Editing Sorcery Hacker:Volume1 Phase5 (section)

===Part 2===

And.

The reddish-brown Minotaur visiting Earth Castle Down Grouviv gave a sharp breath as a habit carried over from when he was human. It was apparently meant as a whistle, but his bull head meant he could not pull it off properly.

“I knew it.”

A purple butterfly flew down.

That unnatural night butterfly glittered with bewitching lace and colorful gems. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a purple-haired woman in a classic maid uniform.

“Do you really intend to take that on yourself?”

“I really wish I could have gone in and put a stop to that Temple Moving Ceremony with nothing but the power of my fists, but that wasn’t an option. Ayato’s group took the main dish. They’re the stars this time, so taking the backstage role is just right for me. Also, I already had a hunch this was the place.”

He sounded carefree, but an odd change was occurring in front of him.

The ground bubbled up with an orange light and then a sinister pillar of lava burst up with an intensity not even seen in the fire town. As soon as it came in contact with the air, it cooled, took shape, and became an enormous eight-legged horse with a scorching-hot body.

It was so huge he had to look up at it.

The bull man focused on the two holsters hanging from his zipper-covered pants.

“ ‘It was a golden horse carrying death and a holy follower adorned with glittering gems.’ So this is what the Demon Lord’s seal was once you get down to it: an ancient sorcery device that used gravitational control to give shape to lava. It wasn’t enough to kill Nirvelphany even after the Hero’s attack weakened her, but it could take her inside and harden around her to seal her. And with herself as a hostage within the lava that messes with magnetic and thermal sensors, she couldn’t roast it with her orbital weapon.”

“I may not be one to talk, but being able to withstand temperatures of 2000 embers<ref>Approximately 2200 degrees Celsius.</ref> is completely insane.”

“Yeah, it really is.”

With a neigh like a steam engine, it raised its front legs and lifted its upper body to a height of more than 100 esoule<ref>Approximately 120 meters.</ref>. A female party tried to get involved out of some strange sense of justice, but the Minotaur gave a roar to chase off the Paladin with a soundproofed shield and the Samurai with a single-shot gun hidden in the grip of her sword. Then he spoke before the massive monster.

“It always seemed odd that Earth Castle Town Grouviv was the only one that had ‘nothing’, but I guess it was a supply base holding all the weapons and provisions the royal castle might need. It just never got much use with how long Sky City Celedileka has known peace.”

Ayato himself had said the military facilities were the first to be abandoned in a peaceful castle that was not a front line fortress. This was the same idea for the city-state as a whole.

The earth town could easily store plenty of the mana-conducting silver needed for weapons, as well as the sorcery gun ammunition and the various kinds of jewels that were concentrated from the underground gemflows. They may have also been stocking up on the toxic liquid known as rock water or petroleum and converting it into weapons. This was the perfect place for that.

And now they were releasing that giant lava horse in order to capture Nirvelphany. Magic did not activate on its own, so did the command come from the Forturiana Church which had dug this thing up and stored it? They may have been hoping to defeat the Demon Lord themselves to make their lie a reality, but it went without saying what would happen if that mass of lava charged into a densely populated area.

Unlike the other landmasses that floated around restlessly and were easily distorted, the Static Continent they called home did not budge even after many long years. The people who lived there were bound by equally strong ties while they lived together in harmony.

That cheap propaganda came to the Minotaur’s mind while he viewed this product of human greed.

The entire idea was absurd.

“I no longer care about a comfortable palace, a mountain of art in the gallery, or shiny armor and a crown.”

That was why the Minotaur had come here.

No, why the First Prince of the Selected Kingdoms’ Combined Royal Family had come here.

“But I’m not about to abandon the right to have my way and strike down evil. My name is Liberca Bran Zorca Totalinus. Did you think a foolish traitor’s toy could rob everyone of their homes and livelihoods while the First Prince watched on!?”

After that attempt to look cool, the maid calmly tugged on his tail.

“Hold it, you narcissist.”

“Gyawah! Don’t grab me there, you idiot! It hurts like hell!!”

“How rude. You make it sound like I was unaware of that fact.”

“How would a tailless butterfly woman understand how this feels!?”

The maid spoke calmly to the man whose dignified atmosphere had been stolen.

“Just accept it already. You always keep those royal blades with you, so ever since I recognized you as a royal, you will never again have a chance to fight alone.”

“…Is that so?”

That was all he said as he reached for the holsters at his hips.

What he drew from there were two old-fashioned swords instead of sorcery guns.

They were classified as domino-effect apocalypse-inducing chain-reaction weapons and they were named Butterfly Effector.

The two of them spoke in unison.

“The flapping of my butterfly wings is a very small thing.”

“But it’s time you saw what the small things can bring to this world, you hunk of junk!!”