[V11C10] Lament of the Victim, Accelerating Loss

“…Allow me to make this clear, I am not completely depleted of mana. It’s more accurate to say that my mana is being absorbed as quickly as it regenerates.”

Louis turned around in his chair, revealing a black, bruise-like mark at the back of his neck, which was no-longer covered by his shortened hair.

Then, Louis pulled down the collar at the back of his neck, revealing that the mark was long enough to stretch down part of his spine.

“The comatose victims have similar marks as well, except on several locations all over their bodies. For now, I am considering these marks as a portion of the shadows controlled by Gluttonous Zoe. These shadows seem to be absorbing the target’s mana and delivering it back to the artifact.”

Louis explained everything in a calm tone, but the fact that he could no longer use magic was incredibly bad.

His barriers were top-notch in both scale and strength. Now that the prophecy of dragon disaster was in effect, his absence from the frontlines was a significant blow.

Bradford crossed his arms and exhaled before speaking.

“We need to discuss Gluttonous Zoe’s powers. That way, we’ll be able to devise countermeasures.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Bradford.

In particular, Monica also wanted to know as much as possible about Gluttonous Zoe. Since she had not witnessed the events in the capital city, she found it hard to imagine the artifact’s capabilities.

Melissa licked her red lips and voiced her question first.

“So did the large-scale dragon disaster have anything to do with Gluttonous Zoe? Does it have the power to control dragons or something?”

In response, Louis shook his head.

“That’s still unclear. But if it truly had an ability as extraordinary as controlling dragons, surely it would have been recorded in the legends. Yet there is nothing even vaguely involving dragons in the legends about Gluttonous Zoe.”

“Fair enough,” Melissa answered. “The only public knowledge about Gluttonous Zoe is that it can manipulate dark-aspected magic and the legend about it fulfilling its owner’s wishes in exchange for compensation.”

Monica had also heard about how Gluttonous Zoe could supposedly grant wishes.

“But that’s very… vague,” Monica murmured.

Louis nodded in agreement.

“Eight years ago, when it was first stolen, the Noble Council ordered a thorough investigation into Gluttonous Zoe’s legends, but that was all they managed to find.”

“Of course, since it’s clearly a dangerous artifact, we made sure Gluttonous Zoe was fully sealed,” Bradford followed.

According to Bradford, a seal had been applied to Gluttonous Zoe before it was stolen. This was an extremely powerful barrier created through the cooperation of the Third Thorn Witch, the Second Abyss Shaman, and the Starseer Witch.

In the other words, the artifact had been stolen while in a sealed state… However, Monica could not make sense out of this.

(…He managed to break the barriers protecting the treasure vault, but not the sealing barrier on Gluttonous Zoe? Why is that?)

As Monica contemplated this mystery, Melissa prompted Louis to continue.

“So you’re saying that Theodore can use the full power of Gluttonous Zoe now that the seal is undone. How did he use it in actual combat? From what I’ve heard, a black shadow jumps out of the box to attack people, right?”

“That’s correct. First and foremost, these shadows have the ability to put people into a comatose state and drain their mana.”

Carla, Mary, and the other victims seemed to have been put into a coma this way. It seems that the comatose victims continued to regenerate their mana, but all of that mana was being absorbed and sent straight to Gluttonous Zoe.

“In addition, Gluttonous Zoe has the ability to turn someone into a ‘servant’. Theodore used this power to manipulate Carla into blowing up the Jade Chamber with her Starspear.”

Judging by how Carla could cast the Starspear, Theodore was able to perfectly recreate the unique spells of his servant.

“That sounds… incredibly powerful…” Monica muttered.

“Way too dangerous,” Silas followed.

“Indeed. But in exchange, there are certain limitations.”

Louis raised two fingers, then continued.

“The conditions appear to be twofold: you being an acquaintance of Theodore, and him knowing your name. It’s also safe to assume that there is a limit to the number of servants he can control.”

This explanation caused Silas to deepen his frown, grunting in confusion.

“Barrier-niisan, didn’t you say that you’ve met Theodore Maxwell before? How come he didn’t put you under his control?”

“…It seems that he forgot about me.”

“Then Theodore must be a complete idiot,” Silas scoffed. “Anyone can tell who you are just by looking at your robe and staff. The Seven Sages are that famous.”

Silas was completely right.

Louis was famous for his numerous achievements. Not to mention his handsome appearance and the glaringly obvious robe and staff of the Seven Sages.

His name should have come to mind easily.

(It feels like I’m missing something…)

Why could Theodore break the barrier on the treasure vault, but not the seal on the artifact? Why did he fail to remember Louis, a member of the Seven Sages?

Monica did not know the answer to these questions. She bit her lip at the discomfort she felt, as if faced with an incomplete equation.

