episode_0121

The plan is shrouded in uncertainty.

No one can predict how the magic imbued with Velfegor’s will would react until the very moment.

In the worst-case scenario, Tei’s life could be in danger.

However, it’s not a time to be restless and anxious with just fingers.

I saw it with my own eyes, the words of someone whose body was taken by the Great Demon.

I cannot let Tei tread the same path.

“Mijung. Unleash the first-level formation. A formation that blocks everything except sound and light.”

“······Okay.”

She throws off her outer garment and takes a deep breath.

In the meantime, Mijung closes her eyes and chants a spell, and a red cube appears in the center of the spacious room.

I embrace the unconscious Tei and walk into the center.

One of the functions of the first-level formation is information blocking.

By firmly controlling the inner area, theoretically, it can block everything like dazzling light, sound, mana, magic, and so on.

Of course, the more information is blocked, the more mana is consumed, and the space looks strange, so it’s not a function that is used frequently.

But it can be operated as a barrier.

We decided to take advantage of that.

First, we confine Tei within the formation and give her a black magic stone.

Velfegor’s mana may not be able to perform many tasks due to its capacity limitations.

It will only respond when it comes into contact with the black magic stone.

And the moment it touches the black magic stone.

The mana will immediately contact Velfegor’s main body.

But the communication is blocked by the formation and cannot reach Velfegor’s main body.

By intercepting his communication, we can analyze where he is trying to send it, revealing Velfegor’s coordinates.

Without being noticed, we can unilaterally find out Velfegor’s location.

“Are you ready?”

“······Yes.”

She puts all her belongings outside the formation.

Then she removes only the black magic stone from the scabbard and returns with it.

Initially, she intended to use Kali’s Soul, but the risk was too great, so she gave up.

While the value of Kali’s Soul is still unknown, this item can be easily replaced with other high-grade magic stones.

Of course, other high-grade magic stones may not match its performance, but since she has mastered mana control, the difference is not significant.

“Let’s begin.”

The intricate formation spread out in all directions.

And in the center, a collapsed girl.

If you cut out this scene and look at it, you might mistake it for a demon summoning ritual.

Oh. That’s not entirely wrong.

“Come out, Velfegor.”

With one hand on Tei’s chest, I examine the state of the mana inside.

At the same time, with the other hand, I slowly approach the black magic stone to Tei’s hand.

Perhaps because the bright color of the stone was uncovered to hide it.

From the stone, intense mana is emanating to the point where it furrows the brow.

When I couldn’t see the mana before, I had no idea.

But emitting such thick mana is like saying, ‘I’m here,’ or advertising.

Tran Silvia might know the reason why she panicked when she saw Kali’s Soul.

“It’s responding.”

Wriggle.

Whether it detected the intense mana or not, the mana inside Tei also begins to move.

Moving away from the tightly attached heart.

Slowly and cautiously, it moves in the direction of Mijung’s arm.

Good.

I just have to pull it out like this.

“Come out! Velfegor!”

Thud.

The moment I directly bring the magic stone to Tei’s hand.

The mana inside violently jumps around and instantly pours out of Tei’s chest.

Mana sprouts out at a speed that is difficult to follow with the eyes.

Surprised, I grab the mana with my hands and block it.

Although I cannot control and manipulate this mana, I can at least grab it tightly.

“진명을! Do not speak the truth lightly!!!”

“······!”

As the magic thrashed around in my hand, a strange voice emanated.

The form of the magic stone began to blur.

The magic stone was melting like liquid, transforming into a different shape.

“Damn it! What are you doing!”

“After a long period of silence, a new body will be obtained for resurrection!”

He’s making a fuss like a madman after persevering for so long.

The magic of Velfergor had not even touched the magic stone yet.

The melting magic stone spread out widely, transforming into a human-like shape.

With a head emerging and arms and legs appearing, it was undeniably a human form.

I couldn’t leave it like this.

Once the body is complete and the magic enters it, there will be no disaster like that.

