Chapter 51
The magic stone Spider Witch had taken from the enemy was the size of a child's clenched fist, with an elegant bellflower-purple hue. Its deep, tranquil shade was powerful yet subdued, a perfect match for the quiet spider.
This time, our objective was to rescue Professor Ohinata. Professor Ohinata was said to have attempted suicide by poisoning, so I wanted to save them and get them to a doctor as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we had no time for an elaborate wand design or to introduce any groundbreaking innovations.
It would be best to use a basic structure: a multilayered core with a backflow-prevention mechanism.
I put on my Steel Sheep gloves and took a carving knife with a Gremlin blade, a curved hook, and various abrasives from my tool bag.
The more layers there were, the longer multilayer processing took. It was safest to stick with a relatively quick two-layer construction, then add a third or fourth layer if the power proved insufficient.
I spread out a sheet and sat down, then called the fire lizards over to illuminate my hands. While shaving the stone into a sphere and refining its shape, I asked Spider Witch a few questions.
"About the wand's design... It would be hard to grip a wand with those legs, wouldn't it? Do you have any preferences, like a shape that would make it easier to handle?"
"That kind of request is possible? What should I do...?"
"The basic shape will be an ordinary wand. Like this Henden-sho-kun I'm wearing at my waist."
"Hmm... It might help if I could attach it to my legs. And I might sometimes have my decoy hold it, so I would like it to be usable by human hands too..."
"I see. In that case, let us base it on the shape of an ordinary wand and make it possible to insert and secure it in a holder on your leg. Wait, can decoys do all that?"
"Yeah. I control it with magic threads like this..."
When Spider Witch raised two of her forelegs and moved them like a conductor, Hiyori came out of the thin mist.
Or so I thought, until I realized it was a doll made from some indescribably strange material.
I stopped carving without thinking and observed it. It looked nothing like Hiyori, yet it was a humanoid figure made of smooth white mineral. Why did I find myself thinking it was Hiyori? Even though I had already been fooled once and knew it was not Hiyori. Was it some kind of magic?
"Is it enchanted to distort recognition?"
"No. That is simply the nature of the decoy. It is not enchanted. It seems to look like someone close to you, or someone you love... It is pretty tough, too. Also, when I use magic that affects myself, like enhancement magic or suspended-animation magic, all the effects transfer to the decoy instead. So I can strengthen the decoy and control it in battle, make it pretend to be dead, or even transform it into a dragon and make it fly..."
"That is seriously powerful."
So she could hide somewhere safe, remotely control the decoy, and use it to deceive or attack people, right?
That was vicious. She could use all sorts of underhanded tactics.
"It would be strong if someone like Blue Witch or Eyeball Witch, who are good at controlling magic power, used it. But my control is a little shaky. When I try to control it from far away, improving its precision sacrifices its strength, and improving its strength sacrifices its precision..."
"That is where my wand comes in. Leave it to me. I can solve the problems of power and recoil. I will make you a wand perfectly suited to Spider Witch."
I stroked Spider Witch's uncertain foreleg to encourage her, then returned to carving.
Spider Witch let out a sharp squeak and fixed me with an intense, unreadable gaze.
I concentrated and hurriedly processed the purple magic stone into a double-layered structure, then polished it. The core was complete. Next, I began working on the handle.
A bench leg on the station platform looked just right, so I had the fire lizard squad burn it off and used it as the wand's handle.
I removed the Gremlin from Henden-sho-kun, my partner of several years, melted it down, and poured it into a mold Spider Witch had made by carving a station tile. That cast the backflow-prevention mechanism. Once it had cooled and hardened, I built the mechanism into the handle and secured it firmly so it could not shift inside. Farewell, Henden-sho-kun.
Then I joined the core and the handle together, producing a wand for Spider Witch that looked unmistakably hastily assembled.
I also made a holster to fit the wand by cutting up leather from my tool bag, then tied it to Spider Witch's leg.
All that remained was to hand over the wand, but it was far too crude for a wand meant to be carried by a woman, and I felt bad about that. As a token decoration, I quickly and shallowly carved in the name Witch of Arachne and a fire lizard logo. Sorry. It did not look like I would have time to think up a nice name properly.
"It is finished. Here you go."
"Thank you..."
When I knelt to present the wand Witch of Arachne to Spider Witch, she also took a solemn receiving posture, so we ended up lowering ourselves and facing each other.
