sweeter.

“That one’s perfect, Master!” Floedina replied, grabbing the tomato after checking it thoroughly.

The two of them then repeated this process many more times until they’d gathered enough tomatoes for dinner.

Since they’d also need other vegetables for dinner, Floedina began picking those as well. Meanwhile, having finished her very important job of carefully selecting tomatoes, Mira strolled about the over one-thousand-square-foot garden. On that note, they’d disabled the preventative measures that were in place to protect the garden.

Having realized that it was her first time setting foot in such a garden, Mira thought back on everything that’d happened recently as she felt her spirits buoyed by the vitality emanating from the plump and verdant vegetables growing there. Furthermore, seeing the vegetables in their natural environment, she thought to herself how they seemed even more delicious.

“It’s almost like they’re begging to be eaten.”

Stepping into a strawberry patch, Mira saw loads of large, round, and plump strawberries which looked as if they’d been dyed bright red and were perfectly ripe. The candy apple shade of red seemed to be seductively calling out to her, saying, “Now is the best time to eat me, and boy, am I delicious.”

Mira’s eyes darted to another one of the plots nearby. There, she saw Floedina expertly eyeing an eggplant, facing away from Mira’s direction. And so, Mira wasn’t currently in her line of sight.

If I do it right now…!

Or so Mira thought before reaching her hand out to pick a particularly ripe-looking strawberry when…just as she was about to do so, she pulled her hand back. Then, looking over toward Floedina once more, she called out, “Floedina, this strawberry is practically begging to be eaten. Do you mind if I pick just this one?!”

Having had the idea put in her head by all their talk of whoever was stealing from the garden, Mira almost followed in their footsteps. However, this was the ever-generous Floedina she was dealing with. And so, Mira figured she’d at least let her have one if she asked.

Sure enough, Floedina laughed and answered, “Ah, sure. If they’re begging, then have as many as you’d like!” In cases like this, one will usually get permission if they come right out and ask for something without being all sneaky about it.

And so, having gotten permission from the master of the garden, Mira plucked that first strawberry she’d laid her eyes on without feeling a single ounce of regret.

“These are really growing spectacularly, huh?”

Feeling the heft of the strawberry in her hand, Mira took an enormous bite and munched on it. And at that very moment, strawberry juice burst into her mouth as her taste buds exploded with sweetness and the scent of strawberries filled her nostrils.

“Mmm! This tastes incredible! I’ve never had a strawberry quite like this.”

Perhaps the soil in Valhalla really was special, as Mira could definitely say that the strawberry was more delicious than any that she could ever recall tasting.

And so, while she was appreciating just how delicious they were, a voice rang out.

“Mira, since you say that, I doubt you’ll find these any less delicious.”

Indeed, it was Martel’s voice. Having looked around curiously when she saw the garden, she commended Floedina’s hard work but also felt herself start getting a bit competitive. Despite looking like the Holy Mother, Martel appeared to have quite a competitive streak when it came to plants, especially delicious fruit.

Walking around Floedina’s garden, Mira continuously asked for Floedina’s permission while plucking fruit. Finally, having made her way to the very end, she saw another plot.

“Hrm, it looks like there’s nothing growing in this one.”

Had nothing sprouted yet? Or was nothing planted there? The plot, which stuck out a bit from the corner of the large garden, looked as if someone were properly cultivating it. However, unlike the other areas, which were lush and abundant with ripe fruits and vegetables, this particular spot was completely empty, as if someone had simply forgotten about it.

“Thank you for waiting, Master.”

After she’d finished carefully selecting all the vegetables she needed, Floedina came over while Mira stared at the empty patch. The basket in her hand was full of plump, juicy-looking vegetables that she’d picked, as well as the main star of the show, tomatoes. They were all of the very best quality, so as to help Alfina overcome her dislike of them.

“Every single one looks incredible.”

Floedina would soon transform the luscious vegetables into a dish of unparalleled deliciousness. Mira continued that she was looking forward to eating, and Floedina enthusiastically answered that she’d whip up the ultimate meal.

Then, shifting her gaze toward the plot directly in front of her, Mira changed the subject and asked, “By the way, there doesn’t seem to be anything growing over here. What’s the deal?”

“Ah, this plot…” Floedina began. Then, a somewhat troubled look appeared on her face and she continued, “Actually…”

According to Floedina, the empty plot was where she’d recently expanded the field.

“I managed to get some rare fruit, so I was getting ready to plant the seeds here, but…”

By chance, she’d gotten her hands on what was apparently a mythical fruit. Having only planted normal plants up until then, Floedina figured this might just be a perfect opportunity to try something new and plant something a little different, and so she immediately began by creating a space for them to grow.

However, while she was doing so, Christina talked Selestina and Elievina into eating them for a snack.

“I should’ve stored them somewhere special, instead of just in the cabinet…”

Floedina admitted that it’d been her fault for putting them on the shelf where they usually kept fruit, but a bitter smile crept onto her face as she questioned how insatiable of an appetite her sisters must have had to unhesitatingly scarf down fruit that they’d never seen before in their lives.

Additionally, it was fairly difficult to get one’s hands on the seeds of this rare fruit, as they had to be planted before they dried out. However, by the time she’d discovered the discarded seeds, they’d already dried out completely.

And so, the seeds that she’d planned on planting were no more. That said, after she’d gotten all ready to plant something outside of her comfort zone, planting something normally in the area she’d prepared didn’t quite sit well with her. Therefore, she was now searching for any other kinds of rare seeds.

“I see…” Mira said, not having expected the barren field to have such a backstory.

Surprised at the window she’d gotten into the sisters’ everyday lives, Mira felt slightly amused.

But right then, she remembered that she had just the thing.

“In that case, why don’t you try planting these?” Mira said, taking out several seeds.

They were the seeds she’d gotten when she was clearing the Ancient Underground City as she searched for Soul Howl.

There were still several facilities in operation, which had been started by a mysterious ancient civilization. They were the original strains of various kinds of fruit which had continued to be cultivated there. She’d come across several of the seeds, some of which belonged to fruits with incredible flavors, while others belonged to fruits so delicious that they left one in awe. Of these, she’d chosen the seeds of one particularly delicious fruit to take with her.

In terms of how special they were, they might very well have been even rarer than the seeds Floedina had originally planned on planting.

“These seeds are quite precious, though, so I imagine they’re pretty hard to grow. But I think it’d be more worth it to plant them than to just let this space go to waste.”

All of the seeds were grown in an automated facility, and so it’d likely be quite the challenge to grow them in a far-off land. It might not even be possible to get the seeds to sprout in such a different environment.

However, Floedina didn’t look one bit deterred. “Could I really have them?!” she said, her eyes glittering brightly as she stared at the seeds Mira was holding out.

“Hrm, no worries,” Mira confirmed.

“Thank you so much!” Floedina answered, reverently bowing down on one knee before she carefully took the seeds and put them in a bag.

“Ah, and one more thing…”

Thinking that she’d likely have trouble finding out what the seeds were just by sight, Mira handed Floedina several pieces of the same fruit that she still had.

Thanking Mira once more and taking them, Floedina looked inquisitively at the fruit, which she’d never before laid eyes on. Just how exactly would the seeds grow? Unable to resist the anticipation of finding out, Floedina looked toward the vacant patch with enthusiasm burning in her eyes.

Now, let us change scenes to a kitchen within the palace. It was about thirty-five feet wide and had a counter, over which one could see the dining hall. However, likely because it was still quite early, there wasn’t anyone in the dining hall.

Inside this very kitchen, Floedina stood skillfully preparing for that morning’s breakfast. This time, she needed to cook for Bruce and Mira, in addition to the seven sisters, and so she needed to prepare nine portions. The sight of her doing all of this alone made it seem like she was a warrior who’d come to do culinary battle.

Furthermore, there was someone next to her with a kitchen knife in hand. Indeed, it was Mira. Just like they’d planned, she was doing prep work for the tomato dish that Floedina would be making. However, it was nothing terribly difficult. Floedina had tasked Mira with the simple job of chopping the tomatoes.

“How does this look?” Mira asked.

Still not very used to cooking, she wasn’t terribly sure of herself. However, figuring that she could master it so long as all she had to do was cut, she’d finished slicing all the tomatoes.

“They look perfect, Master. Thank you.”

Adding that it was no problem if they weren’t all the exact same size, Floedina took the bowl with the tomatoes in it. From there on out, it was her time to shine, and so Mira stayed put and started working on her other objective.

Mira quietly watched Floedina as she cooked up a storm. Recently, she’d gotten by on ready-made food, but it was often said that, for adventurers, nothing beat camping and cooking up meals in the wilderness.

Therefore, as a separate task from their original operation, Mira had asked Floedina to teach her how to cook.

“If you let it boil, then all the taste will disappear, so you need to be careful… You have to adjust how much you cook it depending on the size of the cut of meat… If you take off too much of the soup scum, then you end up taking out some of the flavor too…” Floedina said.

Rattling off cooking advice while she prepared the food, Floedina moved as though she were in a frenzy. And yet, she noted every important aspect as well as everything Mira might want to be careful of while finishing the dish with ease. Looking as if she hadn’t even broken a sweat and perhaps glad that she’d been able to help teach her master, she looked positively exuberant.

“Hrmm… Yes, I see…” Mira said, feverishly trying to jot down every piece of advice that Floedina hurled at her.

In the beginning, she’d planned on having Floedina teach her while she helped. However, judging from how Floedina was working, Mira had decided that she’d most likely just be getting in the way rather than helping. Therefore, she’d decided to hold off and simply watch and listen. And yet, while watching Floedina as she finished cooking multiple dishes all at the same time, Mira thought to herself…

I don’t think any of this will help me at all…

Because she had so many years of cooking experience, Floedina knew exactly what to do and when, and she demonstrated all kinds of cooking techniques, such that Mira’s eyes could no longer even keep up with everything going on. Mira smiled wryly to herself and wondered how many years, or even decades, of culinary training she’d need to learn such skills.

That said, there were some techniques and tricks that she could use right away, and these were precisely what Mira focused on jotting down.

“Oh ho, it’s finally time, huh?”

And so, while Mira continued taking notes, things continued smoothly as Floedina went on placing finished plate after finished plate onto the counter. She then finished cooking the dish that used the specially selected tomatoes before finally bringing out the ingredients necessary to make the dish that Mira had requested. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the air as Floedina took out the bread she’d prepared to make Mira’s French toast.

Ordinarily, one made French toast by putting eggs and milk in a bowl, mixing in sugar and vanilla extract, dipping the bread into the mixture, and finally cooking it on the stove.

Knowing more or less how one made French toast, Mira looked on while thinking to herself that it ought to be made the same way.

Then, the prized uzofnir egg that Floedina had spoken of the night before made its appearance. The egg was about the size of a child’s head, and it even gave off a faint glow.

It almost looks holy… Is it really okay to eat…?

Standing before the egg, which looked like it might house some incredible lifeform, Mira hesitated a moment. And yet, Floedina paid her no mind whatsoever and broke the egg with a loud crack. And, not soon after, the uzofnir egg had become the egg mixture used to create the French toast.

Now all she had to do was dip the bread in the mixture and cook it. No longer sweating the details, Mira moved her attention toward the French toast which would soon be ready. However, she was left scratching her head as she saw things suddenly going in a different direction than she’d expected.

Oddly enough, Floedina had begun tearing the freshly baked bread into small pieces. Not only that, she even started crushing some of them into bread crumbs.

This was so different from the way in which Mira knew how to make French toast that she was left completely bemused. However, it was Floedina the culinary expert doing all this, and so Mira silently watched as she continued.

Floedina then dumped the bread crumbs as well as the torn-up pieces of bread into the egg mixture, and, moments later, all of the mixture had been absorbed.

The next thing that she brought out was a square pan, which she then poured the egg-bread mixture into and started cooking, as if she were making tamagoyaki. She even put cheese in between each layer for a tasty little surprise.

Oh ho! Would you look at that… That is most definitely French toast!

Floedina cooked portion after portion of the French toast, which was thicker than any Mira had ever seen. Normally, if one cooked such thick French toast, the egg mixture would never reach the middle of the bread. However, this wasn’t the case with the way Floedina had made it. The egg mixture had been absorbed into the entire thing, and so the center of her French toast was soft and velvety, almost like pudding.

Chapter 26

LOOKING FORWARD TO DIGGING IN, Mira followed the finished plates of French toast with her eyes as they lined the counter. And right as she did, the door to the dining hall, which was opposite her, suddenly opened.

