Maydare Volume 5 Chapter 3 - The Demon God of the Mirror

 

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Right after we chanted the incantations――

There was a large tremor and I lost my balance on the lighthouse, causing Thor to support me.

There was an ache behind my eyes. The ache intensified and became a throbbing pain.

What was happening?

The same thing seemed to be happening to Thor, as he was squinting his left eye.

We had now chanted the first incantations of the 〈Black Demon King〉〈White Sage〉, and the 〈Scarlet Witch〉in turn.

The first incantations of the three great magicians who lived five hundred years ago.

Could it be that some kind of spell was activated?

But the earth tremors were the sounds of the Heavenly Empire’s large teleportation magic circle being activated.

The magic circle formed a ring and shot out a bright light.

The hole in the central space contracted once, then immediately expanded like a flower. A new spell formula was written in it.

“Ah…!”

From the hole in the space, something was birthed and dropped right at this moment.

――It was the dragon.

The dragon was summoned from the magic circle and spread its large wings against the sunset-colored sky.

Its roar sounded like a thunderclap.

Even if I covered my ears, its anger-filled roar echoed throughout my body.

The residents of Miladriede must be feeling despair at seeing a real dragon for the first time.

Its appearance was equal to that of a god.

Ten species of dragons once existed in the world to the Ten Gods, who were called the Primordial Magicians.

It was said that they had eternal life and the power to destroy the world, but at some point they ceased to be seen in the world and were thought to have gone extinct.

“How beautiful…I’ve never seen a real dragon before.”

“Tch. Where did they get it from?”

Professor Ulysses and Bishop Eska also stared at that extremely rare presence with keen interest.

Even them, who had memories of their past lives as great magicians.

That alone showed that the dragon was an incredibly special existence, far more so than ogres. It was, without a doubt, a legendary creature.

“Those chains…”

Thor muttered as he looked up at the dragon.

Layers of chains jangled, binding the red-black dragon’s legs.

The other end of the chains were still connected to the other side of the magic circle. Was the enemy looking for the right moment to undo them.

The scene was bizarre, and the dragon often made pained cries.

The flame sacs under its cheeks was turning a burning red color. It was Thor who noticed it first.

“Oh no, it’s going to breathe fire and burn everything to the ground!”

“We ain’t letting that happen!”

Bishop Eska jumped onto the railing of the lighthouse.

“Mea Dea. Mea Dea. Mea Dea.”

Three times, he recited the “prayer words” that all Vabelist clergymen and adherents were required to use, and then held his staff with both hands and brought it in front of his face.

“By the authority of the〈Archbishop of Holy Ash〉of the Vabel State, I will use the power of the World Tree Vabilophos. Deploying the protective magic wall, ‘Emerald Wall,’ by way of the ley lines!”

Immediately after–a brilliant green light ran along the coast of the capital.

As the light rippled, hundreds of magic walls manifested in files and ranks.

“Wha…”

I was stunned.

It was already beyond the power of a single person to deploy that many magic walls in an instant.

And those magic walls were different from the common ones we used. They were shaped like four-leaf clovers, or was it the so-called Maydare Cross, which signified the shape of this world?

They had the emblem of a branch of the Great Tree of the Vabel State engraved in the center, and above all, they glowed a faint but striking green.

Looking at that light, even under such circumstances, I felt a faint sense of calmness. Was that the blessing, or even the so-called miracle, of the Holy Land?

But the real threat approached close at hand.

“It’s coming!”

Bishop Eska swung his staff from left to right.

Then, the green walls that had appeared flew toward us, and before our eyes, they systematically aligned themselves, becoming a multi-layered wall.

“Kyah!”

Before we had time to prepare ourselves for the impact, a violent wave of heat struck us.

The “Emerald Wall” caught the raging flames breathed out by the dragon just in time.

But I was pushed back by the hot winds of the flames that were tinged with magic and blown backwards.

“Milady!”

Thor went behind me to catch me, covering my footing and back with ice to withstand the force of the hot wind.

