Silvia's island, 'Nameless Island,' held immense magical value. By gathering 'Demon Soil (魔土)'—earth imbued with mana drifting in the orbit of the floating islands—she had transformed the island itself into a catalyst for her exclusive use.
Therefore, the magic Silvia cast from Nameless Island reached every corner of the continent. Whether it be deep beneath the Empire, the surface, or some faraway, nameless island of ghosts…….
—……I do not have the right to kill that child.
Silvia heard Dekulein's words. She felt his tone.
—But that child does.
"……What right."
She asked again, knowing he could not hear. He conveyed it as if answering.
—The right to kill me.
"……"
It was as if a needle were pricking her heart. A small pain approached in a heart where emotions had died.
"What do you think, Idnik?"
A dry question devoid of intonation. A voice so withered and twisted, it seemed ready to crumble.
Idnik, standing beside her, answered.
"I suppose that bastard still has some conscience, at least."
Silvia looked up at the sky. There were many birds. A flock of migratory birds had arrived at the island. A merlin was commanding them.
"The right to kill."
I have the right to kill him.
He admitted it himself.
"……"
Silvia closed her eyes and stood stock still, thinking.
The hatred coiled in her heart. The anger that grew the more she knew.
But at the very bottom, charred black and stuck fast, another emotion that could not be easily peeled away.
Love.
"Idnik. Calla and Dekulein know each other."
"Hm? Ah……"
At that question, Idnik smiled faintly.
"In this magic world, there are a few who know each other just by name. For example, Calla, Rohakan, Adrienne, Rodran, Gilteon, Betan, Rezol, Keimdal, Gindalf, Rogerio……"
Idnik placed her hand on top of Silvia's head. Silvia narrowed her eyes in displeasure and glared at her.
"And Silvia."
"……Let go."
Whether or not that was the right way to put it, Dekulein was a man of vast connections.
Of course, it was not a compliment.
"If you include the former head Dicaillen, it's almost all of those at the Monarch rank or above in this magic world. Thanks to all sorts of patronage, there are many among the floating islands' addicts who have ties to Yukline."
"……"
"A truly fascinating family. How they managed to draw so much aggro so well……"
Silvia nodded and closed her eyes again. Concentrating on her magic, she gazed once more upon that distant island on the continent.
* * *
Calla and Dekulein were, so to speak, master and disciple. The first mage to come and teach Dekulein at Dicaillen's request was Calla, and the next was Rohakan.
Of course, neither of them accomplished their intended purpose.
Calla, who had been the same age as Dekulein at the time, quit after about two weeks. Because Dekulein's talent was too limited.
She felt a bit sorry, but ultimately thought it was his own deficiency. And indeed, that was the case.
"……"
Calla looked at Dekulein. Dekulein had placed his hand on Efrin's forehead, trying to 'understand' the dream.
"Tch."
No, he had just clicked his tongue and stopped. Calla tilted her head.
"Why?"
"This method takes too long. Instead."
He closed his eyes for a moment. He was trying to send a 'different command' to the Mokgangcheol inside the castle.
"I'm thinking of a more primal solution."
Calla looked at Dekulein's head. To be precise, she peered into his skull.
What had happened to Dekulein in the meantime, that he had become the brain the altar coveted most?
"Dekulein. What happened to you during that time?"
"……"
Dekulein said nothing. Calla gazed at him.
"I find you fascinating. Curious."
"What are you talking about."
"I'm curious about your growth, too. But I'm also curious why you took all the blame for Cielia's death upon yourself."
"……"
"Was it because you pitied Silvia?"
Dekulein's brow twitched. Calla shifted her gaze to the empty air.
The magic watching over this space. Its presence was visible to Calla.
"The Dekulein I knew had already strayed far from himself."
"……"
Dekulein listened silently. The history of Dekulein that Calla was about to convey was, in its own way, fascinating information to him as well.
"I wonder if I pitied you—you who lacked talent, you who couldn't even admit that fact?"
The Dekulein Calla had seen in the old days was a timid small dog.
A small dog who would get angry preemptively, afraid someone would attack him or look down on him, always growling and barking.
