The sky was already beginning to fade into twilight, but one concern still weighed on Bafrosk and his companions: the matter of Doneicia.
"It is... difficult to ask this of you, but four members of my clan have gone missing. Do you know anything of their whereabouts?"
Bafrosk’s attitude toward Reiko had softened considerably.
"There appears to be a small base about ten kilometers south of here," Reiko replied. "Could they be there?"
Doneicia and the three who had gone after her remained missing. Ten kilometers was a distance that those capable of physical reinforcement could traverse in no time. The members of the radical faction reached the site in about fifteen minutes.
"There's nothing here..."
Under the darkening sky, nothing could be seen across the grayish-brown wasteland. Just then—
"What is this?"
Reiko, who had accompanied them reluctantly on Jin's orders, spotted something on the ground and picked it up. It was a fragment of a magi-crystal—something that had no business being in such a wasteland.
"It's a piece of a teleportation marker."
"...Which means?" Bafrosk tried to think it through, but he couldn't quite grasp the implications.
"It means there is a possibility that the four missing people were abducted via teleportation."
"How do you figure that?" Bafrosk asked, clearly out of his depth when it came to such deductions.
Reiko gave a small, weary shrug before explaining. "Someone teleported to this marker, abducted the four, and then teleported away again. They likely destroyed the marker when they left. Does that make sense to you?"
This time, he seemed to understand. Bafrosk nodded slowly. "I see. I understand. Then, where did they go?"
"As far as we know, there are three candidate locations."
There were two unrecovered teleportation markers remaining in demon territory. One was at an unconfirmed base 300 kilometers to the north, and the other was in the mountains 50 kilometers to the northwest. (The third location was where the already recovered markers had been gathered.)
"The most likely candidate is the one 300 kilometers to the north. That appears to have been a base for Nega-doll 001."
"300 kilometers, eh..."
That was even further north than the Gospel clan’s territory, across a small mountain range. Even for the radical faction, it was a distance that gave them pause.
"It will be impossible to reach it today. Won't you leave the matter to us?" Anne spoke up. "Master will be arriving shortly."
Just as she said, Capricorn 1 was visible in the distance. Bafrosk and the other demons welcomed the vehicle and Jin with a touch of awe.
"I see, so four people are missing..."
Jin—or rather, his Body Double—descended from Capricorn 1 and adopted a pensive expression after hearing the details.
"Belialus of the Puppet clan is also worried about his sister. And then there's... Raldus?"
That brought the count of missing demons to six.
"First, we head 300 kilometers north."
At the Double's words, Bafrosk, the Clan Chief of the Jest clan, spoke up with a question. "Jin-dono, there is one thing I wish to ask."
"What is it?"
"I heard you said we should 'not let another person die.' Is that true?"
Bafrosk still could not wrap his head around Jin's philosophy.
"That's right. Is there a problem?"
"It is simply a way of thinking we cannot understand."
"I see." Jin’s Double paused to think for a moment. "I'm not very good at explaining these things, so it might be hard to follow, but in the end, I only did it because I thought it would be for my own benefit."
"Your own benefit?" Bafrosk looked taken aback by the pragmatic response.
"I only did it because I thought it was the fastest way to achieve the peace I want... or rather, a peaceful life."
"..." Bafrosk still looked bewildered.
"This is just a personal feeling, but I hate killing. Even if I were to obtain peace by wiping out the demon race, I think I would just end up feeling depressed."
Jin chose his words carefully given his audience, though "depressed" didn't quite cover the weight of it.
"Besides, there's the practical advantage. By getting along, we can acquire various materials through trade."
"That, I think I can understand."
"Your side has been researching humanity as well, but humans are beings with massive individual differences. The larger the population, the greater those differences become. You shouldn't assume you can grasp the whole picture by investigating only ten or twenty people."
Bafrosk seemed to find those words much easier to swallow. He nodded deeply. "I see. I shall keep that in mind."
"So, despite how it sounds, it's just because I decided this was the best path forward. I can't explain it any better than that."
"Hmm... For now, I am satisfied."
Bafrosk stepped back. Stars were already beginning to twinkle in the darkening sky. Jin made a final declaration.
"I will head north in Capricorn 1. I want the rest of you to return to your settlement and wait."
"I'm reluctant to sit idle, but very well. We shall wait," Bafrosk agreed grudgingly.
"I am coming with you," Belialus interjected. He had stayed on Capricorn 1 this far, desperate for any clue regarding his sister. "I know Doneicia’s face as well. I believe I can be of some use."
Since they had been traveling together, Jin found it hard to refuse, and Bafrosk added his own request for the same.
"Alright. Let's go."
Carrying Jin’s Body Double, Reiko, Anne, Belialus, and Land 1, Capricorn 1 departed into the darkness, heading for the north.
Meanwhile, Laozi was heading northwest alone. He had decided to check the closer locations first.
After running for about thirty minutes at 100 kilometers per hour, he reached the foot of a mountain standing just before the main range.
"It is undoubtedly beneath this area," he murmured to himself.
Searching the vicinity, he found three holes that appeared to be ventilation shafts.
"They don't even seem to be trying to hide them. This likely isn't a high-priority base."
Laozi peered cautiously into one of the holes, switching his vision to infrared.
"Nothing moving. No mana signatures either. Shall I proceed?"
After scouting for an hour and confirming there were no immediate threats, he decided to infiltrate. Using a gravity control magi-device, he reduced his weight to one-tenth and leaped into the shaft. The hole wasn't vertical but sloped at an 80-degree angle, allowing him to control his descent by grazing his hands against the walls.
Partway down, the shaft bent upward in a V-shape—likely a measure to prevent rainwater from entering—before plunging downward again. After about twenty meters, the shaft ended, and Laozi landed on a hard floor.
Deactivating the gravity control magi-device and returning to his original weight, Laozi deployed a barrier and his Invisible spell while observing the surroundings.
"...It seems to be an abandoned warehouse."
The large, hall-like room was cavernous and empty. A closer inspection revealed only a few scattered magi-crystal fragments and metal scraps. In the center of the floor, he found a teleportation marker buried in a shallow indentation.
Laozi recovered the marker.
"Well, it seems there is nothing more of interest here."
Using the gravity control magi-device once more to lighten his weight, Laozi kicked off the floor and dashed back up the way he had come.