* * *

The short vacation the Knight Order had been granted had passed in the blink of an eye, and all that remained for them was to return to the Empire. In front of the harbor, still crowded at dawn, Cadel stared across the street, his face full of worry.

“It’s almost time, and I haven’t seen Sir Lydon. Could he have gone for dessert?”

“Not likely, he hasn’t been seen for days. Well, Lydon will find his way here, he’s a fairy who can sense when Leader is about to leave like a ghost.”

Lydon hadn’t been seen since their conversation in the clock tower. Normally, the fairy would have come by several times a day to tell him about his day, but the void he left behind had become a terrible absence that unnerved Cadel.

‘I don’t think Lydon will ever leave my side, but…….’

He knew Lydon would be with him until the end, that he just needed time to think, but he wanted to see his cheerful smile right now.

“Let’s go in first, Commander. He’s got wings, he’ll get here on his own.”

“……Just a little longer.”

It was almost time to sail. Even if Van was right and they were running a little late, Lydon could fly, so he’d find his way back. But Cadel didn’t want to leave him behind. As he pondered this, a voice called out.

“He’s coming.”

Yozen muttered, and in the distance, a striking figure appeared. Lydon, in human form, clutching something in his arms, towering over the crowd, his presence made all the more imposing by the transparent wings on his back.

He strode confidently toward the Knight Order, ignoring all the stares directed at him.

“Why are you so late, fairy? Don’t keep us waiting for nothing.”

“Hmph, I never asked Van to wait for me.”

“What’s that all about, chocolate?”

“Who knows when I’ll be back, so I’m stocking up on seashell chocolates. I’m not giving them to you, so don’t covet.”

Apparently, Lydon was late getting his own dessert, and Cadel didn’t feel like criticizing him. In fact, he was relieved by his familiar demeanor.

“Cadel, you can have some if you want.”

“Sure. Thanks.”

Lydon locked eyes with Cadel and smiled as if his days of absence were nothing. It was a relief, but also frustrating to not know exactly what was going on.

‘I’m sure he’s come to his own conclusions, and I’d love to ask him what’s on his mind, but I think it’s best to leave him alone for now.’

If he came to the conclusion that he couldn’t call his own kind, Cadel would have to try again to convince Lydon. But now was not the time, and he did not want to sow discord with a valued subordinate in the lead-up to a crucial battle.

So Cadel hurried aboard with his subordinates, who berated Lydon for his tardiness.

* * *

「Sealing Stones in Possession: 5/7」

After safely entering the Empire, word was received from the Principality of Snivec that they had obtained a sealing stone. The only remaining sealing stones were those of the Devon Kingdom and the Osma Empire. It had been established that the sealing stone of the Osma Empire was buried in the Demon Realm, so the Human Realm had practically done its job when the six sealing stones were gathered.

‘If we can obtain the sealing stone from Devon Kingdom, we should complete the magic circle as soon as possible and descend to the Demon Realm.’

As soon as the Empire finished researching the Demon Realm magic circle. The Seven Great Powers and other allies shall join forces to invade the Demon Realm.

But for now, all the Knight Order could do was wait for the magic circle to be completed and train. Except for their commander, Cadel, of course.

As the Empire’s leading magician and apprentice to the Archmage Mamil, he had been battling sleeplessness for a whopping 49 hours since arriving in the Empire.

“Mr. Cadel, take a look at this formula. What do you think, do you see any promise?”

“Mr, Mr. Mamil! This magic circle is bursting into flames! I don’t remember putting fire mana in it……. Where did I go wrong?”

“Ugh, Mr. Cadel! The paper you gave me yesterday to write down the formula for this spell burned, and I haven’t memorized it yet……!”

“Mr. Mamil, wouldn’t it be better to add earth mana to this formula, too? I know you said no way, but my gut tells me…….”

Mamil and Cadel’s names jumbled together in the spacious lab. Unable to ignore the incessant call, the two magicians’ heads scrambled to keep up with the pace of their work, checking old formulas, researching new ones, and watching other magicians experiment.

Where others could sleep for hours, Cadel and Mamil could barely catch a minute’s breath. When they had time, instead of resting, they had to pick up the potion with trembling hands and gulp it down.

“I, I think I’m going to die, Master…….”

“The corpse is talking.”

Beneath the two men’s seats, potion vials were stacked like mountains. There was also a wad of tissues that had been used to wipe a nosebleed in between.

Cadel fumbled through a haphazardly spread stack of parchment to find a reference formula. His mind, which had been clouded since he had not slept for 38 hours, showed no sign of regaining clarity. His vision was blurry and his pace was sluggish.

In many ways, it would have been better to take a nap now, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. If he tried to rest his eyes for even a moment, the magicians would be all over him.

“Mr. Cadel! Please take a look at our magic circle! I think we might actually succeed this time!”

“……Why don’t you ask Mr. Mamil? If you really think it’s going to work, why don’t you ask Master instead of me…….”

“Stop fooling around and get going.”

