Editing Magika No Kenshi To Shoukan Maou:Volume 3 Chapter 3

The foremost leading pack of the Demon Beasts that came rushing were swallowed in one go by the flame wall that burst forth from the ground. The blue light that was released when the Demon Beast vanished from this world was flickering in countless numbers inside the flame.

(Why can’t I defeat this small fry with one attack!?)

The place called the underground was not an airtight place. But just as she understood from the damp and humid air that this place, by no means, have good ventilation.

Lotte’s left hand was already equipped with an electromagnetic iron gauntlet that was created from her level 3 magic, [Collider Field]. That iron gauntlet was enveloped with light, and she called even more supplement units to equip on her body.

“Prometheus… {{furigana|Angriff|Charge}}!!”

“Prometheus, {{furigana|Klinge|Blade}}!”

When Lotte commanded, the spearhead part transformed, and a blade was formed.

Transforming from a [lance] to [naginata] , Lotte swung it from the back of the monsters' swarm.

The storm of the electric blade blew violently, sweeping up the swarm of monsters.

Lotte, who was armed with the extensive ranged attack from the new magic she learned, was a demon of annihilation.

Mio was hanging her head down while her breath hadn't recoverd yet.

Lotte’s encouragement was accurate, but Mio was not comforted with that and she kept her head hung down with no sign of looking up. Mio was still hung up from the fight with Beatrix, where she was not useful.

“…Even though I also want to be useful for Kazu-nii, I only keep holding all of you back…”

Through the telepathy magic, Lotte could perceive Mio's feelings.

An uneasy feeling was enveloping the surface of Mio’s heart, like a dark sea.

Because of the feelings of powerlessness against herself, a cold wind of self-loathing was blowing inside her.

“It’s scary…I keep exposing such a disgraceful sight in front of Kazu-nii like this…”

Mio, who was usually full of confidence in herself, was whispering weakly.

The small-statured Lotte tiptoed lightly and hugged Mio while patting Mio’s back lightly.

“Kazuki-oniisan is not a calculating person, who will decide to like, or hate you, based on if you are useful in battle or not, right desu? We are not supposed to be people that Kazuki-oniisan gathered for the purpose of creating a strong party desu. We are connected with Kazuki-oniisan by a Bond, people who gathered because we love each other desu. That’s why we can become a strong party desu.”

“…I know, that's obvious. I have been together with Kazu-nii for a long time. But… exposing an unsightly appearance, when I want to show my good points, still made me uneasy…”

“We are comrades who help each other. So let’s do this with the right person in the right place. I'll kick around all the small fry. Mio-oneesan should preserve her strength. Please launch a large barrage at the Boss. Come on, please cheer up. Please cheer up~”

Against Mio, who talked with a sulking tone, Lotte put on a joking air and patted Mio’s back.

“…Uuu, don’t get cheeky even though you're younger than me.”

Mio, who had a sulky expression, pulled on Lotte’s cheeks with a ‘munyu’.

Even with her cheeks pulled, Lotte still raised a happy voice.

“Lotte, thank you. … About Lotte, I like you somewhat.”

“I love Mio-oneesan so much desu! Then if Mio-oneesan has already collected her feelings, let’s go forward desu!”

“There are Demon Beasts. This place is being turned into a Haunted Ground isn’t it? But if that’s true, then I wonder why this Haunted Ground is not spreading.”

Both of them were heading forward, while slipping through traps at times. Mio suddenly felt doubt.

“Haunted Grounds are something that spread rapidly. That’s why, if left alone, it would encroach onto the Magic Division’s ground, isn’t that right? But the border line of these Haunted Grounds is located perfectly in the middle of the stairs descending to basement.”

“If Mio-oneesan says it, that’s true isn’t it desu?”

“It is controlled by someone. … The Haunted Grounds are not spreading fruther than this. These Haunted Grounds are maintained at ths size. In other words, the Demon Beasts extermination is being carried out periodically. I wonder. Seeing it carefully, the concrete walls and floors are worn-out, but it doesn’t feel old and decaying. Instead, it tells the frequency of the fights, that were carried out here…”

There were a great number of cracks and signs of destruction on the pulsing concrete surroundings, which were turned into the Haunted Grounds. Those signs were almost not found at all in the vicinity of the entrance, but as they advanced, the more they increased.

“To do such troublesome things this far... There must be a reason to preserve this place as Haunted Grounds. What in the world are they doing here?”

At the end of the corridor, Mio and Lotte discovered a door. Thinking about how many traps there were, starting from the trap hole, there was no doubt, that a big secret was hidden beyond this door.

“This is not an adamantite door, is it desu?”

It seems it would be very hard to carry super heavy adamantite this far underground.

Then it would be simple to break this door? Lotte materialized a lance in her left hand, then she rammed the spearhead into the keyhole ― she exerted her strength. The keyhole was easily broken, the door opened with a thud.

There was a computer inside the room. As well as a lot of monitors.

In this fairly cramped room, the only notable thing around was that computer. In here, all the things that were performed in remote places were displayed and regulated using the displays. It seems this was the control room of this whole underground facility.

No doubt. That computer was a clue.

Though, that was only if they could boot it up.

