Spear of Magic
by Afuhfuihgs
When I firmly refused the offer to become Dantalian, I could feel the Demon King’s great disappointment. Before the Demon King ended the conversation, I asked about the mention of Uricus’s power. At that question, the Demon King scratched his head roughly and said as if it were nothing.
[I just felt Uricus’s power from you. No follower of any demon can refuse my command, the ruler of the Demon Realm. This is the real power of the Demon King. Hehe.]
It seems he can feel Uricus’s power from me even though I haven’t manifested the Spear of Shadows. Fortunately, the Demon King didn’t seem particularly interested in Uricus, who was sealed in the Spear of Shadows. Raellan was curious about the reason and asked the Demon King.
“Then is it okay to keep using Uricus’s power?”
[Huh? I don’t really care. Ancient demons and us are practically strangers. We who live in the Demon Realm are different from them who stayed in the Human Realm. The Spear of Magic that Uricus had is inferior to my Spear of Magic, but it’s still a good item made by a Demon Realm blacksmith. Let the hero’s brother use it to spread the majesty of Demon Realm weapons far and wide!]
The Spear of Shadows was originally supposed to be used by a cadre on the Demon King’s side in the later part of the novel, but I preempted it. Uricus, who planted his terminal in the Spear of Shadows to set a trap, tried to take over my body, but the author’s essence, which the Saintess had sealed, sealed Uricus in the Spear of Shadows forever, preventing him from awakening. Thanks to that, I’m making good use of the Spear of Shadows instead of the Spear of Destruction.
Anyway, since I got permission from the king of the cadre who was supposed to be the original owner, the Spear of Shadows would officially become mine. I nodded slightly in gratitude. The Demon King, who was looking at me while tidying his hair, suddenly clapped his hands as if he had a great idea.
[Right, how about absorbing the remaining demons of the Four Cardinal Directions to strengthen the Spear of Magic! If the demons of the Four Gods gather in one place, the Spear of Magic will be able to regain its original power! Then humans will be even more interested in the Demon Realm items you use. Hehe, if that happens, you can sell Demon Realm items to humans as much as you want….]
I cut off the sinister afterthought of buying a golden castle and asked.
“…The original power of the Spear of Magic?”
This is the first time I’m hearing about this. Even the discarded settings shouldn’t have something like that. The Demon King ended his delusion and kindly explained to me, who was tilting my head with a puzzled expression.
[The demons of the Four Cardinal Directions were originally born when the spear my dad used was split by the hero’s holy sword! If you combine them into one again, they’ll regain their original power!]
Is it a past story created by plausibility like Uricus? Anyway, with the thought that it could be helpful to me, I decided to seriously consider the Demon King’s proposal.
[The power of the sacrifice is also falling. If there are no more questions for this lord… let’s meet at the next sacrifice ritual! I’m quite looking forward to this cooperation. Don’t disappoint me!]
With those words, the curtain of blood that had formed the shape of a face collapsed, and blood poured onto the floor like a torrential rain. Raellan, who had been quietly waiting for the commotion to subside, approached me.
“It was a good thing you rejected the name Dantalian. That suddenly popping up Prophecy of Patulga… it definitely felt like a trap.”
As if there was something uncomfortable, Raellan scratched his chin and glared at the place where the disappeared Demon King had been.
“…A trap? But isn’t the name Patulga related to the Administrator-nim?”
Raellan gave a thick smile and carefully chose his words.
“Like Patulga’s grimoire, the Administrator-nim that Ross mentioned may have intervened in the world again, but the situation of intervention itself was quite strange. Giving choices that force a selection in a moment where a choice isn’t needed is almost like a trap. Didn’t you also feel the needle hidden beneath it and reject the offer?”
“No, I just… instinctively felt a sense of rejection.”
At my answer, Raellan twisted the corners of his mouth as if he understood the reason.
“Because Ross, who became Dantalian, failed to save the world? It’s not like the same ending would be repeated if you became Dantalian. Unlike the previous Dantalian, you are the only ‘last’ one who can definitely create a variable. Actually, I was a little worried because I thought you would readily accept it.”
Raellan was worried…? When I looked at him suspiciously without realizing it, Raellan frowned and said.
“Of course I’m worried. You’re the joker that allows me to win. I don’t want anyone’s intervention in my victory.”
