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Volume 3 Chapter 3 - The Silver Girl and the Plan of Darkness Part 4

Kazuki and Koyuki were advancing through the passage while slaughtering who knew how many Demon Beasts.

Luckily they didn’t encounter any more [skin-colored, mud-like enemies] from before.

Koyuki said that ‘that thing’ could have possibly been a former elf.

If they encountered it again, was it a good thing to point his sword at it…

“The spirits say that defeating that thing that was an elf before is a comfort for it, you’re not wrong to kill it.”

Koyuki received a big shock just now, even now she kept talking listlessly.

Her face that was white even during the best of times had become even paler, like her blood had completely drained from it.

Now that she mentioned it, Kazuki too had a feeling that the monster was saying a word of gratitude immediately after its defeat.

He didn’t kill that thing, merely liberating it from that condition… was such a thought merely just a convenient means of escape for him?

Even so, were the spirits speaking as the proxies for that monster’s feelings?

“Spirits, what kind of existence are they?”

“I don’t know… just, I always heard their voices in the Haunted Ground when I was in dangerous situations. They gave me advice, and always gave me some help. That’s why right now too, I think it’s okay to follow their words accordingly.”

“The Spirits\' protection that is only bestowed to elves, is it? So Koyuki even has that kind of secret that lets you able to be a solo player.”

“…Actually just before the trap hole, they told me not to advance forward, but…I didn’t listen to them.”

After advancing through the passage, they finally arrived at an open circular space. Although there were no guest seats, its shape reminded him of an arena. The walls and floor were made from the same blunt concrete as the passages up until this point, but this place was worn-out with small scratches and damage.

“What on earth is this underground area being used for?”

“Perhaps, and this is only my guess, but…”

Koyuki began to talk nervously while Kazuki was observing the surroundings cautiously.

“There was a barrier raised at the entrance of this place, but that security was by no means secure. Nobody but Magica Stigma could enter, but conversely it’s easy for Magica Stigma to enter here, rather I have a feeling that they would even welcome it.”

Certainly it looks that way. With the stigmata confirmation devices, the security had the function to specify the intruder that entered, but it was not a security system that could reject the intruders itself.

This underground area also rejected the students of the Sword Division, but didn’t reject the students of the Magic Division.

“And then the thing we encountered not long ago, it was an elf who had inherently strong magic power but [its form was changed]. The major clues are only these two facts. Only these two facts but, if we put them together…”

Koyuki cut her words off there like she was hesitating to place the too repulsive imagination in her mouth.

She clutched Kazuki’s hand strongly and finally talked.

“Elves and Magica Stigma are suited as experiment material. I wonder if this place is not the place where they processed people’s hearts, a human experiment site for the sake of strengthening human’s magic power artificially?”

Intruders were welcomed here―as the material for experimentation.

“―A correct answer. Welcome, O King of this country and his young lady attendant.”

If this circular space was an arena, from the direction of the passage on the other side where the battle opponent usually came out, a reply that substantiated Koyuki’s frightening guess came.

‘kan’, ‘kan’, ‘kan’, the well mannered footsteps of leather shoes could be heard approaching.

Kazuki and Koyuki caught their breath, they fixed their eyes on the man that came.

The figure that appeared was a gentleman in his prime wearing a refined suit.

It was Otonashi Tsukikurou. The headmaster of the knight academy.

“I welcome the arrival of all of you here from the bottom of my heart. I met some unexpected difficulties in order to capture you and Charlotte with certainty, but all of you came here in this place by yourselves. With this…there is no more need for hesitation to assault the uprising elements from the Sword Division.”

“Are you, the owner of this underground labyrinth?”

Kazuki once again confirmed the obvious. He couldn’t help but ask that.

The opponent was the headmaster of this academy. And then―the father of Kaguya-senpai.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

That gentlemenly figure that even exuded a sense of reliability as an adult nodded his head calmly. There was not an ounce of shame that appeared on him.

“The thing called magical power is the power of the mind. If this power of the mind could be reinforced artificially, then we could create even stronger magicians. For the sake of this country called Japan to acquire the power to overwhelm other countries, that is something indispensable. This is something that other Magic Advanced Countries absolutely cannot achieve seeing as they were forced to be faithful by the Divas. This is the attempt of what we could do with our country’s biggest advantage.”

Regarding those Mythologies that enforced their faith, there were not few of them that saw science and technology that was too advanced as the symbol of human’s arrogance.

Something like an experiment on living humans was certainly absurd.

“Even if I said human experiments, the perspective of the government at first was that these experiments should be successful even without paying it in something like considerable numbers of human sacrifices. The mind of a human in the end is only something that is created by the brain. The works of brain cells had been elucidated since a long time ago. What kind of organ it is, what kind of electric signals it uses, what kind of changes magic power causes to the brain. If we could discover and manufacture it ourselves…it was supposed to be a simpe matter.”

