Chapter 10

Chapter 10

AFTER RECEIVING WORD from Sasara, I returned to Castle Getaeus in a huff of anxiety and anger.

“Clara! You’re all right. And everyone else is okay?”

Clara spoke confidently. “No one can touch this castle so long as I stand guard.”

It goes without saying that I didn’t just waltz right back in through the castle’s front gate. Since Sasara told me I was being followed, I invoked Move Outer Plane to arrive in a far less conspicuous fashion. It seemed negotiations with the warrior clan had stalled out for the time being, but the important thing was that no one was hurt.

“If I know you, you’re probably fretting about all the people here,” Clara said, looking over at me. “Put them out of your mind. You need to focus on deciding what response you’ll give.”

“You’re right…”

I went into the war room with a pale face, full of gratitude and respect for Clara. Even in a situation like this, she was as cool as spring water.

There were five people gathered there besides me: Sedam, Clara, Torrad, Djirk, and Reyha.

“They’re just camped out there, staring at us,” Sedam muttered. “What a pain.”

“Now that you mention it, it’s been ten years since the warriors have appeared in such a large group.” Clara shook her head. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Anyway, how do they intend to confirm whether Margilus is a daemonist?” Torrad wondered.

“I don’t know the details,” said Djirk, “but it sounds like they have some kind of special skill or tool they can use to tell.”

I listened to the adventurers converse, trying to pull myself together. Mora came in to serve me some sil tea—the poor girl looked on the verge of tears. I glugged it down quickly before I spoke. “If they’ve really got some kind of daemon-detector, then all I need to do is sit for their test. If their test even really exists.”

“If only it were that easy,” Sedam muttered. “Doesn’t this all just seem like a pretext? I bet they’ll seize on any reason they can to take Margilus down.”

“If they go that far, then that actually makes things easier.” My words turned dark. “I’ll just ask them what they’d rather be turned into: pigs or statues.”

No one spoke a single world.

Everyone just stared at me. Words spoken in anger didn’t often leave my mouth, and to hear them now struck them dumb.

It was Sedam who spoke up first. “If you lose your temper, then things are going to get out of control, fast.” He held up his hands. “I know how you feel. But you need to bring it down a notch.”

“However.” Clara’s voice snapped like a whip the moment Sedam stopped talking. “Let us make one thing perfectly clear.” The single blue vein on her forehead stuck out visibly—it was plain at a glance that she was holding herself back. “I also have some advice. Even though they showed up here like this…I still think you need to try to build a friendly relationship with the warrior clan.”

More silence followed.

No one could disagree with her extremely level-headed advice. She was right. The warriors were skilled; they’d been fighting against the daemons for generations. Given my aims, they were allies I ought to do anything I could to acquire. If they had come to us with open arms from the very beginning, then I would have happily clasped hands in friendship.

We had the same goals. They possessed techniques for discovering the daemons and daemonists, and ample know-how about how to fight them. Truly, it would hard to imagine anyone better to join forces with.

“Well, hopefully we can clear up any misunderstandings. But we’ll see…”

***

“…I can feel the strength of their magic.” Clara glared through an embrasure out at the warriors below.

Magic? Only one person in their ranks looked like he might have any magical powers. Was she perhaps talking about magic-empowered warriors, who held skill with both spells and weapons?

“Admittedly, I’ve only seen warriors of the clan do battle from a distance, but I don’t remember them using any special powers,” said Sedam.

According to Sedam, it wasn’t magic that set the warrior clan apart, but rather a unique method of fighting that wedded seemingly superhuman physical ability to specialized equipment.

“There’s no denying that they’re a fearsome group,” I murmured, narrowing my gaze. Using Sense of the Adept, I observed their ranks.

The spell revealed that their giant of a leader was Warchief Lade, a twenty-eight-year-old man whose strength equaled a Level 21 D&B warrior. The most gaudily armored clan member was a forty-eight-year-old man, equivalent to a Level 13 warrior. Finally, the one wearing a the robe was forty, and equaled a Level 10 cleric.

