“Indeed, the mana just disappears the moment I gather it. It feels like something is absorbing it.”

Mea watched as the mana she gathered in her hand dissipated like dandelion seeds blown into the air, vanishing into the atmosphere.

It was just as Theresea had said.

Something in this place was scattering their mana, preventing them from using it effectively.

“It seems like a special rule of the Abyss is being enforced here, combined with some sort of magic barrier that’s amplifying the effect.”

Mea calmly analyzed the situation while observing the process.

“Are you saying this is artificial?” I asked.

“Most likely.”

Artificial, huh... Well, just looking around this space, it was obvious we weren’t in a natural cave. The flat walls surrounding us looked like they had been shaped by something or someone.

Maybe Mea had deduced the presence of the barrier magic from the structure of the room itself.

With the shadow of the Hand of Shadows lingering, the suspicions piling up were becoming increasingly blatant.

“Theresea, who is that?” I asked, finally able to pose the question that had been on hold until we had confirmed the mana absorption effect.

We were in a small room, roughly six square meters in size. In one corner, a person huddled, her body curled up tightly. The most striking feature was her bright pink hair, which stood out even in the dim light, drawing our attention. She was muttering something to herself repeatedly, as if she had completely lost her mind.

“She’s a senior from our academy. She’s also the one in charge of this expedition,” Theresea explained.

“A Senior?” I asked.

“Yes, but don’t be surprised. A wizard is useless without mana.”

That seemed strange, though.

A senior-level wizard, someone like Mea, would normally have basic defensive spells cast around themselves at all times.

Even if the mana discharged externally was absorbed, was the mana stored within their bodies also being sucked away?

“This place is like a stomach,” Theresea said, furrowing her brow as she recalled what happened when they had first realized their mana was being drained.

“It started from the outside. You two probably didn’t notice it because you aren’t using magic constantly like we were,” she added.

“So it absorbed the mana you were using to cast spells?”

“Exactly. Neither I nor the seniors could cast any magic—we were completely helpless. We should have hired a frontline fighter…”

‘Hired a frontline fighter?’ I thought. There was more to this story.

It had to be monsters.

It would be strange if a ruin like this didn’t have any monsters lurking about.

Without mana, wizards are defenseless, unable to even enhance their physical abilities.

If they had been combat mages like Rey or Arthur, it might have been a different story. But unfortunately, the Blostma Academy that Theresea belonged to had no ties to martial arts whatsoever.

Already thrown into confusion by the sudden mana drain, their team must have collapsed when monsters attacked.

‘So how did Theresea manage to escape?’ I wondered.

Everyone has an ace up their sleeve, but was it something she could use without mana?

‘Maybe it was an item,’ I speculated.

While Mea was examining the condition of the pink-haired woman, she spoke in a serious tone.

“Our priority should be getting out of here. We could try climbing back out through the hole we came down from… but the height might be a problem.”

Mea and I had used body reinforcement magic when we descended, so the height wasn’t an issue at the time. But without it, and given that we needed to climb up rather than down, the situation was significantly more difficult.

Mea and Theresea began discussing possible ways to climb up. They were already ruling out fighting and focusing on escaping as their top priority.

It made sense—they both likely realized that there was no chance of victory in a fight in their current state.

“I don’t think it’s possible. It’s too high,” Mea finally concluded, shaking her head.

“We’ll have to move. Theresea, you mentioned there were stairs when you first came down?”

“Yes, but there are monsters near them,” Theresea said.

The two had found some common ground, casually exchanging ideas. Despite both being taciturn and not usually interested in their surroundings, their similar temperaments seemed to complement each other well.

“Did you get a good look at the monsters?” Mea asked.

“I didn’t… I couldn’t see them,” Theresea responded, her voice filled with frustration as she recounted what had happened.

The moment they realized their mana was being absorbed, the monsters attacked. Before anyone could get a clear look, half of their eight-member team had perished in the initial strike.

From there, the team collapsed.

The only reason they had managed to hold on was because the pink-haired wizard, Priscilla, had pushed back the unknown monsters by squeezing out the last remnants of her mana. Theresea had then managed to escape, carrying Priscilla with her.

But that was all she could do.

Priscilla, overwhelmed by the trauma, had mentally shattered and had been in her current state ever since.

“The monster might still be there,” Mea noted.

“It most likely is,” Theresea agreed.

In short, there was only one exit that they knew of, but it was likely being guarded by a monster.

This meant a confrontation was inevitable.

Could they fight their way through without any mana?

‘No chance.’

Without mana, wizards were no better than soldiers without guns.

If they were going to fight, they needed mana.

“I’ll hold off the monster,” Mea said, stepping forward.

“I tested it earlier—the mana absorption isn’t immediate. There’s a delay. I’ll lose a lot of mana during the process, but I should be able to cast some basic spells.”

