Published at 25th of March 2019 10:11 pm

Volume 7 Chapter 4 - The Only Darkness in the World (Part 1-4)

Part 1

There were still some unanswered questions, but Lotte was mostly convinced.

During the war with Yamato, the disruption maneuvering to cause friction inside the academy by noticing the academy of the damage the spy caused in real time—the only student who could do that was Yumeno Shiori. That was because she was permitted to carry her own mobile phone even during the war as the chairman of the newspaper committee.

And then no matter how much information the Student Council scattered as bait to lure out the spy, the spy didn’t do any tailing or espionage at all―that was because Yumeno Shiori was in the position where she could obtain information even without doing any of that. Even without doing any eavesdropping, she was boldly participating in their meeting. And she was recording all of it in the meeting’s minutes.

If they thought about it accurately with logic, there was no way they wouldn’t direct their suspicion to Yumeno Shiori.

There, Lotte proposed to Kazuki not to speak out about the important information in the meeting and kept it for himself.

It was a bait with the assumption that the spy was inside the Student Council.

As expected, this time the girl took the bait.

Catching her like this right in the scene of the crime, the suspicion on the girl had become something unshakeable.

However, several doubts were still left.

First, in the case of the battle election, Yumeno Shiori was brainwashed by Hayashi Shizuka and made to become candidate as a pawn. Hayashi Shizuka should be informed about the spy inside the academy. It was really unnatural to further overwrite someone who was already a spy with brainwashing magic.

The next doubt was how Yumeno Shiori was always visibly striving to search for the spy seriously. There was not even a single lie that could be seen from that seriousness of hers.

Furthermore, Kazuki felt his bond with Yumeno Shiori, he could sense that positivity level of hers. That ability of Kazuki should be something unusable toward someone hostile to him.

The last and the most questionable fact was, the fact that all the information necessary for the sake of concluding that [Yumeno Shiori is suspicious] were all information gathered by Yumeno Shiori herself.

The one who investigated the information that a spy’s disruptive maneuvering was being conducted in the Knight Academy and came to report it to the Student Council was herself.

The one who presented the good idea to lay trap for the sake of cornering the spy was also the girl. Exactly because this tactic didn’t succeed that they were led into the conjecture that the perpetrator was an inside man.

She thoroughly investigated and interviewed one by one all the participants of the quest and she even reported that somehow all of them were undoubtedly innocent. It was information that made them excessively question about the existence of an inside man.

It was all nonsensical actions for a spy.

Lotte couldn’t see it as anything other than she was cornering herself.

Because there was such a doubt, that Kazuki was thinking that he didn’t want to doubt Yumeno Shiori.

Lotte perceived that pain in Kazuki’s heart by her Telepathy.

That was why Lotte moved as the substitute in trying to corner Yumeno Shiori to the wall.

Kazuki-oniisan was always taking the initiative to shoulder everyone’s suffering for them.

That’s why I too, if I don’t undertake the most painful thing for Kazuki-oniisan…

Doubting other people―that was surely something Hayashizaki Kazuki was the weakest at doing. But.

Doubting other people―that was something Charlotte Liebenfrau was the best at doing. It was something like a natural habit for her.

Lotte tailed the girl. The sounds of Lotte’s footsteps, even the sounds of the door to the Student Council room opening and Lotte entering inside too, Yumeno Shiori didn’t hear any of those at all.

That technique was something that Lotte also learned and mastered from Kazuha-senpai.

“You are the spy from Yamato right desu, Yumeno-oneesan.”

Lotte threw her voice to the girl was because she thought that she had a ground to talk to each other with the girl.

She might be able to persuade her.

There might be some kind of special circumstance that befell the girl.

But those thoughts were betrayed.

“Hi, hihi”

From Yumeno Shiori’s mouth, laughing voice like a spasm leaked out.

“Human that saw me, has to be killed.”

A calm tone of voice. It stimulated an instinctive unpleasant feeling, making Lotte get goosebumps all over her body.

This person…something is strange with her!!

“Shem ha MeforashI know thy name…thy name is [Halphas]…the bird of black death that invite wars. Spread the wing of lamentation, please sing the beginning of calamity!”

Yumeno Shiori’s body was wrapped in the light of Astrum ConnectionAccess.

At her back, an avatar of jet black giant bird emerged out with its wings widely spread out.

The demon of Solomon 72 Pillar, Halphas―the demon bird that acts as the opposite of Phoenix.

In contrast with Phoenix that symbolized death and rebirth that was [life’s turning point], Halphas symbolized the beginning and the end of war that was [the era’s turning point].

The uniform that was on Yumeno Shiori’s body was disintegrating into Prima Material. Bluish black flames ran across that naked body. The bluish black flame hardened and transformed into a Magic Dress.

“…Kill.”

Both eyes filled to the brim with cold light like a reptile’s, staring at Lotte glaringly.

“Veritas me LiberabitThe truth shall set me free…O the wise man that is the father and which is the guardian of the human race, show that wisdom right here!!”

Lotte performed Access and enveloped her body in Magic Dress.

“The person who knows…I’ll kill all, all of them!”

It was a voice as if the throat was tearing apart that had never been heard before from the docile girl called Yumeno Shiori. Things like talking to each other, or asking for her circumstance, that kind of easygoing thoughts were all blown away to a different dimension in one go from Lotte’s head.

―At the same time their surrounding air was frozen.

It was an advanced general magic. A thin and wide Psychokinesis was suppressing the air in their surrounding zone so that they wouldn’t vibrate. A magic for the sake of not letting out the sound leak outside.

