What awaited me was beneath the laboratory.
I transferred through, slipping past the security measures like a shadow.
Ideally, I should have entered through the front, but I had no desire to waste time.
I placed a barrier upon the all-white space.
The spies were inside, unharmed.
Still conscious, though they couldn't be heard, their silent struggles were visible.
As I regarded the barrier, the room's door opened and the director appeared.
She glided across the floor as if sliding.
"This is an honor, Lord Demon King! What business brings you here today? Please, leave everything to us!"
The director rubbed her hands together with undisguised glee.
I had not announced my visit, nor had I activated the sensory equipment.
And yet, she had precisely pinpointed my intrusion and current location.
One could only be impressed.
Even within the Demon King's army, not a single soul could likely do the same.
Privately admiring her skill, I pointed at the barrier.
"I want you to analyze the humans sealed within."
As the barrier's color faded, the spies inside became visible.
The director attached herself to the barrier with speed that neared teleportation.
She began staring intently at the spies with an intensity that threatened to collapse her face.
"Hmm... they appear to be ordinary prisoners. Is something the matter?"
"Making direct eye contact invites spiritual interference. Its intensity could drive an ordinary person mad."
Upon hearing my explanation, the Director finally pulls away.
She surveys the intelligence operatives while her white coat billows around her.
Those eyes of hers brim with uncontainable curiosity.
Before long, the Director offers a slight smile and tilts her head.
"Oh my. I don't sense any magical force... Is determining the cause and structure my assignment?"
"That's right. Can I count on you?"
"Absolutely! I'll devote my full effort to solving this!"
The Director nods with vigor.
Her delight in unraveling mysteries is plain to see.
Her eyes gleam with fervor.
Though perpetually engrossed in research, her knowledge, analytical power, and insight are exceptional.
While specialized, they occasionally surpass even my own.
Her speed and precision in analysis leave nothing to be desired.
One could call her the foremost intellect in the Demon King's domain.
She possesses talent worthy of leaving a mark in history.
That said, the person herself has no interest in such things.
She seems content with her current environment.
The Director approaches the barrier and places a hand on its surface.
After examining it, she addresses me.
"Then, could you transfer the prisoners to the adjacent room? It would be more convenient for the equipment over there."
"Understood."
I transfer the barrier to the adjacent room.
The director heads briskly for the room's exit.
She seems intent on beginning the analysis immediately.
"I'll release the restraints, but you'll be fine with that, right?"
"Yes! No matter what happens, I will protect this laboratory. It's a facility more precious to me than my own life!"
"Be careful when you make eye contact. Whatever you do, do not stare for too long."
"...I'll handle it carefully!"
After a brief pause, the director answered, then fled the room.
Given that demeanor, she would likely ignore my warning and stare intently.
It's an incredibly dangerous act, but I'm not overly concerned.
I believed the director would be fine.
What I felt when making eye contact with the spy was a powerful mental interference.
A force that pollutes the mind.
I was nearly affected myself.
But in the director's case, she possesses an abnormal mental fortitude.
It's an obsession with research.
You could call it madness, too.
Hers is far more tenacious than my own mental strength.
Without any magical defense whatsoever, she was able to repel Luciana's charm outright.
Various other mental magic spells were tested as well, but none proved effective against the director.
The current anomalous phenomenon would likely have no effect on her either.
Therefore, she could be trusted to handle the analysis.
As I turned these thoughts over in my mind, I sensed a presence approaching from behind.
When I turned around, the director was standing there.
She asked me:
"Do you have any other requests? If you have time, I would be happy to present our results as well!"
"Ah, yes indeed..."
As I responded to her conversation, I activated my detection magic.
I picked up the presence of the director in the adjacent room.
Judging by her movements, it seemed she had begun the analysis work with the intelligence operative.
Yet the director stood right before me.
This was no illusion—there were clearly two of her present.
However, one of them was not a fake.
Both were the real thing.
(Still an unfamiliar feeling...)
I looked at the director with a complicated expression.
Previously, the director had become an undead through my magic.
Specifically, she had been transformed into a phantom—an ethereal species that ranks above ghosts.
And just recently, she had expanded the capabilities of her phantom ability.
As a result, she could now act as multiple entities simultaneously.
To put it simply, it was close to creating clones, but the key difference was that every single instance was the genuine article.
They shared a single personality and set of memories, each reflecting and existing in concert with the others.
Normally, this trait would risk shattering one's ego, but the Director had mastered it spectacularly.
Her mental fortitude was evident from this alone.
If one searched with perception magic, the Director's presence could be detected all over the facility.
A workforce of about fifty people was always on duty, and she coordinated with the other staff to run the research institute.
Thanks to this ability, the Demon Lord's domain's technological prowess had made quantum leaps.
Countless research projects and developments proceeded daily.
The Director was bound to the research institute like a haunting spirit.
In exchange for being unable to leave this place, she wielded immense power within its walls.
The fact that she had sensed my arrival was also due to this nature.
Within the confines of the research facility, it was impossible to deceive her gaze.
(...Could it be she's far more suited to being an undead than I am?)
I had intended to save her from overwork by turning her into an undead, but perhaps I had inadvertently created an unforeseen monster.
Looking at the Director's cheerful expression, I felt a complex mixture of emotions.