Chapter 2: Magic Sanctum Invasion Strategy

 

 

 

Chapter 2: Magic Sanctum Invasion Strategy

 

I never did find out what the Demon Lord’s identity was in the manga. It might’ve been covered in the final volume… Grr! It frustrates me by the day! How could I have died with such horrible timing? Couldn’t the truck have waited until I read my manga?!

I’m cursing my past self for being such a klutz and the unknown truck driver for not watching where he was going while I draw a magic circle with a radius of about thirty feet in my manor’s dungeon.

“Nomoniet nomoniet ein ik… Transference Gate. Answer my request with this blood offering. My wisdom is absolute law.”

Silver light surges from the completed magic circle and fades. I step out of the circle and slice the back of my hand, letting the red drops drip into a small vial. Once it fills, I stop the bleeding and put a cork in the vial.

All done.

“Canna, I have something important to discuss with you,” I say to the maid fearfully watching my magic ritual from the sidelines.

I hold the vial of my blood out to her.

“I am about to break the Demon Lord’s law. I likely won’t return alive. Even if I do come back in one piece, I’ll be marked a traitor. Should I not return, and Analia’s army comes to attack the manor, I want you to bring everyone into this teleportation circle and escape outside. The spell will activate when you spill my blood in the center of the magic circle. I made it so anyone inside will be teleported to Gaea’s frontier land. You’re welcome to take all the gems, money, and valuables inside the manor with you. Use what you can to survive on your own in Gaea.”

I press the vial of blood into Canna’s hands. She looks up at me with astonished eyes.

“L-Lady Elle! What are you planning to do?! Why wouldn’t you return alive…?! I don’t want that! I don’t want us to be separated for good!”

“My decision…has been made. I do feel bad…for selfishly dragging you all to my manor and not being able to look after you until the end. Ultimately, maybe I am just stupid Elle, the trivial shrimp, the first of the Four Grand Magi to be defeated, and a disgrace… Sorry, Canna,” I apologize and climb the stairs out of the dungeon.

I hear Canna pleading with me to stop, but I can’t, not now. I could have scraped out a meager living in the shadows while keeping a wary eye out for Saint Aela. That was a choice.

I wanted to experience what it feels like to fall in love, too. I wish I could’ve eaten my fill of all sorts of delicious foods.

I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to live in my favorite manga, so I wish I could’ve seen Saint Aela just once. What fun it would be to see the main characters come together and watch the epic scenes unfold in real time.

But I have to make sure of it with my own eyes. Even if this choice leads to me being hunted down as a traitor who defied the Demon Lord and my eventual death—I want to confirm the Demon Lord’s existence for myself. I want to learn about what it is I have loved and believed in.

The power of magic is the crystallization of wisdom and technology. Sorcerers are the seekers of knowledge. Once something piques our curiosity and fans the flames of an inquiring mind, we can’t stop until we learn everything about it.

After all, the Demon Lord raised us to be this way.

◆◆◆

I’VE arrived in front of the castle where the Demon Lord resides. Guards are stationed in front of the gates. Likely soldiers under Steel Regulus of the Four Grand Magi.

The Four Grand Magi are in charge of Analia’s military, and each serves a specific role. Julius, the strongest of the Grand Magi, is the commanding officer of the Analian army, the Demon Lord’s armed forces. The soldiers invading Gaea move under Julius’s orders.

Sereniel the Temptress, second strongest Grand Magi, is the executive officer of the Analian army serving directly under Julius. She has the most authority in the military after Julius.

Regulus, the third strongest Grand Magi, is generally responsible for maintaining peace and order in the kingdom. Put in terms from my past life, he’s kind of like a police chief and does not participate in war.

And I, the fourth strongest, am the director of the Centers for Magic Research. I just recently took the position, though.

I wonder who my successor will be. Never mind. I should stop thinking about what will happen after I go through with this. I need to focus on what I’m doing in the here and now.

Mind made up, I activate Analyze in my right eye. Geometric patterns forming complex magic circles spread and converge before my eye, changing the world seen through it to a different color.

