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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 45
That wasn’t all.
The magic circle that Leon had created began to glow before transforming into a different shape, initiating a peculiar change.
The previously thin magic circle started splitting into countless others, as if shifting from two-dimensional to three-dimensional space.
The number of magic circles?
Roughly fifty.
Melissa, who had been watching, turned to the elven maid who stood frozen, wide-eyed and speechless.
"Do you know what that is?"
"I… I'm sorry. I don't know what kind of magic that is…"
"Really? Hmm…"
"But… it's definitely not an ordinary magic circle. My magic mentor was a 5th-circle mage, and…"
According to the maid, even her mentor, a 5th-circle mage, could barely handle a single magic circle, yet each of these circles contained more mana than that.
"Those magic circles? It’s 6th-circle magic, so that’s to be expected, right?"
"No… I'm talking about one of those split magic circles."
At that, Melissa fell silent.
A single magic circle that required the full power of a 5th-circle mage—yet here were fifty of them, each holding even more mana than that.
And the number kept increasing.
"I… I might be wrong, but to create that many magic circles with such an absurd amount of mana would require unimaginable energy and an extreme level of control."
"But he's doing it."
"That's what I don't understand… Do all Archmages become like that? Even with the difference between the 5th and 6th circles, this is clearly abnormal…"
Even the maid, who had learned magic, couldn't hide her bewilderment.
Melissa immediately grabbed the maid’s arm and ran, hiding behind a statue.
Then she shouted.
"Leon!! If you destroy this mansion, I swear you're dead meat!!"
Despite her brave words, she couldn't completely hide her fear.
At that moment, Leon clenched his hands tightly.
Kuuuuung!!!
The countless magic circles, each with a different design, began resonating in unison, converging into a single spell.
It was a spell of decay.
But this wasn’t just any ordinary decay spell—its scale and depth were completely on another level.
The sheer force of the magic caused the protective barrier to spark in resistance, but as its surface gradually decayed, its resistance weakened and eventually vanished.
Crash!!!
The barrier shattered completely, and the magic circles dissipated into thin wisps of smoke, disappearing like a mirage.
"W-What…? Did it work?"
"It worked."
Leon responded calmly as he strode toward a firmly closed door and kicked it open.
A wave of scorching heat rushed out from the room.
"Ugh?!"
Melissa instinctively raised her arm to shield her face, but before the heat could reach her, Leon unleashed a chilling aura, forming a protective barrier of cold.
Feeling the temperature drop, Melissa slowly lowered her sleeve and spoke with a tense expression.
"What the… Is that a rift?"
"Looks like it."
A rift.
A rare phenomenon occasionally discovered across the continent—an extradimensional space.
Though rifts were known to exist, they were incredibly rare.
However, for Melissa and Leon, they weren’t entirely unfamiliar.
"A rift… appearing outside of the Demon Realm?"
Leon’s gaze landed on a blue chest lying open on the floor beneath the rift.
"Looks like we brought in a landmine."
It seemed the rift had formed when the blue chest—retrieved from Tyvel’s mansion—had been opened.
"This is ridiculous! How the hell can a rift form outside of the Demon Realm?!"
The reason rifts were nearly unheard of on the continent was simple.
A rift only formed when an extreme concentration of mana or an unknown force distorted space, connecting it to another dimension.
Outside of the Demon Realm, where such conditions were naturally present, rifts were nearly impossible to create.
The Cascadia Mansion had never detected any such phenomenon before.
Given the circumstances, their panic was understandable.
Melissa grabbed Leon’s collar with both hands and shook him violently.
"You lunatic! What the hell did you bring back?!"
"You said it was a lifeform, but it looks like a rift came along with it."
[Lifeform detected. Presence confirmed inside the rift.]
Leon relayed the information he had just received from the Librarian.
"Whatever was inside that chest must be the boss of this rift. More importantly, why are you grabbing a sword? Stay here."
"What? If we don’t neutralize the rift quickly, it'll cause a disaster!"
"And you, the commander, are going to charge in without even investigating what's inside? I’ll go. You stay put."
Melissa bit her lip, unable to argue.
Leon walked over to a corner of the room and picked up Black Night blade No. 1.
"Don't you need a staff? I heard mages need one to cast high-level spells."
"Did what you just see look like beginner magic?"
"…Now that you mention it, no. Still, hold on. My family is responsible for managing the Demon Realm—we can’t just rush in recklessly."
With that, she started gathering military supplies stored within the mansion.
Most were standard provisions for an armed incursion, but among them were vital magical tools designed specifically for rift eradication.
"More people aren’t necessary."
