Two days later, Dame delivered Neril’s weakness and the Erenica family’s heirloom as promised.
Xenia received it on our behalf.
We all gathered in the inn room.
As he had said before, Neril’s weakness was a single book.
The cover of the book was adorned with all sorts of intricate magic circles.
Out of curiosity, I asked,
“Can I take a look?”
“If you can.”
“…?”
“Here.”I took the book from her.
Our group leaned in to see.
I tried to open the book immediately—
“Ugh. It won’t open.”
The book wouldn’t budge, like a heavy iron door.
Neril gave a smile and said,
“You can’t force it open. You have to infuse mana in a specific pattern and sequence.”
“Hm.”
“And that pattern and sequence are extremely precise. Ordinary mages couldn’t even dream of it.”
I handed the book back to her and said,
“So this book will work?”
“If Beyond is right, it should. Shall we begin right away?”
“Before that, wait. There’s one precaution.”
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing major. Just… Idria might interfere in this matter.”
The others, who had looked relaxed at my words, immediately straightened up.
Xenia exclaimed,
“W-Wait, could there be someone else with the same name?”
“I mean the Demon King Idria.”
“Then you should’ve at least built up to that! You said it like you were talking about how your eggs were soft-boiled this morning!”
I shrugged.
“We already suspected that Idria was the one who planted the Gem of Corruption before we even started this. And now we’re trying to extract it.”
“……”
“So of course Idria might get upset. It’s a pretty logical progression, I’d say.”
“Haah. Mr. Mide, have you ever even faced Idria before? We’re about to go up against a Demon King—how can you be so calm?”
Xenia unintentionally said the correct answer, but I let it slide calmly.
“So just stay alert.”
Offense shook his head with a fed-up look.
“What exactly do you mean by that? Are you saying we should prepare for a battle with Idria?”
“Mm.”
“Do you think we can handle that ourselves?”
“Don’t worry. If you can’t, I’ll make sure we can.”
Adwin stepped in with a serious expression.
“Then we should make full preparations before the extraction.”
“Right. Let’s do everything we can.”
“Understood.”
After that, we immediately began the operation.
First, we asked the innkeeper and the guests for their understanding, and paid five times the lodging fee or expected profits for the day to have them vacate the inn.
Xenia layered several divine shield spells, and Offense lit fires all around to create shadow barriers.
Adwin summoned the soul of Beyond Erenica.
And as for me—
Shing.
I took some time to polish my sword for the first time in a while.
Neril asked with an disbelieving look,
“Everyone’s getting ready like it’s the end of the world, and that’s all you’re doing?”
“I’m the Swordmaster for a reason.”
“Sure you are.”
“If we’re roughly ready, let’s get started.”
“Hoo. I really hope this works.”
She sighed.
To reassure her, Beyond, speaking through Adwin’s body, opened his mouth.
“Don’t worry too much. The oracle hasn’t descended yet, has it?”
“So what?”
“There’s no law that says it must be this way, but historically, oracles act like the referee’s flag at the start of a duel. No Demon King has ever made a move before the oracle.”
“Isn’t that because no Demon King has ever descended before the oracle?”
“Let’s try to think positively. Also—are you really not going to speak politely to me?”
“If you tell me how to bring Patrick here, I’ll think about it.”
Beyond shook his head.
Then he spoke in a serious tone.
“Open to page 47.”
“This magic book can’t be opened past page 62.”
“I think you know why that is.”
“…Because you sealed it.”
“Right. I created it, but there were too many dangerous spells. I took measures so it wouldn’t become a seed of chaos for future generations.”
I see.
Beyond was going to lift that seal for us.
He demonstrated with a light motion.
“Follow these hand signs.”
Neril waved her hands through the air following him.
It looked casual, but on closer inspection, the movements were very precise and controlled.
After finishing the signs, Neril opened her palm and slapped it onto the book.
The book floated into the air.
