Shikkakua Mon no Saikyou Kenja~ Sekai Saikyou no Kenja ga Sarani Tsuyoku Naru Tameni Tenseishimashita~

"Let"s hurry . This period where the demon has just been resurrected is our best chance at defeating it . "

"Got it!"

"Yes!　 . . . We"re heading in that direction, right?"

Ruli pointed at the direction where the mana flowed in .
Identifying directions from within roughened up Dragon Veins is supposed to be quite a task . . . But she handled that nicely .

"Yeah . You"ve got the general direction covered . . . and now I"ll go check its exact location . "

I probe Zadokilgias"s location from Dragon Veins" flow .
Then . . . I managed to pinpoint it .

"Zadokilgias is over there . In the direction of the capital . "

The demon"s mana reaction is located further ahead of the capital .
Might as well contact the king and the princ.i.p.al since it"s along the way anyway .
Still quite far, but it shouldn"t take too long with our legs .

Advertis.e.m.e.nt"Err . . . Would you like to ride on my back since we"re in a hurry and all?"

Iris flaps her arms around while still in her human form .
That"s the fastest method for sure, but . . . .

"Nah, we"ll walk there . The period after its resurrection may be the best time to defeat this demon, but one or two days won"t make a difference . . . Iris, preserve your power . "

"I got it!"

Iris will be our trump card for this fight .
Since her [Dragon Breath] boasts firepower that can be dealt just with a difference in skill .
How to make best use of that is the point of the upcoming fight .

Thanks to the continued treatment, Iris"s magic circuits have stabilized considerably .
One shot of [Dragon Breath] should be no problem to her .

However . . . Flying in her dragon form would put unnecessary burdens on her recovering magic circuits .
We should just walk the walk if it would lessen that load .

◇

Evening of that day .
We arrived at the Second Academy without issues .
There were no abnormal mana movements caused by demons or anything either .

"Are we gonna go straight toward the demon?"

Alma asked as we reached the capital .
Pa.s.sing through the capital to head straight to Zadokilgias"s location is faster indeed .
However . . .

"No . Let"s gather some info first . "

Zadokilgias"s body gets stronger over time .
However, mere one or two days won"t make that much difference .

We"d be better off gathering more information within that time frame .
Information about geographical features and neighboring towns near where the demon is could influence the fight .

The royal castle will prioritize matters concerning demons after all, might as well ask away .
And we"ve got Grevil at the Second Academy .

"Let"s head back to the Second Academy for now . "

Contacting royal castle is faster through Second Academy .
The princ.i.p.al will get us through back pa.s.sage instead of the normal annoying procedures .

I got connected to comm magic while walking .
The caller was not me .
This mana . . . it"s Grevil .

『What"s the matter, Grevil?』

『I felt demonic mana mixed in the Dragon Veins while I was making an observation at Second Academy . Is that also why Mathias-san has come back?』

Looks like he"s already noticed the problem this time .
Perhaps he has information I don"t have considering how close the capital is to the demon"s location .

『Yeah . . . How"s the situation? Any incident taking place?』

『I don"t see anything amiss since the time I detected the demonic mana . However . . . This demon is most likely quite strong despite its mana . Please be careful . 』

『Oh right, are you not aware of Zadokilgias then, Grevil . 』

I probably took care of Zadokilgias long before Grevil was born .
Yet the demon"s mana is abnormal enough for him to be wary of its strength .

『Zadokilgias . . . Do you mean the [Demon of Destruction]?』

『Yeah . It"s quite an old demon specializing in skillset . 』

『I know the name at least . . . I"ve been keeping my observation for any suspicious trends after that one time . . . But there has been absolutely nothing in the Dragon Veins since . 』

I see .
At least it doesn"t seem like there"s a large-scale magic that makes use of Dragon Veins .
Zadokilgias isn"t the type that heavily relies on the scale of magic to begin with though .

『Can you inform the princ.i.p.al that we"ll be arriving at Second Academy?』

『Yes . I shall ask the royal castle to gather information pertaining known spots of demons . 』

On the move already huh . Nice footwork .
Instating Grevil as Second Academy"s instructor was really a correct choice .

I made my way to the Second Academy"s princ.i.p.al room while thinking that .