We laughed together, and then Spider Witch lightly moved the magic-stone wand in the holster on her foreleg to test how it felt.
"How is it? If anything feels strange, I can fix it right away."
"It is fine. It fits perfectly. Amazing... Magic flows through a magic-stone wand so well. No wonder everyone wants one... Yes. This should work. I just have to save 0933's friend, Professor Ohinata, right...?"
"Yes. Please do. Are you all right?"
"Leave it to me. I will be casting a lot of magic, so stay back for now..."
Spider Witch made me and the fire lizards move back, then stood before the motionless decoy and cast a series of spells.
"If I can know my son is safe, I do not mind gouging out this eye."
"What, do you think gouging out both eyes will make the truth invisible?"
"Even the volcano, unable to endure that starlight, shrank and hid in the earth."
"Be bewildered, be lost, hunter."
"Boil, my blood."
A compound-eyed eyeball familiar appeared and settled into a hollow in the decoy's head.
The eyeball familiar's eye glimmered faintly for an instant.
The decoy let out a sound like a balloon popping, emitted smoke, and transformed into something the size of a thumb.
A dense fog of confusion was blown over the decoy, clinging to it like an aura and making its presence faint.
Finally, body-enhancement magic took effect, and the decoy raced at tremendous speed toward the stairs leading from the subway to the surface, following the delicate movements of Spider Witch's two raised forelegs.
"I am sharing the decoy's sight and hearing. I made it harder to detect, and it can see through walls, so I think it should be easy to locate Professor Ohinata... Ah, the wand's power really is incredible. I can control it this well no matter how far away it gets. Even when I focus on precision, its original output is so high... Yes. If I find the ermine girl, should I have the decoy carry her back here?"
"Ah, I do not know. It depends on the situation, I guess. Hiyori and Blue Witch should probably be nearby, so we will have to take that into account too."
"I understand. I will search for her for now..."
"Please do."
Spider Witch and the decoy were connected through the eyeball familiar. Spider Witch alone could see the images, but I could hear the sounds too.
The sound of footsteps running at high speed, and the rush of wind.
The rustling sound of someone pushing through bushes.
Eventually, the footsteps changed to metallic clangs, and I heard human voices.
"They went into the ventilation duct. Check from the end of the south wing, one section at a time."
I silently nodded so as not to distract Spider Witch, who was moving the decoy with magic threads using both legs.
Judging from the voices leaking through and the conversations in a Kyushu accent, the university apparently had three wizards—the Boss, the Underboss, and the Lieutenant—in addition to two members of the witch contingent who had joined them after the fall of the Bunkyo Ward Office, bringing the prisoners along. Five in total.
As for the multiple witches invading while encircling various parts of Tokyo, I learned that they were being directed by Kiwada-nee-san.
The ones wandering around the university grounds were ordinary human underlings. Since I heard screams like a shrieking beaver and cries of agony, I assumed that someone capable of using the shooting-magic core incantation "Shoot" was among them.
Kyushu, the Arataki-gumi's territory, had once received people dispatched from Magic University, who taught them fertility magic. They must have passed along "Shoot" at the same time.
The scum of society repay our kindness with evil...!
"They were not in the south wing. Also, they have stopped using the contract magic they were using to line up influential people in the courtyard. There is no one in the courtyard. It is almost night, so maybe they went inside...?"
Spider Witch had been muttering as she moved the decoy, but she suddenly flinched and froze. I held my breath and suppressed my presence.
Spider Witch remained motionless for several dozen seconds, then slowly exhaled and moved both legs in tiny, delicate motions.
"0933, I think I found Professor Ohinata. But I almost got noticed by a very perceptive wizard who is completely on edge. It seemed demonic... No, maybe a bat. Someone with a bat's face."
"The Underboss, perhaps? Or the Lieutenant? The Boss looks human, right?"
"Wait. Be quiet for a moment. Let me concentrate..."
Spider Witch carefully moved both of her forelegs for some time after that. I could not see it, but she was delicately manipulating the decoy with magic threads connected to her leg tips, trying to slip through the enemy's security net. I cheered her on silently so I would not get in the way.
Hang in there~ The whole situation depends on you, Witch-sama. I am really sorry you seem to hate being in the thick of things, but you are our only hope. Please, somehow... somehow, make it work.
After a breathless stretch of time, Spider Witch relaxed slightly and turned her compound eyes toward me to explain the situation.