The spell has begun analyzing the magic used to defend the castle: Teleportation Resile, Shield Wall, Magic Detect, Intruder Alert… Figures there’d be a ton of defense spells cast on it.

But as luck would have it, Steel Regulus isn’t in the castle today, making this my one and only shot if I’m gonna go through with it. Entering the castle is no problem for me as a Grand Magi, but the inner sanctum where the Demon Lord lives is located deeper than the deepest depths of hell. Not even someone of my authority is allowed into those inner parts of the castle.

Just poking your big toe into this area thoroughly protected by layers of magic will get you detected and apprehended in seconds. I have to temporarily disable the castle’s defenses.

I don’t want to get caught before I see the Demon Lord. I’m definitely going to meet with him. I’m prepared to die, but only after I confirm who—or what—the Demon Lord is. I’m absolutely going to learn the true identity of what I’ve loved all these years.

I touch a blue magic stone about the size of a human head hidden in the tall grass. Six more are set up in a wide circle around the Demon Lord’s castle. Each stone is engraved with the magic circles for Resonance and Delay Magic. It’s what I prepared in advance to sneak into the inner sanctum today.

“Nomoneik nomoneik ein ik… Delay Gate. Answer my request with this blood offering. My wisdom is absolute law.” I chant the spell and drip my blood onto the magic stone, which reacts with a pale glow.

It’s a bit plain, but a large-scale spell should have triggered. I take another look at the castle with Analyze active in my right eye. Delay Magic has covered the castle’s defense spells like a shadow that can’t be seen unless you train your eyes on one point. Now the defenses won’t trigger immediately after I enter the inner sanctum.

I suck at casting intricate spells, so I was on pins and needles worrying if it’d work, but it’s a huge success. Go me! I’m Elle of the Four Grand Magi for a reason!

“After all, I love the Demon Lord the most! And the Demon Lord loves me— Ack! My catchphrase came out again…!”

Succeeding at the kind of magic I tend to royally screw up got me exalting the Demon Lord like I used to… And here I am about to break his law! I’ve got issues… But can you really blame me? I mean, I always said that line whenever I succeeded at difficult or awesome spells. Grr! Leave it to the Demon Lord to land a mental attack on me before I even set foot inside his castle!

Stop, stop. Calm down, me!

A young lady in the height of her youth shouldn’t be loudly worshiping some Demon Lord all alone in the middle of a forest in the dead of night in the first place.

I take several calming breaths before flying to the castle gates. I might be small, but I’m still a Grand Magi; I can walk right through the front gates without anyone questioning me.

I pass through the gates with an unassuming face and head straight to the castle. Everyone I see steps aside to give way to Lady Elle of the Grand Magi, making my advance inside quick and easy.

People become sparser and the air feels heavier, and then I spot a plain-looking door. My destination. Two armed guards are standing in the way.

Only the DemiOracle can go beyond that door. Long story short, that’s the entrance to the magic sanctum.

The guards warily eye me as I strut up to them, but they quickly bow when they recognize I’m a Grand Magi.

“Lady Elle! What troubles bring you to this place?!” one of the guards asks, afraid I come bearing bad news.

I pull a vial from my dress pocket and pop the cork.

“I simply came to reward you both for fulfilling your daily duties.”

“To reward…us?”

I hold out the vial to the guard with a dazed expression.

“A magic potion to cure your fatigue.”

“A magic potion? But…opening the lid to a magic potion here…will trigger…the magic alert system…”

The two guards inhale the sleep spell cast on the liquid in the vial and pass out.

“Sorry, boys. Things have gone surprisingly quick and smooth so far. Is Analia gonna be okay with such flimsy defenses? Almost feel like I need to have a talk with Steel Regulus,” I mutter, staring down at the peacefully sleeping guards.

Well, I guess the defenses cast on the outside would stop most people when it comes down to it. Those are some mighty powerful spells. Delaying their effects was possible because I’m me, but that’s not something just any Joe Schmoe can do.

After all, I love the Demon Lord the most! And— AHEM! I really gotta stop saying that.

I quell my speeding heart and place a hand on the doorknob. The door creaks open.

The Demon Lord…is up ahead.

