We were walking through a forest in order to do what Mel requested. According to Ayame, even the neighboring towns were empty because the citizens left.

“Why would they leave willingly?” I asked.

It was weird. The Dark Corruption was making things dangerous for everyone. Demons would rampage without warning and Crystal Beasts attacked anyone in sight. It was safer to stay in towns.

“It’s because Vox has a Silver Tongue”, Ayame said.

“Mel mentioned that too. Is that important?” Ollie frowned.

“Once every 100 years, five demons would be born with one of the Five Great Abilities. The All-Seeing Eyes, the Golden Ears, the Wolf’s Nose, the Wind’s Skin, and the Silver Tongue. They won’t only just heighten the senses of their users, they also grant them special abilities”. Rushia explained.

“The Silver Tongue doesn’t only just make Vox taste food better. It can also make his words more convincing”, Ayame added.

Oh. I see. That’s why Mel said that Vox convinced her people to leave and follow him.

“So why are we heading towards a place where there is a lot of Dark Corruption?” I looked straight ahead.

“Vox is not interested in trivial things. He disappeared a few days after the Dark Corruption appeared and started making people lose themselves. I’m sure that the Dark Corruption you can feel in this forest is somehow related to him”, Ayame answered.

“Almost every problem is related to the Dark Corruption nowadays”, Rushia said.

“And that Dark Corruption is related to that scary organization that’s been following Mikage, right?” Ollie asked.

“Yeah. It’s all the Unkindness’ fault”, I said.

It didn’t take long for us to arrive at the source of the Dark Corruption and when I saw the size of the wooden fortress in front of us, I couldn’t help but to be amazed.

The building resembled the castles back in feudal Japan. I could even recall the buildings I saw back when I went to Kyoto as part of my middle school’s field trip. And how I got into a huge trouble with Yogiri because I ended up fighting again.

Those were good times, I thought.

I wondered how everyone was doing well. Was Temma surviving managing the unit without me? Was Captain Noel doing her daily paperwork? Was Oga training Yogiri well?

But I knew one thing for sure.

Amelia was probably solving one case after another without worries. She’s a master detective. It would be easy for her to find out that I was safe and so she could continue in her daily life doing what she wanted. 

“Halt! Identify yourselves!” the guards in front of the fort blocked our path.

“My name is Ayame Nakiri, the student council pres-” 

“Super cute idol, Ollie Kureiji is here!” Ollie cut off Ayame and struck a pose.

The two guards looked at each other in confusion while Ayame sighed. Meanwhile, Rushia started writing down in her notebook while muttering something.

And then, the doors opened as a woman wearing a kimono bowed and greeted us with a warm smile. 

“Good day, Lady Ayame, Lady Rushia, Sir Mikage, and Ollie. Milord has been expecting your arrival”, the woman said.

“Why was I the only one who didn’t get an honorific?!” Ollie retorted.

“Because honorifics are only given to people who act in a manner befitting them.”

“You’re rude for someone bowing down and serving another person…”

“Oh dear. Are you sure that’s the face a ‘super cute idol’ should be making?”

“MIKAGEEE!! THIS WOMAN IS BULLYING ME!!!”

“Now, now. If you want to respect her, you have to become someone they think is respectable”, I consoled her.

“So you’re saying I’m not respectable?!”

“For that woman, yes.”

Ollie looked at the woman, stood up straight, and did a curtsy.

“I apologize for my inappropriate behavior earlier. May you please inform your lord that I, the super cute idol named Ollie Kureiji, is requesting him for an audience along with my friends?” she smiled.

“No”, the woman smiled back.

“YOU LITTLE-”

I held Ollie back while Rushia was writing down in her notebook once again.

“But Milord told us to bring Ayame Nakiri and her companions. He had been expecting you the moment he heard you arrived at the Yozora Mansion”, the woman looked at Ayame.

“Very well”, Ayame nodded.

The woman led the way while we followed. Ollie was grumbling while Rushia was looking at her as she continued writing down. Ayame looked at the other people staring at us as we walked.

This was very weird.

“Are you okay, Mikage? You seem to be uneasy”, Ayame asked.

“Yeah! You’re not the one who was insulted like that!” Ollie pouted.

Why don’t you tell them, Mikage? Their reactions would be gold! Noir chuckled.

My eyes met with another demon’s eyes and he smiled before waving at me. He was so friendly that I couldn’t help but wave back. Yeah… This was very weird.

 “Everyone here has a large amount of Dark Corruption inside their bodies”, I whispered to them.

Ayame grabbed her katanas while green butterflies appeared around Rushia. Ollie grinned and then red sparks danced around her body but before I could stop them from doing anything reckless, a black-haired man stepped in and landed a chop on each of their heads.

“Can you please not do that? You’re scaring them”, his deep voice echoed inside my mind and I could feel my heart calming down.

All of the other demons bowed down after seeing him, including the woman who was leading us. From how I relaxed when I heard his voice, he was the person we were looking for.

“What are you up to, Vox?” Ayame glared at him.

“And what do you think you’re doing by attempting to attack MY people when I invited you in?” Vox glared back.

###

“Hahaha! Choco is still slaving away as a nurse?!” Vox laughed after drinking another cup of sake.

We were in a grand hallway with luxurious food set in front of us. I was actually hesitant in eating the food offered by a potential enemy but Vox didn’t seem like he was a bad guy.

