Sekai Saikyou no Maou desuga Daremo Toubatsushinikitekurenainode, Yuusha Ikusei Kikan ni Sennyuusuru

Chapter 1. [Episode 27]
“Mira – Part 2”

 

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In a dimly lit room of the great library, I turned the pages.

[A brigade-sized force of elves forced their way through the southern barrier and headed directly for the eastern territories. The commander was Major General Fersian Sagrem.

It is said that the brigade was divided into 1500 men each, with one unit marching into the eastern territories while the other moved away from the imperial capital to surround the eastern territories, gathering information from the residents of nearby villages and towns.

Major General Sagrem was very cautious and kept in touch with one side of the unit every day without fail.

With information exchanged in detail, the major general finally entered Balzac territory and dispatched a liaison soldier when he came within sight of Mira Balzac’s residence.

At this point, it can be seen that Major General Sagrem had detected Mira Balzac as a person who was extremely close to the truth.

After the return of the liaison officer, Major General Sagrem, who reportedly confirmed each other’s safety, surrounded the Mira Balzac residence and is believed to have penetrated inside, with the Major General in the lead.]

Believed? Why is the question form there?

[It wasn’t long after that the contact with Major General Fersian Sagrem was lost.

When liaison soldiers dispatched from the Major General’s unit re-entered Balzac territory with the information communicated by the other unit, all 1,500 elves, including Major General Fersian Sagrem himself, had disappeared without a trace.

There was no sign of a struggle, and only the elves had disappeared, leaving the weapons, wagons, portable food, money, and other items belonging to the military intact.

(Special note: After the incident, a report was made at the High School of Magic of the Imperial Northern Territories earlier the same day that “there is a possibility that a ‘forbidden art’ equivalent to that of ‘6th or higher’ magic was used. An investigation is required.)]

Forbidden art. It is a marvelous technique that has more power than magic.

Magic exists only up to the 13th rank, and anything above that is clearly distinguished as forbidden. The term “rank” has been changed to “ladder” to indicate the level of power and difficulty.

In the higher magic academies located in various parts of the empire, I was told by Rena that the special art-sensing abilities that enable them to immediately detect if something equivalent to this forbidden art or higher is exercised are in place.

[Major General Sagrem was a strong man renowned for his military prowess. He was also a master of extremely aggressive techniques that were equivalent to the forbidden level. Because it is difficult for elves to handle ordinary offensive techniques due to their characteristics, his ability must have been extremely high.

The fact that the major general not only offered no resistance but also disappeared, including his men, greatly confused the commander of one of the units, who at the same time went to the imperial capital and demanded that the emperor send troops to the city.

His Majesty had already heard about the breakthrough of the barrier in the southern territories. Although it would have been inevitable for the two countries to be dismissed out of hand, they were concerned about the possibility of a full-scale all-out war between the two countries if they provoked Tsefte Aria any further, so they urgently dispatched the Imperial Army and conducted a joint investigation.

A brigade of 3,000 men was dispatched from the Imperial Army, and a mixed force of 4,500 men and elves headed for Balzac territory. The commander of the Imperial Army was Lieutenant General Gustav Ritter, who was known as the most powerful magician of his time.

However, just as they were about to invade Balzac territory, there was a string of disappearances from the elven army. As elves were disappearing one after another, someone finally came there and witnessed the moment of their disappearance.

To sum up the stories of several witnesses from the imperial army, the elves disappeared immediately after blinking when they were exchanging information during rest. They also found it hard to believe that the elf, who was walking in front of them, disappeared without warning.

Curiously, all of these phenomena occurred on the same day at the same time, each in a separate location.

(Special note: After the incident was over, the aforementioned High School of Magic reported that there were also signs of forbidden arts being activated in the vicinity of Balzac territory on the same day at the same time. An investigation is required.)]

Someone who was nearby disappeared instantly, huh? Perhaps it was due to a forced transfer technique.

Although I do not know the size of the Balzac territory, it is possible that a forced transfer over a considerable area was carried out.

Transference techniques are extremely difficult. Even if you use it on yourself alone, it involves the release of so much magical power that it is equivalent to a forbidden technique, so there is a risk that those who are sensitive to magical power will detect it even from a distance.

Rena is also a user of the transfer technique, but its use within the empire is forbidden except in emergencies. Incidentally, with my current magical power, I probably can’t even transfer myself alone.

It’s a technique that needs a wide area. Moreover, it does not involve humans, but only transfers elves. It is an unbelievable phenomenon, but if a guest from a magic powerhouse is involved, it is not impossible.

Since it is a troublesome technique to exercise even for me, who still retains the form of a demon king, the person responsible may be of monstrous magical power that was out of the ordinary.

[In the end, none of the elves were left.