Right now, even if Yumeno Shiori fired offensive magic and destroyed the school building, surely the sounds of that wouldn’t be transmitted to outside.

Right now, even if Lotte screamed with a loud voice, surely that voice of hers wouldn’t be transmitted.

…The girl seriously planned to fight right here!

For the sake of not letting the witness return back alive!!

“…The scattering of the spread apart wings is filth. Trail behind spiraling wind, become the mind gouging bullet! Flap and shoot out! Spiral of DarknessBlack Barrett!!”

Yumeno Shiori turned to Lotte and thrust her palm forward.

From there *DON! DON!* multiple shots of black light bullet were shot out.

“O piling up wisdom in human race’s history, become the shell that armor my body in many layers! Heavily, thickly, reject all act of brutality! Seusenhofer!!”

Lotte quickly cast a defensive magic. A thick and heavy metal armor was installed on Lotte’s simple white Magic Dress.

The armor that guarded Lotte blocked the black bullets one after another.

The bullets of black light were bird feathers wrapped in black flame. Although the feathers pierced the armor for sure, they were not so powerful that they could penetrate through.

But the feathers that pierced the armor burst into flame and spread black firelight. Those tips of flame touch Lotte’s skin slightly from the gap between the armor.

Defensive magic power protected Lotte’s skin from the black flame. But in that instant, something like a pitch black poison flowed into Lotte’s mind from the defensive magic power as if it was a conductor of magic power!

It was a discomfort without comparison. As if the surface of her brain tissue was scorched…!

What this black flame emitted was not heat! A black flame that scorches the mind!

“Black Barrett!”

Yumeno Shiori launched further black bullets in rapid-fire. In order to not have those bullets touch her skin for even a little, Lotte had to block it with her armor carefully. But while she could block several of the feathers, the flame began to run through the crack of the armor.

Lotte rammed the door from her back and she escaped to the corridor by destroying the door.

Just like that she ran through the dark corridor like a startled hare.

Like a hunter, Yumeno Shiori chased her in order to bring her down with certainly.

Lotte turned back and cast her magic.

“Howl! The civilization grant destruction to human! The roar of wisdom scorch and break thy body, shut that dignity under the rubble!! Mitrailleuse!”

Prometheus’s level 1 magic―a huge gatling gun was formed on Lotte’s right arm where she aimed that to the pursuing Yumeno Shiori and scattered bullets everywhere.

However, even while her defensive magic power shone from the damage, Yumeno Shiori came pursuing Lotte without paying any heed to the bullets. The girl was excelling in Resist!

“You won’t get away! …I’ll kill you to accomplish my duty!! I’ll kill you so I can live!!”

Duty. She put an abnormal tenacity regarding that word.

As if that word was changing Yumeno Shiori into a different person.

“Come from the darkness, o jet black invaders…with desire and violence, wash away the repose of the world! Let’s announce the beginning of the war with thy all’s baby’s cry! Born Children of InvasionBirth From Dark!!”

On Yumeno Shiori’s back, the avatar of the giant black bird spread its wings widely.

From those wings, several dozens of black feathers shot out. The feathers flew evading Lotte and pierced the floor right on Lotte’s path, right beside her left and right, and right behind her.

The black feathers that pierced the floor surrounding Lotte disintegrated like mud and just when she thought that the feather had melted, those black lumps swelled up and turned into humanoid in the blink of eye.

The black silhouettes were slimy and began to be wrapped in a metallic luster, a thin and long something elongated from their hand, transforming into the shape of grasped sword.

The black feathers transformed into the appearance of jet black swordsmen wearing black sword and armor on their body, surrounding Lotte from all direction.

Lotte’s legs stopped. The dark knights assaulted her from the front and rear, left and right of the cramped corridor. She couldn’t hold them back with this gatling gun.

The swords swung down from the four directions easily smashed Lotte’s cracked armor!

“…O the guardian of human race, the wisdom for the sake of opposing the tyrannical will of god right here…Interception ArmamentCustom Liberion!”

Prometheus’s level 6 magic―this magic had never been tested in a real battle yet since she became able to use it.

Angular shaped armors were supplemented on Lotte’s four limbs and her back. The armor was not there just for the sake of protecting the body, countless small-type thruster units were lining up on each of them. Those thrusters responded to Lotte’s will and spouted out flames in one go.

Lotte’s small body instantly accelerated and flew off.

That was not a straightforward acceleration―By shifting her arms and legs freely, the countless thruster units were movable to every direction and it was possible for Lotte to accelerate・stay still・change direction in every kind of way.

Lotte flapped her arms and legs like swimming while receiving magical follow-up of mechanics calculation. She instantly slipped past through the gap of the black knights using zigzag and complicated high speed maneuver.

*GAKON!* The black knights crashed into each other.

Lotte withdrew to the sky and after rotating in the air with a twirl she instantly moved in to counterattack. [Interception ArmamentCustom Liberion] was exactly as the name suggest, it was not only for evading the opponent’s attack but it possessed the function to counterattack as it was.

“Prometheus, tear to piecesdo schneiden!!”

Lotte’s armored leg that dashed through the sky lost the function to run on the ground. In exchange the great length of armors that lengthened out from both her legs were equipped with sharp blades. Propellers were lining up crowdedly on the back side of the blade, spouting out flames. Lotte brandished both of her legs that had been changed into a blade like a ballerina and bisected the nearest knight of darkness thoroughly.

“Prometheus, Fire!!”

