A few days later, I headed to the Holy Staff Nation together with Logan.
One of our scouts had discovered the location where the ritual magic had been performed.
Our goal was to destroy the site and gather intelligence.
There were limits to what we could entrust to scouts, of course.
Identifying the location this time around had already required them to venture into considerable danger.
From here on, it would be my job.
The destination was a cave hidden deep in the forest, on the borderlands of the Holy Staff Nation.
There were no towns or villages nearby.
It was the kind of place where no unrelated person would stumble in unless by some extraordinary coincidence.
We stood before the cave under the cover of concealment magic.
As a first step, I used detection magic to probe the interior.
Halfway through, Logan spoke to me.
"How is it?"
"I can't sense any life signs at all."
I shook my head as I answered.
I checked several times, and the result was the same.
It didn't appear that anyone was hiding inside with concealment-type magic either.
Logan stared at the cave with a suspicious look.
"Was the scout's information wrong?"
"No, I don't think so. Instead, there are countless corpses in there."
"What?"
Logan's gaze sharpened.
By analyzing the interior with magic, I'd been able to ascertain that fact.
There was no doubt that multiple bodies lay inside.
If we examined them visually, we'd be able to get a clearer picture of their condition.
"I can't make out the full situation, but it'd be wise to be cautious."
I activated the necessary spells in sequence.
In case something happened at any moment, I wanted to be ready.
As we advanced into the cave, I gave Logan instructions.
"I'll take point. Watch our rear."
"Understood."
We stepped into the cave.
The interior was dimly lit, and at first glance it gave the impression of being entirely natural.
However, various types of magical defenses had been set up throughout.
It was an impressively stringent security system.
Anyone who entered without knowing about them would lose their life in an instant.
I dispelled them one by one as I moved forward.
It wasn't particularly difficult work.
They were textbook spells—patterns I'd seen so many times I was bored of them.
Even if one were to trigger accidentally, it wouldn't pose a problem for the two of us.
Proceeding onward, we eventually reached the very back of the cave.
The dead end was a wall of rock.
Water droplets fell intermittently from the ceiling.
Logan touched one corner of the wall and murmured as he surveyed the surroundings.
"A hidden passage. Textbook structure."
He placed his hand on one spot on the wall and slowly pushed it in.
Only that section of rock sank inward, and a mechanical sound echoed from the other side.
Logan moved slightly and pressed another spot.
He repeated this fluidly about ten times.
Then the rock wall at the dead end rose upward, revealing a passage that continued deeper.
From that point on, the construction became artificial.
Having watched the entire process, I praised Logan.
"As expected of you. Your instincts for exploration haven't dulled a bit."
The mechanism just now depended entirely on the correct sequence.
Get the order wrong even once, and a trap would trigger.
Logan had only needed a brief examination to see through its structure.
Even an experienced professional couldn't match his skill.
However, Logan was frowning.
He said, looking slightly irritated:
"Don't treat me like an old man. By elven standards, I'm still practically a young man."
"...My apologies."
It seemed Logan was sensitive about his age.
That was somewhat unexpected. I'd assumed he didn't much care about such things.
I'd spoken without thinking, and the fault was mine.
I'd be more careful from now on.
After that, we proceeded down the passage.
What had been constructed deep within the cave turned out to be a vast magical workshop.
We advanced with caution.
"The construction is remarkably thorough. Whoever did this must have been quite devoted. I can also sense the remnants of dead spirits. All manner of forbidden arts were probably practiced here."
Logan offered his assessment.
This was the reason I'd asked him to accompany me.
I wanted him to examine things from a perspective different from mine when it came to spirit-related matters.
I hadn't explicitly told him, but Logan seemed to understand his role.
Scattered throughout the workshop were corpses.
Some were missing large portions, or twisted and mangled.
Weapon-based killing wouldn't produce injuries like these.
It was a manner of death you rarely saw.
Furthermore, every room had been ruthlessly destroyed.
Documents that had apparently been stored there were erased without exception.
We also found what must have been the plaza where the ritual magic had been performed, but nothing remained that could serve as a lead.
There must have been excellent equipment here once, but all of it was wrecked and nonfunctional.
Something had been here.
The place practically screamed it, yet the crucial evidence was nowhere to be found.
It was an exasperating investigation.
After completing a full circuit, I asked Logan:
"Is there anything suspicious you can pick up from the spirit magic patterns?"
"Let me see..."
Logan concentrated his awareness.
After a brief silence, he shook his head.
"It's no use. Everything's been erased. The fact that this little evidence remains is actually unnatural in itself. Whoever did this had something they didn't want anyone digging into."
I shared Logan's assessment.
Judging by the state of the corpses, no more than a day had passed since the massacre inside the workshop.
Could the culprit have detected our approach and destroyed everything preemptively?
"Dwight. Did you figure something out?"
"One thing is clear."
I pointed to a corner of the floor.
A large hole had been carved into it.
It was in a position where some kind of magical formula had originally been inscribed, but the entire section had been gouged away.
Looking closely, the edges of the hole bore unnatural warping.
The same kind of warping found elsewhere throughout the workshop.
There were so many instances you'd lose count trying to tally them all.
I pointed this out as I spoke.
"Traces of spatial interference. Whoever destroyed this place is a practitioner of spatial magic. And almost certainly a powerful one at that."
"So the culprit is..."
"An demigod. Before we could ever reach this place, they obliterated every trace of evidence."
I said it without hesitation.
I was almost certain.
Breaking into a magical workshop guarded with stringent security, slaughtering everyone inside, and erasing all documentation—no ordinary person could accomplish such a feat.
The hidden passage in the cave hadn't even been activated.
Only a demigod capable of teleportation could have entered without using that passage.
"The demigod was likely a hero produced by the ritual magic. There would be no reason for anyone else to visit this place."
Or perhaps a third party had a clear objective, but I couldn't make that determination yet.
Despite the carnage inside the workshop, everything remained frustratingly vague.
The demigod's intentions continued to be opaque.
One thing I could say was that we wouldn't be gathering any more information from here.
It wasn't a wasted trip, but the intelligence we'd gained was less useful than I'd hoped.
We had been one step too slow, and the demigod had been slightly ahead of us.
Just then, a telepathic voice echoed in my head.
"Demon Lord Summer, can you hear me?"
It was Luciana.
She sounded somewhat urgent.
A sense of foreboding crept over me, but I responded anyway.
"I can hear you. What is it?"
"An army led by a war maiden has begun to move... judging by the direction, it looks like they're heading for the Valley of the Dead."