After that day, the group paid the shed a visit every day.
The woman readied her staff and set off an array of magic to attack the shed, replenishing her magic power using the mana stones she scavenged. She also replaced her staff with a more high performing one before she continued her assaults.
The girl and the demon sat to the side watching this happening. The scholar had already been firing volleys of magic at the shed for several weeks, yet she hadn’t left a single scratch.
Despite so, the scholar showed no signs of giving up. Rather, she enjoyed it.
To her, this was a battle of wits against the geniuses of a century ago. Her daily life consisted of innovating new methods of attacking the shed at night and then implementing those methods during the day.
This continued for a few weeks.
She prepared her assault for the day. Any other day, she would have readied her staff to activate the magic but today was different.
She dragged out an incomplete magitech used for sieges which she stumbled upon in a facility.
The siege magic tool that she discovered was a magic tool designed to assault castle walls. However, currently, her opponent was only a teensy shack. Thus, she adjusted the magic tool in order to focus all of the magic onto a singlepoint.
The demon headed towards the shed with her proud work in tow.
The scholar’s breathing was rough, a strange glint flashing in her eyes and her mouth was curled up into a disconcerting smile.
Beside her on the back of the demon was a jovial homunculus girl playing with her cats. She had understood by now that there was no point in trying to talk to the scholar when she was in this state.
At last, the party arrived before the shed. A colossal amount of magic energy had been poured into the magical tool.
With the magic tool aimed towards the hut, the scholar looked to the sky and declared loudly.
“Watch me, geniuses!!
I’ll erase the masterpiece you pride yourselves on right now!!!”
After her proclamation, she activated the timer on the magitech.
The magic tool was filled with magical energy and, in the worst-case scenario, it could erupt into a large explosion.
They very quickly evacuated the area. Everything important in their house was moved to a safer place for this day.
It took an hour before the timer reached zero and the magitech activated. A powerful penetration magic was released from the magic weapon.
The shock was terrific, and the shock waves shook both the walls as well as the immediate area and even the girl and scholar. Smoke rose from the location of the hut—even mountains in the direction of where the magic tool had been aimed had been blown away, and an enormous hole had been created blasted from the clouds.
Where the shed once stood was now a vacant lot. The shed disintegrated and a giant hole was opened in the castle walls, collapsing the castle which was barely standing its ground, further obliterating anything in the path of the shot.
Facing this empty lot, the scholar was overcome with a wave of lightheadedness.
Her vision distorted and a spike of pain hit her head, her body barely remaining upright. She slapped her cheeks, steadied her quivering legs and clenched her fists into a victory pose.
Then, she began to nonsensically dance, sing, and even took the hand of the girl who was bewildered by how little remained, dragging her into this dance without rhythm or tempo. It was a dance without any steps, but both the scholar and girl happily danced.
The young girl felt happy from the bottom of her heart as she accompanied the woman in her long dance seeing the woman smile after a long time.
Their dance continued until their eyes spun and the woman escorted the stumbling girl to take a seat nearby then went to investigate the place where the shed had been.
There was a staircase which led underground where the shed once was. Upon discovering this, she held up her wand and descended down the staircase without any hesitation.
The powerful barrier had only been cast on the shed’s door; once inside, she was able to navigate her way through it easily.
With the staff as her only source of light illuminating the darkness of the staircase, the woman would occasionally stop to search the nearby area with her magic. But to no avail, her only discovery were the steps which continued on like an endless loop.
After a few minutes, she continued down the staircase. Then, once she finally began to become considerably tired, a door appeared before them.
There was no defensive magic cast on this door, which easily opened with a twist of the door knob.
On the other side of the door was an underground basement. Huge mana stones lined the space. Magic formations were crammed into the walls and ceilings, and magitech set up to regulate the formations could be seen scattered about.
She proceeded within the basement and discovered several rooms within. In these rooms there were abandoned mounds of varying documents.
Finally, going through the mountain of documents, she found “the answer she was looking for”.
“Is this… a diary?”
It was left on a desk within the first room. The desk was owned by the director who oversaw the underground institution, who was still sitting in a luxurious chair, now a white skeleton.
At the foot of the corpse was a staff which the director most likely used to kill himself with. She picked up the staff and secured it to the belt on her hips.
Then, she began to examine the detailed journal which she had found.