The very first person to come in was Alfina. Garbed in fairly plain clothes, she began, “Looks like you’ve had a busy morning, Floedina,” and immediately started to clean the tables. This must have been their normal morning routine. Floedina then replied, “Good morning, Alfina,” before glancing over at Mira with a somewhat impish smile.

“Oh my, it looks like you’ve got a rather special breakfast in store for us today, huh?” Alfina said, coming over to the counter and looking at the French toast lined atop it after she finished cleaning the tables.

It seemed that the French toast was somewhat of a rare treat for the sisters. As Mira later learned, they almost never ate anything sweet for any of their meals.

Additionally, the pot containing the tomato dish was still sitting in the middle of the kitchen, and so Alfina had yet to see it.

“I made these for Master after asking what she wanted. I made them with an uzofnir egg, so they’ll be perfect for filling us with energy first thing in the morning!” Floedina answered. And not a second later, Alfina’s expression brightened.

“I see, so that’s why. Great job, Floedina!”

Alfina very much gave her seal of approval to Floedina for both going out of her way to think about their master and working hard for her from the day before. She must’ve felt quite proud of her sister for having worked hard to please their master on her own initiative. And so, positively brimming with pride, Alfina brought the food to the tables while thinking about how their master would certainly be very happy with Floedina’s cooking.

I’m not quite sure how best to put it, but this sure does feel weird…

Alfina’s devotion to her master seemed unchanged, even in everyday life when she wasn’t around. As she carried the food, she hurried about preparing breakfast while muttering things like “Master ought to sit here…” and “And what should I get her for a drink…?” What’s more, while trying to select the most delicious-looking French toast for Mira to have, she looked more intensely focused than she did when facing off against a fiend.

Just about unable to bear any more of Alfina bending over backward for her, Mira poked her head out of the kitchen and called out, “…Agh, Alfina. You don’t need to do all that.”

Perhaps because this was a little too unexpected, Alfina was taken completely aback. Hearing her voice, Alfina turned around immediately and cried out, “Master?!” wildly. It was one of the rare moments when she let her perpetually calm and collected mask slip. Seeing her sister like this, a small, mischievous grin crossed Floedina’s face.

“Good morning, Master. I didn’t know you were here, so I apologize for not greeting you earlier.”

Having been staring at the plates of French toast as a predator might eye its prey, Alfina hurriedly straightened up and bowed to Mira with perfect form.

“Hrm, morning, Alfina. And no need to worry. I was the one who waited to say hello.”

If anything, Mira was just happy to have seen Alfina in her natural state when she wasn’t trying to impress her. Alfina, meanwhile, replied, “That isn’t true!” while glaring at Floedina standing in the kitchen.

Pretending not to notice, Floedina began tidying up the kitchen.

“So you want to learn how to cook…?!”

Alfina appeared to be extremely interested in why Mira was in the kitchen, and so they gave her a quick rundown on the situation, at which point a look of both astonishment and jealousy flashed across her face. It seemed she felt jealous of Floedina for showing off her chops even outside of battle.

They had explained to Alfina that Mira was there to learn about cooking. When she heard Mira testify that Floedina was indeed quite the chef, a proud yet somewhat envious light flashed into Alfina’s eyes as she declared that her sister was indeed the best chef in all of Valhalla.

“Good morning. Ah… Master! Good morniiing!”

While this was all going on, Christina arrived in the dining hall. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed first thing in the morning, she hurried over as soon as she caught sight of Mira. Then, realizing that Mira was in the kitchen, her hopes soared high. “Could it be that you made breakfast this morning, Master?!”

“No, I was just learning from Floedina.”

Hearing this, Christina answered, “Ah, is that right?” Her shoulders dropped and she looked very clearly let down. However, Floedina wasn’t about to take this lying down.

“Well now, do you have some issue with my cooking?” Floedina asked, hiding her anger behind a smile and staring daggers at Christina.

Thinking back on what she’d said, Christina seemed to realize that she’d made it sound like she was complaining about Floedina’s cooking.

“No, that isn’t what I meant. I just thought it’d be so great to taste Master’s homemade cooking. That’s all…” Christina said.

To her, Floedina was the one responsible for making all of their meals, and so she was the person Christina least wanted to rub the wrong way (after Alfina, of course). And so, retreating a few steps, she strung together excuses in the hopes of resolving the situation amicably.

“Yes, that would be nice.”

While it had been a somewhat desperate attempt at an excuse seeing as it involved their master, it struck a chord with Alfina and successfully got her to sign on. Perhaps thanks to this, Floedina’s wrath subsided. Breathing a sigh of relief, Christina then caught sight of something else.

“Ah, is this…?!” she cried, running over with her eyes glittering.

Before her sat the plates of French toast which lined the tables.

Having seen Mira in the kitchen, Christina had been looking forward to seeing sweet food on the table.

Having a huge sweet tooth, she was always on the lookout for sugary snacks. And in order to get her hands on such things, she’d picked up some skills so extraordinary that she could even weave her way through very strict security and surveillance measures as she strove to get her hands on delectably sweet fruit.

However, this only satisfied her to a point. After all, fresh fruit was great, but it couldn’t really compare to the kind of sugary thrill one got from eating things as sweet as cake or pudding.

But just like Alfina had implied earlier, sweet things were only very rarely on the menu. And yet, would this still be the case if things were a little different than normal? This was precisely the kind of hope that one could glean from Christina’s earlier words.

She couldn’t help fantasizing about how they might very well dine on pancakes or waffles if the sweet-toothed Mira made breakfast.

And now, sitting before the incredibly famished Christina were plates of the very type of sweet food she’d been fantasizing about! You can very well imagine how she must’ve felt when she laid eyes on the French toast.

“That’s what Master requested for breakfast,” Floedina informed her, at which point Christina’s face grew even brighter.

“I should’ve expected as much, Master! But yes, indeed. This is a real breakfast!” she said, heavily implying that she hoped French toast would become a breakfast staple. “It’s nice to have stuff like this sometimes,” Floedina agreed.

Both of their words were aimed rather squarely at Alfina. It seemed she was the reason why sweet food wasn’t often on the menu.

“Yes, you’re probably right.”

First and foremost, the dish was the one that Mira, their master, had requested. Since she was completely devoted to her master, it seemed as if Alfina was now reconsidering her thoughts on the matter.

“Um, uh… This one looks like it’s the biggest! I think I’ll grab it!”

Her eyes sparkling and displaying unparalleled focus as she appraised the plates of French toast, Christina and her expert eye for sweets showed their stuff. While still within the margin of error, she chose the plate of French toast that did indeed look to be the biggest and then pranced over to her seat with plate in hand.

“Hey, Christina! We still haven’t gotten our Master’s plate ready…” Alfina said, making to scold Christina, who was all smiles.

Mira stepped in and said, “It’s fine,” staying her wrath. “Floedina did make all of them, after all, so I’m sure each of them is equally delectable,” she continued.

Hearing this, Floedina smiled self-consciously, and Alfina appeared to decide that this was probably true and let it go. She had done something very similar not too long ago, but she seemed to have chosen to forget that it had ever happened.

“Good morning… Huh? Ah, Master?! Good morning!”

“Oh my, good morning, Master. Alfina and Floedina are here too. Wow, Christina is as well.”

A moment after coming to Christina’s rescue, the fourth sister, Charwiena, entered the dining hall along with the second-eldest sister, Elezina.

“Hrm, morning.”

After they greeted each other like this, Mira suddenly realized something. Charwiena had stayed up very late. It must have been because of the manga that Mira had lent her the night before. She’d come looking half-asleep, but when she saw Mira, she’d woken right up. It was as if she were desperately trying to hide the fact that she hadn’t kept her promise to Mira that she wouldn’t stay up all night reading.

Jeez, guess there’s no helping it…

That said, Mira knew full well just how impossible to resist manga could be, and so she decided to let it slide this time and moved her gaze elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Elezina, who had most likely begun working on her new arrows the night before, didn’t seem sleep-deprived whatsoever. She bowed with grace and poise, in an incredibly ladylike fashion.

She must’ve been quite good at balancing rest with research. Impressed, Mira nevertheless failed to notice the slight bags under Elezina’s eyes, perhaps because she’d been able to cover them up so well.

“Ah, I smell something kind of sweet.”

“Oh wow, you’re right. I wonder what the deal is?”

Perhaps because of their particularly sharp senses, Charwiena and Elezina had managed to quickly pick up a scent that would normally be impossible to detect. Then, when they soon caught sight of the French toast, both girls’ eyes lit up.

“Are we really having something sweet for breakfast…?!”

“Wow, that’s fantastic!”

It certainly seemed that Christina wasn’t the only one who was famished. Seeing the sweet treats in front of them, they also trembled while they both rejoiced at this unexpected miracle.

Seizing the opportunity, Christina declared, “This is the result of bringing Master’s request to life!” and eagerly explained to the two why plates of sugary-filled French toast lined the tables. Most importantly, their magnanimous master had requested the sweet dish so as to give all of them a good boost of morning energy.

Elezina seemed to understand the assignment. “Of course, Master did. But that’s true. Eating something sugary and delicious in the morning does indeed provide one with energy. If we had dessert and stuff, not only today either, we could probably work even harder, don’t you think?” Elezina agreed, with a modest smile on her face.

“It’s enough to make you think that getting a moderate amount of sugar in the morning might be good for body and mind,” Charwiena said, also picking up on what was going on and throwing her support in as well. None of them wanted this sugary miracle which Mira had brought about to be a one-time deal.

Without even needing to plan it out beforehand, Christina, Elezina, Christina, and even Floedina all began conspiring together to make sugary treats a daily staple. Choosing, most of all, to rally around the flag that it was what Mira wanted, they started indirectly alluding to the need for sugary treats in one’s diet. Their strategy seemed to be aimed at guiding Alfina into lifting the ban on sugary food of her own volition, without having to explicitly appeal to her.

“You guys sure are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”

“Did something happen?”

The fifth sister, Elievina, and the sixth sister, Selestina, poked their heads into the dining hall while everyone was busy chatting about the sugary breakfast. Giving a start when they saw Mira in the kitchen, the two then bowed and looked around to see what everyone was so excited about.

The tables were already lined with everyone’s plates, and so the sisters excitedly chatted about sugary treats and whatnot, their plan apparently progressing quite steadily.

It was then that Christina spoke as if delivering a divine proclamation about what was going on.

And, sure enough, the pair seemed to pick up on the gravity of the situation. They started discussing how, while too much sugar was indeed a problem, a certain amount was beneficial.

I kinda just wanna dig into my French toast, but it seems like this has become a pretty big deal…

The six younger sisters were speaking in unison while attempting to convince the eldest one, Alfina, to change course on her blanket ban on sweets. As far as she could tell, the sweetest thing they ever got was fruit, and they only got that on rare occasions. It seemed to have been at least a decade since they’d had any proper sweet food, like the French toast they had sitting in front of them now.

Mira never could’ve imagined that sweet food, which she enjoyed on a daily basis, could be such a rare treat for the sisters. Astonished by this, she wondered if she’d perhaps asked for the French toast a bit too carelessly. It was just that she herself had always loved sweet food. And so, if anything, she found herself sympathizing more with the younger sisters.

Alfina remained silent as her younger sisters preached the merits of sweet food. While this was going on, Mira suddenly asked, “By the way, I’m curious. Why exactly are sweets off limits?”

If sweets hadn’t graced the dining table in over a decade, that meant they had been there earlier. So, how had things gotten this way? Mira wanted to know why.

“Um, well, it happened a long time ago, so why don’t we just forget about it… More importantly, let’s talk about now. Now!” said Christina, the first person to respond to Mira’s query.

According to her, what happened before wasn’t as important as the present moment and the days ahead. She must’ve been incredibly desperate to get sweets back on the menu, as she continued on like some kind of con artist—or rather, some kind of philosophy professor—about the importance of the future.

To be perfectly honest, she was making a fair point, but it seemed crystal clear that she was just attempting to change the subject so as to avoid talking about the past.

“So, how did it all start?” Mira asked Alfina, paying no mind to Christina’s excuses. After thinking for a moment, she began by saying, “I’m ashamed to say it, as it’ll bring to light my sisters’ shame, but…” Then she explained the reason. At this point, Christina started protesting, but the other sisters quieted her down. And, for some reason, the vibe coming from the sisters felt like one of resignation.

“It all happened seventeen years ago, when Floedina’s cooking skills really began to take off.”

