Schlain looks back and forth between the Demon Lord and the sword.
“And also…hey, wake up. I know you’re in there, Byaku.”
“Leave me alone.”
“Wha…?!”
A voice responds to Demon Lord Ariel’s call.
Then a small white dragon slithers out of the sword in Schlain’s hands.
“Took you long enough, sleepyhead. Let me guess, you’ve been sulking because your favorite hero got killed?”
“Hmph.”
Byaku, who is presumably a light dragon, lets out a huff.
It appears that the Demon Lord hit the nail on the head.
“Well, I don’t really care why you were sleeping. Just protect the current hero there, will ya?”
“As if I need you to tell me that.”
“Whoa?! U-um, hello?”
Byaku twines around Schlain the Hero’s arm.
“That’s Byaku the Light Dragon. He’s an ancient dragon chief who’s been guarding the Sword of the Hero. Better keep him with you just in case.”
“Hmph.”
The light dragon huffs again, while Schlain looks bewildered.
“…Are you sure about this? Putting a powerful weapon in the hands of the enemy?”
“Fine by me. Even with the Sword of the Hero and Byaku both, we could still kill you all easily.”
The Demon Lord responds to Hyrince’s question with unshakable confidence.
As if she could kill us all with one hand tied behind her back.
What a frightening little lady.
“All you guys have to do is not double-cross me. Easy, right?”
That’s rich coming from someone who clearly doesn’t trust us as far as she can throw us.
I certainly have no intention of betraying anyone, though I can’t speak for the others…
It seems prudent to refrain from such foolishness, but I suppose we’ll see what happens, eh?
“Come on, let’s go for real this time.”
Still seated, the Demon Lord gives the signal, and Fiel and the other small spiders lift her chair and carry her forward.
Those must be the four little girls I saw in the elf village.
I’m sure of it, though I only Appraised Fiel.
If so, those tiny creatures are actually legendary-class monsters with stats in the ten thousands.
Carrying a chair would be a simple matter for them.
Still, I have to wonder why Demon Lord Ariel would go out of her way to have the little spiders cart her around like that.
Judging by her complexion, I suspect she is in poor health.
Her overall presence isn’t as strong as I expected, either.
It looks to me as if she’s in a significantly weakened state.
Not that I’m going to Appraise her to confirm that theory, of course.
The Demon Lord puts her hand on the door.
It lights up and gradually opens.
And beyond the door is…
“O-ooooh…?!”
So this is what it means to be at a loss for words!
The spectacle beyond the door is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
The floor, walls, and even the ceiling are covered in magic circles.
They’re so incredibly complex and artistically crafted that I cannot begin to read their meaning.
But I can tell at a glance that this is a truly stupendous working!
Incredible! Who knew such things could exist in this world?!
I am reminded yet again that my knowledge is still but a paltry sliver!
Oh dear. Everyone went on ahead while I was standing here awestruck.
I attempt to catch up to them quickly, yet with easy enough steps that I will not give away my flustered state.
One gets better at such maneuvers with age.
Then, when I catch up to where the others have stopped, I am struck breathless yet again.
There is someone in the center of the room.
Her lower body is gone, her upper body suspended in midair as if pinned to an invisible cross.
This must be none other than Goddess Sariel.
The savior of this world.
The pontiff falls to his knees in front of her.
Following suit, the rest of us kneel as well.
Yes, I see now.
Demon Lord Ariel’s wrath seems all the more justified upon witnessing this painful sight…
A few moments pass in that state.
Not one of us says a word.
“Proficiency has reached the required level.”
Only the voice of the goddess Sariel echoes in the room.
“All right. Ronandt, was it? Go ahead and start.”
“Hrm. Very well.”
When the Demon Lord finally breaks the silence, I obey and walk up to the goddess.
“Please pardon me for touching you, O Goddess.”
After asking permission, I place my hands on Goddess Sariel.
Focusing, I close my eyes.
You can do it, self. I know you can.
Just remember how you used the master-familiar connection to teleport to Schlain’s location.
This is no different from that time.
I must simply use the connection to the system to teleport to D’s location.
I will find where the evil god hides.
And I will follow the path to reach her.
I can sense it. Two powerful presences connected to the system.
But one of them is overwhelmingly larger than the other.
It’s so unknowably vast that it fills me with fear.
This must be the evil god’s presence.
The other one is likely the ebony god.
All I must do, then, is use this connection to teleport to the evil god.
I focus all my energy on constructing the spell.
Hrrgh! It’s consuming my MP so fast!
Teleportation always requires a lot of MP, but in this case, my entire stores might not even be enough?!
Nng! But I cannot fail!
I boasted to everyone that they could count on me.
I will succeed no matter what!
Gritting my teeth, I form the teleportation spell.
Stop screaming, brain! Surely humanity’s strongest mage can handle this much!
“I’m going to activate it! Prepare yourselves!”
This teleportation will take us beyond our world.
We must expect the unexpected.
That is why I shouted a warning before activating the spell, though I do not know if it made a difference in the end.
The teleportation spell activates, sure and true.
I did it, even if my MP is empty.
I quickly gulp down an MP recovery potion.
Though it’s far from a complete recovery, at least I’ve gotten a little MP back.
Only after that, and one deep breath, can I finally manage to look at my surroundings.
Everyone who was by my side before the spell went off is standing there safe and sound.
“It appears I succeeded, eh?”
“Yes, very well done.”
It’s clear at a glance that this is no ordinary place.
In fact, I cannot see anything at all.
There is only darkness as far as the eye can see.
And yet I can see everyone around me clearly, even though there is no light source in sight.
The people are visible, yet our surroundings seem empty.
What a strange sight indeed.
And in the midst of it all sits something stranger still.
A lone young lady, disturbingly beautiful.
✦ ✦ ✦
I am certain as soon as I lay eyes upon her.
This must be the evil god D.