“…Sage of Civilization Prometheus. If it’s you, you should be able to do something about this?”

Toward Lotte’s call, the avatar of the young boy Prometheus appeared, “Ho-ho-, I say, I say”, he wandered around the computer with interest.

“This is a computer right? Vast electric signals are being inputted, calculated, outputted… Hmm, hmm, I see. This is what is called a computer huh. Awesome. How revolutionary this is.”

Lotte sat down at the computer desk. Prometheus’s avatar disappeared.

And then Lotte’s arms moved by themselves. Lotte, who was being possessed by Prometheus, had handed over partial control of her physical body.

The computer powered on. The boot sequence was displayed on the connected displays, but what was displayed on the monitor was something Mio had never seen before. It was not an OS which saw widespread use. The OS seemed to be based on encryption, encrypting everthing on the internal drive.

In short, even if they destroyed this computer and carried out only its storage device, it would be difficult to decrypt the encrypted data. They had to break through the security measures within this very room.

Both of Lotte’s arms became the arms of Prometheus. Her fingers were running along the keyboard. It was their first time operating a keyboard, as shown Prometheus’ rather clumsy keyboard strokes.

However, his inputs were accurate.

Towards the sage, who was born in this world with the concept of civilization, Mio was being struck with admiration once again.

A Diva was hacking a computer… This situation is ridiculous.

“Well, somehow I’m using my intuition, or maybe you my sixth sense. Pop that lock. And it’s gone.”

Toward the curious OS, that was demanding a password, Prometheus had easily defeated the security measures taken.

“Oh ho, there's a game here. Minesweeper huh. Is it fine to try it a little? The record time of this computer’s owner is 57 seconds. I want to surpass it without fail.”

Lotte scolded Prometheus. Because their conversation wascarried out using only Lotte’s mouth and voice, it looked completely like a soliloquy.

“Not only booting it up, but accesing the encrpyted data… Oh hoh, looks like it was protected with double layer password protection. Hahhahha, how impertinent. And, it's gone.”

His movements were those of a beginner, but he broke through the solid security mercilessly.

“Hmmmm, furthermore, to read this data thoroughly it seems we need something like a decryption application. That application is not saved on this computer. Looks like it's carried portable storage media. Yosh, how about I create that application starting from now?”

“…I don’t get what you are doing at all, but looks like nothing's impossible for you huh?”

“I cannot create that app from nothing you know? I’m only comprehending the surface of the data and reverse-engineering the application.”

While Mio was being amazed at this sight, Prometheus completed the improvised application with his clumsy typing.

“But I cannot understand why it only asked for authentication in form of a password and an application, without using biometric confirmation. If it asked for that, then it’s all over even for me. … By any chance, perhaps the owner of this computer even has a plan to reconstruct his own body. It’s only a wild guess though, but I don’t know if there is any other reason.”

Reconstructing the body?

Was that kind of thing possible? If it was possible, then for what reason?

It looks like the countless monitors were projecting various places in this underground labyrinth.

A certain terminal screen was showing a room where things that looked like culture fluid were lining up in great numbers, another screen was projecting a large hall that was spreading circularly like an arena.

Mio was shaking Prometheus (Lotte)’s shoulders.

“I didn’t find any map of this underground labyrinth on this computer. It seems the owner of this computer memorized all the structures of this underground labyrinth, so he didn’t need a map. To not have any necessity to share the information, it shows that the ones who use this underground labyrinth is most likely only one person. However, I found a data file of [experiment results]. Looking at the content, the accomplishments of the experiments were carried out at that place that looks like an arena. It seems the tests were using the Demon Beasts as the opponent.”

“Experiments? What kind of experiments? Perhaps we can understand it if we look at the data?”

The terminal screen was changing constantly because of Prometheus’ operating. Mio’s eyes couldn’t follow at all, but Prometheus should be able to naturally read those contents at high speed.

All the data of the computer was duplicated onto this high capacity storage device.

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

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

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

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

“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.”

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.

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

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

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.

“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.

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

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

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.”

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

“…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.”

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

“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.”

“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?”

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 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…”

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

“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.

“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, {{furigana|Project - Caryatid|Human Pillar Project}}<ref>The kanji for human pillar can also mean human sacrifice. As for Caryatid, it’s a pillar that was sculpted as a female statue that functioned as architectural support. You can find this mainly in Greek temples.</ref>.”

“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 {{furigana|human pillars|human sacrifices}}…!”

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…”

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

“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.

“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.

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

“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?”

“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.”

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…”

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.”

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.”

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

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

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.

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.

“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.

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

“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.”

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 {{furigana|Astrum|World’s Soul}} 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!”

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…{{furigana|Quad-core Magica|Four Marks Magicians}}!!”

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.

“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.

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!

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

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.

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….

“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.”

“Their emotions are flowing inside me…”

“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!!”<ref>Cthulhu runes, if it only appears as a normal letter in your computer, then install cthulhu runes in your computer and type the letters here using the Cthulhu font to see the runes.<!--if you want them to appear as runes, you must use some kind of tag--></ref>

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

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.

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.

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

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.

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.

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.

“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!

“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.”

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

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!!”

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

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―

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.

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.

“Nyarlatoteph has to be defeated, without fail.”

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