Chapter 87

Shizuki Shizukana and Enma Kuroba had come to the city of Sheilart. This city exists on the mainland of the Holy Grinia, but it does not belong to the Holy Grinia. It is more accurate to consider it an independent city-state.

The city is operated by the Demon God Sect.

Within the Demon God Sect, there is a Sheilart Operations Department, and the priests affiliated with this department are at the center of governing the city.

"This is the famous prison city. It's full of big buildings!"

"Don't make too much noise, Enma Kuroba. We didn't come here to play."

"It's fine, it's fine. I'm doing my job properly."

The reason the awakened magicians secretly kept by the great empire came to Sheilart is just one: to recruit a necromancer imprisoned in this city, known as the prison city. Sheilart exists not only to imprison dangerous criminals but also to capture dangerous individuals. Among them are heretics who oppose the Demon God Sect. Of course, the necromancer is also imprisoned here.

Most of the dangerous individuals imprisoned here are awaiting execution. They are sent to the executioner after their skills are extracted. The dangerous skills are carefully extracted to formulate countermeasures.

"Did you find it?"

"Yeah."

Enma Kuroba is obtaining the visual senses of the servant-type magic armor through shared senses. She is using the power of the magic armor to search for the necromancer imprisoned in the prison.

"Then, let's do it. Are you ready?"

"Anytime is fine."

"I'm looking forward to Shizuki Shizukana's acting."

At first glance, they appear to be a grandfather and granddaughter. However, the two of them are capable of easily destroying such a city. The residents of Sheilart, who know nothing, have yet to notice any abnormalities.

◆◆◆

Necromancers are all excellent. They continue their research, defying taboos, and achieve a certain level of success. They manage to shape their research with limited funds and materials. The effort is immeasurable.

Sherry Crow is one of them.

"Will you finally tell me about the hidden light magic data?"

"..."

"Combining it with the magic data held by the church, we might even complete the resurrection magic?"

Sherry, tied to a chair, remains silent. The persistent voice of the inquisitor, who repeatedly interrogates her, is grating on her ears.

"You delved into necromancy to resurrect your lover, didn't you? It seems you were developing resurrection magic...?"

"..."

"The new concept you presented at the conference... 'mental structure,' right? It's groundbreaking."

Originally, Sherry was also a magician. She was researching light magic with support from the country. She fell in love with a male assistant. However, when they became engaged, he was struck by a fatal illness. Despite her efforts with the light magic she was developing, Sherry had to watch him die. After that, she began researching resurrection magic.

"Mental structures are composed of magic, right?"

"..."

"Repairing mental structures can bring the dead back to life, can't it?"

Like repairing the physical structure with light magic, Sherry's concept was to repair mental structures. However, repairing the unknown mental structure is difficult. Incomplete repairs resulted in the creation of numerous moving corpses. This led to her being labeled as an evil necromancer and being imprisoned. As a magician affiliated with a formal academic society, her moving corpses were treated as experimental failures. Therefore, she was not immediately executed, and they are trying to extract her research data.

"..."

But she says nothing. The storage location of her research samples also houses the body of her former lover, whom she cherishes the most. If it is discovered, it will surely be buried. She wants to avoid that. The body of her former lover is protected by magic. However, the magic is not permanent. Without a continuous supply of magic power, the magic effect will eventually fade, and decay will begin.

(I have to... I have to get out soon.)

Despite her calm exterior, she is quite anxious inside. Sherry was originally a legitimate magician, so violent interrogations are not used. However, that might change. If the inquisitor loses patience, it is easy to imagine that violent means will be used. She does not intend to yield, but there are also mind-reading magicians. If violent means are used, Sherry cannot resist.

"There's nothing I can do. Let's end it here for today."

The inquisitor leans in and says this. Sherry maintains her expressionless facade but feels a sense of relief inside. However, the inquisitor does not break his smile and delivers a parting shot.

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow. My superior has approved the use of harsh methods... Do you understand what that means?"

Her shoulders tremble.

What she feared has come to pass.

"I'm really looking forward to it."

With a smile that evokes disgust, the inquisitor leaves. Left alone, Sherry mutters.

"Why does God take him away from me again and again..."

She has believed in God since she was young. She continued to pray when her fiancé was bedridden with a fatal illness. She continued to pray for his soul after his death. But her prayers were not answered.

'God does not respond.'

"Maybe so."

'God is the enemy.'

"I don't think so."

'Prayers do not reach. It is my duty to fulfill your wishes.'

