Chapter 254

Chapter 254 Strongest Sage, Arrives at the Site of Decisive Battle

"That's . . . but that's right next to the capital! How could he hide there!? People would have noticed, wouldn't they!?"

"It would be a simple matter for Grevil . Heck, I wouldn't be surprised even if he were lurking inside the 『Great Capital Barrier』 . We're lucky that he's outside . "

But I don't understand why Grevil would pick that spot .

There was nothing but a lake there .

Neither is it geographically nor magically significant .

It's really just an ordinary lake with a nice scenic view .

Wonder why Grevil is encamped there .

. . . Well, we'll figure that out once we raid the place .

"Let's take a nice long rest tomorrow . Then the day after tomorrow, we're commencing the attack . "

"Got it!"

"Understood!"

◇

Two days later .

We're heading to the Lake Leysiard .

Since the lake isn't being used for anything, there's no road connecting there . . . But since we're passing through meadows all the way, not woods, our journey is proceeding smoothly .

"I think we're quite close already?"

"Yeah . It should come into view soon . "

" . . . I can't believe there are demons lurking here . . . "

Not long since we departed, we got close enough to Lake Leysiard .

But there's no sign of the place being used as a demon's den nor that kind of mana .

However . . . something feels unnatural from the mana in the area somehow .

This must be due to the influence of the barrier Grevil put up .

He must have created a barrier that drives ordinary people away to prevent him getting found out before we get here .

Those who have reached a certain level of expertise with magic should be able to detect the barrier's source, but most people today aren't at such a level .

Thus, it's possible to hide this close to the capital just by putting up a mana quarantine barrier here .

"That's Lake Leysiard . . . ! What a nice view!"

"But there's nothing here . . . or it would be nice if true, but there's a barrier here isn't it . "

"Yeah . There's even an obviously deliberately placed crack here . "

I look at flag unnaturally placed on the lake shore .

There's a crack on the barrier next to that flag where you can see inside .

The flag is drawn with [General Magic Textbooks] that were left in the place where we found demons back then .

. . . I don't get why these books keep getting referenced .

There's a big bridge inside the barrier .

That bridge is connected to the crack on the barrier .

This bridge looks newly built . . . I mean, looks like it was built just one two months ago .

It was probably hastily built after his declaration of war to us .

"What should we do about this? Should I turn back into dragon and smash open the barrier?"

"Grevil himself has probably noticed that Iris is a dragon . He's probably going to survive even [Dragon Breath] . "

Grevil must be telling, [Enter through the bridge] .

We could just break the barrier and enter . . . But considering our opponent possess weapons of mass destruction on him, we shouldn't go against his requests too much .

Even if those weapons aren't here, sending a magical signal to activate them is a simple matter .

"We should cross the bridge just as asked . "

"Oh, it's really rare for Mathias-san to comply with enemy's request . "

"Well I have no idea what the other party is thinking at all . Who knows if he would even deploy WoMD were his mood turned sour . "

I peek through the barrier crack .

Apparently there's a castle-like building adorned with ornaments made in real bad taste at the end of the bridge .

I don't believe he had a penchant for these really bad ornaments when he was still a king . . . Just what had transpired when I was reincarnating anyway .

I confirm with the three girls .

"Are you three ready?"

"Let's go at 'em!"

"I'm all right!"

"I'm ready when you are!"

After hearing those, I take a step toward the bridge .

Then . . .

With a loud sound effect, Grevil's face got displayed in front of us .

Looks like he's had a magic device to project images installed beforehand .

"These mechanism are really in bad taste . . . "

"Please don't say that . I too have things I have to accomplish at all cost . "

Then Grevil cast some sort of magic .

Then . . .

"A disguise huh?"

On the display, Grevil has turned into a genuine-looking demon complete with horns and wings .

I absolutely have no clue what he's trying to do, but it's clear that he's pretending to be a demon .

"Exactly . From now on, I'm a great demon . A great demon who's trying to destroy humanity . "

Grevil on the display cast yet another magic .

『Mathi-kun, guard–』

『No, that's not an attack magic . No need to guard . 』

Ruli got on guard thinking Grevil was going to cast an attack magic . . . However, Grevil is casting comm magic .

And it's not a private type, but the complete opposite–it's a [Wide Area Comm Magic] that will transmit Grevil's figure and voice to all people at the capital .