Episode 41
"Kreeaaagh!!"
One of the magical beasts running at the front leaped powerfully and flew toward me.
"...Tch."
Soon the creature extended its sharp claws toward me, and flustered, I quickly reached for the newly purchased sword from the back alley, but...
- BAM!!
Serena, who had nimbly positioned herself in front of me, lightly blocked the creature's claws with the fan she held, then casually swung her fan.
"Kieeeek!!"
The creature flew away powerlessly and crashed among its charging comrades, and seeing this, the magical beasts stopped their charge and began to hesitate.
"Where do you think you're going."
Serena, looking at such magical beasts as if they were ridiculous, began to flutter her fan with a leisurely demeanor, and soon a soft moon mana began to overwhelm the magical beasts.
"K-kreeaagh..."
"Kie... kieeek..."
Thus swept away by the moon mana, the magical beasts staggered and began to fall one by one, and soon only silence began to flow through the dormitory lobby.
"How was that? I'm amazing, right?"
As I watched that scene blankly, Serena asked me with twinkling eyes.
"...Not really."
"Ugh."
After answering such a Serena curtly, I tried my best to ignore her sulky expression and muttered inwardly.
'As expected of Serena. She had perfectly mastered the Moonlight family's secret techniques even at this point.'
The 'Moonlight Duke House,' one of only three duke houses in the Empire, is an 'assassin family' that guards the Empire's nights.
Perhaps because of this, the Moonlight family, symbolizing the moon, possesses 'moon mana' that is soft and quiet, yet secretive and lethal, making it most suitable for 'assassination.'
Just like the brilliant and overwhelming 'sun mana' of the Sunrise Imperial Family symbolizing the sun, and the flashing and beautiful 'star mana' of the Starlight Family symbolizing stars, they possess abilities suited to their family.
Of course, compared to the sun mana that can produce explosive abilities continuously and the star mana that can produce tremendous power instantaneously, the destructive power might be lacking... but the moon mana, penetrating secretly like poison, is tremendously destructive in another sense.
- Rustle...
I was having such thoughts while watching the magical beasts that had begun to crumble into dust, when Serena spoke with a sullen expression.
"...If you had just continued training with Isollet or me, that much would have been no problem at all."
Of course, even now I could literally annihilate those creatures with a single sword strike.
I just didn't do so to hide my power from the attacker and Serena.
- Shaaa...
Anyway, since all the magical beasts had fallen, I was about to move to begin the full-scale search, when a familiar sound began from behind.
"...Please excuse me for a moment."
Kania was absorbing the black energy flowing from the crumbling magical beasts.
"...Ugh."
Serena, watching that scene, frowned and hid behind my back, then began to wave her fan to gather the black energy spreading in all directions toward her.
"Here you go, please have it all."
"...Thank you."
At her actions, Kania frowned slightly and answered, then began to absorb the black energy several times faster than before.
"...My, it seems the stray cat is angry."
"Enough, get off me."
"Yes."
I pulled Serena off my back where she kept sticking like glue, and sighed as I began to look back and forth between the two.
'...I wish they could get along well.'
Serena had seen through that Kania was a black mage from a very young age.
I don't know exactly how she saw through it, but since Serena was a born genius from the beginning, I took it for granted and had asked her to keep silent about this matter.
Fortunately, she followed my words well and did not reveal Kania's identity, but since the day she realized the identity, she has not been on particularly good terms with Kania.
Seeing them squabbling with incomprehensible words over nothing since earlier, that says it all.
"...Hm?"
While I was having such thoughts, suddenly Serena behind me made a puzzled expression and began to tilt her head.
Such a reaction from Serena surely meant something had happened, so I hurried to where she was, but when I arrived, there wasn't anything particularly special.
"...It's graffiti?"
"Well, to me it looks like there's some regularity."
I was watching for a moment the somehow unpleasant-looking graffiti drawn on the lobby floor, when Serena suddenly turned her head and began heading somewhere.
"...It's the dormitory caretaker and maid, right?"
"Yes, seeing the name tags... it seems so."
Following behind her, I found the caretaker and maid lying with their eyes closed under a fallen desk.
"They're not dead, just fainted. Even without checking their pulse, the slight muscle trembling and the stomach..."
"Enough, if you know why this is happening, summarize and tell me."
"It's magic. They've been put into a deep sleep by magic."
Hearing that, I sent Serena far away for a moment and was lost in thought, then spoke to Kania who had finished absorbing the black energy and was standing beside me.
"Kania, want to try infiltrating the unconscious?"
"Y-you know that magic?"
"Of course I know. I know most things about you."
I said with a smile, and seeing Kania with a flustered expression sweating cold sweat, I realized my mistake and added.