At that moment, Sherry realizes that there is someone else in the room. She has been repeatedly interrogated, which has worn down her mental state. She quickly looks around. A black stain floats on the ceiling, bubbling and exuding a toxic atmosphere.

"Who are you?"

'My name is Flaurus. I am the one who will fulfill your wishes.'

"Wishes...?"

A dull sound, and darkness spills from the stain. Two red lights are visible within.

"You... a demon...?"

'Call me what you will. I am the 'Capricious Truth.' You, necromancer, have been chosen by my caprice.'

"There are necromancers more suitable for a demon like you. For example... Alter Skulls."

'Hmm!'

Alter Skulls is a well-known necromancer in the prison city. He infiltrated a noble family as a magician, turning the head of the family and his relatives into undead. Using the people of the town the noble family governed, he conducted experiments to efficiently transform them into undead. He then manipulated the negative energy emitted by the increasing number of undead, turning the entire town into a hellish place permeated by the aura of death. Because he first turned the noble into an undead, the discovery was delayed. The negative energy from the undead created a fertile ground for more undead, turning the entire town into a magical ritual site. This is the 'Secret Ritual of Alter' created by the necromancer Alter.

'I know! The boy named Alter.'

"Isn't he more suitable?"

It seems the notorious Alter Skulls is also known to Flaurus. Sherry has regained her composure and is now having a normal conversation. She can do this because she is talking about knowledge within her own range. If she had been given completely incomprehensible information, she might have been confused and made a wish to Flaurus.

"Who are you?"

'I told you. I am the 'Capricious Truth.' You have been chosen by my caprice. The boy named Alter was not chosen. That's all. Now, state your wish.'

"Wish...?"

Darkness spilling from the ceiling. Red eyes lurking in the darkness. It is impossible to believe such a suspicious existence, let alone make a wish about her most precious fiancé. However, Flaurus whispers as if he knows her wish.

'You want to resurrect your fiancé, don't you?'

"..."

'You are a powerless girl now. But if I lend you a hand, you will be reborn. You will gain the power to outsmart the priests of the Demon God Sect and resurrect your most precious fiancé.'

Sherry's heart wavers. In fact, tomorrow's interrogation will involve a mind-reading magician. If she does nothing by tomorrow, Sherry will lose what is most important to her. Once her knowledge is extracted, she will be executed. The sweet words melt her resolve.

'Accept me. Seek power.'

"I... I..."

'If you let this opportunity slip, you will lose everything.'

Thirty years of faith and her own wish. The balance tips.

"I... I... give me power."

The contract is sealed. The darkness writhing on the ceiling disappears, and Flaurus leaves a final message.

'Tonight, you will be reborn.'

◆◆◆

Enma Kuroba, who had dispelled the servant, let out a sigh of relief.

"It went better than I thought!"

"Yes, it did."

Luring and granting power to the captured necromancer allows them to exert substantial pressure without getting their hands dirty. However, their original target was not Sherry but Alter.

"I didn't expect such a sudden request from His Majesty."

"They must be having a tough time. Should we go back?"

"We have a mission entrusted to us by His Majesty. We can't return halfway through."

"That's true."

Emperor Geas was troubled by the moving corpses that had appeared in the capital. He contacted Shizuki Shizukana to ask if it was possible. Shizuki Shizukana's answer was that it was possible, but he could not immediately explain the mechanism. This led him to focus on Sherry, who had used magic to move corpses. He thought she might provide a clue and chose her as the necromancer to be granted power.

"Shizuki Shizukana, it's time to prepare."

"I know. Can you pinpoint the exact location of the woman named Sherry?"

"Yeah, I can. What do you plan to do?"

"We will turn this prison city, Sheilart, into a magical ritual site. We will gather the power at its center and turn the woman named Sherry into an undead."

Transforming humans into undead creatures is a magic Shizuki Shizukana knows well. However, he does not know how to make a corpse move while it remains human. He understands the theoretical possibility but cannot figure out the method. Sherry Crow, who developed a method Shizuki Shizukana had not tried, created moving corpses while trying to develop resurrection magic. Shizuki Shizukana believes that the ritual for the moving corpses in the capital might be found in her technique.

"We will turn the woman into an undead and subordinate her. The ritual will be complex."

"Should I help?"

"You will help conceal the ritual we will set up in Sheilart, Enma Kuroba."

"Okay."

While the two awakened magicians were plotting in the prison city, a second meeting of the Black Cat's executives was about to take place in the capital, Aldar.