Modified Dungeon: The Hidden Sanctuary.
Also known as the Church's rear headquarters.
Its location was in a mountainous region east of the Church headquarters.
Surrounded on three sides by mountains, with the remaining side sealed off by a dense forest — indeed, one could see why delivering supplies here would be no small task.
There, a clearing had formed almost by chance. The dungeon in question had manifested at its very edge, right where it met the southern mountains.
"...I see. This really is the perfect place to 'hide' something, isn't it?"
Surveying the full picture, Ermes murmured.
Several days after Second Princess Lyra had revealed the location where the Archbishop subjugation operation would take place.
Having completed all their preparations, Ermes and the others had finally set out for the Hidden Sanctuary.
They were currently on the middle slopes of the southern mountain range — a spot from which they could overlook the entirety of the dungeon, even if only from a small distance.
If asked why they were at such a location, the answer was simple.
—
from here
they would charge in
.
Because on the flatland below, the land surrounding the Hidden Sanctuary's "true entrance," Church soldiers — the Archbishop faction's forces — were packed in tightly, locked in skirmishes with the Papal faction's soldiers who had them surrounded.
The original plan had been to force a breakthrough straight through the center... but no matter how you looked at it, pushing through there would inevitably mean some casualties. That was why Ermes had urgently proposed an assault from "a non-frontal position," leading them to where they were now.
"...Is this really going to work?"
The people present consisted of the usual Third Princess faction members, plus Lyra, Lucius, and Crono — ten elite mages in total.
Among them was the person who had devised the original strategy. Second Princess Lira fixed Ermes with a skeptical gaze and spoke up.
"I know you're an outrageously powerful mage. But charging in from here? Don't get me wrong, I'd be grateful if we could, but what exactly do you plan to do? Just think about how far it is from here to the back of the church.
...You're not about to say something absurd like 'we'll fly there,' are you?"
"...No, no, nothing like that."
—He really could, though.
These words, naturally, never left his lips, and Ermes simply returned her question with a pleasant smile.
As Lira had pointed out, he had initially considered using the
Seamless Great Eagle
for the assault, but quickly ruled it out on his own.
The reason was, first and foremost, that Ermes simply did not have the magic power to transport all ten people at once, and...
...There was one more reason. Yurugen had firmly objected. According to him:
"Ermes. In this situation, I would advise against using—
the Seamless Great Eagle
and—
the Meteor Throne—
that is to say,
magic related to
Rose.
The use of such power
should be avoided. When fighting Johan there was no alternative, so it couldn't be helped, but in situations where other magic can serve as a substitute, I would appreciate it if you refrained from using them as far as possible."
Those were her words.
It wasn't hard to imagine that Rose had once had a serious run-in with the Church. Ermes figured it probably had something to do with that.
Even in the fight against Archbishop Johan, using it had apparently been dangerous after all—and the gag order placed on witnesses afterward had been part of what he'd been told as well.
Then he should comply. Besides, there was no particular issue this time around.
Since the place they'd be infiltrating was a Dungeon, there would be no opportunity to use—
Meteor Throne
—so this time would be fine too.
If it couldn't be used, they'd simply substitute it with another kind of magic. With what he—and "they"—had now, that was entirely possible.
(...Well then)
Let's begin.
The truth was, there wasn't much time to spare. The archbishop's soldiers had already spotted them from a distance and were heading their way. That was why they'd hurried here without even time for an explanation.
And so, Ermes spoke first.
"Lord Albert. Regarding the magic training from two days ago—I'm counting on you."
"You... I see. So that's what this is about."
"Lady Sarah was also present, so you understand? I'll leave the defense to you."
"Eh...? Ah, y-yes!"
Ermes's Third Princess faction had, with Liliana at the forefront, been continuing their magic training up to this point. Sometimes they would seek Ermes's instruction, and sometimes Ermes himself would learn from others.
Because of that, a few simple words were enough to convey the intent. The rest of the group more or less grasped what was being planned, while the three outsiders—
"?" / "What are you planning?" / "...Oh?"
