We moved to a different location.
To a place deep within the labyrinth called the Chamber of Proclamations.
Regardless of what the outcome might be, my only job was to protect the children.
The Chamber of Proclamations was a vast, empty space stretching out beyond a doorway with nothing but open air ahead.
From there, a corridor roughly one meter wide extended for about twenty meters, and at its end stood a circular platform approximately five meters in diameter, supported by unknown means.
I couldn't tell what material it was made of—it looked as though it were floating in midair.
"Got it? On that circular floor ahead, you're going to call out to a spirit!"
"What should I say?"
"Anything! 'Help me!' or 'Come play with me!' or whatever. If a spirit takes interest and shows up, it's a success."
"...Do you think one will actually come?"
"Of course it will! Sensei, they'll come, right?"
"Will they come?"
The children looked up at me, clearly anxious.
Well, it'd probably be fine. If one didn't show up, I could always force a summoning.
"...Hey, you! You've got this evil look on your face!"
"Hm? It's fine, it's fine. Hey, don't worry, you guys! It'll work out somehow!"
If they didn't come, I'd just summon them myself. With sentient spirits, negotiation would be the way to go, but ideally I'd prefer ones without consciousness. That way, I could carry out my plan without any hesitation.
"If you want, I'll come along with you."
"...Sure, that's fine. It doesn't really matter how many people go, but the passage is narrow. I'm going too, so maybe one child at a time would be best."
Hmm. Summoning one spirit at a time would probably be ideal anyway. I might even need to negotiate on behalf of the kids as the adult present. Though if possible, I'd rather avoid settling things with my fists.
"Alright! Then we'll go one at a time in order. Who's first?"
And so, a discussion about the order took place.
First was Gale, the oldest.
Then Alice.
After that, Kenna and Ryota.
Last was Chloe.
There was some squabbling, but the order was finally settled.
Let's get started right away.
A serene space. Silent, draped in pale light. Only our footsteps echoed conspicuously.
"Sensei, if something happens to me, please look after them."
Don't be so stiff. He was way too tense. Without a word, I patted Gale on the head.
We arrived at the circular atrium. It gave the illusion of floating in the void. When I stepped forward, I nearly stumbled—the floor in front of me was invisible. But 'Magic Perception' told me the floor was there... Was this transparent glass? Acrylic or something?
With that surprise in mind, I stepped out onto it.
Gale was frightened, but— "It's alright, there's a solid floor. If anything happens, I'll catch you."
With those words, he steeled himself and walked out.
Cautiously. Carefully.
When we reached the center— "Okay, this is the spot! I wonder what kind of spirit will show up!"
I gave Gale a light tap on the head. He closed his eyes and began to pray, kneeling on one knee in a posture like someone praying to God.
I crossed my arms and watched.
After some time passed, particles of light began to descend from above. They fell like snow.
Before long, a spirit appeared on the altar before us. One... no, a single entity.
Gale didn't notice. He continued his prayer uninterrupted.
Well done! It was a success.
It was a mass of natural energy without consciousness—similar to a mass of magicules, but fundamentally different. When this formless energy developed self-awareness, it would become a spirit. This place was like the interior of Veldora's cave, brimming with natural energy.
Even without self-awareness, the energy would disperse, gather together again, and eventually some form of spirit would be born.
Without hesitation, I devoured the spirit.
"Gale, keep praying!"
"Wha—! Hey, what do you think you're doing?!"
"Just watch quietly. I have a plan."
Calmly, I activated the Great Sage.
Sensing my intent, it began its calculations. Before long, the computation finished, and modification commenced.
<Report. Modification of the spirit via the Unique Skill "Morpher" has been completed.
Primary breakdown: Earth-element abilities.
Self-information of the Flame Giant has been analyzed, and a supplementary pseudo-personality has been created.
Ability correction from the Unique Skill "Great Sage" has been applied.
Shall the ability grant to
This completed the integration of Gale and the spirit in an instant.
When I analyzed Gale's condition, what had been a dangerous runaway state of his magicule count had been perfectly stabilized.
He now had slightly more magicules than an ordinary child—nothing more.
