It was Friday night.
That day was a Friday night that Tane Academy was experiencing again after a long while.
The final exams had almost all ended, and the busy period had passed.
Camilla Bliss was enjoying some leisure for the first time in a while.
Her roommate Awen had gone out on a special overnight leave saying she had something busy to do, so Camilla was alone in the dorm room.
Around the campus, preparations for the inter-department exchange event were in full swing.
The cross-department exchange was essentially the prelude to the academy exchange.
Since it involved selecting representatives who would participate in the Academy Competition, a famous festival of the capital, the inter-department exchange within the academy also carried the atmosphere of a small festival.
More precisely, it was closer to a rehearsal for the Academy Competition, so there were many clumsy mistakes that made it hard to call it a festival, but the excited mood could not be hidden.
The characteristic bustle of this season drifted in from outside the window.
“…Maybe I’ll take a quick look around.”
The old Camilla had never had even a grain of mental leeway, so she had never properly enjoyed the exchange event until now.
In terms of enjoying a festival, this was her first time as well.
And that was not entirely a good thing. Not long ago, she had sent a letter to Adel telling him to stop by the exchange event if he had time.
She couldn’t show herself wandering around cluelessly at the festival. She wanted to introduce things properly like an older sister.
“At least I should know what’s where…”
With that thought, she left the room.
“Oh my!!! Senior Camilla!! Would you like to see today’s fortune??”
And immediately she was caught by some strange people.
[The Witch’s Crystal Ball].
Judging by the sign with that name set up on one side, it seemed they were decorating it with a fortune-telling concept.
“No. I…”
“Aww, don’t be like that~. Rehearsal, rehearsal!!”
“Sorry. I’m not interested in fortunes or things like that.”
“But we can also tell your romance fortune or compatibility?”
“……”
At those words, Camilla was drawn inside as if bewitched.
Even though the interior was nothing more than a roughly set-up tent, a strangely calm atmosphere filled the place.
“Hello, I’m Witch Eileen, who will be telling Senior Camilla’s fortune.”
“…Nice to meet you.”
“You want to see your romantic compatibility, right? Please tell me the other person’s birthday. Ah, you don’t have to tell me their name.”
“…Just so you know, I’m only doing this for fun. I’ll just say some random birthday.”
“Yeees. Of course~ absolutely~.”
After thinking for quite a while, Camilla slowly opened her mouth, overcoming a strange sense of embarrassment.
“…September 22. And January 13. The first one is my birthday.”
“The other person is a Capricorn~. The zodiac compatibility isn’t bad. And now please draw three cards from here.”
The fortune reading didn’t take long.
“…Hmm…”
“Why? Is there some problem?”
Camilla asked anxiously.
The girl who had introduced herself as Eileen frowned deeply.
“…First of all, you drew the ‘Knight’ card, Senior. It means you’re a good person who will become a hero, overcome numerous hardships and trials, and bring light to the world. You’ll face many difficult moments along the way, but in the end you’re the type who achieves your goal… that’s what it says.”
“My card doesn’t matter.”
“But… the other person’s card… is the ‘Demon King’.”
Camilla flinched in surprise.
“Is it bad?”
“…The one who takes all the evil of the world upon themselves. The incarnation of evil… There are many ‘Demon King’ cards, but among them you happened to draw the most dreadful one…”
“……”
“W-Well… fortunes are just for fun anyway! Ahahaha!”
Even though she had just said she wasn’t interested, Camilla’s mood visibly sank.
“S-Still! Your compatibility actually isn’t that bad!! There will come a moment when that person will need you, Senior.”
“…Is that so.”
“Yes. It’s a relationship that’s hard to form, but if you do end up together, it’s the kind destined for an eternal bond lasting a thousand years. So if you watch for the right opportunity…”
Hard to be together, but if they are, it becomes a thousand-year bond.
At the oddly realistic fortune, Camilla covered her face.
Then she hurried out of the tent as if fleeing.
“…Demon King… incarnation of evil… what nonsense. Right. It’s nonsense.”
There were clearly parts that didn’t make sense.
Besides, it was just a fortune told as a hobby by students.
So there was no reason to worry about it.
Thinking that, Camilla quickly shook her head side to side.
***
“…Weak. Too weak.”
Adel muttered.
With an incredulous expression, he looked at the corpses.
Total annihilation.
Everyone except the last one in front of him had been wiped out.
Had they even fought for a minute? In truth, it wasn’t even a fight. It was nothing less than a one-sided massacre.
“…Ahh, a demon. A demon. The one who will save the world…”
The last remaining one wasn’t in his right mind either. Tears streamed down his face as he raised both hands like he was worshipping.
Adel nudged the man with his foot. The man bowed his head eagerly, as if even that was an honor.
“Please… please grant me salvation as well…”
It was extremely unpleasant. They clung to him in a tone as if speaking of destiny. It felt like looking at a cockroach in human form.
“You maggot-like tumors of society.”
Adel said coldly as he kicked the man.
“There’s no such thing as salvation for someone like you.”
“A… ah… ah… w-why…?”
Adel quietly watched the man babbling nonsense, then flipped him over with his foot.
The foot of a giant beast pressed against his throat.
“Now. Say it again. Do you want salvation? Is becoming a demon your wish?”
“Kek, kegh…!”
“If you choose death, I’ll grant your wish and turn you into a demon. But if you beg to live, then that’s the end of it.”
“Kegh…!”