While there were shields on both her arms, simultaneously it was also built with gatling guns of larger caliber. Bullets of atrocity were fired while whirling apart gunfire smoke and bullet cartridges, demolishing the knight of darkness that was in the far range. The knight couldn’t even be called a swiss cheese anymore, there was no trace remaining of it.

At the same time when Lotte escaped from her predicament instantly, the opponents were annihilated.

But at that time Lotte had averted her awareness from Yumeno Shiori herself.

“Hi, hihihihi-! DIEEE-!!”

Hearing that scream, Lotte noticed the girl’s closeness.

The girl kicked the floor without even any sound and ran approaching Lotte closer. She dashed to Lotte’s blind spot with fierce speed, it was a physical ability that had been trained.

In the Magic Division, the Magika Stigmas weren’t supposed to have the training to use their body this skillfully.

Three streaks of light reached out directly from that right hand―claws.

“Carve your curse, Darkness Monkey! Draw Claw Release Soul, Grudge Mantra Evil ReleaseYamizaru! Bassou Kaikon, Onmyou Madatsu !”

―Sacred Treasure!

Without even any time of being vigilant of its effect, the gap of Lotte’s armor on her right arm was torn apart.

The defensive magic power was smashed and dust of lights scattered.

The effect of the Sacred Treasure became obvious immediately. The scar of the defensive magic power that was torn apart by the claws, originally new magic power should be flowing into it and closed the scar.

But that natural recovery action absolutely didn’t occur. The new magic power couldn’t flow into the scar of the defensive magic power. As if a wound was infected, like it was being cursed.

Yumeno Shiori once again swung her claws―aiming for the scar on the defensive magic power that was still in a gouged state. The location that was torn apart on Lotte’s body was the inside of her right elbow. There was a large artery running through there!

She planned to inflict fatal damage by slashing the flesh directly through the wound of the defensive magic power.

Lotte was driven by terror, she backed away using all of her thruster units and escaped from the opponent’s range. Yumeno Shiori’s attack hit empty air. But,

“Swept away by the wave of oblivion sink into darkness…Apparation Bewildering DreamYouwakumu!”

Yumeno Shiori cast magic even more just like that almost without chanting.

Behind Yumeno Shiori, different from Halphas, an avatar of a weird four-legged animal emerged out. A face that had a nose like an elephant, a short and stout body like a small bear, and legs that developed like tiger’s muscle.

Lotte didn’t understand its true identity.

This is…Possession Summoning! A human that made Stigma contract with Solomon 72 Pillar was even further possessed by a different Diva…? Impossible!

But in the reality, the impossible to avoid effect of that magic struck Lotte.

A powerful sleepiness overwhelmed Lotte’s brain like a surging wave. Her consciousness was entwined right away and she was going to get carried away to the far off beyond. The inside of her head was vanished in pure white.

Lotte immediately maintained her consciousness with Mind MasteryTrance magic. She barely avoided falling asleep, but in spite of being in the middle of battle, her concentration to her magic power was disturbed in pieces.

Lotte was in the middle of accelerating backward by controlling her magic power to operate the thruster units on her whole body. With her consciousness disturbed in the middle of that, the thruster units on her whole body ran wild to wrong directions. A precise magic power control was indispensable for this armament that dashed through the sky by operating countless thruster units.

Her arms and legs turned to completely different directions and all of them were pulled in rampage by their respective thruster units…In no time at all Lotte couldn’t maintain her altitude and crashed on the corridor. Even so the thruster units continued to spout flames and her whole body was shaken *GAKUGAKU* while sliding through the corridor. Lotte writhed on the floor like a bug whose wings and feelers were plucked off.

Had something happened, her head was in chaos.

She immediately tried to call for help and raised a scream.

But the air was frozen. The vibration of her yelling voice was not transmitted to the outside at all.

*ZUGAN!* Lotte crashed into a collision with the corridor and finally her thruster units came to a halt. But while she couldn’t stand up from the impact, Yumeno Shiori was slowly approaching her in a walk.

That right arm was directed to Lotte and it was swung.

Something came flying aiming for her face.

Lotte who was just barely keeping her consciousness reinforced her sight with magic power and she ascertained the true identity of the thing that came flying at her. A weight connected with chain―China’s hidden weapon, weighted chain.

Lotte barely averted her neck from the weighted chain that was aiming for her face.

“Carry the soul of dragon, Falling Star Spindle!Draw Throw Release Soul, Flying Dragon Binding ChainRyuuseisui! Battou Kaikon, Hiryuu Bakusa!”

The chain’s weight that passed through the side of Lotte’s face expanded several times thicker. At the same time behind her the weight made a curve and the thick chain was twirling and wrapping around Lotte. …This was also a Sacred Treasure!

The weighted chain that could move unrestricted and turned bigger twined around Lotte, then for the last the chain pierced the floor and made Lotte completely fixed in place.

Lotte fought using the armaments installed on her limbs. That was to say if her limbs were restricted, she had no method of attacking.

Checkmate.

“Hi, hihi…”

Yumeno Shiori made an eerie laugh while closing the distance between her and Lotte who was at her wit’s end.

The dreadful claws were equipped on that right arm.

It was completely like a giant mantis was sidling up near Lotte.

“You are going to die here. Your corpse will melt like mud with the black flame, nobody will find you anymore. You are going to be alone eternally. Hi, hihi.”

Yumeno Shiroi’s tone was like her personality had undergone a complete change. She was going to be killed.

Lotte’s body that was restrained by the chain was trembling *gatagata*.

It was a completely unexpected situation. Even in the case that Yumeno Shiori was the spy, she had never thought that it would turn into a battle immediately without talking about it first like this. She had never thought that Yumeno Shiori was an existence this dangerous.

