The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

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That day, demons suddenly attacked the town of Shaboom.

A brown-skinned demon with pure white arms invaded the mansion of the most prominent noble in town, Count Ketaaru, who lived in the center of the town.

Taking the Count's first wife hostage, the demon made only one demand:

"Where is the 'Factor of Destruction'?"

Seeing the bewildered reaction of the Count and others, the white-armed demon tossed aside the first wife and left the mansion.

It then descended upon another noble's mansion, repeating the same actions.

Meanwhile, a red-eyed demon was setting fire to the town's main facilities. The guard station, hospital, Adventurers' Guild, Merchants' Guild, church... flames rose from everywhere, throwing the town into chaos.

Demons have appeared.

Demons have attacked.

Such rumors spread like wildfire, and along with the flames burning in various places, people were frantically seeking shelter.

And in the shadows of the people, there was one...

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"Kufufu~! What shall we do with the Demon King's seed~ Kufufufu~!"

The red-eyed demon laughed ominously.

I don't know what kind of power it has, but this one is dangerous.

Feeling uneasy that my perception interference isn't working, I moved my body between the demon and Elen.

"Are you the ones attacking the town?"

"Kufu? Oh my~ I don't sense any magical power from you~"

...I see. So it's about magical elements and power!

My perception interference is primarily built around visual effects. I set the threshold to make Elen's horns and wool unrecognizable, creating the illusion that she's human.

Conversely, the magical element information and olfactory information that I can't detect remain unchanged.

Can demons see through it from those signs?

"Kufu! The Demon King's seed and a defective product together~ how interesting~! But~ having a burden makes it easier for me~"

Defective product, huh.

It seems even among demons, the cursed children are treated the same.

I calmly ignored the red-eyed demon's contempt, but Elen behind me couldn't do the same.

"Mm, unforgivable. 'Fire Lance'!"

The lance of flame she released with her anger pierced through the red-eyed demon's abdomen.

The red-eyed demon crumbled like dirt and melted into the ground.

"Did we get it?"

...Ah, I raised a flag.

"Kufufu! What impressive power! The Demon King's seed is no joke~"

This time, the demon suddenly appeared behind Elen.

Teleportation!?

I quickly pulled Elen towards me, shielding her in my arms.

However, the red-eyed demon didn't do anything, just looking at Elen with interest.

From what it said earlier, it seemed to be struggling with how to deal with Elen. If it comes to kill, we'll have to intercept with all our might, but...

I observe the red-eyed demon carefully while holding Elen with one arm.

But that movement method from earlier, even if it avoided by teleporting, there was a time lag before it appeared behind us. Some kind of skill, or perhaps illusion...?

"Now~ what shall we do~? I can't contact Lord Saturn~, and my job is done~ so I can do as I please now, right~?"

The red-eyed demon smiled wickedly.

Here it comes.

"Then, I'll help myself!"

The red-eyed demon's form changed into soil and swelled up several times in an instant.

The demon, now transformed into something like a tsunami of earth, enveloped our bodies as if to crush us—

"'Relative Transfer'"

Of course, we avoid it.

I had already teleported us to the rear.

The red-eyed demon, crumbling its enlarged body back into human form, narrowed its eyes at us who had teleported.

"Oh~? The defective product isn't too bad~"

"You're quite eager. If you're going to try to kill us, don't complain if you get killed instead."

Sensing clear killing intent, I returned the same to my opponent.

I've gotten used to this world by now. Whether the opponent is a demon or human, I'm not kind enough to go out of my way not to kill when I'm about to be killed. I have clear priorities for what's important to me.

The red-eyed demon, still smiling, slowly raised its hand and—

"'Earth Bind'"

"'Relative Transfer'"

The earth at my feet changed into several whip-like shapes and extended towards us. The place we were just moments ago was instantly filled with a mountain of whips, and those whips were now approaching us who had teleported to the rear.

"Elen"

"Mm. 'Downburst'"

As Elen chanted, high-pressure wind came crashing down from above.

It crushed the red-eyed demon along with the earth whips.