Headmaster Otonashi kept talking while pushing his index finger to massage his forehead.

“But the problem is not that simple. The Philosopher\'s Stone that was invented by that alchemist, Basileus Basileon, was creating an area in the human brain that cannot be elucidated by science. Operations that were thought to be correct theoretically failed one after another and the ego of the test subjects all collapsed. The collapsed mind made their magical power run wild, that magic power…with power that distorted reality, their own flesh was also distorted and transformed into appropriate meat clay. What a result that makes the hair of your whole body stand on its end. With their minds collapsing, their physical bodies were also collapsing. Influenced strongly by the magic power. This thing was something that science cannot even hope to anticipate!”

The finger that Headmaster Otonashi used to massage his forehead was pointing at Koyuki this time, and he said.

“The few resulting successes of these experiments, were the elves, did you know?”

…What did he say?

Koyuki clutched at Kazuki’s hand with all her strength. Her face\'s complexion had gone straight past white and turned blue.

“…Are you saying that elves were created artificially? That they were not something that resulted naturally?”

“This project was started not long after the birth of magic. Random samples were selected from babies that were born in Japan as test subjects, the processing was performed secretly inside hospitals. They were mostly failures, turning into something that was buried in the darkness and known as Infant Sudden Death Syndrome to the masses. The success rate was too low, so in the end this elf project was discontinued. Even the biggest success example of the few successes we had, Hiakari Koyuki, when compared to the child prodigy of the same generation…Amasaki Mio, was only on par with her. The experiment’s cost versus return was too poor.”

“Cost…?” Koyuki’s expression changed toward the words that she couldn’t ignore.

“You’re calling the people that failed…cost…!?”

This man, why, how could he talk about such things so unemotionally and indifferently?

Kazuki was terribly angry, at the same time he also felt a shiver in his whole body from fear.

“It was all for the country’s prosperity. By paying with the sacrifice of the extreme minority, we could welcome certain prosperity, Hayashizaki Kazuki. Yet, that time when a king like you decided to protect Charlotte, I felt disappointment.”

“Even without that strength that was earned by paying with sacrifices, Solomon\'s 72 Pillars had already granted us strength isn’t that right!?”

“Stigmata huh. When the elf project ended in failure, what we had our eyes on next was Stigmata. There are two problems in the Summoning Magic from the stigmata. The first problem is that this power is a power that is controlled by mysterious wills with a secretive doctrine, Solomon\'s 72 Pillars. For the country’s greatest military power to be dependent on something that is outside the country’s sovereignty, something like that is unacceptable.”

“Solomon\'s 72 Pillars are testing us, whether we would use that power justly or not.”

“That is something to be said by the ones who stand above. We, [mankind], cannot be tested by anyone. If it’s not like that, then it’s impossible to stand as an independent country.”

At that time, Leme materialized at Kazuki’s side.

“That objection of yours…we are not even tying you with the binding of faith, we bestowed strength freely to this country, and this is the outcome?”

“Well, well, the King of Solomon\'s 72 Pillars, Lemegeton-sama.”

“…Leme loves the humans. I love each human one by one. However, our story is extremely unpleasant. Tell me, by you…no, by this country’s government, how many people had been sacrificed for the sake of the country’s prosperity?”

The King of Solomon\'s 72 Pillars, Lemegeton asked with her distrust bared. It was a terrifying situation to provoke Leme’s displeasure, but Headmaster Otonashi didn’t even pay any mind to it and played dumb by answering “Who knows?”.

“For all that, compared to the number of the victims, the number of the people who had become happy must be far greater yes?”

“…Why, why does your way of thinking assume right from the start that there will be sacrifices?”

Kazuki spontaneously interjected. That time with Lotte was like that too.

Certainly, there might be a time when they had to sacrifice something no matter what.

However, without even exerting his utmost effort to the limit, calmly throwing away other people as sacrifices, he absolutely didn’t want to recognize that kind of method. If I am to be a King…!

“There is no problem that had already started right!? The figure of the enemy isn’t even visible yet, how could you say that sacrifices are needed!? Why didn’t you dare to even try to fight without sacrificing anything to win our prosperity!? You were choosing the method that created sacrifices easily and abandoned any effort and struggle while you yourself were always in a safe place wielding that authority! However that kind of method won’t earn you any trust, whether from your comrades, or from Solomon\'s 72 Pillars. If I am said to be a King…then I will become a king that fights together with everyone.”

“Just like Kazuki said. Seeing you, Leme only feels sadness.”

Across the monitor, Mio and Lotte, and also Prometheus too were listening to that conversation.

Prometheus was murmuring dejectedly.

“Just like what that man says, the other Mythologies won’t recognize this kind of experiment that strengthened magic power through science. It is surely an advantage that only this country can use. That is so, however…using science for this kind of thing is…”

The sage that bestowed and taught the fire of civilization in order for men to protect each other was stricken with grief.

