I can feel the mighty magic power from the two figures in front of me now. Despite this, I was surprised that I could not detect their approach.
Reiko is alarmed and braces herself.
The one who seemed to be a man stopped him with his hand,
"Don't be hasty. We have no intention of fighting you.
We are not going to fight you. He was short but built like a rock. His hair is trimmed short and black. His eyes are black, too.
"A place like this with so little free ether is not our kind of place."
The lack of free ether is like the thin air for the demon tribe. It does not mean death, but it certainly makes it difficult for them to act.
Then why are you here?
Reiko asked a pertinent question.
"Hmm, would you believe me if I told you it's just for research?"
Investigation?
"Research?" "Yes. Basically, the free ether is thin in this region, but there seems to be a singularity somewhere.
This time a demoness, probably a woman, answered. She was thin and tall, with pitch-black hair that reached down to her ankles. Like the man, her eyes were as black as darkness.
"A singularity?"
"A singularity. A singularity. Something exists that shouldn't exist. It seems to be the only place where the free magic element (ether) is thick. ......We are in the north, where the free-magic element is dense, but it's cold. A warm place with a dense free-magic element would be ideal. Do you know anything about ......?"
Reiko heard this and immediately thought of Horai Island. But she did not say it out loud.
"......I don't know. Even if I knew, I am not obliged to answer.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. I like your answer. You're so healthy."
The demoness twisted her body and uttered such a line.
"Did you guys put up the wards?"
Reiko asked ignoring the female demoness. This time the male demoness answered.
"Hmm? No, no. That ward was originally put up, wasn't it?"
According to the Man-Monster Tribe, the Kingdom of Leonard originally had a phantom ward in the sky more than a hundred years ago.
"I don't know who or for what purpose. I don't know who or for what purpose, but it's not like we're harmed in any way.
"I see."
The story was of little importance to Reiko, so she dismissed it.
"That man ...... Lardus has spread an epidemic. I will make him pay for it."
Saying this, Reiko takes a step toward the fallen Lardus. But somehow, in an instant, two demons stand in front of Reiko.
"Oops, I can't let you do that. After all, they are one of our few friends.
"I'll teach you some things in return for your strength..."
"If you are ......, do you know about the disease that Lardus spread?"
Reiko decided that the first thing to do here was to get some information, and although she didn't think she would tell them honestly, she decided to ask them first.
"You mean <>?
"Yes, that's right.
Reiko was so flustered that she didn't expect him to tell her honestly, and she became very stiff-lipped.
"It's not a big deal among us.
The female demoness began to blabber on about <.
"...... In other words, the more magic power you have, the less severe the symptoms will be. It could be fatal if you are a human with little magic power.
He then clapped his palms together in front of his chest and laughed with a "kettle of fish". Reiko was annoyed by this gesture.
"...... and then what?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. ...... and the point is that it's a disease that eats away at the magic in the person's body. When the magic power to devour runs out, it starts devouring what we should call <>. When that happens, it's too late.
Then he laughs again.
"......Bemiaroche, that's enough!"
The male demon tribe, who couldn't help but notice, admonished her. Finally the female demoness Bemiarouche stopped laughing.
"All right, Dogmaraud!"
And she told Reiko the information she wanted to know one after another.
Birds can also get this disease. However, birds do not die, but recover.
The disease is transmitted from birds to humans by contact infection, and from human to human by contact infection.
It is not transmitted from human to bird.
Some people are not infected at all, depending on their magical patterns.
Those who have been infected once and survived will never be infected again.
The minimum incubation period is 2 days, and the maximum is 5 days.
The more magic power you have, the longer the incubation period is, and the less magic power you have, the shorter the incubation period is.
The disease does not occur in cases of extremely high levels of magic power.
The first symptom is weakness, followed by fever. At this point, the disease can be cured.
In the next stage, pain attacks the whole body, and it is too late.
Most of the deaths are caused by cardiac arrest.
The effective healing magic would be . However, it is useless unless it is applied for several minutes in a row.
Even if you are infected, it only takes a few seconds of <> before the disease appears.
And that the source of the disease can be rendered harmless by healing magic such as <>.
There is no guarantee that this is true.
"...... is all true? If you don't believe me, that's fine.
It's all true. We can't let them know all our secrets, we can't let them use transinfo.
Dogmaloud also assured him.
"...... You told us about the disease so easily, then why did you try to spread it?"
Reiko did not understand.
"That's easy. Because Lardus did it on his own. He's still young and he doesn't know any better. And yet he is powerful, which makes him a little difficult to deal with.
So it is not your desire to spread the plague?
"That's right. That's right. But I'm not going to help you with the cure either.
Dogmaraud then disappeared before Reiko's eyes, and she found herself carrying Lardus, who had collapsed.
"Don't tell me you can do ...... spatial transfer?"
I'm not going to tell you that much. I'm not going to tell you that much. ...... So I'm taking him with me. We can't afford to lose him even if he's like this.
"Bye, sweetie. We're going back to the country.
Bemiarouche kissed Reiko and said.
"...... wait! I still have questions!"
But all that came back was rejection.
"I'm not going to tell you everything. That's all for now."
With that, Dogmaraud casts a spell at Reiko.
"<>"
Reiko notices this and jumps back, but either the magic has a wider range than she thought, or it has a tracking property.
"This is ......!"
Earlier, the gravity had been increased to slow her down, but this time it was the opposite.
In other words, Reiko has lost almost all of her weight.
Reiko's specific gravity has been reduced to the same level as that of air. If she were a little lighter, she would be able to move quickly, but she is too light.
In such a case, she cannot kick the ground with enough force, even if she tries to kick the ground as hard as she can.
The three demons disappeared in a puff of smoke right before Reiko's eyes.
Reiko received an advice from the old man.
"...... that is also true."
Maybe because the demons were gone, or maybe because time had passed, Reiko's weight gradually returned to normal, and in about 15 minutes the effects of the magic were gone.
"...... Let's hurry home."
Reiko ran back to the place where Pegasus 1 was waiting for her as fast as she could. She was careful to make her own body heat up and sterilize it, just in case.
In the darkness, Reiko runs at over 200 km/h, and in less than a minute, they meet up with Pegasus 1.
"Sister, are you all right?"
Luna and Soleil greeted me at Pegasus 1.
"We were alerted by a strong magical reaction."
Land 1 and 2 had descended and were on alert, returning from the darkness.
"...... I think we've done our job. Let's go back."
Reiko went to Horai Island by the escape gate as agreed.
Soleil and Luna, Land 1 and 2 returned to Horai Island by Pegasus 1, respectively.
* * * * *
>.
The old man said to Reiko after she returned to Horai Island.
"I am a little frustrated. It seems that the demon tribe has treated me like a fool.
Reiko expresses her honest feelings.
<
"My lady, the fragments of my memory that remain are not at odds with what I remember. I believe they were telling the truth.
Reiko finally looked up from her prone position when she was told this.
"Yes."
Hearing this, Reiko rushed out of the warp gate and ran to the second floor where Jin was waiting for her.