"So, have the twelve names been finalized?"
Late at night, two elders cloaked in robes made their way toward the temple.
The elder in the black robe asked, and the one in brown nodded.
"Yes. The final decision was made last night, or so I heard."
"I see. And His Majesty's condition?"
"No change. He can no longer even swallow porridge, so I fear his end may be near."
The two let out weary sighs in turn.
"Let us hope His Grace the Grand Duke can handle matters well…"
"By the way, they still haven't found Leca, have they?"
"They're searching, but there's been little progress. He must be hiding with magic—how could ordinary soldiers hope to find him?"
The elder in the brown robe tilted his head.
"But we did place a mana suppression collar on him… it makes no sense."
"It's outrageous, but what can we do? We don't have the resources to focus on that right now."
"Still, shouldn't we keep looking? That one has stabbed us in the back more than once. Who knows what he'll try if we leave him be…"
An owl let out a long, low hoot as it flew across the black sky.
The elder in the black robe took a key from his robe and opened the temple door.
Cre-eak. The heavy doors groaned open, echoing into the night.
"He's probably gone after that human girl. Nothing to worry about, really. The two of them are practically going off to die together, aren't they?"
They each grabbed a large lamp and entered the temple.
In front of the statue of Ahura Mazda, the god of light, they offered a careful prayer, then began wrapping the statue with layers of silk cloth.
After that, they made their way to the altar where the statue of Angra Mainyu, the god of darkness, and the twelve demon gods stood.
Just as they were about to begin covering the others with silk—
"Wh-What is this!"
The elder in the brown robe let out a startled gasp.
Among the twelve demon gods, the statue of Beelzebub was weeping black tears.
The two froze in place at the sight.
"What in the world…"
"Have you ever seen anything like this before?"
The elder in the black robe asked, but the one in brown shook his head.
"Never. I've only heard rumors—if the country faces disaster, or something significant happens to that particular god, the statue may change…"
"Wait. If it's Beelzebub, then could it be…"
The two turned to face each other.
"Could that girl have truly reached Beelzebub…?"
But the elder in black shook his head firmly.
"It's just coincidence. There has been a disturbance in Sibareth due to the red-tailed comet. That must be it."
"Gasp—n-no, look! The statue of Angra Mainyu too…!"
The statue of Angra Mainyu, about seventy centimeters tall, was shedding blood-red tears.
Again, the two could do nothing but stare blankly at the eerie scene.
"This is… truly bizarre. Could someone have entered and tampered with the statues?"
"That's a possibility. Some vile prank, no doubt."
"Let's have the Department of Magic investigate as soon as morning breaks."
From that point on, the two elders said not another word.
They focused solely on wrapping the statues in silk—but their hands moved slowly and clumsily, like children begrudgingly doing homework over the holidays.
Leca frantically turned the pages, his hands trembling.
The book contained spells of secret magic, methods for dispelling and sealing, and so on.
Instructions for the Eye of Revelation ritual as well as Eye of Suppression—a rite used to nullify a statue's divine properties—were also written.
Flip, flip, flip.
There was no table of contents, so Leca had to check every single page one by one.
About halfway through, he came across a chapter on the first of the Twelve Demon Gods—Lucifer. This is it!
Since Beelzebub was the seventh, just a bit more. Leca quickly flipped ahead.
At last—Beelzebub's chapter. Leca read at lightning speed.
"Beelzebub is the demon god who governs abundance and greed, intoxication and feasts...
…He dwells in a hell that lies beyond seven mountains and seven black lakes.
There are three ways to reach that place."
First: Travel through the Black Forest and the Land of Ice.
This is the safest route, but it may take considerable time.
Second: This method can only be used if the reader is female.
When the demons' masquerade ball is held in the Black Forest, appear before them.
Then, the drunken subordinates of Beelzebub will take you to their king.
Third: Make use of a spirit of darkness.
Summon a wicked djinn, a spirit of jealousy and greed.
Give it something precious to you, and ask to be taken to Beelzebub's realm.
This is the quickest and simplest method—but you never know what the djinn will demand in return, so it carries the greatest risk.