She had never thought that she was this strong.

Only a few minutes had passed since she called out to her…a few minutes that was completely like a nightmare.

She was going to be killed, she was going to be killed…her head was completely filled with just that thought persistently. She grew pale.

Lotte thought that it was surprising that she would feel this much terror toward death.

…I, even though I should have been already thinking that someone like me had been marked for dead from the start already. Just to be able to live until now is a godsend already…even though I should have been thinking like that already all along…

Unexpectedly, she was feeling an attachment to life. She was thinking "I don’t want to die".

Yumeno Shiori was slowly approaching. Tears welled up in Lotte’s eyes, blurring the figure of the death god.

In this slight extension of time…what next came up in her mind after the terror was, doubt.

Summoning Magic, Possession Summoning, close quarter combat using Sacred Treasure―A [combat machine] that used all of those skillfully.

…What is the meaning of this?

For other Diva to possess that body when she had already contracted with another Diva, such thing should be impossible to do. It was surpassing human’s capacity.

Relationship with Diva should be deeply entwined to the contractor’s personality.

Doing contract or doing possession, one personality couldn’t tie a relationship except with just one Diva.

One personality was for one Diva. The appearance of Yumeno Shiori right now, was completely like a different person…

Lotte who couldn’t even move any of her hands or legs attempted to Telepathy with Yumeno Shiori’s mind for the last time.

A blue magic power light was pulled like a connecting string between Lotte and Yumeno Shiori.

Yumeno Shiori’s [mental information] was flowing inside Lotte’s heart.

Lotte opened her eyes wide in shock.

Even though it was Lotte, that didn’t mean that she could understand everything about the other person’s heart.

But just by sensing the surface of the current Yumeno Shiori’s mind slightly, she got a hunch of that fact.

Lotte understood the truth. But, Yumeno Shiori finally stood still right in front of Lotte and raised up her claws. Not good, she was going to get killed…!

―That there was someone running towards them, both Lotte and Yumeno Shiori too didn’t notice until the last second.

That was because the air was frozen and the state where sound from afar didn’t transmit was maintained.

Silver light cut through between them diagonally, the claws that was going to swing down was repelled.

Noticing that person ahead, Lotte spontaneously yelled.

“…Kazuki-oniisan!”

Part 2

While letting loose an Iai draw, Kazuki released a sigh of relief from his heart.

I’m glad that I barely managed to arrive in time! That was dangerous just now…!

*GIN!* Along with such sound, the claws that was aiming at Lotte was repelled away and Yumeno-san’s body staggered.

Lotte’s calling voice before this had by no means reached Kazuki.

However they were connected with their bond.

Kazuki was busy during these two days. Everyday after school he was always discussing about the advance troop unit to the Fuji’s Sea of Trees with just Kaguya-senpai alone.

Inevitably, his chance to make contact with everyone else of the Witch’s Mansion became fewer.

Even so Kazuki sensed with the [Power of King] how Lotte, after school was over, didn’t come home until late while moving around inside the school building, and he became concerned.

Because of that the instant Lotte wished for help―her calling voice didn’t reach him at all but―the three dimensional coordinates vision that emerged out from the Power of King, inside it the light that denoted Lotte’s location got stronger noticeably where he was able to notice it.

Lotte’ feelings that sought for Kazuki grew stronger and the light also became bigger.

Kazuki immediately leaped out from his room and ran to the direction of Lotte’s whereabout.

The time period of late night. …From all of these he could immediately guess what kind of situation Lotte was in.

“Kazuki-oniisan!”

The surrounding air was frozen and no sound could leak out, but when he leaped right in the midst of these two’s conflict the voice became audible. Kazuki’s figure that cut between the two recovered Lotte’s hope and she raised a delighted voice.

“!?” Having her right arm repelled by a katana, Yumeno-san who backed off totteringly opened her eyes wide at Kazuki’s figure. An instant of silence.

Kazuki took a step forward while chanting his spell and reversed his drawn sword into a diagonal downswing.

*ZAN-* Yumeno-san was further blown away backward from the backlash of the defensive magic power.

At the same time he cast his magic.

“I am the shaman of sword…rock cleave, root tore, sin sever, right now that virtuous sword of crushing evil in his hand! Draw sword, Futsu no Mitama!!”

Kazuki gripped his beloved sword [Doufuu] in his right hand while creating the Sacred Treasure that cut apart magic power in his left hand. Swinging the [Futsu no Mitama] in his left hand, he bisected the chain that tied Lotte in one slash.

From the time when Lotte called out Kazuki’s name until now, only a single breath had passed.

Lotte who became free hid behind Kazuki’s back as if escaping. Kazuki stood in order to cover for Lotte and faced Yumeno-san while taking the stance of two-sword style.

―But rather than covering for Lotte, perhaps they should take the positioning for a pincer attack instead.

With a glance, Kazuki became aware of his decision’s miss.

Yumeno-san who was separated in a distance from being repelled wasn’t looking at Kazuki and Lotte anymore.

The girl directed her eyes to the glass window and jumped there without hesitation.

*BARIN!* The girl broke through the glass window forcefully.

Escape. …But for the current Yumeno-san, where did she have a place to escape?

For an instant Kazuki hesitated to give a chase. He wanted to make sure of Lotte’s well-being who was visibly frightened in terror, as expected it was because of the turmoil from Yumeno-san being the opponent.

He had faith on her.

Not with logic but emotion, but he wanted to talk with Lotte regarding Yumeno-san.

He wanted Lotte to say that there was some kind of misunderstanding.