“Today, the king called for me and told me something unbelievable.
He asked me to invent magic which could erase all demons…
I was given as much money, personnel and facilities as I would like in order to achieve this, but is such a thing even possible?
If we do succeed in cleansing our country of demons, the military balance of the world could crumble. Our king is most likely thinking about establishing a monopoly over the chaotic world once the balance is broken…
… It’s an endlessly difficult path, but I’m satisfied with this being my last research. As a researcher, I’m more than excited to be researching this.
I will strive to make this plan a success no matter what.”
“We finally have enough personnel, and the underground facility has also finished construction. True to his words, the king really did provide me with an almost infinite budget and human resources, which was a pleasant surprise.
The biggest bumps in my research to date had always been securing the fundings. Money received from the nation was always limited.
Which then meant that I had to explain the magnificence of my research to those uneducated nobles and merchants in order to accrue the necessary funds. Oh how splendid it is to be freed of such trivial acts in order to fully concentrate on researching.
Today, the necessary materials were still flowing in one after another from the disguised entrance.
Huge mana stones, large quantities of versatile paint to draw the formations and the magitech used to regulate the formations…
Never before have I seen such an enormous mana stone.
Now then, we can begin with preliminary arrangements. Research is underway.”
“We have a hiccup in our research. We need a lot more mana stones than what our plan initially called for.
I reported to the government that we required large mana stones, but was told, ‘I can’t prepare it for you right away, but I can deliver them if you wait a few days.’
As I would expect from a project the country is investing in. The materials are rolling in like pebbles by the road.
I must make this a success.”
“I received news from the patrolling unit around our country. Turns out the demons are gathering in a radius of two hundred kilometers with our country at the center.
It seems as though there was a great loss dealt to the military in order to investigate this, but their sacrifices were precious for the necessary development of mankind. According to rumors, the commanding officer of the reconnaissance force stormed into the castle shouting,
“Why? Why do we need to go?!”
Why did my comrades have to die?!!”
I do feel pity for them but this project is highly confidential.
Only a small handful of people know about this research in the army.
My heart aches when I think of the soldiers that were slain by the demons, unknowing of what they died for.
But, this research is crucial in order to bring peace to mankind.
I will make a memorial for all the soldiers who sacrificed themselves for this grand goal after we have completed this research.
“The end of our studies are within sight thanks to the selfless sacrifices of the military and the funding which we ate up like hungry dogs.
The first target shall be all the demons surrounding our country.
We’ll obliterate them then annihilate all the demons on this continent.
Our country will rule over everyone else as a superpower then ultimately kill Satan. Humanity would be promised an eternity of opulence.
Watch us, Satan. You will realize the strength of our country.”
“At last, we will be putting the magic into use tomorrow. We have repeatedly experimented on a smaller scale, and every time each experiment was met with success.
With that being the case, tomorrow’s performance should no doubt be successful as well. At last, at long last we will be able to put an end to the war demons have waged upon mankind.
It’s already three in the morning, but I am so excited that I cannot sleep. Although it would appear that my body has declined, my heart remains youthful.
When I snuck a peek into the room, everyone other than me was also awake.
Us researchers really are sinful creatures.
But that is exactly why things are interesting.”
“We did it!! We did it!!
Our large scale annihilation magic erased all the demons!!
The military’s reconnaissance force has returned with a report!! There is not a single demon within the surrounding two hundred kilometers!! We have succeeded in completely exterminating demons where no other country has been successful.
I know I’m acting immature but I can’t help it!!
I still haven’t gotten so old that I wouldn’t get excited over this!!
Yes! We’ve opened a new door for humanity’s future!!
We have realised a world where demons don’t exist and now mankind can defeat Satan!!
I am proud to have taken part in this project! Without a doubt this is the height of my accomplishments—something I can die peacefully with.
I must pass on this news to everyone after I die!
“There will no longer be anyone killed by demons!!”
I’m proud to say it!!”
The female scholar quietly read through the diary, the writing towards the end degraded into almost illegible scribbles, as though flaunting his excitement to the world.
(The text written was filled endlessly with delight, and there are even signs of the characters getting wet. It appears as though he was crying tears of joy as he wrote in his journal.
…The next page is the last entry in this diary…)
And so, she flipped the page.
