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"Still, Jiriel... is there really a Demon hiding within this academy?"
I muttered the question while standing atop the academy's highest tower, perched on its very tip. No matter how hard I focused, I couldn't detect even a hint of a demonic presence.
This academy was full of mages and suspicious magic tools, but even then, a Demon's presence should have been unmistakable. Their mana is massive and incredibly dense; no matter how well they might be hiding, there was no way I could miss it.
"Indeed. However, it is only natural that you cannot perceive them right now, Master Lloyd. The enemy is residing in a place one might call the Hidden Side of this world."
"The Hidden Side?"
My heart raced at the unfamiliar term.
"It is the world behind the one we inhabit. Think of it as something similar to the Celestial Realm where I reside—the place you visited once before, Master Lloyd."
"That brings back memories."
When I first encountered Jiriel, I’d felt a gaze coming from somewhere and used it as a beacon for a Spatial Transfer. After a jump far longer than anything I’d ever attempted, I’d arrived in the Celestial Realm where he lived.
"Then can't I just use Spatial Transfer to fly there again?"
"No, it will not be quite that simple. The path is currently sealed by the Dimensional Wall."
Now that he mentioned it, I remembered feeling a tremendous impact during that particular transfer.
"But I broke through that easily enough."
"Ordinarily, it is not something easily breached... but the issue here is not its strength, but its imperceptibility. The Dimensional Wall is formed by altering and fusing reality itself, creating an invisible barrier that cannot be recognized. To use a metaphor, it is like trying to find a block of ice submerged in water. Unless you can perceive its exact state, a breakthrough is impossible."
"I see. You can't see the ice in the water, and even if you try to grab it, it just slips away."
Jiriel nodded, his expression remaining grim.
"I only managed to reach it because I was following right on Grimo's heels. Without any clues, finding the Dimensional Wall would be impossible, even for you. It would be a different story if Grimo had any intention of contacting us, but..."
During our first meeting, I’d been able to follow Jiriel’s gaze. If I could sense even a trace of Grimo’s presence, I could use it as a beacon to travel... but unfortunately, I felt nothing now.
"...It seems Grimo truly intends to sever his ties with you. If he has been forced to serve a Demon, it cannot be helped, but it leaves us with no way to the Hidden Side. Whatever shall we do..."
"Hmm? So I just need to find a way to break through this Dimensional Wall, right?"
Grasping an invisible wall. The idea sounded rather interesting.
"E-Even for you, Master Lloyd, perceiving the Dimensional Wall is surely..."
"Well, I'll give a few things a try."
The sensation of touching the Dimensional Wall before had a mana-based origin. If that was the case, I should be able to see it if I concentrated enough mana into my eyes.
It was true that ice was difficult to spot in water, but if I raised my visual acuity high enough, it shouldn't be impossible to see. If my normal output wasn't enough, I wondered what would happen if I used ten times that amount.
I let out a short breath, refined the mana throughout my body, and funneled it into my eyes. The resolution of the world gradually sharpened, and a swirl of vivid, prismatic light—reds, blues, yellows—pierced my vision.
"...Whoa!?"
I reflexively cut the flow and squeezed my eyes shut. The sheer volume of light rushing in at once had startled me.
Come to think of it, I’d read in a Biology Encyclopedia once that some creatures perceive light invisible to humans. That swirl of light just now was probably exactly what they saw. The amount of information was overwhelming, but I felt like I’d caught a glimpse of something deep within those layers of light.
"That dazzled me for a second, but if I adjust the amount of light I let in..."
Once more, I concentrated refined mana into my eyes. This time, I filtered out all the light that seemed irrelevant. As unnecessary lines were eliminated and my field of vision cleared, I increased the mana density to further sharpen the image.
The colors and lines faded away, leaving my vision pitch black—until I saw a single line floating in the sky. Squinting, I saw a giant, translucent sphere floating directly above the academy.
"So that's the Hidden Side."
"Y-Yes..."
Jiriel nodded, his eyes wide with shock.
Hmm, that was a barrier unlike any I’d ever seen. Rather than being built from a Spell Formula, it felt as though the nature of the mana itself had been transformed to mix and integrate with the fabric of reality. It was like a phantom image created by painting over an existing canvas with an identical picture. One would never notice it without looking very, very closely.
"I-I cannot believe it... Such tremendous mana gathered in your eyes. With density like that, no concealment would ever be effective. To see through even the Dimensional Wall... You are truly magnificent, Master Lloyd."
"Stop muttering and let's go."
Once I’d found it, the rest was simple. I floated into the air using Levitation and tried to touch the Dimensional Wall. However, my hand wouldn't connect. Whenever I tried to reach for it, the barrier slipped further away. I see—ice floating in water. It really was a perfect metaphor.
"In that case, I just need to fix it in place."
With that, I activated the Spatial System Magic, Sky Piercing Needle. This spell created mana needles designed to pierce holes in dimensions; it was primarily used as a wedge to dismantle barriers. This time, however, I drove the Sky Piercing Needle directly into the wall to pin it, preventing it from drifting away.
"Sky Piercing Needle... Indeed, Spatial System Magic can interfere with the Dimensional Wall. But to sew the barrier in place with a spell that is literally like a needle—and such a low-power one at that..."
"I couldn't exactly use a powerful spell and risk destroying the thing."
Since something so rare was right in front of me, I wanted to experiment with it. Its structure, its mechanism, the way it was woven—there were so many things I was curious about.
...And well, there was also the matter of Grimo.
"Now then, let's check the structure—"
I tried using Appraisal on the Dimensional Wall, but I couldn't see anything. It seemed this wall wasn't made of magic. Or rather, it didn't appear to be something constructed with a Spell Formula.
Come to think of it, Demons can change the properties of mana through imagery rather than formulas to achieve various effects. The image for this wall, just as Jiriel had suggested, seemed to focus heavily on blending with space to remain undetected. As a result, its structure was brittle; it would likely shatter like glass if subjected to a strong impact.
Pinning it with Sky Piercing Needle had been the right move. It seemed I could use the same spell to intrude as well.
"In that case, I'll just produce a massive quantity of them."
A hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred million... I manifested countless Sky Piercing Needles and unleashed them upon the Dimensional Wall. Though each needle had little power, it was a different story when attacking with sheer numbers. They literally carved a path through the barrier.
"To shave away the Dimensional Wall and create a path using Sky Piercing Needle—a low-power spell with such high mana consumption... certainly, that would allow entry to the Hidden Side without disturbing the interior, but your sheer absurdity leaves me with nothing but laughter, Master Lloyd."
"Oh, I can see the other side now."
Before long, something resembling a garden became visible beyond the breach in the Dimensional Wall.
Now then, let’s see if we find a demon or a serpent waiting for us.