This was because the spirit energy and his magic power were canceling each other out. From here, he would gradually acquire his abilities as his body grew.
Surgery successful! In my mind, I shook hands with the Great Sage.
I'd never actually seen what it looked like, and honestly, I wasn't even sure it had a form.
"Alright, you're done! You did great!"
I called out to Gale.
He'd apparently felt no pain whatsoever—he stared up at me with a blank expression.
I gave him a firm nod.
"I'm telling you, it's fine. The collapse has stopped—I guarantee it!"
His eyes glistening with tears, he bowed deeply.
"Sensei, thank you so much!!!"
Embarrassed, I ruffled his hair and led him back to the others.
When I reported the success, everyone cheered with joy. But it wasn't over yet. It meant nothing unless all of them succeeded.
"Don't celebrate yet! Let's wait until everyone's been through!"
My words reminded them, and they nodded to each other.
Time to move on to the second child. Next was Alice.
She'd said she was scared of walking the narrow corridor, so I picked her up and carried her.
Chloe and Alice were bickering about something, but that was just kid stuff.
I picked up Alice without worry and brought her to the atrium.
I hoped this one would go smoothly too.
As we watched, Alice closed her eyes as if in prayer, clenching her hands together, gripping the hem of her skirt on her lap.
After a short while, particles of light descended from the sky once more.
I quickly absorbed the spirit that appeared on the altar.
Ramiris was looking at me like she wanted to say something, but I ignored her completely.
By the second time, I had the routine down.
<Report. Modification of the spirit via the Unique Skill "Morpher" has been completed.
Primary breakdown: Spatial-element abilities.
Self-information of the Flame Giant has been analyzed, and a supplementary pseudo-personality has been created.
Ability correction from the Unique Skill "Great Sage" has been applied.
Due to high compatibility, ability fusion with "Shadow Movement" has been performed. It has evolved into "Spatial Movement."
Shall the ability grant to
The ability grant to Alice was completed without issue.
It appeared that the barrier-type abilities had also transformed into a spatial barrier, but I hadn't granted those to Alice. Perhaps the barrier itself was poorly suited to her. Well, she'd probably acquire it on her own eventually.
"Alice, great job! You're all good now!"
I picked her up and told her so.
Alice opened her eyes, gave a bright smile, and kissed me on the cheek.
Oh boy, what a precocious child. Being admired by a seven-year-old—what was I even supposed to feel about that? Happy? Unhappy?
No, it was definitely happy.
I was a gentleman, not a pervert!
"Thanks!"
I patted her head as thanks and brought her back to the group.
The moment I set her down, she was already in a heated exchange with Chloe. Some friends they were.
I led Kenna back to the atrium.
Now I was starting to feel confident. Things were going smoothly.
Three more to go. I'd been thinking that if push came to shove, I'd summon the spirits myself and then grant them to the children, but that didn't seem necessary.
That said, I had to count myself lucky. Modifying the spirits was consuming far more of my magic power than I'd expected.
Well, three more. I'd figure something out.
The instant Kenna was about to start praying—eyes still open and everything—particles of light were already descending onto the altar.
What the—? This was an enormous amount of energy, incomparable to anything before.
Standing there was a... fairy? A boy, apparently.
"Yo! How's it going? I'm doing great!
I just felt like dropping by today!"
He greeted me with the lightest, most casual tone imaginable.
"A-AH!!! What are you doing in someone else's house?!"
Ramiris rushed up to the young fairy, eyes narrowed, pressing him aggressively.
Seemed like they knew each other.
"And you are...?"
Before I could even finish my question—or before Ramiris could introduce him— "Heya! Nice to meet ya! I'm the Light Spirit!
Unlike that wicked fairy over there who fell into darkness, I'm a pure spirit, ya know!"
He gave me a cheerful introduction.
After the greetings were over, I listened to what he had to say.
Kenna looked around at us with a panicked expression. Give it up, kid.
Apparently, he'd sensed an extraordinarily strong affinity for light in Kenna...
"So anyway, I'm gonna help out little Kenna here!"
That was the gist of it.