“But… you’re a demon summoner, Senior. Your mana will…” Theresea trailed off, clearly concerned about Mea’s well-being.

“As the team leader, it’s my responsibility,” Mea replied firmly. “You and Roman take Priscilla and escape. Get out of the range of the mana absorption, and then come back to support me.”

If we could get outside the range of the mana drain, Theresea might be able to recover enough mana to help. More importantly, I could tap into my contract demons for unlimited mana.

Mea knew this and was banking on it. She had seen me in action, using my bullets charged with mana from my demons.

But… was this really necessary?

“Mea, about the mana absorption,” I said.

“What about it?” she asked.

“If it's artificially created, doesn’t that mean it has limits?”

“It might,” Mea replied cautiously. “But even with limits, the effect is still strong. It would take a high-level wizard to counteract it.”

“So, it does have limits,” I confirmed.

Mea nodded slowly.

That was all I needed.

I began gathering mana.

“Then let’s test those limits.”

If this thing is so good at absorbing mana, let’s see just how much it can handle.

‘Let’s start with Seir,’ I thought.

[Understood.]

Though the mana was being absorbed, the spiritual connection through my contracts remained untouched.

With a simple will, I opened the gate, and Seir’s mana began to flow into the physical realm.

Immediately, the mana I gathered was being siphoned away, vanishing somewhere into the space around us.

“This isn’t enough,” I muttered.

[How dare it, attempting to steal my mana…?]

The flow of Seir’s mana intensified, becoming denser.

The quantity didn’t change, but the quality did—thicker, more potent mana filled the space.

This was the power of a Duke of Hell, an infernal ruler.

High-level demonic mana, so dense that it distorted the very atmosphere, began to eat away at the space around us, claiming it for its own.

But as quickly as it encroached, the mana was absorbed, as if the space itself was trying to devour Seir’s energy.

It was a tug-of-war.

A contest of dominance between the power of this space and Seir’s infernal might.

As the contract between Seir and me deepened, the flow of mana became steadier, the current ever more robust. The pipeline was far larger than when we had first made our pact.

But it still wasn’t enough.

I needed more mana.

‘Leraje.’

[Got it. Take all you need.]

The second sigil on my right hand flared to life.

The two pipelines of mana surged, filling me to the brim with power.

Again and again, the flow surged and receded, each time bringing a jolt of strength and then an unsettling emptiness.

Was this what manic depression felt like?

The swings between euphoria and despair were sharp, but the thrill of wielding such immense power was all-consuming.

Every nerve in my body tingled.

Even though I had trained my body to handle this mana by constantly saturating my bones with it as Rey had taught me, the strain was intense. It reminded me of the first time I had ever cast magic.

The sense of tension in my body returned.

There was no longer any sensation of fullness or emptiness—only the battle at hand mattered.

The contest between my power and the space.

Was it stubbornness? Was it pride?

I fought on.

And finally, the balance shifted.

As if the oppressive force in the space had given up, the mana I had been releasing surged forward like a torrent, overwhelming the area.

The once-consuming force of the space was now utterly dominated, smothered by my black mana, which rushed through it like a wild flood.

The humming sound of victory echoed through the air, as if the space itself was acknowledging its defeat.

I closed the contracts.

And yet, I felt a sense of disappointment.

I had been so deeply immersed in the tug-of-war that when the enemy suddenly let go, it felt… anticlimactic.

I had won, but it felt incomplete.

They could have held out just a little longer.

“I broke it,” I muttered.

My toy was broken.

How long had it been?

Mea recalled a conversation she had once had with a former head of the Hecate Academy. Or was it the one before him? She couldn’t remember anymore.

She no longer remembered the man’s face or the details of the discussion, but that one conversation had stuck with her.

“There are wizards out there who use the power of demons without paying any price,” he had said.

“That’s nonsense.”

Mea had dismissed it out of hand.

Why were demons called demons?

It was because they were inherently evil creatures that thrived on the misery and suffering of others. They never gave without taking something in return.

How could anyone use their power without paying the price?

If he had told her that there were demon summoners who simply passed the price onto others—destroying everything in their path—she would have believed him.

But despite her doubts, the man had insisted, without hesitation.

“No, they exist. There are those blessed by demons, those who stand above them, not as mere summoners, but as their true masters. I hope you meet one someday. Someone who can take away your pain, a demon summoner like that.”

Had he seen it too?

Had he witnessed what she was seeing now?

A being that continuously released an incomprehensible amount of dense demonic mana—one of the most potent energies Mea had ever encountered—and did so without fear, without hesitation.

Mea’s body trembled.

“You…”

It existed.

Right in front of her.

In the real world.

Someone who could wield the power of demons without losing anything dear to them in return.

A master who commanded the very demons that stole from their summoners and reveled in their destruction, taking their powers and bending them to his will.

At the pinnacle of all demon summoners, someone who took on the burdens and sins that others had to carry.

He was… the savior of demon summoners.