“She’s not just a nurse anymore. She’s actually an established researcher of medical technology and she’s the principal’s trusted assistant”,  Ayame said.

“That crybaby who was so shy and rewrote her love letter so many times and have me beta read each one?! She’s the right hand of that principal?! The Underworld Academy is doomed!!” Vox slapped his knees as he tried to control himself.

“At least she helped greatly while the Demon Realm is troubled like this… unlike a certain someone who just disappeared when trouble started”, Rushia said before sipping her tea.

“Oh, please! I was doing an important job and tracking down the cause of this entire mess! Cut me some slack since I needed to go undercover!”

“Is making a grand fort like this in the forest ‘undercover?’ How much government funds did you waste from this?” Ayame asked.

“Zero. I didn’t spend a single coin in this wonderful fort.”

“How? A fort doesn’t just magically appear overnight”, I tilted my head.

Actually, Ars can do it with her magic, Anya told me.

That shorty is capable, huh? Noir snickered.

“To answer your question, the people did it out of their own freewill”, Vox smiled.

“Freewill? Didn’t you enslave them?” Ayame put down her chopsticks and glared at him.

“Me? Enslave? No way. I simply asked them if they wanted to follow me and they said yes. Ask Rushia and she can tell that there’s no strange magic inside them.”

Ayame looked at Rushia who was calmly eating fish.

“Yeah. I can’t sense any mana lingering around them so I’m confident that there’s no magic involved”, Rushia shrugged.

She’s right. I can’t also sense anything strange about them, Anya told me.

“But wouldn’t the Silver Tongue make them obey you?” I spoke up.

“Unfortunately, all I can do is convince people. The Silver Tongue only makes people pay attention to my words and listen well. It’s all up to how I can use my words in order to persuade them. Do you think the people would listen to me and build a fort when the entire Demon Realm is in panic?”

“Vox is not lying. That’s the extent of the Silver Tongue. If he wanted to enslave them, he should use Mind Magic but I can’t sense anything wrong with them at all”, Rushia nodded.

Mikage… How well can you sense the Dark Corruption? Noir asked in my mind.

I can sense that there’s a lot of Dark Corruption in everyone here. What’s wrong with it? I asked back.

Nothing’s wrong except that you’re an idiot. Pay attention to my question! I asked HOW WELL and not HOW MUCH!

Do you really have to act mysterious all the time? What’s your point?! Anya bickered.

Mikage can sense that the Dark Corruption is inside of a creature but he’s not paying attention to how it’s affecting their bodies. He seriously lacks imagination!

Wait…

I looked at one of the guards and focused on him. And that’s when I realized my mistake.

“Hey… Why is everyone here so calm when they have the Dark Corruption inside of them? And how the hell are you smiling there and not rampaging when you have a huge amount of it inside you too?” I glared at Vox.

“I’m just one hell of a guy. Do you really think you’re the only one who can control the Dark Corruption?” Vox took a sip of his sake after asking me.

“Is something wrong, Mikage?” Ayame looked at me.

“Everyone here has Dark Corruption spread all over their body and the source is in their heads. All this time, I saw that the Dark Corruption is like an uncontrollable flame that keeps on burning the creature’s Life Force on their stomachs….”

I looked at everyone else in the room and then at Vox.

“But this time, the Dark Corruption is wrapped around their bodies like strings on a marionnette. If I focus hard enough, all of them have a tiny string leading towards Vox!”

“So? Do you have any proof of that? Why are you accusing me based on what only you can feel as the Primordial Dark?” Vox chuckled.

Ayame stood up and Rushia prepared for battle. Ollie looked at us in confusion but even I realized what was going on.

“If that’s the case, you wouldn’t have problems if I remove the Dark Corruption from them, right?” I asked.

“Hey. Do you guys want your Dark Corruption to be removed?” Vox looked at the guards.

“No, milord!” they replied.

“There you have it. They said their answers.”

“Don’t mess with me! I can see that your words made the Dark Corruption move their bodies!” I told him.

“Mikage. Just drain it out of them”, Rushia said.

But before I could move, Vox snapped his fingers and several guards entered the room. They were heavily-armed and were glaring at us.

“If you’re going to ignore freewill, then you’re just a tyrant. You’re not responsible with your powers, Mikage”, Vox smirked.

“Ooooh! A fight! Now we’re talking! I’ll leave this army to Ayame and Rushia since they can handle anyone! Where’s that woman?!” Ollie stood up and drew her sword.

I then realized my mistake and I pushed Ollie away just in time before Ayame moved. A cold feeling pierced through my body as a sting and warm feeling appeared at my sides.

“A-Ayame! What are you doing?!” Ollie asked.

“Ayame doesn’t like tyrants. That’s her freewill”, Vox smiled.

I was too careless! I should’ve noticed that the Dark Corruption was hidden inside them and gotten stronger! 

Now, I was staring at Ayame and Rushia who had the Dark Corruption wrapping around their bodies as if they were puppets… and the one who was pulling the strings laughed as he stood up.

“A tyrant can only dictate his people if he has the power. Do you have the power to ignore everyone’s freewill?” Vox asked.

“I’ll never know until I try!”

And I unsheathed Anya before I charged towards Ayame.

###

A/N: Couldn’t update last night cause I was dragged to a party. Maybe the pandemic wasn’t so bad after all….