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Information about Gluttony is significantly lacking.

The reason is quite simple; the Gluttony Demon I faced was starving. Its belly was practically glued to its back, but from how badly it struggled, I could tell it definitely had considerable strength.

‘…Maybe I just overwhelmed it with firepower and didn’t get to see its gimmick properly.’

How strong does a demon become once it’s finished gorging? Or does it have some sort of spatial trickery like the Demon of Deception? There was severely little I knew about it. I couldn’t even guess what it had used to charm the professors at the Academy.

Among the multitude of questions, the one that particularly stuck out was Shione.

Isn’t she the one who usually detects mana with remarkable clarity?

‘Mana felt present, then disappeared.’

Shione’s sensory abilities were already confirmed in the Great Forest.

She has a sense keen enough to quickly identify enemies even in pitch darkness.

So it wouldn’t be surprising to know that, as she said, mana is rapidly surging and vanishing inside the building.

‘Looks like the cultists are messing around.’

The problem is, why is that happening?

Since this group worships Gluttony, they are probably using one of the tricks obtained by offering sacrifices to it.

But I didn’t know much about them either, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to approach cautiously like Shione.

“We have to go up to the fourth floor. Is there any other detected mana from the demon?”

“Most of it is on the second floor. And even from upper floors, I can vaguely sense an unpleasant feeling.”

I could hear the noise of fierce battle coming from the second floor.

With Epheana and the others drawing aggro properly, it was the perfect time to move quickly.

Following Shione, I also picked an arrow and raised my previously lowered posture.

“I’ll lead the way. Let’s make it to the fourth floor in one go.”

“Alright, I’m ready.”

I sprang into the corridor, picking up speed.

Numerous vacant rooms, lengthy hallways, and wide staircases.

In no time, we were approaching the third floor from the second, when the enemies above spotted us and released their murderous intent.

‘…What are they drinking?’

Strangely, unlike the demon worshippers whose eyes had gone wild, they merely stared at us with wide-open eyes but didn’t immediately rush in.

Even when Shione’s arrowhead was aimed at their heads, they didn’t care and were busy pulling out a potion from their robes and gulping it down.

As they emptied their bottles, we finally realized why they valued that more than charging at us with a dagger.

Boom─!

Shione’s arrow flew fiercely.

However, her arrow only lodged itself in the arm of an enemy, failing to take a life.

As Shione met the enemy’s eyes, she growled lowly.

“Ray, those people are becoming demons.”

Just as she said.

Bloodshot eyes and unstable breathing.

Compared to other demons, their stability seemed to be lower, oozing out an uncontrollable, murky energy. It clearly showed that they had quickly transformed into demons.

I felt a sense of déjà vu in their appearance.

‘They resemble the ones who tried to kill Adelhaite.’

Those women infiltrated the princess’s coming-of-age ceremony, wielding mana they obtained after consuming unknown substances.

Surely, they were using a similar method.

At that time, their superhuman strength from mana and their relentless charge made them terrifying and overwhelming.

But isn’t the situation different now?

“Elvis, wipe them out.”

No matter how much they were strengthened, they still only held unstable mana atop their bodies. They hadn’t truly incorporated it into themselves.

If that’s all it takes, then I could easily overpower them not even with Tania, but with Elvis.

It would be much better to ignore those demons and charge through with the spirit. Still, since there’s a chance those demons might slip past Elvis’s onslaught, I needed to prepare.

I pulled Shione closer, ready to borrow the necklace’s power.

“Shione, over here!”

“Ugh…! W-Why are you suddenly pulling me like this…!”

“If it seems dangerous, didn’t you say to let you know directly to hold onto you?”

“That’s true, but with two demons swinging swords in front of us, how can we—!”

“We’ll break through to the fourth floor in one go.”

As I raced up the stairs, Elvis’s magic poured down upon the enemies.

Spirits each held their unique traits. While wind typically leaned towards support and couldn’t match the overwhelming firepower of fire, once they exceeded upper levels, they were more than sufficient to deal with various malevolent beasts.

Elvis scattered the biting wind.

Boom─!

With a roar like it couldn’t be produced just by wind swirling, we charged straight into the fourth floor.

As we entered, I called out to Orna, who had been gazing at Elvis with dreamy eyes.

“Orna, lead the way.”

“Meow!”

Not wanting to let Elvis have all the spotlight, Orna puffed up her fur and sped away. Meanwhile, Shione struggled in my arms.

“Ray, let me go now.”

“Oh.”

“…You startled me! I almost got shot by an arrow, you know!”

…It was frightening to almost get hit by an arrow. Recently, Shione had greatly improved her mana control; when she picked up an arrow, she would coat the tip with mana before even drawing it from the quiver.

It meant I almost got pierced not by a demon but by one of Shione’s arrows.

“Let’s follow Orna. Sion should be nearby.”

“Got it, but if we head that way—”

Orna pointed with her short legs, poking at the air.

After she caught sight of the point around the corner, a hint of unease reflected on her lips.

“…It feels like we should hurry. I think I felt that strange mana from the potion that the woman just drank. I sense the same feeling from that direction too.”

It seemed the existence of unstable mana caught by Shione was the effect of that unidentified potion.

I didn’t know whether Shione’s ability had developed or if the mana from the past royal events had been tucked inside specially treated boxes so that she couldn’t sense them.

But right now, she spoke with almost perfect certainty.

In the expansive main building, suitable for one of the most popular departments of the Royal Academy—the Divine Faculty—Shione and I swiftly navigated through the maze of multiple paths.

“This is bad. I feel strong mana just like earlier.”

“We’re almost there. Let’s hurry a bit more.”

With our senses sharpened, we followed Orna’s guidance and arrived right in front of Sion.

Against one wall, a priest clad in blood, gasping for breath while holding a mace, and a man with a sword, cloaked in a sheen of divine power, seemed to protect her.

“Sion!”

Could this have been left by Sion?

With compassion-filled mana, Shione’s attack poured out at her opponents.

 

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