Despite causing such a major incident, Theodore Maxwell had been excessively wasteful and prone to mistakes.

“To be honest, I still can’t believe that Theodore Maxwell was behind such a grandiose scheme,” Louis muttered with a sigh. “To put it bluntly, he was just your average coward. He should not have the physical abilities or magical knowledge to sneak into the treasure vault. That’s why I’ve always considered the existence of an accomplice…”

Yet no matter how many times Louis redid the investigations, he failed to find any trace of an accomplice. In addition, Theodore was the only apparent culprit of the attack on the capital.

Raul raised a hand and voiced his concern.

“Don’t ancient artifacts sometimes control wielders with low magical resistance? Maybe Theodore Maxwell is being controlled himself?”

Now that he mentioned it, Monica remembered hearing a similar story during the Key of Knowledge incident.

It was unclear to what extent this ‘control’ applied. Would the artifact physically take over the wielder’s body? Or perhaps brainwash them into obedience?

After pondering for a moment, Louis voiced a cautious response.

“…We can consider that as a possibility.”

He did not seem convinced by Raul’s suggestion of Theodore being manipulated. The visible doubt on his face conveyed as much.

Louis stroked the mark on the back of his neck as he continued.

“Anyway, returning to the topic of the artifact’s powers. The Box of Gluttony can attack targets with shadows, as well as turn said targets into servants. In addition, it requires a certain compensation to be used.”

Louis’s mention of ‘compensation’ reminded Monica of Princess Cecilia from the Empire. The Mirror of Bern, which she was contracted to, was said to demand the life of the contractor as compensation.

The more powerful the artifact, the greater the compensation required. It was reasonable to assume that the Box of Gluttony required something significant.

“Compensation… Like the wielder’s lifespan?” Monica asked.

In response, Louis tapped the back of his neck.

“No, this. Before doing this to me, Theodore asked me a question: What is most precious to you?”

The next moment, the black shadows assaulted Louis and cut off the long hair he cherished so much. And once his hair was consumed by the Box of Gluttony, Louis experienced a substantial loss of mana.

“…Does Gluttonous Zoe take the precious things of others as compensation?” Monica murmured.

Louis put his finger to his chin in contemplation.

“When Theodore asked what is precious to me, images of my wife and daughter flashed through my mind. Later, I sent a subordinate to check on them, and fortunately, they were completely unharmed.”

Louis’s genuine relief was evident in those words. He must have been extremely anxious until he could confirm the safety of his family.

“Presumably, Gluttonous Zoe has limitations on what it can take. For example, being unable to take something that is not physically present. That’s why it took my hair instead, due to the fond memories associated with my wife and daughter…”

“Huh? Memories about your hair are really that important?” Glenn asked from his position on the floor.

Louis looked down at Glenn and put on a big smile.

“Oh, did you want to hear? About the heartwarming episode where my dear Leonora tied ribbons into my hair for the first time.”

“Eh, I think I got the idea already, so no thanks.”

“…”

Louis glared at Glenn for a second before clearing his throat.

“As you can see, our verification of the artifact’s compensation is a bit lacking. That is why I would like to hear from the other victim as well…”

“There’s another victim?” Glenn asked.

“Yes, a few civilians have been affected by the Gluttonous Zoe incident as well. Some fell comatose after getting attacked by shadows. There is also one person who, like me, had something precious taken as the artifact’s compensation…”

Louis paused for a moment and shrugged his shoulders.

“But unfortunately, she has shut herself off and refuses to cooperate. That is why I called you here, Glenn.”

“…Huh? Why me?”

Louis calmly explained to the confused Glenn.

“The name of the victim is Miss Elianne Hyatt, the daughter of Duke Reinberg. I believe that you and Silent Witch-dono are acquainted with her. Therefore, I would like both of you to interview Miss Elianne about her circumstances.”

Glenn widened his eyes and gasped at the mention of the victim’s name.

＊　＊　＊

After getting attacked by Gluttonous Zoe, Elianne was given a room in the Magic Corps building.

Normally, the daughter of a duke should accept nothing less than the most luxurious guest room, but she had been attacked by an ancient artifact. In case of any unforeseen aftereffects, she was required to stay at the Magic Corps to allow a prompt response.

Following the meeting, Monica and Glenn headed to the room where Elianne was staying. Their footsteps were heavy as they walked through the corridors, and their expressions dark.

“Looks like things have gotten pretty serious, huh.” Glenn remarked.

“…Yes.”

Monica nodded slightly in response, before falling silent again.

Theodore’s attack on the palace and the large-scale dragon disaster had occurred during Monica’s absence, but this was just the beginning.

Gluttonous Zoe had yet to be found, and another dragon disaster was already prophesied. What’s more, this prophecy was deeply related to Monica and Nero.

(…I should get back to Sazandol.)

