The operation began. We, the first platoon, were heading to that location, as we were going to hit our target, the underground facility. Dressed in our military uniforms, which were dark blue in color and trimmed in steel, we felt that today had more weight than usual.


　Before the start of the operation, everyone in the first platoon had been on edge, everyone was on edge. No, as I recall, Noah was aloof as usual, but perhaps he was being swallowed by the atmosphere of the place, or perhaps he was reading the air, and just quietly stuck close to his seniors.


　And then the first platoon of us headed to the level 3 of the twilight danger zone. The road from the first base to there. It was as usual, the further we went, the darker the twilight became. The trees around it were also dyed purple-black, as if they had been invaded by the twilight, and their branches stretched out in this red-black sky.


　Plants and trees grow even in this world. Plants are invaded by the twilight, but they are still alive in this world even though they are deformed. As we proceeded with a sideways glance at them, we arrived at our target location.


　I have a complete grasp of the terrain of this area. There must be a vast amount of underground facilities underneath it in terms of the amount of magic element. Our platoon is going to proceed to the underground facility. I had researched this place beforehand and had a general idea of the entrance. I used my Twilight Sight to find the relevant part, and I told Belle-san next to me.


''It's here, Belle-san. Here it is.
I'm sure of it, yeah.


　And so I became the lead, with Belle-san following behind me........ It wasn't just me, the antimagicians here sensed it. There was no need for the peculiar ability of the perception system, Extra. That's right, I can sense it so much that it's unnecessary, and it's filled with a clear hostile will.


　Literally, a killing intent. But that murderous intent is not poured out on us platoons. It was focused on just one person.


''Everyone!　Go!　Quickly!


　I huff and puff at Belle's loud voice, which is rare, or perhaps the first time I've heard it.


　--Belle-san, could it be that you are.........


'I'm sorry, Julia-kun. I asked for everyone.........
Mr. Bell I'll be back to help you once we've destroyed the target.
Yeah but I'm going to kill this guy first so don't worry about it.......................
Okay. Good luck.



　For a moment. During that moment, I was lost. Shouldn't I be the one to cover up here? I thought so, but when I saw Belle's burning eyes, I understood. She's willing to stand alone. And in any case, if they are going to carry out the operation, someone has to stop them and someone has to advance.


　Probably, the demon who is spreading that killing spirit also understood that and lured Belle-san out. What they were seeking was a single combatant. It's as if they don't need other human lives.


　The other demon is probably a high level demon. There are some mages with outstandingly high fighting power among them. It is an existence that no human has ever been able to defeat. Perhaps my sister, Claire, is one of them, but this time it was a completely different individual. The killing air that overflows, and the magic element emits an uncommon pressure. It's as if the deadly air and the magic element were mixed together and then layered on top of each other so that it was worn like a coat.


　To put it bluntly, it's horrifying. Even that Claire wasn't this good. It's not possible to measure an opponent's strength based on the killing spirit and magic element alone. Still, I was worried. The fact that Belle-san was the only one to stand against a higher level demon.


''Julia, are you worried?''
Senpai....


　With Mr. Bell's departure, a senior officer came to replace him next to me. I can't leave him in charge of the vanguard, but I can command him. The arrangements had been made in advance to do this when it came to a pattern like this one. I'm leaving the rear to the other first class anti-magicians and Noah. It seems that Noah's ability is already recognized by his seniors.


''That's a high-level demon.......There's no guarantee that even Belle-san can win. But if I join them, I'm sure........
'But then this platoon will collapse at once. Julia has no choice but to carve out the front line. That's how it's structured. You understand, don't you?
'Yes I do. I believe in Belle-san. Because she's the strongest swordsman in humanity.
Yes. There's no way Belle can lose. Belle has always won. It's no different today.
Yes.


　Talking to my seniors like that calmed me down. That's right. Worrying about her is like saying you don't believe in her. I believe her. I believe that she will be able to defeat that demon. The strongest swordsman in humanity can't be defeated. In that case, we must now focus on the mission at hand.


''........That's strange.
What's going on, Julia?
No I can't see what's going on down there.
But the lights are on, so it should be okay.
''........The Twilight Eye 《Twilight Sight》 is not responding. I can't grab any traces of magic element right now. Is it doing so intentionally........or is it inviting me to do so?　Do you know what I'm capable of?　Even if you know, the information... you don't mean to say what you just said... is there a demon involved?


　Multiple possibilities pass in my brain. Why did the demons come in the first place? Did they know our movements to aim at Belle-san?　Besides, he said that the Ancient Scorpion 《Enchemental Scorpion》 has intelligence and is capable of speaking. So that means that there could be........demons behind it?


Julia, what are you going to do--


　The senior's words were cut off in the middle.


''........Collapse?


　I'm screwed. It was like we were completely set up. The ground begins to collapse and we, the men of the first platoon, are dropped with the debris to the level below. Of course, that's not going to kill us. All of us here are experienced in combat. Even if something were to happen, we have all the members ready for it.


　We were dropped into the basement, which was a large space. When I turned my twilight eyes to it, I sensed that it was just a large space. There's no doubt about it. This personal field and the magic element form is that of the familiar Scorpion. However, it was too different and large. And when I thought I heard a huge earth shaking, the Ancient Scorpion, Ancient Scorpion 《Enchemental Scorpion》 represented its appearance in front of me.


　The whole thing was dyed purple-black, and its huge tail was slithering as if it could reach the heavens. There were also ordinary Scorpions, perhaps subordinates or ordinary Scorpions, creeping around behind us. We quickly got into a fighting stance, but surprisingly, it didn't turn into a battle right away.


''Welcome, humans.''


　The voice that tells you so is low to the ground. It's almost impossible to believe it's a living organism's vocal organ.


"...you are the one who is going to destroy the village of the elves.
"...Exactly. But it will be true. The weak are oppressed by the strong. You understand that better than anyone else, don't you? I'm Julia Curtis.
You seem to be connected to a demon.
'Right. But it doesn't matter now. The moment you enter this realm, your defeat is inevitable. Let the feast begin, shall we not?


　A moment later, all the lights go out.


　--Okay!　


　I immediately raise the output of my Twilight Sight and assess the situation around me. Of course, the antimagicians here are trained to be able to fight even in the dark. That's due to their singular ability 《Extra》, but as expected, they don't anticipate a battle in this situation. A moment later I wondered if the other anti-magicians would be okay....


　I heard a certain person's voice.



''--Pseudo-permanent agency [PMC]


　A moment later, the place is wrapped in a dazzling light.

　I've never seen it before, but this is the Perpetual Motion of Code.

　Noah Beirschmidt's quintessential theory of perpetual motion, which is one of the three most difficult problems to solve. This is the PMC theory (Theory).


　This is how we came to know it. This is the realm of the genius who has mastered the essence of magic.


Come and dance with me.


　The smiling figure is either an angel or a devil... or... or...