"So you're the demon person, right?"
When I asked that, the man looked momentarily taken aback.
Then he quickly lowered his gaze, placing a hand on his chin.
"...Hmm. Not only did you find out about this place, but you even know about demon persons. I'm surprised. I've heard only a handful within the Order are privy to that information..."
He murmured softly, seemingly lost in thought.
"Whether I know or not doesn't matter. I'd appreciate an answer to my question."
"Ah, my apologies. You asked if I am a demon person. No, I'm not. I'm merely here as an assistant to the Doctor."
"Ozwald McLeod's assistant, huh. Then you must have some useful information. I'm in a pretty foul mood right now. I'd be grateful if you'd talk honestly—will you?"
"I doubt a mere assistant like me holds anything of real value, but suppose I refuse—what then?"
"Being put in charge here means you condone what's being done, right? Then I won't hold back. Since you called me "White Mage", you must know about my ability too? —I'll torture you right up to the brink of death. But don't worry—I'll heal you right back up immediately. I'll repeat that until you spill everything. Your body might endure, but I hope your mind can take it."
I spoke with killing intent, venting all the pent-up frustration I'd accumulated.
Perhaps my emotions transmitted to the surrounding ice spirits, because the temperature around me plummeted sharply.
Most people would be trembling by now from my genuine killing intent, but the man in front of me showed almost no change despite facing it head-on.
"That... probably wouldn't hold up for long. My, what a frightening princess you are, "White Mage"."
"Then will you talk?"
"No, I must decline. It seems far more interesting this way..."
He declared that with an innocently beaming smile, utterly devoid of malice.
I'd figured he wouldn't break easily, but "more interesting"?
I hadn't expected much anyway—if he won't talk willingly, I'll just force it out of him.
With my decision set, I instantly activated [Ice Javelin] to skewer his entire body with ice spears.
As magic circles appeared around him, numerous ice spears shot toward the man still seated in his chair.
But just before they pierced his vitals—right before reaching him—the spears vanished, as if swallowed into nothingness.
"...Hmm. So this is "White Mage"'s magic. Truly fast. Dealing with this will be quite the challenge."
(What was that just now...?)
He hadn't dodged or blocked—it felt like the space around him connected to another dimension, devouring the ice spears whole.
Inexplicable phenomena like this usually involve unique abilities.
But I'd never heard of an ability like this.
"Amuntsāsu" is undoubtedly the organization with the most comprehensive knowledge of unique abilities in the world.
It was founded by my ancestors, who were connected to the "King of Unique Abilities", and now we even have the Fairy Queen as an ally.
She'd shared information about the Order's bases and their abilities along with everything else, but there shouldn't have been anything about an ability that could cause this kind of phenomenon.
『...Impossible... This can't be... Why would the Order have...』
I was shocked by the unknown phenomenon too, but Titania was far more shaken.
『...Titania, what's wrong?』
I asked her through the Spirit Eye without speaking aloud.
Since it's fused with my eye, I can also use telepathy with fairies—normally a privilege of those with [Spirit Dominion].
But telepathy with fairies is extremely taxing, so I usually speak out loud.
In a situation with an enemy present, though, telepathy seemed safer—and the man didn't seem to realize Titania was involved.
『...It seems I was too optimistic. This is the worst...! Shion, get out of there right now!』
Titania—always so composed—ordered me to flee in a frantic, desperate tone.
I didn't understand why she was panicking this much, but if she was this serious, it had to be dire.
I wanted to ask why, but that could wait.
『...Understood. I'm retreating.』
『I'm sorry... Right now, I'm utterly useless. I can't do anything. Forgive me. Just escape somehow!』
『What do you mean by—!?』
In the middle of our telepathic exchange, something glinted at the edge of my vision, reflecting light like water.
Focusing on it, I saw a blade formed of something water-like hurtling toward my neck.
I twisted my body to evade, but at the closest point, the tip morphed into a human hand shape, the blade into an arm.
It changed course and grabbed my neck.
"Gh... a..."
『Shion!?』
It squeezed with the force of an actual human hand.
(If it's water-like, first freeze it—!? Mana...!?)
I tried to construct a formula to freeze and shatter whatever was choking me.
But when I attempted to activate the magic, mana had vanished from my surroundings... preventing any mana infusion.
"You tried to attack Papa again! I won't forgive you!"
A voice rang out from ahead, and the arm gradually took shape until a girl who looked no older than ten appeared before me.
(This child... is the demon person...?)
『I'm coming to help! Just hold on a little longer!』
Titania's voice echoed in my head amid the suffocation.
Then I sensed her doing something through me.
Multiple wind blades shot upward, carving away part of the ceiling. The falling debris struck the girl's extended arm, severing it physically.
