Shikkaku Mon no Saikyou Kenja~ Sekai Saikyou no Kenja ga Sarani Tsuyoku Naru Tameni Tenseishimashita~-Chapter 323: Strongest Sage, Realizes Enemys Tricks

"Did something happen?"

Alma asked me as I immediately started checking Dragon Vein after suddenly falling. ƒr𝙚𝙚𝘸e𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝒆𝒍.𝒄𝒐m

Ruli is looking at me with a worried look.

"Some really huge mana poured out of Dragon Vein for a second, then Mathi-kun fell down…"

"Yeah… You noticed huh, Ruli."

I checked Dragon Vein once again after saying that.

No mistake about it.

The mana mixed in Dragon Vein closely resembles mana pattern of [Demon of Destruction] Zadokilgias.

I'm sure the past me had erased that demon without a trace… But then why is this mana pattern here.

Perhaps, Zadokilgias didn't really perish back then…?

I can't say the possibility is nil.

I fought Zadokilgias when I was still young and lacking magic knowledge.

That demon could have fooled me if it employed an ingenious ploy to fake its death.

Even the me now could easily fake my death against the me at that point of time.

"What was the mana that flowed out of Dragon Vein earlier anyway?"

"That's a demon's mana… Apparently the demon they were trying to awaken had been revived just now."

That much mana don't get mixed in Dragon Vein even when demons interfere with Dragon Vein or communicate through it.

There must have been some sort of special magic behind it.

It could have been resurrection magic by way of [Broken Star]… But from the sensation of mana mixed in Dragon Vein earlier, it probably has nothing to do with [Supra-Natural Art].

I look over Dragon Vein.

Its mana has gotten considerably more stable compared to before.

Right now is the best timing for analysis.

"Ruli, help me analyze this. Can you stabilize Dragon Vein's mana for a little while?"

"I understand! Err… Will [Dragon Vein Stabilizer] do?"

"Yeah. Counting on you."

Once I said that, Ruli fetched a magic stone and augmented it with [Dragon Vein Stabilizer].

It's a magic that does exactly what it says on the tin, stabilizes mana flowing in Dragon Vein.

Of course it can't hope to cover the whole thing due to the enormity of mana flowing in Dragon Vein, but it's better than nothing.

This is usually used in the preliminary step before the use of other magic tools.

"Here I go!"

Ruli activated the magic tool… the mana in the surrounding Dragon Veins started slightly stabilizing.

It's still rough compared to its normal state, but good enough for analysis.

"Alright, good going."

I gripped the [Dragon Vein Sword] as I said that.

Then… I made a new connection to Dragon Vein.

"…Good, this will do."

Even after connecting to Dragon Vein, no control-losing amount of mana flowed in.

At times, sometimes more mana than usual flowed into me when Dragon Vein got stormy, but the [Dragon Vein Stabilizer] helped settling down it to a controllable state.

I can precisely analyze the mana mixed in Dragon Vein now.

Uniting your body with Dragon Vein is a better way to do that compared to external monitoring.

"This is…"

I got a good grasp on the situation after reading the connected Dragon Vein mana.

The mana pattern resembles Zadokilgias indeed… But this is most likely not its original body.

--Mana pattern is influenced not only by the host body, but also the individuality of that body.

The story of amnesiac mages having completely different mana reaction than before their memory loss was quite well known.

And this Zadokilgias's mana mixed in Dragon Vein--is most likely the reverse of that.

Zadokilgias's individuality is inhabiting the body of a different demon.

Due to the difference of Crests between the past and present me, my mana reaction isn't the same… But since demons don't have Crests, mana reactions between demons can be quite similar depending on individuality.

Hence, a demon with Zadokilgias individuality possessing similar mana pattern as Zadokilgias itself is not exactly out of this world.

The problem is… How was a demon with the individuality of Zadokilgias came into being…

The answer to that is most likely the same as me.

Reincarnation.

Zadokilgias must have set up a magic that would preserve its soul before it was killed off.

The past me succeeded in defeating Zadokilgias yet failed at noticing the existence of this Soul Preserving magic… that must be it.