Lucius tilted his head as if he hadn't understood a single word, Laila flinched back slightly, and Chrono narrowed his eyes with what seemed like interest.
With three entirely different reactions before them──first, Ermes and Albert drew breath and began their chant.
"Bloodline Magic──" "Formula Replay──"
They declared their magic.
"──
Four Winds of the Heavenly Demon
"
In that instant, a tremendous volume of wind summoned by their combined magic power spiraled into a vortex, each of them steering it with practiced skill.
Before long, with a smooth whoosh, it transformed into a membrane of wind that enveloped all ten, splitting them into two groups.
At the same time, the wind pressure lifted everyone gently into the air──it felt as though they were all floating inside a sphere made of wind.
And then.
Having roughly guessed what they were about to do, Laila called out.
"W-Wait... don't tell me,"
"you're planning to carry us through the air"
"just like that? With that wind Bloodline Magic?"
"...No way, that's impossible! Bloodline Magic isn't that all-powerful──not even for you two──"
What she said was correct.
Even powerful wind Bloodline Magic had its limits. Aerial flight was the most demanding application of all, which was precisely why the
Seamless Great Eagle
was considered incomparably powerful.
No matter how much the...
Four Winds of the Heavenly Demon
Even so, with only the Wind Bloodline Magic, keeping ten people's worth of mass suspended in the air for any length of time was nearly impossible—let alone actually transporting them.
—If it were only the Wind Bloodline Magic, that is.
Therefore.
Ermes, with everything he had, would "release" one more Bloodline Magic.
"——[
Burst forth
]"
The
one he had kept in reserve—the
Magic Bullet Archer
—was released.
His most familiar Bloodline Magic,
at maximum output,
was unleashed.
And deploying it through the
Magic Bullet Archer's
greatest feature: Enchantment.
In other words.
"——
Enhancement Enchantment
:
Propulsion
"
Enchanting the Magic Bullet onto the "sphere of wind" itself.
Anyone familiar with this magic would know exactly what would happen.
...Laila's words had not been entirely wrong after all.
"Your Highness Laila, Lord Lucius, Lord Chrono. A brief word of warning."
"...Wait, you don't mean—"
And so, there was no time to explain things in detail to Laila, who had already grasped the situation.
Ermes, speaking to those who did not know the details of
the Magic Bullet Archer
and its capabilities,
...declared what would likely be the standard line in a situation like this, while feeling a strange, inexplicable emotion that he himself would be the one to say it:
"—Don't speak. Bite your tongue."
In that instant.
The overwhelming propulsion of the Magic Bullet acted upon the sphere of wind that enveloped all ten of them.
In one fell swoop, dramatically, with terrifying force—
—They went flying.
"Whaaaaaaaat!!?!"
To put it simply, this was the mobility enhancement that Ermes often uses with—
Magic Bullet Archer
—but applied not to himself, rather to the magic itself.
And what was born from that was truly flying through the sky—no, rather, a crude technique of
leaping
through the sky to move.
The opposing pressure that engulfed her entire body made Laila let out a wordless scream.
"—Ha ha! This is interesting—I never thought I'd end up imitating a cannonball!"
"...Well now, this is quite something."
Lucius, meanwhile, had his mental age drop a notch and was giddy like a child, while Chrono wore a wry smile as he regarded their situation—hurtling through the air at high speed—with a touch of exasperation.
And naturally, given that their destination was the Hidden Temple—
Their movements were bound to be spotted by the soldiers below—especially those of the Grand Bishop's faction.
"Wh-What the hell is that!?"
"The Second Princess is there! That means it's an assassination squad from the Pope's faction—Damn, what kind of demons are these?! Flying through the sky shows no fear of God—it's the very same kind of act as that witch, and it must not be permitted!"
"Fire! Those with long-range magic, shoot them down!!"
Though they were thrown into a panic by the sheer absurdity of the way they were moving, they immediately made their call and moved to shoot them down.
