The day after their encounter with Mina’s mother in the secret space, they set out from the shrine.
As always, Arc carried Mina in a princess carry and flew through the sky. Nox could transform into a small black cat, so she nestled comfortably in Mina’s arms.
“Hey, Arc. What was in your box?”
“Hm? What was inside? …I’ll show you later.”
Mina looked displeased.
“Why later? Tell me now.”
“It can wait.”
“But I’m bored!”
“Bored??”
Arc’s jaw dropped, and he stared at her.
“Are you serious? You might be bored, but I’m kind of busy carrying you and flying right now!”
“You can still talk, can’t you?”
“I don’t feel like it.”
“Come on! Just tell me! You’re so stingy!”
Mina puffed out her cheeks in a sulk, and Arc laughed.
“You’ll see soon enough whether you want to or not. Look—we’re here.”
“Already?”
“See that big rocky mountain straight ahead? The gate to the Demon Realm is underneath it.”
Arc touched down in front of the rocky mountain and set Mina on the ground. Nox leaped from Mina’s arms, did a little spin in midair, and landed on her feet.
“First things first, Mina. You read all the grimoires you got, right?”
Mina puffed out her chest proudly.
“Obviously. I finished them all while you two were sleeping. It was incredibly boring, by the way.”
Arc laughed.
“Well, good. Makes our nap worthwhile.”
As he spoke, he opened the gate to the Demon Realm. Then he turned back to Mina and looked her straight in the eye.
“This gate won’t let you through unless you have a certain level of magical power. It’s designed so the weak can’t wander in and get killed.”
“So beyond this point, it’s nothing but danger?”
Arc nodded.
“Magical beasts roaming everywhere. But for the three of us now, it’s a different story.”
“Different how?”
“Meaning—your mother Lady Lilia’s plan is for you to gain combat experience by fighting magical beasts along the way.”
Mina shrugged.
“What a Spartan mother I have!”
Arc mimicked her shrug.
“Just try not to die.”
Chatting like this, the three of them passed through the gate.
The other side was also a forest. Trees in every direction—nothing else in sight.
“Wait, it’s a forest in here too? Did we actually go through the gate?”
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“Yeah, it looks similar, but this is a Demon Realm forest. Let your guard down and a magical beast will jump you.”
Were there really magical beasts in a place like this? Mina looked around nervously.
“D-don’t scare me like that…”
She couldn’t help wondering what these beasts looked like.
That was when it happened.
The black ring around Mina’s neck suddenly constricted.
“Aaagh!”
She dropped to her knees on the spot, then collapsed forward onto the ground.
“Mina!”
Arc and Nox rushed to her side. Nox rubbed her back gently.
The ring creaked and groaned as it tightened, then gradually loosened.
“Hah… hah…”
After a while, she could breathe again. Mina drew in a deep gulp of air.
“Mina, are you okay?”
“Hey—Mina!”
They were both gentle with her as she lay curled up in pain. Mina raised her head and forced a smile.
“Hah… hah… I’m fine now. Really.”
Both of them bit their lips sadly. Mina steadied her breathing.
“No matter how many times it happens, I can never get used to it.”
“You shouldn’t have to get used to something like this.”
Arc rubbed her back. Her breathing gradually eased.
“Listen, Mina. Once we reach the Demon Realm, we might find a way to deal with that collar. Just hang in there a little longer.”
Mina stared at Arc, pressed her lips together tightly, and gave a small nod.
“Hey—how about a change of pace? I’ll show you my weapon.”
Arc stood and drew a short blade from the sheath on his belt.
“A dagger?”
“This blade is called Darkness Cleave. It generates its edge using dark magic. I can adjust the length of the blade with magical power, but extending it drains energy fast, so I plan to use it as a short sword normally.”
He drew the blade, then sprang forward and tossed a stone into the bushes. A tiger-like magical beast had been hiding there.
“What?! A tiger?!”
Mina leaped backward in shock.
