Meanwhile, back in the bandits' lair...
BOOM!
A tremor, even more powerful than before, shook the entire mountain. The walls of the cavern cracked, and dust rained down from the ceiling.
At the epicenter of the destruction, a Stell clone stood over the bisected corpse of a massive, grotesque monster, its head crushed beneath her heel.
The bodies of the bandits, including their chief, were scattered around the chamber, all of them cut in two.
Only the mage, still impaled by Takson's golden spear, remained alive, though barely.
"Hazardous individuals neutralized," the clone stated.
The moment Takson's life-support had triggered, opening the portal, this clone had stepped through, taking his place to finish the fight.
"Data analysis successful. Uploading to Command Unit."
"Report: Target individual poses no significant threat to subject 'Takson' in direct combat."
"...Acknowledged. Commence cleanup protocol."
A wave of intense, cleansing fire swept through the cavern, incinerating everything, bodies, fortifications, loot, leaving nothing but scorched rock and ash.
The clone grabbed the dying mage by the neck, pulled him from the wall, and stepped back through the portal, appearing before the rest of us on the surface.
….
Stell looked coldly at the man lying on the ground, his body trembling, a cold sweat beading on his brow.
The clone's sensory data had been streamed directly to Stell; she knew exactly what this mage had just witnessed, and why he was so terrified.
But she had more pressing matters to attend to. Her focus was on Takson.
"Query: This is the individual that 'killed' you?"
"Uh, no," Takson mumbled, his face flushing with shame. "It was the monster he controlled."
"Query: The target individual has been analyzed. According to the data, in a direct confrontation, you had a 94.5% probability of victory."
"Ahaha, well, you see..."
"Teacher, why did you keep this mage alive?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject. It was a clumsy attempt, but his shame was palpable.
I could see he didn't want to talk about it. His overconfidence had led to a careless mistake, and he was embarrassed.
I had, of course, seen the entire battle.
The device I had given him had a function similar to a dash cam, recording everything he saw and did. He had no secrets from me.
"Answer: His 'magic' is a previously unrecorded type," I explained. The clone had eliminated the other bandits instantly, giving the mage no time to cast any spells. That was why it had brought him back alive.
"Teacher, with all due respect," Takson said, his voice hardening, "a wicked magic like that... is it really necessary to acquire it?" He knew my "love" for magic, how I would often prolong a fight just to witness a new spell. But this particular magic had been the cause of Alice's family's tragedy.
This made him unable to look upon the magic with anything but disgust. But he also understood a fundamental truth: magic itself was not good or evil.
Its nature was defined by its wielder. And this "Beast Control" magic was currently in the hands of a monster.
Thinking this, Takson's gaze fell upon the captured mage, and the man began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Rebuttal: Magic itself is neither good nor evil."
"I know that, Teacher, but..."
"Query: This is because of what happened to Alice's family?"
"Ugh... yes, Teacher."
I knew my apprentice well. It wasn't the first time he had objected to me copying a demon's magic. It was a core part of his personality, his unwavering hatred for their kind.
Having settled the matter with Takson, I walked over to the mage. Under his terrified gaze, the device on my head began to unfold…
….
"Alice, are you sure it's this city?"
Takson pointed to a spot on the world map spread out on the ground between them, then looked at the blonde-haired girl.
They were trying to figure out their next move. As her hired escorts, their primary mission was to deliver her safely to her uncle's house.
The problem was, Alice had never been there before. This trip was supposed to have been her first time.
Wow, this girl is really unlucky, I thought, leaning against a nearby tree.
[World Analysis... 53.46%]
I checked the progress of Rasiel. It's been years. Why is it only halfway done? The analysis had sped up after my encounters with Serie and Flamme, but on most days, it barely progressed at all.
System, is this normal? I queried internally.
[This is a normal phenomenon. Please do not be concerned, Host.]
You call this normal?! For the first time, I felt a flicker of genuine annoyance.
[The analysis of 'Rasiel' is, in essence, a process of connecting to the world's 'root.' Haste is useless. The speed of the analysis is not fixed. It may be slow now, but it could accelerate at any time.]
Fine.
Just as I ended my conversation with the system, Takson walked over.
"Query: Have you reached a conclusion?"
"Yes. We know that her uncle's house is to the south of our current position."
"..."
"Query: Is that the only information you have?"
"Uh... yeah. That's all she knows." Takson had the decency to look embarrassed. All that time discussing, and that was all they had to go on.
"Query: Her parents never told her the address?" I couldn't believe it. How could someone not know the location of their own destination?
As it turned out, she had known. But the trauma of the attack had caused her to forget.
I seized on that detail. "Query: A memory that was previously known, but is now forgotten?"
"Yes. Why, Teacher?" Takson didn't understand the significance, but he confirmed it was true. Wait a minute... does Teacher have a spell that can restore memories? The thought filled him with a new wave of admiration. Of course she does! She's an angel!
I didn't bother to explain. I simply walked over to Alice. The girl, seeing me approach, immediately tensed up, a sense of foreboding washing over her.
"Um... is something wrong?" she asked, her voice a nervous squeak.
I didn't answer. Golden energy flowed from the diamond-shaped crystal in my chest, coalescing in my right hand. It solidified into the form of a revolver.
"Endo Armament: Activate"
"Pseudo-Endo: Zafkiel Yud"
The power to restore a target's past memories. The Tenth Bullet. This was the solution.
A crimson-gold energy flowed into the gun's chamber. I raised it and pointed it directly at the girl's forehead.
She stared down the dark, narrow barrel, her heart pounding. She didn't know what this strange object was, but every instinct in her body screamed that it was dangerous. What is she doing?!
Before she could react, I pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The gunshot made both Alice and Takson jump. A beam of crimson-gold light shot from the muzzle and passed clean through the girl's head.
"Aaaaaah!" she screamed, collapsing to the ground.
Takson, after a brief moment of shock, found himself fascinated by the "revolver" in my hand.
I ignored the girl on the ground. The moment the Tenth Bullet was fired, the gun dematerialized.
"Huh? I'm not dead?!" Alice said, patting herself down, a look of utter confusion on her face.
….
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