Evil Avalon
The room that the Dark Pixie indicated was dimly lit, but not so dark that they couldn’t see the floor at all. Stepping a few paces inside and glancing around… everything about it seemed strange.
She had assumed this would be some kind of storage room for cleaning supplies, but there was nothing of the sort. In fact, not a single shelf or piece of furniture could be found — it was a completely barren, dreary room.
What was even stranger—
“Why is this room so spacious?”
“I also expected a small, narrow storeroom… but this is at least ten times larger.”
Chizuru, standing just inside the entrance and scanning the room, voiced her honest doubt: it was too big. Kusunoki-sama also wore a perplexed expression and agreed. And rightly so — the doors to this room and the next were only about three meters apart, yet the inside was as large as a grand clan party hall. How could that be?
Perhaps the door to the neighboring room was a dummy, or perhaps this room had some magical mechanism at work. That would become clear if they checked the building’s 3D structural data — and Kusunoki-sama opened the display on her wrist device to investigate.
Meanwhile, Kirigaya pointed to a “structure” standing in one corner of the vast room.
“The size is one thing, but what’s that stone monolith? It’s covered with intricate carvings… some kind of magic circle?”
“That’s no simple low-grade magic circle like those drawn on commercial magic tools. It’s much higher-level… could this be an explosive magic circle?”
The stone slab was about two meters wide, and so tall it reached the ceiling. Looking closer, they could see the surface was densely inscribed with complex geometric patterns. Mamiya-sama traced the grooves with her finger and remarked, as if knowledgeable, that it might be an explosive magic circle — but… she already knew what it really was.
“Satsuki-nee, this is… a gate, isn’t it? Why is there one here?”
“A gate? Could it be…?”
Even Kano-chan, who had been closely inspecting it since earlier, seemed to recognize it and solemnly asked if it was a teleportation gate. Then Kirigaya, realizing the implication, rushed up to the monolith to examine it.
In dungeons, every fifth floor was equipped with a teleportation device, commonly called a “gate.” Moving just one floor of a dungeon could take hours or even days — but using these gates, adventurers could move instantly. The existence of gates had been revealed to the world at the Kinrankai clan party, but that wasn’t the issue here — the question was why there was one here.
To her knowledge, gates were only ever installed inside dungeons. There was a single exception: one existed in the basement of the adventurer’s school. Both she and Kano-chan always used the basement gate to enter the dungeon, avoiding the crowded main entrance.
Why was there a gate outside a dungeon? She had always taken the one in the school basement as an exception and never questioned it… but now, seeing one installed in the middle of a high-rise in central Tokyo, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
At the very least, it hadn’t been here when the building was constructed. It was unlikely to have just “sprouted” here later — it must have been installed by someone.
Then was the gate in the adventurer school also…? More importantly, is it even possible to install gates by human hands? And if so, by whom?
But she abandoned that train of thought. Maybe Souta or Risa could figure it out — but she simply didn’t have enough knowledge or information about dungeons to judge.
“If this really lets you teleport elsewhere… then something makes sense.”
“Hm? Ah… I was wondering where the white-robes planned to escape when the explosive magic circle went off, but if this is a teleportation device, that makes sense.”
The Mamiya siblings nodded: the explosive magic circle was said to have enough power to destroy the entire building, and yet the white-robes were still fighting on each floor as the detonation time approached. If they planned to escape through the gate, it all fit.
If that was the case, would the white-robes be rushing into this room soon? Staying here felt dangerous… but there was still something they had to confirm before fleeing.
“So where exactly is this explosive magic circle? Can you tell, fairy?”
They had followed the trail of magical energy to this room, but aside from the gate, there was no sign of a magic circle. At Kano-chan’s prompting, the Dark Pixie closed her eyes to sense again… but after a while she only shrugged. Apparently, there was no notable magic source on this floor or the surrounding ones.
(What does that mean? If it’s not here… then…)
Maybe there was never an explosive magic circle to begin with. Or maybe it was located on a completely different floor. If only they knew what the Holy Empire was thinking when they orchestrated this — then they could make a better prediction. But lacking that information, they were back to square one.
As the detonation time crept closer, the air grew heavier. But since giving up was not an option, all they could do was steel themselves and keep moving forward.
“This room’s structure and magical energy are very distorted. We should leave and reassess.”