"But now there's an ember in your soul? I can see it."
Calla spoke. At that moment, Dekulein leaned his body against the back of the chair.
Ember.
That ember held a somewhat different meaning for him.
Whether it was a soul called Gim Ujin with an ember called Dekulein.
Or a soul called Dekulein with an ember called Gim Ujin.
"……Calla."
Still, it was true that he was a bit angry.
How dare anyone say they pitied anyone else.
"I pity you too."
"……"
Dekulein knew the setting of the Named 'Calla'. In that storyline, Calla had more than enough reason to be pitied.
"No life is as wretched as yours."
Dekulein spoke. Calla stared into his eyes.
"The reason I accepted Cielia's death? It's simple. Because I killed her."
"……"
Cielia died by Dekulein's two hands. Dekulein had that memory, and Calla knew that fact as well.
When fighting the demon, Calla had always been by Yukline's side.
Cielia's death was also because of that demon.
The great calamity by the name of 'Lucky Letter'.
"Whatever the grudge, whatever the cause. The fact that I killed her is something that cannot be justified."
Dekulein said.
"It's too late to regret it now, and nothing would change."
Calla nodded.
"So I shall live this way."
"……What if Silvia kills you someday?"
"I shall gladly accept it."
At those words, the wind blew again. Calla let out a low breath.
"……Is that so?"
She withdrew her resolve to put Dekulein under her 「Authority」. She reined in her desire to crack open the bastard's skull and offer him to the altar.
"Dekulein."
But Dekulein probably doesn't know.
That Dicaillen is not yet dead.
That that persistent wraith's 'brain' still survives, continuing its existence at the bottom of the altar.
And that that monster wants your body.
"Why."
"……I think you should be careful."
Calla simply said so and shook her head—no, no.
* * *
……Efrin worried about how to break through this situation. But there was no suitable method.
This is a dream! That person is a ghost!
Should she shout it out right away? Or wait a little longer?
She fidgeted restlessly and glanced at Jakal.
"Ah, it's delicious!"
That man who looked quite strong knew nothing and just shoveled down food.
"Miss Efrin!"
Just then, Lia grabbed Efrin's sleeve.
"Please eat this!"
"Hm?"
And she handed her a wrap.
Efrin reluctantly put it in her mouth.
"Chew it thoroughly. Don't cough again."
As she chewed, she glanced at Hesrok, and this time it was a normal wrap. It seemed he had definitely 'learned.'
"Now! Since we're done eating, shall we advance?"
In the meantime, the meal was over. At Ganesha's words, Efrin sprang up.
She was determined to stop them from entering the inner castle.
"No! I—"
"It's alright~?"
But Ganesha cut Efrin off. And she scurried over, whispering in her ear.
—I saw it too. Lia knows too, we all know. The second hand on that clock has been going backwards.
"……!"
—So don't show it. Lia was just giving you a rough hint.
As expected of Ganesha!
Efrin nodded with a surprised expression. Ganesha continued with a grin.
—We're reluctant to go in too, but it can't be helped. It seems a friend we need to rescue is inside.
"Ah……"
So there was a friend to rescue~ I see~
Taking it lightly, Efrin's mind flashed like lightning.
Her head rang as if an awl were piercing her temple.
"?"
She looked around. Moving her eyes, she searched thoroughly for 'that person.'
But he was not there, and the door leading to the inner castle opened.
"6 days, 6 hours, 6 minutes, 6 seconds. We will now enter."
Hesrok spoke. At that moment, Efrin realized something strange once again.
Just now it had been 6 hours, 6 minutes, 6 seconds too.
Now it was still 6 hours, 6 minutes, 6 seconds.
Time was not passing at all.
"Are we going in?!"
But Jakal shouted energetically as if he sensed nothing strange, and Ganesha and Lia seemed to be playing along, while Allen followed his teammates with a cheerful smile.
"Sis! Are you there?!"
Before long, Jakal's shouts searching for Calla rang out.
"Kalos! Are you here?!"
Ganesha and Lia also shouted in loud voices.
If so, would Dekulein also be inside?