The Valhalla they were in was located on a separate plane from that of the surface realm. However, there were rare occasions when various goods made their way there from the surface. Alfina continued that one of these things had been a single book which made a huge impact on their diet.

“Yes, you could even say that that book is one of the main reasons for my cooking being what it is today,” Floedina interjected. When Mira asked what exactly this book that’d helped Floedina develop her cooking chops was, Floedina grabbed the very book itself from a corner of the kitchen.

“I wouldn’t have expected it to be one of these…”

About as hefty as a dictionary and yet looking as if it were handmade, the book was in fact a proper cookbook. Inside, it had neatly written recipes for how to cook all kinds of food, from simple, stand-alone dishes to full meals, as well as recipes that one could quickly whip up in addition to ones that were much more involved. But most conspicuous of all was the sheer amount of dessert and confectionery recipes. The author of the book must have been a former player who loved sweets, as there weren’t just recipes on how to make Japanese sweets, but ones for sweets from all over the world, all written very neatly in the book’s pages.

“This is pretty incredible.”

In addition to its comprehensiveness, the recipes were written so clearly that even someone like Mira could easily understand them.

There were some sweets that Mira had never even seen before that she still thought she could whip up. Since she was in charge of making her sisters’ meals and a fairly big fan of cooking, Floedina apparently couldn’t resist trying her hand at making the recipes inside it.

“Thinking back, things weren’t quite normal back then. Because, whether it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner, our table was always filled with sugary dishes,” Alfina said as she thought back with a chagrined look washing across her face.

In short, since she’d gotten her hands on the cookbook, Floedina had apparently cooked things like sweets every single day. Furthermore, Floedina herself said she’d been intent on cooking up every single recipe in the book.

And so, they ate dessert after every single meal. Not only that, she even gave them sugary snacks to munch on while they took breaks during training. And yet, after completing every recipe in the cookbook, Floedina continued making their favorite sugary treats from it.

“Back then, I was completely obsessed with cooking and eating. And so, before I realized it…” Floedina said, her eyes looking far off as she recalled to herself what’d happened.

Apparently, after this had gone on for a while, every one of the sisters except for Alfina had grown quite a bit plumper than they were now.

“But… I mean, every single day we had such delicious food!”

“Back then…we couldn’t possibly resist the temptation.”

Elievina and Selestina interjected, hanging their heads in shame as if they were now rather disappointed in themselves when they thought back on that time. As they told Mira, while some of the sisters became plumper than others, it was those two and Christina who were hit the hardest. This was particularly true for Christina, who was a prolific eater.

“It was all Floedina’s fault!” Christina shouted, her dark secret now exposed. And, laying the blame entirely at Floedina’s feet for having made too many delectable treats, she began asserting that she was in fact a victim.

This may have been a fairly irrational take, but more than half of the sisters had agreed, and so they deemed sweets to be off limits.

“I see… So that’s what happened. So…you said you got heavier, but just how much heavier exactly?”

The sisters were currently quite slim, so much that Mira never would’ve expected that to have been the case. So, just how much weight had the girls gained during this period which seemed so painful for them to revisit? After all, different people defined gaining too much weight in different ways, so it was actually quite vague. And so, simply curious, Mira came right out and asked. Just how much did they gain?

Now, one might very well say that asking a girl such a thing is strictly off limits. And if Mira hadn’t looked like a young girl and if she hadn’t been the sisters’ master, then they would’ve simply written off the question as being disrespectful and refused to answer.

“Well…”

However, she did look like a young girl, and she was their master, and so Alfina disclosed the answer.

Elezina, Floedina, and Charwiena had all gained a little over ten pounds. Elievina and Selestina had gained about fifteen. Or so Alfina reported matter-of-factly. Every time she uttered one of the sisters’ names, the sister in question would grimace. And finally, she uttered the very last name.

“And Christina… She gained closer to thirty-five pounds.”

This must’ve been pretty bad, as Alfina heaved a sigh as she spoke even though she’d talked very matter-of-factly the entire time. A second later, a cry of “Nooo” tore through the air. Without needing to check, Mira knew immediately that the pained shriek had belonged to Christina.

In short, the reason for the blanket ban on sugary foods was for the sake of dieting.

Since then, Floedina had been forbidden from making any sugary delights, and so such sugary foods no longer made their way to the dining table. Additionally, alongside the diet, there’d been a special training regimen added to their normal training session. Alfina had been eating the exact same food as her sisters, and yet she hadn’t gained any weight because she always subjected herself to even more grueling training than her sisters. And so, this explained the addition of the special training session to their usual regimen.

“Hrmm… So that’s what happened, huh?”

Given that she now knew the reason behind the absence of sugary foods from the sisters’ diet, Mira couldn’t help but agree with Alfina.

“Aww… Masterrr…” Christina said mournfully, as the air was filled with groans from the other sisters, disappointed that Mira, their only hope, had taken Alfina’s side.

However, hope wasn’t completely gone.

“It seems like you had no choice but to cut out sugary food. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that that still needs to be the case, no?”

According to their story, the whole incident with them getting fat from eating too many sugary snacks happened over a decade ago. And the sisters were now quite vocal in their displeasure about this ban on sweets and the continued special training. Knowing this, Mira suggested something to Alfina. She pointed out that the diet had been a success, and that they were now all in very good shape. Therefore, so long as they continued the diet and training, wouldn’t it be okay to have the occasional sugary treat once a day, two or three days a week?

“Eating sugary food for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack, like you guys did back then, isn’t normal by any stretch of the imagination. So of course you gained weight. But if you pay closer attention to just how much you’re consuming, then you won’t get fat all of a sudden.”

Understandably feeling bad for the sisters, Mira continued trying to convince Alfina, buoyed by the younger sisters’ unspoken support. That is, trying to convince the eldest sister that sweets were nutritious for the soul.

“Yes, what you’re saying is correct, Master… We can probably have them in moderation now.”

Not surprisingly, being that it was Alfina, Mira’s words seemed to be particularly impactful. She then answered that she’d talk with Floedina about occasionally incorporating sugary food into their meals from now on.

The moment she did, an exuberant cheer went up from the younger sisters, led by Christina. Alfina looked astonished to see this, and yet a rather warm smile also played on her lips. Meanwhile, Mira chuckled softly to herself as she took in this whole scene.

Chapter 27

“WOW, IT’S FIRST THING in the morning, but you guys are already fired up. Did something happen?”

Now that a ray of hope had broken though the desolate clouds of their sugar-free diet, the dining hall was overflowing with mirth. Having come quite a bit late, Bruce poked his head inside inquisitively.

“Naaah, we were just chatting a bit about food…”

Quite a lot had gone down, but now sweet food had finally made its return to the menu. After quickly explaining as much to Bruce, Mira took her seat, signaling that the meal would soon begin. And with their master having taken her seat, the sisters quickly followed suit. The vibe of the room, which had previously been something like a victory celebration, changed completely as the dining hall was transformed into a quiet breakfast space.

Seeming to not quite understand what was going on, Bruce said, “Sweet stuff for breakfast?” But, looking at the French toast sitting on the tables, he smiled and added, “My favorite!”

“And for soup, we’ll be having vegetable salad stew,” Floedina said, bringing over the pot from the kitchen. It contained the special stew which was infused with the savory flavor of both meat and vegetables.

She then put a plate at each table and began pouring the stew into each one. Perhaps it was all in Mira’s head, but her hand looked a little tense.

But wow, this is my first time seeing anything like this.

Salad stew was one of Floedina’s original dishes. It consisted of various vegetables that were cubed into about the size of small dice, which were then piled high and topped with a stew made of beef stock in place of dressing, making it both light and rich.

The first time she heard about it, Mira was rather surprised. However, it seemed that the sisters considered such food to be a fairly luxurious option for breakfast. And having vegetable salad stew in addition to the sweet French toast seemed to have put them in a particularly good mood.

Going to each and every table in turn, Floedina poured the stew onto the plates. While she was doing so, Christina proclaimed, “I’ll have extra meat!” When this resulted in her getting extra tomatoes, she looked stunned.

Yes, tomatoes. While the French toast had usurped the conversation, the vegetable salad stew was in fact the star of Floedina’s main breakfast quest of “Operation Get Alfina to Like Tomatoes.”

Unlike her normal recipe, this time the stew had heaps of tomatoes. Stewed to perfection and soft as could be, the tomatoes were ripe for the eating. And yet, as they’d been cut into large pieces, the emphasis on them was readily apparent.

Finally, the stew made its way to Alfina and was poured onto her plate. And, at that very second, a very visible change came over her normally cool and collected countenance.

I’d heard she wasn’t a fan of tomatoes… But she must really not be a fan…

Watching to see what kind of reaction she’d have, Mira perceived a very definite change in Alfina. Her dislike of tomatoes, as well as her contempt for Floedina, who knew of this very dislike and yet had served them to her nonetheless, flickered clearly in her eyes.

Floedina’s doing a good job of keeping her composure.

Despite the daggers being stared at her by Alfina, Floedina kept her cool and said, “There is still a little bit left,” before putting the pot down. However, as if she was suddenly hit by a wave of terror after sitting down, she shuddered as the smile fell from her face.

Locking eyes with Floedina, Mira silently conveyed that she was proud of her for a job well done and nodded as if to say she could leave the rest to her.

Seeing Mira reassure her, Floedina smiled faintly as if to suggest that it was now her turn as what remained of her strength drained from her body.

“It’s sweet… It’s so sweet…!”

As soon as breakfast began, not only Elievina and Elezina but every single one of the sisters immediately dug into the French toast and shivered in delight as they basked in the sugary goodness. Despite what she might say, Alfina seemed to like sweet things as well, as her face lit up faintly and a smile broke upon her face.

It was a sweet and delicious breakfast dish. And yet, it wasn’t one that you could sum up nicely with just a word or two. The bread had been specially cooked using an extraordinarily rare type of egg, and having been prepared with a special cooking method, the French toast was on a whole different level than anything that Mira could’ve expected.

“Whoa, this is super tasty!” Mira said, needing only a single bite to understand that it was nothing like the French toast she’d eaten before then. Because some time had passed since it’d been freshly cooked, it’d cooled down and therefore tasted even more pudding-like. At this point, it almost felt more like dessert than breakfast food.

And so, after they hadn’t tasted any such sugary thing in well over a decade, this particular French toast was the perfect dish to celebrate the end of their prohibition on sweets.

Slowly, Elezina savored each and every bite.

Floedina looked extremely pleased with herself for having cooked the dish.

Charwiena was delighted not only by how it tasted, but by its pudding-like texture.

Elievina, who looked as if she couldn’t understand why everyone was making such a big fuss over a simple piece of French toast, was nevertheless celebrating on the inside.

Selestina seemed to want to save the best for last, as she began quickly scarfing down the rest of her breakfast after taking but a single bite.

Then there was Christina who, having already polished off her French toast, was now eagerly eyeing Selestina’s plate. However, her opponent was the weapons master, Selestina, in whose hands even a humble butter knife was a deadly weapon. And so, if she made any move toward Selestina’s plate, she’d likely regret it the very next second.

However, Selestina didn’t seem to really have her guard up. And so, Christina gently moved only her vegetables to Selestina’s plate.

Long-repressed feelings and emotions swirled throughout the dining hall when Bruce, who didn’t understand what all the commotion was about, jauntily said, “This really is something else.”

And so, things went on like this until breakfast was about half over. Everyone had their own ways of consuming the breakfast, but just about everyone had dug into all of it. That was when Mira noticed something. One of the sisters, namely Alfina, had yet to touch her salad stew.

That isn’t good…

While she slowly ate her breakfast, Alfina kept occasionally shooting Floedina angry glances, as if to ask what the big deal was. Every time she did, Floedina would turn her gaze toward Mira, pleading with her to come to her aid.

The timing of the operation had been left in Mira’s hands, as they’d predicted that Floedina would be unable to act at times like this. But most importantly, it was best if Mira were to be the one to act, as she wielded the most influence over Alfina.

She said she was pretty confident going in, but she really put her money where her mouth is with this vegetable salad stew or whatever she called it.

Trying to figure out the best time to begin the operation, Mira took another bite of the salad stew.

Having added locally grown potatoes to thicken the soup, which contained vegetables, various spices, and meat that’d been allowed to slowly simmer, Floedina had put her all into the stew. She’d then poured this onto freshly picked vegetables cut into dice-sized cubes. While it was a very hearty dish, it was nevertheless delicately balanced. She’d used just the right amount of spice, and the sweetness from the tomatoes made it that much better, so that it pushed everything in the dish to even greater heights when it mixed with the vegetables.