“But… I’m curious where that teleportation gate leads—wait, is it… activating?”
Checking the building’s data revealed that this room’s layout was clearly warped, and the magic detector on Kusunoki-sama’s wrist was showing abnormal readings. Kusunoki-sama urged them to leave if there was no magic circle, but as Kano-chan said — she was also curious where the gate led.
If it was made by the Holy Empire, perhaps it was linked to Eastern Europe. Or maybe even to somewhere in the dungeon. She wanted to investigate, but if it connected to the enemy’s stronghold or the deep dungeon, it would be incredibly dangerous.
Before they could decide, however, the magic circle carved into the monolith began to glow. That was the sign the gate was activating — meaning someone was coming through.
Before she could grab Kano-chan’s hand and flee, a purple light flared, flooding the dark room. In seconds, it coalesced into a humanoid shape — and the figure that emerged was—
The mastermind behind this entire catastrophe: Sanada Yukikage.
“Oh? Oh my. So you made it this far…”
“Sanada, you bastard!”
As soon as he saw us, he swept his blue robe dramatically, a sadistic smirk curling his lips as he radiated murderous intent. On TV and in magazines, Sanada-sama was always portrayed as cool and emotionless — but this was the complete opposite. The provocative, feral expression on his face made him seem like a completely different person. His murderous aura clung to the room like a heavy fog, and the startled fairy darted straight into the black crystal Chizuru-san was holding.
Kirigaya shouted in anger and drew his sword. I hurriedly stepped in front of Kano-chan and raised my staff as well — but Sanada-sama quickly quieted his killing intent.
“So, everyone, what brings you here today?”
With a smile as polished and artificial as his media persona, he asked the question — but his eyes were chillingly cold and mechanical. This room was not on any escape route and had been magically disguised; there was no way we arrived here by accident. He wanted to know what we were doing here — but of course, we couldn’t just blurt out, “We came to destroy the explosive magic circle”—
“We’re here to find the explosive magic circle! Tell us where it is!”
“…Explosive… magic circle…? Ah, yes, that.”
Kano-chan stepped forward, still holding my hand, and blurted it out without hesitation. I wanted to caution her — telling him our true objective might make him interfere, and drawing the attention of someone so dangerous was unwise — but the resolve in her eyes silenced me.
On the other hand, when he heard “explosive magic circle,” Sanada-sama twirled his finger in the air as if sifting through memories, then smiled and nodded as though something had come to mind. The way he acted like he’d completely forgotten about something he himself had set up made my irritation boil.
As I grit my teeth and gently pulled Kano-chan back behind me, Sanada-sama deepened his smile and continued in a flat, emotionless tone.
“I see now. So you came here to destroy the explosive magic circle. By the way — who was it that first claimed the building would be destroyed by a magic circle?”
If you were planning to blow up a skyscraper, most people would think of planting explosives at structural weak points, or in the case of magical attacks, unleashing powerful spells directly. Hardly anyone would assume it was done with a magic circle.
That was because the more powerful a magic circle is, the higher the risk of it misfiring, and the more difficult it becomes to control the magic. Using such an unstable, unreliable method was illogical — and in fact, there had never been a recorded instance of a magic circle capable of destroying such a massive building.
“Yet you all immediately suspected a magic circle and acted accordingly. Of course, it’s possible you’re simply ignorant… but I don’t believe that’s the case. So tell me — who came up with the idea?”
“We’ll tell you — but only after you tell us where the explosive magic circle is! Answer, you traitor!”
Whoever first deduced that it was a magic circle had not only an immense knowledge of magic circles but also a deep understanding of high-level magic. Sanada-sama seemed genuinely curious to know their name — but Kirigaya practically snarled at him, demanding he reveal the magic circle’s location first.
It was probably Souta who figured out the method of the building’s destruction. I was about to stop them from using my friend’s name as a bargaining chip, but Kano-chan tugged my sleeve and gave me a small nod, and I decided against it.
After all, with the detonation time drawing near, we couldn’t afford to waste time wandering aimlessly. If we failed to disable it, not just us but Souta and everyone in the building would die. And there was no way Sanada-sama would just let us leave without consequence.
I thought perhaps it was best to play our negotiating card and extract information from him — and as I watched his reaction, Sanada-sama gave an answer that caught me completely off guard.