The warriors of the clan were on a completely different level from all the adventurers and knights I had met up until now.

Lade could probably take down a daemon nest all by himself…

If the warrior Lade was indeed the rumored “Daemon Killer”, then what he’d done in that village would make sense.

Even the rank-and-file warriors boasted levels ranging from 8 to 10. Considering that the highest rank in the Adventurers’ Guild of Relis was Sedam’s Level 9, and that the Calbanera Knights’ highest was Leoria, at Level 10, it made sense that this group was capable of fighting daemons.

If they’re this good, then we can’t discount the possibility that they’ve infiltrated the castle already…

The gates wouldn’t fall easily, but such a decorated group as this would have thought of that before rushing in. We had to think about what they had planned. Moment by moment, it was becoming clear to me just how much danger Mora, Clara, and all the rest were in. And as that realization dawned, my temper simmered even hotter.

Reyha stood just behind me, as always. She broke her usual silence to whisper a few words of advice. “…Forgive me, my lord, but anger slows judgment. I beg of you: Please try to still your heart.”

“Mmm.”

It was rare for her to oppose me in anything. I let out a deep sigh when I took in her apologetic expression. “Phew…”

She was right. I’d heard the same thing at a mental health presentation back at my old company. The speaker had told us: “Anger is the root of all troubles.” A leader must be in control of his emotions.

Would I be this heated if I didn’t have magic powers in the first place? No, I’m sure I would have just been shaking my head, hoping things ended peacefully. I was nothing without the strength I’d been given. I couldn’t let myself be consumed by a borrowed authority.

“You’re right, Reyha. I think I’ve cooled off a little. Thank you.”

“I am unworthy of your gratitude. If your temper still troubles you, please, direct it this way. Perhaps hitting me might make you feel better?”

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary…”

***

Protection. Mana Shield. Detect Enemy. Fly. Invisible Demon. Perfect Resistance.

Mind Wall. Emergency. And finally, Invincibility.

While charging today, I recited every spell I could think of that would be useful for protection. I was now regretting that I hadn’t charged Physical Boost.

Lately, the more well-established TTRPG systems have established rules against stacking large numbers of beneficial spell effects simultaneously. Thankfully, classic D&B didn’t have any such inconvenient restrictions.

All the same, I was teetering on the edge of exhaustion. “Argh…”

Clara grasped my arm. “Just hold on a bit longer.”

It had been less than two minutes of real time, but in my inner world I had already gone back and forth between the Gate of Magic and the spellbook archive nine times. Yet no sooner did I stumble than Clara was there to help hold me up.

“Sorry,” I murmured to her. “Seems like you’re always having to save me.”

“That’s not true…”

My next words were pitched loud enough for Sedam and Reyha to hear as well. “Time for me to set off. I’ll be relying on your help later.”

At first, they’d all insisted on coming along, but I convinced them that it would be better if I handled things alone. If anything went wrong, it would be easier for one person to get away.

Just like that, I left the castle.

***

I used Fly to soar over the castle wall and gently descend into the empty field beyond. The sight clearly caused confusion among the warriors, but no one shouted or hesitated.

“I am the wizard Geo Margilus, Lord of Castle Getaeus. Feckless warriors—if you would speak with me, then here I am!”

Even though I stood some twenty meters away from them, this was a group of experienced warriors clad in uniquely strange armor. The aura of intimidation they gave off was a completely different feeling from what I experienced facing daemons.

“I’ll speak for our clan, sorcerer… Or perhaps I should call you ‘wizard.’”

Apparently, the most gaudily equipped warrior was in charge. He broke ranks, stepping forward with the utmost dignity. When he reached me, he removed his mask. Behind him, giant warriors stood guard, forming a human wall.

“I am Warlord Canberils,” he declared.

Beneath his garish helmet he sported black hair neatly trimmed into a buzz cut, and his eyes narrowed into a sharp gaze. When I examined him under Detect Enemy, his wariness about me shone brightly.

