Chapter 36
After recovering from the ordeal, Marshall returned to the village entrance and rejoined the two girls.
Levy appeared to have calmed down as well.
She stood quietly to one side with a sweet smile, looking every bit like the gentle, well-mannered bookworm everyone believed her to be.
When she noticed Marshall staring, she tilted her head adorably, as though a tiny question mark had appeared above it.
Who could possibly have guessed what lurked beneath that innocent exterior?
’Sometimes, knowing too much really doesn’t make a person happier...’
Fortunately, Levy’s thoughts had returned to normal. It seemed that terrifying imagination of hers was not active all the time.
Marshall quietly sighed in relief.
He was not certain he could survive another mental assault on that level.
Levy was terrifying!
"This request was issued in the village’s name, so we should speak to the village chief first."
Marshall acted as though nothing had happened and offered no explanation for his sudden disappearance.
"Mm-hmm! Hopefully our first job goes smoothly!" Levy said cheerfully.
The three entered the village, only to discover that the streets were strangely deserted.
Marshall listened carefully to the thoughts within range and frowned.
"Almost everyone in the village has gathered to the south."
His expression darkened.
"And... it sounds like something unpleasant is happening there."
...
"GET OUT!"
"You’re possessed by a demon! How long do you plan to remain in our village?!"
"Demon! Get out of here!"
When Marshall and the girls reached the southern edge of the village, they found a crowd surrounding a small house and hurling abuse at the people inside.
Several villagers were even throwing stones through the windows.
The scene was ugly.
"Huh?" Cana stared at the house in confusion. "The demon is trapped inside and getting bullied by the villagers?"
She looked disappointed.
"If it’s that weak, contracting it wouldn’t be useful at all. Marshall...?"
Cana turned toward him and noticed that his brows were tightly drawn, his lips pressed into a thin line.
She recognized that expression.
Marshall was furious!
"These ignorant fools..."
By listening to the villagers’ thoughts, Marshall had already pieced together most of what had happened.
They were collectively tormenting several innocent children.
Combined with what he could see in front of him, the truth behind the request was not difficult to guess.
People without knowledge could be unbelievably cruel in their stupidity.
...
At that moment, a young girl suddenly threw open one of the windows and shouted until her voice nearly broke.
"Stop it! Mira-nee defeated the demon that was haunting the church!"
"She protected this village, and this is how you treat her?! The demon only possessed her because she defeated it!"
"Mira-nee didn’t do anything wrong! She didn’t!"
The villagers were briefly silenced by the girl’s desperate fury.
Then an intense light erupted above their heads.
A colossal figure made entirely of light appeared in the sky, towering dozens of meters over the village.
Its enormous, oval eyes stared down at the crowd, and the oppressive presence of the giant left every villager frozen in terror.
A solemn voice like divine judgment echoed directly inside their minds.
[I am Zoffy, Messenger of Light! I have come to destroy the demons hiding in this place. Today, I shall purify every last one of you and deliver your souls to paradise.]
The giant raised one enormous foot and slowly brought it down toward the crowd.
The villagers had never witnessed anything so horrifying.
They collapsed to the ground, faces drained of color, as the descending foot generated a wind pressure that felt like death itself.
At last, someone broke.
"L-Lord Zoffy, you have the wrong people! You’ve made a mistake! The demon is inside that house!"
"We’re ordinary humans! We aren’t demons!"
Once the first villager cried out, the rest followed immediately.
They dropped to their knees, pointing desperately at the house while begging for mercy.
To their amazement, it worked.
The giant stopped.
Its massive foot withdrew, and its glowing gaze settled upon the house as though examining whatever lay inside.
After a brief silence, the voice returned.
[Deception! This is deception! I sense only the lingering presence of a demon that has already died within that house.]
[The true demons are hiding among you. Their auras are faint and difficult to distinguish. It seems I have no choice but to destroy every demon worshipper here without discrimination.]
The enormous foot rose again.
’The demons are hiding among us?!’
The villagers nearly fainted from despair.
One of the quicker-witted men realized that the giant could apparently be reasoned with, so he gathered his courage and shouted again.
"Please wait, Lord Zoffy! We aren’t demon worshippers!"
