219

Chapter 219 — The World Is (4)

I listened to that voice with my head resting against a faint warmth.

I felt as though this had happened once before.

That vague sense of déjà vu scattered beneath the words reaching my ears.

I see.

I…

I could go home.

I could return.

I can go back…….

* * *

Deathbringer reflexively edged back when he saw the crazed look in Meister’s eyes.

“You know we have to leave, right?”

“I know.”

Meister’s violet eyes gleamed coldly beneath the workshop’s blue lamps.

“But this is more important.”

Damn it!

I knew I shouldn’t have trusted this bastard!

Thinking that, Deathbringer quickly seized the Mana battery or whatever it was.

His swift hand snatched it up, and he held it like a hostage.

“Ah, come on! Let’s go already!!”

“I’m not leaving until I figure out why it glowed!”

“It was sparkling from the beginning! How the hell are you supposed to figure that out?!”

“What are you talking about?! It wasn’t glowing when I saw it earlier!”

“What are you talking about?! When I picked it up, it was sparkling—!”

BOOM!

Neeeigh!

Their shouting match looked ready to continue.

Then a tremor struck the building, and the poor horse’s cry rang through the street.

“Whoa.”

In the process, Deathbringer lost his grip on the battery and nearly dropped it.

The falling battery was barely caught in his hand.

Its light grew slightly brighter.

“…You!”

Meister, who had been grabbing nearby objects to steady themself, widened their eyes.

Kyarrk.

Neeeigh.

A grotesque cry mixed with the sound of the horse neighing.

The two, having barely regained their balance, instinctively turned their heads.

Kyarrk.

Beyond the open door, a huge monster had landed where the horse had been standing.

It was so enormous that the miserable horse had been crushed beneath one leg and could not even struggle.

Crunch. Crack.

Its bright yellow beak began tearing bone from flesh as it devoured the horse whole.

A Gryphon.

A demon with the head and forelegs of a hawk and the hindquarters of a lion.

A monster so fond of horses that it was nicknamed the Horse Butcher.

Both of them froze.

‘We’re fucked…….’

‘Don’t make a sound.’

Neither knew why the demon had suddenly appeared.

But if it became aware of their presence, nothing good would happen.

Cold sweat poured down both of them as they communicated only with glances and silently moving lips.

Crunch, crunch.

Fortunately, the Gryphon was not looking in their direction.

Meister slowly backed toward the rear of the workshop.

Deathbringer did the same.

Reviving the concentration they had spent their entire lives cultivating, they carefully avoided the scattered objects and hurried into a corner of the workshop.

‘What are we supposed to do now?!’

‘No, you should be thanking me. If it weren’t for me, we would’ve been attacked by that Gryphon while still on horseback.’

‘Attacked my ass! We would’ve already joined the others safely!’

Perhaps because it had the head of a hawk, Gryphons were famously sharp-eyed.

So the two crouched behind a desk and moved their lips furiously at each other.

Neither dared use a voice in case it reacted to the sound.

‘Shut up, defective intellect. There’s no value in continuing this topic, so how about thinking about what comes next?’

‘Nice job changing the subject because you were losing. Bastard.’

‘I didn’t change the subject because I was—’

‘Is there a back door?’

‘…No.’

‘This sucks.’

Even while feeling tremendous irritation toward each other, they suppressed it for the sake of a single shared objective.

The variable known as the Gryphon was that dangerous.

‘That’s really the only exit, right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Goddamn it. Then do we just have to wait until it leaves?’

‘That is one option.’

Even while trying to devise a plan, they had no real alternatives.

What could people unable to manipulate Mana do against a demon?

If it had been humanoid…

No, then it could have entered the workshop.

Maybe this was actually better.

Deathbringer revised his imagination, then tried to peek his head around the desk.

‘Do you want to die?’

And met Meister’s eyes, whitened with contempt and irritation.

As a bonus, Meister grabbed him by the collar.

‘Then how are we supposed to watch what it’s doing?’

‘If you’re ignorant, you could simply say so. There’s a way to look around a corner without sticking your head out, you know?’

Saying that, Meister picked up an object lying on the desk directly above them.

A convex mirror.

‘What difference does it make whether you stick out your head or your hand…….’

‘The exposed surface area is different, you fool with no interest in pursuing wisdom.’

After briefly bickering, they nevertheless focused on the mirror.

Once Meister adjusted the angle properly, the convex mirror reflected the Gryphon perfectly.

In that brief time, the horse’s body had already been reduced almost entirely to bones.

‘If we’re lucky, it’ll leave soon.’

‘That’s wonderful news.’

They felt sorry for the horse that had died in their place.

At the same time, as people whose lives had been spared because of it, they were also grateful.

Meister withdrew the mirror while wondering whether they would have to reimburse the lord for the cost of the warhorse.

The Gryphon’s head looked as though it was about to turn toward them.

‘Give me the battery.’

Instead, Meister held out a hand, intending to use the time efficiently.

After all, if they were going to be trapped here until the Gryphon left, they might as well accomplish something.

‘Are you insane?’

