"So this is the sanctuary where the magical tools are installed. ......"



　We left the village and came to the foot of Mount Amatsukami, and came to a place called the sanctuary where magical tools were installed.

　The entrance to the sanctuary is more like the entrance to a mine, with a strange shaped red frame half buried in the wall at the entrance.

　I think it is a symbol called Torii, which is built in the sacred places in this country.



"Okay, let's go!"



　We proceed deeper into the tunnels, and not long after, we emerge into a large hall.

　The space was filled with a dense magic power, and a huge magic item was sitting underneath.



"That is the magic item that protects this country from disasters.



　The sheer size of the building made me let out an involuntary squeal.

　The ancient engineers of the East had even built something this big to protect this country.



"Haruomi......"



　Yukinojo's voice brought me back to myself, and I saw two familiar figures beside the magic item.

　It's Haruomi and Majin.



"Ha-ha-ha, you're too late, Yukinojo!



　They were smiling maliciously, and their expressions indicated that the magic item was already under their control.



"Haruomi......"



　Yukinojo-san stepped forward and spoke to Haruomi-san.



"What did you want to take the key from me?



"What ......?　It's a little late for that. Like I told you, I did it for revenge. For the general who abandoned me, for everything that didn't save me. And to make you, who took everything from me, taste despair!"



　Haruomi gives Yukinojo a hateful look.

　It seems that Haruomi's purpose is to take revenge against the country and Yukinojo-san.



"I already have the magic tool at my disposal. For a start, I weakened the power of the grimoire. If you don't stop me soon, there will be disasters all over the country.



Haruomi, how dare you!



"Ha-ha-ha-ha!　Yes. I wanted to see your face!　Your look of astonishment and despair!　But I told you. My name is not Haruomi. It's Haruyoshi!



　As Haruomi held his hand over the magic item, the dense magic power that must have been emitted from the magic item weakened.

　Finally, the light completely disappeared from the magic item, and at the same time, the magic power also faded away.



"Now the magic tool has completely stopped functioning. "Rejoice, Yukinojo! We've been waiting for you, haven't we?　To show you the moment this country will be ruined by an irreversible disaster!"



　As if in response to his words, the ground begins to shake, and with a roar like the cry of a beast, cracks appear in the earth.



"Oh, my God!"



　The shaking gradually became louder and louder, and pieces of earth and stones began to fall from the ceiling.



"Hey, we're going to be buried alive if we don't do something!



　It seems that the inside of the sanctuary was more fragile than we had expected, and it might collapse just as Liliela said.



"Activate the magical tools immediately, Haruomi!　If we don't do something about it, we'll all fall together!　Besides, once the grimoire is buried, it can't be activated again!　If that happens, you won't be able to use magical tools to rule this country!"



　Yukinojo is right. If he can no longer control the magic item, he will not be able to use it to subdue people, and even his own life will be in danger.



"I don't take orders from you!　The only people who will be bothered by that are you."



What?



The grimoire is designed to listen to my commands no matter where I am. That means that once the grimoire is buried, even if you kill me, you won't be able to make a contract to become the new master!　And with disasters constantly hitting us, even if we dig up the sanctuary, it will only end up falling down again due to disaster!　How many years will it take to reach the grimoire?　How many of our people do you think will die before then?"



　The demon grins at Haruomi's words.

　It seems that the demon put you up to this.

　That's just what the demon said. I don't know if that's true or not.

　Then this is the place to be. ......



"You take people hostage, are you still a warrior?



It was that warrior who put me in this position!　Now, if you don't want to make any more sacrifices to your people, get on your knees and beg for your life ......."



　But I invoke the magic without hearing a word until the end.



"Grand Callum!"



Mwah!"""



　Haruomi and the others, who thought they had been attacked, brace themselves, but are puzzled by the fact that nothing happens.

　Yes, nothing is happening.






"The earthquake was quelled by my magic. So much for your ambitions!



""...... What the hell?"""





　Yukinojo.



Huh?



"Bah, idiot!　You stop a disaster with a human body?　And by magic?　That's impossible!"



　Haruomi and the others are astonished when they are told that the disaster that was supposed to happen has been quelled by Lex's magic.

　I know, I was surprised too.

