Chapter 220
Chapter 220 Strongest Sage, Extracts Info
『Of course, there would be a trap . Probably the instant the lock at the entrance was broken, the entire warehouse would go up in an huge explosion magic . 』
『But then, the dollmaster would also die if they did that . . . 』
『The dollmaster is a sacrificial p.a.w.n anyway . Blowing them all away would erase both those who could damage the dolls and evidence along . 』
In fact, mana reaction that feels exactly that is leaking out of this warehouse .
The dollmaster was probably told that the magic tool was for eliminating intruders in time of emergency .
The dollmaster who cannot read magic circles probably set up the magic tool themselves without knowing that it would kill them along with the enemy .
There"s a high chance that they"re under a high level of mind control that bars them from even questioning what the magic tool is even .
『Uwaah, they"re really treated like a disposable . . . 』
『Because they are . To the point that you feel sorry for them . 』
Well, that doesn"t mean I"m going to hold back though .
Even the demons must have picked humans that were easy to control .
Those who are virtuous steer clear of demons, so they"re usually hard to manipulate .
Folkia had a great number of citizens controlled, but that was because the sub-demons were staying nearby .
Strong mind control that persists long after the demons have gone away requires willingness from the person put under the control .
The dollmaster must have allowed the demons to control them due to some kind of reasons .
With that in mind, there"s no need for sympathy .
『 . . . Here it is . 』
We"re standing in front of a warehouse with blue walls .
It"s quite old, but the door has a newish lock installed .
『Entry off-limit for non-personnel . 』
『Managed by: Waterworks Administration Bureau - Ecial Branch . 』
That"s what written on the door .
Looks like this building belongs to the so-called Waterworks Administration Bureau .
Mana reactions of one human and the dolls could be sensed inside the building .
The human"s mana reaction is very small .
『Waterworks Administration Bureau . . . . I"ve heard that Saihill has a large-scale water service, is it being managed here I wonder?』
『Doesn"t seem like there"s flowing water inside, this place is probably a mere warehouse . . . Anyway, that lock is a trap, so don"t touch it . 』
The lock looks like a simple padlock, but the inside seems to be fitted with a transmission-type magic tool .
It"s probably connected to a magic tool inside that will blow up if it gets broken .
Well, the fact that it won"t go off without breaking the lock is proof this trap is third-rate .
『Will it explode if you touch it?』
『It won"t explode as long as it"s not broken, but there"s a possibility some kind of alarm will go off if you touch it . . . Not like we need to politely go from the front anyway, we can just do it this way . 』
I invoke soundproofing magic and put my hand on a wall next to the door .
Afterward, I invoke attack magic the size of a human .
『Ah, you"re going to break it . . . 』
『Wouldn"t it be quicker if you just let me go ahead and break everything then? I mean, I"d be all right even if the whole building go under . 』
『That would badly mess up the inside . Something that could be a clue might be there, so I"d like to preserve it as much as possible . 』
I don"t really have much expectations, but there might be something that could be a hint inside .
And even if there isn"t, causing too much uproars could lead them to us .
Well, punching a hole on the wall isn"t any better though .
『 . . . Then it might be better if I don"t go in . . . 』
『Yeah . You three, please be on the lookout here to stop anyone coming . Our enemy is alone, I"m gonna capture them real quick . 』
『Got it!』
After we"re done consulting, I destroy the wall with the attack magic .
There"s no sound due to the soundproof magic, the hole is just enough for me to pa.s.s .
I jump inside through that hole .
Just as the mana reactions tell me, there"s a huge number of dolls and one man inside .
" . . . Ah?"
As the man sounded confused to see me coming through a suddenly collapsing wall, he threw a sword in his hand at the same time .
It"s like attack first, question later, before confirming the situation .
He looks to be very adept at it, there"s absolutely no awkwardness in the way he moves .
It"s probably not something from the demons" control, but originally his .
. . . I figure it out after seeing his movement and atmosphere .
This guy had killed dozens of people even before the demons came into the picture .
Well, it"s not like he"s strong though .
Not like he could use chantless magic like Giruas after all .
"Wha . . . The h.e.l.l are you!"
The man pulled out another sword while sounding surprised to see me swatting down the thrown sword with my hand .
He even had a spare sword ready huh .
Of course, I"m not obliged to answer .
I zeroed in on the man and restrained him with magic .
. . . Right then, I felt something strange .
The mana on the man"s his body isn"t that of a normal human .
Unrelated to the fact that this man"s a murderer .
His heart isn"t pulsing .
Dead man . . . Or rather, it looks like the man got revived after purposely being killed off .
I didn"t notice until after I got this close since the camouflaged spell art used life force instead of mana as a base .
And the reason the enemy went out of way to do all this must be for silencing the guy .
Sure enough, the moment my restraining spell was cast, the magic that maintained his life force was canceled .
To extract info, I attempted to cast a new spell to maintain life force, however . . .
" . . . Been dealt with huh . "
My spell was blocked off .
Looks like it"s been made so that only spell that makes use of life force can work .
. . . Guess I"ll confirm one thing before this guy dies .
There"s probably nothing much I could get out, just a hint should be enough .
Simple questions with either yes or no answers can be done with a certain magic .
The magic has a heap of side effects, but there"s no need to worry about that on someone that"s about to die .
"Are the people backing you related to Waterworks Bureau?"
I cast 【Magic Interrogation】 as I asked .
It"s called interrogation, but in actuality, this magic practically reads your thoughts .
It causes a huge load on target"s brain, so it can probably only used once on this guy .
Even if the target is of healthy body and mind, using this magic five times would make them practically dead after all .
However, it fits well in situations like this .
You simply need to cast the magic as you ask a question, and the answer will come out soon .
--Then, the magic returned a response .
I immediately a.n.a.lyze the mana and derive an answer .
The answer is yes .
Just as I thought .
. . . With this information alone, I ascertained which places should we raid to trace the people who are collecting life force .
Next, we just need to cross check with the info we got from observing this village, and whether we should raid the place or not .
I got out of the warehouse while thinking that .