#076 Appearance
#076 Appearance
The past.
When I was deploying Magic Beasts to the front lines, I found myself wrestling with a serious dilemma.
'If a Magic Beast dies, isn't that actually a gain for the enemy?'
Every Magic Beast has a Mana Stone in its heart.
Every being that uses mana has a Mana Stone in its heart.
Even a slime, if it accumulates a certain amount of mana, ends up with an object of condensed dark mana lodged in its body, though calling it a Mana 'Stone' is a bit of a stretch.
We also call this substance a 'Demon Core.'
There are truly all kinds of Demon Cores.
For instance, in the case of a lich, there are cases where they base their mana in a specific object, like a 'Life Vessel.'
For a Living Armor, the Magic Circle engraved on the armor is the Demon Core itself.
There are also examples of martial artists from the East creating something called a 'Dantian' in their lower abdomen, condensing mana itself to make it function like a Demon Core.
And there are cases like a dragon's 'Dragon Heart,' where an organ of the body itself serves as the Demon Core.
For beings like me, whose essence is classified as a 'Phantasmal Spirit Body' like a possessing spirit, when we inhabit an object, we create a Demon Core in its heart with my consciousness embedded in it.
And most Magic Beasts have a Mana Stone in their hearts.
Unlike human mages, who circulate mana around their hearts to form a Circle and use mana, Magic Beasts use their blood to wrap mana mixed with Demonic Energy around their entire bodies.
Naturally, this causes something like a gallstone to form in the heart, condensing mana, and this is what is commonly called a Magic Beast's 'Mana Stone.'
However, the amount of mana contained in this Mana Stone turned out to be nearly seventy percent of the mana in the Magic Beast's body.
No matter how much mana is used, unless it is used to the point of prolonged exhaustion, most of the mana remains in the Mana Stone.
Since mana flows through the blood vessels and invigorates the entire body, most Magic Beasts, which cannot actively control their mana properly, die with their mana intact.
'I came to realize this while living with a Hero Party. That mindlessly throwing Magic Beasts at the enemy only benefits the enemy.'
Weak Magic Beasts only benefit the enemy.
Even if a single goblin trades one-for-one with an ordinary civilian, what meaning is there if a single mage who steals that goblin's Mana Stone can blow up dozens of goblins in a single goblin village?
Then should we use Magic Beasts as powerful as dragons?
Then the humans would gleefully gang up on that Magic Beast and hunt it.
Having infiltrated numerous Hero Parties and witnessed such scenes many times, I knew better than anyone how well humans make use of the Mana Stones in Magic Beasts' hearts.
So the answer was 'venomous insects.'
For increasing pure lethality without giving any benefit to the enemy, nothing was as effective as small creatures carrying deadly poison.
I had quite a lot of fun with that.
And now I was on the receiving end of it....
"This is infuriating."
My mana was decreasing in real time, but I gained no mana from eliminating the enemy.
No matter how much mana I had secured in Normance, maintaining a barrier covering the entire village was practically impossible.
"Master, are you alright?"
"Thank you for worrying. But if this pace continues...."
FWOOSH!
The Flame Nepenthes captured countless venomous insects again.
Not a single venomous insect that entered the trap passed through, and the barrier was perfect, without even the slightest gap.
Except.
"...It might break faster than three hours."
"Huh? What do you mean by that!"
"That barrier is an installation-type spell. It's different from the barriers in cities. If I were a resident here, I would have set up a semi-permanent barrier, but since I installed it in just one day yesterday, the barrier will be breached as time passes."
It's a simple principle.
"Let's say the mana used to catch one venomous insect is 1. It took eight thousand mana to set up the barrier. So how many venomous insects are there?"
Just what was visible to the naked eye numbered in the thousands—no, the tens of thousands.
"They're chipping away at the mana in the barrier with physical attacks. They're burning their own bodies to break the barrier. In real time."
"Th-then what should we do?"
"Fortunately, if I infuse mana into the barrier, I can extend the time, but...."
Huh.
Well, look at that?
'Humans will be humans.'
I slipped in something that sounded reassuring, and I could see everyone relax and let down their guard.
"Maintaining the barrier keeps consuming mana, you know? My mana isn't infinite like a dragon's, so as time passes, my mana will run out."
"That absolutely cannot happen!"
Lucius suddenly shouted roughly.
His voice was so loud that even I was startled by the tremendous yell.
"If you use up all your mana, Master, we won't be able to deal with those venomous insects."
"But there's no other way...."
"Master, is there no other method?"
"There is."
Thanks to Lucius, it was easier to set up my point.
As expected, Lucius is a good pushover—no, a Hero.
"First, if there are any Mana Stones in the dead mage's house, please bring them. If we can extract mana from those as a stopgap, we can extend the barrier by even one more minute. Does anyone here have Mana Stones?"
"......."
There was no answer.