It was roaring, and even now the red and orange of its flames were bursting before my eyes. Even if we were spared from the direct fire, the heat was so intense that even breathing was painful.

Thor quickly used ice magic to cool the air.

Thick steam filled the whole area.

On the other side of the steam, only Professor Ulysses and Bishop Eska remained upright, neither frightened nor looking away, but simply staring at the enemy.

Though the attack was intercepted for the moment, there was no joy, excitement, or the slightest bit of discomposure.

They were processing the information indifferently in order to make the next move.

“That lizard bastard…it’s pinpointing its attack on us!”

“How is the Emerald Wall doing, Bishop?”

“It’s just barely holding up. I’ve put up as many layers of Emerald Walls as I could. But so what? Even the remaining five are burned up. But even if the Emerald Wall blocked the fire, the aftermath will lead to more damage. Look, the edge of the school island is on fire!”

“Oh, it’s as you say. But the students have already been evacuated, so I suppose I can forgive you for that much.”

“Why are you making it sound like it’s my fault! You get to work too, you shitty black-hearted prince!”

Indeed, the flames that were repelled by the Emerald Wall fell onto the woods at the edge of the school island, and the trees were aflame.

However, before Professor Ulysses could give any instructions, the spirits on the island seemed to be taking care of the situation.

“So, what about the incantations we chanted? What about the spell??”

I squinted my eyes and looked around.

Earlier, I had resolved myself and chanted the first incantation of the〈Scarlet Witch〉.

But on this side, there was no sign of anything happening.

I didn’t think so, I really didn’t think so, but…did we fail to activate the spell?

“It’s alright, calm down, Miss Makia. Look right underneath the dragon.”

“Huh?”

Professor Ulysses looked down at something and chuckled.

I also leaned over the railing of the lighthouse and looked directly under the dragon.

“Oh…”

I widened my eyes slowly.

The sea should have been there, but instead there was a round hole that reflected the sunset sky.

No, it wasn’t a hole. 

It was a giant–mirror.

“The door has already been opened. Now it’s up to me, as a spirit magician, to do the rest.”

Crack…crack…

There was a sound. We all heard it.

It was the sound of a crack appearing in a mirror, and then shattering from there.

The breath of the demon god that was waiting to come out from the other side of the mirror.

“Yuri yuno rei sys――Come here, demon god of the mirror, Pan Faunus.”

Professor Ulysses raised his staff and chanted.

For that moment, the world seemed to have gone completely silent.

However, the startling sound of a mirror breaking resounded, like even that silent world was shattering. 

A giant, warped black arm stretched out from beneath the dragon.

Aah…

I’ve seen that in the fourth labyrinth.

What was summoned after the great mirror broke was Pan Faunus, the great goat spirit that was far more gigantic than the dragon.

“That’s the headmaster’s…Pan Faunus’s true form…”

I gulped.

The sound of the mirror breaking resounded incessantly, and soon the great spirit revealed himself in all his glory on the sea.

His fiercely curled goat’s horns looked like those of a devil or the representation of a storm.

His torso was hard to describe, and its presence was ambiguous, as though it were covered in a transparent black veil.

His slender five-fingered hand, his black arm protruding from his translucent torso, was held up to the bright red sky, ready to grab the dragon at any moment.

“Bishop! Please defend the capital’s coast!”

“You don’t have to tell me that, you shitty prince!”

Bishop Eska now swung his staff from right to left.

Upon doing that, the Emerald Walls gathered in the coastal area of the capital.

Furthermore, they were assembled like the pieces of a puzzle, standing in a row and on alert like a castle wall.

Soon after, waves stirred up by the impact of Pan Faunus’s appearance hit the coast of Miladriede. The Emerald Wall, however, served as a breakwater and prevented serious damage.

“Ah!”

Even so, there was no time to relax.

The dragon now spat out scorching flames directly below. The momentum of the flames caused it to rise high directly above, so as to not be entangled in Pan Faunus’s stretched-out hands.

But Pan Faunus’s arms reached out even through those flames.