After that day, the group paid the shed a visit every day.
The woman readied her staff and set off an array of magic to attack the shed, replenishing her magic power using the mana stones she scavenged. She also replaced her staff with a more high performing one before she continued her assaults.
The girl and the demon sat to the side watching this happening. The scholar had already been firing volleys of magic at the shed for several weeks, yet she hadn’t left a single scratch.
Despite so, the scholar showed no signs of giving up. Rather, she enjoyed it.
To her, this was a battle of wits against the geniuses of a century ago. Her daily life consisted of innovating new methods of attacking the shed at night and then implementing those methods during the day.
This continued for a few weeks.
She prepared her assault for the day. Any other day, she would have readied her staff to activate the magic but today was different.
She dragged out an incomplete magitech used for sieges which she stumbled upon in a facility.
The siege magic tool that she discovered was a magic tool designed to assault castle walls. However, currently, her opponent was only a teensy shack. Thus, she adjusted the magic tool in order to focus all of the magic onto a singlepoint.
The demon headed towards the shed with her proud work in tow.
The scholar’s breathing was rough, a strange glint flashing in her eyes and her mouth was curled up into a disconcerting smile.
Beside her on the back of the demon was a jovial homunculus girl playing with her cats. She had understood by now that there was no point in trying to talk to the scholar when she was in this state.
At last, the party arrived before the shed. A colossal amount of magic energy had been poured into the magical tool.
With the magic tool aimed towards the hut, the scholar looked to the sky and declared loudly.
“Watch me, geniuses!!
I’ll erase the masterpiece you pride yourselves on right now!!!”
After her proclamation, she activated the timer on the magitech.
The magic tool was filled with magical energy and, in the worst-case scenario, it could erupt into a large explosion.
They very quickly evacuated the area. Everything important in their house was moved to a safer place for this day.
It took an hour before the timer reached zero and the magitech activated. A powerful penetration magic was released from the magic weapon.
The shock was terrific, and the shock waves shook both the walls as well as the immediate area and even the girl and scholar. Smoke rose from the location of the hut—even mountains in the direction of where the magic tool had been aimed had been blown away, and an enormous hole had been created blasted from the clouds.
Where the shed once stood was now a vacant lot. The shed disintegrated and a giant hole was opened in the castle walls, collapsing the castle which was barely standing its ground, further obliterating anything in the path of the shot.
Facing this empty lot, the scholar was overcome with a wave of lightheadedness.
Her vision distorted and a spike of pain hit her head, her body barely remaining upright. She slapped her cheeks, steadied her quivering legs and clenched her fists into a victory pose.
Then, she began to nonsensically dance, sing, and even took the hand of the girl who was bewildered by how little remained, dragging her into this dance without rhythm or tempo. It was a dance without any steps, but both the scholar and girl happily danced.
The young girl felt happy from the bottom of her heart as she accompanied the woman in her long dance seeing the woman smile after a long time.
Their dance continued until their eyes spun and the woman escorted the stumbling girl to take a seat nearby then went to investigate the place where the shed had been.
There was a staircase which led underground where the shed once was. Upon discovering this, she held up her wand and descended down the staircase without any hesitation.
The powerful barrier had only been cast on the shed’s door; once inside, she was able to navigate her way through it easily.
With the staff as her only source of light illuminating the darkness of the staircase, the woman would occasionally stop to search the nearby area with her magic. But to no avail, her only discovery were the steps which continued on like an endless loop.
After a few minutes, she continued down the staircase. Then, once she finally began to become considerably tired, a door appeared before them.
There was no defensive magic cast on this door, which easily opened with a twist of the door knob.
On the other side of the door was an underground basement. Huge mana stones lined the space. Magic formations were crammed into the walls and ceilings, and magitech set up to regulate the formations could be seen scattered about.
She proceeded within the basement and discovered several rooms within. In these rooms there were abandoned mounds of varying documents.
Finally, going through the mountain of documents, she found “the answer she was looking for”.
“Is this… a diary?”
It was left on a desk within the first room. The desk was owned by the director who oversaw the underground institution, who was still sitting in a luxurious chair, now a white skeleton.
At the foot of the corpse was a staff which the director most likely used to kill himself with. She picked up the staff and secured it to the belt on her hips.
Then, she began to examine the detailed journal which she had found.