A multitude of diverse magical attacks rained down from the ground. Most of them didn't even graze the group hurtling by at high speed, but even so, sheer numbers meant a few were on direct collision courses.
And currently, Ermes, along with Albert, was busy maintaining trajectory control using—
the Four Winds of the Heavenly Demon
There was no way to defend against it—however.
"Lady Sarah."
"Y-yes! '"
Spirit veil
'...!"
Sarah activated her barrier magic even as the pressure threatened to throw off her stance. It was more than enough to deflect stray shots.
Ideally, Laila—who possessed the same magic—would have joined the defense as well… but judging by her state, that was probably a lost cause. They were blocking everything as things stood, so there was no issue there.
And then.
Finally, Ermes and the others reached the airspace above the Hidden Sanctuary. Once they got this far, there was almost no line of sight for magic from the ground, and the attacks began to subside.
Confirming this, Ermes and Albert exchanged a nod.
At that moment—the ten who had been clustered together split apart midair into two groups. Four including Albert, and six including Ermes.
This was exactly as planned. Two teams splitting off—the group division for Ermes and the others to take down the two Archbishops, assaulting the dungeon from separate routes.
Given that the dungeon was expected to have passages narrower than anticipated, bunching up too tightly would be counterproductive—that was the reasoning behind the split. Following the plan, Ermes and the others landed on the opposite side from Albert's group, on the west side of the Hidden Sanctuary.
"You'll remember this…!"
And so, Ermes and the others arrived at the Hidden Sanctuary more or less unscathed, as planned.
The only casualty up to that point—Second Princess Laila's sense of balance. Clutching her temple and clearly suffering from the aftereffects, Laila immediately lashed out at Ermes the moment she opened her mouth.
"I have no complaints about the method itself. Since the front defenses of the Underground Church were stronger than expected, trying a different approach was necessary, and I can understand wanting to get it done quickly before being noticed."
"…"
"But still! You could have at least given me a heads-up beforehand! If I'd at least known we could move at this speed, I could have mentally prepared myself!"
"I am truly, deeply sorry about that."
To Laila's perfectly valid complaint, Ermes returned a courteous apology.
That the attitude made it seem perfectly natural to follow "politeness" with "rudeness" — that was probably not just her imagination.
Understanding this, Laila fixed Ermes with a half-lidded stare and spoke.
"...You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"Hm?"
"You're doing this on purpose because I've been hard on your people, aren't you?"
"...N-No, no, there's no way I'd do that."
Seeing Ermes reply with words and intonation identical to what he'd said before the assault, Laila was certain. — This guy was doing it on purpose.
Liliana looked mildly surprised, while Sara and Niina nodded in understanding. Come to think of it, it had been a while since she'd seen him, and she'd forgotten — with anyone outside his own people, Ermes was pretty much like this.
"Now, now."
And as if to rally the group wrapped in a strange tension, another companion — Chrono — clapped his hands.
"In any case, the first objective of reaching the Hidden Sanctuary has been achieved. ...The division should work without issue too."
"Chrono — yes, you're right."
At the remark, Ermes nodded. He looked over the group once more.
Those accompanying Ermes: Sara, Niina, Liliana, Laila, Chrono. Six in total.
The remaining four — Katia, Albert, Yurugen, and Lucius — were on the other side.
This two-group split was the division for taking down the two Archbishops.
On first glance, it was the kind of split that would raise questions in various ways.
First, why was it six and four instead of five and five? From a combat-strength standpoint, did that even make sense?
And above all... why was *Liliana* coming along?
Given the nature of her magic, she'd be far more effective bolstering the Pope's faction's army on the frontal assault than contributing as an individual fighter. Yet here she was. That, too, was probably a source of the sense of unease.
Allow me to explain in order.
First, the biggest reason for this particular split was—to put it bluntly—*deterrence*.
Let me lay out the premise.