“Strange. Why do you not agree with my logic? This is why, humans with their own ego are so…”

Headmaster Otonashi tilted his head while still keeping his expression blank like a doll.

“Well, let’s continue the story. I was beyond redemption if it is not like this. The research of the stigmata bestowed by Solomon\'s 72 Pillars had become my focus. The first thing that I understood was that there is a strong compelling force in the contract. Regarding Solomon\'s 72 Pillars, even if their powers are used in a way they are unwilling to, Solomon\'s 72 Pillars are not able to refuse lending their power. Yes, that too can be understood from the scroll recording the Myth. The majority of Solomon\'s 72 Pillars were people that were considered as demons by the teachings of Christ. The existence called Demon is an existence that is compliant to the contract. If we turn the tables in regard of the contract, then we should be able to use the demons skillfully.”

Certainly the Summoning Magic of Kaguya-senpai’s Asmodeus mercilessly bared its fangs to Kazuki who was the contractor of Lemegeton. There was a compelling force where they couldn’t say any consent or refusal there.

“Solomon\'s 72 Pillars are obligated to their contractor and their position is to be enslaved by Magica Stigma. Moreover, they couldn’t annul this contract in the middle. But, we cannot say that we are in a superior position against Solomon\'s 72 Pillars because of that. Because Solomon\'s 72 Pillars can choose to not bestow anymore stigmata to the next generation. Humanity\'s magic power will decline after their peak at twenty years of age. Magica Stigma’s period of active duty is short. Only a few years. In the end, our country became dependent to Solomon\'s 72 Pillars.”

“Certainly it is like that, but…you are so distrusting of Leme and the others that much?”

Leme made an unpleasant face towards such consideration that was so scrupulous towards every corner.

“After that, what I researched next was stigmata transplantation operations. If we could transfer the stigmata from the declining person to a still young person, then even without having Solomon\'s 72 Pillars renewing their contract with another person then there wouldn’t be any problem at all. Using the inherited stigmata, we could draw out the power of the 72 Pillars forcefully. We will be independent from Solomon\'s 72 Pillars, able to rule them. Well, it could be said as being a parasite too.”

What he said made even Lemegeton turn pale.

“…Wh, what do you think Leme and the others of Solomon\'s 72 Pillars are!? The contract that Leme and the others tied in accordance of our trust…you are planning to make us Divas into simple tools (power source) like slaves!”

“But the problem is that the stigmata is connected tightly with the mind. By extracting the stigmata from the knights and the students of the knight academy that had fallen into severe magic intoxication and cannot regain their consciousness, I performed countless human experiments of stigmata transplantations using a great amount of the failed elves that I preserved and cultivated.”

In the period of one year, there were dozens of knights and knight academy students that fell into magic intoxication and went missing in the Haunted Ground. However, for some of those victims…to be treated as experiment materials in here!

“The experiment results were…a wretched thing. No matter how many times I repeated it, the mind of the elves that were planted with a stigmata had collapsed with near certainty. You two had seen it on the way here, that lump of meat that used magic. That was an experiment result just so you know. I sent only one body to you two partly for introductions however.”

That being which looked like skin-colored meat clay…the moment when Kazuki delivered the finishing blow, its lips were saying “Thank you” slightly.

Kazuki’s blood stops flowing and his consciousness felt like flying far away.

“…You’re insane.”

“That’s not true. I am sane. When the result of mind collapse with near certainty came out, the government handed down the decision to cancel this research of stigmata transplantation. However my thinking was different. …There is no need for something like ego in a soldier. Something like ego is unnecessary. Something like a face is unnecessary. Even names are unnecessary. Even will, too, is unnecessary. When the research has ended, I was given a new appointment as the headmaster of the knight academy, but I secretly continued the research. And then I named this research, Human Pillar ProjectProject - Caryatid.”

“The name of this academy is…!”

The Knight Academy <Caryatid>, that was the name of this academy!

“Of course I entered a different formal meaning on the surface. I named this academy Caryatid in respect for the girls who are contracted with Solomon\'s 72 Pillars as [the pillar that supported this society]. However…I think the true nature of my naming of this academy is really fitting. This academy is my research site for the sake of obtaining the glorious future! All the students, are the human sacrificeshuman pillars…!”

Underground… The enjoyable days Kazuki spent in the Witch\'s Manor, in its underground was―.

“The experiment is doing well. Now it\'s become possible to extract stigmata with comparatively high purity. Then if that stigmata is transferred to [humans with diluted egos], an ideal Magica Stigma that maintained its shape as a human as it is and will fight in accordance with the orders given to it is born. This me will change the Knight Order of this country. With these strongest magicians that I created as its banner. That is…the King of this country is…”

Headmaster Otonashi pointed at Kazuki while still keeping his expressionless face.

“It is not you. It’s my daughter―Kaguya.”