The red-eyed demon, its form lost and crumbled to pieces, said:

"'Earth Snake'"

It appeared where we were before, and this time created earth snakes around the area.

Their number was about... 100.

Moreover, instead of attacking directly, it first positioned them to surround us.

"Kufufu! Can you escape~?"

"Don't underestimate us. 'Burst Bullet'"

If all the snakes created from earth are the same size, simultaneous attacks are easy. There's no way I'd fail at calculating coordinates for just 100 locations.

My formula hit all the snakes without the slightest error, making them explode.

"Ku- Kufufu... Not bad~!"

"'Relative Transfer'"

Ignoring the frustrated red-eyed demon, we retreated further.

As we kept backing away while maintaining a certain distance, the red-eyed demon grinned.

"It seems~ you're not good at close combat~? Then how about this~!"

The red-eyed demon's form crumbled again and melted into the ground.

A few seconds later, the earth shook.

The ground beneath our feet swelled up greatly, and then, incorporating the surrounding soil, it transformed into an earth golem. Even larger than an A-rank giant. A massive golem whose fist alone surpassed the size of a house.

The red-eyed demon was embedded in the forehead part.

"...As I thought, you have the ability to merge with the earth."

When we attacked earlier, it crumbled and appeared behind us, probably moving through the earth.

It's not teleportation, which is a relief, but it's undoubtedly a difficult opponent to defeat.

...However.

"Die~!"

We avoid the huge swinging fist by teleporting forward this time.

This is exactly as planned.

We weren't just meaninglessly teleporting backward.

We were only retreating to lure the red-eyed demon away from the town.

Now that we've lured it quite far from town, we've switched positions so that the town isn't in the line of fire.

Now, for the finishing touch.

"Elen, please."

"Mm"

After her usual short reply, Elen began a long incantation she wasn't yet familiar with.

"—I command, let the hot blood of the stars gather, obey the voice of the soul calling from afar, and become the whisper that leads to destruction for the sake of life's radiance. My anger is faster than dreams, my wings slower than reality, yet we meet in the gap between dreams and illusions. The beginning is the mother ancestor, the overlapping voices are the sky's passion, if you listen to the whispers of reminiscence, all sparkles will release me. Nothing can resist it, nothing can follow it, only that which is redder than the flow of blood dances with my merciless dance of destruction. Now, for a pure white that makes the heavens fall—"

After four years of training, she had acquired yet another forbidden technique—extreme-level magic.

The principle is simple.

By gathering moisture from the air and electrolysing it, it generates enormous amounts of hydrogen and oxygen. By trapping hydrogen inside and compressing oxygen outside to create a high-pressure state of two layers of gas, and then igniting it to cause an explosion.

A four-attribute composite theoretical magic combining water, lightning, wind, and fire, boasting the strongest firepower.

"'Explosion'!"

Its destructive power is a strategic-class magic that can blow away even monsters over 100 meters long with just its aftereffects.

Of course, a golem made of earth wouldn't leave even a speck of dust.

After the gale and thunderous sound passed, what remained in the plain was a huge crater like the aftermath of a meteor strike. Even the terrain had changed.

...Yeah. Definitely overkill. No wonder it's classified as a forbidden technique.

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"Damn you, Saturn! Was this your plan?"

At that moment, he was in a state of panic.

Born as a demon less than 100 years ago, he had trained his body and honed his skills from childhood, surviving in harsh environments. Having slaughtered numerous enemies, he had unknowingly attained the power of a mid-level demon.

However, even he had been forced to swear allegiance to the high-level demon Saturn to protect his only blood relative, working as his subordinate.

He had come to this country, far from his homeland, on Saturn's orders.

The human realm, originally low in magical elements, is not suitable for demon activities.

It's like a person living on flat land suddenly climbing a high mountain. They quickly become out of breath, limiting intense physical activity.

Moreover, other races despise demons. It's not a place one would visit willingly.

Still, because it was an order, he obeyed.

Find and kidnap the Factor of Destruction in this town. That was the order.

According to the information, the Factor of Destruction was of noble human status. That's why he had been searching through grand mansions.

But he hadn't found anything, and then he was discovered by that one.

Even as he gasped for breath, he didn't stop running.