Kazuki sheathed the katana in his right hand and vanished away the [Futsu no Mitama] in his left hand. Lotte too released her Magic Dress and returned to her uniform appearance, then she slumped and fell to her knees in that place from exhausting her magic power and being released from her nervousness.

“Kazuki-oniisan…there is no mistake about this desu.”

“Aah, I know. It was correct for Lotte to doubt her. It was the mistake of me that didn’t want to believe that.”

“That’s not it, both I who suspect Yumeno-oneesan as the perpetrator, and also Kazuki-oniisan who believed Yumeno-oneesan, both of us are not wrong desu.”

“…Lotte?” Kazuki questioned whether Lotte’s feeling was still being surprised and stunned.

However after Lotte shook her head left and right, she talked with a confident tone that had no doubt.

“―Yumeno-oneesan had a split personality desu.”

“What do you mean by that, can you give me an explanation?”

Kazuki took the completely tired Lotte back to her own room and sat with her side by side on the bed before asking. Lotte inclined her head with a nod and opened her mouth.

“Yumeno-oneesan attacked me using both Summoning Magic by means of her stigma with Solomon 72 Pillar, and a Possession SummoningDrive with a mysterious Diva.”

That it was something originally impossible, Kazuki too immediately understood.

“I who thought it strange, tried to Telepathy with Yumeno-oneesan. And then…The whole shape of Yumeno-oneesan’s heart was without change presenting only the personality, but the personality became a completely different person desu. The direction of the heart changed and a completely unknown side of her was rising to the surface desu. It was not the case that Yumeno-san was acting…her one heart was possessing two personalities desu. The Yumeno-oneesan that we all know well perhaps doesn’t know that she is a spy. However the one other personality is a spy that has been trained to the degree where she can use Sacred Treasures skillfully desu.”

Was something like that possible? …No, it was possible.

Kazuki knew regarding those symptoms. He had an understanding.

Multiple personality―When someone confronted abuse and heavy stress, they lost the sense that they were themselves. One part of the brain that secreted brain substance was going numb. Due to that, the person interpreted the stress that they faced like somebody else’s problem and it didn’t become a memory of an event that happened to their own self.

Somebody else’s problem—when such stress and the detachment from that stress got repeated everyday, [one other self that took charge of the stress] would grow carrying different memories and personality. The detached personality would lose identity and each would walk with their own respective independent memory and personality―Dissociative identity disorder.

Kazuki once lived in orphanage, in that place there were also children who had experienced abuse from their parents. And then among them there was also a kid who showed symptoms like that. That was why Kazuki could immediately understand Lotte’s story.

If it was like that then all their questions were answered.

Yumeno-san didn’t tell a single lie. She really didn’t know.

Because she didn’t hold a single hostility to Kazuki, her positivity level was also showing.

One personality could only be followed by one connection with a Diva, but if the front personality made Stigma contract and the hidden personality exchanged possession contract then double contract could be concluded.

Surely the front personality of Yumeno-san wasn’t able to handle the power of Drive. That was because the one the Diva possessed was the other personality which was the one who could handle it freely.

But Yumeno-san’s hidden personality was able to master the power of Stigma summoning. Stigma contract carved the Stigma on the flesh body and through that Stigma the power of Diva could be pulled out. Yumeno-san’s hidden personality was able to master all the function of her own flesh body.

“Everything fits desu.”

Kazuki nodded hearing Lotte’s words.

At the same time he felt dread on the planning in making this kind of spy.

Yumeno-san was most likely made to detach her personality systematically. Both her parents were also likely to be Yamato’s spies. Perhaps her parents when they knew that their own daughter was a possessor of magic talent that could enroll into the Magic Division, started to abuse her for the sake of splitting her personality for certain.

And then they raised the split personality as a spy to pull out information from the Magic Division.

A spy that wasn’t aware that she was a spy…to think that there was a spy this terrifying.

Suddenly, Kazuki’s mobile phone was vibrating because of a received call. Kazuki said “Sorry” to Lotte and after confirming that the display was showing [Headmaster Amasaki], he went out to take the call.

{Sorry to suddenly call. But an urgent notice just came in.}

“Urgent notice?”

Kazuki too had something he needed to tell the headmaster, but first he listened to the headmaster’s story.

{A short time ago, the security soldier in Fuji’s Sea of Trees was attacked and it seemed that someone trespassed inside.}

“…What did you say?”

A situation that shouldn’t happen. No, however…

“There should be a gate in the Haunted Ground’s entrance right? Then the identity of the intruder is…”

{Right, we have already know the identity of the intruder.}

Kazuki went “Don’t tell me” and something flashed in his mind.

There was a gate at the entrance of the Haunted Ground, with the <Magic Power Light Scanning TerminalScanner Device there, no one could enter unless their Stigma had been confirmed.

Even if the intruder defeated the security soldier, if he didn’t confirm his own stigmata in the terminal then he shouldn’t be able to pass through. The data of the intruder’s Stigma was left behind in the terminal.

“…The intruder is the first year of the Magic Division, Yumeno Shiori isn’t it?”

From the other side of the phone receiver, the sign that Headmaster Amasaki was shocked and had his breath taken away was transmitted.

{That’s right. The data of Halphas’s Stigma is left in the gate, from the witness testimony of the security soldier we know that it’s almost certain that it was Yumeno Shiori.}

“Headmaster Amasaki, there was also some development at this side. Yumeno-san is a spy of Yamato with a double personality.”

He could sense Headmaster Amasaki lost his words at the other side of the phone.

Kazuki explained the incident that happened just before this.

