The destination was atop a building's roof.
From where Grom led the Demon Lord's Army, it was quite a distance away.
It was positioned toward the central part of the capital.
The evacuation of residents appeared complete; the surroundings were quiet.
The undead I had dispatched were also sparse.
As for humans, one could barely make out a group of what seemed to be mercenaries fighting the undead in the distance.
They showed no sign of noticing me, so I ignored them.
There was no need to kill them deliberately.
Logan, standing beside me, wiped the sweat from his cheek.
Though he maintained a composed expression, his tension was not entirely hidden.
He let out a deep breath.
"That weapon just now was tremendous. It possessed power comparable to high-tier magic."
"If that can be mass-produced, it's a terrifying prospect."
As I replied, I became certain my prediction was correct.
Similar responses were present throughout the capital.
They were likely tanks.
Even with my best estimates, the number couldn't be below a hundred.
To counter the Demon Lord's Army, they must have been gradually manufacturing them to increase their numbers.
Still, it wasn't enough to cover the entire capital, so the tanks were dispersed relatively evenly.
They were moving around evacuation sites and near the Demon Lord's Army's positions.
They each handled guard duty and interception respectively.
Even stationed at separate locations, the chariots moved with a remarkable show of coordination.
Their communication network must have been fully established.
That was why they could respond with a fair degree of discipline against the Demon King Army's assault.
If it was the Magitocracy, it would hardly be surprising if they had developed superior means of communication.
I decided to blanket the entire capital with jamming magic.
The dark mist that resulted was carried and dispersed by the wind.
Long-distance magical communication had now been rendered difficult.
Without an extraordinary output, meaningful conversation should be impossible.
Only I, the caster, was unaffected by it.
I established and maintained a telepathic link with the executives.
I had calibrated it so they could reach me as well.
I should ensure I could contact them at any time.
Meanwhile, Logan was confirming the direction of the Relic Stone.
The Relic Stone was concealed by advanced magic.
Identification through magical power was difficult even for me, and it could only be discovered by tracing the great spirit's power that could not be fully hidden.
What made that possible were races close to the spirits, starting with the elves.
However, precise sensing was extremely taxing.
That was why, from the start, I had instructed Logan to only determine the rough direction.
By limiting it to direction alone, his fatigue could be kept in check.
Precision sensing could have waited until we were closer.
After finishing his scan, Logan pointed down the street ahead.
He steadied his breathing before reporting the results to me.
"There's no deviation in bearing. Continue teleporting at the same interval."
"Understood."
I nodded and was about to cast the spell.
That was when I noticed a tank passing along the road below.
Almost directly beneath us.
It must have come through a side road.
Fortunately or unfortunately, it had spotted us.
The tank halted and rotated its turret.
It tried to angle its barrel toward us, but something was clearly off.
Due to the structural design, there was a limit to the barrel's angle of elevation.
It couldn't target us directly overhead.
Either desperate or confused, the tank looked visibly panicked.
After swinging its barrel up, down, left, and right for a while, it began slowly reversing.
It was trying to create distance so it could bring us into its firing line.
At long range it could deliver powerful bombardment, but once the gap closed it became utterly defenseless. Perhaps escorting golems would have been the correct approach.
It seemed the tank was a weapon designed to operate while maintaining its preferred range.
This time, not only were they shorthanded, but the inciting event had been the Demon Lord's army's rapid invasion of the capital.
Perhaps the operation had not been carried out as ideally as intended.
"I will handle this."
Saying that, Logan Rin Freetilt invoked his spirit magic.
Immediately, the trees growing beside the tank began to writhe, extending branches to ensnare it.
A glance revealed they were draining its mana.
At a speed that would wither a human in the blink of an eye.
Thus stripped of its fuel, the tank came to a complete halt.
There was no risk of its cannon misfiring.
Watching the tank captured by the trees, Logan smiled with a cool expression.
"Neutralized without damage. It should be perfect for analysis."
"That is helpful."
I offered my sincere gratitude.
The man Logan Rin Freetilt was ill-suited to brute-force clashes of power.
He was rather skilled at intricate, crafty methods.
In certain fields, he was a force even I could not match.
The reason he once struggled against the Imperial Army was because he had civilians to protect.
Logan truly excelled when free to act, employing surprise tactics.
He could orchestrate savage victories by discarding pride and preconceptions.
His fluid magic could sink armies of ten thousand to the ground.
He was a guerrilla operator with a different orientation from Dolda.
From the silenced tank, two crew members rolled out.
They attempted to flee, so I launched a miasma spear that impaled them.
The newly turned undead crew began to wander aimlessly.
"There they are! Fire!"
Soldiers' shouts echoed from another building, and nearly simultaneously, projectiles flew toward me.
I deflected them with defensive magic.
Given how spectacularly I had just destroyed the tank, my position had evidently been exposed.
Since there was no reason to linger, I activated cloaking magic and teleported.
My destination was in the direction Logan had indicated.
I arrived atop another rooftop.
Logan scanned the surroundings, narrowed his eyes, and pointed at a specific spot.
"...Over there."
Ahead, a colossal building without windows came into view.
It was at least thirty stories high and, like the others, coated entirely in stark white paint.
It towered conspicuously even compared to the surrounding structures.
Its appearance was undeniably unnatural.
It seemed the Arcane Stone was inside this building.
A large force of the Arcane Mechanized Corps had gathered before it.
There were numerous tanks and golems, and arcane artillery was deployed.
Soldiers carrying firearms and clad in strange armor patrolled the vicinity.
(A security detail? If the secret stones are stored here, this level of strict protection is understandable.)
Thanks to our concealment magic, the Arcane Corps hasn't noticed us. If our presence were discovered, an attack would converge instantly.
I detected the presence of an operative in a nearby house. They're the one responsible for monitoring this location.
I sent a telepathic message to the operative.
"Is everything proceeding smoothly?"
"Roger. John Doe is hiding inside that building and shows no signs of having moved."
"Understood."
It wasn't part of the plan, but it seems John Doe is also hiding out here. This is actually convenient. We can accomplish two objectives at once.
One could say it saves us the trouble of engaging in unnecessary combat.
However, I also felt a sense of foreboding.
The optimal secret stones for magical catalysts, and a genius engineer with remarkable innovative skills.
Having both of these in the same location seems unlikely to be mere coincidence.
If they're simply gathered here for protection, that would be fine.
But somehow, I had the feeling that wasn't the case.
(...Let's prepare for the worst-case scenario as well.)
Considering the current situation, I came to a conclusion in my mind.
The invasion itself is proceeding smoothly, but we must not become complacent.
On the Holy Staff Nation's side, unfavorable elements are converging.
Our encounter with John Doe should be approached with heightened vigilance.