He couldn’t grab the dragon, but he gripped the chains that were tied to it and pulled, spinning the dragon in the air and slamming it into the surface of the sea with great force.

“Wha…”

“What…power…”

Those were the only words we could come up with.

The salty spray of water rose all the way up here.

The dragon, however, wasn’t defeated at this level, and broke free from the water to bite Pan Faunus’s arm. Its fangs were so sharp that anyone bitten by them wouldn’t stand a chance, but Pan Faunus wasn’t intimidated and swatted the dragon away.

From here, the grapple and fight, which needed no explanation, began.

The battle of giant creatures unfolding before our eyes–it was as if we were watching a kaiju battle in a tokusatsu movie.

We, tiny as we were, weren’t even allowed to intervene. Rather than watching them, we had to do our utmost to make sure that the shaking land and sea, as well as the gusty winds and flames from this battle didn’t cause serious damage, and to not die accidentally.

Pan Faunus pulled on the chains he gripped and tried to re-capture the dragon.

At this moment, however, the chains suddenly disappeared and the dragon was free, soaring into the sky at great speed.

And then, it let out an ear-splitting roar.

“...!”

It shook the air and cracked the earth. Even its cries contained magic, and my head felt like it was about to burst open.

People with weak magic resistance would have fainted just hearing that roar.

The chains were probably made with alchemy. They might have been used to control the dragon’s power, but the Heavenly Empire’s side saw that they would be at a disadvantage if they were left in place, so they were released.

But this meant no one controlled the dragon any longer.

The highest existence of demons. A life form of the age of myths.

It looked as if it was the ruler of the sunset sky.

Truly, it seemed to be a heavenly messenger who brought the end and despair to this world.

“Crap, it’s getting worse and worse.”

Bishop Eska grumbled. “Yes,” Professor Ulysses put his hand on his chin and replied.

“I wanted to take it alive if we can, but…”

“Hah? Take it alive? That’s impossible! We’ve got to ged rid of it before it does too much damage.”

“...No, if we could just stop the dragon’s movements for even just a second, I think we will be able to resolve everything. Pan Faunus possesses great magic that can be our trump card. But it would be difficult for him to stop the dragon’s movements.”

“‘Cause he’s too slow and sluggish, huh.”

Apparently, Professor Ulysses had an agenda to capture that dragon.

However, the professor must continuously summon Pan Faunus and keep track of the whole area using the lighthouse, and Bishop Eska was responsible for protecting the city and the school island.

If that was the case――

“So all we have to do is to stop the movements of the dragon? I’ll take care of that!”

When I raised my hand and said that, Professor Ulysses and Bishop Eska turned around.

Next to me, Thor was also startled.

Even I wondered what I was doing.

“What do you mean, Miss Makia?”

“The Scarlet Witch’s thread magic might be able to capture that dragon.”

“M-Milady!? But it’s too far from here.”

“Well then, Thor, take me over there.”

“...Huh?”

“I need your power too.”

I looked up at Thor next to me and grinned cheekily. Thor slowly widened his eyes.

It seemed that my intentions were conveyed to him as well.

“But, Miss Makia. That means getting close to the dragon. It’s an extremely dangerous mission.”

“But right now, I’m the only one who can do it. Isn’t that right, Professor?”

“...”

Rather, this was the only way.

In this place, only the Scarlet Witch’s thread magic could stop the dragon.

I knew that spell could make even dragons stay still.

Next to me, Thor let out a loud sigh and held his head.

“Okay, okay. Milady won’t listen to anyone once she says she’s going to do something. I’ll take her to the dragon with Griminde. The Twilight magicians might try to stop us, so I’ll protect her from the enemy.”

“Thank you, Thor~, as expected of my former knight!”

“I still intend on being your knight.”

Thor looked a little miffed. Even that made me happy, and my motivation swelled up more and more.

However, Professor Ulysses had a conflicted look on his face.