He planned to perform the operation on his own daughter, that was what this man proclaimed.

…Just hearing this man\'s story made Kazuki felt like his own sanity was cracking.

Was this guy really Kaguya-senpai’s father?

“I gave the most optimal education to Kaguya. As raw material, that child is an inferior normal human compared to Hiakari Koyuki. However I incited the growth of her latent magic power by my imprinted education and hypnotism. I imprinted the sense of duty that [She must be the strongest magician] from the time of her infancy, that sense of duty became the greatest priority in her life. A strong will incites the growth of magic power. When I gave her the seat of the student council president, I imprinted the suggestion of [carry out your responsibility as the strongest magician] even further. I told her to push aside all emotion with logical judgment, hypnotized her that she must carry out her responsibility as the strongest magician without fail.”

He raised his daughter as a robot, Kazuki couldn’t listen to what he said as anything other than that.

Of course the unpainted face of Kaguya-senpai was a really humane and kind person.

However…certainly senpai had some moments when she forced herself to death to do unreasonable things. The senpai at that time, changed into the machine personality that this man constructed.

“When Kaguya received my suggestion, she immediately abandoned her ego. There I will transplant [the King’s stigmata] that will be extracted from you. The collapse of the mind could be curbed to the lowest degree, don’t you see? My daughter is going to be the new King. That child is able to stand at the highest summit. If it is for that reason, then I don’t mind matter how dirty my hands become. Someone like me is inconsequential. Yes, someone like me.”

Right there, Headmaster Otonashi, who was expressionless until now, was looking like he suddenly lost the balance of his mind.

“Someone like me, someone like me…” He began saying repeatedly.

Suddenly Kazuki was wrapped with doubt at this late hour.

The human in front of his eyes, was he really sane? Was he normal?

“Headmaster Otonashi…are you an illegal magician?”

His personality was eroded and already he experienced some disorder, wasn’t that what was going on?

“I am…I am…illegal? This me? What are you saying?”

“To enter the entrance to this underground, the person must have a stigmata. You must have a connection to someone. And then that someone, is the one that is driving you mad, isn’t that right?”

“Someone? I did all of this by my own free will. I’m not mad or anything. That’s right, I decided everything myself. But, someone like me is inconsequential. Eh? …I see, so it’s like that huh?”

Suddenly Headmaster Otonashi covered his face with both hands.

“That’s right, I had thrown away my ego a long time ago. But, then who am I? Whoever I am doesn’t matter. I don’t need something like a face. That’s right, something like a face is unneeded.”

Headmaster Otonashi suddenly buried his nails, he started to tear off his own face.

“Unneeded, unneeded, unneeded…”

While murmuring like a broken record, with fingers that were filled with abnormal strength, ‘michi’, ‘buchi’, the muscle fibers were torn off. He screwed his fingers into the torn flesh and pulled apart the flesh even further from there, the white of the bone was exposed along with the blood spray.

Kazuki and Koyuki reflexively took a step back seeing his abrupt insane behavior.

Eyeballs fell at Headmaster Otonashi’s feet with a plop. Headmaster Otonashi’s face was scraped over from all its undulations right now, turning into a flat surface.

From there, Headmaster Otonashi started to knead the slight meat that was still clinging on his face like clay. Like a stain that was spreading, the kneaded meat was rapidly blackening and spreading out.

“Something like a face is unneeded…I am the Faceless God…”

Headmaster Otonashi took down his hands from his face.

That face was changed into a flat featureless jet black face.

Without even eyes and nose, only the lips were floating a smile, hanging on the jet black face.

“That’s right, before I knew it I had thrown away my own ego, never realizing it until the end. I was already turning into me. My encroachment was already reaching completion. That’s right…I am Nyarlatoteph. The Diva of Cthulhu Mythos.”

“Nyarla…Cthulhu Mythos? I have never heard it.”

In front of the monitors, the Greek Mythology’s Prometheus was whispering while looking suspicious.

Mio too was the same. Despite already learning the outline of all the Mythologies in the Mythology class, her ears never heard of such a Diva with that name that sounds random and hard to pronounce.

“I know this Diva desu. I saw it in an anime.”

Lotte said.

“Anime…? Not a Mythology but an anime?”

“Yes. Though he was called Nyarlathotep in that anime.”

“Well, something like a name is just a series of meaningless sounds. There are also other pronunciation like Nyarlatoteph or Nyarlathotep. People try to be aware of me with fleeting effort and gave me various names. However even names, even this form, is nothing more than a torn off part of the ever changing infinite dreams. After all humans are not able to recognize our true essence correctly. Thus the current me is tied to the <human recognition>, however that is an annoying matter. …Rather than hearing my story, let’s talk about Tsukikurou’s story.”

The flat black faced man, while nudging around the torn off pieces of meat and eyeballs that were still scattered about at his feet, started to talk with loquacity.

