Chapter 21 — You Can’t Kill Someone Who’s Already Dead

A pigeon began to speak in Edelgart's voice.

It was a carrier pigeon. These birds, born as magical creatures, upheld an important corner of the world's intelligence network. While magic could be used for long-distance communication, it required both parties to be fairly accomplished in the magical arts, and thus was not something ordinary people could use.

This was Lain's residence, a white-walled mansion on the floating continent. In a reception room that gave no hint of its master's nature as a vampire, two Sages sat opposite each other.

One was the master of the mansion, Sage Lain. The other was the one responsible for bringing Yogiri and his classmates to this world, Sage Sion.

While Edelgart's voice was rather panicked, her main point was still communicated clearly — Sage Santarou was dead. And what's more, Yogiri Takatou and Tomochika Dannoura may have been involved."This is why I called you here," Lain said. She had felt the need to run this information by Sion.

"Oh? Did the candidates I summoned do something?" The management of Sage candidates was a responsibility that fell on the one who had summoned them. Dealing with another's candidates was somewhat taboo among the Sages.

"Now that a Sage has been killed, it's not something I can ignore. They have long since exceeded the capacity of simple Sage candidates. On top of that, the problems they are causing are within my jurisdiction."

Santarou's jurisdiction was around the capital of Manii, but in this case, his pursuit of the invader had led him into Lain's territory. When it came to dealing with invaders, the distinction between territorial jurisdictions wasn't especially important, but now that a Sage's death was involved, things had changed. As the one responsible for the territory where that death had taken place, a certain amount of responsibility fell on Lain as well.

"There's no proof they did anything, is there? Santarou was sent to fight off a large robot. Are you sure he wasn't killed by that?"

"It's possible. But even if there is only a suspicion that they might have the ability to kill a Sage, they can't be left to wander on their own." Lain had taken a personal interest in this mysterious power. She had intended to watch and see how things unfolded for a while, but the circumstances would no longer allow for that.

"If they are able to kill a Sage, they are well outside the bounds of a Sage candidate. That's enough to make them into a Sage on the spot. I reviewed them all personally and didn't see anyone even approaching that level."

"Then how did Santarou die?"

"Santarou's specialty was his ability to use the magic of all elements, correct? Among the Sages, he had the greatest range of abilities. With those abilities, he could adapt and be effective on any battlefield, but as a result, the individual power of his spells was somewhat lacking. In short, he was a jack of all trades but a master of none. A single mistake in battle could be enough to get him killed.""You make it sound so easy. But Santarou's body had no external wounds. Some of his bones were broken, but that likely happened after his death. The cause of death is still unknown, but I heard from your attendant that those two have something like Instant Death Magic."

"Youichi is a bit of a worrywart," Sion sighed, as if to say "what of it?" "But even if you think they are the culprits, what reason would they have to kill a Sage? Santarou had no visible injuries, you said? So there is no evidence they removed his Philosopher's Stone."

"No, there was no report of his stomach being ripped open. While it's certainly bizarre that they would simply kill and leave him there, there's no way we can guess at their motives. Regardless, I'm going to deal with those two. I know I don't need your permission, but I figured I'd let you know.""You'll deal with them? And here I thought you were a pacifist."

"I don't recall ever boasting such absurd principles. Unlike the other Sages, I just don't kill people without reason. If there's an actual need, I have no problem taking lives."

"Then fine, do with those two as you please. But really, I thought you had called me here for a different reason."

"And what would that be?"

"It's also related to Santarou...and the Darkness. I was told he managed to drive it away, but it's still lingering somewhere in this world. I thought it might be about that."

"You're wondering who will go out to fight it next?"

With Santarou dead, the territory he was responsible for was now vacant. The responsibility for that territory would most likely fall on someone whose jurisdiction bordered it — in this case, either Lain or Sion.

"Ah! Now that I think about it, you owe me a favor, don't you?" Sion clapped her hands together as if she had suddenly come up with a great idea."All right, I'll go deal with it."

Someone would have to anyway. Lain didn't have any particular reason to avoid handling it herself, so if she could clear up her debt to Sion at the same time, it was the most convenient option.

"Well then, please allow me to excuse myself." With her business concluded, Sion wasted no time making her exit.

"Masayuki," Lain called out to the empty reception room.

"You called?" A moment later, a male voice replied from behind her.

"Take the Immortals to Hanabusa. Find Yogiri Takatou and Tomochika Dannoura, and kill them."

"Wait, are you serious? Just those two? What on earth are you thinking?"

"Those two absolutely have to be dealt with. It seems they can use something akin to Instant Death Magic. There's a possibility another unit might not be able to take them on."

"Ahh, I see. That makes the Immortals perfect for this job. It's not like you can kill someone who's already dead, right?"

The Immortal Corps had about a hundred members, and it was almost entirely composed of undead, golems, and other such entities that didn't qualify as 'alive.' In other words, it was an entire unit consisting of beings immune to Instant Death Magic.

"But still, wouldn't I be enough by myself?" Masayuki was a member of Lain's bloodline. As a vampire who could be called one of her children, he was also a high-ranking undead.

"In order to guarantee their deaths, we need numbers like that. If you still don't have enough, recruit from the locals."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you saying it's okay to destroy Hanabusa?" An unmistakable joy filled his voice. Masayuki had instantly gotten on board.

"Only if it's necessary. Don't do anything you don't have to."

"Don't worry. I'll make absolutely sure we get them." Despite Lain's warning, he didn't seem to be particularly concerned."I'm planning on going out. There's a need for me to face down an invader." While dealing with a Sage murderer was important, the invaders were a more pressing threat.

"I'll leave those more complex enemies to you. I'm much better suited to tearing apart people with blood and guts."

With Masayuki and the entire Immortal Corps, the death of two Sage candidates was more or less guaranteed. If Yogiri and Tomochika only had Instant Death Magic on their side, they wouldn't stand a chance. If they somehow survived against the entire Immortal Corps, however...

That possibility wasn't even one in a million. And yet Lain couldn't help but secretly hope that they would.