Ch.64Midterm Exam – 7

“Mira Crate! Are you safe and sound!”

After struggling for a long time, unable to do anything because the coordinates weren’t properly designated for some reason, Elysiere urgently opened a dimensional door the moment he confirmed he could set coordinates again.

“What… has happened here…?”

Elysiere was shocked at the state of the dungeon’s interior. Every place his gaze fell was completely devastated. It would be faster to find areas that remained intact.

He had definitely spread protective barriers at maximum strength throughout the entire dungeon to prepare for any unforeseen situations, without damaging the original magic.

‘But this is…’

Elysiere’s eyes fixed on a particular spot as he looked around. It was a large hole with its mouth gaping wide open, slightly off from the center.

Mira was standing in front of it, staring blankly into the hole. Elysiere rushed over, startled by the thought that she might jump in, but was relieved to see no such intention.

But the relief was momentary. Elysiere carefully approached Mira’s back, feeling anxious again as she didn’t move at all despite surely hearing his footsteps.

“Um, Mira? Art thou alright? I have come. I apologize. For some reason, not only the dimensional door but even the teleportation coordinates would not register properly…”

Elysiere stopped his unsolicited stream of excuses. Mira was still looking down into the hole. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

“…Oh, you’re here?”

Only then did Mira show a reaction. Her body, which had been frozen like an ancient statue, slowly began to move.

“Art thou injured somewhere? Or perhaps under some hypnosis or brainwashing… If thou wishest, I could procure potions used by humans.”

“It’s fine. I appreciate the thought. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”

“B-but for someone who claims to be fine…”

“Why, am I injured somewhere?”

“Not injured, but… thy expression is too serious.”

Mira, who had been examining various parts of her body, stopped moving. Then she let out a deep sigh.

“It’s nothing. I was just thinking about how to clean up this mess, and it got my head all complicated.”

“…I see. That is good. I shall help thee contemplate as well.”

Elysiere noticed that her expression was definitely not that of someone contemplating the aftermath of the current situation, but he deliberately chose not to mention it.

He wasn’t foolish enough to pry into the thoughts of someone who clearly wanted to keep something hidden.

“Now it is my turn to ask questions. What exactly happened while I was away? There were many strange things, not just one or two.”

After somehow managing to deflect Professor Jeina’s bewildered interrogation about what had happened inside, I carefully explained to Elysiere what had just occurred.

I told him that the red energy he had planted worked properly, but a black energy that suddenly appeared had revived the creature.

After revealing that at the very end, the black energy strengthened the creature once more causing some unpleasant events, but I was able to handle it somehow, Elysiere’s expression became slightly enigmatic.

“It seems there is something thou dost not wish to speak of, or perhaps should not speak of. I can tell by how thou art trying to gloss over it.”

“…Well, that’s right.”

“I understand. I shall inquire no further. But, is thy body truly alright? According to thy words, its power might have surpassed even mine.”

“I’m fine, considering there were two unexpected incidents.”

In fact, I’m not just fine but in peak condition. Because that thing came out.

“So, do you know what this is?”

I showed him traces of the black energy that had precariously remained in a corner, not fully purified. The Demon Lord examined it carefully and shook his head.

“I know not. The only certainty is that this power does not belong to me. I know not how this came to be, but this is much more… yes, closer to demonic energy than the power I possess.”

“Closer to demonic energy than even the Demon Lord’s power?”

I had naturally expected it wasn’t Elysiere’s power, but such a statement was beyond my expectations. The Demon Lord affirmed my surprised question.

“Indeed. Compared to this, even the demonic energy I possess seems no more than a candle before the sun. Where did such a terrible thing appear from?”

Something closer to demonic energy than the Demon Lord’s yet more terrible. I sighed as soon as I heard that description.

Whatever its identity might be, if such things start appearing in earnest, it will become extremely troublesome. There would be hardly anyone who could stop it.

“There is another strange thing. It is not related to this terrible something.”

“Something strange? What is it?”

Elysiere approached the hole that he had left unfilled, still searching for a method to fill it.

“Throughout this entire place, I sense the faint power of a holy sword. Especially here, in this hole thou wert gazing into, it is strongest.”

“…Are you certain?”

I asked with a slightly trembling voice. Elysiere wore a very solemn expression.

“I can stake everything I have on this. I have been defeated by heroes eighty-nine times, and have died eighty-nine times with my heart pierced by holy swords, writhing in agony. How could I misidentify the power that has killed me so many times?”

Momentarily dazed, I looked at the hole. This was the trace left when the light spear pierced through the wall created by that Vampire Lord, then impaled its main body and went through.

But for the power of a holy sword to be sensed here…

“…Wait a moment, Elysiere.”

“What is it?”

“Perhaps… do you sense that power from here too?”

I bit the inside of my cheek until it bled, and feeling the metallic taste of blood, I summoned the light spear in my left hand. As soon as the spear appeared, the Demon Lord’s skin began to slowly burn. I immediately dismissed the summoning.

Elysiere nodded with a blank face.

“Indeed. It is the power of a holy sword. But how art thou holding a holy sword, Mira? Art thou perhaps the hero of this generation? The holy sword I have seen until now looked somewhat different, does its appearance change depending on its owner?”

I gave a bitter smile as Elysiere mistook me for a hero. I am not a hero. I’m not even qualified to be one.

Especially this light spear—it’s merely something that doesn’t deserve to be considered holy at all.

—Please… accept this. I couldn’t draw out this spear’s true power… but you, as the savior, should be able to. So… you… the Demon Lord… please…

—So the spear has awakened. I see. It’s quite unexpected, but as a Demon Lord, I should at least offer ceremonial congratulations. Congratulations. You’ve finally become humanity’s true savior. How does it feel to have awakened the spear by personally slaughtering hundreds of thousands who begged you to kill them? Are you pleased? Or perhaps happy?

