“Suimei-kun. What do those crows do?”
“They’ve got a spell built into them,” he explained. “They move around automatically, and whenever they spot something weird, they report it directly to my eyes.”
“That’s amazing,” Lefille remarked. “Not only do they search the area, you can even see what they do?”
“It’s seriously impressive,” Hydemary joined in. “You usually use a familiar for this, you know? Doing it purely with curses and mana is abnormal.”
“It’s eco-friendly,” Suimei quipped.
“You can only pull off this stunt because of your ridiculous mana,” Hydemary retorted.
That was when a sudden thought struck Felmenia.
“Suimei-dono’s mana is amazing,” she said. “Is this also true by the other world’s standards?”
“It sure is,” Hydemary acknowledged. “So long as he’s motivated enough, he can do some pretty crazy things. His mana furnace is first-class, you know?”
“Well... Quite a few conditions need to be met first, but I suppose that’s true,” Suimei conceded.
“So you have that much power?” Hatsumi said. “Hmmm, you’re sounding more and more outrageous as time goes on...”
“Well, yeah,” Suimei said indifferently. “I was created to become a magician.”
“Huh?”
“What does that...?” Reiji started to ask.
“Exactly what it sounds like,” Suimei said. “My dad was intent on molding me into a magician before I was born.”
Everyone looked astonished by this fact.
“But, Suimei, how does that make you feel?” Reiji asked, apparently seeing this as a delicate matter.
“Nothing, really,” Suimei said. “It was necessary. It’s important to be able to pass down the secrets of your magicka, right? And I dislike the idea of the techniques I’ve built over the years vanishing too. It’s not all—”
“Not all that bad?” Hydemary cut in. “Because of that, you get dragged into trouble at every corner.”
Suimei’s body suddenly stiffened, and after a short while, he covered his face with both hands.
“Someone save me...”
Hydemary had a point. However, there was nothing anyone else could do to save him from this fate. He was the only one who could do anything about his suffering, after all.
At any rate, as that conversation came to an end, he received an image from the crows of a strange group who were neither soldiers nor late refugees. Looking through the crow’s eyes, Suimei noticed the Evil God’s power coiling around them.
“Found them...” he muttered.
“Already?” Hydemary asked.
“It’s not that wide a search area,” Suimei said. “It’s a lot simpler than finding one rat in a modern city.”
“Sounds like you’ve actually done that,” Hydemary remarked.
“Well...” Suimei trailed off awkwardly, not really wanting to remember it.
Still, nobody pestered him for details. Instead, they focused on the matter at hand.
“We have plenty of manpower, so let’s split up,” Titania suggested.
“Right. I’d prefer if we could have one magician in each group,” Suimei said.
Felmenia started and stiffened, then awkwardly turned toward him.
“Th-That means I can’t be with you...?” she said.
“Hm? What’s wrong with that?” Suimei asked.
“...Nothing.”
“No need to be so anxious,” he told her. “You’re plenty strong now.”
“That’s not what I mean...” Felmenia mumbled, drooping her shoulders.
For some reason, she was in low spirits. Suimei didn’t understand at all, whereas Elliot let out an exasperated sigh, muttering, “That’s exactly what’s wrong with you.”
“We’ve got four magicians among us: me, Mary, Felmenia, and Liliana,” Suimei said, moving things along. “We’ll put one in each team. We also have three heroes: Reiji, Elliot, and Hatsumi... Hmm, sounds like we can split into somewhat standardized groups.”
“That might be for the best,” Reiji said. “It’ll be easier to coordinate that way.”
Suimei then turned to Liliana. Or more specifically, to the stuffed toy in her arms.
“Also, shouldn’t you leave that behind?” he asked.
“No. Mr. Penguin... comes with me,” she said.
“I mean, this is war,” Suimei said. “What if he gets hurt?”
“I’ll use magicka... to protect him,” Liliana insisted. “Not a problem. I’ll make him... very sturdy.”
She held up the toy penguin, brimming with confidence.
“Don’t use up your mana for such weird things!” Suimei screamed.
“I also have... a harness... to carry him.”
“That ain’t the problem!”
“If necessary... I’m also ready... to fire the Mr. Penguin missile.”
“Eek! What’s with this scary girl?! Who did this?! Who raised her like this?!”
Felmenia, Lefille, and Mizuki quipped back at him in unison.
“Suimei-dono.”
“Suimei-kun.”
“Who else?”
He turned to look at them, and they all stared back in exasperation.
“Hey, can we get going already?” Hydemary asked.
“Yeah... Sorry...”
So, putting an end to that little charade, they got back to sorting their groups.
In the end, they’d settled on four groups.
Reiji’s team consisted of Mizuki, Graziella, and Felmenia.
Elliot’s team had Christa, Lefille, and Hydemary.
Hatsumi’s team included Titania and Liliana.
Suimei was his own team of one, so he could better handle any surprises while continuing to search for more demons within the city.
At any rate, the first step was cleaning up any demons hiding within the city. Soldiers had been on patrol since the demons had retreated, but there were still quite a few present. They were in three groups: one at the edge of the urban area, one to the east, and one to the west. Though they had hidden themselves cleverly, they still couldn’t escape Suimei’s sight.
Elliot’s team headed to the urban area, where the most demons were hiding. This area was beyond the two walls barricading Metel’s heart, near a grove of trees planted at the outermost walls. The team of four hurried to make their way there.
The sky was still cloudy; not even the sun’s outline could be seen. Rain could fall at any moment. These conditions made it dark enough that one might think the sun was about to set. Lefille and Hydemary ran on, the damp air blowing against them, as Elliot described the characteristics of a certain enemy.
“A demon with a grotesque form?” Lefille asked.
“That’s right,” he confirmed. “It’s hard to describe... It’s revolting, like a giant insect. Does that make sense? Its figure is extremely mismatched, so you should be able to spot it instantly.”
“That bad?” Lefille said. “Among the demon generals I’ve seen, many could be described as mismatched.”
“Sure, but this is on another level,” Elliot said.
“From how you describe it, it definitely sounds like trouble,” Hydemary joined in. “You and a Sacrament wielder together could barely take on just one of these things?”
“Hahaha, harsh, but true,” Elliot conceded.
“But if Elliot-sama had gone all out, the result might’ve been different,” Christa said, apparently irritated by Hydemary’s statement.
“I’m not so sure,” Elliot said. “Besides, Reiji was the one who dealt it a major wound.”
“That was simply because he happened to have the opportunity to do so...” Christa insisted, pouting like a child.
It embarrassed Elliot for Christa to idolize him so. He quickly changed the topic.
“Not to put myself down or anything, but Reiji’s weapon is considerably powerful. It comes from your world too, yes?” he asked Hydemary.
Hydemary nodded. “I’m not very well-informed, but they’re extremely hazardous.”
“I’ve heard about them too,” Lefille said. “They sound absurd.”
“It can manifest a ridiculous amount of power,” Elliot agreed. “I was shocked when Reiji drew out even more power than he was already using.”
Elliot’s group reached their destination. They hid in the shadow of a nearby building; the presence of several things could be felt squirming around.
“Over there,” Elliot noted.
“They’ve gathered in force,” Lefille said.
“They’re hiding well,” Elliot observed. “I never thought demons could be so clever.”
“You can’t tell by sight, but they’re polluting their surroundings with their miasma,” Lefille explained. “I’m sure they’re using it to conceal themselves.”
“This is bad,” Elliot said. “If they attack with the demons’ next offensive wave, they can do some serious harm.”
“Then let’s discuss strategy,” Lefille suggested.