Next was the Divine Chains of the Shackle God that bound the target.

The effect was more

potent when the victim’s raw power was high.
Last was the Supreme Sword of Destruction, capable of cleaving anything in two and
eradicating its existence.
Of these three pieces, the Mirror Shield would serve the most use in our current predicament.
If we could activate it, we could regain our lost magic. The question was—
“So how do we use it?” Sylphy asked.
A great question indeed. How were we supposed to use the Armor of the Demon Lord, which
required tremendous amounts of magic, when we had none at all? The answer was—
“I have my own magical concept called Script Magic that I invented myself. I’ll try focusing it
into the Armor…but if that doesn’t work, I suppose we’ll be forced to find another plan.”
“Script Magic, huh? Doesn’t that use mana from the air instead of a person’s own reserves?”
“Indeed. If we can use that to convert the magic in the atmosphere…”
“We might be able to activate the Armor?”
I nodded. There were plenty of hurdles up ahead. I’d crossed it off our list of options, since I
didn’t feel confident in going for it without a practice round…but all we could do was hope for
the best.
“Let’s not waste any more time.” I fluidly wrote an inscription in the air with my finger. “Just a
bit more… This should do it…”
I added a few final touches and finished up my lettering. The Armor should have been activated
by now, but…
“I fear this isn’t going to—”
Apparently, I had spoken too soon. The very next moment, the Mirror Shield sparkled—
“Oh, thank goodness. It worked.” I was relieved. I could feel the flow of magic again.
“Huh? Uhhh, I—I don’t feel any different.”
“Ah, my apologies. I could only provide enough power to reverse this for one person.”
After rewriting the Armor’s technical attributes and optimizing it, I was able to use it as my
modern self and return everyone else’s magic.
I hurriedly set to work, and—
“Huh…? What…?”
Just as I was about to start, a stranger’s voice called out to me. We immediately went on high
alert and scanned the vicinity.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the intruder made their appearance.
“Where am I…?”
An unfamiliar young girl was looking around in fear and confusion.

SIDE STORY

The Failure, Incapable of Resisting Evil

“Maria! Maria! Where are youuuuuuuuuuuuuu?!”
Lizer’s cries bounced off the palace walls.
“Huff… Huff…! Maria…! Maria…!”
Foul memories flooded his mind. This was like the last time. Like the day he’d lost Maria. She
was nowhere to be found.
She should have been in the palace! She should have been within his reach. He had made
certain she couldn’t run off anywhere, yet…
“Huh? Your Highness? Why do you look so fright—?”
“Move it! Outta my way!” Lizer had shoved away an approaching civil officer—a small child.
After landing on his butt, he started to cry, terrified by the sudden outburst. Lizer ignored him,
however. It was like the child didn’t even exist.
He abandoned the weeping boy, continuing his hunt for Maria.
A disgustingly melodious voice was behind him. “That wasn’t very nice, was it? Did he scare
you? There, there.”
Lizer froze in his tracks before whipping around.
…The devil was kneeling with a smile on his face, patting the head of the fallen child.
“You don’t look hurt. You’re okay.”
Mephisto could have been mistaken for an angel…but the child must have sensed his true
nature. He stood with a fearful expression and backed away as if in search of escape.
“Heh-heh. Seeing all these happy children warms my heart. Don’t you agree, Li—?”
Lizer’s fist collided with Mephisto’s cheek, and his small figure caught air. He slammed into a
wall and slid to the ground.
“Ohhh, so scary.” Mephisto cackled as he rubbed his injured cheek. “What’s up with your
cognitive dissonance? You claim you live for the kids, but here you are—knocking them over.
You assert that you’re a good general, but you’ve resorted to violence. Where’d this come
from? Did something bad happen?” Mephisto asked with a tilt of the head and his sick perma-
smile.
Lizer approached him in a mad fury and grabbed his collar. “Where is Maria?!”
Most people would cower at an outburst of this magnitude, but Mephisto took this in stride
and continued to grin.
“Hey now. You’re acting as if I’m the one responsible for hiding her from you. How could I ever
do such a thing? I would never kidnap someone so dear to you—”
Lizer cut him off mid-sentence with another power-packed punch. The impact sent Mephisto to
the floor, but his smile didn’t go anywhere. In fact, it grew deeper.
It seemed to imply that he found the old man’s behavior very entertaining.
“You’re exactly who I predicted you were, Lizer. As long as the root of your anger and
frustration remains the same, Maria is bound to leave you. After all, she has no real reason to
like you. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she hate—”
Once again, Lizer didn’t wait for Mephisto to finish his sentence before kicking his body.
“What do you know about Maria?! She would never betray me! Our love is immortal!”
“Oh yeah?” Mephisto’s grin shifted from derision to contempt—a smile that said he’d just seen
straight through Lizer’s deceit and mocked him for it. “I wonder why you won’t reveal the true
nature of this transformed world to her. Will you not show her the other side of your little
utopia?”
A knot formed in Lizer’s throat. Mephisto’s sneer deepened.