But apparently not right here, because a set of dark spiraling stairs leading underground is all that’s on the other side of the door. It’d be too easy if the Demon Lord was sitting right there when you open the door.

I’m careful to take one steep step at a time. After descending several hundred steps, the stairs disappear into a long passageway. It’s too dark to see well, but I can make out a door at the end. Surely, beyond that door, is the Demon Lord—

“What are you doing here?”

My heart jumps in my throat; my shoulders jerk skyward.

Someone found out I was trying to sneak into the magic sanctum?! I didn’t sense anyone, but someone is definitely standing behind me now…

I can’t undo having been seen. I have to take them out. Though I don’t look the part, I am one of the Four Grand Magi. I’ve got nothing against them, but I need to immobilize the person for a bit.

I turn around and come face-to-face with utter despair. Who wouldn’t? Because before me is—

“J-Julius…?!”

Julius. The strongest sorcerer in Analia. The strongest Grand Magi.

Why is Julius here?! What do I do? What can I do?!

I was planning on immobilizing anyone who saw me, like the villainess that I am, but I’m not so dumb as to think I could do a thing to Julius. What’s he doing here? Did I screw up and get discovered infiltrating the castle?! By Julius of all people?!

Calm down, me. There should still be a way out of this. Should I come up with a feasible excuse to get through the moment? Like, I could say I was patrolling the area because I sensed an intruder… Would that get me through?

No, it’s not good enough. If he looks into it, he’ll be able to trace Delay Magic to me.

Most of all, even in the unlikely event that I get past Julius with a random reason…I won’t get a second chance. After pulling this stunt today, there will never come another day I can see the Demon Lord.

Sweat coats my hands.

“I asked what you are doing here,” Julius repeats because I’m staring at him in silence. His voice is deeper than when he spoke to me at that dinner. His commanding, icy visage is veiled, making it impossible to tell what he’s thinking.

“Um...there’s an…intruder further in…,” I answer as sweat drenches the back of my neck.

Suspicion draws Julius’s brows together. “An intruder? You’re the only one I sense down here.”

Yeah, I knew this excuse wouldn’t work on him. Well, crap. What now? What option do I have? I’ve come this far; do I just go all-in and fight my way out?

Not even Julius will escape my most powerful Fire Bomb unscathed.

Okay! I’m gonna teach Julius, the future disgrace of the Grand Magi who falls in love with the enemy nation’s saint, a lesson with my heavy-damage-dealing magic…!

Yeah, no, I can’t. Casting a wide-area attack in this narrow passageway will destroy the entire castle, killing me in the process.

That said, my loss is as good as sealed if I fight Julius without using my über-special skills! I’m terrible with intricate, small-scale magic, and this guy is the strongest sorcerer for a reason.

Frankly, the magic pouring off Julius in waves makes it plain as day that he’s not someone I can win against when I’m already at a field disadvantage. I can’t stop sweating.

But I can’t give up now. I’ve come too far.

“…Please, let me pass. I want to see the Demon Lord no matter what,” I implore.

Julius’s eyebrow twitches.

I can’t beat him. And since I don’t stand a chance against him, persuasion is my only weapon. Everyone I brought to my manor from Gaea has told me cuteness always wins the day, and Julius is my fiancé in name, so he might just overlook what I’m doing…

With that in mind, I play the cute card by looking up at him from under my fluttering lashes. Julius’s stony expression remains just as nebulous.

Er, yeah, I shouldn’t have expected that to work… This is the guy who’s going to call me the disgrace of the Four Grand Magi upon my deathbed!

I knew it. It’s do or die. Sink or swim. That’s how bad I want to meet the Demon Lord and make sure he’s real.

I slowly fall back as I hide my hands behind my back and cast a spell with my fingers.

Just a little time is all I need. If I can just stop Julius for a few seconds, I can charge down the passageway into the inner sanctum. And then I’ll see the Demon Lord!

“What do you intend to do upon meeting the Demon Lord?” Julius asks, icily watching my retreat.

Behind my back, I complete the spell I was crafting with my hands. I vigorously thrust both hands toward him.