“Well then, Canberils. Speak your piece.”

“…We suspect that you are a daemon or a daemonist. I have already told your lady castellan as much. In order to prove your innocence, we wish for you to submit to our examination.”

I considered him for a few moments. “We all know that the warrior clan is wholly devoted to fighting daemons wheresoever they might lurk. But that alone is not enough to explain your actions here. What reason could you have for thinking me a daemon?”

If their technique for detecting daemons and daemonists was genuine, then I definitely wanted to learn how to use it myself. But if they declared me a daemon, then perhaps it was worthless to begin with.

“Allow me to explain from the very beginning.” Canberils tucked his helmet beneath one arm. “We of the clan are descended from the divine legion that fought under the command of the Hero, some five hundred years ago…”

He was more forthcoming than I’d expected. In fact, I felt a strong sense of pride in the way he spoke. There were plenty of tangents and flowery speech in his description, but to make a long story short:

The warrior clan had gained their knowledge and skills in fighting daemons from the “Hero” and the divine legion.

One of those pieces of knowledge was that a daemon brood originates from an Epicenter.

These Epicenters are thought to be some manner of passage existing deep within a daemon nest.

However, an oracle of the clan recently received a vision from a guardian deity. The prophecy stated:

“The Epicenter will appear at Mount Farsight.”

“The Epicenter is a human by the name of Margilus.”

“I see…”

How very kind and thorough of the oracle to mention me specifically by name, I thought sarcastically, while trying to process what it all meant.

But…an Epicenter?

“A passage deep existing within a daemon nest” must be that thing I saw that resembles my Gate of Magic. It’s no too hard to follow the train of logic: An Epicenter is a passage deep within the nest, which takes the form of a Gate of Magic, which links it directly to…me.

Could it be that I had been no different from the daemons and daemonists all along?

My current body was something created by the Watcher from whole cloth after hearing my request. At the very least, it definitely wasn’t that of a normal human.

More importantly, if the oracle’s vision was true, then it would mean that the next brood would happen because of me. I could feel the blood draining from my face. I hadn’t felt dread like that in a long time.

I couldn’t tell whether or not he was annoyed by my silence, but Canberils pushed for an answer. “I’ve told you everything I can. Will you submit to our examination?”

What he said seemed to make sense.

Why did the daemon nest appear next to me immediately after I arrived in Sedia? Why did something that resembled the Gate of Magic, which my friends and I had literally made up, seem to exist within that nest?

Things I’d previously written off as mere coincidence now seemed to make a sickening amount of sense.

I started to feel dizzy. I clutched my Staff of Wizardry tightly to keep from losing balance. A cold despair spread through my entire body.

That’s how much of an impact Warlord Canberils’s words had on me.

The Gate of Magic might exist within me, but it was a gateway that connected this world to the realm of chaos. If the other side of the gateway in fact connected to the world of the daemons…

If I really was the Epicenter, and thus the trigger for a massive brood of daemons…

Then I had to let the warrior clan eliminate me.

I was surprised at my sudden willingness to accept my own death.

In Japan, I had no wife, no children, and no family. But in this world, I had Mora, Clara, Ild, Sedam, Reyha, and all my friends at Castle Getaeus.

I realized then that I loved them. I loved this world.

If they were to be violated by the daemons because of me…

Just as I was playing out the potential tragedy in my head, the warlord’s deep voice brought me back to reality. “I won’t wait much longer for your answer.”

I looked up to see Canberils glaring down at me. At first, I thought he was angry…but strangely, he peered at my face with fear in his eyes.

“Ah… Pardon me.” I hurriedly wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my robe. I’m ashamed to say that tears were running down my face. The whole thing was embarrassing.

But that fact helped me think a bit more clearly. If my worst fears came to pass, then maybe it really would be better to let the warriors cut me down. The only thing I couldn’t allow myself to do was nothing.

And so, finally, I found my voice. “As I see it…the issue is how credible the prophecies of your oracle are. How do I know you haven’t made all this up?”