Leca read the detailed explanations for all three methods without missing a word.
And he became certain: the only method he could use—the one he must use—was the third.
He closed the book and sealed it back in place. Then, he unlocked the library door and turned into a lizard, slipping out through the window.
It was a pitch-dark night.
Leca made his way quickly to an old hidden spot in the Fairy Garden.
This was where he planned to summon the djinn.
The moonlight shining over the Fairy Garden was brighter than usual.
After confirming there was no one around, Leca returned to his human form.
He then began drawing a summoning circle for the djinn.
While any trained human mage could summon a djinn with a simple incantation, Leca—being a spirit of light—could only summon a spirit of darkness through a special ritual.
Back when he first learned how to summon dark spirits, he hadn't understood why such a thing was necessary. When he protested, the mage who taught him had said:
"Dark magic can, at times, grant powers and abilities greater than those of light. So there may come a time in your life when you'll have to use it. That's why you must learn it."
He never thought that day would actually come...
Finally, the summoning circle was complete. Leca drew a dagger from his robes and slashed across his chest, letting the blood flow.
He allowed it to drip onto the center of the circle. At once, blue flames flickered up from the lines of the spell.
Before long—
A djinn appeared, the size of a three-year-old child, with large horns protruding from either temple. Its entire body was gray.
"Bearer of fire spirit and human blood, what is it you seek from me?"
The djinn's voice was clear and high-pitched. Leca answered without hesitation.
"Where is my master now? Take me to her."
"Hmm…"
The djinn opened its palm and stared into it as if seeing something.
"Let's see… Yes. She is with the demon god Beelzebub. But—I cannot enter the room she is in. I can only take you to the door. Will that suffice?"
"…It will."
"Good. Then in return, I shall take your heart."
"My heart? You mean... my life?"
The djinn licked its lips with a purple tongue and smiled.
"No. It has nothing to do with your life. Normally, spirits have cold hearts—but you, you carry human blood. You possess a heart that burns with powerful emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure—and even that extravagant emotion called sacrificial love."
"…"
The djinn raised a long, curved claw and pointed at Leca's chest.
"Even without your heart, you'll still be able to live and use magic as before.
You'll simply stop feeling certain troublesome emotions.
In fact, you might even find it a blessing."
Leca hesitated for a moment.
Still—wasn't this better than giving up his mana or other abilities? Without those, he would never be able to protect Lady Mia.
But emotions… perhaps he could live without them.
The djinn grinned.
"It seems your mind is made up. Then I shall take your heart—and deliver you to her. Now, close your eyes."
Leca closed his eyes. He felt something being pulled from his chest. A cold wind brushed against him.
It felt like a hole had opened in his chest.
Hollow.
Chill.
Empty.
Then—
Before he could regain his balance, the world spun wildly—and he was suddenly standing before a door.
It was an enormous, ornate door made of white marble, adorned with golden drapes.
Even the hallway walls were encrusted with gemstones, and the floor shimmered like crystal.
The djinn vanished with only these words:
"She is inside this room."
Leca attempted to send a mind-transfer message again. But with a sharp clang, the spell was violently deflected.
Damn…
Was this a magic-restricted zone?
Leca bit his lip and turned to knock on the door instead.
"Lady Mia! Are you inside? It's me!"
But then—He heard faint voices—women talking.
Their voices echoed faintly through the maze-like hallways, but they were unmistakably drawing closer.
Leca panicked.
He tried to transform into a lizard, but again, a clang! rang out and the magic was repelled.
Frantic, he looked around. There, in one corner of the hallway, stood a large marble vase filled with sunflowers.
The vase was quite large. Without hesitation, Leca climbed inside and hid himself.
The voices of the women grew steadily closer.
"…That damned djinn… pulling a stunt like this…"
The demon god Beelzebub muttered to himself as he stared into a mirror.
Beside him on the bed, Mia lay fast asleep, still wearing the ring he had given her.
He looked at her and muttered as if spitting out the words.
"You're all pushing your luck. If not for the debt I owe the Fairy King, I would never have let this go."
He reached out his hand over the sleeping Mia. And with a gentle motion, her body began to float above the bed.