Chapter 254
"That's . . . but that's right next to the capital! How could he hide there!? People would have noticed, wouldn't they!?"
"It would be a simple matter for Grevil . Heck, I wouldn't be surprised even if he were lurking inside the 『Great Capital Barrier』 . We're lucky that he's outside . "
But I don't understand why Grevil would pick that spot .
There was nothing but a lake there .
Neither is it geographically nor magically significant .
It's really just an ordinary lake with a nice scenic view .
Wonder why Grevil is encamped there .
. . . Well, we'll figure that out once we raid the place .
"Let's take a nice long rest tomorrow . Then the day after tomorrow, we're commencing the attack . "
"Got it!"
"Understood!"
◇
Two days later .
Since the lake isn't being used for anything, there's no road connecting there . . . But since we're passing through meadows all the way, not woods, our journey is proceeding smoothly .
"I think we're quite close already?"
"Yeah . It should come into view soon . "
" . . . I can't believe there are demons lurking here . . . "
Not long since we departed, we got close enough to Lake Leysiard .
But there's no sign of the place being used as a demon's den nor that kind of mana .
However . . . something feels unnatural from the mana in the area somehow .
This must be due to the influence of the barrier Grevil put up .
He must have created a barrier that drives ordinary people away to prevent him getting found out before we get here .
Those who have reached a certain level of expertise with magic should be able to detect the barrier's source, but most people today aren't at such a level .
Thus, it's possible to hide this close to the capital just by putting up a mana quarantine barrier here .
"That's Lake Leysiard . . . ! What a nice view!"
<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than Sousetsuka . com you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel . >
"But there's nothing here . . . or it would be nice if true, but there's a barrier here isn't it . "
"Yeah . There's even an obviously deliberately placed crack here . "
I look at flag unnaturally placed on the lake shore .
There's a crack on the barrier next to that flag where you can see inside .
The flag is drawn with [General Magic Textbooks] that were left in the place where we found demons back then .
. . . I don't get why these books keep getting referenced .
There's a big bridge inside the barrier .
That bridge is connected to the crack on the barrier .
This bridge looks newly built . . . I mean, looks like it was built just one two months ago .
It was probably hastily built after his declaration of war to us .
"What should we do about this? Should I turn back into dragon and smash open the barrier?"
"Grevil himself has probably noticed that Iris is a dragon . He's probably going to survive even [Dragon Breath] . "
Grevil must be telling, [Enter through the bridge] .
We could just break the barrier and enter . . . But considering our opponent possess weapons of mass destruction on him, we shouldn't go against his requests too much .
Even if those weapons aren't here, sending a magical signal to activate them is a simple matter .
"We should cross the bridge just as asked . "
"Oh, it's really rare for Mathias-san to comply with enemy's request . "
"Well I have no idea what the other party is thinking at all . Who knows if he would even deploy WoMD were his mood turned sour . "
I peek through the barrier crack .
Apparently there's a castle-like building adorned with ornaments made in real bad taste at the end of the bridge .
I don't believe he had a penchant for these really bad ornaments when he was still a king . . . Just what had transpired when I was reincarnating anyway .
I confirm with the three girls .
"Are you three ready?"
"Let's go at 'em!"
"I'm all right!"
"I'm ready when you are!"
After hearing those, I take a step toward the bridge .
Then . . .
With a loud sound effect, Grevil's face got displayed in front of us .
Looks like he's had a magic device to project images installed beforehand .
"These mechanism are really in bad taste . . . "
"Please don't say that . I too have things I have to accomplish at all cost . "
Then Grevil cast some sort of magic .
Then . . .
"A disguise huh?"
On the display, Grevil has turned into a genuine-looking demon complete with horns and wings .
I absolutely have no clue what he's trying to do, but it's clear that he's pretending to be a demon .
"Exactly . From now on, I'm a great demon . A great demon who's trying to destroy humanity . "
Grevil on the display cast yet another magic .
『Mathi-kun, guard--』
『No, that's not an attack magic . No need to guard . 』
Ruli got on guard thinking Grevil was going to cast an attack magic . . . However, Grevil is casting comm magic .
And it's not a private type, but the complete opposite--it's a [Wide Area Comm Magic] that will transmit Grevil's figure and voice to all people at the capital .