As if their mouths had been sewn shut, everyone kept their lips firmly closed and said nothing.
'Of course humans would do that.'
I could feel them.
The Mana Stones scattered throughout this village.
Because Mana Stones are assets that can be converted into cash at any time, like gold or jewels, most humans keep their homes stocked with Mana Stones.
I didn't bring up Mana Stones for nothing.
If we gathered all the Mana Stones in the village, we could certainly extract a day's worth of mana.
".......Does no one have Mana Stones? Even Mana Stones from slimes or goblins would be fine."
There was no answer.
Now they weren't even watching my reaction; they were just glancing at each other.
'This is why humans are hopeless.'
Even in a life-threatening crisis, the moment they feel a little relieved, humans immediately show their selfishness.
And yet, also.
"E-excuse me.... We have some Mana Stones at my house! Should I go get them now?"
There were also altruistic people like this.
I patted the shoulder of the boy who was not yet stained by the filth of human greed, giving him a benevolent smile.
"Please do. I'll repay you later."
This boy's household.
It was the house with the fewest Mana Stones.
But how could I despise someone who is the first to voluntarily offer to bring me Mana Stones, someone who shows the possibility of humanity like a single ray of light in pitch-black darkness?
"I-I'll be right back!"
"M-Mage! I'll go check if we have any at my house too!"
"Please go. I've spread the barrier to outside the village fence, so at least the inside of the fence is safe."
As the boy left, others also began to leave one by one, saying they would check if they had any at home.
Some would actually bring them, others would only pretend to bring them because they were conscious of others' eyes, and still others would have Mana Stones but secretly hide them somewhere in the ground and pretend to find them later.
'This is why humans are entertaining.'
To be able to see such a variety of human behavior even in a crisis like this—what a fascinating and lovable species they are.
Where hope and despair coexist, where heroes, villains, and petty people mingle together—it's so very charming.
That's why I chose the path of domination rather than annihilation.
"......."
Claiming I would rule over such chaotic beings seemed truly insane, but seeing things like this made me think it had been a good thing I hadn't annihilated humanity back then.
'Good thing I didn't self-destruct.'
The final moment.
"Witch, here!"
"...This many?"
"Yes! You're saving us, after all! This is all we have, but... please use it!"
"Thank you. I am grateful for your kindness. May the blessings of the Goddess and mana be upon you, and I will certainly protect you."
"Please, Witch!"
I had intended to destroy everything and annihilate the Middle Realm completely, but perhaps the reason I ultimately didn't use that method was because of humans like these.
If only everyone had been trash-like villains, I wouldn't know, but with such radiant jewels being pulled up from the gutter, I cannot annihilate humanity.
"Please gather the Mana Stones in the center of the square. I'll check the mage's house for a moment."
Mana Stones began to gather one by one, and I signaled to my companions to gather at the dead mage's house.
"Lucius. Rosemas. Sir Rapid. Sir Black Lotus."
Our current combat-capable force, including myself, totaled five people.
"Sir Rapid, may I take the lead in this discussion? Dealing with Demonfolk is my specialty."
"Ah, yes. Um... please do."
Establishing expertise.
This is essentially the same as saying I'll take responsibility if things go wrong.
In exchange, as long as I'm wearing the armband, I can firmly push aside any unnecessary noise.
Mainly the uncomfortable relationship between Black Lotus and Lucius.
"First, this is what we need to think about before anything else."
I picked up the crystal orb connected to Regret, the center of Odron.
"As you can see, the crystal orb is broken now, right? Since regular communication isn't working, the Adventurers' Guild might notice something is wrong and come here."
I don't know the detailed circumstances of how the crystal orb broke.
But what matters is the two choices before us.
"Do we wait for reinforcements to come from Regret? Or do we go outside the barrier and eliminate the one controlling the venomous insects?"
"Master. Which of the two would conserve more of your mana? Personally, I think eliminating the insect controller would be more effective."
Lucius fiddled with his ring.
To others it looked like a habit, but in reality, it was an agreed-upon gesture to signal something to me.
"Wait. I need to think of a perfect plan right now."
Hold out? A special assault? Gather people for a decisive battle? Offer humans as sacrifices for infinite stalling? Move with the people and the barrier together?
"Some kind of best method...."
And then.
Plans that always seem plausible.
End up bursting like bubbles because of the element called the 'Hero.'
"Witch, outside!!"
"......Oh dear."
A massive torrent of water covering the sky.
A tremendous power trapping the venomous insects all at once in a whirlpool of water.
"That's... the power of a Holy Sword?"
A blue-haired woman freely wielding the raging torrent.
The Water Holy Sword held in her hand.
The owner of that Holy Sword was—
"......Liliez Caesar Cross?"
No way.
To think she'd hidden the Holy Sword so perfectly that even I hadn't noticed.
"......."
The moment I thought our eyes met.
She was looking at me, blushing, and grinning.
......Did she notice me?