“…You know, this man never realized it until the very end that he was being encroached. He became unable to make a distinction between my wish and his own wish. He thought that my whispering voice was his own inner voice. And then because he didn’t want to take a straight look at his own sins, he even stopped to reflect on himself. And then he lost his own self. O King of humans, it seems Loki too boasted his own skill to you, but if we are talking about the brilliance of skill, I wonder if my skill is not the one that is several levels above don’t you agree? Because in regards to driving humans mad, there is none more superior than we of the Cthulhu Mythos.”

Nyarlatoteph turned his jet-black face to Kazuki and wriggled his lips.

Kazuki felt a cold sweat of revulsion running down his spine.

For a materialized Diva to await in this place, something like this…!

He had anticipated that an illegal magician was connected with the ominous magic power that came from this underground labyrinth.

But he had the wrong impression that the physical body of the illegal magician hadn’t been taken over yet because no incident had happened until now and he was staying in hiding.

But, for the Diva to easily finish hijacking the body like this…!

“This man is such a pitiful thing. Receiving the appointment from the government for the duty of human experiment research, at first he was holding an extreme feeling of guilt. That’s why he persuaded himself that this experiment was absolutely needed for the sake of this country, And then he started to dream of making his own daughter reign as the ruler of this country. For the sake of the country, for the sake of his daughter…that sounds really good when put into words don’t you agree? He was intoxicated with the idea that it didn’t matter how dirty his hands became if it was for the sake of that goal, so that he could justify himself. Thus he continued the experiments heartlessly. He was already mad by that time. Really mad. But he himself didn’t even think that he was mad for even a bit. You guys know that the only madness he didn’t have was to go on a rampage carelessly like an illegal magician, but that’s it, that’s the only thing he was not mad of. At that time I had already finished encroaching inside him. Brilliant right?”

Against the fitting suits that Nyarlatoteph wore, “What suffocating clothes” he loosened the bottom of his neck with unconstrained gesture.

From the gap of the shirts, “ZOWA-!” countless tentacles were spilling out.

“My own wish, before, this Headmaster Otonashi had said it right? What kind of thing is it, do you know?”

Even with all he had done, Headmaster Otonashi had talked righteously that all of this was for [making the Knight Order of Japan strong].

However the Diva in front of his eyes, by no means his objective was going to make Japan prosperous.

The process they both took were the same but, this Diva must have a totally different objective.

“Is it the turn for my story? You see, I plan to make effective use of Otonashi Tsukikurou’s research. His long standing desire of a [New Knight Order]…was to gather artificial magicians that could parasitize the power of Solomon\'s 72 Pillars, but that plan will be commandeered by this me. Then the strongest magician that Tsukikurou painstakingly raised…Otonashi Kaguya, I will receive her as my new host body. Because with Otonashi Tsukikurou whose magic power was already weakening as my base, my current power is not enough. Tsukikurou had also already finished all the preliminary arrangements to make Otonashi Kaguya forfeit her ego, so it will be easy for me to plunder her body with my characteristic magic next. However everything of those is only after plundering your stigmata. Thus I will obtain the strongest body and the strongest Knight Order―the Game will be my victory.”

“…Game?”

Against those astounding words, Kazuki asked back.

The objective of the Divas that were making appearances in the world, even now it was still shrouded in mystery. But this Nyarlatoteph’s own objective was made obvious.

The objective of Nyaarlatoteph was a [Game]?

When Kazuki took a stab at arousing his interest, Nyarlatoteph suddenly revealed his fury.

“That’s right, this world’s Mythologies’…annoying Game! Our Cthulhu Mythos is not recognized as a genuine Mythology by this world, our weakening is unavoidable!! What a joke!! The great us that are not even taken notice of by the awareness of humanity, losing our essence as the Cosmic Horror, many of the evil gods were completely sealed! Only me, the <Azathoth able-bodied Messenger> that can obtain divinity! But the influence of a Mythology that has nothing but one Diva…what in the hell am I going to do with that huh!! This world is centered on humans too excessively. The soul of the world is shaped by the magnified human’s mind, only Divas whose existence could possibly be interpreted by humans are allowed to exist. Cthulhu Mythos, whose true essence are [impossible to be understood by humans] was distorted. …So we of the Cthulhu Mythos can win through the game, I\'m alone running around, taking secret maneuvers, I had to exhaust myself so we could be victorious against other Mythologies. By making the best use of the fruit of Tsukikurou’s research, leading the Knight Order of artificial magicians, and utilizing the power of Solomon\'s 72 Pillars, I will win through the Game. And then with this hand I will usurp the World’s SoulAstrum that every Mythologies always dreamed of. The Astrum will be dyed with our color and drive humanity into madness, carrying out the revival of <the universe’s mist of crawling chaos>, Azathoth!”