Whirrr.
The pages turned on their own, then stopped on a single page.
Beyond spoke.
“I’ll explain briefly. The spell stored on that page is called ‘Dor Ascané.’ It completely alters the target’s perception.”
Offense asked Beyond,
“Is it a type of illusion magic?”
“If it were that low-grade, we wouldn’t need this book. This magic circle creates an alternate reality and implants it directly into the target’s mind.”
“Hmm.”
“Normal illusion magic breaks if the target is harmed. But the illusion of Dor Ascané is reality. For example, even if you gouged your eye out, you wouldn’t perceive it as harm.”
That’s… a terrifying spell, depending on how you think of it.
Beyond continued.
“This spell’s magic circle constantly changes. That’s why you can’t cast it by memorizing the circle—you can only use it through this book I created.”
I asked, intrigued,
“Are there other spells in that book?”
“Yes. Other spells like Dor Ascané with ever-changing magic circles. It’s my book, but it’s quite a monstrous thing.”
Then Neril interjected with a slight laugh.
“Isn’t it a bit misleading to say you created it? You made the first version, but the heads of the Erenica family have been adding and refining the magic for generations.”
“True.”
“And the book wasn’t originally meant to be a spellbook, was it? It was a diary.”
A diary?
Neril stared at it, as if reminiscing.
“It’s a diary passed down by the heads of the family. It’s mostly about magic, but there are quite a few personal things in it too. Including entries from May.”
The others didn’t know who “May” was, but I did.
May. May Erenica.
‘She’s the one Neril sinned against.’
At that moment, Beyond spoke again.
“So you’re speaking politely now?”
“You told me, didn’t you? I keep my promises.”
“Hmm. You’re a more decent person than I expected.”
“No need for idle chatter. Anyway, Patrick will be here soon, so I’ll count on you.”
“Alright.”
Xenia tilted her head and asked,
“So this Dor Ascané spell implants a separate reality into the target—I get that. But what kind of reality are you going to implant to make him come here?”
“The kind of reality that would make him drop everything and come running here.”
“That’s… what kind of reality is that exactly?”
“I’ll decide on something appropriate. It’s not that important, so let’s just move on, alright?”
“…This sounds extremely suspicious.”
She muttered as if something had clicked.
Honestly, I also had a bad feeling.
But for now, I pretended not to notice.
Patrick Benjamin was in a better mood today than on the day he became captain.
When he woke up in the morning, he saw a letter slipped under his door.
Inside, it said:
– To Patrick Benjamin,
First of all, please forgive me for greeting you through a letter like this.
I thought my heart would beat too wildly if I tried to say this while looking directly at your beautiful face.
I’ve always thought of you as the most amazing man in the world.
But after seeing you yesterday, newly appointed as the captain of Alkahad, I began to think of you not just as an amazing man, but as someone I wanted to be with.
Given my position within the organization, I couldn’t say something like this in front of others.
So I’ve reserved an inn.
I’ve cleared out the innkeeper and all the other guests, so we can have a deep conversation there—in every sense of the word.
The inn is called Spring light.
Could you come by before 10 a.m.?
I’ll be waiting in anticipation.
—Xenia Seide
He immediately started getting dressed.
The fact that he had barely ever had a proper conversation with Xenia, or that she wasn’t the type to leave behind such a bashful, girlish letter for a secret meeting—none of that even crossed his mind.
There wasn’t a shred of doubt.
Because to Patrick, this was “reality.”
Even if it was a fake reality created by magic.
He ran straight to the Spring light Inn.
Creak.
As he opened the door and stepped inside, he saw Xenia.
She was beautiful, and greeted him with a soft smile.
“You came.”
“How could I ignore your call?”
“Please, have a seat over here.”
Patrick didn’t sit.
Instead, with a sly smile, he opened his mouth.
“Rather than the first floor… how about we continue our talk upstairs?”
“Ah, shall we?”