“I just want to see him with my own eyes!” I shout, activating Light Flare. Intense, blinding light explodes in front of Julius’s eyes.

Wordless spells only last for a few seconds, but I should’ve succeeded in temporarily blinding him.

I’ll run to the Demon Lord during this opening! I spin around to race down the passage leading to the inner sanctum. The second I take a big step forward with my right foot—Julius is standing directly in front of me.

Why is he right here?! Wasn’t he on the other side of the passageway behind me…?! Didn’t he take a direct hit from the Light Flare?!

“That was my afterimage.”

H-His afterimage…?! This guy just used an over-the-top spell often seen from the end boss in a video game!

I go to run, but my legs buckle and I collapse back on my butt.

Julius looks down at me, cold and calm.

Why?! Why did it turn out this way…?! How did Julius even realize I’d infiltrated this part of the castle?!

Tch! Just let me take one look at the Demon Lord if nothing else!

But fear has paralyzed my legs. Julius walks over to me, unconcerned with my inner turmoil.

I’m doomed.

Well, I pretty much forfeited my life the moment I decided to sneak into the sanctum to see the Demon Lord.

Punishment is all that ever awaited me for breaking the law. But even at that price, I still wanted to see him. I wanted to confirm the identity of what I have blindly loved all these years. I came here prepared to die later just for that confirmation, but now I won’t even get to do that much?

Julius stops in front of me as I tremble. He opens his mouth. “…Follow me. I’ll show you to what we call the Demon Lord.”

“Wha—?”

His unexpected invitation stops my brain. “Follow me”? “I’ll show you”?

As I’m trying to parse what he said, Julius is already halfway down the passageway.

He’s not going to arrest me? Kill me? He said to follow him. That he’ll show me to the Demon Lord.

Is this a trick…? No, he has no reason to go out of his way to fool me.

“Hurry up… Don’t you want to see?” Julius turns around, already a distance down the corridor, and asks me because I’m too confused to move. His question surprises me, but I’ve grasped the situation enough to shove to my feet.

“I-I’m coming! I want to see! I want the honor of meeting him!”

Is it just me or did Julius give a satisfied nod before he set off again?

I run to catch up to his brisk pace and fall in step beside him.

“Julius, why are you going to, well, let me see? Have you met the Demon Lord before?” I ask in a tremulous voice. Julius glances at me, then immediately looks forward.

“No time. Talk later.”

I bite my tongue because his tone leaves no room for argument.

W-What’s the big deal about a little small talk? My mind is still reeling from shock…

Depressed from receiving the cold shoulder, I keep my mouth shut as I follow Julius to the large door at the end of the passage.

I know on the spot that the Demon Lord is on the other side. I can sense that much overwhelming magic through the door.

I swallow the lump in my throat while Julius lifts the magic lock with practiced ease. He’s skilled. Very skilled.

Does he come here a lot…? He releases the powerful magic on the door in one effortless swipe, and it opens with a heavy groan.

The scene beyond steals my full attention.

I rush into the room and sweep my eyes over the walls, floor, and ceiling. I’m deeply moved by the marvel of magic applied to every end of the room without a single nook or cranny left untouched.

Breathtaking. Magic circles like nothing I’ve ever seen before are carved intricately into every surface of the room.

Magic circles and squares of various sizes emit a pale luminance. The number of engraved and interlinked magic circles could be in the hundreds, or even thousands. They’re too close and connected to count. The exquisite balance the circles form can only be defined as artistic.

Not even I, a sorcerer who has reached the rank of Grand Magi, can begin to grasp the meaning of these magic circles.

“Amazing…,” I sigh in awe.

I run my finger along the trail of light from the magic circle that stretches around the walls. Is this magic formula a part of a calculation to predict the future? Incredible. It has a tremendous amount of computing power that ordinary humans could never attain.

I wouldn’t expect anything less of the room where the Demon Lord resides. Is this a magic circle he compiled? Amazing. I knew it! The Demon Lord is a wondrous and awe-inspiring being! There’s actually a Demon Lord who drew this masterpiece that words can’t even begin to describe!

The Demon Lord we’ve loved and adored exists for real!

