Chapter 149 – The Demon King He Believed In
The ceiling of the underground city is high and topped by a massive magical crystal.
Rays of sunshine from the ground settled on it as if it were a spurious sun, illuminating the underground.
On the street, various stores are lined up in a row.
The storefronts were all occupied by owl messengers.
In the bakery, an owl grasps a small monumental stone and tosses it into the magic furnace. As it did so, a magic circle was drawn, and after a while, an aromatic scent began to pervade the air.
The freshly baked loaves of bread were there when the magical furnace was opened. The owl carries them and places them in front of the store.
Zeshia, about 15 years old, trots over and lowers her head to the owl. She then channels her magic power into the stone offered by the owl.
Zeshia packed her bag with her favourite freshly baked bread and joyfully left after returning the stone to the owl.
“… They are really developing the city…”
Sasha’s words escaped her lips, half in amazement and half in astonishment, as she observed the underground shopping mall.
“I’m glad to learn that everyone seems to be having a good time.”
Eleonore smiles nonchalantly.
Misha was perusing the street with curiosity.
“Is this the structure that you thought of, Anos?”
“Yeah, back in the day, 2,000 years ago.”
Misha tilted her head when I mentioned this.
“Since I’ve recreated Dilhade’s streets as they were 2,000 years ago.”
The roofs, walls, and windows have been designed with magical writing, while the eaves of the buildings form a wide circle around each other.
When you look up from this underground city, you can see that the buildings and trees form a massive magical circle.
They also serve as barriers against enemy attacks.
“2,000 years ago…” Misha mutters and directs her gaze intently at the street. “It’s a wonder.”
“About this city?”
Misha swayed her head.
“I have a feeling I’ve seen this place somewhere before.”
Hmm. Indeed, that’s a strange story.
“You mean that somewhere in this time period, there are remnants of the city I built?”
Misha pondered for a moment before tilting her head again.
“I can’t recall it.”
This is a rare occurrence for Misha, who has an excellent memory.
“Let me know if you remember.”
“Yeah.”
I paused in front of a tower in the center of the city.
It was so high that I had to look up, leading to the ceiling. This is the sole entrance to the original underground dungeon in Delsgade.
“Open.”
As I utter the word, the door to the tower opens.
Within the tower, a spiral staircase was visible. We ascended it.
The sound of the door closing followed.
The spiral staircase eventually reaches the top.
There was only a fixed magic circle in that room.
I stood in the center of the magic circle, while Lay and Misha and the others climbed on top of it.
“This magic circle is linked to the underground dungeon of the original Demon King’s Castle. That is to say, we will be close to Avos Dilhevia. She will be expecting us to emerge from here.”
Although she has no idea where we will appear in the dungeon, once we enter, she will be aware of our whereabouts.
The demons are bound to swarm over us.
“We’ll wait here briefly.”
“But if we don’t hurry, the Reason Destroying Sword will be snatched away, right?” Eleonore said.
“She hasn’t laid a hand on the sword yet.”
“You can tell?” Lay asks.
“Taking control of the sword is no easy task. It’s not something that even I can do casually. It’s difficult to do while keeping my magical eyes on the entire castle.”
The same goes for Avos Dilhevia, who was conceived out of my rumors and legends.
“If she attempts to steal the Reason Destroying Sword, her magical eyes will have to concentrate solely on peering into the abyss of the Demon King’s castle, Delsgade. In the meantime, surveillance on us will be loosened. We will wait for that time and infiltrate.”
At the moment, Avos Dilhevia is constantly monitoring the Dilhade area. She’ll probably be on the lookout to see if we’re coming from underground or from the surface.
“She’d like to see where we’re coming from if possible, but if we wait too long, my magical power, which was depleted in Aharthern, will be restored. The other side will surely be the first to admit defeat.”
As I sit there, I direct my magical eyes toward the interior of the underground dungeon.
I sat and waited for time to pass slowly.
Then, around 10 hours passed.
“Hmm. Finally, the movement took place.”
The watchful eye of Avos Dilhevia, which had been surveying the Dilhade area, has vanished. She most likely realised that waiting would not result in any progress, so she decided to seize the Reason Destroying Sword.
“Let’s move on.”
“Come on, let’s go.”
Lay and the others, who were taking a break and chowing down on bread obtained in the underground city, jumped to their feet quickly.
Everyone applies <Illusion Mimicry Rainel> magic to turn invisible. Then, the magic power was obscured with <Concealed Magic Power Najira>.
The magic is cast into the fixed magic circle.
Then, the surrounding scenery abruptly shifted.
My eyes reflected the greenery of the trees as the ceiling rose higher. On the surface, there was a water channel that reflected gleaming light. This is the room of the nature magic circle.
“Anos.”
Misha points a finger.
In that direction, a wall and then a passageway had formed.
“This place used to be a secret passageway, didn’t it? Anos destroyed it with a body blow.”
“I suppose they left it that way for anyone to pass through.”
The demons under her command will be on high alert now that the castle is no longer visible to her magic eyes.
Even if she was to send someone to search for us, with the walls blocked, it would not be easy for her to discover us.
“At any rate, we just have to reach the place where Avos Dilhevia is, right? I have no idea how you plan to get Misa back――”
I cover Sasha’s mouth with my hand while she is speaking.
Immediately, <Thought Communication Leaks> fly in.
“… A… a-anos…? What… w-what is this…?”
“Calm down. Somebody’s coming.”
The footsteps echo from the passage to which Misha had previously pointed.
A group of demons armed with swords and armor entered this room.
There were 10 of them in total.
Perhaps they were patrolling the area, or perhaps they were simply checking around the room.
One of the demons drew a magic circle.
It was a woman named Luche, my subordinate from 2,000 years ago.
The magic invoked was <Wind Wave Shura>. A wave of wind, suppressed to the level of a gentle breeze, sweeps across the room. Luche attentively directed her magical eyes at the room.
Even with the use of <Illusion Mimicry Rainel> and <Concealed Magic Power Najira>, it doesn’t change the fact that there are people there. She is probably intending to find out by casting the wind.
“… W-will things be alright…?” Sasha asks.
“Don’t worry. With <Wind Wave Shura> and <Illusion Mimicry Rainel>, we’ll reproduce the wind flow that exists without us.”
If the <Concealed Magic Power Najira> is cast, our existence will not be perceived.
Luche sees that this place has no issues and leaves.
If Avos Dilhevia could change their perception of her as the Demon King of Tyranny, it would imply that they are unaware of my power.
If she did know, there would be nothing that could be done about it.
The other demons also followed Luche and left the scene.
Among them, there were familiar faces.
It was Menou and Revest.
Revest was still dressed in his usual uniform beneath his armour, with the school emblem faintly visible.
It was a crossed brand.
Hmm. This could be a trap.