“…Very well, I’ll tell you. There is no explosive magic circle in this building. In fact, I never intended to destroy it at all.”
“Hold on. What proof do you have that’s the truth?”
So there wasn’t even an explosive magic circle to begin with — nor any plan to blow up the building. Then why go to the trouble of lying about it? Kusunoki-sama pressed him with a severe expression, demanding answers. We’d come this far, prepared to risk our lives — and now he claimed it was all a lie…
“I can’t exactly prove a negative, but… very well. Let me just say this: neither I nor my comrades from the Holy Empire will be leaving even after the announced detonation time of 20:00. Will that suffice?”
“No, it does not. Why commit such an outrageous act in the first place? What is your objective?”
Sanada-sama’s response — that they wouldn’t leave even after the time passed — only led Kusunoki-sama to press further with another question. It was only natural to ask; the man standing before them surely knew all the answers.
Everything the Holy Empire and Sanada-sama had done so far was riddled with questions.
Lisa had said that Sanada-sama was trying to leak information about the Samurai. But if that was all, he could have quietly passed the information along and left Japan without incident. Why then had he stirred up fear by threatening to blow up the building and slaughtering anyone who tried to flee? Surely there had to be another reason behind such violence.
Was it to monopolize the gate rights, worth tens of trillions of yen? That didn’t quite add up either. Even if they wiped out Kinrankai and all its affiliates, the Holy Empire wouldn’t automatically inherit everything. The Japanese government already knew about the gates — and rather than let the Holy Empire monopolize them, they would more likely release all the information to the world for free. On top of that, Japan would then become an outright enemy, making it questionable what the Holy Empire stood to gain.
Of course, Sanada-sama wouldn’t come out unscathed either. His position as a senior member of Colors — equal to a grand noble — would certainly be stripped from him, and the Japanese government and adventurers’ guilds would hunt him as a major criminal no matter where he ran in the world. If that was the risk, it would have been far safer and more profitable to cooperate with Kinrankai and split the gains.
Why would he throw away the gate monopoly, and his hard-earned position, just to stage such a catastrophic event? She couldn’t even begin to imagine the reason…
Perhaps annoyed at Kusunoki-sama’s relentless questioning, Sanada-sama’s eyes briefly flared with murderous intent. But he exhaled slowly, calming himself, and put his pleasant mask back on before continuing.
“Very well… we still have time. I suppose I can tell you a little something.”
He holstered the short wand at his hip and held his hands out, showing he was unarmed — an apparent signal that he didn’t intend to fight. But no one was naive enough to take the word of the man who had caused all this chaos at face value.
Outside the windows, flashes of light continued to erupt, and the building itself occasionally trembled. Proof that Arthur-kun and Mikhail Maxim were still locked in fierce combat. Meanwhile, on other floors, Souta and Kinrankai were still fighting a desperate battle against the white robes. Why, in such a dire situation, was he taking the time to talk?
(…Maybe he’s stalling, waiting for reinforcements.)
At the appointed time, more white robes could emerge from the gate or gather here — that possibility couldn’t be dismissed. This was dangerous, and they should leave immediately rather than entertain his words — or so she was about to say, when Mamiya-sama, who had been silent until now, lightly tapped her shoulder and stopped her.
“Since we have the chance, why don’t we hear his reason for this barbaric act? But please, keep it brief, Sanada-sama.”
“Heh… very well. Then let me ask directly.”
Kusunoki-sama and Kirigaya still frowned in disapproval, but Chizuru-san spoke to calm them. Whatever the Mamiya siblings were planning was anyone’s guess — but a faint smile appeared at the corner of their mouths.
If Sanada really had no intention of detonating anything, then there was some merit in buying time. They could wait for Souta and Arthur-kun to arrive, and the longer they held him here, the better chance reinforcements from outside could arrive. Above all, keeping the mastermind in place without letting him act was a significant advantage.
Resolved, she kept her staff at the ready in case the fighting broke out at any moment, as Sanada-sama looked around at each of their faces and asked in a measured, deliberate voice:
“—Is there a ‘Player’ among you?”
He really causing so much Chaos by asking about Players loving how this Arc is turning out the aftermath will be so much for MC. Thanks for the translation and he really is playing everyone like Among us.
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