Astrum…? Governing the world of human’s mind, The Distorted WorldAstrum in their control was the objective of all Divas? But what was the meaning in doing that?

However Nyarlatoteph didn’t answer Kazuki’s doubt beyond that.

“It’s convenient for you all to come this far. Then without reservation, I can ruin the Sword Division who goes against ‘my Magic Division’. …Let me introduce you all to one of the fruits of Tsukikurou’s blasphemous researches. Come…Four Marks MagiciansQuad-core Magica!!”

In response to Nyarlatoteph’s command, countless footsteps could be heard from the passage at the opposite side. It was the sound of footsteps that were walking staggeringly in unsteady posture like a sleep-walking person. The number was twelve.

What appeared was twelve silver-haired girls covered in masks―they were elves. Black leather binding tools were worn on their bodies, and large number of stigmata were carved on their slender arms and legs.

“The byproduct of the Elf Project that the government once pushed forward, and Tsukikurou’s Project - Caryatid. The disposed elves that were in relatively good condition were transplanted with four extracted stigmatas that had relatively high purity each. Come on, four stigmata combined with an elf\'s magic power? Lovely right? Of course their personalities had collapsed and they are only barely retaining their human shapes. Tsukikurou’s ideal knight is still far off, but…these children can be summed as the soldiers of the current me. At any rate there is no one other than me in the Cthulhu Mythos anyway. I’ll leave the dealing with you all to one of the body among these. After all I still have things I have to do.”

Nyarlatoteph was suddenly looking at one corner of the ceiling―his jet-black face smiled complacently to the lens of the monitor camera hidden there.

“The humans that know this secret absolutely cannot be allowed to escape after all. The people who got lost in this taboo place and knew too much are driven mad in front of the disgusting truth…it’s so lovely following that theory isn’t it? No matter how many bodies there are, it’s still not enough you know? …Well then O still inexperienced King of Humans, I’m wishing for you to have a good fight. Although there is no way in hell for you all to survive here and escape from this underground labyrinth.”

Nyarlatoteph turned on his heel.

“Do it.”

After leaving a short command to one of the Quad-core Magica, the jet-black Diva’s figure disappeared in the darkness of the passage at the other side along with the eleven others he led.

The stigmata of the one Quad-core Magica left behind began to emit the light of magical power without even saying any declaration of fight!

“Koyuki, step back! …Koyuki?”

When Kazuki turned back, Koyuki was unable to move, like her body and heart were paralyzed, she was trembling.

“Kazuki…I am…”

Those eyes were dyed in despair like a human that was wishing for her own death.

Right now, in this situation this girl was not drowning in terror of a degree like [confronting a terrifying enemy]. From some time ago, there were too many terribly shocking truths regarding this elf girl to process.

“I…now…understood the true identity of the spirits.”

“What did you say? …Spirits?”

The existence full of mysteries even more than the Demon Beasts, spirits. An abstract intelligent being that was said to only be perceivable by elves…

Why was that name the one that came out in this kind of situation?

“Those girls\' true identity is…the destroyed personalities of the elves whose magic power were enlarged beyond an ordinary person\'s and left behind in Astrum, a residual thought.”

…The ghosts of the elves she said!?

“Their emotions are flowing inside me…”

Worn out, Koyuki’s tears started to spill out.

“Wh…why…only me…living like this…”

With a trembling voice, Koyuki let her penitence leak out. But, don’t say that it is bad for Koyuki to live!

“Koyuki, even though you yourself can\'t agree that you still should live, I will absolutely not let Koyuki die! I will protect you to the very end!”

“airuaokagurma!!”

From the other side of the Quad-core Magica’s mask, a scream of meaningless human speech could be heard.

For that girl whose lost personality was integrated already to her core, that meaningless scream was a spell.

What was invoked―was one of Solomon\'s 72 Pillars\' Summoning Magics!

This girl was supposed to use the Summoning Magic of four different Divas. To fight this kind of opponent he needed to Foresight what kind of magic the opponent was going to use, observing the element of the magic, and deal with the magic.

The one who taught him the importance of observing the opponent was Koyuki.

…From the flow of the magic power, Foresight the detail of the magic that the opponent was going to use!

Kazuki attempted to sense what kind of magic phenomenon the Quad-core Magica requested to the Diva from the flow of the whirling magical power. He somehow sensed it―a physical attack.

“uoamuaoma!”

The magic was invoked. Around the Quad-core Magica, countless giant nails were raising up.

“O wisdom accumulating through human history, protect my body with layers of armor! Heavily, thickly, reject all the brutality! Seusenhofer!!”

Kazuki covered his body with armor using Prometheus’ magic.

The countless nails came flying like a line of spears. Kazuki came out to the front to cover Koyuki. He couldn’t evade. If he moved then Koyuki would be hit. She wouldn’t even fall into magic intoxication, it was going to be an instant death.

Koyuki was making a face like she was going to accept that kind of fate obediently!

