The path toward what we assumed to be the center, as we examined the tombstones, was smooth enough. But it didn’t sit well with me.
The dark mages of the Under Chain lurking throughout the area weren’t exactly a threat. It was more that just looking at them left an unsettling feeling.
They didn’t seem to be patrolling.
Most of the dark mages wandering this place were simply sobbing in front of nameless tombstones.
They were unable to escape their grief. That was why they couldn’t accept death and ended up joining the Under Chain.
There were probably exceptions, but most of them were like that.
We moved carefully to avoid being noticed, and it wasn’t difficult to slip past them, given how narrow their focus was.
“So there is something here.”
After repeatedly witnessing such disturbing scenes, I felt mentally drained.
Thinking that Ollie was one of those people left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Right now, all I wanted was to get out of this sorrow-filled place as quickly as possible.
“A fortress… no, is it some kind of detention facility?”
“A prison in the middle of a graveyard… I really can’t understand it.”
“Well, there are plenty of crazy people in the world. Maybe it can’t be helped.”
“Are you siding with the Great Sage right now, Johan Damus?”
“Can’t even make a guess now? I’m just saying what it looks like.”
If there were those who simply grieved in the face of death, there must also have been those who lashed out at the world in anger.
Even the Great Sage wouldn’t have been able to control people like that. And given that he had many enemies, a massive detention facility wouldn’t be that strange.
“Let’s go in for now.”
“It won’t be as easy to sneak in as before.”
“I know.”
It seemed Oracle still didn’t fully understand what I was capable of.
I am a disciple of the Safe Clown.
Infiltrating a building like that is nothing.
Thirty minutes after infiltrating the detention facility.
“You’ve… improved.”
Oracle widened her eyes in apparent surprise. Was it because my growth was faster than she expected?
“You’ve definitely gotten better. Thanks to that, even though you were detected five times out of five attempts, you managed to take them down before they could do anything.”
“……”
“No, seriously, I was shocked. You walked straight into a 5-meter radius of your targets. Did you really think you wouldn’t be noticed? At that point, it would’ve been more accurate to say you approached them with the intent to assassinate from the start.”
I had nothing to say. I got caught every time while trying to eavesdrop for information.
“Still, I subdued them before it turned into a bigger issue, right?”
“Well doooone.”
“Sorry, I won’t do it again.”
“What exactly did you learn…?”
No, but Yuna clearly praised me for doing well, didn’t she?
It may have been my first time in real combat, but it was recognition from Safe Clown.
“We call that flattery. Do you really think someone who favors you would speak nothing but the honest truth?”
“What are you talking about? There’s trust between Yuna and me.”
“Then she must also have been certain you’d sulk.”
“……”
Was that really the case?
I might be a bit petty, but not to that extent… right?
I’ll have to ask her about it later. I’m sure that’s not it. There’s no way Yuna would say something insincere to me.
Yuna doesn’t lie.
“Anyway, things worked out.”
“If by ‘worked out’ you mean forcing your way through, then sure. But you failed to obtain the information you said you would.”
“My bad.”
“Right. Would it have killed you to apologize earlier?”
She’s really persistent.
She didn’t stop until she got an apology out of me.
“Then.”
“Yeah, let’s check it out.”
After getting thoroughly chewed out by Oracle, I finally stood in front of the door guarded by the dark mages I had just taken down.
This was inside the detention facility. The entrance to the prison where inmates were held.
Whatever the reason they were imprisoned, I doubted they had a good relationship with Faust.
“Let’s see.”
“Please, do this properly.”
I briefly checked through the gap in the door to see if there were any guards.
There were two figures, dragging themselves along as they walked past the rows of prison cells.
Not dark mages, but undead. One was a Living Armor clad in thick plating, and the other was a ghost. It was semi-transparent, holding the high ground.
Undead that neither tire nor feel fatigue, no matter how long they repeat the same actions.
Perfect as guards.
“Two. A Living Armor and a ghost.”
“Can you infiltrate?”
“No… I think we’ll have to take them down.”
“I see.”
I pulled my gaze away from the gap in the door and exchanged a brief look with Oracle.
“I’ll handle the ghost.”
“Then I’ll take the Living Armor.”
A clean division of roles.
I turned back to observe the undead moving beyond the door.
No chains in sight. They probably weren’t connected to Faust.
No matter that they were for surveillance, something like those chains wouldn’t be handed out to just anyone.
“Now!”
The moment I signaled Oracle, I burst forward.
Whatever it takes, I will finish this quickly.
It’d be a problem if they screamed and alerted others.
Even if I’d failed at infiltration and tailing multiple times, it’s not like I learned nothing.
About five meters. I can approach silently up to that distance.
But as always, the moment I stepped within three meters, the Living Armor which had been facing away turned around as if it had sensed my presence.
“Let’s make this quick.”
Innate Ability [Thought Split]
I generated sword energy, leaving that task entirely to Thought Split.
What I needed to do now was simple. Find an opening the enemy couldn’t defend against and strike with precision.
I focused everything on that single point.
Thrust!
The moment the Living Armor recognized me as an enemy and tried to counterattack, I drove my sword into a gap in its armor.
The inside was empty.
It seems to be a type of ghost inhabiting the armor itself, with no physical body inside.
Having quickly reached that conclusion, I immediately lifted the sword lodged between the armor’s gaps and slashed upward.
Crunch!
Just like that, I severed the joints of the armor and cut off the Living Armor’s arm.
The creature that had been about to counterattack with its sword lost its means of attack in an instant.
Crack!
From there, it was simple.
Once it had lost even the means to attack, all that remained was to dismantle the armor along its seams.