This is sure to be a hit even with someone who dislikes tomatoes.

Mira felt that the salad stew stood a very good chance of helping them accomplish their mission. Just like Floedina had said, if someone took but a single bite of it, they’d surely take another and then another.

The issue was getting Alfina to take that first bite. From what she could tell, Alfina wouldn’t even look at it, much less take a bite of it. And so, she poured pressure on Floedina by staring at her as if to ask what the big idea was.

Now, perhaps for this very reason, Floedina had barely touched her breakfast.

As she silently beseeched Mira for the umpteenth time, her face was as white as a ghost. She probably couldn’t hold out much longer.

Your kindness will be rewarded.

Floedina had known all along that this would cause Alfina to pour such pressure on her, but she’d nevertheless been determined to help her overcome her dislike of tomatoes. Knowing this full well, Mira finally nodded back, ready to begin the operation.

Right then, Christina, who had nothing whatsoever to do with their operation, stood up with her empty plate in hand. Walking lightly, she made her way straight to the stew pot.

“The meat was a bit heavier, so there’s quite a bit of it at the bottom of the pot!” she said.

Apparently, she’d moved on from Selestina’s French toast and now had her eyes on getting a second portion of stew meat. Opening the lid to the stew pot with ladle in hand, she began scooping out stew from the bottom of the pot. And, just like she’d planned, she scooped out chunk after chunk of meat that’d sunk to the bottom of the pot.

“Hey, seeee?” Christina said, with a plate piled high with meat in her hand and a joyful grin on her face, in what was a refreshingly honest and unadulterated act of gluttony.

But Mira realized that this was a perfect opportunity. Flashing a bold smile, she said, “Come now, Christina. How about taking some more vegetables as well, instead of just meat? Ya know, I saw you moving most of your vegetables onto Selestina’s plate.”

Watching as Mira stood up after saying this, Christina cried, “Hngh!” and shuddered. And just a second later, with all eyes in the room now trained on her, Christina felt as if she were sitting on a bed of nails.

“I thought I had a lot of vegetables for some reason. So that’s what was going on…” Selestina, the victim of the crime, said. And, picking up her plate of vegetable salad stew, she shot Christina an icy glare.

If anything, it was odd that she hadn’t noticed sooner. Maybe she’d been so busy looking forward to polishing off the rest of her French toast that she hadn’t even had a chance to notice.

And yet, Selestina didn’t seem to have any further punishment in mind for Christina.

Most of the other sisters simply shook their heads. The general consensus seemed to be that such things weren’t out of the ordinary when it came to Christina.

And right then, Mira made her next move.

“Hey, hand it over.”

Seizing the opportunity, Mira walked over to Christina with a grin and plucked the plate of meat from her. She then lifted the lid off of the pot and, ladle in hand, added a load of tomatoes right on top.

“You’ve got to eat your veggies, especially the tomatoes. I picked and chopped those myself. What do you think? Pretty tasty, right?”

Mira then held out the plate, which was now loaded with so many tomatoes that the meat was no longer even visible. Meanwhile, Christina hung her head in despair as she beheld what’d happened to her plate. But at that moment, a shocked voice cried out, “Huh? You did, Master?!”

It was Elievina. Having realized that the tomatoes had been chopped in a rather crude and un-Floedina-like way, she’d reacted quite quickly.

“Then it’d be a waste to not eat all of them,” she said with feigned concern, before standing up with bowl in hand and walking over.

“Oh ho, Elievina, you want some more tomatoes too, do you?” Mira said, grabbing her plate as well and turning to load it with tomatoes.

This rather surprised Elievina, who said, “Ah, Master, I can do that my…” inferring that she couldn’t allow Mira to wait on her. And so, smiling at the rather flustered Elievina, Mira said, “Don’t you worry, I’m already here,” before also loading her plate with plenty of meat and handing it back.

“Th-thank you,” Elievina said, happily taking the plate back. Then, when they saw this, the rest of the sisters all rose one by one.

“At this rate, we won’t have any trouble finishing off the whole pot.”

This was quite a rare opportunity, and so the sisters brought their bowls over so they might get some of the tomatoes that their master had both picked and prepared for them. While they weren’t quite as obsessed as Alfina, they were cut from the same fabric.

Meanwhile, Bruce had also managed to quietly slip in alongside the sisters. This was a rare opportunity for him as well, to be Served by Danblf, the One-Man Army, who happened to be one of the Nine Wise Men and someone he revered.

Alfina, who’d hadn’t moved an inch, finally acted when she saw Mira dishing out the stew. Sure enough, she then began to stare at the plate of vegetable salad stew, which she previously hadn’t even glanced at.

While she had been glaring rather harshly at Floedina, this time, she looked different. Looking as if she were a warrior who’d fixed her mind on her approaching death, she picked up her spoon. Then, raising her spoon up as the headsman might do with their axe, she scooped up a tomato. Looking as if she had no regrets, she opened her eyes wide and then took a bite with the same force as the headsman bringing down their axe.

She then chewed once, twice, and finally three times. Meanwhile, Floedina held her breath and watched her in suspense. She was confident that the dish she’d made would please even someone who disliked tomatoes, and yet, given that the one doing the tasting this time was a diehard tomato hater, she was still uneasy. Praying that she’d like it, Floedina watched for Alfina’s reaction.

So, had it worked? Even if it hadn’t been a success, they couldn’t know how she’d react. Or so Floedina worried until she saw the best possible reaction that she could’ve hoped for.

Swallowing the tomato and then taking a second and third bite, Alfina began wolfing down the salad stew.

“Yes, we did it!” Floedina exclaimed in a low voice, trembling with joy. The operation was an unparalleled success.

Image - 13

The plan that Mira and Floedina had come up with wasn’t to simply force Alfina to try tomatoes, but to entice her to eat them of her own volition.

And this was precisely why Floedina had requested Mira’s assistance. Given how devoted Alfina was to her master, she wouldn’t very likely be able to continue ignoring food that her master had helped make. What’s more, if she left the food on her plate without touching it, it’d undoubtedly sadden her master. In which case, Alfina had but a single option. She had to eat the tomatoes herself.

Floedina’s plan had been a success, and she’d gotten Alfina to take a bite. And having enticed her to take that very first bite, she could now let her cooking speak for itself and have Alfina learn just how delicious tomatoes were.

Moreover, Mira had quickly rolled with the punches and adjusted the plan, which had initially consisted of her and Floedina acting out a prearranged exchange, when the events with Christina transpired. Thanks to this, the operation had proceeded even more naturally than they’d initially planned, which left Floedina feeling incredibly relieved.

This was because, on the off chance that their operation was compromised, Floedina would be exposed as the mastermind behind the whole plot, and she could only imagine how difficult her life would become if that were to happen. And yet, with things now having resolved themselves without her and Mira needing to act out their little exchange, she no longer even had to use the line “But Master said she wanted to eat tomatoes,” which she’d been keeping as her ace in the hole.

Having polished off her salad stew in no time at all, Alfina immediately stood up and began trotting over to where Mira was doling out stew.

This isn’t quite what I expected to happen…

She’d planned on casually mentioning the tomatoes to get Alfina’s attention, but before she knew it, she’d become a lunch lady. Having finished pouring seconds for Bruce, who’d gotten in line after the sisters, Mira looked at the pot as if her work was just about done. There was just enough left for one last portion, with several tomato chunks and several pieces of meat lying at the bottom.

Well now, just like I planned!

Mira had held on to that ladle so that she could dole out the stew as she saw fit, thereby leaving a few choice morsels of meat for herself without anyone catching on to what she was doing.

However, because her other plan had gone off so well, this particular one wouldn’t end up being a success.

“Master… Could I have some more as well?” Alfina said, sounding somewhat modest and yet having a hopeful gleam in her eyes, as she approached Mira with plate in hand.

Looking up in surprise, Mira caught sight of Alfina’s face, as well as Floedina’s, who was sitting opposite her. And then Mira realized that, at some point, their operation to conquer Alfina’s dislike of tomatoes had succeeded. This was because Mira suddenly caught sight of Floedina doing a fist pump.

“Hrmm, yes, of course. Make sure you eat your fill.”

At any rate, if she’d helped get Alfina to overcome her dislike of tomatoes, then she was happy. Feeling proud of her, Mira took Alfina’s plate, dished out the remaining tomatoes and half of the remaining meat onto it, and handed it back.

“Thank you!” Alfina said, taking the plate and looking utterly overwhelmed with emotion. And yet, Mira’s next words just about made her pass out.

“But there isn’t much left, so we can split it,” Mira said before putting the remaining half in her bowl. This seemed to really strike a chord with Alfina.

“Ah, split food with Master…?”

It seemed that getting a half serving that she was sharing with her master was an even better treat than getting another full serving. Returning to her seat with a radiant look on her face, she began taking bite after bite as if she’d never disliked tomatoes in the first place.

Well now, that’s one case closed.

Mira thoroughly enjoyed the meat she’d gotten while she looked around at everyone enjoying themselves at their tables. And so, the whole group enjoyed a truly peaceful and relaxing breakfast.

Chapter 28

“THANK YOU VERY MUCH, Master!”

“What’re you talking about? It was all thanks to your cooking.”

After eating, Mira and Floedina held a secret meeting to celebrate their operation being a huge success. Floedina would now slowly start incorporating tomatoes into their meals, while keeping an eye on Alfina to see if she might be able to completely cure her of her dislike of them.

And so, after cleaning up from breakfast, they went about their day as usual. Contrary to Christina’s hopes, Mira told them to go about their normal business, and so the sisters began their usual training.

“All right. It should just about be time.”

Meanwhile, Mira went back down to the surface for a moment after leaving Bruce with one of her ashen knights so he could train with it.

Mira’s objective now was to hand the remaining fragments of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword over to Wallenstein.

At the moment, Mira was waiting on the wooden platform where Lunanlied and Fontiné had been playing a chess-like game. Idly enjoying a chocolat au lait, she took in the scenery.

On that note, now that they knew the Spirit King could indeed see them, the two spirits in charge of overseeing the area were rigorously patrolling it.

A ray of sun shone down through the great hole at the summit of the mountain onto a grassy field within. In the center of this field was a lake, and in the center of this lake sat a field of flowers. Once again taking in this view from the wooden platform beside the lake, Mira felt it was so spectacular that it might be considered a wonder of the natural world.

At last, she thought, she could kick back and really relax. As she waited, the moment she’d been waiting for finally came…

Beside Mira, a magic circle appeared. It slowly began to glow and, when it was fully formed, Wallenstein appeared from within it.

“Good morning. Did everything work out?”

“Hrm, morning. It worked out perfectly.”

Quickly greeting each other, the two immediately got down to business. After her confident reply to Wallenstein’s question, Mira handed over a bag that’d been sitting on the table. Inside it were all of the other fragments they’d gathered, which she’d then sealed. And with these, Wallenstein would have every last fragment of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword.

“So, how’s that girl… Etoto? After everything that happened, I hope she managed to get some rest.”

“Yes, well, perhaps because she’s with her mother again, she seems to have settled down quite a bit. Not only that, her mother is quite forward. When I got back, I found her sleeping there as if she owned the place. And she got up this morning, said she was going to help out, and started running around working.”

Liliella and the others had been tasked with protecting Etoto and her mother. According to Wallenstein’s report, things were going almost too well on that front.

Wallenstein had thought ahead quite a bit and considered how long it’d take to convince the pair, as well as how they’d need to find personnel to guard them.

However, all Etoto had to say was “Don’t worry,” and the girl’s mother readily agreed with Liliella and her companions’ proposition.

And now, today, unable to bear just sitting around being protected, her mother had begun helping out around the base.

Meanwhile, Etoto had apparently just met the other children there, who’d also come from circumstances like hers. Having learned of the hardship Etoto had been through, the other children wanted to make friends with her. Or so Wallenstein declared confidently.

“Hrmm, I see. Well, that’s a relief.”

It seemed Mira could safely say that the whole situation had settled down for the time being.

If they hadn’t ever noticed anything, then Etoto would’ve ended up the biggest victim. One could very well say that rescuing the girl, who had grown up a kind-hearted soul despite all the hardship she’d been through, had been the most important achievement of their current mission.

Hearing that this same girl was enjoying herself at their base, Mira felt a sense of relief from the very bottom of her heart.