GRAOOW!
The tiger bared its fangs and lunged at Arc. But he kicked off the air, flipped, and dodged effortlessly. Gravity magic at its finest.
“See? Magical beasts ambush you like this, so stay alert!”
Arc vaulted over the tiger, landed on its back, gave it a light stomp, nicked its ear with his blade, and touched down on the ground. The tiger beast yelped and bolted into the forest.
“How’s that for graceful footwork?”
“Wow… not bad, Arc.”
“But the really impressive thing is that this sword can cut through any light-attribute magic.”
“Light-attribute?”
“Yeah. Most magic used by angels is light-based. Being able to cut through it makes this a pretty terrifying weapon against them.”
“Oooh!”
While Mina was still marveling, Arc dismissed the blade of Darkness Cleave and slid it back into the sheath at his hip.
“Alright, your turn, Nox.”
Nox, who had been crouching on the ground, sprang to her feet.
“Okay!”
She trotted forward. Nox had received magical power from their mother, but unlike Arc, her appearance hadn’t changed at all.
Short hair, cat ears, wheat-brown skin, and those adorable round feline eyes.
“What I got is this!”
Nox raised one arm, and a silver bracelet glinted on her wrist.
“Jewelry?!”
Nox laughed.
“Yep! Cute, right?”
“But how do you use it?”
“Like this…!”
Nox darted forward and flicked her wrist. A wire shot out from the bracelet and lashed around the legs of a magical beast hiding in the brush.
BWROOO!
A buffalo-like magical beast burst from the undergrowth, its legs tangled in wire.
“It’s called Shadow Wire. I can change its thickness and the shape of the tip. I can use it to bind enemies, or crack it like a whip.”
“That’s… incredible!”
While Mina was still gaping, Nox drew a revolver-style pistol from a holster at her hip and fired several shots at the buffalo beast’s shadow.
The beast froze in place, completely immobilized—as if struck by paralysis.
“Shadow binding?!”
Nox smiled.
“This gun is called Shadow Reaver. It fires magical bullets.”
After a moment, the buffalo beast began thrashing again.
“When I shoot a shadow, each bullet immobilizes the target for two seconds.”
“W-wow, that’s amazing…”
“And when I shoot the body directly instead of the shadow…”
She aimed at the buffalo’s body and fired several more rounds.
Where each bullet struck, a starfish-shaped cluster of tentacles burst forth and latched onto the beast, restraining part of its body. Each cluster had five tendrils roughly twenty centimeters long. A single hit would be enough to incapacitate a human.
The buffalo beast bellowed and thrashed, but when Nox snapped her fingers, the restraints released, and it stampeded off into the forest.
“Those are some scary weapons… but since it’s a revolver, you can only fire six shots?”
“No, it’s not about bullet count—it means I can load six different types of magic. Right now I only have Shadow Bind. As for ammunition, it never runs out as long as I have magical power.”
“Oh! So you can unlock more functions?”
“Apparently, when I defeat a powerful enemy, I can add new ones. It can even record magic I’m not naturally good at.”
“That sounds like an incredible magical artifact…”
“So, Mina—what kind of weapon did you get?”
Arc and Nox looked at her eagerly. Mina had no choice but to deliver the disappointing news.
“Well, um… there wasn’t a weapon in my box.”
“Then what was in it?”
“Uh… three grimoires.”
Arc burst out laughing.
“Ha ha ha! I bet Lady Lilia figured you’d hurt yourself if she gave you a weapon!”
“Hey—don’t make fun of me!”
Mina puffed out her cheeks and raised her fist. Arc dodged it with a laugh.
“So what magic did you learn?”
“I’m not telling you!”
“It’s earth magic, isn’t it?”
“It is not!”
Realizing her fists would never connect, Mina gave up and stomped off ahead in a huff.
“Seriously—why am I the only one who didn’t get a cool weapon?!”
She let out a mournful wail, followed by an enormous sigh.