"We can find the true demons! Please give us some time! We’ll expose them ourselves!"
The descending foot stopped in midair once more.
[Very well. I grant you three days.]
[Find the true demons. Should you fail, every one of you will be executed.]
The next instant, an enormous cage of light descended from the sky and sealed the villagers inside.
It gave them a private, undisturbed environment in which to identify the supposed traitors among themselves.
The giant of light then dissolved into glittering particles, leaving only Marshall, Cana, and Levy standing outside the cage.
Cana covered her mouth as she struggled to contain her laughter.
"Marshall, that was so mean! You nearly fooled me too!"
She gave him a thumbs-up.
"But you did great!"
Levy stepped closer to the glowing hemispherical barrier and tapped the wall curiously.
"This is... Light-Make Magic?"
Her eyes widened when her fingers met something nearly solid.
"You actually created a physical wall out of light. Doesn’t maintaining something this large consume an enormous amount of magic power?"
Marshall shook his head repeatedly.
"Wrong. Under direct sunlight, Light-Make Magic consumes very little energy."
He placed one hand against the barrier.
"It’s actually absorbing light passively right now. If it charges throughout the day, it should barely have enough stored energy to remain active overnight."
"It isn’t particularly strong, but trapping a group of ignorant villagers doesn’t require much."
"Wow..." Levy looked up at the dome in amazement. "I never realized light could be shaped like this. Was that giant made with Light-Make too?"
"Your magic always does things nobody expects!"
"It’s merely the result of relentless effort combined with a tiny amount of magical insight."
Marshall clasped his hands behind his back and raised his chin.
"Nothing more than a few hardships endured along the path. Hardly worth mentioning."
He waved dismissively.
"Now then, let’s go meet the ’target’ of our request."
The three walked around the enormous dome of light and approached the house the villagers had surrounded.
The three children hiding inside had already moved to the windows.
They had clearly seen and heard everything that happened and were now watching Marshall’s group with equal parts curiosity and suspicion.
"Was that... your doing?"
A girl wrapped in a black cloak stepped forward.
Her gaze remained guarded as she examined them.
’The pink-haired boy is probably the one in charge. The other two girls look about my age, so they’re less important.’
’What was that giant? And how did they create this house of light? Did they come here because of the demon too?’
Cana immediately stepped forward.
"That’s right! Your village submitted a request to our guild asking us to drive away a demon, so we came here to handle it!"
"My sister isn’t a demon!" the younger girl cried. "Mira-nee already killed the demon!"
"Lisanna! Elfman, keep her back!"
The cloaked girl—apparently Mira—drew a shaky breath and approached the window.
She suddenly raised her right arm and thrust it toward them.
Her voice trembled.
"The demon... The demon is inside me!"
"If you really have the power to remove it, then do it!"
"Mira-nee!" both younger siblings cried.
"Be quiet!"
The cloaked girl clenched her teeth.
"This is my fate! I’ve already accepted it!"
"Come on! Do it quickly!"
"No, Mira-nee!"
"..."
Marshall, Cana, and Levy stared silently as the three siblings clung to one another and cried as though they were about to be separated forever.
Cana scratched her head.
"What’s happening? Why are they all crying?"
Levy considered the scene thoughtfully.
"They must believe she’s possessed by a demon. Perhaps she intends to sacrifice herself to destroy it?"
Marshall sighed.
"Everyone, calm down."
He addressed the cloaked girl directly.
"You aren’t possessed by a demon, and you aren’t going to become one."
"If I’m correct, your right arm hasn’t returned to normal because you still don’t know how to control your magic properly."
He gave her a reassuring look.
"It isn’t nearly as serious as you think."
"Huh?"
The three siblings froze.
"Huh?!" Lisanna reacted first and leaned excitedly through the window. "You mean this is magic?!"
"Does that mean Mira-nee can be saved? Do you know what happened to her? Can you cure her?!"
Marshall looked at their excited faces, then at himself, Cana, and Levy, who were still standing outside beneath the window.
He sighed helplessly.
"Could you let us into the house before we continue this conversation?"
"S-Sorry!" Lisanna and Elfman shouted together.
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