The constant, terrible fatigue had long since drowned out the camaraderie between the master and disciple. Cadel, who had been trying to shirk his duties, rose from his seat with a sulk.

The magicians walked ahead at a brisk pace, only when they were sure he was following. Cadel’s exuberance was uncanny, but the truth was that the other magicians were exhausted.

To the eyes of the servants who occasionally came by to deliver food and water, they were nothing more than a rampaging horde of zombies and the corpses that followed him.

The magicians led Cadel to the basement of the laboratory. It had been set aside by the Emperor as a testing ground for magic. It had been built to withstand most explosions, and the dozens of blasts it had endured had left only a thin crack.

“It’s based on the formula you taught us yesterday, Mr. Cadel.”

Cadel’s dead fish eyes flicked between the faces of the mad magicians and the magic circle beneath them. He’d been dragged into the lab so many times before, he wasn’t expecting much.

“The ultimate magic circle that the five of us put our heads together to create! Please check it out!”

With a confident shout, the five magicians surrounded the magic circle and began to infuse it with mana. Watching the magic circle slowly glow, Cadel could only stare in disbelief.

‘If they’re using that much mana, they’ll have to take some potions again, maybe about four vials…… per person.’

His stomach churned at the thought. Cadel rubbed his rumbling stomach and stared at the magic circle with glassy eyes. And the next moment.

“It works, it works……!”

“Aaargh! No!”

The endlessly glowing magic circle made a shattering sound. The next thing he knew, the lab was filled with charred fumes. Beyond the fading flashes, he could see the magic circle blackened and burning. It had failed.

“Why, why……”

“I thought it was going to work this time!”

“I have to do this again? This again?”

No longer able to get used to the shock of failure, Cadel sighed lowly and approached the magic circle, unable to be bothered with the boring words of consolation. A failure was a failure, and it had to be fixed by finding the cause, which was why he followed every single experiment.

‘Let’s see……. I wonder how many times the magic circle has failed because of something unexpected.’

So far, no magic circle had failed due to a fatal mistake. No wonder. While Cadel and Mamil were the primary researchers, the magicians gathered here were all the best in their respective countries, and there was no way there could be a mistake in the formula they had worked so hard to perfect.

The magic circle of the Demon Realm was relentless in its insistence on digging into the smallest, most common sense things that humans didn’t usually pay much attention to. All that common sense had to be twisted and turned to fit the rules of the Demon Realm. It was inevitable that their research would be slow.

That was when he bent his stiffened body and let the mana flow over the magic circle.

Shwoosh!

The should-have-been-ineffective formula reactivated, and dark mana began to rise above the magic circle.

“Huh? What was that?”

“Why did the magic circle re……?”

Cadel never infused it with dark mana. The formula didn’t include dark mana, so it had to be something the magic circle was generating on its own. Cadel calmly adjusted his mana amidst the chattering magicians. The dark mana colored the magic circle darkly, then slowly began to bend and break its form.

‘This phenomenon is…….’

When Sellev activated the Demon Realm magic circle in the Jedi Forest. He remembered seeing a scene exactly like this. A strange magic circle that changed shape.

But the strange phenomenon caused by the magic circle before him was short-lived. Slowly, the magic circle shrank, emitting dark mana, and before he knew it, it was dead, its mana gone.

Cadel calmly examined the circle, which showed no signs of reactivation, and turned to the magicians behind him.

“Excellent, it looks like we’re going to be making great strides in our research thanks to you.”

The magicians rushed to complete the magic circle as quickly as possible, and so did the other countries. The possibility that the key to activating the magic circle might lie in the dark mana prompted each country to bring in imprisoned black magicians to study it.

Once the research got going, it brought humans to the brink of shifting Realms, and in that stormy time, the Human Realm secured the sixth Stone of Peace.

「Sealing Stones in Possession: 6/7」

‘So we’ve come this far.’

The quest for the Osma Empire’s sealing stone would involve Knight Orders from every land. The only way to end the war would be to retrieve the sealing stone buried in the Demon Realm.

Cadel paused in the garden to catch his breath and stared up at the sky.

‘The magic circle is getting closer and closer to success. Perhaps a week at most.’

After that, all of the Knight Orders must get their heads together to organize a plan, and then they’d be on their way to the Demon Realm. The longer the date was pushed back, the more advantageous it would be to the Demon Realm.

‘If Kunra hasn’t said anything yet, I’m guessing he hasn’t come up with a better plan than the one we discussed.’

If they entered the Demon Realm at this time, they would have to win the battle and find and destroy any heirs to the Demon King who might remain in the Demon Realm.

Cadel wondered if such a thing was possible, but he knew it had to be done. If he couldn’t do it, there would be no future in this world, no future for his precious members.

“……Let’s get back to work.”

After a short moment of breathing, Cadel rubbed his heavy eyelids and bowed his head. He hadn’t seen the members’ faces in days, and he felt physically and mentally exhausted. If he could complete the magic circle, he would be able to spend some quality time with them before the next appointment.

Motivated by this alone, he trudged on.