"Ah, of course, if it seems too difficult, you don't have to. It requires quite a bit of black magic power and it's a dangerous magic."
Kania, who was staring at me intently for a moment, sneered and opened her mouth.
"No, I will do it. I have an overflow of black magic power taken from the magical beasts."
"...Thank you, Kania."
Kania, who quietly nodded in acknowledgment at my words, began to send black magic power toward the maid who had lost consciousness and fallen.
I was watching that scene with wonder, when suddenly Kania frowned and urgently withdrew the black magic power.
"...It doesn't seem like it will work."
"What do you mean?"
When she shook her head and I asked with a puzzled expression, Kania answered with a serious expression.
"...I don't know either. Something, an unknown power is blocking interference with the unconscious."
Hearing her words, I began to frown deeply.
"...The Demon King bastard, he's out of his mind."
"What?"
"If it's magic that your 'unconscious magic' doesn't work on... unless it's the 'Demon King's' interference, it's impossible."
"Th-then... does that mean the Demon King is here right now?"
When Kania asked in surprise, I quietly shook my head and answered.
"No, that's not it... He probably shared his power with the 'attacker.'"
"What? Not even a high-ranking officer or confidant... just an 'Academy student'?"
Saying that, Kania began to make an expression of disbelief, and I too made the same expression as her and opened my mouth.
"That's why I said the Demon King is out of his mind. Why on earth did he do this? Why? For what reason?"
While I was earnestly guessing at the scenario that had gone terribly wrong, Kania cautiously asked a question.
"Young Master, just in case... it's not a quest failure, is it?"
"Uh, it's not a failure yet. The main quest window is still up."
"Then... it means the 'goal' that the attacker, and the Demon King, are aiming for hasn't been achieved yet."
"Right, from now on we need to stop that as quickly as possible. And after stopping it, I need to take that position. Speaking of which, Kania, I have a favor."
"Yes?"
"...Share some of that black magic power."
As I received some of the black magic power from the bewildered Kania and came out of the dining hall, Serena's voice came from upstairs.
"Come over here!!"
Hearing that, I quickly went up to the 2nd floor, and Serena was staring straight at me.
"...So, why did you call me?"
"To tell you what I've deduced."
Saying that, Serena swung her fan, and all the dormitory doors next to us began to rot.
"...My goodness."
Soon, what began to appear inside the rotted doors were commoner Academy students who had fainted.
"Needless to say, all the other floors are probably like this too. We took down 10 magical beasts just getting here, but there's not a trace of people anywhere."
"...Hmm."
When I put my hand to my chin and was thinking at her words, Serena continued her explanation.
"Well, this incident seems too massive and malicious for you to have orchestrated... so I'll assume from now on that you're here to stop all of this."
"...I understand, so get to the main point."
"Why are there no casualties?"
Hearing that, my eyes went round, and Serena quietly fanned herself and continued speaking.
"It's strange that there isn't a single casualty in this dormitory filled with magical beasts aggressive toward people. If the magical beasts wanted, they could have easily broken through these wooden doors."
"Moreover, the caretaker and maid who were exposed defenselessly on the 1st floor were also unharmed."
Kania, who had appeared behind me at some point, chimed in, and Serena, slightly frowning, coughed and continued.
"Ahem, anyway, considering such points... it seems there's someone controlling the magical beasts."
"...That would be the attacker."
"Yes, and the reason why that attacker deliberately put everyone in this dormitory to sleep, and released magical beasts to eliminate only intruders, not the sleeping people, is..."
Trailing off for a moment, she quietly pointed to the 1st floor lobby visible below the railing.
"...The graffiti we found earlier, can you see it?"
"Yeah, but why..."
"There's graffiti of a similar form here too."
Saying that, on the floor she pointed to, there really was graffiti similar to that on the 1st floor.
"The interesting thing here is that the graffiti on the 1st floor and the graffiti on the 2nd floor where we are now fit together exactly."
"Then..."
"Probably, looking at the fitted form, if these graffiti continue all the way to the top floor... ultimately it would take the form of a 'magic circle.'"
Up to there, Serena took a deep breath and began to speak with a serious expression.
"The deduction I can draw from here is... they need to put everyone in the dormitory to sleep, and if variables like intruders occur making the number of people unclear, it won't work... and if it's a magic circle that needs to be performed on such a large scale..."
"...Damn."
Before her words even ended, in my mind, the magic circle that the Succubus Queen I met in the back alley was preparing earnestly, sacrificing a large number of 'healthy children' to awaken the Demon King's power, came to mind.
Looking at the form of that graffiti... though it's slightly different from the magic circle the Succubus Queen used back then... it's highly likely to be more evil and on a larger scale.
