Episode 72: Calamitous Hand of the Karma Demon
“Gwaaaaaaaah! Glory to our Naiaaaaaaa!”
The man who shouted that had a Magical Power Gate that was terribly corrupted and had lost its luster.
And from it, jet-black Magical Power, as viscous as mud, overflowed.
The man was swallowed up by that torrent of evil Magical Power.
(What is that Magical Power…?)
Just looking at it makes me feel uneasy, terribly dreadful.
Goosebumps are rising as a physiological reaction.
“You guys fall back, something seems wrong.”
I give Nicoletta and the others instructions.
A sudden surge of Magical Power like that is not normal.
I feel like the situation is similar to when I fought Aquila.
“But Lord Sharka, that’s clearly dangerous.”
“Calm down, Nicoletta.”
Nicoletta raises her voice in a rare, flustered manner.
She must have felt something fundamentally incompatible with that gooey Magical Power.
Apparently, we’ve had a sense of aversion and fear towards that black Magical Power, imprinted in our genes since ancient times.
“But this feeling is like, six years ago…!”
“Ah, it does feel a bit similar.”
It’s similar to the vague unpleasantness that grew stronger day by day through the air as the war with Naia approached.
The overflowing Magical Power had substance, dripping stickily onto the ground.
“I wonder what would happen if you touched that black mud.”
“Please don’t, it’s obviously toxic.”
“I know, I’m just kidding.”
“Please don’t joke at a time like this.”
Nicoletta snaps back at me.
As always, she’s as serious as a class representative, Nicoletta.
Normally, she would understand it was a joke, but she seems a little nervous.
Perhaps Nicoletta is even more afraid of that mud than I am.
“In terms of Magical Power Capacity, it’s just before Stella-Class. What kind of trick is it to increase Magical Power like that?”
“It’s probably a secret Naia technique. How dreadful…”
As Nicoletta says, he’s probably undergone some kind of human experimentation, or is in a berserk state using prohibited drugs.
Just how many taboos has Naia dabbled in?
Also, I’m curious about how much cost they’re putting into this man.
I honestly don’t even want to think about there being multiple beings with Magical Power raised to the Stella-Class level.
While Nicoletta and I were talking about the assassin-like man, someone joined the conversation.
“That is the ‘Calamitous Hand of the Karma Demon,’ one of the forbidden incantations that has existed since ancient times.”
It was that sister with the captivating body who said that.
Seeing her up close, you understand her magnificence even more.
The rocket-like swellings bursting out of her nun’s habit are a sight to behold.
The sister doesn’t seem to have any hostility, and she’s probably not related to Naia.
“Who are you?”
“I am Evelyn from the Eastern Star Sect’s Ballista Church.”
“The Eastern Star Sect, huh…”
I had heard that they were in Ortenos, but I didn’t expect them to come to Bangwall as well.
“You seem to know something. What exactly is that?”
“Yes, that is a human who has directly taken in the power of a Demon Beast through a forbidden incantation called ‘Calamitous Hand of the Karma Demon.'”
“…Taken in the power of a Demon Beast?”
“Yes, I’ve heard that those who take in the power of a Demon Beast can temporarily draw out explosive Magical Power. However, it’s difficult to control, and in most cases, they lose control of their Magical Power.”
Evelyn seems to know things we don’t.
But taking in the power of a Demon Beast is absurd.
Wasn’t it said that the bodily fluids of Demon Beasts are a deadly poison that can even kill Stella-Class beings?
How exactly do you take in the power of such a Demon Beast?
There are a mountain of things I want to point out, but there’s no time to hear the details.
“Gooooooo!”
The man, while screaming in agony, began to deform his body with cracking sounds.
His body swelled up many times over, and his black cloak was completely torn.
His abnormally developed upper body made his balance strange, and he was a monster who had already lost his human form.
(His body is also starting to collapse… it doesn’t seem like there’s no price to pay.)
And on his Tanden—a jet-black handprint-like pattern was floating.
It’s similar to the two-armed cursed seal that was engraved on Aquila.
The man’s pattern is a one-armed, though.
“I see, that’s the ‘Calamitous Hand of the Karma Demon.'”
“Yes.”
The man’s role is a diversion.
There’s almost no doubt that a separate team is moving during this time.
There’s only one possible objective for them that I can think of, but I wonder.
I’ll try asking, just in case.
“Hey, what’s your aim? What were you trying to do in Bangwall?”
When I asked, the monster glared at me.
“Ooooh!? Ortenos? Ortenos, killllll!”
The man, who had become a monster, started charging without reacting to my words at all.
His appearance was like a giant boar running while spewing sludge.
“Tch, he seems to have lost his language function as well. I can’t get any information out of him like this.”
“Is this the time to be saying that! He’s coming this way!”
“It’s okay. If he’s coming straight at me, there are plenty of ways to deal with him.”
Nicoletta says, looking a little flustered.
Her expression doesn’t change, but I can feel her impatience.
“Evelyn, what happens when the Magical Power goes out of control?”
“Probably, his body won’t be able to withstand it and he’ll explode.”
I’m taken aback by Evelyn’s words.
“Explode?”
“Yes, it’s expected that he will scatter the Magical Power of the Demon Beast, causing enormous damage to the surrounding area.”
“I see, that’s not good.”
“…Um, Saint-sama, shouldn’t we run away? The Magical Power of the Demon Beast is poisonous even to Saint-sama, who is Stella-Class, you know?”
S-Saint-sama?
……No, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.
“No problem. I’ll take care of him as he is.”
It would be a problem if he exploded, so it would be best to burn him quickly with high firepower.
However, as usual, I can’t use flashy magic.
I have a prior conviction for the castle wall explosion incident with the Gold Coin bombs the other day.
(……Should I use that?)
I pull out the pipe I stuck in the ground and hold it in the center position, like in Kendo.
I take a slow, deep breath and concentrate.
I refine my Magical Power with the image of drawing it out from the door deeper inside the Magical Power Gate.
“This is the second time I’m using this in practice.”
The first time was by chance, but I’ve already grasped the knack, so I can reproduce it at any time.
I channel the enormous Magical Power I drew out from a deeper place into the pipe.
Then, as if life had taken hold, pale blue streaks ran through the pipe.
“‘Ripple.'”
As if responding to my words, a nebula-like light of Magical Power overflows from the tip of the pipe.
The light, like a living thing, began to drift and sway fantastically.