Kazuki blocked the countless nails with his fully-armored body. The armor was crumbling just from one hit, but the nails were dispersing before reaching Kazuki’s defensive magic power. The defense was a success!

However, the Quad-core Magician chanted a different spell almost at the same time―a fire element!

“anfkjanfascs!!”

“Self Burning!”

Barely matching the magic invocation of the opponent, Kazuki somehow made it in time. Because the defensive magic’s target was his own body, he didn’t need to go through the Targeting part and the chanting time was short.

Kazuki supplemented the worn-out armor with flame armor on top of it.

The flame bullet came flying with the speed of rifle bullet. That was a magic that Kazuki also knew well, it was Barrett. The flame armor and the flame bullet were offsetting each other and both were extinguished.

“fsdfsdvkdseoda!!”

The Quad-core Magician was not stopping! Even more magic came flying!

Kazuki failed his Foresight from the overwhelming speed that he couldn’t follow. From the underfoot of the Quad-core Magician, one lump of the concrete floor became unstuck and floated up, then it flew in Kazuki’s direction. The worn-out Seusenhofer was smashed, inflicting a wound in Kazuki’s defensive magic power.

…More still coming. This enemy was firing magic like an automatic weapon at him!

“cvcmiedflaowfd!!”

The fourth magic was invoked slightly later than the previous three, it was a magic of even an even higher level compared to the magic until now.

A pure black thunder cloud was created on top of Kazuki’s head. Offense energy of snapping electricity was generated from there, and then huge lightning was falling at Kazuki!

“Flash! Raikiri!!”

Drawing an Iai slash with the Sacred Treasure that was fortunately at hand, Kazuki slashed apart that lightning. For him to possess Raikiri when the enemy was using a lightning element magic was a paper-thin fortune.

…The cycle of the offense magic was too fast!

The opponent was splitting her consciousness four ways to the four stigmata and chanting the spells at the same time!

Defensive magic wouldn’t make it in time. Much less defending with the best of his ability, he couldn’t even defend.

The Quad-core Magician was just standing straight in that spot and firing the Summoning Magic in rapid succession like a machine. Kazuki was standing guard in front of Koyuki, he didn’t even have any allowance whether it was to chant attack magic or entering close-quarters combat.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

“a…aa…”

Koyuki leaked out a moaning voice looking at the scene in front of her.

Kazuki was continuously getting struck by magic to protect her.

Why? Even though she herself wanted to just die…yet why was he still trying to protect her by volunteering his own body?

She hated herself for a long time. Moreover, she herself had confirmed that she was born from an experiment that made one want to hold nausea in their stomach, that she was born due to the countless sacrifices of others.

As I thought, I am a monster!

Furthermore, I am even more filthy than even I had imagined, a blasphemous existence.

Even the strong magic power that I thought as the sole meaning of my existence, was something originating from rotten trash.

I who is like that, right now…is just holding Kazuki back.

Why is he doing that kind of action this far? Why for something like me…

Koyuki suddenly imagined the moment when he finally abandoned her. Kazuki stopped covering herself and the attack magic pierced her. The flesh of her body was destroyed without even leaving her original form intact.

I don’t want that. …It’s scary.

To die itself was not scary. But if she kept dragging Kazuki’s feet like this and he turned to hate her completely was a scary prospect! That’s why she didn’t want to get along well with anyone, despite that…!

“Please, stop it already…”

Koyuki begged to Kazuki’s back. It was scary to be betrayed, so she begged from herself that he stopped protecting her. To die from having her own wish listened to was far more comfortable compared to die while being loathed by Kazuki.

“Stop it already…”

But his back didn’t listen at all to Koyuki’s thin voice.

Koyuki was inside the loneliness called being protected.

{…Don’t throw yourself in self-abandonment.}

Suddenly, there was a woman’s voice coming from Telepathy.

{We are not telling you of our true identity in this place for the sake of hurting you.}

Was it because she had understood their true identity, right now their voices were resounding even clearer than ever, she was able to understand the voice of the spirits. Now at last the voice of the spirits was not a vague feeling, the voice was transmitted as true words.

{For the sake of protecting him, stand up.}

Hearing the words of the spirits, Koyuki raised up her bowed head and watched Kazuki’s back once more.

Why…?

{We have kept watching over the surviving elves for a long time.}

{Everyone was isolated. They were lonely. All of that were conveyed to us.}

{But you were able to make important people, right? Even now we could feel that.}

{We are not envying your life or anything. The important people that we couldn’t obtain, please, we want you to protect them.}

Protect…not being protected, but she herself to him…

{Fight.}

{And then defeat the Quad-core Magic with your strength.}

{Her ego had collapsed, but even so she kept being abused for her magic…that is a really painful thing.}

But…the current her didn’t know how to fight. Even though she prayed, even though she thought hard, she still couldn’t knead the magic power. The magic power that she had long thought as the worth of her existence was…

“Do you still not understand the reason why you cannot use magic?”