“…”

Suddenly, an old memory surfaced. Whether I made a mistake, or whether there was no other way. The memory of when I awakened the spear’s power through a method that should never have been used, and then despaired.

“If my question is difficult to answer, I apologize. Thou need not answer. I was merely curious…”

My feelings must have been completely visible on my face, as Elysiere, who had been bewilderedly asking what that weapon was, began to cautiously read my expression.

“I’ll tell you when the time is right. It’s not something to discuss here. Sorry.”

“No! If anyone should apologize, it is I! Have I not touched upon something sensitive!”

“…Anyway. It seems this power of the holy sword you mentioned works effectively against this black energy too.”

I forced myself to brighten my face, not wanting to worry him unnecessarily. Staying depressed won’t change anything. It would only make me dwell on those thoughts more.

“Then the hero’s role becomes important. Though not at the time of awakening their power, the holy sword wielded by a hero can also emit sacred light.”

Elysiere also shifted the topic toward the holy sword. He seemed intent on avoiding mentioning me directly.

“So, can I ask you for a small favor?”

“Thou needst not ask for a favor; thou may command me. I shall grant whatever thou wishest, if it is within my power. Even if it means the destruction of all demon-kind.”

“You might already know, but the current hero is a bit… too innocent. She was just chosen by the holy sword, but she’s barely changed from a country girl. To put it nicely, she’s innocent; to put it harshly, her head is still full of flowers.”

“…Thou truly art putting it harshly.”

Until now, I’ve been more than sufficient on my own, so I’ve been getting by thinking an opportunity would come eventually, but not anymore.

With those strange things appearing, we need to accelerate her awakening as much as possible.

“So, she needs to become aware that she’s the hero.”

“Dost thou mean to make her lose someone precious?”

“…Even I wouldn’t go that far.”

“I apologize. Having lived as a Demon Lord for so long, even my thoughts have been tainted… I shall reflect on this as much as possible…”

Elysiere shrank immediately and fidgeted with his fingers, mumbling.

Though my expression was a bit harsh, in the original story, the hero’s personality gradually changes as she watches those around her get hurt and injured, so someone’s death would certainly be the most effective catalyst for awakening.

But I don’t want that. Having come this far, I would rather die than watch people I know die.

“We’ll talk about that later. One more thing. Spar with me too. I need to get stronger.”

It’s a resolution I made before, but I’ve been putting it off because there hasn’t been an opportunity.

This isn’t a novel with some hidden piece that could provide a dramatic power-up effect, nor is it a novel with a status window where I can directly check my abilities or stats.

I just have to train my combat sense relentlessly to get stronger. Solo practice won’t cut it anymore; I’m well past that level.

It was the same when I faced the Vampire Lord enhanced by the black energy.

Judging by how he unpleasantly curled his lips just before entering phase 3, it meant he was deliberately hiding his abilities until he could seize an opportunity. And I stupidly fell for that bluff.

Now that I know the black energy strengthens demons beyond imagination, I won’t be fooled twice.

“…I hesitate to say this, but art thou not already strong enough? To become even stronger from there is a bit…”

“I’m still weaker than you.”

Didn’t he catch my Scale Drop with one hand when we first met?

Elysiere muttered in a very small voice, “Neither of us was using our full power, and if thou were to bring out that strange light, I might lose…”

I decided to pretend I didn’t hear that.

“So, can you do it?”

“It is not a difficult task. However, to set a date and place for sparring, we would need a means of contact… Ah yes, this would be good.”

Elysiere took out a small necklace from his coat’s inner pocket and held it out to me.

“This is a slightly modified version of our communication magical tool. It is used by weak demons who cannot even use long-distance telepathy. I have specially treated it so that demonic energy cannot be detected, so thou needst not worry about being discovered.”

“When did you prepare this?”

Given that he had specially treated it to prevent demonic energy detection, it couldn’t have been made on the spot. At my question, Elysiere showed a slightly embarrassed expression.

“…I prepared it right after deciding to find thee. I am too far away from thee to meet freely. Yet I cannot just wait for opportunities like this to visit once every few weeks. Although at that time I did not know thou wert a possessor, the mere fact that we could have genuine conversations was enough.”

“I see. Is the usage method the same as what we use?”

“Yes. Also, I can check from my side whether thou art wearing the necklace or have set it aside. Since my contact might put thee in an awkward situation, I wanted to ask thee to wear it only during times when it is convenient for thee to communicate with me.”

“That’s nice. Thanks for the consideration.”

“It is only what I should do, so keep thy thanks.”

I received the necklace and put it in my pocket. I probably wouldn’t wear it outside. It was too conspicuous to wear around my neck.

I could confess to Priscilla and Rosaria about the Demon Lord being a possessor too, but there was no benefit in making the others curious.

“We can’t do anything about that hole, so let’s leave it as is and go down.”

Trying to fill it clumsily might cause more trouble. Better to brazenly claim the dungeon was too weak.

“Art thou leaving already? The fatigue from battle may not have fully dissipated yet. Why not rest a while in a space I can provide for thee…”

Elysiere fidgeted, reading my expression. Having heard that the test would last for three days and two nights, he seemed to want to spend as much time with me as possible within the available time.

“I understand how you feel, but there’s someone waiting outside, so I’m sorry but I can’t. I’ll try to make time somehow next time.”

“Someone waiting…? Who dost thou mean?”

“Priscilla. She’s a regressor with more regression cycles than you.”

At the mention of someone with more regression cycles than himself, Elysiere’s face turned slightly pale.

“Then how many times has she…”

“Well, she said she stopped counting after 100.”

The little blood that remained drained completely from his face.