　But thanks to you, I can take on the battle with peace of mind.



"Well, that's the end of your ambitions!　Now, get down and get caught!"



　As Mina and the others ready their weapons, Haruomi also takes up his sword.



Wait, Mina!



　But I stop Mina and the others.



Yukinojo?



"Please, let me take care of Haruomi."



　Yes, I must settle the matter with Haruomi.

　This is my mission as a member of the Shogun's family.



"...... You will take full responsibility, won't you?"



　Mina hesitated slightly when she heard my request, but in the end she accepted it without asking any questions.

　What a good woman she is!

　She was unafraid to express her opinions to me, the son of a general, and was considerate enough to stand up for me at times.

　I must have been attracted to her.



"...... thank you."



　But now is the time of battle, and we cannot afford to be distracted by unnecessary things.

　Quickly switching his attention, he thrust his sword, which had lost its tsubasa, at Haruomi.



"Haruomi!　Duel!"



"What?"



　Haruomi frowns as he is suddenly challenged to a duel in the midst of his agitation.



"Duel me, Haruomi."



"You, what are you ...... saying?"



"You hate me, don't you?　Then don't rely on magical tools, fight me directly!　Fight and show them that you stand for what you believe in!"



　It's a gamble.

　To awaken Haruomi's heart by fighting him one-on-one!



"You've never beaten me before. ...... that's fine. I'll take you up on that challenge."



　He's on board!　I knew Haruomi was a warrior too!



"If I win, you will return the key to the grimoire!　If you win, you can do with my life or the Shogun's position as you please!"



"You say that!　I will make you regret those words!"



　Haruomi smiles ferociously.

　His face was filled with joy at being able to defeat me by sheer force.

　But it won't come to that!



"I will kill Yukinojo, demon. I'll kill Yukinojo. If that boy in particular dies, we'll have no way to contain the disaster!



　Haruomi also told the demon that he would not be harmed, and drew his sword to face him.

　But the battle never began.



"...... No, there is no need for that."



"What?"



　It was the demon who spoke the words.



"Even if you don't take them seriously, this way I'm sure to win!"



　With these words, the magician held up a small jewel in his hand, which emitted a strong light.



"No!"



　Lex sees this and makes an unusually impatient sound.

　At the same time, explosions erupt one after another from the magical tools.



"What?






"I'm hit!　They were installing disposable blasting magic items on magic items!"



"Exactly!　Did you think I was just waiting for you guys to come along and do nothing?　They were setting up magic items to blow up for this chance!　No matter how good your defenses are against external enemies, there is no way to protect yourself once they stop working!"



　The destruction caused by the demons was so great that the magical tools were destroyed without a trace.



"Ah!　The magic item!"



　Oh, my God!　The great magical tools that have protected our country ......



"What are you ...... doing?



　Haruomi was about to shout in anger when a black iron arm pierced his stomach.



"Haruomi!



　Haruomi's body was pierced by the demon, and he convulsed while spewing bright red blood.



"Kahah!"



"Ha-ha-ha-ha!　As long as the magical tools are destroyed, the disaster can no longer be stopped!　Kid, your magic amazes me, but even with your out-of-the-box magic, it can only contain disasters for a time, right?　It should be impossible to quell disasters forever!　That's why the people of this country have created such huge magic items!"



　◆



　Oh, my God. The demon betrayed Haruomi and even destroyed the magic item.

　So the demon's goal from the beginning was not to take away the magic item but to destroy it!



"Anta!　Haruomi, you're one of us!"



　Mina-san is angry at the demon, but the demon is having none of it.

　He seemed to be amused by Mina's anger.



"Yes, that's right. It was worth going to all the trouble of tricking someone related to the Shogun's family in order to neutralize the wards of this place and to gain control of the magic items.



"Entrapped?　What ...... does that mean?"



"Perhaps it was the Togo family that revolted ......!"



"You guessed it. That's right, I'm the one who brought the magic item into the Togo clan!"



"What?　The Togo family's rebellion is a ruse by the demoniacs?



　I knew it. I knew it.

　The Togo family had been winning the political battles in such a favorable situation. There was no reason for them to rebel.



