Third Boundary City. They planned to take a temporary break here, but that wasn't Silas' purpose. His purpose was to meet a certain person. And at the place where they met up, Silas would change his appearance into another person to meet him.


'It's been a while. How have you been?
Yes yes, so what can I do for you?
'Yes. Where do I start?


　They are in an alleyway. There, Silas and ... and Dan were having a conversation. Dan hadn't seen Silas since it happened two years ago. It's surprising that he suddenly contacted me. Dan was guilty of many things. At the time, I was certainly dazzled by the money, but I had a lot of thoughts for him, thinking that Yulia was definitely dead. That said, he'd heard that Silas had erased all the evidence and stuff, so Dan wasn't worried about that. The question was, was there something else........


　Honestly, I don't want to go through that again. Right now, he had some of the money he had received back then. Besides, he's almost at the stage where he could become a soldier.


"...Julia Curtis, but he's coming back alive.
What... wait!　Julia said she's dead!
''Even for us, it's unexpected, but he survived for two years in the twilight and gained power. And that's as good as a special grade anti-magician.
'Oh, no!　How could that be possible!
Do you doubt me?
Ugh....
'Well, I figured you'd say that, so I pulled out the mug shot and the information from the database. Take a look.
Hi.


　Dan then looked through the documents. First of all, he looked at the mug shot, but Dan was sure of it. The hair color and also the face has changed, but there is no doubt that it is Yulia. Besides, I heard that she's currently a student in the Seventh Knot City. What's even more remarkable.......it says that she's ranked 13th in the special class anti-magician pecking order.


''Thirteenth in the rankings of an extra-grade counter-magician?''
''Oh it's still unofficial, but there will be a ceremony in the First Warding City you're heading to from now on where he'll be appointed as a special class anti-magician.



　Dan covers his face with his right hand. It's not that Dan wants to do anything in particular to Yulia, either. It's true that it's not good to have Yulia tell you what happened back then, but...........................but I can't lay hands on her.


　And pink particles streamed in from behind. Dan inhales it decently, and at the same time his consciousness fades away.


'Yulia Curtis, you hate me, don't you?'
No I'm not...
Do you hate it?
Yes.
You want more power than he has, don't you?
Yes.
And the human race is over. Don't you think it's a good idea to be on our side?
This side...?
I'm a demon. I am a demon. The demon attack is about to begin. Then you will arrest him and put him in front of me. Do you understand?
Yes.


　Dan's consciousness is already vague. He wasn't sure what he was saying to himself. Still, there was a thought ruminating in his head.


　I hate Julia. I hate her. Hate. Hate. Hate. I hate. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. And we must act for him. Yes, we must.


'Then I will give you this.
Thank you very much.


　Silas takes out a crystal and holds it out in front of Dan's forehead. The crystal is then embedded in his head.


''........''
No rejection. Very good. Now all that's left is the curse.


　Silas carves a curse, the Curse, on Dan, whose eyes are already unfocused. It is a type of curse, a spell that controls thoughts and actions at will. In order to be sure, Silas carves the curse, Curses, on Dan.


''Good. Then take care of the rest.
Yes.....


　Then Dan's wobbly gait gradually became more solid and he walked on.


'Sounds like it worked.'


　It was Claudia who came out of the shadows. The particle that clouded his consciousness earlier was the magic Claudia used. Just in case, she had also prepared her backup. However, it was originally something that Silas could do alone, but he had a big job ahead of him in the First Boundary City. He didn't want to devote so much effort to it right now.


''Ah. There would be some muddled memories, though. You won't remember most of this exchange either.''
Is that thing still functional?
It's just an experiment. It won't interfere with the plan.
Can humans be born a demon, right? What would you do with the Twilight Syndrome, if you know what it is?
I'm just curious. Don't worry about it.
Hmm.


　Silas and Claudia are working together out of mutual interest, not because they truly trust each other. She doesn't really understand the experiments that Silas sometimes conducts.


　But that's okay. It's a good thing that this is the case, because in just a few short months..........