“…By the way, there was something I was hoping to ask you,” Mira then began.

With curiosity, hope, and desire written across her face, she gently put her arm around Wallenstein and leaned toward him.

“Ya know, there might be another situation, like this last one, where my talents might be useful, don’t you think? There are plenty of ways I might be able to help, like getting advice from the Spirit King and whatnot. In that case, don’t you think that if you were to teach me how to warp, I could be more prepared if some situation comes up where it’d come in handy? So, Wallenstein. What do you say?” Mira whispered to Wallenstein after tightening her arm around him and pulling him closer, so as not to allow him to escape.

She was proposing that he teach her how to warp, so that if something came up on Wallenstein’s end, she could help out by lending them her fighting skills and know-how.

Indeed, Mira still hadn’t given up on learning to warp.

Previously, Wallenstein had said quite firmly that he’d been sworn to secrecy, and so he couldn’t talk about it. Therefore, Mira had given up for the time being. But after seeing once more just how useful it was with her own eyes, Mira couldn’t bear not to ask.

She had no idea who’d taught him nor who’d sworn him to secrecy. And so, Mira resorted to playing dirty, pressuring him by bringing the Spirit King into it. This was because the Spirit King’s name carried quite a bit of weight.

The Spirit King was someone whom no one could simply ignore, and so her plan was to use his authority for the sake of her own interests.

“…Ah, I thought you might bring that up,” Wallenstein sighed in answer to Mira, who wore an expression which seemed to say she was dangling both carrot and stick. And yet, having expected her to do so, he looked less fed up and more relieved to hear her finally bring it up.

He then continued, “And so, I went ahead and asked just how much I could tell you.”

He himself was one of the Nine Wise Men, and so he knew very well just how thirsty for knowledge one could be when it came to unfamiliar new spells. Or perhaps he simply had found it annoying that she’d bother him about it every time they met up.

Considering it was Mira, surely he should be allowed to talk about it. Predicting as much, he’d gone ahead and spoken with this mysterious personage.

“Oh ho, so we’re on the same page! So, tell me! What did they say?”

She might’ve expected as much of Wallenstein. Praising him and holding a hopeful look on her face, she leaned even further forward.

“For the time being, they told me I could share some information with you, so I’ll tell you everything I’m allowed to say…” Wallenstein said, pushing Mira back with his hand as if she’d gotten too close, before diving into the information that he’d gotten special permission to share.

First, given how important it was to know before using it, he mentioned just how dangerous the technique was.

“When you think of it as instantaneously traveling long distances, it doesn’t sound particularly dangerous. But it isn’t quite that simple.”

“Hrmm, do you mean, like, that whole thing with getting trapped inside a wall?”

These kinds of incidents were well-known to those versed in things like warping and teleportation. The idea was that someone would get the destination wrong and accidentally transport themselves directly inside of a wall.

Therefore, Mira answered quite proudly, already being well informed about such incidents. She then added that her solution would be to simply set her destination to the middle of the sky.

Normally, this would be a death sentence, but not so with Mira. She was able to run through the air using [Air Step] and could even just quickly summon Pegasus to scoop her up.

“Ah, it’d be nice if it were that easy. Actual teleportation isn’t quite that simple.”

Smiling bitterly because he’d had the same thoughts about it in the past, Wallenstein continued talking about the danger encompassing phenomena such as teleportation and warping.

“First of all, the warping technique we use can actually teleport us anywhere. However, we always use a marker as our teleportation destination. And so, without it, we can’t warp whatsoever. I gave you one of them earlier. It’s also imbued with magic that analyzes the area we will be using as a warping point, but its most important function is being a marker. So, why is the marker so important? It all has to do with the fact that we’re on the surface of a planet…”

The warping point marker also limited the range to which one could warp. If one could warp without using it, they could just warp wherever, which would be extremely useful.

However, Wallenstein informed Mira that this was the most dangerous part.

Curiously, he had used the word “planet.” This meant that they were currently on a planet that was floating in space, much like the Earth. This fact was readily evident simply by looking up at the stars in the sky.

And yet, Wallenstein continued that this was the very reason why warping was so dangerous.

By “warp,” he didn’t mean traveling from point A to point B instantaneously. Rather, one needed several seconds to use the technique, from when one used the spell to when it finished. Meanwhile, the planet they were on was hurtling through space at over three hundred and seventy miles a second.

“…As you know, Mira, a small amount of mana is placed wherever one activates a normal spell, and so none of this has any impact whatsoever. But one of the distinctive features of warping is that no such mana is ever placed. This is because, since you’re traveling hundreds or thousands of miles, there’s no way you can normally interact with the place to which you’re warping. So, let’s say that I set my destination to Nirvana, use the technique, and it only takes a second to get there. So, what would happen? Say I set the coordinates to point B—what happens at point B one second later?”

There were many spells, such as the use of summoning points, in which a mage needed to specify an activation point for their spell. Just like Wallenstein had mentioned, a small amount of mana was used to enable them to work.

However, it seemed that things worked differently when setting a warping point.

“The warping point is set so that one can instantaneously travel to that particular space, which means it’s a whole different beast. Furthermore, it uses a set of coordinates, rather than a particular location, which raises the issue of where point B will be one second later. It isn’t so much about calibrating to the movement of this planet, but rather finding a spot that’s three hundred and seventy miles from Nirvana, the location we specified,” Wallenstein said, bringing up two simple outcomes regarding warping points.

Depending on the rotation of the planet, as well as its place in orbit at that particular moment, the warping points could be three hundred and seventy miles in the sky or inside the planet.

Which, in either case, most likely meant death.

“…I see. You hear about teleportation and warping so often that I never really stopped to consider that kind of thing.”

There were plenty of works of fiction which featured people able to teleport from place to place and so on, but what kind of issues would come up when actually doing so? Now knowing one of these very issues, Mira was surprised, but she could also understand what he was saying and just how dangerous warping could be.

Or rather, she only felt like she understood it. Having explained all of this, Wallenstein then continued that there was another reason to be wary: Inertia.

Inertia was something that all physical objects possessed. Inertia, the tendency of an object to maintain its current state unless acted upon by an external force, could change wildly when affected by warping. Because warping violated several laws of physics, inertia was also temporarily negated as well.

“…Completing a warp while inertia is no longer active brings us back to what we said about the planet earlier,” Wallenstein concluded.

If there was no longer any inertia, someone who just suddenly appeared at point B would either smash into the surface going three hundred and seventy miles a second or be flung out into the firmament at the very same speed.

“Well, if that were to happen, you’d most likely burn up when reentering the atmosphere,” Wallenstein concluded with a chuckle. And this was why they needed a marker like the one he’d given Mira.

The marker not only analyzed the area surrounding the warping destination but also calculated its coordinates while the planet was in motion. It also restored inertia to the person warping once they’d finished warping.

“…These kinds of techniques are extremely dangerous, so there’s only so much I can tell you. And that’s all I was given permission to reveal. So, can you now understand why I can’t go around teaching it?” Wallenstein said to Mira, shooting her a quick glance. It was the kind of look which said that, inside, he wasn’t sure what to do if she didn’t relent.

In fact, Mira currently had the backing of the Spirit King, who was a being that transcended reality. And so, he strongly suspected he might be able to figure something out when it came to things like spatial coordinates and inertia.

And yet, in this case, Wallenstein emerged the victor.

“Hrmm… I guess you don’t have a choice, then…” Mira said, pulling back.

The reason she did this involved what the Spirit King had said. Apparently, such matters belonged to the domain of Rieslein, the progenitor spirit of space-time, and so they weren’t within the Spirit King’s area of expertise.

Judging from how dangerous it was, the risk of allowing a single individual to investigate such a thing as much as they pleased was far too high. Even though she knew this, Mira still hadn’t given up completely.

The progenitor spirit Rieslein, huh…? I heard that after leaving behind the Ring of Parting that I got before, they fell into a long sleep. But maybe if I use this, they’ll wake up…!

Recalling what she’d heard before from the Spirit King and Martel, Mira smirked in glee at having discovered a new lead.

After handing over the fragments of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword and learning of the dangers of warping…

“Heeey, Bruceee!”

After leaving Wallenstein, Mira once more returned to Valhalla. Finding Bruce face down on the floor of the training area, Mira gently tried waking him up.

Apparently, he’d fully completed his warm-up exercises along with the ashen knight that Mira had lent him. Judging from how exhausted he seemed, Mira had the feeling that he might’ve overdone it a bit, and yet it didn’t make much of a difference to her.

“All right, how about we get started?” Mira said with a smile the moment Bruce awoke, before handing him a mana potion. Indeed, they were to begin their special training right there and then.

Staggering to his feet, Bruce grabbed the mana potion, then downed it and enthusiastically replied, “Let’s… Let’s do it!”

He’d been completely worn out, and yet the prospect of undergoing intensive training from one of the Nine Wise Men had seemingly given him his second wind.

And so, they began Mira’s intensive training on how to use partial evocation in combat. They were both equipped with gear and stocked with potions that’d help regenerate mana, and the training was nonstop.

Closely watching the spells that Bruce cast, Mira checked their composition and flow while giving pointers as he went. She instructed Bruce this way because he was already so well-versed in evocation, and his techniques became visibly more and more polished as they went.

Hrm, indeed. As one would expect of one of my tower mages, he excels in every way.

Surely, if he continued growing at this rate, he’d be able to do very well in the tournament. Mira was so convinced of this that she started thinking he ought to make it through to the very end rather than just doing very well.

That said, this was difficult considering that Meilin would be participating as well. In which case, he ought to at least make it to the finals so as to show off just what evocation was capable of.

Thinking as much, Mira considered Bruce’s combat prowess once again. Against the type of goons or adventurers that one often ran into, he possessed unrivalled skills. Belonging to one of the towers, Bruce was a mage who could very well be considered one of the best of the best, and so he wouldn’t likely go down easily.

However, word of this tournament that he’d be participating in had already spread to every corner of the continent, and so a good number of the strongest contestants in the land would most likely be there.

“By the way, Bruce. Just how strong are the Valkyrie sisters you made a contract with?” Mira asked, as if suddenly curious. When it came to powerful summons, Valkyries were near the very top of the list. They were powerful enough that they could well be considered a summoner’s ace in the hole.

And yet, she had one concern. That was just how strong they were at the moment.

Back when Mira had made her contract, Alfina and her sisters could’ve well been considered to only be of middling power. That said, while they were much stronger than most warriors, they weren’t quite strong enough to make it to the finals of such a tournament.

And yet, because they’d fought alongside Danblf on the battlefield, they were now the most powerful Valkyries in Valhalla.

Meanwhile, Bruce had only just made a contract with his Valkyries. And so, all the growing and evolving that they’d be doing together still lay before them. Therefore, Mira was curious as to whether they were currently strong enough to reach the finals of the tournament.

“How strong? Let me think… They certainly aren’t as strong as Alfina, but they’re pretty tough. Enough so that my dark knight didn’t stand a chance against them,” Bruce declared proudly.

Cutting straight to the point, Mira told him, “Hrmm. That doesn’t tell me much.” She continued, “Why don’t we go ahead and see for ourselves?” gesturing for Bruce to summon them.

“Sure thing!”

Mira had implied to Bruce that he still wasn’t powerful enough, and yet this didn’t cause him to feel angry or hurt in any way. That was because, above all, the one who’d implied this was one of the Nine Wise Men. Reigning supreme when it came to evocation, Mira had both the right and the skills to say such a thing. Clearly understanding this, Bruce realized that she must have had a point and, rallying his spirits, he began preparing to summon his Valkyries.

Oh ho… Not bad at all.

Using Summoning Arts Bound Arcana, he then transitioned into using Summoning Arts Mark of the Rosary. This was a necessary step when using high-level evocation magic, and it was therefore also very important to do so speedily. Furthermore, the skills he demonstrated when it came to the composition, incantation, and summoning portal of the following spells impressed even Mira.

“Having answered your summons, we three Valkyrie sisters have arrived,” Helknae, the eldest of Bruce’s Valkyries, said, dropping down from the summoning circle’s portal.

Elenae and Raglinae then followed soon after her. And so, standing before the three sisters, Bruce trembled.

“Aah… I finally managed to do it…”

Apparently, he’d finally pulled off casting that evocation spell, which left him overcome with emotion. Then he looked up to the heavens, as if it’d all been worth it.

“No way, are we…?”

“Huh, can it be…?”

“By any chance, are those…?”