“Certainly, right now you two are the only ones who can do it. But you’ll be pushing yourselves too much again. You have just opened the door, and who knows what the repercussions will be later on…”

The professor was cautious. He told us that the reason we had energy right now was because of the fruit from the great tree of the Holy Land that Bishop Eska fed us.

But I wouldn’t back down either.

“Professor! I can’t stand it anymore!”

“Miss Makia…”

“My year at magic school was the greatest youth I could ever have. I won’t let anyone destroy it any more. I will never forgive the Heavenly Empire for hurting Nero, Lapis, and Frey…I want to restore peace the school I love so much.”

Yes. For some reason, I felt an extraordinary desire to protect this school.

As well as for the sake of my rivals and friends who I studied magic and shared hardships with over the past year.

Professor Ulysses looked at me steadily, then at Thor.

The professor seemed to have something on his mind.

“I understand. Please be careful, both of you. And please…protect this school.”

“Yes!”

We nodded vigorously and hastily straddled the back of Griminde, who was summoned by Thor.

Griminde was a spirit in the form of a dragon, but he was much smaller and more loyal to his master than the real dragon that now ruled the sky.

“Hold on tight, milady. If you fall, I won’t have to to catch you.”

“I know. I’ll hold on tight.”

But if I really fell off, Thor would probably come and catch me…

To prevent that from happening, I clung to Thor tightly.

After making sure of that, Thor ordered Griminde to fly away from the lighthouse.

I had held on to Thor and rode on Griminde’s back several times before. I was used to the sensation of flight, but this time I couldn’t just sit back and enjoy the flight.

“Uwaaah!”

We were immediately attacked in the skies. I didn’t even know where it came from or what kind of attack it was.

But the impact was indeed there, and it was Thor who blocked it with a magic wall.

“Are you alright, milady!”

“Y-Yes! I’m okay!”

“That was from the Twilight magicians. There are several of them.”

Perhaps anticipating our approach to the dragon, the Twilight magicians, who were waiting in the sky above us, gave chase. We managed to dodge them just in time.

“C-Can we get close to the dragon like this?”

“It’s no problem. The steering will be a little rough, so please bear with me.”

“Eek…!”

With the sensation of plummeting, I was now letting out a soundless scream.

This time we shot up, and then went down again. This repeated, and I struggled to stay conscious.

If it was Frey, he would definitely get motion sickness, and his soul might fly away somewhere…

“Milady, the dragon breathes out fire. Please be careful of the hot winds.”

“I’ll be the fine. I’m a【Fire】Blessed Child after all!”

Thor was right in front of me, but the sound of the wind made his voice sound distant.

The dragon didn’t care about us, who were like winged insects zipping around it. It only regarded Pan Faunus as an enemy and was spitting out the flames it had accumulated in its flame sacs at the demon god.

Spiralling flames streamed down Pan Faunus’s arms and covered its face and body.

Pan Faunus’s gigantic body fell into the sea. The spray of water reached all the way up to us.

However, this created a secret opening. Once a dragon breathed flames, it wouldn’t be able to do so again for a while.

Thor didn’t let that chance get away and placed an ice wall in the air.

Ice magic and levitation magic were Thor’s specialty, and he used them to disorient the dragon’s eyes.

At the same time, I cut a lock of my hair with a small knife I had prepared and released it into the sky.

Chant it now, loudly.

“Maki rie luci ah——turn, turn, red spinning wheel!”

Spin, spin――

Above my head, a glowing red magic formation was deployed.

For a moment–I saw a red-headed witch in the back of my eyes.

While the passage of time felt unnaturally slow, the witch giggled and pulled out a strand of her own hair, which she held straight and sharp like a wire…

“―Hah!”

It was time to regain consciousness. 

Red rays of light were running through the sky at blinding speeds.

With the ice wall as a foundation, the seams and stretched out red threads pierced the dragon’s body here and there and bound it.

No, those were already…needles of crimson blood.

“Gyaaaaaaah!”

The dragon’s screams resounded.

The red threads retained their hardness, and it was as though the dragon had been sewn into the sunset sky.

