"Luke ...... the body of that thing, just the dirt part ...... [disassembles], can you take it apart ......?

　Noir's shoulders shook as he pointed to the wreckage of the Mad Golem, which had been divided into three parts.

"If my prediction is correct, ...... then I can be ...... sure of Bran's whereabouts, I should be .......
Okay, I'll try.

　Touching the remnants of the Mad Golem, he activated 【Analysis】 and 【Disintegration】, quickly disintegrating only the parts composed of soil.

　What was left behind were multiple large magic stones and the intricate metalwork connected to them.

''What is this?''
"The messenger ...... mad golem was able to use Bran's magic ...... why ...... magic, the transponder... ...
I see. I see. The magic that the main body can use is being used by the Mad Golem via this mechanism. So the energy source is a large magical stone that is attached to the body?

　Noir kept his mouth shut and his eyes downcast with a somber look.

'...... via the messenger, magic activation is ...... difficult, the further away from the sorcerer, the more ...... difficult...' ...Performance, too, is diminished. But Bran's magic was ...... the same as it used to be, ......
That means Bran is hiding nearby.

　Putting together all the information we know at the moment, it's most reasonable to think so.

　However, Noir gave a small shake of his head and confronted me with the receiving device that he had been analyzing earlier.

This device is ...... specially tuned ...... for long-distance manipulation. At close range, manipulation is the worst ...... efficiency.

　If we focus on the messenger - in this case, the magic activation mediated by the Mad Golem - then Bran is very close to us.

　However, the receiving device operating the Mad Golem is specialized for operating from a long distance, and its efficiency is inferior at close range.

What do you think ...... Luke?

　Although it was in the form of a question, Noir had long ago formed a hypothesis of his own and seemed to be trying to see if I would come to the same idea.

　I focused on my thoughts for a few seconds, and came up with the most convincing possibility.

'Bran isn't here. On the contrary, it's doubtful that he's even on the ground. Perhaps he's remotely controlled from the underground 'Demon King's Castle Realm' at ...... or from the Demon King's Castle itself?

　Noir nodded his head in agreement with my hypothesis.

'In the first place, if there was a way to send Bran himself to the ground, there was no need to go through all that trouble. d*mn, it's only natural when you think about it.

　After the battle in the 'Demon King's Castle Realm' over the camp, the Golden Fang Knights retrieved the remnants of the siege golem and carried them into the fortress.

　However, the siege golem had multiple mad golems planted in it beforehand, and when they saw an opening, they activated them and destroyed the wreckage of the siege golem, the corpse of the demon general Norzuri, and part of the fortress - that's the sequence of events.

　The Mad Golem, which Bran had used as a magic relay point, was also a remnant individual that had snuck to the ground in the confusion.

　I can only think of one reason why he went to such trouble on purpose.

　If not like this, they could not send their forces to the ground side of the Hollow Bottom Fortress.

　Then the very thought that Bran himself was on the ground was a definite contradiction.

''Hey, White Wolf's!　You still haven't found the unit!
Hold on a little longer!
f*ck!　You're still a bit of a messenger, dammit!

　Garnett continued to run in all directions, wielding his mithril sword and kicking away at the earthly forms.

　I asked Noir a more in-depth question to settle the matter before Garnett's magic stone was used up.

''Noir. Is there a way to get a perfect magic through a messenger in a remote location?　Even if there wasn't, I'd still be convinced that it's the demon race's own technology: ......
"There's ......, but not ...... by straightforward means. ......

　I don't want to believe it, I don't want to think about it. I can tell that you don't want to think that.

　But even so, Noir continued to squeeze out the words.

"...... the human body is not only ...... a means for demons to alter the human body, it's also a means for wizards who are stuck in ...... research... ...quit human beings, which is not uncommon ...... ......
The Human Body Modification: ......
I don't know what kind of modifications are necessary for ....... It's not easy, I know. But you can ...... do it, especially if you're a ...... demon.
'They're like a bunch of people who have remade the Falcon into a dragonborn. They can do anything they want.

　Even though it was because he had been turned by the Demon King's army, the flesh and blood who thought he was safe had actually already undergone a modification - it's no wonder that things like this are so painful.

　Even if you are determined to fight, you can't help but feel your heart ache.

　The only thing I can do is to keep fighting with them until the end.

''I don't think it's possible, but it's not as if the earthling form is also created from underground, is it?
That's ...... and I don't think that's possible. There's a mad golem out there somewhere that's broadcasting ...... and it's supposed to be located at .......

　Noir pointed to the night sky with some confusion.

　A small palm-sized bird puppet flew patrolling just above where Garnet and the earthbound form were fighting.

'Your errand boy. How long have you been flying?'
If you can trace the ...... magic surge, you can find out ...... where it's being used and where it's being used... ...
'You look like you're lost because you can't find your target: ......

　Without me saying anything about it, Noir had taken steps to find out the activation point of the magic that was generating the earthling form.

　However, it seems that it is not having the desired effect.
　Has the twin sister's means of searching for the quintessential twin sister already been countered?

　If the person in question is deep underground and the location of the relay point's mad golem cannot be identified either, there is almost no way to strike--

No, wait.