Far off in the sky, where there was nothing else besides clouds, stood a building that looked like a palace, opposite which one could see the seven Valkyrie sisters training. When they saw them with their own eyes, the three sisters immediately stiffened up nervously. They’d done so as they’d realized that they were now on the topmost and very first island of Valhalla.

Turning away so as to somehow avoid being detected by the seven sisters, the three Valkyries hid themselves in Bruce’s shadow. They said, “Master Jude, Master Jude, what do you need?!” while shaking like leaves.

“Hm? Ah, yes. Sorry. Miss Mira wanted to ask you something,” Bruce said.

Having finally snapped back to his senses, Bruce turned his gaze toward Mira, who was behind the three Valkyries. Catching the hint, Helknae and her sisters followed his cue and turned around. Right then, the three noticed Mira and frantically straightened themselves up before kneeling on the spot.

“Master, we apologize for not greeting you sooner,” the three said, bowing their heads.

Meanwhile, Mira merely chuckled and said, “Not to worry, it’s no big deal.” It was a bit of a pain to have people bending over backward to be respectful, but when she said this, they merely answered, “I’m afraid that it most certainly is.” And so, attempting to move past right past this, Mira prefaced, “But more importantly…” refocusing on what she needed to speak to them about.

Mira wanted to know just how strong they were. Hearing this, the three sisters answered that they had defeated some of their fellow Valkyries and had also been defeated by some others, which was a rather vague answer when interpreted by someone not in the know.

There weren’t any monsters in Valhalla, which was a space primarily occupied by just Valkyries and animals. That meant there wasn’t anything good that Mira could use to compare their power against.

And so, Mira asked about Alfina and her sisters, to which the three sisters answered that they weren’t nearly as powerful, thereby leaving the answer inconclusive.

Therefore, Mira wound up deciding to employ the simplest method of figuring this out, and she summoned her dark knight. It would take some time, but knowing exactly how powerful her dark knight was, Mira figured it’d be an ideal way to gauge their power.

“Hrmm, I see.”

Each bout lasted about ten minutes, with Helknae and her sisters each taking on Mira’s intrepid and indefatigable dark knight. Finally, when the final sister, Elenae, ended her bout by plopping down on the ground out of breath, Mira more or less knew how powerful the three were.

The three were all roughly as powerful as each other. And, in terms of power, they were on about the same level as Scorpion.

Scorpion was a Hidden, that is, an elite member of the Isuzu Alliance. Thinking in terms of adventurer ranks, he’d likely be a mid-A rank. One might very well say that he had a considerable amount of power. However, there would surely be several such people among all the fierce contestants that’d be entering the tournament. If anything, it seemed like those who made it to the end of the tournament would likely be above A rank. When it came to being able to reach the finals, it didn’t quite feel like they were strong enough.

“All right, then how about we try this?”

No sooner had Mira thought up a way to help the sisters increase their power than she began waving her hand in the other direction, across from the three sisters. She then shouted out, “Heeey, Alfinaaa!”

She was indeed shouting toward the seven sisters, who seemed to be training even more intensely than usual in a three-on-three-on-one mock battle. They seemed to be really going at it, as the sharp sound of swords clashing occasionally rang out so loudly that they could tell that it was a ferocious bout even from far away. Naturally, when it came to a three-on-three-on-one bout, Alfina was the one fighting alone.

Despite being in such a pitched battle, Alfina turned around faster than all her sisters the moment that Mira called out to her. And as soon as she noticed that Mira was waving to her, she flew off as if she were bolting through the sky.

“What can I do for you, Master?” Alfina said, managing to elegantly kneel before Mira even after she’d made a mad dash there.

Helknae and her sisters were impressed that she’d made such a remarkable entrance, but anxiety nevertheless instantly washed over their faces.

“Actually, it’s about these three…” Mira said, looking toward the three sisters who were standing behind Bruce as if to hide. Following Mira’s gaze, Alfina called out, “It looks like you’ve been working pretty hard.” Apparently, she’d seen the three sisters fighting valiantly against Mira’s dark knight from afar.

There was a hint of venom in her words. Her voice seemed to imply that it was a bit presumptuous for the three of them to train with her master. However, the three didn’t appear to pick up on this, and they were simply glad to have been praised by Alfina.

“…Do you think they could train with you and your sisters for a little bit?” Mira said, adding that Alfina was well qualified to help Helknae and her sisters become more powerful and then explaining why she wanted them to become more powerful. It was to help out summoners, who weren’t currently held in high regard, as well as to let the sisters battle it out in the tournament in a way that’d make Valhalla proud.

The seven sisters’ training put an emphasis on the basics of combat, and it was also quite practical, such that it’d undoubtedly bring results.

Mira knew from Christina that their training was unforgiving and really quite tough, and so one might even say that it’d be perfect for boosting their power in the little time that was left until the tournament.

“We summoners will train here. And so, I’d like for you and your sisters to train these three so that they can reach a higher level than where they are now.”

The three sisters in question seemed to be rather dismayed at this turn of events, and yet Mira continued further. She asked again, “So, how does that sound? Can you do it?”

Alfina answered without even blinking. Perhaps because she’d been given such a task by someone she adored so much, Mira’s request seemed to have ignited a roaring blaze in Alfina’s heart. And showing just how fiercely determined she was, she held her sword aloft and vowed, “Leave it to me, Master! I, your subject, Alfina, will strive my very hardest to train them to live up to your expectations!”

Chapter 29

AT A REMOTE TRAINING AREA, Alfina and her six sisters as well as Helknae and both of her sisters had been training for a few hours. After warming up with the basics, they’d split into groups and had a three-on-three-on-three-on-one mock battle.

Helknae and her sisters seemed to be struggling to keep up, and occasionally a shrill cry would reach Mira and Bruce’s ears.

“I wonder if they’re okay…” Bruce said anxiously, turning toward the cry’s location.

Mira smiled and answered, “Since you have time to worry about other people, I might have to crank it up a notch,” before summoning a dark knight.

The moment the words left Mira’s lips, the color drained from Bruce’s face.

Intensive training to improve Bruce’s skills had begun on their end as well. Its purpose was to help him fight more practically and become able to successfully evade his opponent’s attacks while using high-level evocation.

Using the tower shield partial evocation, which he’d begun to get the hang of, he blocked the dark knight’s vicious blows while muttering incantations.

No matter what others might say, Bruce was the real deal. He managed to do this after trying only a handful of times. And yet he was only just beginning, and there were further trials in store for him.

The dark knight wasn’t wielding its usual black sword, but rather a wooden training one. Furthermore, coiled around Mira’s arm was the healing white serpent, Asclepius, who was ready to jump into action. Unlike with Helknae and her sisters, Bruce only had a week to train, and so it’d be a particularly rigorous and intensive regimen.

What’s more, after training, he also spent time studying books to absorb new summoning techniques and knowledge. Bruce would later say that this week was both the most strenuous and most fulfilling of his entire life.

And so, time passed in a flash. Soon, it was dinner.

Helknae was among those sitting around in the dining hall waiting for dinner to be finished. Apparently Alfina had decided that they’d be living alongside her and her sisters until their skills reached the next level. However, while they’d initially been ecstatic at the prospect of entering the palace, things were now different. Their exhaustion from training seemed to have hit them all at once as, utterly burnt out, they lay slumped over the table. They looked half-dead, and they were really quite exhausted considering they’d been training only for a single day.

Meanwhile, the seven sisters themselves looked visibly worn out as well. While maybe not quite so much as the three sisters, they nevertheless all wore sullen expressions. It certainly seemed that one final, super tough exercise had been added to the very end of training.

And yet, given how they’d all quickly assembled for Floedina’s dinner, one could infer that they still had some energy left.

Furthermore, while Christina had looked as if she were on the brink of death during training, she seemed to recover extremely quickly once it was over. In fact, she appeared to have the most energy right after training ended.

“Master, Master! Apparently there will be dessert after tonight’s dinner,” she said with a bright smile on her face, applauding Mira for being the one who got the ban on desserts lifted. “Next time, you’ll have to join us for…” she then began to say, before cutting herself off. “Talk to you again when you have time!” she added, before returning to her seat as if fleeing.

A moment later, Alfina came over. She’d spent the day assessing the three sisters’ current skills and abilities, and she had come up with a plan for their training moving forward. Alfina then presented Mira with a handwritten copy of her plan for Helknae, Elenae, and Raglinae.

“Hrmm… I see. This seems to be quite well balanced.”

She’d been right to entrust Alfina with the job. She’d perceived where each of the sisters excelled and, taking this into consideration, had written out a very detailed training program.

Apparently, Helknae was best suited to be the tank, while Elenae was best suited for close range and Raglinae for medium range.

After giving her report to Mira, Alfina turned to Bruce, who was sitting beside Mira.

“What do you think, Master Bruce? Taking their strengths into account, I think this is what they’re best suited for. Of course, depending on how you plan on employing them, as well as your own tactics, we could go a different route,” she asked. She was seeking Bruce’s thoughts because, depending on what the summoner’s fighting style might be, focusing only on what they were most suited for might not necessarily be the best approach.

“No, it looks perfect to me. Please go ahead as you see fit.”

Two of the sisters would stand at close range, while the last would fight at medium range. Unlike Mira, Bruce couldn’t fight up close using Immortal Arts, so he’d have to fight from the back, which meant that Alfina’s training plan actually worked out perfectly.

“Just leave it to me,” Alfina answered with a bow before briskly walking over toward the three sisters. Then, patting each member of the exhausted trio on the shoulder, she showed them her training plan.

A silent cry passed from each of the sisters’ lips when they saw it.

“Oh ho, [Acoustic Detection], huh? That sounds pretty handy. Check…!”

After a spirited dinner, Mira lounged in her room while flipping through her Encyclopedia of Skills, looking for any skills that might be useful. Then, once again, a visitor came to her room.

“…All right, looks like the coast is clear,” Christina said after poking her head into the room and looking every which way. “Master, listen to this!” she then cried out.

“Hrmm, you said the same thing yesterday when you came by. What is it?”

The day before, Christina had stopped by Mira’s room, but when she saw Alfina there, she’d said it was nothing and left. But it seemed as if today she was good to go. Her behavior indicated she wanted to discuss something that she didn’t want Alfina to overhear.

Mira then asked what was up. And, sure enough, the reason for Christina’s visit was to complain about training and plead her case to Mira.

“…And so, that’s when practice usually ends. But…”

According to Christina, the most rigorous portion of training usually ended fairly quickly. They’d each have a one-on-one bout with Alfina, in which Alfina would sweep the floor with all of them.

But their new three-on-three-on-three-on-one training system meant a lot of work for Alfina. However, after their rigorous training session, Alfina had still mopped the floor with all of them in one-on-one bouts. As one might expect of the top Valkyrie in Valhalla, she was on another level.

However, Christina said the one-on-one bouts at the end of practice this time were unlike any she’d experienced.

“I’m sure it’s because you asked for her help that she’s going all out like this. And I’m thinking it’ll probably be like that tomorrow, and the day after that… So, Master! Would you please come and watch our training?! Because, if not…” Christina pleaded, a desperate look on her face as she clung to Mira.

However, someone else seemed to arrive just then, as the sound of knocking echoed through the air.

Christina immediately gave a start. Then, seeming to have perceived something, she shakily murmured, “Don’t tell me…” before turning toward the door.

“Come on in,” Mira replied, and sure enough, Alfina was standing in the doorway. Speak of the devil!

“Master, I wanted to continue yesterday’s practice. Would you allow me to borrow the sacred sword once more today?” Alfina declared. She wanted to train with the sacred sword Sanctia again so she could come up with a new special technique.

Or at least she seemed to think that this was a good way to justify being given the honor of having her master bestow her with the sacred sword yet again. And on her face was a slightly, nay, considerably eager look.

“Hrm, no problem. But you can only use it until midnight at the latest. Once the clock strikes twelve, you have to go to bed. Got it?”

This was Alfina she was dealing with, so unless she explicitly told her to rest, she would stay up all night training. And it seemed that Mira’s prediction had been right on the money, as Alfina answered, “Yes, Master…” sounding slightly dejected.

And yet, when Mira summoned the sacred sword Sanctia and handed it over to her, Alfina did a complete one-eighty. She kneeled and began trembling, as if overcome with emotion.

“Ah, it’s an honor!” she cried.

And after celebrating for a moment, she stood up, at which point Christina began praying that she’d just go on her way without any fuss. Right then, Alfina’s gaze turned toward her.

