“Um, Headmaster Uther, are you really going to let this young student accompany you to the forbidden Seventh Sealed Prison? It’s far too dangerous,” a young teacher said in a worried voice.
Because of an incident in my past, I’d left my hometown and enrolled in Lykeion Magic Academy, which was in the heart of the Southern Continent. On my very first day of school, this teacher had called me out of class.
“There’s no need to worry,” the headmaster said. “I’ll take responsibility should anything happen.”
“If you insist, I suppose there’s nothing more I can say.”
The headmaster and my teacher were holding a very ominous conversation right in front of me, so I asked, “Um, pardon me, where are you two taking me?”
“You’ll know when we get there,” the headmaster replied. “Just follow us, Eugene.”
“All right...”
The two led me to a massive black gate behind the school grounds. I could sense a dark and eerie mana emanating from within. Is this the corrupted mana they call miasma?
“I-I’m so sorry, headmaster, but I can’t go any farther!” Without my noticing, the teacher had stopped several paces behind the headmaster and me.
The headmaster sighed before giving me a curious look. “Eugene, it’s not affecting you?”
“Huh?” I tilted my head quizzically before looking around and then down at my own body. I had no idea what the headmaster was worried about; I saw nothing out of the ordinary.
He chuckled and said, “I knew it. After all, you’re the only student who has ever passed the joke exam I made years ago for mages specializing in white mana. I had an inkling that you would be the only student capable of entering the Seventh Sealed Prison.”
The headmaster continued to smile, but I had no idea what he was so pleased about. Regardless, I had more pressing concerns. Just what was behind this creepy black gate? I thought back to the tales that had been passed down through the generations in this dungeon city. It was here that the legendary hero and the Demon Queen had fought their final battle a thousand years ago, and here that the Demon Queen was sealed to this day.
“Headmaster, is—?” But before I could finish asking my question...
Rumble... Rumble... Rumble... The earth began to shake. This had been happening an awful lot since yesterday.
“Eek! It’s the Demon Queen! She’s doing it again!” The young teacher fell down, landing on his bottom. The headmaster shot him a weary look.
The Demon Queen? Curious about the teacher’s words, I looked up at the headmaster.
He was looking down at me. “Now then, Eugene. There’s something I must tell you.”
“Y-Yes?” I nodded, shrinking back a little from the mana and aura that had begun to emanate from the headmaster’s body.
“Beyond this gate lies the sealed Demon Queen.”
I sucked in a breath. Hearing those words made my whole body tense up. Those of us who’d spent our entire lives on the Southern Continent had no firsthand experience of the Demon Queens and Kings. Apparently, the faraway Northern Continent was still under demonic thrall, but the Southern Continent had not been governed by a Demon Queen in a thousand years, nor had any been sighted in that time.
“The Demon Queen has awoken from her seal. That’s the cause of the earthquakes that began yesterday.”
“She woke up?!” I shouted, my voice coming out louder than I’d intended.
“And that’s why we had to come here and investigate,” the headmaster continued. “To tell you the truth, though, the Demon Queen has always despised me. I can’t blame her, considering I’m the one who’s in charge of maintaining her seal. I can’t very well show my face in front of her, lest she kill me.”
I swallowed and hesitated before asking, “So, what do you want me to do?”
Lykeion Magic Academy was the finest magical institution on the Southern Continent, and Headmaster Uther, as the head of that school, was widely believed to be the greatest mage in all the land. If he considered the Demon Queen to be a threat, then what could I, a mere student, possibly do?
“Under normal circumstances, Demon Queen Erinyes is quite mild-mannered for her station. She won’t attack a young boy out of the blue. Uh, probably. I would like you to check on her in my stead. Of course, I’ve prepared some gifts to put her in a better mood. If the situation goes sideways, you can just toss them in front of her cage and run.”
“Why do I have to... I mean, why are you asking me? I’m new here,” I asked, posing an obvious question. There must have been better options.
At my words, the headmaster slowly opened his mouth and replied, “That teacher over there, who’s shaking like a leaf on the ground, is the best we have when it comes to Barrier Magic.”
It took a few seconds for the words to sink in. “Huh?” I widened my eyes and turned to look at the teacher.
“Don’t ask the impossible from me!” he wailed. “If you’d asked me a few years ago, I would’ve had no problems entering that prison! But you were the one who summoned mythical being after mythical being from all kinds of worlds! Now the Seventh Sealed Prison has descended into chaos, and no one can enter it!”
The headmaster frowned at the teacher’s complaint. “How can you blame me? They all just sounded so interesting,” he replied without a hint of apology in his voice.