For some reason, I got the feeling that Raellan was hiding his true feelings in that answer. I’ve been feeling this way a lot lately. Ellie hiding that she met Bella, the guinea pig, who is Nelson’s daughter, and Eunice, who is carrying out some plan with Ellie… I rubbed my forehead vigorously as if trying to erase the thoughts, and finally sighed and said.
“…Anyway, now that the work is done, let’s go back to Modest.”
“Right, we’ll be quite busy preparing for the sacrifice ritual. Let’s go back and reorganize for now.”
Having achieved the goal of drawing in the Demon King, we immediately returned to the capital.
***
When we returned to Modest, the re-entry time for the labyrinth ended with good timing, but we couldn’t immediately enter the labyrinth. We couldn’t just entrust ourselves to luck and enter the labyrinth recklessly against the cult leader, who was likely to be encountered on the 5th floor. If I, who am aiming for the 10th floor, hoped for such luck, it was obvious that I would be caught off guard in a strange place.
To face the cult leader, who is described as having power equivalent to Roel, we needed the Demon King’s help. We couldn’t go to the 5th floor until Raellan became an apostle. Shortly after arriving in Modest, Raellan left, saying he would prepare for the sacrifice ritual. He didn’t forget to warn me to keep it a secret from Ellie.
The cult was not the only thing I had to worry about. Roel is also aiming for the Holy Grail. In fact, I felt an anxious unease, wondering if Roel was already ahead of me to the point where I couldn’t catch up… As if predicting my actions, Bella created something new at the entrance of the Imperial Palace.
She created a bulletin board to announce the progress of the labyrinth’s conquest. After confirming on the bulletin board that Roel was still staying on the 5th floor, I was able to let out a sigh of relief. At this speed, I can definitely catch up in the later part of the labyrinth.
The reason Bella created the bulletin board was very blatant. By showing everyone how far the advance team had gone, she made people think, ‘If it’s this far, isn’t the 1st and 2nd floors okay?’ and drew more people into the labyrinth.
Furthermore, Bella found out the conditions to escape each floor through the bracelets and experiences she collected from the people who returned from the labyrinth, and she made the information public so that anyone could see it. Thanks to this, the news that rewards impossible to obtain even with elixirs could be obtained as rewards from the labyrinth spread throughout the continent, and the number of people trying to enter the labyrinth was increasing without end.
The magic towers competed to recommend that magicians challenge at least the 1st floor. There was no reward as helpful to magicians as an increase in magic power, so it was a natural thing in a way. In addition, now that they knew the condition of having to move 10km, it was also possible to minimize deaths by moving safely without overdoing it using magic.
Even if you went up to the 2nd floor and immediately ran away to the door to give up the labyrinth challenge, the gap between those who had been to the labyrinth and those who hadn’t was visible even to ordinary people… That was the reason why there was no end to the people trying to enter the labyrinth.
In addition, I heard from Ember that the opinion that even academy students should be okay with the 1st floor was slowly growing. Fortunately, Konrad the Coordinator, who is currently the principal of Transcendence Academy, will never send students to the labyrinth. The reason he became the principal was to protect the members of the Messiah club.
“Ross.”
While I was organizing my thoughts, Ellie, who had returned to Modest after the re-entry waiting time ended, called my name. When I turned my head without thinking, I was embarrassed by the fact that Ellie’s appearance had changed a little.
“…Did you lose weight?”
“Ah, yeah. A little?”
Ellie, who was already thin, was still beautiful, but her cheeks, which had a soft cuteness that made her look a little sickly, were gone. I wondered if she was sick somewhere. It didn’t seem like a normal change. I was bothered by the fact that Ellie, who noticed my worried eyes, smiled as if she was okay… It’s ridiculous for me to care too much about Ellie’s personal matters.
“…Due to circumstances, I can’t enter the labyrinth right away. It’ll probably take a few weeks.”
“Really?”
Ellie tilted her head at the suddenly changed schedule. I scratched my head and asked Ellie.
“…Could you help me?”
Funnily enough, I had a strange conviction that my offer wouldn’t be rejected while asking the question. It wasn’t a sinister conviction like manipulating others by taking advantage of their weaknesses, but just… it felt like Ellie would.
“Yeah, of course!”
As expected, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly at her appearance of readily nodding her head with a happy face without even listening to what it was about.
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