The spirits of Light and Darkness, he explained, were the most prestigious—highest-ranking spirits of all. It sounded dubious, but apparently they even bestowed blessings upon Heroes on occasion. Though having both of them give a blessing at the same time was supposedly something that hadn't happened in... a very long time.
"Two of them granting a blessing to a Hero at the same time... that was like, two thousand years ago, wasn't it?"
So he said.
Ever since Ramiris had grown bored and fallen into wickedness, it had fallen to the Light Spirit alone to bestow blessings.
Not that it mattered much, but apparently Ramiris inherited her self-awareness across generations. As the Fairy Queen, she reigned supreme, but as her magic power grew and she reached her limits, she would produce a clone.
That clone would inherit all of her self-awareness. By doing this, the offspring could eventually surpass the parent in power once they matured. The downside was that they were weak until they reached maturity.
A species that cycled between growth and weakness. Among the Demon Lords, they were the only ones with a hereditary system.
I could understand being annoyed by the whimsical Ramiris—these two seemed to get along terribly.
Come to think of it, most Demon Lords really were selfish. I wouldn't name names, but quite a few of them were absurdly self-centered...
"So until Kenna grows up, I'll be protecting him!
He might even become a Hero, ya know!"
With that, without even asking permission, the Light Spirit merged into Kenna.
Incredibly, Kenna's condition stabilized effortlessly.
"Sensei..."
"Hm? Yeah, it's fine. Everything's going according to plan!"
Yeah, right, I thought to myself, but if I dwelled on it, I'd only lose.
Best to keep things moving.
He seemed to doubt my words at first, but he accepted that his condition had indeed stabilized.
We returned to the others, and he explained what had happened himself. Pretty impressive for a kid.
Now, next was Ryota.
I was worried about what kind of spirit this timid kid would summon. If one didn't show up, we'd have a problem.
With the routine down, I had him pray before the altar.
He'd been scared of the narrow corridor, but he'd made it here on his own. He had plenty of determination.
Now, let's see what happens.
Without even needing to wait, a blue and green ball of light spiraled down from the sky.
I absorbed it in one quick gulp as if nothing had happened.
According to the analysis, water and wind. Two elements! That was quite the effort from Ryota.
Anyway, time for the Great Sage to do its thing.
<Report. Modification of the spirit via the Unique Skill "Morpher" has been completed.
Primary breakdown: Heat Manipulation abilities and State-Change abilities.
Self-information of the Flame Giant has been analyzed, and a supplementary pseudo-personality has been created.
Ability correction from the Unique Skill "Great Sage" has been applied.
Due to high compatibility, ability fusion with "Molecular Manipulation" has been performed.
An attempt was made to evolve into "Quantum Manipulation," but it failed.
Shall the ability grant to Sekiguchi Ryota in this state be executed? YES/NO> Molecular Manipulation was an ability that couldn't be used without the Great Sage's correction. Even granting it, he probably wouldn't be able to wield it. Well, whatever.
Quantum Manipulation—honestly, even I had no idea what it could supposedly do.
The whole concept of Skills was, at its core, taking ideas like "it'd be cool if I could do this" and pushing them until you got a plausible-sounding effect. The system of this world wasn't based on rigorous academic magic—it was something far more intuitive.
My own Skills were systematized versions of my imagination made functional by the Great Sage, so anything I couldn't even imagine was impossible. That might have been one reason the evolution failed.
The grant to Ryota was completed without issue.
Now, only one remained.
The last one, Chloe, was also scared, so I carried her to the atrium myself.
She looked happy. Her fear seemed to have been completely forgotten.
"Sensei, you know what? ...I love you!!!"
Her face bright red, she whispered in my ear.
I love you too, kid. But really, I'd have preferred her to wait another eight years—ten, ideally—before saying that. And before that, I'd have preferred her to say it while I was still alive...
Poor old me in my past life, departing without ever having had a girlfriend. What a pitiful man.
Still, that was exactly what had led me to obtain the incredible ability known as the Great Sage. Whether it was a fair trade... I had my doubts.
But it was nice. Children were so honest and straightforward.
