Published: March 21, 2026
Mahiro Abe.
A wielder of magic circles — something nearly extinct among other races — and one of the top one or two strongest people I know.
His magical power is the greatest among the Demon Clan, and he is the only one who can stop a berserk demon lord.
And I have bared my fangs at that man.
To be frank, there’s no chance of winning.
We just sprinted all the way here from the surface carrying two people, and I took some damage in the last fight.
My magical power only has about enough left for one more "transformation."
Even if we survive this, with Aurum Trace here there’s no guarantee of life.
I turned my gaze to the people behind me.
Miss Amelia, injured in the head, and my master, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.
The two who picked me up when I was fated to die on the lowest floor of the labyrinth.
My lord is only Akira Oda, but Miss Amelia is just as important.
I cannot forgive the one in front of me who hurt Miss Amelia.
"You were always like this? I thought you were more obedient."
"Master and his precious person were harmed. That is all."
"Ah, is that so?"
Mahiro clasped his hands together.
From his open palms bloomed a beautiful, maddeningly complex magic circle.
Not only the speed of formation, but the fact that Mahiro could produce a magic circle of that caliber alone without failure proved he was truly worthy as the Demon Clan's second-in-command.
"If you’d been killed back in the labyrinth, you wouldn’t have had to go through this. ...My condolences~"
Watching the light floating before me, I pictured in my head.
The strongest within me.
Among those I’ve fought so far, the one whose power rivaled Mahiro.
My body began to glow.
The "transformation" had begun.
"...Yoru. That person is..."
I felt my master behind me stupefied.
Even though I was only mid-transformation and facing away, he noticed — as expected.
No wonder. This human apparently died right before my master’s eyes.
"Heh... the late sage, Saran Misurei."
Golden hair flowed down the back of the neck, shifting from quadruped to bipedal.
My body changed into human anatomy.
Wearing pure white armor and glaring at Mahiro with cold eyes was Saran Misurei herself, the one my master said was his benefactor and teacher.
"Transforming into a human consumes a lot of magical power, and I’ll be unable to move afterward. Finish this quickly."
I, originally an animal, labor to imitate a human. It’s exhausting.
I didn’t really want to show this form to my master, but under the current circumstances there was no time for that.
I raised my right hand.
"My body becomes sword, and to the enemies who wrong my lord I deliver the hammer of light — 'Light Hammer (Koutsui).'"
Though a sage, this man’s combat power is outstanding; his light magic is somewhat harsh for one like me, born of darkness.
But Mahiro is the same.
Light gathered in my raised right hand, condensing into the form of a hammer.
The power amassed in that hammer—if it were to fall—what would happen is not hard to imagine.
"Kuhahahaha!! Nice! Haven't seen that form in a while."
Paang.
With a clear ring, Mahiro generated a new, enormous magic circle.
It was the size that would normally require dozens of mages to create, yet a single member of the Demon Clan produced it in an instant.
"'Thunder King (Raioh),' 'Golden Light (Konjiki no Hikari).'"
Magical power was poured into both the first magic circle and the newly created gigantic one.
Hearing the spell names made me widen my eyes.
I’d seen both before.
'Thunder King' does as its name suggests — creates lightning. With that spell alone he could easily take down a human nation.
'Golden Light' is a light magic that matches or exceeds the power of 'Light Hammer.'
The Demon Clan almost never exhibits aptitude for light magic, with a single exception, but a magic circle can activate spells outside one’s aptitude.
When those spells were used while he was an ally, they were reassuring; when aimed at me, they were nothing but terror.
"'Shadow Magic' — activate."
Before the magic circle’s power could fully accumulate, while the 'Light Hammer' shone as if about to strike, a quiet voice echoed through the labyrinth.