Therefore, the true purpose of the 'attacker' and 'Demon King' who attacked this dormitory is...
"...There's no other possibility than a sacrificial magic circle."
"Let's break through to the top floor immediately."
As soon as Serena's words ended, I gave that order and urgently began running toward the top floor.
"Young Master, why the top floor?"
"The magic circle becomes complete only at the top floor. The attacker will probably activate the magic circle there. So we need to go quickly and stop..."
"KREEAAAGH!!!"
"...Damn."
However, having just ascended to the 3rd floor, we ended up surrounded by a large number of magical beasts.
"...Time is of the essence."
"Young Master, please step back."
"Sigh... things that will turn to dust anyway."
As I began biting my lip in anxiety, Kania and Serena gathered their power in their hands and began glaring at the magical beasts, but...
- FWOOOOSH!!!
Unable to hold back, I drew my sword from my waist and slashed out, instantly annihilating the large number of magical beasts, and they began looking at me with astounded eyes.
"Y-you... how is this..."
"I'll explain later, just follow me for now."
Revealing my true skill in front of Serena was a considerable minus, but since the 'Absolute Obedience Magic' exists, I could somehow make excuses... and though it's a very dangerous act, since I could erase memories as a last resort, it doesn't matter.
Right now, the lives of the commoners filling this dormitory are more precious than such things.
"...From now on, I'm starting a forced breakthrough. So keep up well."
Saying that, I loaded star mana throughout my body and began heading to the top floor at full speed.
"Y-Young Master?"
"Frey! You're too fast!!"
Though I could hear dying sounds from behind, right now the lives of hundreds of commoners are more important, so I decided to try my best to ignore them.
.
- BOOM!! CRASH!!!
"Damn, that bastard... where on earth did he get that kind of power!?"
"You, stop!!"
"Hehehe... hihi... I've come this far... what do you mean stop...?"
Thanks to my efforts, the top floor I arrived at in just a few minutes was already in a state of chaos.
- ZAP!!
"Ms. Perloche! Are you okay?"
"Th-this much is no problem...!"
Ariane's barrier and Perloche's white shield were blocking the pouring purple demonic energy.
"Ugh!!"
"You said you were out of mana? Don't push yourself too hard!"
"Th-this much is... enough..."
Soon the fire ball summoned by Irina and the golden light emitted by Clana collided with the rushing purple demonic energy, causing a massive explosion.
"Hwaaa!!!"
At that moment when the aftermath of the explosion thus created was about to swallow everyone, the sword energy Isollet emitted erased the aftermath, and then the figure of the 'attacker' who was facing some of the strongest people in the world was clearly revealed.
"...Isabel, so it was you."
Isabel, who had been dragged away by the Imperial Knights yesterday, was screaming with a mad smile on her face.
"It's no use!! As I've said many times... when 'Lord Frey' comes, you're all as good as dead!!!"
Then everyone who had been facing her began frowning deeply, and Kania and Serena standing beside me began looking at me with bewildered expressions.
'...She sold her soul.'
Watching that situation, I could understand what this situation was.
It seems she framed me for this incident and in exchange for 'revenge,' she offered her soul to the Demon King, and in return received 'a portion of the Demon King's power.'
"Surrender already! You have no chance of winning!!"
"...If you keep pouring out your power like that, your life force will run out, you know?"
Of course, since it's only a portion, she'll run out of power and collapse before long, but.
"Ha, don't be ridiculous! I just need to activate this magic circle here today! Then I'll officially become a member of the Demon King's army... and the rest, my superior Mr. Frey will take care of!"
The reason the Demon King gave her power was probably to activate the 'magic circle that awakens power.'
If that magic circle really activates, everyone in the commoner dormitory will become sacrifices, and then the Empire will be swept up in rebellion by angry commoners while simultaneously the Demon King who awakened the 'Protection of Destruction' will fully reveal himself to the world.
She has the constraint that she cannot reveal herself to the world unless she receives the protection of destruction.
'...Those Demon King's army fellows, they thought this through quite well.'
To receive power from the Demon King, one must be someone who has given up everything and can pursue only one purpose.
Isabel, who must have contacted the Demon King's army from several days to weeks ago, probably met that condition by falling due to me yesterday... and thanks to that, instead of the 'attack incident' she was going to commit on a small scale, she ended up causing it on such a 'large scale' just to impress the Demon King.
"F-Frey!?"
"...You bastard."
While I was having such thoughts, finally the people who had been fighting Isabel discovered me.
"...Wait, what? Did you say Frey?"
Then Isabel, who had been enthusiastically selling my name until then, made a flustered expression and began glaring at me.