“Today, the king called for me and told me something unbelievable.
He asked me to invent magic which could erase all demons…
I was given as much money, personnel and facilities as I would like in order to achieve this, but is such a thing even possible?
If we do succeed in cleansing our country of demons, the military balance of the world could crumble. Our king is most likely thinking about establishing a monopoly over the chaotic world once the balance is broken…
… It’s an endlessly difficult path, but I’m satisfied with this being my last research. As a researcher, I’m more than excited to be researching this.
I will strive to make this plan a success no matter what.”
“We finally have enough personnel, and the underground facility has also finished construction. True to his words, the king really did provide me with an almost infinite budget and human resources, which was a pleasant surprise.
The biggest bumps in my research to date had always been securing the fundings. Money received from the nation was always limited.
Which then meant that I had to explain the magnificence of my research to those uneducated nobles and merchants in order to accrue the necessary funds. Oh how splendid it is to be freed of such trivial acts in order to fully concentrate on researching.
Today, the necessary materials were still flowing in one after another from the disguised entrance.
Huge mana stones, large quantities of versatile paint to draw the formations and the magitech used to regulate the formations…
Never before have I seen such an enormous mana stone.
Now then, we can begin with preliminary arrangements. Research is underway.”
“We have a hiccup in our research. We need a lot more mana stones than what our plan initially called for.
I reported to the government that we required large mana stones, but was told, ‘I can’t prepare it for you right away, but I can deliver them if you wait a few days.’
As I would expect from a project the country is investing in. The materials are rolling in like pebbles by the road.
I must make this a success.”
“I received news from the patrolling unit around our country. Turns out the demons are gathering in a radius of two hundred kilometers with our country at the center.
It seems as though there was a great loss dealt to the military in order to investigate this, but their sacrifices were precious for the necessary development of mankind. According to rumors, the commanding officer of the reconnaissance force stormed into the castle shouting,
“Why? Why do we need to go?!”
Why did my comrades have to die?!!”
I do feel pity for them but this project is highly confidential.
Only a small handful of people know about this research in the army.
My heart aches when I think of the soldiers that were slain by the demons, unknowing of what they died for.
But, this research is crucial in order to bring peace to mankind.
I will make a memorial for all the soldiers who sacrificed themselves for this grand goal after we have completed this research.
“The end of our studies are within sight thanks to the selfless sacrifices of the military and the funding which we ate up like hungry dogs.
The first target shall be all the demons surrounding our country.
We’ll obliterate them then annihilate all the demons on this continent.
Our country will rule over everyone else as a superpower then ultimately kill Satan. Humanity would be promised an eternity of opulence.
Watch us, Satan. You will realize the strength of our country.”
“At last, we will be putting the magic into use tomorrow. We have repeatedly experimented on a smaller scale, and every time each experiment was met with success.
With that being the case, tomorrow’s performance should no doubt be successful as well. At last, at long last we will be able to put an end to the war demons have waged upon mankind.
It’s already three in the morning, but I am so excited that I cannot sleep. Although it would appear that my body has declined, my heart remains youthful.
When I snuck a peek into the room, everyone other than me was also awake.
Us researchers really are sinful creatures.
But that is exactly why things are interesting.”
“We did it!! We did it!!
Our large scale annihilation magic erased all the demons!!
The military’s reconnaissance force has returned with a report!! There is not a single demon within the surrounding two hundred kilometers!! We have succeeded in completely exterminating demons where no other country has been successful.
I know I’m acting immature but I can’t help it!!
I still haven’t gotten so old that I wouldn’t get excited over this!!
Yes! We’ve opened a new door for humanity’s future!!
We have realised a world where demons don’t exist and now mankind can defeat Satan!!
I am proud to have taken part in this project! Without a doubt this is the height of my accomplishments—something I can die peacefully with.
I must pass on this news to everyone after I die!
“There will no longer be anyone killed by demons!!”
I’m proud to say it!!”
The female scholar quietly read through the diary, the writing towards the end degraded into almost illegible scribbles, as though flaunting his excitement to the world.
(The text written was filled endlessly with delight, and there are even signs of the characters getting wet. It appears as though he was crying tears of joy as he wrote in his journal.
…The next page is the last entry in this diary…)
And so, she flipped the page.