“Resurrect! Resurrect! Resurrect!”

“Ugh!”

In my hand, the magic started thrashing like crazy.

It was wriggling and biting into my hand.

I thought I could somehow incapacitate it and interrogate it.

But this was just a desire to obtain the black magic stone, devoid of reason.

There was no information to extract from this guy.

With that judgment, I applied pressure to my hand to crush the magic.

“Flesh! Flesh over here too!”

“What?”

But at that moment.

Instead of thrashing towards the completed body, the magic suddenly changed direction.

Not somewhere else, but towards me.

In the moment of confusion, the magic seeped into my hand.

“Ahh!”

It was a minuscule amount, but it was magic imbued with the will of a demon.

It was nauseating to touch from the outside, but now that it had entered my body, it was even worse, making me feel sick, causing a headache, and creating chaos.

My whole body trembled, and an indescribable voice echoed in my head, making me feel like I was losing my mind.

“Rather… it’s good!”

But this was actually good news.

I was unsure if I could destroy the demon’s magic with my own power.

But if it came into my body on its own, I could just trap it inside.

I used my magic to block the exit.

Now, Velfergor’s magic could thrash around inside me all it wanted, but it would never be able to leave.

It may come in freely, but it won’t leave.

“Hahaha! I did it! I saved Tei!”

“······Yujin.”

Feeling queasy, I checked Tei’s condition.

There was no magic inside, and there was not a single scratch.

Tei was sound asleep, breathing heavily with a red face.

At this, a relieved smile spread across my face.

“It’s over. You can release the seal.”

“Are you… okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine. No problem. It just feels like a severe hangover.”

As the seal was released.

Mijeong approached nervously and grabbed my sleeve.

She led me to bow my head, then touched my forehead.

“It’s hot.”

“If you touch it with your cold hands, won’t it feel hot?”

“Hotter than usual. Just… give it to me instead.”

“It’s fine. I don’t want to imagine what would happen if your talented body fell into Velfergor’s hands.”

I couldn’t hand this over to Mijeong.

Unlike me, Mijeong had talents in all forms of magic, be it sorcery, magic, or martial arts.

Velfergor’s magic would surely be used and abused.

It’s better for me to handle this.

With the ‘mental strength enhancement’ trait, I should be able to handle it somehow.

Somehow…

“More importantly, did you catch the transmission signal?”

“Yes. For a moment, a high-frequency signal was detected.”

“The coordinates?”

“I… don’t know the exact coordinates. I can only tell the direction.”

With that, Mijeong pointed her finger towards one side of the room.

“······Over there, that direction.”

“Good job.”

After roughly patting Mi-jeong’s head, he headed in the direction she pointed.

And when he pulled back the curtain of the window, the view of Basel unfolded before them.

The direction Tei pointed to was the west.

If it was the west of Basel, it would be towards the central part of the southern continent.

The territory of the Holy Empire.

Just the large cities spread out in this direction alone would easily number at least three.

“Still, the candidate locations have narrowed down to five.”

It’s a significant development compared to when we knew nothing.

The range has narrowed down quite a bit.

However, what worries me a bit is…

The existence of the candidate locations, Hameln and König.

The capital and former capital of the Holy Empire…

Where the Saintess and Cornelia are respectively.

I don’t know what kind of trickery Belphagor is up to hiding.

It would be refreshing to catch him as soon as possible.

|Flesh! New flesh!|

“Shut up…”

In the midst of that, the voice ringing loudly in my head is disturbing.

Magi freely roams around my body like it’s his own swimming pool.

But now, he’s causing a commotion in my brain.

Seemingly aiming to take control of my body, he continues to shake my mind.

Thanks to the ‘mental fortitude’ trait, I can still endure it.

I haven’t given him anything yet.

I haven’t given up any part of my subconscious or memories.

He’s just wandering around inside me.

|New flesh! New flesh!|

“It’s useless to do that. Do you think I’ll go crazy because of that? I’ve been staying in Taepyung City for over a month without sleeping a wink, I’m the one who endured it.”

|Enough! It’s all done!|

“······?”