"I wasn't told about this, Saturn! I wasn't told!"

To think that such a being would be in this town.

Even his master Saturn would probably be helpless against it.

"That's why I'm telling you to stop running. I'm not planning to kill you without question. You just need to explain the situation."

"Damn it!"

He had already been caught up to.

As he ran through narrow alleys, he once again created body doubles.

"'Earth Mine'"

"I told you it's useless."

Dozens of duplicates—moreover, duplicates that replicated even the strength of a mid-level demon due to the skill effect—were reduced to ashes with just a flick of a finger by this terrifying opponent.

Furthermore, no matter how much he observed this opponent, he couldn't understand their face, race, age, gender, or anything. He could clearly tell that a perception interference formula was in place, but beyond that, he couldn't gather any information at all.

The alley he had run down was a dead end. He had intended to secure only the Factor of Destruction as per his orders, but harming uninvolved people went against his pride. If he forcibly broke through walls or houses, he would needlessly harm innocent humans inside.

He couldn't choose that option.

"Hey, what's your purpose? Why did you come to attack this unremarkable town?"

Slowly, fear walked towards him.

He prided himself on his magical skills being on par with high-level demons. Yet, this pathetic state. It was clear now that this was not an opponent he could match.

Even if he was killed meaninglessly here, if he could at least land one blow, perhaps his pride nurtured in battle wouldn't be too damaged.

Making that judgment, he decided to abandon evasion and defense.

He kicked off the ground, facing his opponent head-on for a suicide attack.

"Ugaaah! 'Lightning Judge'!"

"Hah..."

Wrapping his own body in powerful purple lightning, he charged at the enemy—a double-edged sword technique. To this threat that burned his own flesh while becoming a mass of high voltage, his opponent merely sighed.

Body met body.

But there was no resistance.

The opponent should have neither dodged nor defended, yet...

Smoking and dropping to his knees, he turned back to look at his opponent standing there nonchalantly.

Despair showed on his face. It was impossible for them to be unharmed after that.

"...What... did you do..."

"Nothing in particular."

"Guh... Damn you! 'Oxydown'!"

What he reluctantly activated was a sneaky magic that he didn't particularly like using—one that removes the air around the target.

While the range is narrow and easily escaped if the target moves, if caught, it's a formula that can certainly render a living being unconscious. This spell, cast in desperation, undoubtedly enveloped his opponent.

...However.

"I told you, it's meaningless."

"?!"

Even though there should be no air there, the opponent's voice reached him.

He trembled before this opponent who remained unchanged even in a vacuum state, unable to comprehend this abnormality.

"You monster... Just what are you..."

"Well. I'll answer you, so will you answer my questions too?"

"...Understood. I admit defeat. I'll answer as long as it doesn't violate my servitude contract."

He had exhausted all his options.

Injured by his own magic and with his magical power nearly depleted, he faced his opponent with resolve.

"Then, I'll tell you a little. You see, I'm nothing. Therefore, I'm everything."

"...I didn't ask for riddles."

"It's not a riddle, just a fact. Well... I'll tell you. My body doesn't have a fixed form. That's why I don't get injured, don't age, and can even change my appearance freely. Well, usually I keep this appearance that feels most natural to me."

What is that?

He was about to deny the existence of such a ridiculous being when something occurred to him.

The immortal existence said to have survived since before recorded history on the continent.

An overwhelming legend said to reach even the gods.

"...You mean, you're the Mystic—"

An impact pierced through his body from behind.

He had let his guard down.

The Mystic King before him showed not a shred of killing intent. If the opponent was such a being, they could have killed him without a second thought. They had that power and position.

In other words, the fact that such a being desired dialogue meant that he still had a chance for survival. That hope had created a gap in his heart.

By a demon who should have been an ally.

"Gu, zo... Kage... me..."

As he sank into a pool of blood, just before losing consciousness, he saw the face of that one melting into his shadow, sneering.

Ah... I'm sorry, please forgive me for going first, sister.

As he felt the servitude contract disappearing along with his life, he breathed his last, with a slight lingering regret and relief at finally being freed from the unreasonable demon.