Chapter 97

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"Damn..."

I said, looking at the closed city gate.

We had entered Verm, but now we are trapped inside.

"Hmph!!"

Ericia punched the iron gate with her fist, but it didn't budge.

The iron gate seemed to be covered by an invisible wall.

This invisible wall was not only around the city walls but also extended into the sky.

"Flame Dragon!!"

A little distance away, Selena was releasing a massive flame into the sky, but even that immense flame couldn't break the invisible wall.

"Ericia's brute strength and Selena's magic didn't work... What's worse, Lord Alek's magic is completely ineffective."

I also used dark magic, but no holes appeared in the wall.

I tried digging underground to open it from below, but the wall extended there as well.

To begin with, I couldn't sense any magical reactions from this wall.

It felt like colorless, transparent glass.

According to Levin, this wall had been deployed when the city was attacked.

The residents, with no place to run, were killed by the woman in black.

However, only the woman in black could enter and exit through the wall.

There's no doubt that the woman in black is a demon.

In other words, the demon has a way to enter and exit this space.

I think it's likely a dark magic technique, but my dark magic couldn't open it. Teleportation didn't work either.

"Is there a dark magic I don't know about, or is it made of some completely unknown technology...?"

While I was racking my brain, Rahn, who had been investigating the city, returned.

"Lord Alek, I'm back. As Levin said, there are no devices of any kind."

Yuri said, sounding scared.

"Rahn... you're brave to walk around alone like this."

"For Lord Alek, no hardship is too great. It's sad to hear the cries of suffering people, but..."

Rahn answered.

Earlier, I had asked Levin if there was anything left in the city.

He said there were no devices related to the wall. Since the wall was deployed when the city was attacked, it's unlikely that it was created by a device or magical artifact.

"Did you find anything else? Even the smallest detail would help."

"There were no documents or food... nothing at all. But I noticed something. Look at the sky."

At his words, I looked up at the sky.

I saw a bird, probably an Arrokrow, flying high.

"That bird is heading straight for the city. Watch it."

"Will it hit the wall? – It disappeared?"

Yuri said, wide-eyed.

"Does it disappear when touched from the outside?"

Rahn nodded.

"Yes. It disappears. I've seen several disappear. They all come as if the wall isn't there and vanish instantly without any sign of pain."

"It can't be entered from the outside, but it doesn't disappear from the inside. Maybe something from the outside can damage it?"

If Yuri is right, there might be a way to break the wall from the outside.

However, the Arrokrows must have seen Selena's flames in the sky.

...Would they still approach?

Perhaps they can't see inside from the outside?

A new question arises, but at least we know that we can't enter or exit from the outside.

If we could call for help from the outside, we might get more information –

But I've told my followers not to leave the outside world, and we have no means of communication.

Even if we could contact them, there's no one who could break the wall...

"We're in a bind. It's my fault for stepping in without a plan."

"Not at all. It's because we relied too much on Lord Alek's magic."

Ericia said, looking apologetic.

The other three, being adults, also apologized for their lack of face.

"I made the decision. It's my fault. But there's no point in lamenting now. ...There's one thing I want to try."

Yuri asked.

"Try what?"

"Summoning a demon. The dark summoning technique I learned in Mirel. I'll use it here and now."

Ericia said seriously.

"I see. You want to use a demon to open the wall. But—"

"I don't know if I can control it. I'm not even sure if I can summon it. But it's the only thing I can try right now."

Rahn nodded.

"In a way, this might be a good opportunity to practice summoning."

"If it doesn't obey, we'll just defeat it. Let's do it!"

Selena also agreed.

"I'm counting on you. But if the summoned creature uses up its magic, it will disappear. Don't attack recklessly; just defend until it runs out of magic."

"Understood."

Everyone nodded seriously.

I nodded back and pointed my hand toward the street.

"Then, let's summon—come, come—from the place where light does not reach... demon."

I chanted the same incantation as Maren and gathered dark magic.

Previously, a significant amount of dark magic was drained from my dark rune.

This time, to avoid that, I carefully gathered the dark magic needed for the summoning.

Finally, black mist appeared, and I released it onto the street.

The black mist expanded on the street and then gradually disappeared.

"Wow!!"

Selena exclaimed.

In front of us stood a humanoid figure with purple skin, black horns on its head, and bat-like black wings on its back.

"It's definitely a demon—this worked."

Maren summoned a black wolf, but I summoned a demon.

Perhaps the amount of dark magic determines what is summoned.

The demon just stared at us without moving.

Ericia, holding her sword, said cautiously.

"The demons I've seen before were all foul-mouthed... but this one is silent."

The demons I've seen before all spoke with hatred or contempt for humans.

In a way, they had a human-like side.

But the demon in front of us didn't speak at all.

It was more unsettling than a ghost.

"Can it even speak? ...What's your name?"