At that moment, when I wondered what he was talking about.

I turned my head, and both Mi-jeong and I froze in place.

Something was standing in front of us.

“Insane.”

Long arms and legs.

Thin fingers.

Slender waist.

Even horns rising above the head.

The black mana stone had transformed into the appearance of a demon.

It’s just a superficial color.

In reality, it’s practically a completed form.

|New flesh!|

The new flesh he was talking about wasn’t referring to my body.

While pretending to take over my body, he had been diligently creating a body for himself.

Step by step.

As if a black mannequin, the particles were slowly approaching me.

I drew my sword and slashed at my waist, but it was futile.

The cut part would immediately stick back together.

“······Flames, with magic-”

“No.”

I stopped Mi-jeong, who was about to raise her hand and cast a spell.

It’s not advisable to use magic.

The particles are in an unstable state, neither mana nor magi, nor an organic being.

If you cast a fire magic on it, it will collapse into magi immediately.

If that huge amount of magi is released into the air, it’s game over.

It would probably be enough to suffocate and kill everyone inside this building, and still have some left over.

‘I got it.’

Just when I was wondering what to do.

The solution came to mind.

This should work.

|Flesh! Flesh!!!|

“Alright. I’ll give you what you want.”

“······Yujin?”

“It’s okay.”

Approaching the particles in reverse, I twisted my neck.

Disgusting and sticky sensation clung to my hand.

I opened the only exit I had kept tightly sealed in my body.

|Finally! The long-awaited! The resurrection!!!|

Zap!

Magi surged like lightning towards the exit.

My dizzy head cleared up.

The magi went straight into the particles.

|Ahhh!!! This refreshing feeling! The same level as the original body! The same power! I’ve regained the power I lost long ago!|

And slowly, the surface of the particles, which had been completely black, began to change.

From the tips of my fingers, my skin gradually transformed into a bronze-like tan.

The texture of the black horns came to life.

But just before the transformation was complete into the form of Belphagor.

As I twisted his neck, the change abruptly stopped.

And soon, it regressed back to the form of the black mannequin.

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry, but you see, I’ve been diligently taming this magic stone for a few months.”

The control over the form had completely shifted to me.

How much magical power had I poured into this magic stone all this time?

It had been a constant companion, handled as if it were a part of my body.

Even though the form had changed, the essence remained the same.

And now, having learned sorcery and how to handle magic, this “something between a living organism and a magic stone” was completely under my control.

“Oh, no!”

As I twisted his neck, the form of the entity distorted.

Like changing a form of writing, I altered it as I pleased.

Although I couldn’t evolve the entity from level 0 to level 1.

Perhaps because I was so familiar with this magic stone, it seemed like I could mold it as I desired.

Twisting, compressing, condensing.

Despite Belphagor’s magic screaming inside, it was futile.

His will had already melted into the stone, rendering him powerless.

It would just be a slightly noisy voice.

“I’ll revert it!”

The goal was to return it to its original form.

To turn it back into the black-handled magic stone.

Although it might become a creepy item occasionally emitting strange voices.

It would still be recyclable, so that was the best option.

“Huh?”

I thought I had changed it back to the form of the magic stone.

But the shape forming at my fingertips was slightly different.

It condensed into a small gem at first, but gradually elongated on both sides.

Confused by what was happening, I tightened my grip on the stone, and it flashed.

The unstable state between magic and the magic stone had stabilized.

“Wow…”

And when I opened my eyes, a black-bladed sword was now in my hand.

Made of high-carbon steel, it was a deep black color.

As I admired its beautiful form.

“Wow. A magic sword.”

“Hey, what’s with the name ‘magic sword’? Be careful with your words-”

[Item name registered.]

[Magic Sword]

[A sword made of the magic of a great demon. It has properties similar to metal but also flows with magic and mana. A skilled user may be able to change its form into an unstable state.]

In an instant, it was given a creepy name.