Chapter 94

"Ghost Pacification"

I swung my staff at the exhausted Iber Boun.

A sphere of light shot straight and merged into the trunk of Iber Boun.

From Iber Boun's mouth, a black mist-like substance spewed out.

This was the demon's true form.

Usually, it's not something that can be easily expelled, but Iber Boun must have been at its limits.

The black mist was weak, clearly having almost no power left.

The black mist flew away as if trying to escape from me.

...Actually, it was completely fleeing.

The black mist gradually dispersed and thinned, blending into the air.

Demons are said to be aggregates of spirits, and spirits are the materialized thoughts of living beings, inanimate objects, and the land.

The fact that demons often harbor obsessions is probably a remnant of this.

"What did you just do?"

Meara walked up to my side.

"I dispersed the demon and returned it to its spirit form. My village was originally specialized in this kind of thing."

The Maaren people believed that the souls of their ancestors turned into spirits and granted power to their descendants.

Many of the village's rituals were centered around this belief.

Therefore, they had a deep understanding of magic related to spirits and demons.

I can still faintly sense Iber Boun's will, but it should soon disappear completely.

Spirits themselves do not have the ability to retain memories.

They float in the air, moving according to the spirit language and magic arrays.

"That's good... I thought Abel would keep the demon alive and carve the otem while it was still alive..."

"...What, that's scary."

When I deliberately frowned, Meara's face turned pale.

"What? N-no, I mean, because Abel has done various things before... like with goblins and baum birds! W-why are you making that face!? M-Meara didn't say anything weird, right!? R-really, I didn't think Meara should do it, I just thought... because Abel always...!"

Meara flailed her arms, desperately trying to explain herself.

Well, to be honest, I didn't do it because prolonged stress would further degrade the demon.

Just like how fish taste better if you kill them right after catching them instead of letting them swim in a bucket.

The same goes for demons.

While there's not much difference in giving them a bit of a rough time when defeating them, maintaining the demon while weakening the host body and continuously stressing it would corrupt the tree.

After enjoying Meara's flustered state, I turned back to Iber Boun.

Iber Boun's roots, which had spread so widely, had suddenly shrunk due to its exhaustion.

I could have stopped the shrinkage with magic, but there was no need.

The valuable part was the condensed roots that had shrunk.

These roots would be sufficient as proof of the demon's defeat for Gaston.

First, I used magic to activate Iber Boun and slow down its degradation.

Then, I used a wood carving knife to remove the excess branches and adjusted the height to my liking with wind magic.

I manipulated the soil to push the roots above ground and cut them with wind magic.

I repurposed the parts I had cut off to create six arms with ball joints.

I even made the finger joints.

During the battle, I had some doubts, but the wood turned out to be of higher quality than I expected.

It had a very high magic conductivity.

This wood could even play a piano.

The demon had indeed done a good job crafting it over time.

I tried to keep Iber Boun's original appearance as much as possible.

The nose is not as high as before, but the resemblance is still quite high.

Finally, I infused it with magic and applied the paint.

The massive otem, nearly two meters tall, was complete.

While it would be difficult to transport due to its size, it had an unexpectedly high magic capacity.

If I stored enough magic, I should be able to bring it to me using a transfer spell.

"Meara, Meara, it's done! I've completed the combat-specialized otem!"

"...Combat-specialized? Isn't the World Tree otem combat-specialized?"

"No, that one is a versatile type."

"Really!? I didn't know that..."

While it has many uses, it can't match the specialized type. It's a rather versatile but not specialized type.

Still, its basic specs like magic capacity and conductivity are higher than Iber Boun's, so it has many uses.

"Look at these arms, aren't they cool? Ah, this feels great. I want to make each arm hold a different weapon!"

I hugged the Iber Boun otem and rubbed my cheek against it.

I'll name it Ashura 5000.

Incidentally, 5000 is the number of otems I've carved so far.

I haven't counted them precisely, but I have a vague idea.

It should be around 5000, so I'll consider this the 5000th otem.

"Shall I try moving it once?"

I took a few steps back and took out my staff.

" Puppet Control"

Ashura 5000 started moving.

It raised its six arms and got into a stance.

When I waved my staff, Ashura 5000 began shadow boxing.

It repeatedly punched the air, the sound of the wind cutting through the air filling the surroundings.

It moved well.

It might be the best one I've ever made.

"Amazing... It seems faster than before, doesn't it?"

"Of course. If it wasn't stronger, there would be no point in modifying it."

When I said this proudly, Meara tilted her head.

"Is that how it works...?"

Using Ashura 5000, Iber Boun would be reduced to debris in an instant.

It should be able to withstand a bit of wind and tear up all the tree roots and throw them.

I'm looking forward to using Ashura 5000 in battle.

"I've added various functions. It can also be used for transfer, and... something unique is that it can send thoughts through this otem."

I left the ability to send thoughts, which Iber Boun had, in Ashura 5000.

Don't underestimate just sending thoughts.

Depending on the magic, it can be sent to distant places, and it can even be used to scare monsters by resonating in their heads.

If you pour in an absurd amount of magic, it might even be able to make the opponent's brain explode.

The magic cost is too high to be practical, but it might be possible to reduce the magic consumption with improvements.

Thanks to this, the theoretical basis for a magic mobile phone has been established.

The necessary theories are coming together.

I might try developing a prototype when I have the time.

The day of reclaiming smartphone life might be near.

However, the current outlook suggests that mass production, the construction of magic wave control towers, and information management will require a huge amount of money.

It's not something I can earn by gradually defeating monsters.

Even if the technology is available, practical application is still far off.

If only an investor would come forward, it wouldn't be a dream, but the only person I can think of who might have the money is Wegener.

I don't really want to rely on him.

Perhaps there might be an opportunity to request funding from the lord through the investigation team, but the lord was recently betrayed by Eberheid and is now very cautious of outsiders.

"Send thoughts? Like what the tree was doing earlier?"

"Yeah, I'll try it once, so listen."

I formed a magic array and thought about what to make it say.

Since I'm at it, I'll use one of Iber Boun's lines.

When I waved my staff, Ashura 5000 swung its arms and emitted a thought.

"I praise the deity"

"See, see, it resonated in your head, right? It just came, right?"

"...Well, it's kind of surreal to see it moving its arms while sending thoughts."

"..."

...I can't really deny that.

It's surreal, or rather, comical.

If someone saw it suddenly, they might think it's quite intimidating.

"Irritation..."

Suddenly, a thought came from nowhere.

...So, a fragment of Iber Boun's thoughts was still alive.

I feel like I did something wrong.

What did Iber Boun think when it saw its modified form at the end?