I repeatedly thrust my sword into the gaps between the armor’s joints and sliced through them, disabling the Living Armor.
“Phew…”
Perfect. I can tell I’ve definitely grown stronger than before.
Before, it was something I could only vaguely feel, but now it’s different.
A sudden leap in growth, like sprinting up a staircase.
More precisely, it’s closer to having unlocked power that had been sealed away until now.
[Thought Split]. Just as expected, it’s an incredibly powerful ability.
Of course, the cost is steep.
“…As expected, I can’t use it for long.”
A severe headache follows.
Being able to split my thoughts in two is a huge advantage, but in the end, I only have one brain.
Even by simple calculation, I’ve put more than twice the usual strain on it.
Even if the Demon King within me helps suppress the burden of Thought Split, the strain I have to bear remains the same.
At this rate, five minutes is my limit.
Of course, five minutes is more than enough to finish most fights.
In a war rather than a duel, five minutes would be short, but I probably wouldn’t even dare to use it then.
Using [Thought Split] in the middle of a battlefield filled with countless variables would be no different from suicide.
“Well done.”
After completely subduing the Living Armor, I lifted my head.
There, I found Oracle staring straight at me, giving a light round of applause.
The ghost Oracle had taken on was lying on the ground with one of her thrown tarot cards embedded in it.
While I had been subduing my opponent using even my abilities, she seemed to have finished hers with a single thrown card.
“Isn’t that a bit unfair?”
“You were the one who rushed ahead first, so I assumed you were being considerate of me.”
A one-hit takedown.
It’s not particularly difficult. If the opponent is distracted, exploiting an opening is easy enough.
More precisely, the moment I charged at the Living Armor and entered combat,
The ghost must have panicked and turned its attention toward me, leaving an opening she took advantage of.
“Next time, you take the lead.”
“That kind of inefficient approach would only tire us both out.”
That’s true.
In the end, I have to fight in close quarters. Most of the illusion magic I can use doesn’t work on the undead.
And it’s not like I’m particularly skilled in other forms of offensive magic either. Just a year ago, Ariel scolded me for not even being able to use [Fireball].
In that situation, if I try to respond with illusion magic, I’d have to use high-tier spells that consume a lot of mana.
That would be overkill. And even then, it’s not like I could take the enemy down in a single blow, so I’d end up entering combat after being exposed anyway.
Oracle is right.
This setup is the most efficient.
But…
“Quiet.”
“How petty.”
Even if it makes things harder for me, I want to see the Oracle break a sweat.
While we were locked in that silent clash for a while, someone from inside the prison spoke up.
“Impressive. I heard you were inferior to the Guillotine Knights, but seeing it in person, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
“Hmm?”
The voice sounded familiar.
Frowning, I checked who the prisoner was.
“Well, look who it is. Isn’t that Veil Python, the one who sold me to the Under Chain?”
“Count Python, if you please.”
“Count Veil, I trust you’ve been well?”
“Haha, what a personality.”
To be honest, I don’t have a single good memory of coming into the Under Chain’s stronghold.
It’s only ever been unpleasant, oppressive, and exhausting, but right now, I’m actually enjoying myself.
That’s because I’m the kind of trash who finds happiness in other people’s misery.
“I’m glad to see you look well. Seems like you’ll last another three days. Wow, you might live longer than I expected.”
Seeing that damn traitor going through hardship feels satisfying.
No, it makes me happy. The corners of my mouth keep lifting and won’t come down.
“Well then, take care.”
“Come on, how about letting me out?”
“Why would I?”
This guy’s unbelievable.
Have some sense of shame. How can you even say that? Do I look like some kind of saint to you?
“Aren’t you curious about my objective?”
“Not really. In about three days, it’ll be an objective you won’t even be able to achieve, so why should I care?”
Just die in there.
Whatever you were planning clearly failed, which is why you’re stuck in there in the first place.
From the looks of it, you sold me out, infiltrated the Under Chain, got caught, and ended up like that. Do I really need to know more?
“Hear me out first. I didn’t exactly betray you.”
And you’ve got the nerve to say that right in front of the victim. I nearly died back then when things went wrong and I got cursed.
“But you’re alive.”
Wow, look at this bastard?
If your goal was to make me want to kill you as fast as possible, that was the right answer.
My blood pressure shot up so fast I almost killed him on the spot.
“Take care.”
But I’m not falling for it.
Just die right there.
That would be doing humanity a favor.
“Johan Damus! If you walk away like this, you’ll regret it!”
“Is that supposed to be a threat?”
“I’m going to start shouting.”
“You’re actually doing it?”
Wow, he’s really going through with it?
He’s not even trying to be subtle. He’s openly threatening me.
Should I just kill him and be done with it?
If I kill him before he opens his mouth, there’s a good chance nothing becomes a problem.
“Let me guess what you’re thinking. You’re considering just killing me and leaving, aren’t you?”
“Correct.”
As expected, he’s quick on the uptake.
“Whatever it is, wouldn’t it be fine to hear me out before you decide?”
“I don’t know what kind of last words you’re so eager to spit out.”
“…Who knows. This might end up being my last words, or the rope that saves me.”
“Well, fine. Go ahead and talk.”
For someone so timid, what on earth made him think he could pull something like this off?
Fine, let’s hear it.
“First of all, I’m not a traitor. Let’s get that straight.”
“Alright. Let’s get that straight.”
“Gah!”
I pressed the tip of my sword into Count Python’s thigh.
Maybe because he’s untrained? The blade slid in easily.
“Let’s choose our words carefully.”
“I’ll keep that in mind… no, I will.”
Good. A little politeness suits him.
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