“…Vepar?”

At Koyuki’s side, an avatar of a mermaid was floating.

“Inside you, the routine of the magic power invocation had changed. For a long time until now, you invoked the magic power only for the sake of proving your own power. The thought of [proving my own power] had become your key for kneading your magic power. That was your routine until now. But the feeling of the current you right now was not like that anymore. At that time when you fell into magic intoxication and faced yourself. Please remember your feelings at that time.”

―I don’t want to give up. I want to be able to live and have an intimate relationship with someone, I don’t want to give up!

The me at that time begged for that!

“Using that feeling, you will be able to invoke magic, please notice that. That is a way of chanting magic that you have never experienced. I like you who was so lonely. I am the mermaid princess. So I can understand your loneliness. That’s why I want to give you a push on the back. Go―change yourself right now.”

Vepar’s avatar vanished after leaving behind those words.

Koyuki faced her own feelings. She had already found the most intense thought she had ever felt throughout the period of this twelve years she had lived.

Kazuki had protected her from countless nails, flame bullets, lumps of earth, and lightning without even moving a step.

I understand. I see it. The thing I want to do from the bottom of my heart. The path for the sake of that.

Obtain a different state of heart than before!

“I…I will redefine myself! My strength is not only for the sake of fighting…it changes into the strength for protecting my important people!!”

{We will lend you strength, Koyuki.}

{Whether we are a filthy existence or not, depends on ourselves.}

{Now, you are able to bless your own existence, right?}

{If you could accomplish a meaningful life, then that will become the elves’ new meaning of existence.}

The residual thoughts left behind in the Astrum, the spirits, their form changed into pure magic power and flowed into Koyuki.

Enormous magic power was swirling inside Koyuki. Her incomplete Magic Dress recovered its majestic appearance like a blooming flower bud. She became able to chant the spell with incomparable speed than before.

“…Sinking hundreds of ships, O menace of the sea lurking in the ocean depths! Led by my singing voice, surface…show that full story!”

“…Koyuki?”

Kazuki turned back to look at her with eyes that were dyed in shock.

He was looking at her, she felt happiness just from that small thing.

“Stab your fang! Ice―”

She could feel that she had filled this one shot of magic with a never yet seen destructive power until now.

For protecting Kazuki, and that…pitiful Quad-core Magica, to liberate her from her torment!

“―Buster!!”

Their eardrums were deafened with the thunderous roar of the whole world smashed up.

The next moment, the space underfoot of the Quad-core Magica distorted, a colossal ice mountain burst forth from there. The sharp point of the ice mountain lunged at the Quad-core Magica, piercing her. Not only from underfoot, the space was distorting even further from all directions one after another, ice mountains were lunging from all of those points.

From every direction, ice mountains that really could be called ice mountains crashed into the Quad-core Magica.

When the Ice mountain crashed into the ice mountain, scattering ice fragments everywhere, a new ice mountain was immediately created pulverizing the Quad-core Magica even further.

The total number of the ice mountains Koyuki had summoned using this magic was six. But―

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA―!”

While Koyuki screamed as if to show the proof of her existence, she produced the ice mountains over and over with numbers of almost double than earlier, ten ice mountains. The Quad-core Magica was pierced continuously who knew how many times. Ice was smashed everywhere, reflecting transparent lights irregularly.

When all the ice mountains finished attacking, the Quad-core Magica fell to the floor like a scrapped rag.

“…Koyuki, you can use magic again? On the contrary, the power just now…”

“Kazuki! She is an elf…it’s still not over with just that!”

Toward Kazuki who was staring in wonder, Koyuki scolded him vigilantly.

Just as Koyuki said, the Quad-core Magica got up. Her defensive magic power still hadn’t been used up.

“Kazuki, I am going to liberate that child. That’s why you…please protect me as the vanguard!”

“…Leave it to me!”

While thinking that the recovered Koyuki was reliable, Kazuki faced the Quad-core Magica.

“famfswa!”

The same as ever, just defending from the opponent’s consecutive magic was the best he could do. But this side’s preparedness was different from before. As long as he could just defend, Koyuki would decide it from the back!

“Ice Buster!”

The once again invoked level 6 magic. The ice mountains hit the Quad-core Magica firmly one after another―finally all her defensive magic power was cut off.

The Quad-core Magica was collapsing face up, the lips of the elf girl was shaking.

Was it because the magic power barely holding the life preservation of the remodeled body, at the same time the elf girl’s magic power dried up, she closed her eyes from having used up all her strength, her breath was shut eternally.

In front of the gruesome victim, Kazuki stood stock still from the unbearable feeling.

“Nyarlatoteph has to be defeated, without fail.”

Koyuki’s whisper was filled with strong emotion. Kazuki nodded back hearing that.