I asked, but the demon didn't answer.

Was it ignoring me, or did it not understand my words?

But the black wolf I summoned before nodded when I asked it to protect Maren.

"...Does it understand commands? Can you wave your hand?"

I asked, but the demon didn't wave its hand.

However, its eyes were on us.

It didn't seem to be ignoring us.

...So, it doesn't understand the language.

"Um... like this. Can you wave your hand like this?"

I demonstrated by waving my hand—then, suddenly,

The demon vanished from in front of us.

"–!?"

I immediately deployed a Dark Wall around us.

Ericia also created a wall with holy magic.

Following the magical reaction, the demon had teleported into the air.

The demon released a dark magic spear at us.

"It attacked suddenly?"

At first, it did nothing, but then it attacked us.

Did it think we were mocking it?

Selena, holding her sword, asked.

"Lord Alek, what should we do? Should we counterattack?"

"No... let's observe. Anyway, it can't stay long."

The demon moved in the air and attacked us with dark magic—each time, its body became more transparent.

It was a sign that its magic was being drained.

Then, the demon approached the invisible wall.

But the demon passed through the wall and exited to the outside.

Yuri exclaimed.

"It passed through the wall!"

"The demon can exit. Ah, it's coming back inside."

As Rahn said, the demon could enter and exit the wall.

When it entered and exited, its body became even more transparent...

So, it's likely using magic to enter and exit.

The demon continued to move and attack us.

But finally, it ran out of magic.

When it released dark magic, it dissipated and disappeared.

"It's gone... what about the wall?"

Yuri asked, and Selena released a flame at the part of the wall where the demon had entered and exited.

But the flame was deflected by the wall.

"Damn, it didn't work."

Selena looked disappointed.

Everyone else also looked disappointed.

But something was revealed by the demon's summoning.

It was that dark magic could be used to enter and exit.

If it's not blocked by a magical wall... could this be a different space from the outside world?

For example, the Pandora Box is a space I created.

This might be a similar space.

"Instead of breaking the wall, imagine taking the city out of the space..."

I spread dark magic around the city, imagining taking the city out of the space like putting something in and out of the Pandora Box.

"...How is it?"

"Did you do something? There's no visible change... oh!"

Ericia pushed the gate, and it opened easily this time.

Yuri walked outside the gate.

"The wall is gone!!"

"The sky—oh, there's no wall!"

Selena released a burst of flame into the sky and said.

"What did you do, Lord Alek?"

Surprised, Rahn asked, and I answered.

"We were in a different space. The city was in a different space."

"I don't understand the space thing, but you figured it out well!"

Selena said, and Yuri exclaimed.

"Of course, Lord Alek! You're always so reliable."

"No, it was my mistake. I need to be more careful in the future... and, the souls are—"

Looking up, I saw the souls of the people in the city disappearing into the sky.

Meanwhile, Levin arrived.

"Lord Alek!! You removed the wall!!"

"Yes. Now everyone can be free."

"I don't know how to thank you..."

"No need for thanks. You've given us a lot of information."

Levin also told us about the empire and Tialus at the time.

The location of Tialus and the mines, the terrain of the rivers, and other information useful for future exploration. We even made a simple map.

We also learned that the mines were originally opened by the followers of the Night Worship Cult, and that the people of the old empire despised those with dark runes but did not persecute them. The Holy Order did not exist at the time.

"More importantly, you—"

"Yes... there are people we should apologize to. We may not be able to meet them, but we will accept our punishment."

I nodded at his words.

"It's good that you repented in the end. ...By the way, I forgot to ask, were you ordered to attack us? Or were you told to eliminate intruders?"

"Yes. We were created to kill intruders. But there have been no intruders before. You and the others are the first outsiders we've seen since the woman in black."

Did the coin itself detect us?

And before we arrived, the city's condition and magical reactions could be seen from the outside.

We could enter the city without using magic.

If there were no devices, someone must have been watching...

I quietly searched for the surrounding magic and answered.

"Yes, it seems no one has approached this area for a long time."

"Thank you for coming, Lord Alek. You really saved us. Thank you. ...Then, I—"

"Yes... when everything is over, rest in peace."

"I am grateful for your mercy. May the gods bless and favor you."

Levin said and then vanished.

Ericia clasped her hands and said.

"Rest in peace... he's gone."

"Yes... but"

While searching for magic, I noticed a powerful magical reaction outside the city that couldn't be hidden.

I walked out of the city gate and looked toward the reaction—toward the eastern hill.

"Is it there... watching us all along—"

"What? What are you talking about?"

Yuri looked around.

"That hill. Something is there."

That magic could easily reach us with a spell...

"I'm going to meet it... everyone, go back to Ars for now."

"No, we'll go with you."

"Alright. Let's go."

I used Teleport to head toward the eastern hill.

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