“Choose.”
“S-Spare… spare me… khk…!”
Adel let out a laugh.
Rabid Van.
Those who believe that turning all humans in the world into demons is the true path to salvation.
Fanatics who believe that before desire, status and honor are meaningless. So if everyone becomes a demon, then all will be equal.
“In the end, it’s all bullshit. You’re just a group that spews nonsense. Yet when faced with a real threat to your life, you beg to be spared.”
“Kugh… d-dying… I’m really dying… nghh…!”
“I promised, so I’ll spare you.”
It was a lie.
***
This place’s experiments must be stopped earlier than in the original story.
Otherwise, countless humanoid demons will be born here.
And they will spread across the Empire, becoming the source of disasters wherever they go.
They would end up being promoted to regional bosses.
So this place must be suppressed early, or it will become troublesome later…
And that’s not all. According to Ray, the shadow guard…
◆Warning! Side effects triggered due to excessive drug intake!!
◆Your individuality is loosening!
Thump.
My heartbeat sounds unusually loud.
“…What was it?”
I shook my head.
I feel like I had just remembered something.
I don’t know. A strange sensation filled my mind.
“…Damn it.”
I held my head. The headache was intense. A groan escaped me on its own.
Was it because I killed someone? If so, that would make sense. It was something I would never have done in modern society.
“…No. That’s not it.”
This was a different sensation. It was a different kind of pain from an ordinary headache.
…and then I realized I had felt this pain once before.
I turned my gaze.
[Adel Bliss] ↔ [Mad□ Adel]
“…What is this?”
Only then did I regain my composure.
I’m turning into a demon.
It’s not just that I’m borrowing the form of a demon. I was truly undergoing demonization.
I hurriedly checked the system messages. But there was no way a message that had already appeared and disappeared would show up again now.
A mirror. A mirror…
No. There was another method, wasn’t there?
◆ [Total Magical Structure Analysis] activated.
After activating the trait and calmly examining my body, I realized something.
I’m being affected by demonic factors. That’s strange. I definitely removed them all.
But the tiny particles corroding my body were clearly demonic factors.
There was no way the purification using rune magic had gone wrong.
It was a magic circle I had used several times in-game.
“…It feels like it’s flowing in from somewhere.”
I placed my hand on the floor.
Forcing myself, I heightened my trait. I had to understand the structure of this place.
Ventilation shafts, mana pipelines, countless magical devices.
I traced their flow for quite a while.
And then I understood.
“…Don’t tell me the experiment is happening right now. The demonic factor that leaked from there must be affecting my body.”
A demonization experiment.
What was happening down below was clearly that.
The “demonic factor” that hadn’t been completely contained inside it was now affecting me as well.
“……”
Then if I go further down from here—
The closer I get to that experiment. The more demonic factor I’m exposed to…
…that means I’ll also become more demonized.
“Damn it. Of all things, something this trivial…”
If my body had been in normal condition, I probably wouldn’t have been affected this much.
Frowning, I continued sensing, trying to understand the structure more clearly.
“…A small box?”
What I sensed through Total Magical Structure Analysis was something that felt like a metal box.
A box exactly the same size as the one I saw earlier on the first floor.
It was an object I had never seen before. Something that had never appeared in the original story either.
And just as I was searching my memory about what that box could be—
It happened suddenly.
Boom—!
The metal box exploded.
Bzzzzng—
A vibration traveled through.
The impact was so great that the Total Magical Structure Analysis trait momentarily lost its sensing ability.
And the next moment.
Far below, I sensed something scattering through the air.
—Flesh. Bone fragments. Blood.
What had been inside the box was a human.
The moment I realized that, I was left speechless.
“…What… are they doing right now.”
—Thump. Thump. Thump.
It felt as if my entire body was turning inside out. As though something I believed in is being shattered to pieces.
My body temperature dropped.
“…Don’t tell me the ones piled up on the first floor as well.”
Silence.
And breaking through that silence, a series of explosions echoed out one after another.
“……”
As if possessed, I walked toward the elevator on one side.
Inside this facility, there may be a demon worshipper executive, Mariana Quinoron.’
I still don’t have the strength to kill them.
That’s why Total Magical Structure Analysis must never be exposed. This trait holds that much power.
…All those calculations vanished without a trace.
Right now, the only thing rising inside me was disgust.
◆ [Arcane Total Structure Analysis] activated.
A magical elevator.
I placed my hand on the button.
Wooooooong—
The elevator that had been stopped began to move.
At the same time, the magic tools on each floor that were weaving the barrier.
I interfered with them.
I forcibly drew in all the mana within the facility.
◆Available Mana: [1,051,590 (+40,000)]
◆Mana +10
“……Cough. Khk.”
Perhaps even the demonic form couldn’t withstand it. I coughed up blood.
But it’s fine.
I absorbed even the spells engraved into the magic tools, leaving nothing behind.
◆Seven types of magic temporarily enter a state of “Unlimited Activation Standby”.
◆Unlimited Activation Standby: Dark Curtain, Hexa-Penta Star, Horizon of Magic, Revered Ruler, Living Wall, Witch’s Jar, Mirage of the Snowfield.
Barrier spells that the Archmage Maria must have created.
I activated all of them again.
I sealed off every path that leads out of this laboratory, cutting off all escape routes.
“No one… gets out.”
Ding—
◆Warning!
[Adele Bliss] → [Madman Adele]
Leave a Reply