“Haha. I didn’t know you were such a forward woman.”
“Like I wrote in the letter—I’ve admired you for a long time.”
Patrick beamed and nodded.
“I’ve held feelings for you as well.”
“Oh my, that makes me so happy.”
Xenia clasped her hands together and smiled blissfully.
Patrick, huffing excitedly through his nose, spoke again.
“Then, shall we… right now…”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
The two of them went upstairs together.
Xenia gently sat down on the bed.
Patrick spoke in a deliberately casual tone.
“We have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”
“Indeed we do.”
“But I don’t think conversation must always be… with words, do you?”
“You’re quite right.”
“Haha. Then… ahem…”
Slick.
He began unbuttoning his shirt.
And then—
A voice rang out from someone who wasn’t even in the room.
“Extraction complete. Just a little later and we’d have had a mess on our hands.”
The collaboration between Neril and Beyond was truly a spectacle.
“No, reduce the mana by around twelve percent. It’s too strong.”
“Ghh…”
“A little more… no, too much. That’s right, just like that.”
Unlike the time they extracted the Gem of Desolation from the Martial King’s stomach, removing the Gem of Corruption from Patrick’s eye required incredibly delicate focus.
Through Dor Ascané, Patrick did not perceive this surgery as an “attack.”
But that didn’t mean they could relax.
“If we mess up the handling of the Gem of Corruption, it might go berserk on its own.”
Neril worked swiftly.
“Your hands are slowing down. Pick up the pace.”
“Hold on. I’m operating two spells simultaneously. And on top of that, Patrick’s fake reality is just ridiculous.”
“Well, you’re the one who set it up.”
Xenia’s eyes glinted.
“Seriously, what kind of ‘reality’ is this?”
“Don’t talk to me, I’m busy.”
“This is super suspicious. I mean, they moved to a bedroom, for crying out loud…”
“I said hurry. Is this fast enough?”
Beyond nodded, smiling with inexplicable satisfaction.
“Not bad. I didn’t think you’d actually pull it off.”
“Is now really the time for that?”
“Only the tone has changed—you’re still as sharp as ever. Now, I’ve removed all the blood vessels stuck to the inner eye, so the last step is to take it out. Guide a bit of mana beneath the gem.”
“Phew.”
Neril did as instructed.
Soon, the gem floated up into the air on its own.
Patrick now had no right eye.
Only the empty socket remained.
Neril snapped her fingers and said:
“Extraction complete. Just a little later and we’d have had a mess on our hands.”
Soon, light returned to Patrick’s one remaining eye.
He blinked in confusion, clearly unable to grasp what was happening.
But eventually—
“Who the hell are you people! Where’s Xenia…”
“Right here.”
“Why are you standing there? Weren’t you on the bed?”
“…Oh fuck. I think I know what was going on.”
Did Xenia… just swear?
“Come here at once… argh!”
Finally, the pain must have caught up to him—he clutched at his right eye.
If he’s touching that now, it’s going to hurt a lot.
“Hey. Stop.”
“AAAAAARGH!”
“Too late. Oh well—not my problem.”
Neril said coldly:
“As a courtesy, I added a Paintra spell too. It was going to hurt anyway, but now it’ll be five times worse.”
“He’s going to die at this rate.”
“So be it.”
Patrick writhed in agony on the bed.
Eventually, he foamed at the mouth and passed out.
Honestly, that might be for the best.
Neril pointed at the Gem of Corruption still floating in midair and spoke.
“As expected, it has a message inscribed in it. If anyone touches it, it’ll go berserk. Beyond? Do you think you can modify this message?”
“Hmm. Might take a little research, but it shouldn’t be too hard.”
“Then let’s do it right now—”
That’s when it happened.
In an instant, the world stopped.
Read advance chapter on Patreon. Click here.
Thanks to Techni and Unknown4311 for reviewing the novel on Novel Updates.