It was too late for me now, but the saying went that you should enjoy your youth while you were still a student. Once you hit middle school, there was no time to be bashful.
Not that it was "too late" for me in the traditional sense. I just occasionally felt a pang of emptiness, that was all.
Anyway, I needed to focus. Chloe's words had thrown me off more than I'd expected.
Now then, what kind of spirit would Chloe summon?
This was the last one. No room for carelessness.
Chloe began to pray, just like the others.
That was when the change occurred.
How should I put this... If I had to describe it, I'd say the heavens themselves came crashing down.
Descending with overwhelming pressure and a vivid aura was a breathtakingly beautiful woman with flowing black-and-silver hair—a celestial maiden.
Her very presence was impossible for a spirit. She had complete control over her spiritual body—a form that had shed the physical body entirely, containing only the soul.
Spirits existed one level above that, in a state of mental body. They would eventually disperse.
To prevent dispersion, one needed either a contract to serve as a vessel or to incarnate into flesh. To prevent both incarnation and energy dispersal, one had to construct a spiritual body.
Even for a high-ranking spirit, that should not have been easy...
The woman—this celestial maiden—stared at me, then suddenly threw her arms around me and kissed me.
Unfortunately, she was essentially a ghost, so I could barely feel anything. What a waste.
If I could have a beautiful woman like this, even as a ghost—wait, no, that wasn't the point! What on earth was going on?!
The stunning black-and-silver-haired woman looked at me with disappointment, then reached toward Chloe's body.
"Stop!!! I won't let you! You're not doing this on my watch!"
Suddenly, Ramiris thrust both hands forward, entering combat stance. Her expression had lost all of its usual playfulness—she was dead serious.
Dark light converged between her hands and she released it, but naturally, I standing in front of Chloe absorbed it and shielded her.
That was Lethal Edge—a lethal-class magic spell... Unbelievable, but she'd been genuinely trying to kill.
"What the—! Hey! What the hell was that for?!"
"Shut up!!! That one's dangerous! Can't you tell?!"
"How the hell would I know?! What's so dangerous about her?!"
While we argued, the celestial maiden merged into Chloe's body and vanished.
I quickly analyzed Chloe with an appraisal. Her condition was stable. The crisis had passed.
Everything seemed fine, but...?
"Aaahhhh! Ugh, it's too late. Forget it... I don't care anymore!"
Ramiris puffed out her cheeks and shouted.
I had absolutely no idea what was going on.
"So what was that, exactly?"
Ramiris refused to answer my question.
Chloe opened her eyes and looked back and forth between us. She clearly didn't understand what had happened.
When I pressed further— "How should I know?! I don't understand it fully either!
But that thing... it was probably born in the future. It came from the future, and it wasn't even a spirit.
By possessing her, it created the conditions for its own birth?
Aaaaaah—I don't get it!!!
But it possessed incredible power. If something like that comes into existence in the future, it could be catastrophic.
I've never encountered anything like it before. That was... probably a Spirit of Time..."
Hmm.
I couldn't make heads or tails of it either. I gave up trying to understand.
Whatever. As long as Chloe was safe, that was all that mattered. An uncertain future—there was no point worrying about it now.
"You made it, Chloe! You dodged the danger safely too!"
I told her and picked her up.
Chloe smiled happily.
Watching us, Ramiris sighed in resignation.
"Well, fine. Once it possessed her, it was already beyond my control anyway..."
She turned away, muttering.
"Oh, come on, it all worked out. Everyone's safe.
Thanks, Ramiris. Thanks to you, the children made it through!"
When we returned to the others, I thanked Ramiris.
The children chimed in with their thanks as well.
"Sh-shut up! It's nothing! Really!"
Blushing and flustered, Ramiris flitted about in embarrassment.
To think this was a Demon Lord. What was this world coming to?
Just like Ramiris, her fairy companions zipped around as well, creating a fantastical spectacle.
They seemed to be celebrating the children who had avoided collapse...
Joy ignited in everyone's hearts.
Smiles naturally blossomed on every face.
And so, the vow to save the children was fulfilled.