She needed to confirm Lana’s safety, and that Nero was staying at home properly. But most of all, she wanted to return to the daily life that gave her so much joy.

However, Monica’s duties prevented her from returning to Sazandol immediately.

The Sages had yet to decide their strategy for dealing with Gluttonous Zoe, and Monica had yet to be given any punishment for her actions in Dalsmore.

The two walked down the corridor in the heavy atmosphere, quickly arriving at the door of the designated room, located at the eastern end of the station’s top floor. This was Elianne’s room.

Two young members of the Magic Corps were standing guard in front of the door. Once they noticed Monica, who was wearing her Sage robes, they gave her a respectful bow.

Monica reciprocated with a nod, then spoke to the guards.

“Um, we would like to talk to Elianne-sama…”

One of the guards said, “Please wait a moment,” and knocked on the door with a slightly troubled expression. “Elianne Hyatt-sama, a member of the Seven Sages has come to talk to you.”

“No! No! Go away!”

A shrill cry echoed from behind the door. It seemed to be Elianne’s voice.

The anguished tone and intermittent sobbing caused Glenn to swallow the words he was about to say.

“I told you! I don’t want to see anyone! Not like this… No one can see me! Don’t look, don’t come… Just leave me alone… Ahhh!”

After that, her words were no longer discernible, leaving only the sounds of audible sobbing.

Monica looked up at Glenn, who frowned with his lips firmly pressed together.

He probably could not think of anything to say to Elianne. Monica felt the same way.

In a lower voice, Monica questioned the guard again.

“Is it true that Elianne-sama had her hair and skin taken?”

“Yes, I saw her once. The skin over her entire body had turned a reddish-black, as if it was rotting…”

The young guard trailed off, hesitant to articulate the noble lady’s dire state of affairs.

Monica tightly gripped her staff and continued her questions in a firm voice.

“Was there a mark on the back of her neck?”

“Yes, a black mark.”

“Did the discolored skin come with any pain or itchiness?”

“No… at least, there doesn’t seem to be any such indication.”

“I see,” Monica replied. “If Elianne-sama starts complaining of pain or itchiness, please inform us immediately.”

Leaving it at that, Monica pulled on the sleeve of Glenn’s robe, who was frozen and at a complete loss for words.

“Um…” Monica stammered. “I’ve never really paid much attention to such things before, but…”

Monica had never had much interest in the beauty or ugliness of others. She didn’t even consider her own scars as ugly.

Even so, she could not bring herself to forcibly intrude into Elianne’s room.

Louis seemed to believe that Elianne would open up to an acquaintance, but unfortunately, it was the exact opposite.

“I think Elianne-sama would be deeply hurt if someone she knew saw her appearance…” Monica continued.

“…Yeah,” Glenn replied.

Monica told the guard to inform them if any changes occurred, then left with Glenn. After walking a short distance, Glenn let out a mutter.

“When I heard that my master went bald, I honestly thought he’d be fine as long as he was alive.”

Glenn would have received another kick if Louis heard that statement.

As Monica struggled to find a response, Glenn paused and looked back in the direction of Elianne’s room.

“But after hearing Elly’s scream… I don’t think I can say that anymore…”

“…Right.”

Glenn scratched his golden-brown hair and continued.

“My master is fine, since he’s strong enough to take revenge by himself. He’s probably already thinking about shaving the guy bald and hanging him from a tree… But most people don’t have the power to do that.”

In the face of a sudden tragedy, how many people would use their rage as fuel to seek revenge?

Only a minority. Most people could do little but resign themselves to their fate.

“…What can I even do?” Glenn muttered.

Monica clenched her fists, then spoke her resolve in a clearer voice than usual. As if engraving it into her own heart.

“We’ll take back Gluttonous Zoe.”

First, they must capture Theodore before he could create any more victims. Then, once they recovered Gluttonous Zoe and analyzed the artifact, perhaps they might be able to reclaim what was taken.

Glenn turned to Monica, who raised her clenched fist in front of him to convey her determination.

“We can do it, Glenn-san.”

“…Yeah.”

Glenn gently bumped his own fist against Monica’s small fist.

Right as the two exchanged their modest display of determination, hurried footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.

Running towards them was a young man with curly brown hair. It was Hugo Galletti, the Artillery Mage’s disciple.

“Silent Witch-sama! …And, um, the guy with the invisible chair…!”

“I’m Glenn.”

“Right, Glenn-kun, sorry about that. I was in a big panic and couldn’t remember your name in time. Uh, anyways, this is super bad… I mean…”

After a series of excuses, Hugo hastily corrected his posture and tightened his expression. He was in front of Monica, one of the Seven Sages.

“A-Ahem. We have a serious problem on our hands. The Minerva Institute for Mages… has just been attacked by Theodore Maxwell.”

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