{…I see, so that’s the reason we didn’t find the spy.}

‘Where in the world she is planning to escape’, he thought before, but…Yumeno-san was in the Fuji’s Sea of Trees.

{The Knight Order had surrounded Fuji’s Sea of Trees so that Yumeno Shiori cannot escape. Patrolling helicopters are also flying in the sky. But due to Commander Yamagata’s order, the Knight Order doesn’t rush inside. He wants the entry into Fuji’s Sea of Trees to be only done by the students of the Knight Academy to the end.}

“…Understood. We are going to head to Fuji’s Sea of Trees the first thing tomorrow morning.”

The night had already grown late. Rather than entering a Haunted Ground at night, surely entering it in the morning would be safer.

Headmaster Amasaki too said {Yeah} and acknowledged it.

“…By the way Yumeno-san didn’t bring anyone with her and entered the Haunted Ground alone right?”

Kazuki recalled a question and asked.

“Aah, should be. There was nothing except Halphas’s data remaining left behind at the gate. The gate is detecting the human’s weight and temperature, once the person has confirmed their Stigma then no one but that person can pass. Yumeno Shiori should be alone inside the Haunted Ground.”

He thought it was going to be troublesome with her bringing in other Yamato’s spies, but it seem that there was no such possibility. …Then what was Yumeno-san’s real intention in trespassing into the Haunted Ground?

He really couldn’t think of it as a good place to escape.

Part 3

“I’m sorry about the sudden call. Thank you for coming, Miyabi-senpai.”

The next morning, inside the magic light train, Kazuki talked while sitting beside Miyabi-senpai.

“I don’t particularly mind. Quest is more enjoyable rather than attending class. …Though there was no time to persuade Shinobu like this.”

Miyabi-senpai answered with a refreshing smile. She was the same like Koyuki, an elf Magika Stigma that possessed strong magic power surpassing average humans.

She and her contracted Diva, Gremory had the Summoning Magic of mind hack system as their forte.

Kazuki thought that her power might become necessary to confront Yumeno-san who had a mental problem called multiple personality, so he called for her assistance.

Kazuki had experienced the strength of Miyabi-senpai’s mind hack magic personally with his own body.

“…But I don’t know if I can answer your expectation. I can easily succeed in mind hack magic against you because your Trance technique is not really that high. Your nonexistent resistance toward mind magic is your number one weak point I guess.”

Even while Kazuki felt his heart got stabbed hearing that, he nodded honestly.

Kazuki who relied completely on sword art and everyone’s magic still had a lot of points that he should train.

Having said that, it was hard to train a resistance against mental magic alone by himself, so it might be good to ask for favor from Miyabi-senpai to cooperate with him after this.

“The one other personality of that child called Yumeno Shiori has been accumulating a considerable training as a spy right? If she is a spy then resistance against mental magic should be the most prioritized field that she had to learn. Even I don’t have the confidence to make my mental magic succeed against an active pro as the opponent. Perhaps it will be easier to just normally make her fall into a magic intoxication you know.”

“So it’s like that.” Kazuki’s reply was slightly mixed with discouragement.

Yumeno-san would be handed to the Knight Order after they made her fall into magic intoxication and she became powerless.

For the sake of pulling out the information of other spies from the girl that had become powerless, the Knight Order would surely performed mind magic at the same time with interrogation.

If they used mind magic for the sake of really harsh interrogation, damage could also occur in her mind.

If he could, Kazuki wanted to avoid that situation, even if he couldn’t avoid it he wanted to exchange words one more time with the front personality of Yumeno-san. He didn’t want to hand her to the Knight Order just like this without hearing anything from her mouth.

Miyabi-senpai’s mind magic was able to drag the opponent’s mind into her own mental world. He guessed that she might be able to make Yumeno-san’s mind that had split into two to operate at the same time together.

If both Kazuki and Yumeno-san was put under this magic, then Kazuki would be able to face both the front and hidden Yumeno-san at the same time inside Miyabi-senpai’s mental world.

For the moment, he wanted to converse with these three people. That was what Kazuki thought.

Looking at Kazuki’s discouraged state, Miyabi-senpai chuckled.

“It really makes me want to do something for you somehow. There is no way that dejected face wouldn’t tickle my motherly instinct as the senior elderly sister here. I get it, I’ll give it a try as hard as I can.”

“…Thank you very much, Miyabi-senpai.”

The magic light train advanced to the direction of Shizuoka through the coastlands route and arrived at Otawara station.

There they changed train into the train line that went inland to northwest, Kazuki and the others headed to Gotenba station.

Gotenba was a town that was touching with the entrance to the Grand Haunted Ground Fuji’s Sea of Trees.

In the old era Fuji’s sea of trees only took the name of <Aokigahara Sea of Trees>, but because in this current era, all of that area with Mountain Fuji as the center was completely buried with the trees of the Haunted Ground. The whole area of the Haunted Ground became called as <Fuji’s Sea of Trees>…it was like that. Its width reached a radius of 15 kilometers and the surrounding cities inside the radius of 20 kilometers were designated as evacuation district. And then what should be specially mentioned more than its radius was the thickness of the magic power inside it.

When they arrived at Gotenba station, they transferred to the car that the Knight Order had prepared for them from here on and ran through the town that had completely become a ghost town from having its residents evacuate since a long time ago.

While staring outside the window, Mio opened her mouth.

“When I investigated it, a long time ago in Gotenba there was a famous fashion pot. After that there was also something like an amusement park! For that to become something like an evacuation area…we cannot just leave this alone!”