“An oracle also prophesied the second brood event one hundred and fifty years ago. The prophecies regarding the appearance of small daemon nests and powerful daemonists have been precise and accurate many times. I have personally hunted down a daemonist in Shrendal in full realization of the oracle’s visions.”

“Mmn…”

Even so, there was no evidence. If this were a trial in the modern world, it would be thrown out.

However, aside from their allegations making perfect sense to me, the warrior clan had a history of effectiveness. Their deeds had become legends unto themselves.

“Tell me this,” I said to Canberils. “How reliable is your examination? Can it really detect daemonists? Or even daemons, for that matter?”

“We use a tool called the Daemon’s Sight for the examination. It is a special crystal with daemon blood sealed inside, which always reacts to those affected by daemons and daemonists.”

So, that meant it would also react to those who were brainwashed or possessed by daemons, like Reyha once was.

It was perfect. If the warriors were my allies, they’d be a godsend.

“You mentioned that the appearance of a daemon nest was prophesied, but might the prophecy have instead referred to the daemon nest that appeared here two months ago? I’ve also heard that there have been daemonists in Relis City for over a decade now.”

“Not all nests and cultists are detected by prophecy. If it were that easy, we would have already eradicated daemonkind long ago. But just the other day we received a prophecy that a group of daemons had appeared near Soler City, and our warchief annihilated all of them.”

So, the man who had beaten us to the punch in taking down that daemon lair and the giant of a man standing behind Canberils were one and the same… He had to be Lade, the Daemon Killer. Between his oddly shaped armor and the massive sword on his back, he made Gillion feel small by comparison.

It was no use… I couldn’t find any contradictions or holes in what the warlord was saying. Maybe my only choice is to roll the dice and see what comes of their examination…but no, let’s not be too hasty.

There was always the possibility that Canberils was lying about everything. I needed to be one hundred percent certain I could trust him.

“I-Is everything you say true? You are asking me to take you wholly at your word.”

“We speak the truth. Whether or not you believe it is your decision.”

If I could get a read on his innermost thoughts when he gave his reply, I’d know things for a fact. I concentrated on the ESP Medal I’d hidden in the sleeve of my robe, almost as if praying to it. But…

“Huh?!”

To my surprise, Canberils resisted the power of the ESP Medal. Even the chief of the Sorcerers’ Guild hadn’t been capable of that. Worse, it seemed he had noticed I was up to something.

He tilted his head suspiciously, then took something from his pocket.

I hesitated. “Uh…?”

The warlord held up a necklace adorned with a solitary jewel. It looked like a Japanese crescent-shaped stone. The stone was covered in cracks, and there was a red liquid dripping from it. There was nothing ordinary-looking about it. No way!

“This is a warding stone given to me by the oracle herself. What have you done to it?” Canberils spoke quietly. Dangerously. His tone was absolutely murderous. Murderous? So that was the piercing sensation I was feeling all over my body. This is what ‘murderous’ truly means.

Shiiing!

What happened in the next moments was a blur. I only managed to put things together with the pieces that I heard later.

First, Lade raced forward from his spot behind Canberils, drawing the massive sword on his back. He swung it straight down, aiming for my neck.

The two-meter-long slab of a blade looked like it had come right out of some manga or RPG, and he brandished it with such speed that I couldn’t follow it with my eyes. The multiple defensive spells that I had cast on myself proved completely worthless.

“My Lord!!” It was Reyha who was the first to shield me, well ahead of my Mana Shield and Invisible Demon. She had probably used some kind of dark elf magic to lurk within my shadow. She tackled me from the side and we both fell to the ground.

Lade’s massive sword swept above my body, which was now enveloped in the softness of Reyha’s embrace. The sound of that sword swooshing by was tremendous. It was more like a blow to the eardrums than a mere rush of air.