It was used a little different than how I had imagined, but the dragon was petrified, bound from head to toe, and it could only wiggle around a little on the spot.

“We did it…! The Scarlet Witch’s thread magic worked.”

Unlike previously where I used it by wrapping the threads around people and hanging them up, this spell was like an application of that. I also used it to pierce and fix in place…

Even I, the person who used the spell, was surprised.

Did the Scarlet Witch teach me this at the bottom of my heart?

“Amazing. Milady, where did you learn this kind of spell?”

“Huh? No, I just used the thread spell…”

“The dragon’s flame sacs aren’t working right. Those threads also have the effect of controlling the magic of the target they pierce.”

“...Eh?”

It was the first time I’ve heard of such a thing, but it was true that the dragon wasn’t attempting to breathe fire.

As Thor said, not only had the dragon’s movements been obstructed, but its fire attacks have been blocked as well.

“Then I won’t be outdone by milady either.” 

Thor raised his hand in the air.

Then, a cube-shaped black box appeared on the back of his palm and spun around in an erratic manner on the spot while slightly floating.

What Thor was glaring at was the sunset-red sky itself.

“Torc mel me gis――Black Box, activate.”

When he clenched his hand that he held up to the sky, the artificial sunset sky was torn apart.

It was as if a piece of pasted-on paper was peeling away.

“Wha…what did you do!?”

I was completely astonished.

“It’s spatial destruction. The magic I was learning from Instructor Lapis was mainly transference magic and spatial destruction magic. They’re a countermeasure against Twilight.”

According to Thor, he felt that the Twilight Zone had become unstable, perhaps due to the thread spell I used earlier. He said that he tried to destroy the Twilight Zone by taking advantage of the opportunity.

Through the gaps in the peeling sky, the original blue sky began to appear.

It was a fascinating sight that couldn’t be seen just anywhere, but this was no time to just stare at it.

“Mr. Thor, Miss Makia, please retreat! Pan Faunus will unleash his great magic now!”

“!?”

We heard Professor Ulysses’ voice from where we were.

We looked toward the lighthouse and saw him with a megaphone in hand, giving us instructions.

Was that megaphone made of a spirit…?

“Milady, please hold on tight. We will evacuate.”

“Yes, sir!”

I responded politely without thinking.

Right after that–I felt a sharp murderous intent from overhead and raised my head.

“Dieeeeeeeee!”

Familiar animal ears. One of the Twilight magicians, that young man, who I remember was called Vidar, appeared right above us with transference magic and swung a huge scythe.

This was bad. Immediately after doing the thread spell, my body was so stiff that I couldn’t react.

I squeezed my eyes shut, but the attack was blocked with a violent shaking of the space.

With slightly closed eyes, I saw a green magic wall repelling the enemy’s scythe…

“Bishop Eska!”

The Emerald Wall with the blessing of the Holy Land protected us.

Once we were within Bishop Eska’s range of defence, there was no need to worry.

The beast-eared magician named Vidar kept howling, “How dare you, how dare you!” as he continued to descend, but the other magicians picked him up and didn’t let him pursue us further.

The enemy had also realized it.

That something was about to happen.

Then, I heard Professor Ulysses’ frighteningly calm voice.

“Be sacrificed to the great demon. Swallow it all–Pan Faunus.”

Immediately after Professor Ulysses’s command–a large hole appeared in Pan Faunus’s stomach.

The hole appeared to be swirling.

At the same time, it was driven on by a fierce wind unlike any I’ve experienced before.

“Pan Faunus is a Wind-attribute great spirit. I don’t suppose he can create a great tornado?”

“...If we get caught in it, we won’t stand a chance.”

Perhaps having a bad feeling, Thor instructed Griminde to move away from Pan Faunus quickly.

I turned around, checking the situation.

The winds were gradually strengthening, but after blowing wildly for a brief period, they seemed to be all converging on Pan Faunus’s open abdomen…

“Ah…”

This wasn’t a wind that created a storm or tornado and blew everything away. This was a wind that sucked up everything.