"Ugh... uuu... uuuugh...!!!"
Then suddenly making a creepy groan, she suddenly began running toward me at full speed.
"...Where do you think you're going."
"How filthy."
Then Kania and Serena made cold expressions and tried to block the front, but...
"Lord Frey!! Please forgive me!!!"
Stopping right in front of me, Isabel suddenly knelt and began bowing her head to the ground with all her might.
"........."
The people who had been watching that mad scene without even thinking to attack, all turned their eyes to me at once after a while.
'...Is she crazy?'
Of course, I too was bewildered not having any clue why she was acting like this, when a voice began ringing in my head.
- Frey Lione Starlight, collaborator of the Demon King's army.
'...What?'
While I was flustered by such a sudden situation, the black crow sitting on the window right in front of me began winking.
- I am the humble servant of the great Demon King. Nice to meet you.
Soon a voice rang in my head again, and only then did I recall who this crow was.
'...Right, this crow bastard was the culprit of the commoner dormitory attack incident.'
This crow, called the 'Demon King's pet,' has the ability to grant wishes that nobles desire and in exchange collect their souls, in the 'commoner dormitory attack incident' scenario.
- That woman wished to me that she wanted to join the Demon King's army. In other words, she is your direct junior.
If what this crow says is true, Isabel didn't wish for revenge against me, but wished 'to join the Demon King's army.'
That's why she seems to be doing her best to impress me, who has already been in close contact with the Demon King's army.
- At this time today, if the magic circle is activated, the Demon King will awaken his power... and will soon reveal himself to this world. So please, just have a conversation with that girl and buy some time now.
The crow began asking me earnestly in a pleading voice. As expected, Isabel alone wasn't enough to buy time.
- I haven't forgotten the loyalty you've shown to the Demon King's army until now. So, if you cooperate, I'll take today's events into consideration and bestow infinite glory upon you.
Having finished speaking, the crow began pecking its beak, urging me, and I took a deep breath and spoke to Isabel.
"Well now, even though I've given you that many hints..."
"I-I'm sorry! I'm truly sorry!!"
When I said that, Isabel, trembling with fear, began shouting desperately.
So terrified was she that she seemed unable to even remember the fact that I had never actually given her any hints.
"You don't mean... you don't mean...?"
"Ha, as expected... I knew you'd be involved with the Demon King's army even at this point."
"...You trash bastard."
Anyway, as I started acknowledging Isabel, everyone on the top floor began denouncing me, and Kania too, roughly grasping the situation, quietly gritted her teeth and began taking an offensive stance against me.
"Wait!! Just wait a moment!!"
Just when they, full of anger, were about to unleash attacks on me who was maintaining a calm expression, suddenly Serena stepped forward and began shouting.
"...Serena?"
"L-long time no see..."
"...A nostalgic face."
Then Irina and Perloche, and Clana began making glad expressions.
"M-Mr. Frey led the way to save everyone and cut down the magical beasts! Probably!"
But when Serena shouted urgently, they soon made cold expressions and muttered.
"...Ms. Serena, it seems you didn't regress."
"It's a shame, really."
"...Tch."
Sensing such a cold atmosphere, Serena urgently looked at me and began speaking.
"You!! Tell the truth quickly!! All of this is not you but... huh?"
But, seeing that I had already drawn my sword and was looking at everyone with a relaxed expression, she stopped speaking for a moment and began glaring at me.
'...Is she thinking again?'
Knowing that expression was the one she made when she was thinking, I thought I should start the work before things went wrong any further, and touched the 'Stone of Domination' in my pocket.
"KREEAAAGH!!!"
Then, all the magical beasts in the commoner dormitory began heading toward the top floor.
- W-what is this!?
'...What is it? It's the true power of the Stone of Domination that was hidden.'
When the crow's flustered voice rang in my head, I quietly answered inwardly, and touching the Stone of Domination once more, I put it into a hypnotic state.
That creature is an important proof of the Demon King's resurrection, and at the same time, it needs to become the real mastermind who kept threatening me and eventually manipulated my mind to cause this incident, protecting my political position.
So, I need to use that crow with its pupils dilated and mouth gaping open appropriately.
Only then will the Empress who's in a cooperative relationship with me, and the Sun God Church I've been diligently feeding back money, have grounds to protect me.
"Hwahahahahaha!!!"
Having finished preparations, I let out an evil laugh for a moment, then spewed out the black energy Kania had gathered and planted in my body, and shouted to everyone.
"For the Demon King's descent!!!"
Then, everyone on the top floor quietly began taking offensive stances.
'...This is going to keep me bedridden for a week, isn't it?'
It seems the moment to become the final boss of the commoner dormitory attack incident has arrived.