In the center of the dimly lit room floated a large crystal about two meters in diameter. Around the crystal, which glowed blue-white, a number of magic bands were slowly spinning.



　In a corner of the room, where ancient letters were painted all over the walls, floor, and ceiling, "she" was crouching on her knees. On her back, only one of her wings is black.



　She is Mercumenes, a pure demon born from a demon god.



　She is broken.

　Her mission is to achieve the resurrection of Luciphila alive.

　However, when she saw the existence of a being equal to a "god", she specialized in survival, and her function to < went out of control, and she almost lost the goal of resurrecting the Demon God.



　She should have hidden herself in a faraway place, but her precious goal prevented her from doing so. She could not leave her kingdom (this place) if she wanted to revive the demons.



　Mercumenes fled here only to .



　He arrived here because he is a demon who specializes in survival. It is a realm that not even the Princess Flash can reach.



　We have taken control.

　By transferring her own magical power in addition to the veins of the earth, she can create and deploy powerful demons. I knew it would be pointless against the man, but I decided it would be enough to buy time.



　No, he will never come here.



"Yes, he is. What would such a man want with rotting ruins? ......"



　Her broken thoughts continued to conveniently deny the worst. The result was...



　



　A horrible feeling of dread ran down her back as she curled up in the corner of the room.

　The ruins detect the intruder. She looked up, and saw a square screen appear next to the large crystal, showing the scene outside.



　There was a girl in a pink, frilly outfit, a girl dressed as a man, and a boy with black hair.

　They were looking off at the carriage and talking to each other,



"Wha--?"



　The girl waved a strange stick around, and suddenly what appeared to be a door appeared.



　No sound or magic power was transmitted, only images. But it was clear that she was using magic.



　Creation magic?　No, that's impossible. Then is it storage magic?　It too is long lost and ancient magic of the highest degree of difficulty. Then what did the girl do?



"No, no. The magic was wielded by that dark-haired ......"



　This mighty and disastrous magic power that I can feel from afar not through images but because my senses are sharpened.



　I know it.

　This is definitely the <>'s.



　Then that boy is Shiva. Why is he here?



"Have you been following me, ......?"



　Mercumenes was gripped by fear.

　Impatient to do something, he sent in the Huge Rock Eater. He did not have time to make any adjustments, so he sent it at its maximum strength...



"A blow, you say ......?"



　A single magic shell fired from a strange weapon silenced the Huge Rock Eater.

　They then unleashed a number of Wandering Knights on the ground floor of the temple, but they too were wiped out without a second thought.



"What, ......?　What is he doing here ......?"



　Inexplicable that he has a girl and a girl who are several hundred steps behind him. He himself does not look like a .



　I do not know his purpose.

　Even if I wanted to know, I'd be too afraid to get close enough to find out.



"Is he after me, ......?"



　The horrifying imagination, however, was not something to be shaken off. There is only one way out of these ruins. If he could get lost in the labyrinth, he would have an opening, but he would eventually run into someone who was going precisely to the lower floors.



"The objective...... is right. First we have to know what he wants ......."



　Mercumenes, ruled by his obsession, pummels powerful demons without regard for his own remaining magical power.

　Observing his facial expressions and the movements of his mouth, he finally got a clue.



"Are you looking for something, ......?"



　If we get it, will he walk away unaware of our presence?



　But I don't know what it is.



　What could a man as powerful as he is want in such a decaying ruin?



　They began to eat carefree.

　They started cooking from ingredients even though they were in a dungeon, and they set up a stone oven to cook pizzas.

　The boy and the girl acted as if it was a matter of course, while the girl in men's clothes seemed to be dumbfounded or indifferent.



　Their rapid progress did not end after the meal.



　At first they were cautious, as if they were watching, but now the moment they met, the boy was sending magic bullets from his strange weapon to obliterate the demons.



　To put it in a colloquial way, he looks like a real pain in the ass.



　We can no longer pretend to be anything else.

　Mercumenes just poured his magical power into the great crystal, hoping that it would hold him back, if only for a moment.



　But they easily reached the twentieth level underground.

　A third of the way to the deepest level.



　I can't do it anymore. No matter what we do... it's all for naught. At that pace they'll reach the control room by noon tomorrow.



　Just after she had given up, resignation had overtaken her.






"......?　Also, that door is ......?"



　The boy constructed what appeared to be a door (as the girl had done).



　He opens the door and the three go through it.

　When it slammed shut, the three disappeared, including the boy.



"Transference, is it magic or ......?"



　It is quite different from what Mercumenes knows, but it is a good guess, given the circumstances.



　If so, she should be able to escape from the ruins at this moment.



　But she had no more magic left in her.