The hole was open, facing the immobile dragon.

The dragon was groaning horribly, but because it was captured by the Scarlet Witch’s threads, it couldn’t escape. It remained in place, slowly and gradually getting sucked in.

“Gigigigigigiiigi!”

Leaving only that sickening sound, the dragon was swallowed into Pan Faunus’s stomach hole, its end incredibly abrupt.

While our eyes were captivated by that shocking sight, we safely returned to the lighthouse.

“Thank you for your hard work, the two of you.”

“Professor Ulysses, what exactly is that…?”

“That is Pan Faunus’s wind hole.”

“Wind hole…”

“Yes, it’s a huge hole that swallows up everything. Although he’s a great spirit of the Wind-attribute, in his case, it’s more about wind power as a suction force than a blowing storm or tornado.”

Suction force…

“So basically, it’s a vacuum cleaner?”

“Well, that’s how it works.”

Professor Ulysses answered nonchalantly.

“I was hesitant to use it because it would have swallowed up the school island and even the capital if I hadn’t taken aim on the dragon and suppressed the winds to some extent. But thanks to Miss Makia’s help in stopping the dragon, I was able to use it successfully. …See, we’ll be able to start seeing some even more interesting sights now.”

“Interesting sights…?”

Professor Ulysses was looking at the peeling sunset sky with the sparkling eyes and expression of a child who hadn’t forgotten his youthful heart. I followed his gaze.

The great magic circle was still there.

That was the next prey for Professor Ulysses and the suction demon.

“Go, Pan Faunus! Drag out the enemy’s entrails! Ahahahaha!”

“...P-Professor?”

Professor Ulysses was unusually excited. I was dumbfounded. Thor was also stunned speechless.

That’s right. Pan Faunus’s wind hole was now directed at the great teleportation circle.

Nothing could have been more unexpected for the Heavenly Empire and the Twilight magicians.

Pan Faunus’s suction ability began to drag everything out this way from the depths of the magic circle and swallow them into his belly.

Demons, weapons, magic tools, soldiers, and much more.

Those were probably everything that the Heavenly Empire had planned to use in the near future.

The moment of suction was so fleeting that it was difficult to make out some things, but Pan Faunus really did suck in all kinds of things very easily.

“Ah…ah…”

I couldn’t help but let out unintelligible noises in the face of that overwhelming suction power.

Looking at it from the enemy’s point of view, there was nothing that would terrify you more than this.

The magic circle had now become an object of enmity.

In short, the enemy was now presenting its cards to the enemy nation via the magic circle.

The Twilight magicians were hurriedly trying to remove the magic circle.

However, such large-scale magic, which took so long to deploy, also required many steps to remove.

“What happens to the…objects he swallowed?”

I asked, unable to blink, staring at the scene.

Pan Faunus had everything in its belly. 

I was curious about what would happen to the things inside.

“Of course, it’s possible to retrieve them later. Later, we can slowly verify later what the Heavenly Empire was hiding and what they are trying to do…”

I was beginning to understand what Professor Ulysses meant when he said he wanted to capture the dragon.

By using Pan Faunus’s wind hole, we were going to receive a whole lot of information about the enemy.

From there, future battle conditions and strategies might change.

“Hey, look. The Heavenly Empire’s great magic circle is about to disappear.”

Bishop Eska informed us while pointing at the sky.

“Did they remove it?” Thor asked.

“That seems to be the case. They must not want to lose any more state secrets. We seem to have succeeded in getting a souvenir from the Heavenly Empire.”

Right now, Professor Ulysses didn’t have his usual cheerful expression. It was kind of…

He had a dark smile that reminded me of Bishop Eska always calling him the “black-hearted shitty prince.”

“Good work, Pan Faunus.”

After everything was over, Pan Faunus slowly came over to the lighthouse while making the sea and earth rumble. 

When he stretched out its neck and peered at us with its face, we were so overwhelmed by its size and intimidating air that we couldn’t speak.

Professor Ulysses was the only one who looked like he was filled with deep emotion.