‘What business is it of yours how I legitimately use my own time?’

‘You really are insane.’

Meister emphasized the extended hand.

Shaking his head, Deathbringer eventually handed over the battery.

Unfortunately, the light had already gone out.

‘Don’t make any sound. If you make enough noise for the Gryphon to notice us, I’m throwing you straight at it.’

‘Ha. Try it.’

Meister obviously knew not to make noise.

They scoffed and accepted the battery, examining it.

Even without the light, there were still things to investigate.

Their eyes immediately became serious.

‘Annoying bastard…….’

This one…

Wasn’t this the battery where I had written the same formula as last time—the one that briefly lit up when I was smoking with Half-and-Half Hair?

While Deathbringer cursed Meister internally, Meister calmly identified the object.

It was astonishing.

A formula with precedent had shown hope again.

Once could be coincidence.

Twice was enough to deserve attention.

And three times would mean…….

‘You said it sparkled when you picked it up earlier.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Hmm.’

Meister fell into thought.

The only differences between the moment when Meister first entered and saw it and when Deathbringer found it were whether it was on top of something or had fallen to the floor, and the time at which it happened.

In other words, one of those two differences had to be the cause.

Realistically, the latter could not be the variable.

The former, however…….

‘Was falling the answer?’

The Demon Knight had seen it light up while catching one Meister dropped.

This time too, the one who had picked it up off the floor had seen it.

Considering what happened afterward as well, this was the only answer.

On a hunch, Meister raised the thing high—though not above the height of the desk, in case the Gryphon saw it—and dropped it.

‘Are you crazy?!’

Deathbringer nearly screamed beside them.

Tap.

Before the battery could hit the ground, Meister caught it.

Its light had returned.

‘If you have time to mistake me for acting recklessly, why not use that time to watch the demon?’

‘…Ugh. If only you weren’t so damn good with words.’

Meister adjusted their glasses with a middle finger and confirmed the hypothesis.

Falling was involved.

Why?

No idea.

That was what research was for.

‘…Did it work?’

Then Deathbringer quietly asked.

Even if Meister irritated the hell out of him, curiosity was curiosity.

‘If you consider a result with no established intermediate process a success.’

But Meister disliked calling something achieved by accident a success.

They wanted to research it properly right now, but considering the situation, they restricted themselves to only what could be tested immediately.

For example, what happened if they repeatedly dropped it.

Whether Mana was actually accumulating properly.

Things like that.

‘If you establish the intermediate process… will people without Mana be able to use Mana now?’

‘Let me correct that to “they’ll be able to operate devices that require Mana.”’

‘You really love nitpicking.’

‘Oh, if I were you, I would have despaired over a life in which I was given a tongue to swing around but no brain suitable to accompany it, and I’d have aimed for a better next life as early as possible.’

Another argument naturally broke out during the process…

But thanks to the Gryphon serving as an anger suppressant, it still did not escalate into an actual fight.

A unity brought about by a demon.

‘…….’

‘…….’

Even if the best they could manage was aggressively raising both middle fingers at each other.

‘Anyway. Yes. Once we understand the operating method, mass production becomes possible… so it could probably be distributed widely.’

‘You already pissed me off as much as possible. Explaining it now doesn’t exactly—’

‘You asked a question. I should answer it. When else is that ignorant head of yours ever going to fill itself with knowledge?’

‘Ah, fuck.’

Deathbringer thought seriously.

Once the Gryphon left, could he crack this bastard’s head open?

The impulse was extremely tempting.

‘Whatever. Has the Gryphon left—’

Then—

BOOM!

The building shook.

Blink.

The lamps hanging from the ceiling went dark for an instant, then came back on.

What the hell?

Deathbringer and Meister hurriedly grabbed the mirror in confusion.

BOOM!

At the same time, another impact shook everything around them.

“We’re screwed.”

“If you make noise— Wait?!”

BOOM!

Seeing the Gryphon trying to force its head through the doorway, Meister finally stood.

BOOM!

The Gryphon kept slamming its body against the far-too-small opening, trying to reach them and eat them.

“It must have known we were here from the beginning.”

In short, they had been thoroughly cornered.

Blink.

The light above flickered uneasily.

Read only on MUGEX

* * *

But… what happens if I go back now?

* * *

“Help me! Help me!!”

“AAAAAGH!!”

“Attack! Attack it!”

“Don’t split up—Tony!”

“Ghk!”

Screams rang out everywhere while explosions and flames blossomed across the area.

The procession of people who had once been evacuating in orderly sequence was now a complete mess.

There was no order left.

Only chaos.

“Fall back! Back!”

“Run! Keep running!”

“Aaagh!”

“Hurry!”

“Keep moving! Run!”

Even so, there was a reason they had to bring this chaos under control.

The soldiers who had rushed over grabbed civilians and shoved them backward almost as though throwing them.

“Fire!”

Tududududut.

Meanwhile, dozens of arrows streaked through the air, delivering painful warnings to the Harpies waiting greedily for an opening.

“Support!”

Then a knight appeared.