"Then, they took advantage of the time when the Shogun's son was born, and passed the information to the Bakufu. Thanks to this, the Shogun thought that the Togo family was in rebellion and destroyed them. Leaving only one son."



"Hey, you're the one who's trying to ...... my family?"



　Haruomi's face contorts in surprise when he is told the shocking truth.



"That's right. And more to the point, it was my idea to have you forced into that house. You've grown up with a good deal of resentment toward the world thanks to me. So much so that you're willing to join forces with me, the enemy of mankind!"



"Gaijin ......!"



　Mr. Megli's face contorts in disgust, unable to hide his displeasure.



"Ha-ha-ha!　But I kept my promise. I kept my promise to help destroy this country!"



　The demon pulls out the hand that pierced his stomach, and Haruomi falls to the ground with a thud.



"You!"



"Oops."



　Liliela and Megli cut at the demon, and the demon backs away with a light, mocking gesture.



"Haruomi!　Pull yourself together, Haruomi!"



　Yukinojo clings to the fallen Haruomi.



"I'll heal you!"



　Mr. Norbu comes to his senses and hurries to treat Haruomi.



"d*mn, the wound is deep!　But it will be me!



　I'd love to help you heal too, but ...... I have more important things to do right now.



"Guys, I'll fix the magic items, you take care of the mages!　Mr. Norb, this potion will aid in the healing process!"



I got it!



"Yeah, I'm gonna blow you to bits!"






I will not tolerate betrayal of my people.



Thank you, Mr. Lex!



　Everyone who receives my instructions stands between me and the demon.



"Repairing a magic item?　I won't let you do that!



　The witch concentrated her usual reddish-black magic light in her hand, but before she could do so, Mina's magic exploded.



"I won't let you get in my way!　Lightning Bunker!"



　That's the magic I taught you just the other day.

　The high density of magic power can easily penetrate even a demon's body!



"Phew."



　However, the demon does not show any sign of avoiding Mina's magic and takes it in its body.

　A moment later, the chest of the demon's armor opens to reveal a huge red eyeball.



"That's it!"



　And when the magic hits the eerie eyeball, it is sucked straight into the eyeball.　



"What?　Magic!



"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"



　The magician laughs with amusement.



"Surprised, human!　This is the power of my lost items!"



"Don't tell me he's got lost items all over his body, too?



"That's right!　I watched you and your men fight to defeat your own people!　This is a sealing device that will neutralize your magic!"



"Demon sealing equipment?



"Ha-ha-ha-ha!　Once the magic is blocked, humans are nothing more than fragile lumps of flesh!　But I am not as careless as my people. I will use the Lost Item to strengthen my body to the limit, and I will make sure that you will be destroyed!"



"Well, now it's our turn!　There, there, there, there, there, there, there!



　No! The Fiend is trying to block all our magic and round us up!

　If a powerful demon strengthens his body with the power of magic items, he's quite a threat.

　I have to repair the magic item and join the fight!



"But the magic item is damaged so badly, it will take a long time to repair it."



　The location of the blasted magic item placed by the magician was quite disgusting, and it had destroyed an important part of the magic item precisely.



"We don't have the blueprints, so it's impossible to repair it. Then we'll have to build it from scratch, but we don't have time for that."



　If the disaster continues to spread, the country will be ruined first.

　My magic is still calming the land, but as the witch said, this magic is only for emergency evacuation and won't last long.



"Then ......!"



　I willingly change the direction of my work.



"If a complete repair is impossible, I will divert the remnants of this magic item and create a magic item that will temporarily calm the land!　This will keep them for a few days, so we should be able to afford to defeat the demons and repair them again with Teijin during that time!　What's more, it won't take much time to create the formula!"



　Immediately, the necessary materials are removed from the magic bag and processed.

　He then proceeds to carve the formula while cutting the parts at the same time.

　The work is a little rough, but that can be fixed later.



"Okay, now all I need to do is to set up the formula here, and ...... is complete!　Move it!"



　The magic item that has been modified, not repaired, is activated with magical power.

　The magic item emitted a dull glow, and as soon as the exposed circuitry began to move, the tremors in the tunnel subsided.



"Okay, we've got it!　All that's left is to ...... the witch, huh?"



　I was about to rush to the aid of the others, but my eyes widened at the unexpected scene that was unfolding there.