…Puck, Dzzzzzzzzzz-!
The barrier was tearing apart.
A face slowly appeared through the cracks.
"Sorry, sir. I'm a little late."
It was Vikir, still looking nonchalant.
....
But the crowd is silent.
Everyone just stands there, mouths agape.
"Ah, the artifact I brought. Should I report it here?"
Vikir holds up the artifact with a nonchalant expression.
It was an ominous artifact, a small necklace in the shape of an inverted pentagram, with a closed eyeball attached to its center.
"The name and power of this artifact is...."
Vikir was just about to explain something.
"Woah!"
A person ran into Vikir's arms.
Her face covered in tears and snot. It was Sinclair.
"...?"
Vikir shook his head.
"Vikir, you asshole!"
A rough tackle followed.
Tudor, looking upset, hugged Vikir's side tightly.
Sancho and Piggy rushed over, and Bianca was standing behind him with her arms crossed.
"Vikir! What's going on!"
"I was worried you wouldn't make it!"
"I know, he's so sneaky."
Behind him, the three brothers, Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro, stood in an uneasy manner.
Because of the attention of those around him, they couldn't come and talk to him, and they just seemed to be anxious from a distance away.
At that time.
Dolores walked up to Vikir.
"...."
"...."
The two made eye contact and said nothing.
Dolores didn't say much. Only.
"Don't let me worry."
The president's words were brief.
Then.
Professor Banshee stepped forward and put an end to all the confusion.
"Vikir-kun."
"Yes."
" ...How did you get out?"
Professor Banshee returned to his stern demeanor.
"This gate, as everyone knows, can only be opened and closed by four keys. There is only one way to forcibly tear it open, and that is from the inside, not the outside, with the full force of a Swordmaster or seventh-class mage or higher."
"...."
"Which is why I can't help but ask, how did you tear the barrier?"
Representatives of Varangian, Themiscyra, and Magic Tower came to Professor Banshee's side.
They, too, were curious.
"This is the first time I've seen this barrier torn since I became vice director of the Varangian."
"Do you think I can tear it apart? Maybe it would be possible if we put all our effort into it from inside the barrier?"
"Hehehe-but not for a single student."
Students from the other schools were also curious to see how Vikir had gotten out of the warehouse.
Many eyes were on Vikir.
Vikir replied in a nonchalant tone.
"I was lucky, It just so happened that this artifact was used to tear apart the barrier."
With that, Vikir lifted the necklace from around his neck.
The red inverted pentagram remained silent as if it would never move unless it was Vikir's will.
Professor Banshee and the other school deans shook their heads.
"That must be the thing that was in the far corner of the... warehouse, but wasn't that a shelf?"
"That's right, that's a shelf, the one we used to put the artifacts on!"
"Why is that thing so small?"
Vikir came out carrying not an artifact, but a shelf where the artifact was stored.
And for some reason, the shelf was reduced to the size of a necklace.
Professor Banshee swallowed hard.
"is it. Well, since it was in a warehouse storing artifacts, the shelf must not have been an ordinary item. You're very good at recognizing it."
"Thank you."
"So, its purpose was to tear apart the barrier?"
"Yes."
"Can you show the effect? It's because it's an artifact that hasn't been registered in the warehouse."
"I'm afraid that's not possible. I've already used the ability once, and I don't know when I'll be able to use it again, maybe never."
Many of the artifacts in the warehouse were either single-use or had very long cooldowns.
That's why Professor Banshee and the deans couldn't do much more research on Vikir's artifact.
To the naked eye or touch, it's just a normal, solid mineral.
The same was true when mana was poured into it.
The other mages, who had been examining it for some time, had all come to the same conclusion.
"It is now worthless."
In the end, the mysterious artifact was recorded only by Vikir's testimony.
It was a single-use artifact, intended simply to tear apart barriers.
* * *
24 hours ago.
Vikir stepped across the barrier and into the warehouse.
The other nine students had spread out, each answering the call of the artifacts that called to each of them.
"...."
Vikir looked around in silence.
A space lined with large stone pillars. Divided into sections, it resembled a deserted warehouse.
The floor was scattered with artifacts.
Rings, necklaces, staffs, swords, shields, helmets, shoes, and more....
Each and every one of them is a piece of artifact with immature magical energy.
And there were a few artifacts on a large shelf in the very back that were especially powerful.
There were swords that emitted a fierce energy, armor that emitted a black aura, and other rings and necklaces that emitted blue and green light.
Perhaps some of the higher-ranking artifacts with particularly strong energies were kept on separate shelves.
Most of the students picked up the artifacts on the floor, focusing on those that emitted beams of light toward them.
