Editing Sorcery Hacker:Volume1 Phase4 (section)

===Part 5===

They knew where the Temple Moving Ceremony, aka the cruel public execution, would be held, but there was more than just one tall tower overlooking it. Several spires rose toward the sunny and starry sky. There was no way to guess which one it would be.

“We’ll have to check all of them. …There’s a total of 3 suspicious locations. Miss Henrietta and I can work on our own while Miss Teleria supports Miss Mamilis since she is still a rookie.”

“Dangerous individual, wouldn’t my skill be more suited for looking after a rookie?”

“But unfortunately, Miss Mamilis is armed with a full-auto shotgun. If you rush out ahead for the close-quarters combat you excel at, you will only get a back full of magic bullets.”

“Fair enough,” said Henrietta with both hands raised in resignation and with a stiff smile on her face. “I will do as you say for now, but only until this Demon Lord business is settled.”

“Miss Teleria, you take care too.”

“Yes, yes.”

“What about me, Coach?”

“You too of course, Miss Mamilis.”

Getting into Light Castle Brightio had required a lot of preparation, but things were much easier now that they were past those sorcery detection gates. Ayato clapped his hands as a signal and they all moved in different directions.

“Mama, those people have sorcery guns.”

“My, my. Maybe they are street performers. But don’t worry. No one could get a real one through those gates.”

Those carefree comments from their surroundings were thanks to the props used by Songstresses and Dancers for the flashy performances they put on in an attempt to gather the attention of the royals and nobles. There was also a Witch handing out fliers for a startup that said “How would you like to use magic without needing a sorcery gun?” Big events like this were an opportunity for everyone. After separating from the others, Ayato stabbed his blade into some fireworks devices hidden where they would go unnoticed. Hacking them required Level 3, but he had already gone above 20 with the preparations he made outside.

(This would almost look heartwarming if it didn’t mean they were bringing those small children to see a public execution.)

The Sorcery Hacker boy shook his head in exasperation as he arrived at the base of a tower. He used the tip of his blade to break the lock on the thick wooden door, which opened the door faster than using the real key, and slipped inside. A spiral staircase ran up the outer wall and the ceiling was much lower than he had expected. A castle’s towers could have any number of uses, but given the mixed smells of dried meats and disintegrating lead bullets, this appeared to be a storeroom for military provisions and supplies. The weapons and food were stored at the bottom and the top was made up of nap rooms and guard posts.

Of course, the spiral staircase was the only path up. If knights were always posted here, covertly climbing the tower would be very difficult indeed, but…

(Yeah, there won’t be anyone here. A peaceful kingdom like this won’t be using the military facilities that are only needed during wartime.)

Unless it was a temporary fort on the front line, these places were the first to become unmanned storerooms despite the supposed purpose of a castle. To be safe, he kept an eye out for anyone maintaining the weapons or hanging around when they were supposed to be out on patrol, but he did not run into anyone there.

Once at the top, he poked his head out of the skylight on the conic roof.

He held his hair down as a solid blast of wind hit him and he viewed the outside world once more.

This was the tallest of the three towers. The site of the Temple Moving Ceremony was about 200 esoule<ref>Approximately 240 meters.</ref> straight down. Moving from tower to tower must have been too much work because they had strung up thick wires headed diagonally down to the towers across the way and eight-legged cable cars waited there like upside-down spiders.

Since he had not found anyone on the way, Nirvelphany must not have been hiding in this tower.

The skylight on the top of a different tower opened upwards.

Henrietta poked her head out with her blonde hair in a ponytail braid and with her dark gray protector armor. She cheerfully waved a hand his way. He could not hear what she was saying, but it did not look like anything serious had happened. She must not have found anything either.

(Which means…)

The relaxed atmosphere tensed up due to the answer he found through the process of elimination. Ayato and Henrietta both turned toward the remaining tower.

Its skylight also opened and Dark Elf Mamilis climbed out onto the pointed roof. She then turned around, reached back into the skylight, and pulled Teleria up.

Just then, a thick beam of light tore through not just the skylight but the roof of the tower.

“Whoa!?”

The roof shook below Ayato’s feet despite him being on the other side of the plaza. He belatedly pulled the crystal tarot cards from his blue blazer’s breast pocket, scattered them in the air, and lit the fireworks he had hacked.

White smoke and explosive sounds filled the air, but he had no idea how well he had hidden this from the crowd. Ayato’s group did not want the ignorant knights to figure out what was going on, but their opponent apparently did not care.

A new figure slipped out of the wreckage.

She wore a red leather vest and longish tight skirt. That true ancient Demon Lord had disguised herself as a devil using floating Expansion Armor resembling horns, wings, and a tail. Her unsteadily sharp heels did not seem to bother her. The enormous anti-dragon rifle resting on her shoulder was aimed at Teleria and Mamilis who were about to fall from the tower’s roof.

Anger burned in his mind with enough intensity to redden his vision.

He had no idea if she could hear him, but he raised his voice all the same.

“Nirvelphanyyyy!!!!!!”