"Professor Ohinata is locked in a warehouse-like room filled with dusty machinery. Their complexion is bad and they do not seem conscious, but they are breathing. The bat-faced wizard, the Lieutenant, is standing beside them with every nerve taut. It looks like the Lieutenant is on guard against Blue Witch coming to take them back..."
"Where is Blue Witch?"
"I do not know. There was a dead underling in a locked stall in the men's restroom on campus. Their nails had been ripped off and their neck had been broken. There was frost on the corpse, so I think Blue Witch did it. She seems to be on campus, but she is hiding well..."
I nodded. Hiyori had come to the university after all. That was good news.
The fact that the enemy witches and wizards at the university were still alive meant that Hiyori either did not know where Professor Ohinata was, or knew but could not act because the security was too tight. They seemed to have conducted an interrogation, so perhaps the location was known.
"If we save Professor Ohinata and tell Blue Witch, she will take care of everything else. Do you think we can do it?"
"Sorry. It is a little difficult. I have placed the decoy in the corner of the room next to the one where Professor Ohinata is being held, but it will be noticed if it gets any closer. The room I'm in now... might be an interrogation room? There are bloodstains on the floor..."
"Hmm... If we could somehow separate Professor Ohinata and their guard, I could go and create a diversion."
"Absolutely not! At worst, there will be two hostages instead of one. Please, do not go anywhere dangerous..."
"S-sorry."
I faltered under the force of her words.
I was only making a suggestion. I mean, I just thought there might be a one-in-a-million chance. Guess there was not even that.
Blue Witch, Spider Witch, and the Flower Witch's girl—all the capable ones always told me in unison to sit still and behave.
I had armed myself with Henden-sho, brought a guard along, slung my tool bag over my shoulder, and sneaked through the underground passages. I thought I had come to this danger zone while staying on guard in my own way, but maybe I had underestimated the danger.
"Hmm, hmm... But a diversion might be a good idea. The Lieutenant is on guard, but nervous too. If we startled the Lieutenant with something, we might be able to save Professor Ohinata in the opening..."
"A diversion. Startle them. Hmm, what should we do? I cannot go, that would be bad. Sending the fire lizards would not help much either. Tsubaki, could you go?"
"Mimimi? Mii!"
"Yeah, you are hungry, huh?"
"The wand is amplifying it, but I do not have that much magic power. I cannot keep casting spells forever. I would like to settle this quickly... That bat-like guy also looks like they will become more active once night falls..."
"What about finding Blue Witch first?"
"That is an option. But we could also stay here in the next room until an opening appears..."
We held a strategy meeting for a while, going back and forth without reaching a conclusion, when Spider Witch suddenly fell silent and gestured for me to be quiet.
I heard footsteps through the familiar, followed by the sound of a door opening.
Someone had entered the room where the decoy was hiding.
There was some rustling movement, then a small groan, followed by the voice of a fairly old, distinctly cool-sounding man.
'You there. I said I would spare you the contract magic if you surrendered meekly, but resisting after you surrendered is betrayal. I cannot let that go unpunished.
'But I think highly of you. Your record aside, your eyes are different from the others. I will chop off two or three of your toes and put contract magic on you. We can leave it at that.'
There was the sound of someone stamping hard on the floor, and Spider Witch flinched.
However, not a single scream could be heard.
'Ho... You did not make a sound. You really are something. It would be a shame to force a man like you to obey with magic. But you will pay the price for your betrayal. I appoint you as my knight. If you harbor divided loyalties, answer with your magic.'
After a brief silence, the distinctly cool voice spoke in a weighty tone.
'You will be able to speak freely for another thirty seconds. Is there anything you want to say?'
The voice of the man who had remained silent answered those words.
'...I am from Saitama City. I am not like the Tokyo residents, who were protected by the Transcenders and grew accustomed to peace. I survived by stealing supplies from children, old people, and injured women begging for help, and using them as bait for monsters. These hands have been stained with blood for a long time.
'I am sorry, but I cannot become a noble knight who follows you. Nor do I want to stain myself with atrocities again.'
'What, are you planning to kill yourself? You have no value as a hostage. If you are choosing death like a man, I will not stop you.'
The other man responded to the cool voice, which sounded as if it understood him, with a bright, easy laugh.
'No, that is not it.
'Handa Sakunosuke. My final experiment in life. Titled—
"Can dynamite kill a wizard?"'
'...!? You—'
Before the words had fully sunk into my brain as I listened to the conversation through the familiar, I heard a tremendous explosion.