Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The culprit of this incident was not revealed to the end.

The culprit murdered over twenty people without being caught, and this disappearance incident spanning several months remained unsolved and only decades later was revealed to be the doing of a demon-human.

The problematic cave where the demon seemed to have stayed and the iron bars to imprison people discovered inside, the dark red rock that seemed used like an altar, large amounts of human and beast bones.

With the investigative techniques developed at the time most of the victims were identified, and even the fact that the victims were imprisoned kidnapped for about a month then murdered could be known.

I roughly know the location of that cave.

I also know the person estimated to have been kidnapped first.

That’s why after the culprit began moving, I tried to first examine what kind of person he is and in what way he moves.

It’s an unfortunate story for Armana who has to be imprisoned in that cave for a while, but if an opponent I can’t handle, I was thinking of cleanly giving up and waiting for the Holy See people.

Of course at that time I’ll have to send a urging letter.

If the Holy See people come only after a few people die, the meaning of me coming all the way here early would fade.

In the end since I knew the culprit is a magic practitioner it would be good to cleanly withdraw but...

“...Shall I try a slight gamble.”

“Yes?”

The guard standing beside asked back.

“No. Excuse me. Everyone look at the work.”

I turned my body and left the scene.

After returning to the separate room the Serjes lord provided, I came outside through the window in the middle of the night.

And, directly found one person.

I don’t know exactly how many times he will be kidnapped, but one of the victims whose identity was clearly revealed due to physical characteristics.

“I want you to help a bit with a few things.”

“Yes, yes what matter is it.”

He was a hunchback who was sleeping under the shade of a rock in the grassy field.

“What I usually do and live... Just going around from that end to here and doing moderate errands or receiving alms.”

I handed a money pouch and said.

“More clearly.”

On the face of the hunchback who opened the pouch, light of surprise and fear settled.

“Th, this kind of money...”

He soon began telling his daily life.

“The restaurant uncle in that alley sometimes makes urgent errands and gives food as compensation...”

I received that one by one and wrote it down.

“Four days ago I helped the fruit merchant’s work and a bit of fruit...”

“Don’t embellish, I’m not trying to judge right and wrong so tell truthfully.”

“...In the middle of the night I put on a robe and hood and went around the high-class residential area once and picked the fruits coming out over the house walls. Those items are here.”

Checking, several unripe fruits were contained in the guy’s old bag.

“On weekends I go to the church and draw water up to the front of the garden and receive some jerky.”

I recorded the daily life he repeated and the actions in between.

“You worked hard.”

I threw the money pouch to the guy who tried hard to explain honestly as promised.

“One more. If you endure a few days without using those two money pouches, when I return next I’ll give that much more.”

If going around places he doesn’t usually go to use the money received from me, I can’t watch the guy’s daily life.

“What happens if I use it?”

“Big luck will pass to someone else besides you.”

“...I’ll do so, sir.”

And after parting, from the next day for three days I watched him.

When the thought that I roughly know about him arose, I went to find him again at night.

“You’ve come again.”

I handed the money pouch as promised, and pointed at Morris wearing a robe.

“Follow that old man and rest a few days.”

“...I don’t know if this is luck or misfortune.”

Suddenly told to follow someone he seemed fearful, but I pushed his back to Morris.

“You’ll know soon.”

***

Magic practitioner Orvise Asier thought.

If knowing it would become like this, he absolutely wouldn’t have become a magic practitioner.

Magic power erosion.

I was dying with organs disappearing little by little.

Recovering, and disappearing again.

Repeating this, organs are gnawed little by little.

The family gave a terminal diagnosis, and said prepare for death.

From then all support for the path of magic disappeared, and only ‘money’ came down.

Travel expenses to prepare the finish.

I wandered outside.

I received and drank all sorts of medicines.

I inquired about heaven-and-earth treasures that suck or covet magic power.

I looked for famous healers and priests of the Empire.

One and all said there is no method to stop the already started magic power erosion.

I heard the rumor about the stone that covets magic power, magic power stone, and flowed into the Serjes territory.

Then I met some bizarrely shaped cat.

When the guy showed movement as if to follow and I moved my steps, it led to an underground cave.

The dry floor gradually became muddy.

From the ceiling pitch-black water dripped and the air became spicy and stuffy.

An unpleasant place.

The cat walked soaking the whole body messily as if not caring whether mud water touches the body or not, then soon went up and sat on a rock inside a spacious cavity.

I looked around.

Nothing...

“You, you’re dying.”

I turned my head toward the voice.

Pitch-black tree roots sprouted on the wall and were entangled here and there.

