“I see. This is… Yes, I’m familiar with this magic,” Barbatos said.
“There are additional enhancements that I don’t quite understand, but at its core, it’s the same,” Marchosias added.
Perhaps she ought to have expected as much. Sure enough, it seemed that the magic inscribed on the cloths was indeed a kind used by demons.
According to what the pair had testified, it was indeed demons behind everything that was going on with the amulets.
From what Barbatos had said, while they’d been significantly altered such that they were no longer typical of the kind of magic demons used, the core components still fit that description.
“Regarding how it’s activated, whoever inscribed this was a tad eccentric, and so I can’t quite make it out. That said, I can tell you what it does, no problem.”
“Whoever made this had very dark thoughts. Everything they did was for these evil purposes…”
Barbatos and then Marchosias offered those diagnoses as they checked the cloths, of which there were nearly a hundred. The pair then declared that the magic inscribed on each and every one of them had the exact same effect.
That effect being [Diffuse].
However, the two of them couldn’t identify the conditions and whatnot for activating them.
That said, the two agreed that the amulets, which were being passed off as monster repellents, were rigged so that the fragment of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword that was sealed inside would begin dispersing its power throughout the nearby area after being triggered in some way.
“Disperse the fragment’s power…? What kind of disastrous effect would that have…?” Mira asked.
Just as she’d presumed, that power was no trifling matter. And so, Mira worried about just what would happen should that power spread throughout a wide area.
“I’m not sure, but probably…” Marchosias prefaced. Then he predicted what effect this would have.
Perhaps because he’d been taken over by the sword, he could foresee just what kind of havoc it would wreak.
He went onto to explain just what’d happen if the dispersal magic was activated after the amulets made their way into the hands of humans and were carried off all over.
First, the bizarre-looking monsters would appear. Once unleased, the fragments would spawn monsters like the ones Mira and her companions had fought, who’d then take control of the areas near where they spawned.
Next, they’d contaminate the land, which would turn it into a breeding ground for them.
Additionally, the monsters already living there would likely mutate into an even more fiendish form. It seemed the Monster-Ruling God’s sword secretly contained the power to transform demonic power.
“And if that happened in many different areas all at the same time…you can imagine how much of a disaster it’d be. We dodged a bullet.”
She couldn’t even imagine how many lives would’ve been at risk. And yet, when it came to the misdeeds of dark demons, Wallenstein seemed worried about what other evil acts they might be plotting.
“We have Mira to thank for preventing that from happening. Thank you.”
It was Barbatos who added that he was glad Mira had stopped such a thing from happening, and he bowed once more to her.
“There’s really no need to thank me. We were just curious about it,” Mira laughed, suggesting that it’d all happened simply because the amulets had intrigued her.
And yet, after they heard what Marchosias had said, there was one person whose eyes were shining brightly.
You guessed it, Meilin’s.
“Let me just say, that is extraordinarily dangerous, okay? Don’t even think about it,” Mira said.
The sword could spawn the bizarre monsters and could transform other monsters as well. That made it give off the unmistakable, dangerous scent of a powerful enemy.
For that reason, she seemed to have her eyes on it. And yet, perhaps because Mira had warned her, Meilin seemed to take the hint and meekly answered, “…I know. It’s fine…” She sounded disappointed, and yet she gave up on the idea.
They were now certain that demons were behind what’d happened with the amulets. Hoping to learn more, Mira and her companions investigated the area around the castle.
Additionally, thinking they might be able to extract some information from the lesser demons, they captured some from within the city. However, this didn’t quite work out as they’d hoped.
And that was because the lesser demons in the nearby area actually seemed to all be under Marchosias’s command.
According to him, though he couldn’t quite remember clearly, he felt as if he must’ve created them while he was still under the control of the sword. But because he’d managed to regain control of himself while this was happening, the lesser demons were simply waiting nearby in standby mode to receive orders. And so, it only looked as if they were acting as lookouts around the castle.
And yet, as luck would have it, Mira picked up on some information that she wasn’t yet privy to when she heard this.
Apparently, lesser demons were artificial beings created by dark demons using demonic power.
Seemingly for that reason, the lesser demons that’d been standing around the castle still took orders from Marchosias, even though he’d returned to being a light demon.
That said, they’d been created by the ill will of a dark demon. And so, Marchosias, as the one who’d brought them into being, returned them to dust.
“Hrmm, it doesn’t look like there’s anything around here that’ll give us any leads,” Mira concluded, after she and her companions had finished investigating the nearby area.
And yet, their search hadn’t yielded any information that might lead back to the dark demons. At the very least, they’d managed to determine that no one had visited there within the last few hundred years.
“Could this perhaps have been an entirely separate matter?” Wallenstein ventured, voicing the conclusion he’d drawn after looking at the information they had available to them.
“Indeed, that seems to be the case. Judging from what we just heard, the parts used to make the monster-repelling amulets most likely came from somewhere else,” Mira answered.
Initially, they’d assumed that a dark demon had come there, found the Monster-Ruling God’s sword and used it for whatever reason.
In that case, by finding the sword, they’d also find clues which would lead back to the dark demon itself.
However, the sword hadn’t been broken anywhere nearby, but in fact somewhere completely different, and so naturally they weren’t likely to find any clues nearby.
“Hrmm, it seems like we’re right back to where we started,” Mira groaned.
Unfortunately, they hadn’t managed to catch the dark demon who’d been up to no good with the monster-repelling amulets.
That said, they’d successfully secured the Monster-Ruling God’s sword, which was an exceedingly dangerous artifact. What’s more, they’d figured out the secret behind the creation of dark demons.
Considering all of this, their visit had certainly been a success.
“Well, then, in that case, I wonder if he learned anything on his end,” Mira asked.
Most importantly, they weren’t necessarily all the way back to square one. There was another of Mira’s companions conducting a separate investigation: Bruce.
They’d gotten ahold of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword and left its fragments with someone they could trust and rely on.
That said, they couldn’t say for sure whether or not they’d gotten their hands on all the fragments. And so, Bruce was in charge of searching for any remaining fragments while also pursuing the culprit behind their distribution from a different angle than Mira and Meilin.
And since they hadn’t found any leads, all they could do was hope that he’d come up with something.
“I’m gonna go check in with him for a second. Wait for a bit, okay?” Mira said.
Thinking he must’ve made some progress, Mira quickly asked the Spirit King, “How’s it looking on their end?”
By “their end,” she meant Bruce’s end. And on that note, Wasranvel was with him.
Because they were so far away, Mira couldn’t communicate with him via the evocation contract they had, but this didn’t apply for spirits. By using the Spirit King as the go-between, Mira could share information with any spirit, no matter how far away they might be.
“All right, it looks it’s my time to shine. Okay, let me ask him,” the Spirit King answered jauntily, no doubt happy that Mira needed his help.
But, much to her surprise, she heard another voice a moment later.
“In that case, why don’t I tell you?” Martel said.
Apparently, while the Spirit King was busy working with them, sealing things, pranking demons, and whatnot, Martel had been receiving reports from Wasranvel.
“But it’s my time to sh…” the Spirit King said, dismayed at having Martel usurp his big moment.
“How about you worry about coming up with your next prank, Sym?” Martel said, somewhat bitterly.
She appeared to enjoy pranks herself. Therefore, she seemed none too happy that she hadn’t been able to join in on one.
And so, in the Spirit King’s place, she began relaying the reports she’d received from Wasranvel.