A few days later, Logan and I set out for the Holy Staff Kingdom.
One of our spies had discovered the location where the ritual magic had been performed. Our objectives were twofold: destroy the facility and gather whatever information remained.
I couldn't leave a task of this magnitude to a mere spy. Even identifying the location had required them to take significant risks. From here on, it was my responsibility.
Our destination was a cave tucked away in a forest on the frontier of the Holy Staff Kingdom. There were no towns or villages nearby. Barring some extraordinary coincidence, no civilian would ever stumble upon it.
Logan and I stood before the cave, shrouded in concealment magic. I began by probing the interior with sensing magic.
Partway through, Logan spoke up. "Any luck?"
"I don't sense a single life sign," I replied, shaking my head.
I checked several times, but the result was always the same. It didn't seem as though anyone was hiding behind a concealment-type art, either.
Logan glared suspiciously at the cave. "Was the spy's intel wrong?"
"No, I doubt that. Instead, I sense countless corpses."
"What?" Logan’s gaze sharpened.
Magical analysis confirmed the grim reality. There were definitely multiple bodies inside. We would have to examine them personally to determine the specifics.
"The situation is unclear. We should proceed with caution."
I began activating the necessary spells one by one, preparing for any eventuality. As we moved into the cave, I gave Logan his instructions.
"I'll take the point. Watch our backs."
"Understood."
We stepped into the cave. At first glance, the interior looked like a natural formation. However, various magic formulas had been woven throughout the space.
The security was remarkably tight. Anyone wandering in unprepared would have lost their life in an instant. I dismantled the traps as we went—a simple task, really. They were all textbook examples of systems I had seen so often I could have dismantled them in my sleep. Even if we had accidentally triggered one, neither Logan nor I would have been in any real danger.
Eventually, we reached the innermost depths of the cave. The path ended at a solid rock wall, where water dripped rhythmically from the ceiling.
Logan touched a section of the stone, his eyes scanning the area. "A hidden passage. Typical construction."
He placed his hand on a specific spot and pushed. The rock sank inward, followed by the faint click of a mechanism. Moving slightly, Logan pushed another spot. He repeated this ten times without a moment's hesitation.
The rock wall at the end of the path groaned and rose, revealing a passage that stretched further into the earth. Beyond this point, the construction was clearly artificial.
I watched the display with genuine admiration. "Impressive. Your exploration instincts haven't dulled a bit."
The mechanism required a precise sequence; a single mistake would have triggered a trap. Logan had seen through the design with only a cursory glance. Even a seasoned expert couldn't have matched his efficiency.
However, Logan knit his brows, looking slightly miffed.
"Don't treat me like some old man," he grumbled. "By elven standards, I'm still a mere sprout."
"...My apologies."
It seemed Logan was sensitive about his age. That was unexpected; I had assumed he was indifferent to such things. The fault lay with me for speaking without thinking. I made a mental note to be more careful in the future.
We continued down the passage. The facility hidden deep within the cave was a sprawling magic workshop. We moved forward, remaining on high alert.
"This is an incredibly elaborate setup," Logan observed. "They were clearly dedicated. I can sense the residue of dead spirits, too. They were likely practicing all sorts of forbidden arts here."
This was exactly why I had asked him to come along. I wanted his perspective on anything involving spirits, an area where my own expertise differed from his. Although I hadn't explained my reasoning, Logan seemed to have grasped his role perfectly.
Corpses were scattered throughout the workshop. Many were mangled—limbs were missing, and some bodies had been twisted and torn apart. These weren't wounds caused by conventional weaponry. It was a method of killing I rarely encountered.
Furthermore, every room had been systematically destroyed. Any documents or materials that might have been stored there had been utterly erased. We found a plaza where the ritual magic had likely taken place, but not a single clue remained. The facility had clearly housed state-of-the-art equipment, but all of it had been rendered useless.
Everything here pointed to the fact that something significant had happened, yet the crucial evidence was nowhere to be found. It was a frustratingly fruitless search.
After finishing our circuit of the facility, I turned to Logan. "From the perspective of spirit magic, is there anything else suspicious you can find?"
"Hmm..."
Logan focused his mind. After a long silence, he shook his head.
"No. Everything's been wiped clean. It's so thorough it's actually unnatural. Whoever did this was desperate to hide something."
I agreed with his assessment. Judging by the state of the corpses, the slaughter hadn't happened even a full day ago. I suspected the culprit had anticipated our arrival and moved to destroy the evidence.
"Dwight. Did you find anything?"
"One thing is clear." I pointed to a section of the floor.
A large hole had been gouged out of the ground. Normally, a magic formula would have been engraved there, but now the entire area was missing. Upon closer inspection, the edges of the hole showed unnatural distortions—the same twists I had seen throughout the workshop. There were so many they were impossible to count.
"These are traces of spatial interference," I explained. "The person who destroyed this place is a space magic user. A very powerful one, at that."
"Which means the culprit is..."
"The Demigod. He must have sanitized the site before we arrived."
I spoke with certainty. There was little doubt in my mind. Infiltrating a high-security workshop, slaughtering everyone inside, and erasing all traces of their work was no task for a normal human. Furthermore, the hidden passage hadn't been used. A Demigod capable of teleportation could have bypassed it entirely.
"The Demigod is likely a hero born from this ritual magic. It wouldn't make sense for anyone else to come here."
Perhaps he had some other objective as a third party, but it was impossible to tell. Despite the carnage in the workshop, everything remained frustratingly vague. The Demigod's true motives were still a mystery.
One thing was certain: we wouldn't find any more information here. The trip hadn't been entirely wasted, but it yielded far less than I had hoped. We had been a step too slow; the Demigod had outmaneuvered us.
Just then, a telepathic voice echoed in my mind.
『My Lord, can you hear me?』
It was Luciana. Her tone sounded uncharacteristically urgent. Bracing myself for bad news, I responded.
"I hear you. What is it?"
『The Valkyrie's army is on the move... and based on their heading, it looks like they're targeting the Valley of the Dead.』