It seemed like Gotenba was a town that plucked the heartstrings of people like Mio, the girl was very enthusiastic.

When they got distanced from the station and the fields became standing out around them, a wall with height as if it was piercing the sky became visible standing on the way of the lonely road they traversed.

It was to the degree that made them hallucinate if this wall didn’t partition the whole world instead. The wall spread to the left and right without its end in sight.

The low level of the wall was made from alchemic hard steeladamantite and the upper level was made from normal concrete, they understood it from the two different colors of the wall’s up and down.

Gate. A normal Haunted Ground wouldn’t get enclosed by a giant external wall until this far. From its remarkable danger, this gate was distinctive of this Grand Haunted Ground as if treating a stinky item by putting a lid on top of it.

They could take a peek at the Knight Order’s patrol helicopters sporadically flying above the sky of the Haunted Ground. It was the effect of Yumeno-san’s infiltration that this abnormal security was performed.

The car stopped.

When Kazuki and the others disembarked, the Knight Order was forming a row in standby in front of the gate.

“…Kazuki.”

From among the several dozens of knights that were standing in alert, a face that he knew ran up to them.

“Akane-senpai!”

“Long time no see isn’t it. I heard that you guys are going to this Haunted Ground so I came.”

It was Akane-senpai who usually only expressed her emotion faintly that didn’t leave much impression, but she had a faint smile in her expression while welcoming Kazuki. Slightly behind her, Kanon-senpai too was running up to them.

“Been a while huh, you guys-☆ It’s not like we particularly need to come here or anything, but it can’t be helped because Akane said that she wanted to meet you immediately if something happened.”

“I never said anything like that!”

After Akane-senpai said that to Kanon-senpai in an unusually strong tone, she turned back to face Kazuki.

“I never said that.”

She repeated that again.

“I never said that okay.”

She made a face that looked a little troubled and made sure once more.

“Ahaha, Kazuki is really liked here huh. This is the first time I see Akane-senpai this cute-“

Hikaru-senpai who was the direct junior of Akane-senpai laughed in a jest. Akane-senpai then glared at Hikaru-senpai with reproachful look.

“Right. Be affectionate to your heart’s content toward my protégée☆ Putting that aside…”

Kanon-senpai explained simply about the [internal structure of the Grand Haunted Ground].

“Fuji’s Sea of Trees is divided into three level. The time when the Haunted Ground was still not this big it was surrounded by a wall within the sphere of 5 kilo, but unable to stop the expansion of the Haunted Ground the wall got completely swallowed, and then within the sphere of radius 10 kilo it was surrounded by a new wall. But that wall too was swallowed by the Haunted Ground…and that’s the reason why this third wall was created☆”

Kazuki reflexively looked up the wall in front of his eyes. A wall in this scale, there was still two layer of it…

“Even right now the walls were still left inside the Haunted Ground and becoming a certain kind of threshold. Thanks to the walls, the expansion of the Haunted Ground can be restrained, but the magic power is confined to the inner direction in those parts alone and it had been confirmed that once you stepped past the wall the magic power thickness will jump up. In other words the Demon Beasts will become stronger in wide difference past each walls, so be careful. Of course there is also a high chance for Sacred Treasure to be created in place where the magic power is thick.”

Akane-senpai too pulled herself together and gave them additional explanation.

“The place you are going today is the first outer area you will meet immediately once you pass this gate…so to speak you can think of this surrounding as the <Level 1> area. Yumeno Shiori too if she escaped into here alone, then she should be in the area of this Level 1. After all, ahead from Level 2, it will be absolutely dangerous even for a capable knight to go there alone see☆”

It was a gigantic Haunted Ground, but for the moment they could narrow down the area where Yumeno-san was.

“Yosh, well then we are going to deal with the procedure to pass!”

Kanon-senpai was holding a <Scanner Device> in her hand.

It was the equipment for confirming the Magika Stigma that passed the gate.

When Kanon-senpai who was like a chaser in a convenient store confirmed the Stigma of Kazuki who stood in the head of the student’s line with the device, the small door in the gate’s lower part was opening with a mechanical sound.

“Yosh, go through there one by one.”

When Kazuki passed through there, the sensor that was in the gate’s boundary detected one human and the doors closed immediately after Kazuki passed through.

Certainly if it was like this then only one person could pass through without bringing anyone with them. There was no extra room left to enter except for lost bug or small bird.

The students of the Magic Division finished their confirmation and went through the door in succession.

After that the swordsmen who didn’t have Stigma passed through after Kanon-senpai and Akane-senpai input the password of <supervisor authority> and opened the door.

For the swordsman, they couldn’t enter the Haunted Ground with only swordsman in the group.

Currently, such unfairness was in the middle of a review, but the structure of this old gate was not updated. Those like Kohaku were making a sullen dissatisfied face.

Kazuki and the others entered the Haunted Ground’s inner part all together.

In the immediate inner side of the gate was scenery of ruins that were swallowed by sea of trees.

The road under their feet was gouged by root of trees so thick like an arm of a giant that was undulating through the asphalt. The surrounding buildings were crushed and broken deformedly by the giant tree trunks that were growing from the earth. Countless leaves and branches were sticking out from the cracks and broken windows. And then the whole thing was covered by ivies in entanglement. The farther they went deeper, the presence of greenery was becoming stronger.

Those green trees were not original thing of natures, it was a display of eerie shapes and colors that were impossibly distorted by magic power everywhere they saw. A moist stench floated chokingly in the air.

“Then we are splitting into two teams. The outer circumference of the Haunted Ground…the place Kanon-senpai told us before, the <Level 1> area is the place we are going to explore.”