　Suddenly a gut feeling crossed my mind.

''Bran couldn't use any magic to create the earthly form, right?
'Oh, oh, yeah ...... that's right, .......'
''So it's a magic that became available after turning to the Demon King's army, and according to Dustin's story, the Demon General Vestri used the same magic, so ...... would be .......''

　Quickly organize your thoughts and turn the spark into a concrete strategy in your mind.

'It's worth a try, ....... Noir, prepare your magic. Get me someone that can pass damage down to the ground.
'The ground ......?　So ...... I see!
'Garnett!　I can see the noir messenger!　Blow up the clay figure right below it!
I don't know what's going on, but I get it!　Let's go!

　A slash of magical power unleashed in a horizontal cleave crushes a large number of earthen dolls together.

　You can find an empty space right below the user's little bird puppet.

　Noir aimed at the gap between the two and activated a full-bodied magic.

''...... Abyss Illusion ......!

　A red-black pattern seemed to float on the surface of the ground, and then black flames split the ground and erupted like a geyser.

　The destructive power beyond what I had expected to see took my breath away.
　The diameter of the effect area is at most ten paces in diameter, but a considerable amount of power is condensed into that limited area.

"Hey, hey. There was no point in me paying out of pocket, was there?

　Garnet also looked up at the pillar of black fire with a dumbfounded face.

　Noir, who had finished activating his magic, let out a long, exhaustion-laden breath, forgetting to wipe the sweat that had bled on his forehead.

　The swarm of earthen forms stood motionless in place, just as the one-eyed Mad Golem had been slashed down.

　When the pillar of fire disappeared, Garnett turned to me and asked for a detailed explanation.

''So, what was that all about?''
''The magic that creates the earthly form is the same magic that Demon General Vestri was using in the last battle. I don't know why, but if Bran was able to use the same magic as Vestri, then .......
'Oh, yeah. There's another one. It's said that a demon tribe called Vestri used it when they attacked the camp.

　The action of hiding under the ground - and thereby continuing to create earthen forms by hiding their appearance - was exactly the same as the tactic used by the Demon General Vestry against Dustin.

　It wasn't that the little bird puppet couldn't find its target's location, but rather that it continued to dutifully follow its target as it dived beneath the ground.

　Conversely, it could be argued that Bran was constantly moving under the ground, disrupting the tracking methods that Noir was so good at.

"The ...... earthly form, disintegrating, has not ...... yet solved the magic ......

　In the next moment, a half-destroyed Mad Golem crawled out from under the blackened and shattered ground.

　More than half of its constituent material was lost, and the only parts that remained were its upper body and one arm.

　Weak magical power enveloped them and formed an illusion of Bran's figure.

''Lies, lies!　Why, why, why?

　The earth was falling in tatters from underneath the illusion.

　The collapse of that mad golem was no longer in sight for anyone to see.

'Sis, please, listen to me!　I really can't!　I'm not allowed to do this unless my sister comes to me!

　Bran crawls with only his remaining arms, desperately trying to get closer to Noir to cling to him.

　His drawn face contorts in a flirtatious manner, and he just keeps spouting convenient words incessantly.

　Garnet looked down at it with a mixture of contempt and pain, and took a step forward to finish it off, but Noir stopped it with a hand gesture.

I'm not yet trusted by Gandalf-sama,...... and if this strategy fails, I'll be well modified. This time, I might be turned into a monster like Falcon or Julia .......
............
No!　I don't want to!　So, you know what?　Please, will you come back, sister?　I'll convince Master Gandalf to accept your sister's friends, too!

　It was hard to believe that he was lying.
　It was clearly a heartfelt plea.

　There would no longer be any means left for Bran to do so.
　Perhaps this was the last one of the Mad Golem as well, and there was no next relay point prepared.

'So, so!　I don't want to be a monster!
...... and you tried to kill me for it.
I'm sorry for what I said about killing you!　It was an order!　Kill him or bring him back!　But let's make up like the old days, shall we?　Right?
It's okay ...... because if my position were reversed, I'd probably be doing the same thing ....... But ......

　Noir quietly extended his arm and focused his magic on his hand.

'Still, I don't want to betray you all,'
"......!　Nowaahhhhhh!
I'm sorry, Bran.

　A magic bullet is shot at Blanc, who is in a form of rage.

　The face of the mad golem pops off the face of the mad golem with all the magic letters in the kryptonite, and all functions stop.

　Bran's illusions disappear, and the group of earthen forms that had been stopped also crumble to pieces.

　Noir slowly turned around, a smile on his face as he looked like he was about to cry.

　Surely there was an end in Bran's path where he would be better off dead.

　The fact that you have beaten your own sister to such a hell, even if a third party justifies it, will continue to weigh on Noir's heart.

　I didn't know what to say to her like that.

'............ Luke,'

　Noir wobbled over to me and fell down and buried his face in my chest.

　Then I stifled my voice and let the tears flow.

'I'm sorry ...... please ....... Only now, .......
I know.

　Noir, who was determined to make her own sister an enemy to be defeated.

　All I could do for her was to take the tears to my heart's content.