In the center, a face like a mask finely forged of wood sprouted and was smiling.

“I am Eucaliph. If you cooperate with me, I’ll make it so you can escape death.”

There is no reason to refuse.

Even if the opponent is a suspicious monster, it doesn’t matter.

If only able to live, I could do anything.

But time was precious to me.

“If you show something, I’ll believe.”

“Hahahaha, deceiving without any evidence is something only those without power do. I’ll prove right away.”

He extended roots and emitted black fog.

“Extend your hand.”

I brought the left hand.

The black fog dug into the skin, moved inside the body, and headed to the pancreas where erosion was progressing.

“Sit and close your eyes.”

It dyed my pancreas.

A black cavity where black fog undulated around the pancreas inside me was created.

Soon how much time passed.

The black fog that flowed out from the cavity severed the connection of the pancreas and other organs.

“...!”

I thought it was trying to kill, but the body was fine.

Rather the disgusting pain disappeared.

“What is this?”

“Demonic energy. Demons can eat something and digest without relying on such meat-lump organs. I’ll make your body into a body that doesn’t need those weak organs.”

“A body that doesn’t need organs...?”

Magic power erosion cannot be stopped.

But if the organs disappearing due to erosion are not needed in the first place...

I can continue living.

“Become a demon living on demonic energy.”

“What should I do?”

“More demonic energy is needed.”

Following the cat he attached, I could find a stone holding magic power in a not far place.

The magic power stone that was the reason I came to Serjes.

I dug that and moved it to the cave.

Eucaliph delivered demonic energy to me once more.

The newly entered demonic energy moved around the stomach and formed a black cavity.

The insides that were painfully burning and often vomiting blood became quiet as if a lie.

Before long the stomach that was disappearing due to magic power erosion was also isolated.

An amazing matter.

As the inside of the body empties, the pain disappears.

Hope for life arose.

Hoping the headache that sometimes comes throbbing will also disappear someday, I waited for his next order.

I made a prison underground.

Moving iron, and bending directly inside.

Doing even such chores was bothersome.

So I said I would bring a person I could trust and use, but Eucaliph refused.

“There is insufficient demonic energy to bind the ones to newly bring. First finish this work and when demonic energy is secured, I’ll completely cure your body and prepare others to help the work, so until then you have to do it alone.”

“Understood.”

When all the iron bars were made, Eucaliph opened his mouth as if waiting.

“Now imprison twenty-four humans inside there, and for one month and seven days kill livestock in front of them.”

“Why must I do that meaningless terrible act?”

“Death records must be contained in the soul. The young and clear souls of this world have too little experience of death.”

“Do demons possessing young and clear souls have much experience of death?”

“Very much. There, without missing a day, they experience the death of something as if breathing.”

“Seems like hell.”

“It’s heaven.”

“...Why are young and clear souls needed?”

“To prepare the souls needed for the World Tree sapling.”

“Are old souls not okay?”

“Turbid souls adapted to the natural world for a long time have too low efficiency in producing demonic energy. To make the demonic energy needed immediately with their souls, one must kill at least hundreds.”

Hundreds is certainly a bit excessive.

“If killing that much the possibility of being discovered becomes too high. It’s better for us not to reveal our appearance now.”

“Even twenty is sufficiently many to do without being caught.”

“If this place where countless refugees have entered because people to work in the mine are needed, it’s possible.”

Certainly, the Serjes territory has unusually widely formed slums and refugee villages.

The farther from the well-paved main road and entering alleys, public order rapidly worsened.

“Aim for those who just became adults, away from the interest of many. Make it so that them disappearing is unknown for as long as possible.”

“Understood.”

There was a problem.

When trying to kidnap the carefully chosen woman, some mercenary suddenly rushed in and thrust a greatsword.

The greatsword approaching in front of the knee in an instant, I unconsciously pulled up the power of the Magic Root, and magic power flowed in the Phobeas diagram.

That meaning is countless spears stuck in a trap.

Magic arts that make me into a trap, and the enemy approaching me into prey fallen into the trap.

“...”

The whole body of the charging enemy was pierced by intangible spears.

The greatsword rolled and the large body collapsed scattering a large amount of blood.

The sound of several windows of nearby buildings opening is heard.

Cleanup is impossible.

Leaving the corpse as is, carrying the woman I had paralyzed, I avoided that place.

Arriving at the underground cave, Eucaliph said to me with an angry expression.

“Stupid guy. How can you mess up the work so flashily from the beginning? I said not being caught is important. You should have just given up and fled.”