With the connection broken, the force stopped, and the severed part lost form, falling to the ground like water.
"Cough... cough..."
Freed from the chokehold, I gasped for air while coughing.
I immediately leaped backward to create distance.
『Thank you, Titania. I'm saved.』
『No... this is the most I can do right now.』
"Due, come back."
"Okay, Papa!"
The girl called Due by the man showed no real reaction to her forearm being severed by debris. With an innocent child's smile, she trotted cheerfully toward him.
As she moved, something fluid writhed where her arm had been missing, and it reformed perfectly.
She looked like a perfectly healthy child again.
Clinging to the man's left arm like a child to a parent, Due hugged him tightly.
The man, meanwhile, stroked her head absentmindedly, his attention clearly elsewhere.
"I'm surprised. To think you could still use magic in that situation. There's still plenty of room for improvement... Thank you for providing such valuable data, "White Mage"."
He addressed me without even glancing at Due.
"What... is this situation...?"
The scene before me—and what I'd seen through the Spirit Eye—left me muttering involuntarily.
Is the relationship between this man and Due truly that of parent and child...?
That's concerning, but far more shocking was the complete absence of mana wherever Due had passed or around her.
Mana exists everywhere in the world.
The labyrinth's presence causes some uneven distribution, but on a grand scale, it's negligible.
A place without mana—an exception like that, to my knowledge, exists only in one location in the entire world...
If that exception applies to the girl in front of me...
Reaching that conclusion sent an icy chill through my veins, as if my blood had frozen solid.
『Titania, that child... don't tell me—』
『...Yes. Exactly what you're thinking. She's nowhere near the original, but she's still a threat. Especially to us.』
I wanted her to deny it.
But her answer was as close to the worst possible as it could get.
『The guardian of the northern and southern sanctuaries—created by the Lord to slay fairies. Or rather, now the floor boss of the hundredth layer in the northern and southern great labyrinths. Without a doubt, this is a demon person recreated with its signature trait: [Mana Devourer].』
"[Mana Devourer]..."
When I murmured the words unconsciously, the man—who'd worn a composed smile until now—narrowed his eyes.
"...A throwback to the "Witch" lineage, huh? Far more troublesome than I'd heard. Due, I have an important task for you. Would you mind?"
For the first time, the man turned to face Due, still clinging to his arm, and spoke.
Her eyes sparkled, her voice bouncing with excitement.
"Yes yes! I'll do anything Papa says!"
"Good girl. First, kill the silver-haired woman over there. After that, leave this place and head to the Hitia Duchy. Slaughter every human you find there without exception."
What... is he saying...?
No, I understand the words.
But this is no order to give a child who appears physically and mentally immature.
For him to say such a thing—he's every bit as vile as the rest of the Order's scum.
"...What about Papa?"
"I have other work, so I can't stay with you. But if you carry out your duties properly, we'll reunite someday..."
"Really!? Then I'll do my best! So come see me soon!"
"...Yes, of course."
Once the man finished speaking with Due, he rose from his chair.
As he stepped away from her, his body began to shimmer like heat haze.
"—I won't let you escape...!"
Even if Due possesses [Mana Devourer], it's incomplete.
Its range is only a few dozen centimeters around her.
With her separated from him now, I can use magic without issue.
My head is still full of questions, but I can't let this man get away here.
I activated [Stillness of Eternity] to encase him in ice.
But faster than that, a dome of water-like substance formed around him.
When my mana touched it, the mana simply vanished into nothingness.
Magic is a phenomenon caused by mana.
If the mana disappears, naturally, the magic fails.
[Stillness of Eternity] fizzled out, and when the dome vanished, the man who had been inside was gone.
"You tried to attack Papa again, Silver-hair!"
"Silver-hair... huh. Don't I have a lot of nicknames? Orun calls me 'Robe Lady' too."
As Due shouted in fury, I forced myself to stay calm and replied.
『Shion, staying here means death. Run now. As a mage, you have no chance against her.』
Titania urged me to retreat in a panicked tone.
"Ahaha... Yeah. Fighting that child... I have almost no chance of winning..."
I answered Titania aloud instead of through telepathy.
As expected, Due eyed me suspiciously for suddenly talking to myself, watching warily.
"—But I can't run away."
『Why!? Her [Mana Devourer] is incomplete! Keep your distance and you can use magic! There's no need to take risks here!』
Titania is right.
Most people would say the same—there's no reason to push it here.
Even so, I won't allow myself to retreat.
"No, I can't. Whether she kills me or lets me go, her next move is to ravage the Hitia Duchy. I have to stop that. As a member of the family entrusted with governing the duchy... I have to protect my people. I leave politics to others, so at times like this, I have to put my body on the line."
As I explained why I couldn't flee, old memories surfaced.
—My origin.