“By the way, Christina. Do you have some kind of issue with our training? I believe I overheard you saying something about watching.”

“Huh?! Um, well…the thing is…”

It seemed that Alfina had heard what Christina had just said. But, judging from Alfina’s demeanor, she’d only heard the very last part. Despite her inner panic, Christina began racking her brain for a way out. And after a brief moment, she found one.

“Um, I was just thinking that our training hasn’t really changed much from normal. But, like, Master has the sacred sword…and those ashen knight armor spirits. Don’t you think she’s evolved quite a bit…?” Christina began. She picked up steam as she continued winging it. It seemed like she’d gotten used to coming up with such excuses.

They’d been training for over thirty years. And having continued to train in the same way, she wondered whether this kind of training was still optimal given their master’s current situation, as well as their own.

If the techniques and tactics that were employed had changed, then wouldn’t their training need to change to reflect this as well? This was especially true because their master had become so much stronger since they began training, and the tactics she used had both changed and grown so much.

Or at least, this was the excuse that Christina quickly cobbled together. And finally, she offered an answer to this question.

“So I was thinking, why don’t we have Master come watch our practice? That way, she can tell us what we need to keep doing, or don’t need to keep doing, or what we’re doing too much of. I just thought it’d be great if she could personally coach us and point out that kind of stuff for us!” Christina said, staring at the grim-faced Alfina.

Speaking as if she genuinely felt this way, Christina’s eyes sparkled almost as if to say that she was telling nothing but the truth.

But, in fact, the first half of what she’d said was a complete lie.

That was pretty impressive, immediately dreaming all that up on the spot…

It seemed as if she wasn’t just used to coming up with such excuses; she had a God-given talent for inventing them. Truth be told, the girl had the talent to become a prolific scammer. Shocked to learn this and yet excited to see how it’d all turn out, Mira didn’t say a word as she simply waited for Alfina to respond.

“It’s pretty unusual for you to take such an interest in training,” Alfina answered, as if to make sure of something, while staring straight at Christina. Her eyes had a sharpness to them that seemed to say they’d abide no falsehood, and they were such that no ordinary person could withstand them without confessing all their misdeeds.

However, despite being hit by this very gaze, Christina stared right back at Alfina and maintained a completely straight face. Her expression said that the excuse she’d only just come up with on the spot was indeed how she genuinely felt.

Or rather, the moment the words left her mouth, they’d become the truth.

To be fair, the last part of what Christina said had represented her true feelings. She did think it’d be great if Mira could point out what parts of their practice were unnecessary.

And so, what had started out as a lie had ended as the truth, thereby giving Christina an airtight defense.

Therefore, Christina’s expression didn’t change a single bit. This led Alfina to start thinking the proposal over, and she concluded that she did have a point.

“I see. I think Christina just might be on to something,” Alfina said, nodding enthusiastically. She continued that it did seem like Mira should take a look at their current training and see if it best served her present needs.

She said all this while wearing a steely gaze and yet, at the same time, she seemed to be in quite high spirits.

Not only would Mira be observing their training, but she would also give them personal instructions. Christina’s suggestion was like a dream come true for Alfina.

“How about it, Master? It isn’t very often that Christina thinks so seriously about training, so this would be for her sake as well.”

Or so the hopelessly devoted Alfina beseeched. Though she was normally hesitant to ask such things because she didn’t want to be presumptuous or bother Mira, her sister had been the one to make the suggestion this. So Alfina was now ardently imploring Mira, for her sister’s sake, as well.

After pausing for a moment, Mira answered, “Hrmm, good point. After all, it’s not very good if I don’t know exactly what you’re doing.”

She told them that she’d observe their training session the next day. So there stood Alfina and Christina, whose conflicting motives made for quite a confusing situation. But, truth be told, there were quite a few new tactics and formations that Mira had been wanting to try out. She began to think that it might actually be an excellent opportunity.

“Thank you, Master!” Christina said, visibly overjoyed, while her eyes seemed to be saying, “Please make her go easier on us.”

Alfina’s eyes filled with giddiness, though she didn’t let any of it reach her face. She said, “We very much appreciate it,” and bowed humbly.

And so, it was decided that Mira would observe the Valkyries during the next day’s training session. Having been allowed to use the sacred sword and having gotten Mira to oversee their next training session, Alfina strode off to her special technique training as if she were walking on air. Christina then quickly ran off as well, so as to avoid any undue suspicion.

Now then, what to do about Bruce’s training… Hrmm, well, maybe I should move things forward a bit. He is quite skilled, after all.

Closing the Encyclopedia of Skills and taking out a notebook, Mira started jotting down what tactics she wanted to try out the next day. Then, with a cocky smile on her face, she again ran through everything she’d written down.

It was the third morning since she’d arrived in Valhalla.

Now that it was time to begin training, Mira stood in the largest training ground on the island. Right alongside her were Alfina and her sisters, as well as Helknae and her sisters.

“…And, just like Christina requested, Master will be observing our training today, so let’s put even more of our all into it than usual.”

Needless to say, the whole thing felt almost like they were at a track meet or something. “Yes, ma’am!” the Valkyries all responded in unison.

Hrmm… They seem pretty happy to have me here.

Or so Mira felt, beholding the scene in front of her and feeling relieved to see how happy all of the sisters looked. It was always a bit tough to have one’s boss show up at the office, but none of the Valkyries seemed very concerned about it. If anything, she got the vibe that they were actually happy that she was there.

And so, while Alfina was explaining what training they’d be doing that day, Mira and Christina locked eyes with each other. Though Christina’s expression seemed to say that she was listening intently to what Alfina was saying, she was also shooting looks at Mira.

Her eyes kept saying the exact same thing: “Please help with what I mentioned last night.”

She wanted help toning down Alfina’s hellish training. This was why Christina had invited Mira, the sole person in the world who could accomplish such a thing, to their training session.

It sure seems like…she isn’t the only one who wants me to put in a word…

Before long, Mira realized that all six of the sisters seemed to have their hopes pinned on her. They’d kept occasionally looking over at her, as if praying she would save them. Their training sessions up until then must’ve really been quite grueling.

With this in mind, Mira observed their training.

Meanwhile, far away, Bruce, who had planned on receiving a lesson from Mira, was instead trying to escape from an ashen knight he was facing off against. Mira had announced that she’d be observing the Valkyrie sisters’ training before giving Bruce his assignment.

The assignment in question was to defeat the ashen knight by using only partial evocation. However, Bruce had only recently learned how to use it, and so this was his first time actually employing partial evocation in combat.

What’s more, while he’d become somewhat decent at using the shield partial evocation, he still didn’t quite have the hang of using the sword one. And yet, he was only allowed to defeat the ashen knight by using that very sword.

The ashen knight was equipped with a wooden training sword, but it was still quite painful if it hit. Asclepius was waiting nearby to heal him in case he did get really hurt, but that didn’t make it any less painful.

While his odds were slim, he had to attack if the training was ever to end. And so, running around so he wouldn’t need to defend himself as often, he regenerated as much mana as possible to use offensively. Thus, battling with the heart of a lion, Bruce fought to complete the task Mira had given him.

This is way beyond what I expected…

After about a couple of hours, they finished their thirty thousand practice swings, which they’d begun as a kind of warm-up. When she heard about practice swings, Mira imagined something like the sort of thing you’d see in kendo or baseball, and yet the Valkyrie take on this was a whole different beast.

The sight of them swinging their swords multiple times a second was truly impressive, and the sound of them whistling through the air resembled the whipping of storm winds.

What’s more, while Alfina and her sisters started every training session this way, thirty thousand really was quite a lot, and so they all looked fairly exhausted.

On that note, Helknae and her sisters were down for the count after about an hour of this practice. Alfina was rather forgiving of them and said that it couldn’t be helped since they’d only just started doing this. Of course, she was still Alfina, and so she made them resume after taking a ten-minute break.

This is pretty extreme…

Before moving onto the next portion of practice, they were given a break. Of fifteen minutes. Christina and her sisters rested their bodies, looking much like corpses as they did, while looking at Mira imploringly. Their eyes were telling Mira that this was the first area they wanted addressed.

Meanwhile, Alfina looked quite satisfied with herself. Judging from her demeanor, it seemed as if it really was just a warm-up session for her.

Even among such talented sisters, Alfina was exceptionally powerful. This particular scene made that quite evident. And this was why there was a clear difference during their training in who got fatigued when.

Christina might’ve just been complaining, but it actually seems like I might need to take a careful look at their training.

Or so Mira found herself feeling once more. She then took out a notepad and jotted down her observations. Perhaps the sight of Mira doing this inspired some hope, because a look of relief washed over the sisters’ faces.

Chapter 30

A FEW MORE HOURS AFTER Mira began watching Alfina and the others’ training session, it finally came to an end.

Having observed everything, Mira decided she could very much sympathize with Christina.

“I really understand just how hard you all work day in and day out. It was actually very informative watching you all,” Mira said, reflecting on the day inside the dining hall, which now felt more or less like an assembly hall.

On a side note, likely because the training had been so intense, Helknae and her sisters were once more slumped over the table in the corner. What’s more, Bruce had joined them. Having fought a long and fierce battle against the ashen knight, he too was completely burnt out.

Meanwhile, Mira praised the seven sisters for their hard work and extended her thanks to them.

The one who reacted most dramatically to this was Alfina. “You’re too kind,” she answered, quivering and overcome with emotion. The rest of the sisters all wore contented expressions as well, but they appeared to be eagerly anticipating what Mira might say next.

“So… Now, regarding my findings…”

Even when trying to give Alfina the benefit of the doubt, Mira had found the training to be insanely grueling. And she thought the sheer number of repetitions was its most concerning aspect. She considered it a bit excessive not only with the sword-swinging practice, but with running and their basic drills as well.

Touching on this, Mira suggested that Alfina adjust this particular aspect a bit. She suggested that there was a point of diminishing returns when it came to training one’s body, and that their training would be more effective if they trained in moderation and allotted more time to properly recover.

But, more than anything, it’d become quite clear to Mira just how far ahead of her sisters Alfina was. And so, Mira pointed out that using herself as the benchmark for how many times to perform each exercise was indeed overdoing it.

“You think so…?!”

Alfina had trained her sisters to become capable warriors, and her eyes opened wide in astonishment as she listened intently to what Mira was saying. Then she said that she’d revise their training routine just as Mira suggested.

Hearing this, Christina and her sisters looked relieved that someone had finally gotten through to her. And inside of each of their hearts, they applauded their master’s words as being very well said.

However, Mira wasn’t finished.

“So, once you’ve shaved down how many times you do each exercise, some of your time will be freed up, won’t it? So, with that time…”

From the very beginning, this had been Mira’s true objective. And so, she proposed that they use their newfound time for more meaningful training.

This training would consist of newly formed squads as well as formations. She wanted to focus on her newly equipped armor spirits, which she’d experimented with back at her tower and which she’d tested in combat several times. Mira wanted the sisters, who were something akin to captains, to obtain the relevant skills and know-how that’d help her use these armor spirits more efficiently in squads or battle formations. This had also been one of her main reasons for observing their training.

“First, I’ll have you guys take a look at this,” Mira said, her eyes darting to both sides of the room before she instantaneously summoned three of her signature dark knights. However, these were different from the earlier ones.

These dark knights weren’t holding the black swords that they usually wielded.

Instead, they clutched a long spear, a battle axe, and a bow. Indeed, the armor spirits’ new power was the ability to use new weapons.

The next stage of evolution displayed by the dark knights was the ability to extract power from spirits inhabiting weapons other than swords.

Having discovered their capability to do so after lots of research, Mira quickly went to an old battleground to look for weapon spirits and found three types there.

“I see, is that…?”

When the weapon they used was changed, the way they fought changed as well. And so, while the dark knights looked the same, they were entirely different. Though quite surprised, Alfina nevertheless picked up what Mira was implying.

A battle axe, which was capable of more destructive power than a sword, could more easily break through an enemy’s guard.

Meanwhile, one could keep an enemy in check simply by holding a long spear, which far surpassed a sword in terms of range.

And the usefulness of the bow was already obvious.

Were Mira to employ squads composed of these new dark knights, her forces could certainly execute an even wider range of tactics on the battlefield.

But right now, they were still in the planning stage. In order to have complete control over the force of well over a thousand, she’d need help from Alfina and her sisters, who commanded each squad.

And so, announcing that she wanted to tack on something to their training that involved using the revamped dark knights, Mira took out a book.