Ermes's group and Lyra's group are not, strictly speaking, allies. In fact, once the Archbishop faction is defeated, they would return to a near-completely adversarial relationship.
So, with that premise in mind—suppose Liliana had not been present.
This lineup—seven members of the Third Princess's faction—would lead the assault operation alongside Lyra and Kuro. And if they succeeded, if they managed to vanquish every last Archbishop...
At that moment. Inside the Dungeon—a closed space where no help could reach them.
—
Seven enemies stood before her.
Lyra was cast in alone.
Alone.
The Pope's faction feared exactly that. Lyra, for all her importance to their cause, could not be allowed to walk into that kind of danger. To put it plainly, they feared that *the instant the subjugation ended, Ermes and the others would turn on Lyra.*
Of course, Ermes and his group had no such intention. Still, it was easy enough to understand why that worry existed.
And yet, they couldn't simply remove Lyra from the operation. As someone with deep knowledge of the Church's inner workings, Lyra filled the indispensable role of guide through this hidden sanctuary.
*That* was precisely why they demanded Liliana.
By insisting that the most important figure of the Third Princess's faction also accompany them, they ensured that any funny business would be off the table—especially with Kuro watching, and with both sides essentially holding each other's hearts hostage. That was why they pushed her inclusion as a non-negotiable condition.
Given those calculations, Lyra and Liliana ending up in the same group was a foregone conclusion. The same went for Kuro, who was currently neutral and would serve as a watchdog to prevent either side from making any rash moves.
As for the Third Princess's faction, placing their maximum fighting strength on the side where Liliana would be was only natural—so Ermes was locked in. After that, Sarah and Niina were selected as the personnel best suited to serve as Liliana's bodyguards.
The skewed ratio of fighters came about because of exactly these kinds of calculations working behind the scenes on their side.
……Naturally, had there been none of those entanglements, a more fitting allocation of personnel could have been arranged.
But in reality, that wasn't how things played out. The difficulty of navigating factional politics and power balances was something he felt anew.
——However.
(……It doesn't matter.)
Ermes murmured that, as if cutting off his own train of thought.
He had experienced countless times that things never worked out in an ideal fashion. And besides……
"Don't worry, El. I'll properly play the role of the princess's knight. Well, I don't think it'll come to that, but if you ever end up in a pinch, I'll take care of it for you.
……So just keep your eyes forward, and leave the rest to me."
"Y-Yes! The……the rear is, leave it to me……!"
"Master……"
Niina, in her own quiet way, and Sarah, desperately.
And Liliana gazed at him with unmistakable trust bleeding through her guilt.
Seeing that, the faint unease that had lingered within Ermes dissipated.
"……Shall we head out, then?"
With renewed resolve, he turned his eyes forward and declared it.
Before them lay the entrance to the Dungeon. There was none of the ominous magic power one would expect from a typical Dungeon, but——in its place, a terrifyingly unknowable silence drifted outward.
The Sealed Cathedral.
The darkness within the Church's own darkness. Just as Yurugen had once said, it was entirely possible that something unfathomable was hidden here, and that it might reveal itself before Ermes and the others.
Would a demon appear, or a snake?
He didn't know——but even so, he held a firm conviction: all he had to do was defeat whatever stood in his way.
Ermes Accompanies Enemies, Allies, and a Mysterious Figure
A group brimming with premonitions of upheaval, heading toward a perilous dungeon conquest operation—stepping into the enemy's stronghold at last.
Next time, the subjugation battle finally begins! The story will be charging ahead at full speed, so look forward to it!
Continuing with announcements regarding Volume 2!
March 25th—the release date of the "Creation Magic" book Volume 2—is finally the day after tomorrow.
It looks like some stores already have lines forming...!
And this time, in the activity report, I've shared a preview of one illustration from Volume 2, along with details on the added content and preview pages.
I've made additions that should satisfy web readers as well, so I'd be thrilled if you'd check it out and pick up a copy!
Well then, please continue supporting "Reproducer of Creation Magic"!