Perhaps this was the first time he had seen Pan Faunus in this form since the time of the〈White Sage〉.

“Pan. I’ve finally met you in your true form. Thank you for protecting Lune Ruschia for five hundred years, even though I’ve kept you locked up in the mirror for so long.”

“What are you saying, Your Highness? No, Master White Sage. I did it because I want to. It’s surprisingly comfortable inside the mirror. I suppose this is what they call ‘home is where you make it.’”

I didn’t know where the voice of Pan Faunus was coming from, but it was the headmaster’s usual voice.

Professor Ulysses and the headmaster.

The White Sage, and the great spirit Pan Faunus.

Some of the White Sage’s spirits waited patiently in this place and continued to protect Lune Ruschia Magic School until the day they would meet again. They kept their promise.

I heard this story from the headmaster…

Yes, this was the very moment when the promise made by the〈White Sage〉and the spirits was being fulfilled.

“But it was worth the wait. Because once again, the three great magicians have descended upon us, and I was able to greet the day when the door opened.”

Professor Ulysses smiled wistfully and slowly nodded.

“Pan. Go back to the mirror and rest now. I know you feel sick because you’ve just stored strange things in your stomach. I’ll get them out for you later.”

“Ho ho ho. There is no doubt that it will wreck my stomach. But don’t mind me.”

Pan Faunus bowed his extremely gigantic head deeply.

“Then please take your leave, magician beyond the door.”

We were swallowed by blinding light.

It felt like we had been moved somewhere else by a transference spell.

After a while, I slowly opened my eyes.

Upon doing that, huge stone doors rose before me.

A set of doors so big that I had to crane my head to look up at it, inscribed with ancient Maydare mythology.

Before I could take in the situation, I opened my eyes wide at the majestic doors.

For some reason, I felt like I knew these doors.

“Is everyone here?”

I jolted in surprise when I heard Professor Ulysses’ voice.

When I looked around, I saw Professor Ulysses and Thor.

Like me, Thor also seemed to be fascinated with the doors in front of us.

“I apologize for the sudden teleportation. It was contrived so that we were sent here after the summoning of Pan Faunus.” 

“Um, Professor Ulysses, what is this place?”

“This is the lowest level of the school island labyrinth, the fifth labyrinth, the ‘Temple of the Eyes.’”

The professor recited the name of the place in a solemn voice.

I have heard that only the founders of the magic school were allowed to enter the fifth labyrinth, the lowest level.

“The Temple of the Eyes is the place of oaths where the three great magicians, the〈Black Demon King〉, the〈Scarlet Witch〉, and the 〈White Sage〉, made all their agreements when they founded this school island.”

“Place…of oaths?”

For some reason, my heart pounded.

Professor Ulysses turned to us once and spoke with a serious face.

“Pan Faunus is the greatest spirit that protects the school island. To break his seal, all that was needed was the first incantation of the three great magicians. And being able to break the seal of Pan Faunus is proof that you are the three great magicians who created this school island. That’s me and the two of you.”

“...”

“Then, let us go inside. The door is already open.”

Professor Ulysses turned to the doors again and chanted in a calm voice.

“Open, sesame.”

The huge stone slab doors opened to the left and right with grinding sounds.

Amazingly, the way to open these doors was “Open, sesame.”

It was an ancient incantation of opening. Every child in Maydare knew it.

In the stories I read as a child, this was the incantation recited when opening a door.

It was an incantation no one used anymore because it was so old, but it was very strange that these doors, where a five-hundred-year-old promise lay, could be opened with “Open, sesame.”

We must not forget our child’s heart.

I felt that such a pure magic was sleeping here.

With Professor Ulysses leading the way, we now crossed the threshold of the doors.

“Let’s go. Deep within lies the truth you both wish to know…and all the stories you need to know are waiting for you as they sleep.”

The magicians beyond the door.

Once we passed through this door, we could no longer turn back.

Sleeping here was the truth we wanted to know.

The story we had to know.

The story of the ten magicians that begins when we learn it.

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