But if this is supposed to be the Demon Lord’s room, why isn’t he here…?

I swing my gaze around the room with a start. Only Julius and I are present.

“Julius, where is the Demon Lord?”

“…Right here,” Julius mutters in an uncharacteristically weak voice.

“Where?”

The Demon Lord is here? I don’t understand, so I take another look around the room and still don’t see anyone.

“He’s not here,” I point out.

Julius stares at the largest, most complex magic circle and slowly explains, “The very magic circles engraved in this room are the identity of the thing we worshiped as our demon lord.”

What? Did I hear that right? What is he saying?

Utterly lost, I look to Julius for answers. He averts his eyes.

“There is no such thing as a demon lord. There is only a magic circle that seeks the optimal solution to promote the development of magic.”

“A magic circle that…seeks the optimal solution?” A hollow voice slips past my quivering lips. I can’t think.

“This country has been controlled by a magic circle all along. The magic circle presented us with the optimal solutions to guide this country in the direction it wanted, and we put those solutions into practice. The DemiOracle is nothing more than the blood offering to activate it. Everyone living in this country is a pawn to further develop magic.”

Huh…? Wh-What is he blabbing on about? That can’t be true!

“I don’t believe you! I mean, magic circles are something we sorcerers create, empower, and use! One of our own creations is controlling us…? Absurd! Don’t feed me a ridiculous lie! Come on, let me see the Demon Lord now! Show me to the Demon Lord I’ve always loved!”

Julius gives me a pained look when I blurt out my confused and disorganized feelings.

What’s with that face? Don’t look at me like that. If you keep looking so hurt, it’ll make it seem like every ridiculous thing you said is the truth!

“Elle, the Demon Lord you loved—no, that which we considered a Demon Lord and were all devoted to—doesn’t exist.”

The Demon Lord doesn’t exist?

Everything is going dark before my eyes. Maybe it’d be easier if I let go of consciousness and fainted.

The possibility had always been in the back of my mind like a splinter too deep under the skin to pull out. I considered the prospect that the Demon Lord doesn’t really exist, and that we had been offering our love to something that never existed in the first place.

But I yearned for the Demon Lord, and what he stood for, from the bottom of my heart. A piece of me always believed that he was watching over my hard work and accomplishments and would someday stand at my side in a tangible form…

But it’s not a he or a she...but a magic circle?

“The war with Gaea is being fought for nothing more than this magic circle’s calculations that this war will develop a powerful magical civilization.” Julius points to the brightest magic circle in the center of the ceiling. Its light pulsates, coloring the room in various shades of blue.

This one is simplistic, unlike the other circles incorporating complicated techniques and brush strokes. Actually, it might not even count as a magic circle anymore. It’s more like graffiti.

I closely decipher the graffiti strokes. It depicts a world where people can live conveniently through the use of magic. But that convenience is given by magic, and the people who live in that world are dominated by magic. Living by the laws of magic, these people give blood offerings, have no emotions, and have simply turned into instruments for pushing along the development of magic technology.

“What have I been mastering magic for all this time if not the Demon Lord? To become a puppet controlled by a freaking magic circle…?” I mutter, stunned.

Slowly, I raise my head and meet Julius’s eyes. He looks as perplexed as I feel. For a while, our gazes stay locked as we both seek the answer from the other, until Julius breaks the hold.

“…Elle, we’re out of time. Let’s go back,” he instructs and grabs my arm. He tries to lead me from the room. I swing my arm, knocking his hand loose.

“How can I?! This! This is too much! Julius, did you know all along? Did you know and keep it quiet? This…this is…” I wail and crumble to my knees.

Some sort of liquid fills my eyes, distorting my vision. I squeeze them shut and something wet spills down my cheeks—tears. And then I realize that I’ve never cried since the day I became self-aware.

“My Null Magic will fade soon. Weep later. We’re leaving.”

My consciousness grows dull at the sound of Julius’s voice just above my head. My eyelids are drooping. I’m sleepy.

Did Julius cast a spell on me?

I look up to catch the expression on his face, but the tears make it impossible to see anything.