"You never know. What if the rift requires multiple people to clear? No matter how strong you are, you wouldn’t be able to solve it alone."
In response, Leon gestured toward a Death Knight preparing its sword.
Melissa pouted and tossed aside some of the supplies in frustration.
"Fine, but we investigate first. The standard procedure is to analyze the rift’s energy emissions and internal conditions before entering."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Leon observed quietly as she began setting up magical instruments near the rift.
Then—
Ssssssss…
A strange noise echoed from within the rift.
Leon reacted instantly, grabbing Melissa by the collar and yanking her backward.
"Ah?! What are you—Leon!!"
She turned to yell at him, but her face quickly twisted in shock and terror.
The very next moment, grotesque, writhing tendrils shot out from the rift, wrapping tightly around Leon.
"I’ll be back."
Since the Cascadia family managed the Demon Realm, Leon and Melissa had encountered vast amounts of information regarding rifts.
However, they could confidently say that a case like this had never existed before.
Without any resistance, Leon simply grabbed a piece of artifact equipment nearby and was immediately sucked into the rift.
"Don't do anything reckless. Just wait."
Snap!!!
That was the last thing Leon said.
Entering a rift without assessing the situation inside was an extremely dangerous act.
Even Leon’s father, a Sword Master, had strongly emphasized the importance of this rule.
One of their ancestors had neglected this principle and perished within a rift, despite possessing the skills of a Sword Master.
In other words, depending on the nature of the rift, the situation could become extremely perilous.
Maintaining a certain level of tension, Leon stepped inside.
"...What the hell is this?"
The first thing Leon saw was—
—Welcome, esteemed guest.
Dozens of young girls dressed in immaculate maid uniforms stood in two orderly rows, bowing deeply toward him in an eerie display.
* * *
When people face an incomprehensible situation, they instinctively rub their eyes.
What exactly is a rift?
A distortion in space that commonly occurs within the Demon Realm, typically filled with countless monsters.
However, as rifts had never been fully researched or analyzed, the origins of the monsters within them remained largely a mystery.
"Even so, rifts have existed for a long time, and I’ve never seen a case like this."
A space filled not with monsters, but with beings that clearly possessed intelligence?
And they could even communicate?
I blinked in momentary brain fog before poking my head back outside the rift.
Melissa, who had been anxiously observing the rift, gasped in shock upon seeing me.
"Wha... What the hell?!"
"Hey, come in here."
She frowned deeply at my words.
Then, after grabbing her weapon—which had been brought to her by a maid—she strode forward and threw herself into the rift.
"...Oh."
And just like me, she stared blankly at the sight before her.
"Leon, this is a rift, right?"
"I'm starting to doubt that myself."
Melissa, still on edge, seemed unable to believe what she was seeing.
—We will guide you. Please follow me.
A maid, who had been bowing politely, approached us with her hands neatly folded.
Melissa and I exchanged glances.
‘Say something.’
‘What do you mean, you say something! This is uncomfortable as hell.’
Even among nobles, etiquette varied.
The level of respect the maids were displaying was something typically reserved for royalty.
It was an overly grand gesture that even the most prestigious nobles wouldn’t receive lightly.
Since there was no sign of hostility, Melissa and I silently followed the maid.
And we arrived at an enormous dressing room.
—There is a dress code here. We will assist you with your attire.
With that, a group of girls surrounded Melissa and me.
She instinctively tensed, her hand moving toward the sword at her waist.
"What do you think? Should we force our way out?"
When I asked for her opinion, she shook her head.
"No. I think this is a required trigger event. Sometimes, in sub-dimensional spaces, there are rules you need to follow instead of just fighting."
Melissa’s guess was accurate.
The maid who had guided us bowed politely.
—If you wish to continue your visit here, we would appreciate it if you followed our rules.
She and I locked eyes for a moment before silently nodding.
Rifts often held valuable treasures.
And the decorations we had seen on our way here—
Each one was exquisitely crafted from gemstones and gold.
If we played our cards right, everything here could become our spoils.
And more money was always a good thing.
There was no reason for us to refuse.
* * *
The outfits the maids prepared were surprisingly sleek and refined black suits.
They efficiently assisted with our dressing and even tidied my hair.
What was most astonishing was the sheer speed of their work—they finished everything in an instant.
—Are you satisfied?
"Hmm. Yes, I am."
They were so impeccably polite that addressing them informally felt inappropriate.
Of course, their expressions showed no particular emotion.
‘Hey, Librarian.’
[Confirmed.]
‘Are they living beings?’
[No. They are illusions created by some unknown phenomenon. They have neither consciousness nor souls.]
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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