Chapter 429
Chapter 429. Due to Toxic Substances
“Are you serious…?!”
The lost demon summoning ritual magic is here of all places!?
I could feel my entire body heating up. Anticipation and exhilaration… and an undeniable shiver from the grotesque air of a forbidden taboo.
Demon summoning.
Before the first Demon Lord smashed open the Dark Portal, it was said that the primary customers for demons were the human race. This was over 300 years ago.
The ritual of demon summoning comes with great sacrifices. Specifically, the irreversible loss of multiple lives. In other words, a blood sacrifice. To break through the dimensional barrier and summon beings from another world, such a cost was naturally required.
Thus, there can’t possibly be any decent humans who would go so far as to initiate such a ritual. The demon contractors have brought various harms to human society.
—The Holy Church, guardians of humanity, of course, does not allow this.
Experts dedicated to demon exorcism have been organized, and thorough extermination attempts were made. The ritual of demon summoning was deemed taboo, and all of their energy was directed towards eradicating demons and the techniques used to summon them from this world.
Thanks to that effort, after the contractor uproar of 300 years ago, no incidents related to demons have been confirmed.
The demon exorcists disbanded, demon-related documents were deemed taboo, and everything was buried in darkness—
“And then, just 100 years later, the Demon Lord War began.”
That’s right.
“It was quite a long time in the Demon World without any summoning or contracts, you know. That was the fault of the Holy Church.”
Ah, time flows differently in the real world and the Demon World, huh… For us, 100 years is one thing, but for demons, it must have felt much longer.
“So, when the first Demon Lord visited the Demon World, surely Cannibal took that opportunity to form a pact.”
…So that’s how it connects, huh~~!!
Well, anyway… it seems the Mystical Bureau of the Holy Kingdom thoroughly destroyed all demon-related documents they collected, and apparently, all the involved parties have also perished, leaving no clues behind.
As the allied forces were being pushed into a corner, voices of regret were heard saying, “Maybe it would have been better to just seal the demon summoning ritual as a taboo instead of completely destroying it…”
Even if the summoning ritual magic were left, those heroes or priests whose loved ones were killed by demon soldiers from the Demon Lord Army, just like my mother at the hands of a Night Elf, would certainly react with, “There’s no way I’m relying on demons even if I die, you fools!”…
“The guardians of humanity surely won’t offer humanity as sacrifices.”
That’s true. Though it wouldn’t be surprising if a group of dying old priests gathered to offer their lives in this current situation.
—And now, what lies before me could make that possible…!!
Oh no, what should I do?
I can personally attest to how useful contracts with demons can be. The reason the Demon Race can wreak havoc is simply because they boosted their magical power through demon contracts.
If the allied heroes could contract demons—imagine what would happen if someone like Arthur were to contract a demon!!
Glancing back, Arthur had his hand resting upon the hilt of his sword, glaring at the bound bandits.
I want to tell Arthur about this magic circle right now—
“Wait, calm down, calm down.”
Antendeixis appeared as a mirage visible only to me and gently patted my head.
“This is not something you can casually reveal.”
…It is indeed risky to expose such a dark art requiring sacrifices in this setting. Not just Arthur, but with the presence of the old man and the old man’s connections to the young king, who I don’t quite trust…
“Ah, no, it seems there’s a misunderstanding. This magic circle isn’t the demon summoning ritual magic. It’s a simple Dark Portal.”
…So what you mean is?
“Rather than summoning a demon, it opens a gate to the Demon World.”
Oh, I see. Like what I did with the original Dark Portal, I must jump into the gate and go contract with a demon. …But where does it lead in the Demon World?
“I can’t say. From what I can see, it leads to some part of the Demon World. Therefore, even if it activates, which demon you can contract—no, even meeting a demon is a gamble.”
…The reason I encountered Antendeixis was thanks to the Guidance Demon Odigos.
“If he’s not there, it doesn’t guarantee I’ll meet a compatible demon, and contracting might even not be possible.”
Odigos… how nostalgic. As a neutral demon, he didn’t seem bad, but… he ended up contributing significantly to the Demon Lord Kingdom…
“Next, regarding this magic circle. It doesn’t require sacrifices; instead, it appears to accumulate the magical powers from the surrounding ley lines to activate.”
…No sacrifices needed, you say!?
What the heck! That’s amazing!!!
“It’s certainly pleasing that no lives would be lost. But based on what I see, activation might only happen once every several hundred years.”
What the…!?
“It’s not a summoning of a demon itself, but a portal leading to the Demon World, so the required magical power is on another level.”
…That’s a downer. It feels like a blow to the gut.
So, how long until this thing can activate?
“I don’t know… It doesn’t seem like it’ll activate anytime soon, but why not give it a touch?”
As instructed, I knelt down and gently touched the magic circle.
I infused a little bit of magical power… and it was drawn in promptly.
Just a tad more… wow, it gets sucked in fast.
There seems to be an abundance, or rather, it feels utterly bottomless.
“Urgh…!!”
I decided to go all in and poured a hefty amount of magical power. If it activates now, it’d be a laughingstock, but thankfully, there didn’t appear to be any ominous signs—it felt like watering a large hole in the ground; the moment I poured it in, it got absorbed endlessly…!!
Hey, Antendeixis! It’s not making a peep! I put in all the power I could muster! I don’t even know how much good it does!
“Hmm… I also don’t know how much magical power it can store, nor how much is needed to activate it.”
This is no good!
“Well, I’ve never activated something like this before.”
That makes sense.
But trying it out now made it evident that humans can infuse magical power into it.
So, does that mean—
If we could gather a hundred people to trade off and constantly pour their magical power into it—wouldn’t it activate faster?