Only a brigade of 3,000 men, composed of Imperial troops, was able to infiltrate the Mira Balzac estate. Lieutenant General Ritter, aware of the dangers involved, went to the Balzac residence to find a solution to the problem as quickly as possible.

The only people in the house were a few servants and an adorable young girl of no more than seven or eight years of age. However, when confronted by Lieutenant General Ritter, the young girl said in a very mature tone.

“I am Mira Balzac. What about the elves? That’s not enough. Prepare more.”

It was an unbelievable sight at first glance, but Lieutenant General Ritter, who had had some contact with Mira Balzac in her younger days, recognized the young woman’s appearance, what she said, and her seemingly rational but insane appearance, and determined that she was Mira Balzac herself. He immediately took her and all of her servants into custody.

Even after being restrained, Mira continued to show her obsession with the elf and kept shouting unintelligible words such as “What about the last drops?” and “You still can’t reach them?]

Considering her imperial history, Mira’s age must have reached 50. So that is why she retained the appearance of a young girl.

Considering the circumstances when she first drank the last drops, she would have been at most 20 years old or so when she said she was young again. Could it be that she became younger as a result of having sipped the drops many times after that?

However, I feel a strong sense of discomfort with the situation and the content of her statements. She doesn’t seem to be concerned about the way she was restrained, and all she does is make statements that she continues to seek the last drops even though she is back in her infantile form.

[The interview with Mira Balzac herself was extremely difficult because even after numerous interrogations and torture, she still made no sense.

However, as mentioned above, the servants understood their situation and calmly brought all the information they knew to the military.

The initial disappearance of the elves was the work of bandits and mercenaries hired by Mira.

That the successive disappearances of the elven army are all due to some dubious art.

The question is where are the missing elves?

With all the information they wanted at their throats, the Imperial Army immediately launched an investigation.

However, Lieutenant General Gustav Ritter was later caught in a deep sense of remorse, saying that he had made a terrible blunder at this point.

This is because the actions of the imperial army contributed to the worst disaster of all for the Elberian Empire and the Kingdom of Tsefte Aria, the outbreak of the “Arian War”.]

The record of the unremarkable investigation reaches its climax.

[The Imperial Army thoroughly investigated the Balzac territory and sent a message to the Kingdom of Tsefte Aria.

The unit led by Lieutenant General Ritter arrived at an old castle on the eastern edge of Balzac territory. The old castle had been built when the Elberian Empire was first established, but it was now in ruins with no master.

The missing elves are said to be in this area. The land was indeed vast, but it was not a place that could hold 3,000 elves.

Half in disbelief, he investigated the dilapidated old castle and discovered a hidden staircase leading to the basement.

At the end of a long staircase was a large hall. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, and on the far wall was a large painting of what appeared to be an angelic woman.

The hall was filled with a horrendous stench that pierced the nose.

Complex magic circles were drawn all over the floor, and it appeared that some kind of magic technique was being used, but even Lieutenant General Ritter, who was said to be a rare great magician, had no idea what in the world the magic circles were for.

He said that there were unidentifiable “green lumps of flesh” scattered over such a magic circle. The “green flesh” was so horrifying to look at that it looked as if it were made up of a great number of “green” things.

Inside the mass of flesh, what looked like huge fangs and what appeared to be crushed bone fragments were found, but details were unknown.

And on either side of the great hall were several prisons in which several decomposed or bleached remains were found. It has been reported that they were most likely elves based on their physical characteristics.

But even after scavenging through all the prisons, they still fall far short of the 3,000 elves.

No one could guess at that point what in the world had happened at the place.]

A magic circle of unknown use. Creepy lumps of flesh deposited on top of the magic circle. An elf imprisoned in a prison cell.

Considering the information I have gathered so far, there is a strong possibility that the “last drops” were probably created there.

Simply killing large numbers of elves will not cause anything to happen, probably by some ritual, since it has already been proven by Mira Balzac’s hand.

[A messenger from the empire reported information to the Kingdom of Tsefte Aria and, as expected, demanded that Mira Balzac be immediately transported to Tsefte Aria.

If this demand was not met, the use of force would be unavoidable. The Kingdom of Tsefte Aria seemed to have already made preparations for war.

However, it will be a long time before the emperor of the empire hears this information.

Because, at the same time, Mira Balzac, who was imprisoned in a certain place in the Empire, was slaughtered in a series of ■■■■–]

The …… page has been forcibly torn out.

The book was not so thick as to be a simple record, but every remaining page had been torn out and could not be read.

What was written from this point forward that could no longer be revealed even to military officers?

Then I checked for a while to see if there was some kind of code or if something is hidden there, but I couldn’t find anything unnatural.

It’s a total letdown.

What was Lieutenant General Gustav Ritter’s blunder? What was the ritualistic act being performed in the ruined old castle? And what is the heavenly monster?

Unavoidably, I put the book back on the shelf and hurried out of the library to return to President Ludio.

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