When all the students were out of the warehouse, Vikir was the only one left.
'All gone.'
Vikir turned to see that he was alone in the warehouse.
Numerous artifacts were emitting rays of love toward Vikir.
"...."
Vikir stared at the artifacts that had chosen him.
A pair of shoes that allowed him to walk at a fast pace, glasses that allowed him to see very far, a flute that could put everything around him to sleep when blown, an ember that could extinguish all fires, an ember that could evaporate all water, a mirror that showed him his future mate, a ring that could take his life and the life of the other person at the same time….
Each and every one of them is a very useful item.
However, none of them caught Vikir's eye.
The only thing he seemed to be thinking about was waiting for everyone else to leave.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.
Vikir stepped forward, paying no attention to the many treasures.
There were special Artifact in the room that radiated unusually strong magic.
Artifact that even wouldn't choose the top ranked student, such as Dolores, Bakiraga, Hohenheim, and Lovegood.
All of it were shining their light of courtship on Vikir.
But.
Vikir hadn't touched any of them.
Only.
Whirrrrr-.
He grabbed the shelf where the artifacts rested and threw them all to the ground.
Then, Vikir looked down at the large, empty shelf.
"Finally, I found it. The Seventh Corpse, Decarabia."
The shelf that held the artifact. A red, inverted pentagram that no one had noticed.
But Vikir knew from experience in the future.
This shelf was the true reason for the warehouse's existence, and the rest of the artifacts were just a trick of the eye.
Tsutsutsutsutsutsu...
Vikir gripped the shelf tightly and channeled his mana into it.
Unlike the other Artifact, the shelf showed no reaction even when touched by Vikir's mana.
Except.
Swoosh-
Vikir felt an enormous amount of mana leave his body.
Waves of mana that ebbed and flowed like a tide.
This strange shelf was now sucking up Vikir's mana like a lump of water in a drought.
"Indeed. There must be a reason why so many Artifacts are being suppressed."
Vikir tightened his grip on the shelf and looked around.
The Artifacts that had been shimmering and glowing just a moment ago, begging to be chosen, had suddenly gone dark.
The Artifacts on the top of the shelf were also silent as they fell off and rolled across the floor.
They don't glow, they don't rattle, they just remain silent.
Fear. Fear. These Artifacts were clearly afraid of something.
"... but I am not afraid of you."
Vikir lowered his head and looked at the inverted pentagram in front of him.
He had already defeated three demon kings of their caliber. There was no reason to be scared anymore.
Kaaaaaah!
Vikir instead gave strength to the mana that was being sucked in.
His entire body's power surged like a storm.
His mana, which had become even thicker and more concentrated since he'd reached Swordmaster level, surged towards the Inverted Pentagram with tremendous momentum.
Boom, boom, boom!
The size of the Inverted Pentagram, which was merely supporting a few high-level Artifacts, suddenly began to expand.
It was the size of a small shelf, then a large table, then a large bookcase, then an entire warehouse.
"...! ...! ...! ...!"
Beads of sweat began to form on Vikir's forehead.
A battle of mana. Who would win.
Vikir pushed with all his might, tasting the blood between his clenched teeth.
The blood vessels in the whole body pulsate as if they are about to burst, and mana gushes out.
Every last bit of it.
...Just then.
Bang!
A single loud crimson blast rang out.
Vikir felt the flow of mana being sucked out of his body stop.
At the same time.
Zap! Zap!
A crack began to form in the center of the Inverted Pentagram.
The crack grew larger and larger, until it became an eye, which blinked open.
…Flash!
At the very center of the inverted pentagram, a single, bloodshot eye gazed from high above.
Kuoooooooooo-
An eerie, ghostly voice rises from the center of the black air currents.
[K-Hahahaha! I've had enough! The time has come to open the gates of the Abyss and destroy humans! Despair, weaklings! I, Decarabia, have descended!]
Decarabia the 7th.
He opens his crimson one-eye and sheds a sinister radiance upon the world.
An enormous force of evil was emanating from the tip of the five-pronged horn.
Then.
"...."
For a moment, Vikir's gaze met Decarabia's.
Decarabia was slightly taken aback as his gaze locked with Vikir's, who glared at him from below.
Then.
Decarabia rolled his eyes and looked to his left.
[...?]
And then he rolls his eyes again and looks to the right.
[...?]
Does not exist.
Countless corpses piled up, blood flowing in rivers, fire burning to the sky, and the earth covered in ash.
And no gates to the Demon World.
There was nothing.
All there is is just empty darkness.
Finally, Decarabia rolled his eyes at the Vikir below him, and with a bit of a sneer, he asked.
[...I. Excuse me, who are you?]
It was quite an awkward attitude.