As long as Yumeno-san was just alone, it was hard to imagine that she would advance to Level 2.

After all it was simply too dangerous for the girl’s solo battle strength.

However if it was really like that then Yumeno-san’s objective was becoming increasingly unclear.

The Haunted Ground was too dangerous as an escaping place.

Even if she was aiming for the Three Sacred Treasures, it was difficult with just her alone. Even in the unlikely event that she discovered it, in this high alert state she wouldn’t be able to bring it outside.

She might have anticipated that Kazuki would chase her here and she was going to aim for his life.

Even if she was thinking that, the question of [Alone by herself?] sprang forth.

“Even if you said to search for her, if we really think about it isn’t a radius of 15 kilo unthinkably vast? It’s like searching Yamanote line for just one person don’t you think?”

Mio who was entering a Haunted Ground once again said that, feeling for real that vastness of the area they needed to search for.

“This place is far more wide than Yamanote line you know.”

When Kazuki calmly retorted, all present made a face that seemed to say “Uhee”.

“It’s not like we have to absolutely find her within today. This Haunted Ground is a place we have to capture anyway in the first place. Let’s search while defeating Demon Beast and liberating this place.”

Yumeno-san couldn’t escape outside. She was at a dead-end in a certain meaning, so it didn’t mean that they had to find her in a great hurry. If in a few days the advance troop team of Kazuki and his group couldn’t find her, they would make the general students participate in this quest too just as they planned and search for Yumeno-san that way.

However if the Knight Academy couldn’t discover Yumeno-san no matter how long they were searching, then Commander Yamagata wouldn’t be able to hold back the Knight Order anymore so neither could they search for her leisurely.

For the time being Kazuki’s group was going right and Mio’s group was going left, they began to walk going around the inner part of the wall in circle.

Part 4

…Yumeno Shiori was hiding herself in the area that Kazuki and the others called as Level 1.

Without being attacked by any Demon Beast, the girl was slowly resting her body.

Although she was forced to escape without any other choice, there was almost no exhaustion in her from yesterday’s battle.

Around Shiori, large-type Demon Beasts were nestling close to her as if they were her guard.

A giant beast with three head of lion, goat, and poisoned snake―a chimera was obediently sitting beside the girl completely like a pet cat.

A slender dragon with its whole body made from rock, a possession of trait that originally should be impossible for a living being―a gargoyle was perching on top of the gate of the building besides Shiori.

A giant with stature around four meters and its whole body covered with fur―a troll holding a club made from rock with its thick arm that was like a log, was standing guard at Shiori’s back like a sentinel.

The figure of the resting girl surrounded by fantastical beast in the townscape of a ruined town was exactly like a page of fantasy world.

“To be effective not only against human but also Demon Beast, what a rare mind magic.”

And then besides Shiori, there was not only Demon Beasts but also one more person.

Usually, mind magic wouldn’t work against anything except against [human] who possessed similar mind structure with the caster.

“…My Drive Diva possesses the power to invade dream―the subconscious of living being. The Demon Beast doesn’t have what is called a clear awareness. Their head is empty inside… If it’s the power of my Diva, they can be manipulated even easier than humans.”

Besides Shiori, an avatar of a strange animal emerged out dreamily.

Baku―Possessing a long nose like an elephant, a short and stout monster of Chinese Mythology.

“This kind of ugly monster is really a Diva huh.”

The person beside Shiori threw a scorning look at it.

“Baku is…at the beginning he was a god called <Bakuki> that governed dreams, but gradually he was told orally in a different shape as an apparition of Asia. Originally he was an existence that reached the pedigree of a proper god…”

Shiori protested in order to stick up for the Diva that was possessing her.

“Even Baku’s power cannot control the Demon Beast Level 2on the other side of the wall because they are too ferocious. But if it is with the Demon Beast near the entrance then that power of his is effective. Though as long as the magic that is controlling the human and Demon Beast is still in use, Baku’s other magic is not usable…”

“But for you, that is not a big risk.”

Shiori moved her head in a nod and the Stigma on her whole body lit up.

“Solomon 72 Pillar’s <contract> created Stigma on the flesh body. Stigma is a thing of flesh. I can control this body of Yumeno Shiori as my own body.”

When the girl poured magic power into the Stigma, she could directly unite her consciousness with the contracted Diva in Astrum. Through this circuit, she could make an Order for magic phenomenon.

Halphas had to abide to the contract. A contract was ironclad for a devil. Even in the case where the one who gave the order was the different personality of the contractor the Devil made the contract with, he couldn’t escape from the Stigma’s contract.

“A double contract that make use of multiple personality huh. So there is a human that thought of a fairly interesting thing. For that sake they abused a child and intentionally created a person with multiple personality, really. However don’t you feel any displeasure? Until now you have gone through many extremely painful experiences right?”

Against that person’s question, Shiori shook her head without even any doubt.

“…This is a necessary power for the sake of following my order. Following the order is the worth of my existence…”

“What an ideal slave you are. Well, as for me it’s sufficient already just to get entered into this Haunted Ground like this. It’s fine for you to accomplish what your master wishes for. I don’t have any interest in that. The direction Hayashizaki Kazuki was heading is just exactly like what we talked before.”

That person pointed at the location Kazuki was heading for as if he was looking down at the Haunted Ground from the sky even now.

Shiori stood up. The chimera beside her also got up following her, the gargoyle spread its wings, and the troll raised a roar.

Shiori and the person who was together with her separated their way and started to walk in two opposite directions.

That was because Kazuki and his comrades were splitting into two groups.

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