“…Theoretically, that should be possible.”
Then!! I absolutely need to let others know about this portal!
“Wait, wait. You’re forgetting a fundamental point.”
…What is it that I forgot?
“Essentially, in the Alliance’s territory, the existence of Dark Portals isn’t even known.”
Ah.
“This ruin is a simple Dark Portal. If you inform the Holy Church or anyone else, you’ll need to explain the concept of Dark Portals first.”
Come to think of it… that’s right.
Among demons, the presence of Dark Portals is so self-evident that I completely overlooked it.
Until Sophia and Platy told me, I had no idea how demons made contracts or why they were hurling demon soldiers into the real world without restraint.
“Why do you know that? People will become suspicious. Information directly tied to your identity could lead to catastrophic results.”
…But don’t you think I don’t need to explain that? I mean, didn’t Antendeixis’s subordinate, an operative named Outluke, get caught by the Holy Church the other day? He might be dead by now, but they might already be leaking information.
If nothing else, it’s possible that Liliana might have brought back information about the Dark Portal to the Holy Great Tree Alliance, which would have reached the Holy Church.
“Hmm. That possibility does exist.”
Then, wouldn’t it be okay?
I, for one, want this ruin to be effectively utilized by humanity at all costs.
It doesn’t have to be immediate. I hesitate to think about it, but… I need to consider it as a backup plan if Zilbagias fails.
To be blunt, if I can’t destroy the Demon Lord Kingdom, humanity stands no chance. But if this ruin exists—if there’s a chance to contract demons, it could be the only opportunity left for humanity to turn the tide…!
“I understand your feelings. And that thought is probably correct. However…”
Antendeixis’s hand stroked my hair. For now, on this head without horns—
“My concerns are threefold. First, no matter how you convey the information about this ruin, the Holy Church will almost certainly take an interest in whoever brought the information.”
…Well. That’s a point.
It would lead to questions about who in the world I am.
“I assume you wouldn’t want to increase the reasons for being chased by the Holy Church, would you? That’s one. Next, as you mentioned earlier, the reaction from the Holy Church is unpredictable.”
Earlier… oh.
The radical anti-demon faction…
“Whether the Holy Church takes action for effective utilization, as you wish, remains to be seen, doesn’t it?”
…Indeed. If they were to realize that no sacrifices are needed, the upper echelons and the Mystical Bureau would definitely be eager to utilize it. However…
Those who harbor deep grudges against demons are driven by emotions. It’s like telling vampire hunters to, “Let’s befriend the vampires!”
In my case, teaming up with Night Elves or those green succubi for power could mean the possibility of defeating the Demon Lord Army—maybe.
………………………But I would rather die than do that. If I can gain strength, I would endure any loathsome act.
However, the uncertainty hangs over me like a cloud, and I can easily envision people saying they would never tolerate it and choosing death instead. And I don’t know what actions those kinds of people would take.
“This magic circle—physically, it’s just a stone. It would be hard to repair if it gets broken. The third point is that, aside from the Holy Church, there are the circumstances of the surrounding countries. This isn’t a direct risk for you, but…”
Are you talking about the duchy and the empire?
“Exactly. While the Holy Church will likely keep this under wraps, if the information leaks, it could ignite a new conflict.”
It was already said that the empire was poking around the duchy.
If they were to find out that a portal connected to the Demon World can be activated with sheer numbers in the duchy—it could spark their ambitions.
No, from what I’ve heard, the current empire would likely go all out to seize it.
“In that case, while it may be a boon to humanity as a whole, if I think about it more, the empire might utilize it even better than the Holy Church, wouldn’t you think? How about passing the word to the empire?”
N-no…! My inner hero is seriously protesting…!!
If I think about it calmly, true, handing this to the empire could potentially enhance their capabilities…!
But from what I gather, it seems the empire would likely use its power for itself! And only after subjugating the duchy too!
I don’t want those guys to wield the power of demons!! If it’s for humanity’s survival, I should accept that dose of sacrifice…!
“Kufufufu, ponder, heed me, you shall ponder as much as you like. This is some truly high-quality taboo! Oh ho ho ho ho!!”
Don’t enjoy this, you filthy Demon God!!
“Well, seriously speaking, no matter how many humans band together, we don’t know how many years it would take to activate the portal.”
That is… true.
But even dust accumulates, right?
“That’s true, but think about the original Dark Portal. It only existed due to the dimensional disturbances caused by the gods’ conflicts, didn’t it? This portal might not hold for long once activated; and to operate it, how much magical power would it demand from mortals…?”
Well, then again, we’ve got to give it a shot! With all our strength!
…So, considering mobilizing our total strength, the two choices are still either the Holy Church or the Empire…
…
Damn it, what do I do!?
This portal could very well be humanity’s hope!
It must be effectively utilized! Failure is not an option…!
“Alex! What’s going on, standing there like that?”
A voice called from behind.
Turning around, I saw Arthur walking into the shrine, observing the interior with keen interest.
“What is this… what kind of ruin is this, I wonder?”
“I—I have no idea? I was just pondering various things while looking at it.”
I stood up while pretending to be calm.
Next to me, Arthur noticed the patterns on the ground and tilted his head.
“…A magic circle? Maybe. The letters look unfamiliar, though; ancient elven script…?”
“No, it doesn’t seem like elven script.”
“Alex, are you capable of reading elven script?”
“Well, just a little.”
“Wow! You’re quite knowledgeable! It doesn’t seem like dwarven script either, so what could it be?”
Now, it was Arthur who knelt down and gently traced the magic circle on the ground.
And then—
“Yep, it really looks like a magic circle. Ha!”
—He suddenly poured a massive amount of magical power into it.