“Cur!” Reyha quickly sprang up from where she’d draped herself protectively across my body. Something about her looked strangely distorted, probably thanks to the two slender daggers she held. It was hard for me to make out the contours of her limbs and body. With minimal movement, she approached Lade, who swung his mighty sword anew.

CLANG!

The air rang with the high-pitched keening of metal striking metal.

Lade’s greatsword spun toward Reyha with the force of a tornado—only to stop cold, arrested by the blades she gripped in either hand.

“Rgh…!”

The weight and power were too much for her. Reyha’s entire body trembled under the relentless pressure of Lade and his mighty sword. And because she was protecting me, she couldn’t flee.

Should I let them capture me so Reyha could get away?

This was no joke! All of this was a complete misunderstanding!

I jumped up and shouted: “Stop!”

Neither of them even seemed to notice me.

I had no choice. If Lade wasn’t going to back off, I needed to find a chance to use some sort of spell.

And then another voice called out: “Stop.”

Surprisingly, Canberils repeated what I had said. Lade glanced at Reyha, then at me, but dutifully returned his sword to his back.

“Reyha, you, too,” I said.

“Ahh…” Reyha squeezed a response out of her dry throat and stayed her blades. She stood in front of me, still trembling. Every inch of her remained on high alert.

“It’s not a big deal,” Canberils shouted back in his deep voice. “It’s just a misunderstanding!” His words were aimed behind me.

When I turned around, I found Sedam, Clara, and all my other fighting friends rushing in.

“Margilus.” Clara held me up by my arm. Sedam and Djirk hadn’t drawn their weapons, but they were in a formation to protect me.

“I-It’s okay,” I insisted. “He’s right. This is all just one giant misunderstanding.”

Clara spoke anxiously. “But…”

I patted her arm and spoke to the warlord. “Canberils!”

The warlord nodded, undeterred. He gestured for me to continue.

“Excuse me. I apologize. You told me it was my decision, so I conducted my own kind of examination.”

“Is that so? Well, that’s not a problem. And what did you discern?”

To think that this was his attitude after exuding such murderous intensity. I was completely outmatched. I made my decision then and there. “I will take your examination.”

Canberils gazed upon my face for some time before he spoke again. “I see. Excellent. Also…I heard something in Relis City. This is just hearsay, you understand; it’s not like I was there. But evidently you want to gather a company at this castle that will fight the daemons, and form an alliance among all the countries?”

I didn’t know what his intentions were, but if he had this much interest in us, maybe it would be easier to negotiate than I thought. Once the examination was done, anyway.

“That’s not quite right,” I told him. “I am not gathering allies in order to fight the daemons.”

“Then why?” he pressed.

“I will fight alongside my allies in order to protect people from the daemons.”

“Hmm…”

Canberils’s stern eyes showed a hint of surprise. So that was the difference between the warriors and me. My company was not fighting solely to slay the daemons. To us, that was just a means to an end: the safety and wellbeing of the people of Sedia.

***

“The warrior clan will now set forth its judgment. All determinations will be made by Cuisle, our presiding mystic. The executor is Warchief Lade. I, Warlord Canberils, will serve as witness.”

We stood in the empty field in front of the castle gate.

A man in a red robe emerged from the group of warriors who were standing by and stopped just before me. Warlord Canberils stood to his left and Warchief Lade stood to his right.

My friends watched, a mixture of nervousness and worry on their faces.

Cuisle said, “Margilus. Hold out your right palm.”

I didn’t speak. I silently followed the instructions of the expressionless mystic and stuck out one hand. He placed something that looked like a crystal ball in my palm.

At the core of the hard, warm, transparent sphere floated a red-black mass. So, this is the Daemon’s Sight—and that must be daemon blood.

There was no response.

I realized I’d forgotten to ask what sort of reaction the daemon blood might have. Would it turn black or something?

Canberils swallowed, and Lade once again clutched the handle of his greatsword.

Unable to take the silence anymore, I spoke to the mystic, who was staring intently at the Daemon’s Sight. “So, what does it mean?”