“I’m sorry. I thought I examined sufficiently... The opponent who suddenly appeared swung the greatsword threateningly, so I unconsciously did the most familiar response.”

“It can’t be helped. Wait a bit. Let’s watch the situation.”

They didn’t find me.

The public order of this area was not good from the beginning, and the guard corps has no thought of making everywhere safe.

Turning the limited guard troops here means that the street of the wealthy over there becomes that much less safe.

The guards who were flocking also reduced to original from a few days later, only patrolling a bit deeper, nothing more changed.

I began bringing the people I had seen in advance one by one and imprisoning them underground again.

Two people, the third.

I brought the young siblings who often get chased out while sleeping in the stable.

Every day I kill chickens in front of them.

And grilled as is and distributed.

“To have clear blood, one must eat well.”

“Isn’t it the opposite?”

I can’t know the standard of clarity the demon speaks of at all.

I caught the fourth, the fifth.

A young to the point of childish bard who wanders and sings not long entered, and a boy chased to the streets after losing his sick mother not long ago.

As the number increased chickens were insufficient so I kill wild boars.

The build was large so secretly moving was hard, but it was a somewhat rewarding matter.

Because it’s the time the children protesting to let them out become somewhat quiet.

Yes, eat a lot even before dying.

And I set the sixth target.

That hunchback over there.

Originally he was unconsciously out of the target, but Eucaliph told me who was wandering for a long while.

That guy is young, has no connections, and the body being bent has nothing to do with the soul.

I approached him and extended my hand.

Magic power moves toward the Stupor diagram that paralyzes the touching target.

If paralyzed I was thinking of lifting and moving as is.

Then, magic power arose from the opponent’s body.

“...?”

Was he a magic practitioner!

I realized I was careless but it was already late.

Both my hands that were touching his body flew off.

This is... The diagram of Equira only heard of in words.

No matter how young and weak looking, guys one shouldn’t allow approach unless considerable.

But a sword is not visible from him.

If a weapon was visible I would have felt strangeness and not approached in the first place.

Moreover I wasn’t the only one hit. The moment touching I also used magic arts.

That one must be stopped paralyzed until I release.

I retrieved the magic power circulating the Stupor diagram to the Magic Root.

And send magic power to the Phobeas diagram extending to the opposite side.

In a bit, the whole body of the magic practitioner solidified in front of me will be pierced like prey fallen into a trap.

Just before the magic power reaches the conduit root, my body flew.

No, I understood through the rotating vision.

Not the body but the head was flying.

The body was standing below, having lost both hands and the head.

Behind it there was a knight retrieving a flag spear fluttering flashily...

The head soon was stuck in the mud of the floor.

The vision blurs.

Ah—

The headache disappeared.

***

I was thinking of disguising as a hunchback.

A small thin woman wearing only one cloth, or a little child wearing a straw mat, absolutely cannot be disguised.

But a hunchback going around with the body bent to the fullest and wearing an old robe can be disguised.

However there was something to confirm before that.

If succeeding I was thinking of actively trying to catch the magic practitioner, and if failing thinking of sending Berger to the guy approaching.

If Berger seems to lose, withdraw the body, if seems to win, that is good.

I thought since a magic practitioner following a demon the state wouldn’t be normal, but the possibility of Berger being unilaterally pushed couldn’t be excluded.

I sat in the place I sent the hunchback and closed my eyes.

And pushed all the magic power inside the path seed.

Is it not working.

The magic power of the Magic Root showed the bottom, but the path seed didn’t budge.

The moment trying to give up and stop, the path seed opened and the outside and inside flipped.

A lump of magic power shining like the sun revealed its appearance.

The vast magic power the path seed had held during that time.

From inside that light lump roots extended in all directions.

A small Magic Root.

A conduit root was forming.

Gradually that heat subsided.

A solid outer wall and roots extended around. Magic power full inside.

Circulating the little remaining magic power in the Magic Root, the magic power of the conduit root also swirled as if responding.

I drew the swirling magic power of the conduit root to the Magic Root.

The magic power rode the ceiling of the diagram and curved following the height and flowed to the Magic Root near the heart.

I sent the magic power that rose like that to the conduit root again.

The magic power that flowed fiercely riding the floor of the diagram reached the conduit root.

Again riding the ceiling to the Magic Root, riding the floor to the conduit root.

When such a flow formed a ring of magic power, Margo manifested.

A breeze arises around the clothes.

My body became sharp.

But that sharpness was fully mine.

I stood up.

And extended my hand to a nearby rock.

The moment touching that cold surface...

The rock split.

And time flowed to now.

In front of me, instead of the rock, a careless magic practitioner was collapsed.

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