A superhuman who reinforced the entire body with Mana and sharpened the killing edge of the sword leapt into the battlefield.

“Cover the knight!”

Being a knight did not mean possessing the ability to kill demons with one slash.

But neither were knights so weak that they could only keep Gremlins at bay like ordinary soldiers.

“Footing!”

At the knight Dietrich’s shout, one soldier threw aside the weapon and dropped to one knee.

Hands interlocked over the raised knee.

The instant Dietrich stepped onto them, the soldier heaved upward as though throwing her into the air.

The airborne knight shifted the Mana reinforcing her body into the sword, increasing its cutting power.

SLASH!

KYAAAAAGH!

The face of a Harpy diving toward the soldiers was cut diagonally by her blade.

The demon twisted in agony, lost its balance, and fell.

“Move! Get clear!”

The soldiers beneath the falling point withdrew in perfect order.

Meanwhile, soldiers elsewhere advanced instead, pushing back Gremlins and other demons.

“Push! Drive them back! Push the demons away!”

It was all to protect the knight who had fallen together with the Harpy.

While those replacing the withdrawn soldiers formed around the Harpy and kept the Gremlins in check, the knight landed and raised her sword.

“Surround it!”

While Dietrich responded to the Harpy’s struggles and prevented it from flying away, the soldiers who had withdrawn raised their spears.

The Harpy was pierced several times from all directions.

Naturally, several spears also snapped beneath the demon’s thrashing.

“Keep stabbing!”

Demons did not die from a single attack.

Those who knew that continued striking, while the knight endured being clawed several times to keep the Harpy’s attention fixed.

“Another Gargoyle incoming!”

“Knight, fall back!”

“I leave it to you!”

But if another demon difficult for ordinary soldiers to handle arrived, the situation changed.

The knight slowly retreated through the opening the soldiers provided.

It could not be helped that the Harpy was still alive.

With most of its strength already drained, they could only trust the soldiers to somehow finish it.

“AAAAAGH!”

“Goddamn it, where are all these things coming from?!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

There were simply too many demons coming.

Several soldiers wept as they somehow sent those who had escaped the demons’ attacks running toward the rear.

“Destroy my enemies!”

Fortunately, someone capable of reducing their burden was here.

Archmage scraped together every bit of Mana she could and cast a spell.

Many demons tormenting soldiers among the civilians were pierced through by Mana and killed, while others suffered wounds nearly as severe.

“Hurry and save the people!”

Soldiers accustomed to cooperating with Mages quickly began rescuing the fallen.

The dead were tragic, but had to be left behind.

Those still breathing were hoisted onto backs and sent to the rear.

“…Looks like the city is going to fall.”

“Don’t say something so ominous!”

“Be realistic. If all the residents leave and the city becomes packed with demons, would you classify that as fallen or not?”

“That may be true, but people have feelings!”

Feelings are useless.

Ignoring the chief Mage’s complaint, Blue Coral moved Mana.

Manipulating Mana while suffering internal injuries felt rather like dying, but since it was not actually going to kill them, it did not matter.

“Are you really all right?! If you suffer recoil even one more time, you’ll definitely……!”

“Die, probably. But can you say that in front of people who are already dead?”

Besides, as long as the spell was not canceled midway and the formula was not miscalculated, there would be no recoil.

It was fine.

Blue Coral helped those with unstable Mana control and activated another offensive spell.

Since Archmage had checked the formula, there was no chance of failure.

A massive Mana arrow formed and intercepted the approaching Gargoyle.

Its chest was blown open, and the demon’s body crashed into the street.

“Enough. Hurry up and prepare the next spell. More demons are coming.”

“What? More?”

“If you don’t like it, complain to the lord. Ask why the inspections were this terrible.”

Of course, if they did, the lord would probably shout back.

What city would suspect merchants who had spent the last seventy years peacefully trading without so much as a hint of demon worship?

Fair point.

The Magic Tower had accepted their business without suspicion for exactly the same reason.

“While you’re going to tell him that, say this place already has two Grand Sages, so one knight is enough. We don’t need reinforcements. Tell him not to send any more knights.”

“You actually meant for me to go tell him right now?!”

When else would I mean?

Instead of saying that, Blue Coral stopped holding back the blood rising in their throat and vomited it out.

“AAAAAGH! Grand Sage!!”

“Blue Coral!”

Everyone nearby erupted into panic.

It was not particularly important.

“Quiet. Shut up and do your work.”

“Yes.”

“Gather Mana!”

Instead, Blue Coral realized this place had stabilized and turned attention elsewhere.

“…I wonder how the west is doing.”

The greatest concern was naturally the west.

Even the southern gate, with two Grand Sages, the lord, and several knights, was in this condition.

What about the west, which had none of those?

Worse, that direction was closer to where the demons were flying in from.

Blue Coral found themself not wanting to imagine it.

Naturally.

The answer that came to mind was not good.

“I’d settle for them not all dying.”

Instead, Blue Coral prayed.

May fortune reach as many people as possible and keep them from the demons’ claws.

* * *

…What happens to Bemurchen now?