“It’s…”

At that moment—

He jerked his thumb toward the daemon blood.

The reaction was small at first. But it quickly grew bigger. A crystal stone was spinning around inside the ball like a pinwheel.

The lukewarm heat I’d felt before was replaced by a coolness above my palm. The surface of the crystal beaded with a thin layer of condensation.

Canberils seemed flustered. “What does it mean?”

“I don’t know,” Cuisle answered, shrill. “I’ve never seen such a response before!” He turned to me. “Margilus, do you feel anything?”

“Uhh…”

Cuisle narrowed his eyes, trying to divine the truth. Having no idea what was going on, I concentrated on the sensation in my palm and the rampant daemon blood.

“I feel…anxiety…and maybe fright? It’s like this blood feels hate and fear toward me.”

All I really had to go on was my gut feeling and intuition, but when I spoke honestly about what I was feeling, Cuisle nodded softly. He took the Daemon’s Sight from my hand and put it away in his pocket.

Lade interrogated Cuisle, frustrated. “So what does that mean? Is he a daemonist or not?”

Cuisle looked stunned. He turned his head toward Canberils. “If he were influenced by the daemons in any way, the daemon blood would sense he was an ally and spread out thinly, trying to assimilate with him…and, moreover, it would turn red. But I’ve never seen this sort of reaction before. I honestly just…don’t know.”

I thought about what Cuisle said for some time. What did it mean? He still couldn’t tell whether or not I was a daemon?

Canberils came to a decision. “If we’re not certain, then we can’t kill him.”

“Warlord!” Lade stepped forward. “Do you intend to defy our priestess’s orders?”

“Last I checked, we don’t take our commands from her. That’s the Council of Elders’ job. Also, if you ask me, the oracle was acting a little strange.”

For some reason, Lade and Canberils began arguing right in front of me.

Lade held that they should cut me down immediately, according to the oracle’s prophecy. Canberils, on the other hand, maintained that they should keep an eye on things until they could conclusively prove that I was a daemon.

Honestly, I didn’t even know what to think. Was I a daemon or not? Without a definitive answer, it was hard to feel pleased.

Canberils continued to debate with his officers for some time, before finally looking over to me. “Sorry to keep you waiting. The results of your trial are as follows: Due to insufficient evidence, judgment will be deferred. The examination must continue elsewhere.”

“…Continue? Where?”

“We will return to our castrum—I suppose you would call it our headquarters—and report on the situation. We will confer with the Council of Elders and the oracle for guidance and then return here.”

I exhaled wearily. “It sounds like quite a long process… Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”

They had decided to continue the matter solely because of mysterious reaction of the Daemon’s Sight, but I knew about a piece of suspicious evidence they lacked: the Gate of Magic.

If I felt certain they were going to kill me, I might have mentioned it, but for now I decided to keep it to myself. After getting a reprieve, I didn’t want to inadvertently make them change their minds and execute me on the spot.

“Of course, there is a possibility that you will slip and show your true nature.” Canberils gestured toward his men. “Therefore, Warchief Lade and ten warriors are hereby assigned to stand watch at this castle.”

“To watch me, you mean?” I clarified.

“That’s right. Understand that if something untoward does occur, Lade will take off your head immediately.”

“I would expect nothing less.”

Of course, I had no intention of being taken without a fight…but me succumbing to some kind of daemonic taint also wasn’t an impossible scenario. In that sense, it might be better to have someone like Lade around.

“Also, in the event you come across some other daemon or daemonist… Please use your judgment and command our warriors to help protect the people.”

Lade seemed taken aback. “Hey!”

I was surprised, too. For the first time in a while, my persona as the great magic user evaporated entirely. “A-are you entirely certain about that…?”

The edges of Canberils’s mouth quirked up into the ghost of a smile as he put his absolutely hideous helmet back on. “This is just me speaking personally, but I find it hard to believe that someone as whiny and soft-hearted as you could be connected to the daemons. Consider the use of my men a gift, to make up for any inconvenience our visit caused.”