"……"
For now, Efrin followed behind them.
* * *
The second floor of Ghost Castle.
"Do you have a plan? I want to wake my brother up now too."
At Calla's words, I nodded.
"I have a plan."
That preparation had begun while conversing with Calla, and had only just finished.
Calla asked.
"What are you planning to do?"
"Sometimes, there are moments when the most primitive violence is necessary rather than understanding."
I looked around this castle.
A space that had become 'a single life' in itself. This bizarre and wondrous monster.
"What do you mean?"
"I will smash this entire castle to pieces."
"?"
Calla let out a slightly surprised gasp. And then she asked again, still in a questioning tone.
"Dekulein, won't your magic be insufficient?"
"You help too."
Calla smacked her lips for a moment. The sudden request for cooperation seemed to fluster her.
"How?"
"I've inscribed the spell formula for 「Telekinesis」 throughout the entire castle using Mokgangcheol. You supplement the insufficient mana, and I'll wield the 「Telekinesis」."
I didn't know exactly how vast Calla's mana vessel was, but it would be at minimum tens of thousands and at maximum hundreds of thousands.
If I manifested my 「Telekinesis」 to its maximum while receiving the support of that much mana, I could even cause a small earthquake across this entire continent.
"I will shatter every single soul that has devoured this castle and island."
The plan is simple. Pouring that enormous magical energy solely into this castle.
"……"
Calla looked at me. For some reason, her face seemed to be smiling.
"This castle seems to be a space composed of thousands of souls. Will you end up killing them all?"
"……Hmph."
I twisted the corner of my mouth.
"Rather than living on as these kinds of souls, dying would be a hundred, a thousand times better."
"What if they say they don't want to die?"
Calla asked again. It was a rather human concern, but I shook my head without hesitation.
"Even so, they are already dead."
Whatever this castle's circumstances. Whatever becomes of the souls trapped in the castle.
Dekulein—and Yukline—do not care.
Because my ego is not bound by such humanitarian values as 'souls are people too.'
"It'll be a massacre, you know? Many mages might condemn you. They have recognized the existence of souls, after all."
"So what?"
"……Hm?"
"None of my concern."
Why would a soul be a person?
They're already dead and gone. Rather, they're nothing but bastards pulling screwed-up tricks to drag the living down with them.
"Yukline does not compromise."
We do not discriminate between means and methods. We are not constrained by things outside our objective. We do not cling to sentimental values or a pleasant process.
"What is needed now is not the appeal of a good person, but the decision of a villain."
And I do not hesitate in that decision.
Because I am a villain born with the 「Fate of a Villain」, I live as a villain.
"You might earn the resentment of ghosts, you know?"
At Calla's words, I simply smiled.
"That's what I wish for."
I will probably kill countless 'real people' in the future. Even if they become ghosts and resent me, I wouldn't care.
"They'll cling to your shoulders and shorten your lifespan, you know?"
"You think I can't kill them just because they're ghosts?"
If they wish, they can stick to my body like an earthbound spirit.
Because I will gladly kill that damned ghost one more time.
"I just have to kill them, and kill them, and kill them again until they no longer hinder me."
"……Hm."
Calla nodded. And she sent mana flowing beneath her feet.
"Well then, it seems this castle chose the wrong opponent. It shouldn't have messed with a madman like you."
Following the magic circle composed of Mokgangcheol, the mana of an 「Authority」 erupted. The speed of the mana was faster than any rapid, lightly exceeding the speed of sound.
Calla closed and opened her eyes for a moment, and in that very instant.
Her mana had already dyed the entire castle.
"It seems about done. Can you do it? If you say all that and can't, you'll be embarrassed."
"Nothing to worry about."
I connected the magic circle imbued with Calla's mana to my body. An enormous mana surged as though it would blow my circuits, but I endured with my 「Iron Man」.
——Tak.
A small sound like a pebble falling on a road surface.
The mana wave announcing the activation of the formula.
Immediately after, something to which the name 「Intermediate Telekinesis」 was completely ill-fitting……
Kugugugugugugung─────!
An abrupt, violent earthquake occurred.