“To do that, I made a little request to Solomon, and he prepared something like this.”

It was the special book that Solomon had put together regarding how Alcait utilized their troops. It contained detailed descriptions of the tactics they used, particularly involving the way units operated.

On that note, the ones whom Solomon had asked to help compile the book were Reynard, the knight-commander of the King’s Guard, and his close aid, Joachim. What’s more, he’d even asked the heads of each unit and each squad commander, in addition to Aaron, who was employed as an instructor for them.

The volume, which Mira had casually taken, had been compiled by bringing together the full expertise of Alcait’s armed forces. In other words, it was the culmination of all the tactics and knowhow that they’d come up with up until that point.

“I see… This is…! It’s incredible!” Alfina cried.

After taking the book and quickly looking it over, Alfina seemed to have realized just how valuable the volume was. Her wide eyes showed how surprised she was, and then an eager look flashed onto her face.

It was the kind of look that believed, without a doubt, that they could create the strongest possible fighting force once they’d thoroughly studied those wisdom-filled pages and acquired every ounce of knowledge from them.

“So, what do you think? Would you be willing to give it a shot?”

She was suggesting that they use their forces in a different way. And yet, this was just a proposal, so she looked at the seven sisters to gauge their reactions.

“Let’s do it!” Christina exclaimed, answering before any of her sisters.

She’d likely done so in part because Mira had been the one to suggest it, but most of all, she’d answered so quickly because she couldn’t be sure what kind of hellish training might be added to fill up their newly open schedule. Mira’s proposal clearly seemed to involve less physical exertion.

“In that case, I’ll be in charge of the bow unit,” Elezina added after Christina, agreeing as well.

The other sisters all followed suit. What’s more, strangely enough, all of them seemed to have taken quite a keen interest in the new training. None of them looked displeased and, if anything, they all seemed to be looking forward to it.

Due to the grueling training they’d undergone so far, they seemed to have developed quite a bit of inner fortitude when it came to training. Therefore, so long as it was just a normal level of training, they had the mettle to do it with a smile on their faces.

Though their training for the day was over, everyone still seemed quite interested in their new training, which involved operating their revamped squads, as that was all they talked about during dinner.

While Alfina and her sisters continued chatting about this and that, Bruce, who’d managed to recover while dinner was going on, began leafing through the pages of the special compilation of battlefield tactics.

“…Solomon gave this to you…? Wow, it really is something else…” he said, just about lost for words.

The book contained details on how each respective unit operated, and yet it was clearly much different from other similar books on combat tactics.

“I’ve also dabbled in military strategy from a young age, but it’s my first time seeing battlefield tactics quite this extreme.”

Bruce had originally been the son of a nobleman, and since his father was involved in the military, he’d apparently been exposed to various kinds of battlefield tactics and strategy. However, he continued that this particular text was unique in comparison to what he’d encountered before.

What was unique about the text, which had been created by the leading minds in Alcait’s military from Solomon on down, was that it didn’t seem to care one bit how many casualties were incurred.

The emphasis was on achieving the best possible results, regardless of how many fell in the process. The only goal was victory, no matter how much blood had to be shed.

If some future historian were to see it, they’d definitely describe Solomon as a heartless tyrant.

He seemed willing to do whatever was necessary to ensure victory.

Sensing as much, Bruce shuddered.

And yet, the text had quite obviously been created for Mira and Mira alone.

The tactics described in it would likely never be used for real, human soldiers. They were only feasible if one were to use indestructible soldiers who would get right back up, no matter how badly they were injured.

And indeed, Mira could deploy just such soldiers through her army of armor spirits.

Indeed, all of the tactics outlined in the text had been created on the assumption that they’d be used for those very forces.

According to Bruce, Alcait would acquire a rock-solid defensive force once the tactics were implemented.

“Oh ho… It’s that impressive?” asked Mira, who’d only received the text after asking for it on a whim.

To Mira, the text simply felt like an introduction to basic military tactics. Her first thought had been that if she knew the basics, she might be able to operate her forces like a standard military force.

However, considering Bruce’s reaction to it, it seemed like the text went far beyond just the basics.

Feeling deeply grateful, Mira resumed her discussion of how she’d split up her troops between the seven sisters. Behind her, figuring that he might be able to use some of what was being discussed, Bruce began taking notes along with Helknae and her sisters.

Morning came, and with it, the time for training. This particular day would be the first installment of their new tactics lessons, though it was to take place during the latter half of the training session. The first half of training began just like usual. Thanks to what Mira had said, their basic drills had been scaled back somewhat. Even though these drills weren’t on quite the same level as the ones the seven sisters did, Helknae and her sisters still seemed to be struggling quit a bit.

Meanwhile, Mira was examining just how much Bruce had improved after his training the day before. His assignment had been to take on one of her ashen knights using only partial evocation. Ultimately, he hadn’t managed to defeat it, but since he’d made it through the entire training session, Bruce’s skills had visibly improved. It must’ve been quite the desperate fight; in particular, his shield partial invocation had improved so much that it almost looked like someone else’s.

“Fantastic, you could definitely use that in actual combat,” Mira said, complimenting Bruce after he perfectly blocked a strike from her dark knight. And yet, while he’d gotten quite a bit faster using the sword partial evocation, it still wasn’t on the level which would allow him to use it in combat.

Therefore, Mira told him she’d be working with him specifically on this, starting that day. Then she summoned an ashen knight.

Bruce’s spirits, which had been sky-high after earning Mira’s praise, plummeted. Having most likely remembered what’d happened the day before, he followed her with his face white as a sheet. And so, with this unforgiving signal that training was to begin, Bruce would once more spend the entire day training to use partial evocations until he was utterly wiped out.

Once late afternoon arrived, their battlefield tactics training finally began. Since it might be useful to them in the tournament, in addition to helping them improve their leadership skills, Bruce and Helknae participated as well.

They begin with small squads.

Alfina and her sisters acted as the captains, while their squads were made up of dark knights. Helknae and her sisters had yet to learn even the basics of commanding troops, and so while they couldn’t do so very effectively, they were still able to more or less form their squads.

Additionally, they’d decided on who the captains of the newly created squads would be. Elezina would be in charge of the bow division, Charwiena would handle the spear division, and Selestina would lead the battle-axe division.

Those three in particular had a lot to remember, and so they had a greater share of bookwork. However, that work would be done with the time they had left over from their now-reduced basic training, which meant the three didn’t seem too distraught about having to study. If anything, they seemed happy to take it on, knowing that it’d help out Mira.

And so, their days of training were over in a flash. Before Mira knew it, her week in Valhalla was over, and it was finally time to return to the surface.

Quite a bit had happened since they began their training. After dinner every night, the sisters would end up congregating in Mira’s room, where they’d have a study session in which they learned about various battlefield tactics which they then shared their thoughts and opinions on.

Bruce’s special training was progressing smoothly as well, such that he’d finally succeeded in his task of defeating an ashen knight using only partial evocation. And, exactly as Mira had promised, he’d reached the next level in just that week.

And, though thoroughly burnt out by the end of each day, Helknae and her sisters completed Alfina and her sisters’ training. They’d certainly strengthened their bodies, but most importantly, they’d strengthened their grit and determination.

Additionally, they’d studied tactics alongside Bruce. Even if they couldn’t lead a large fighting force, they’d learned enough that they could make use of small squads.

But, most significantly, Alfina and her sisters were already beginning to get the hang of operating forces which incorporated the newly developed divisions.

Having previously been in charge of commanding her forces, they picked all this up quickly. Of note was the simultaneous arrow volley of Elezina’s bow division, which was particularly impressive.

It was the morning of the day when Mira would be returning to the surface. Having gone to the lowermost island that contained the entrance to Valhalla, Mira was speaking to Alfina and her sisters, who’d come to send her off.

“I’m happy to see how hard you’re all working, but make sure that you don’t overdo it.”

“Yes…Master. You honor us with your praise…” Alfina answered, overwhelmed with emotion and at the same time feeling reluctant to see her go.

The week Mira had spent there had been like a dream to her.

“Please come back anytime, Master,” Christina said cheerfully.

Then, saying a quiet thanks for helping them get their training toned down, she smiled happily.

Mira then went and said goodbye to each of the sisters individually.

Elezina passionately told Mira that she would study how to let her arrow squad use arrows imbued with magical buffs as well. She said that was why she hoped Mira would summon her whenever she was free, so she could test this out.

Elezina was quite enterprising when it came to magic. However, as soon as Mira agreed to her proposal, all the other sisters began peppering her with requests as well, and they only settled down once Mira agreed to summon each of them once a week.

Floedina had apparently planted the seeds that Mira had given her. What’s more, she said they had already sprouted, and she seemed truly excited to let Mira know how they would grow in the future.

Charwiena had apparently read all of the manga that Mira had lent her earlier, and so she begged Mira with puppy dog eyes to let her know if she came across any new books.

On that note, she’d also finished reading through the book on tactics from Solomon and had memorized everything within it. And so, from there on out, they’d be using her as their strategist.

Meanwhile, Elievina reported to Mira that she’d been making good progress on their new gambesons.

The cloth that she’d woven with the materials Mira had given her earlier was not only flexible, but also heat-resistant, durable, and blade-resistant. As such, it far exceeded her expectations.

Appearing to be in thoroughly good spirits, she told Mira that she thought she’d be able to make the ultimate gambesons.

Hardly able to catch her breath, Selestina spoke of the progress she’d made coming up with her special technique. She continued that she was sure she could debut it very soon, and she’d show Mira that it could take down even the strongest of foes.

And so, while Mira said her goodbyes to each of the seven sisters, Bruce, Helknae, and her sisters spoke with each other.

Having endured spending the same amount of time training in the same place under the same incredible type of mentor, they seemed to have forged an even stronger bond with each other, and they were all united in their desire to keep getting stronger together.

“All right, then I’ll see you in a week.”

“Thank you for everything.”

That was what Mira and Bruce said in parting while they passed through the gate out of Valhalla. And, having both had a very fulfilling time there, they returned to the surface.

After returning from Valhalla, Mira and Bruce took off from Filz Isle and headed straight for Nirvana.

Now, as they sailed through the sky on their way back…

“Listen, there’s no way of knowing who you’ll be up against in the open division, so we need to come up with a strategy,” Mira said nonchalantly, while they were waiting to arrive back in the city.

Taken aback when he heard her say this so casually, Bruce answered, “Huh…? Ah! Y-yes… Of course!”

He was so surprised because he’d anticipated entering into the mage division.

Since he was a tower mage, he was undoubtedly a top-level mage, and so he’d likely been aiming at getting the gold in that division.

However, this would not be the case for the open division, in which mages, warriors, and anyone else would be competing. Unlike Mira, a normal summoner like himself was at a disadvantage going up against warrior-class contestants who were skilled at close-range combat. Sailor Guardian…or rather, the Wise Man Meilin, would be competing in that division as well. Because of that, getting first place was more or less impossible.

But that was when Bruce finally realized something. The reason Mira had prioritized the shield partial evocation during his training wasn’t so that he could take on necromancers’ golems, sages, demonologists, or other mages who specialized in close-range combat, but so that he could withstand blows from warrior-class opponents who fought at close range.

Having figured out at the very last second that he’d be competing in the open division, Bruce absent-mindedly listened to Mira prattling on about her dream of evocation once more being restored to its former glory while he looked away toward the rapidly approaching land beneath them.

Afterword

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your purchase!

Now, it’s finally time for the afterword.

The scene you see on the cover of this volume takes place in Valhalla!

As always, I can’t thank fuzichoco enough for creating such incredible work from my initial vague ideas.

I’d also like to thank not only dicca*suemitsu for their work on the manga version, but also Uonuma Yu for their work on the side story title and vanillaboww for their work on the spinoff title.

Please give all of those a read as well!

On that note, I’m writing this during the latter half of November, and it’ll be on sale at the end of December. Long story short, the anime version of She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man is finally just about to air! Yes, indeed—the anime version. Quite a bit of time has passed since it was initially announced, but at last, the premiere is just around the corner.

Now, I plan on eating something particularly delicious on the day it airs every week, and I’m intending to enjoy some dessert as well. Of course, if I do all of that, it’ll likely have quite an impact on my waistline. But that’s what I’ve decided to do! After all, it truly is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and so I have to celebrate! Also, I can just go on a stricter diet than usual.

So, what should I eat…? Figuring that out is another thing I’m looking forward to.

All right, I’ll see you again in the next volume!