I’d had the impression that the headmaster was a rather austere person. But it seemed he was a lot more blasé about things than I’d thought.
“So, Eugene, you now know what I want from you, and of course, I won’t ask you to do it for free. If you can hand the Demon Queen my gifts, I’ll cover your tuition for an entire year.”
“You’ll cover my tuition?!”
That was very tempting indeed. My original plan had been to work at my dad’s place of employment after I graduated from my local school. However, I couldn’t do that anymore thanks to a certain personal issue. My father had accepted my decision...or rather, he’d said, “If you’re gonna spend your free time lazing around the house, you might as well travel and broaden your horizons!” and kicked me out. He was the one paying for me to attend Lykeion, which pained me, since I should’ve become independent by now. If I could cover my own tuition, I could save face with him.
“I understand,” I said. “I’ll accept this mission.”
“Are you serious?!” the teacher yelped. “Eugene, I think you should reconsid—”
“Besides, how could I miss the chance to see a legendary Demon Queen with my own eyes?” I continued. I was putting up a front, but a part of me was completely serious. This would make for an exciting story to tell my father.
The headmaster grinned. “Good, lad! I expected nothing less from the descendant of the Sword Saint!”
“The descendant of the Sword Saint” was something my father had written on my application. The Sword Saint was a legendary figure of about five hundred years past who had, if only temporarily, brought peace to the Eastern Continent. Apparently, he was one of my ancestors. Although it didn’t count as a lie, we also couldn’t prove this admittedly suspicious ancestry.
“Now, let’s go,” the headmaster said before murmuring a strange spell that I couldn’t quite make out.
The black gate slowly opened. The headmaster strode in without hesitation, so I followed him. The door closed behind us with a resonating boom. I looked around the dark prison, illuminated only by magical lamps. The headmaster made his way deeper inside, and I followed him at a distance. The air was so stagnant that I was already struggling to breathe, so I doubled up on all the Barrier Magic in my repertoire.
Szzt...szzt... Thump...ring...thump...ring... Shing...shing...shing...shing... Ah ha ha! Hee hee...hee hee...hee hee...
The prison was dimly lit. From all around me, I could hear the sounds of things being dragged as well as eerie sobbing. Some noises, I suspected, came from things that weren’t even human.
“Hey, you there! Do you want to play with me?” a whisper sounded right next to my ear.
I whirled around but didn’t see anyone behind me.
“Eugene, that’s the voice of an evil spirit. You mustn’t listen to them,” the headmaster said.
“Y-Yes, Headmaster,” I said, terrified. I steeled my nerves, then ran after him.
We walked for some time before reaching the deepest part of the prison. The air felt heavy, and though it wasn’t hot, I couldn’t stop sweating. My instincts were screaming at me that I should back away. That it was far too dangerous to venture any farther...
“I can’t continue past this point or else the Demon Queen will notice my presence. Here, take this, Eugene,” the headmaster said, and a basket promptly popped into existence. It contained bottles of wine, loaves of bread, and a single red fruit.
“These are the gifts for the Demon Queen?” I asked. It’s a pretty simple basket. Will this really put her in a better mood?
“She’s just woken up after sleeping for over a hundred years. I figured food would be an appropriate present, as she’ll be hungry,” the headmaster explained. “For dessert, I prepared for her this Fruit of Life. It’s quite rare, and it wasn’t easy to get my hands on it, but I suppose quelling her anger is far more important.”
“Th-The Fruit of Life?!” I exclaimed. As in the legendary fruit said to grant whomever eats it eternal youth?! I was staring down at the basket in shock when the headmaster gave my shoulder a hearty pat, forceful enough to push me forward.
“I’m counting on you. Good luck, Eugene.”
“I... Thank you, Headmaster Uther.”
At the headmaster’s urging, I proceeded alone through the deepest depths of the underground prison. My footsteps sounded louder than usual. Eventually, I found myself standing in front of a cell far larger than any of the others lining the underground passage.
Now, what should I do? Should I just leave the basket here, or should I say something?
A lovely voice interrupted my indecision. “Who’s there?”
The sound was like someone splashing cold water over my head. I slowly turned toward the voice and saw a pair of crimson eyes, as red in hue as blood.
“I’ve never seen you before, boy.”
Her skin was as white as snow, and her long hair sparkled as if with stardust. A pair of obsidian-feathered wings protruded from her back. She looked exactly as the legends said, though her beauty transcended any story I’d ever heard.
“What’s your name?”