Alicia: MMs. Mila... ththis is?

Mila: II dont know. The [Demon King] is a man, and a fully grown adult as well

Mila sounds equally confused as Alicia breaks out the question.

Before them is a girl.

And the <Magic Power> is overflowing out of her.?!

Alicia: ThThen....shes not the [Demon King] then.?

Mila: ThThat should be.the case.but.

Mila wavers between her words.

She has lived for 250 years.

She is a living witness who saw and survived the Great War between the [Demon King] and humanity.

Mila: <She is definitely not the [Demon King]>. But...she is similar to him

Alicia: Ms. Mila...but...Magic Power is pouring out of her....

Mila: Yes, I can see that.

In the midst of Magic Power so dense that breathing would be difficult, Igni quietly watches the girl who sleeps inside the Crystal.

Igni: (.........this girl..how old is she..?)

Although this kind of approach to this situation may seem very academic, he is not thinking on such a high or noble level.

Igni: (........shes so cute.)

Because fundamentally, this is the root of all his thoughts.

Igni: (......wait, this feels familiar..didnt something like this happen before.?)

Igni tilts his head.

<<<<>>>>

[Grandpa! That girls cute!]

[Okay, okay, Igni. You dont have to tell me every single time.]

[But Grandpa! I cant help it if I see a cute girl!]

[The girls you call cute are all the same age as you, so even if you tell me....

This was when Igni and his Grandpa went to town to go shopping.

[Grandpa, Im worried.]

[Oye, what about?]

[I...I may be a Lolicon]

Igni said this with a grim look on his face.

<SMACK!!!>

[UGGHHHHHH! A FIST?! YOU COULD HAVE WARNED ME!]

[STOP BEING SO NAIVE!!!]

[...............?!?!?]

[Even though youre so young, you think you can be a Lolicon?! Dont be such a fool!!

[...........! WhWhat do you mean?! Is that anything to punch someone about?!

[Of course it is! Igni! What did you just say just now?]

[II said I may be a Lolicon..!]

<SMACK!!!>

[OWWWHHHHH.!!]

The second punch sent Igni to his knees.

[You are still in the early teens! How could you be a Lolicon!! Falling in love with someone the same age as you is <NORMAL>! And you thought you would look cool by saying so..!]

[ThThats!]

[Stop being so conceited!! The path of a Lolicon...is a dangerous one..! If you say it out loud, you will be exterminated by the pressures of society..! You must conceal it! You must go undercover.and you must live.!! That is the only way!!]

[...........!!]

[Do you think you can withstand it, Igni!! An excruciating, long suffering that...so much so that it would make that year of you not being able to use Spells <would be better in comparison>.......!]

[I.I..!!]

[You have..no comrades..! The fear that you may be alone in this world! The loneliness.! But because of that..it is the highest of aspirations!!]

[Ththe highest aspiration.?!]

[Igni...do you believe that you can climb up...that you can reach these heights..?]

[.........GGrandpa! I..Ill do my best!! Ill show you that I can climb to the highest point!!]

[Hmph. Im certain that as you grow older, youll come to understand.]

[.........rreally?]

[Youll one day be stirred.by the desire to protect]

<<<<>>>>

.sso this is what he meant..!

Its true. What I was thinking of was cute was not at all a Lolicons feelings.

Because they were my same age!

Thinking they are cute.is what anyone else would feel!

But its not enough! Its not enough at all.!!

Do I want to protect this girl.?!

Are my inner, deepest desires to protect someone being stirred by her.?!

Its only those who understand.who can reach the heights..!!

But you cannot let anyone know of your thoughts

As soon as your thoughts are known, all that awaits is.death!

You would be excommunicated by society completely..!

Alicia: IIgni..? Whats wrong..??

Igni: Oh..I was just thinking about what I should do next

Alicia: RReally? Because you had a really scary expression on your face..

Even Alicia was unable to read Ignis thoughts just now and gave a concerned look his way.

Igni: Well..well have to do something about this Crystal.

Alicia: Thats true. We cant even place her in the [coffin] like this

And with that, Alicia brings out the Magical Artifact, a small black box, and pours Magic Power into it.

With a <POOF!>, the black box suddenly increases in size from a box that was on her palm to a [coffin] big enough to fit a full grown man.

This is the consummate product of the Empires tireless research and technology - a Magic Artifact that would be able to seal the [Demon King]s Magic Power.

But the Crystal is too large and would never fit inside the coffin.

Alicia: If we can fit the <body> inside the coffin, we can seal off the Magic Power.

Igni: Its amazing technology.

Alicia: The Empires Research Division is indeed a cut above the rest.

Alicia puffs out her chest with pride.

Igni: (I got to see something amazing.wait, theres no time for that.)

Igni: Ms. Mila, are you able to tell what Spell this is?

Mila: Hmmmm

Mila walks right up to the Crystal and examines it inches away from her nose and stares intently into it.

Mila: Hmmmm, at a glance, it feels something closer to a [Earth] Type Seal Spell. But..theres a few Spells inside that Ive never seen before. I wonder what this is.

Igni: A Seal Spell.so this girl is being sealed here?

Mila: Hmmmmm.Im not sure

Mila circles around the Crystal several times as she dissects and analyzes the Spell.

Mila: If I were to guess, this is closer to a Protection Spell.

Mila tilts her head to think.

Igni: Protection?

Mila: Yeah. A strong Seal is not just strong on the inside, but its also strong on the outside to be able to withstand attacks. If they dont do that, then anyone can destroy it from the outside with a spell and that wouldnt be good

Igni: I see.

Mila: Well talk about this at the end of the 1st Year curriculum, so this is a good review for you.

Oh...theres going to be a class about this..

Igni and Alicia synchronize and think the exact same thought.

Mila: But as far as I can see..the inside is.not that much, but its incredibly well built to handle almost any Spell from the outside. Breaking this Seal would be a pain

Igni: How can we break it?

Mila: Hmmm..we can decipher the Seal Spell and undo it or...brute force it maybe?

Igni: Brute force?

Mila: Yup. Even Seal Spells arent perfect defensive mechanisms so if you dish out more Spells than it can handle, it will break

An idea sparked inside of Ignis mind with Milas words.

Igni: Great. Then Ill do it.

Mila: Youre going to brute force it?

Igni: Yes!

Mila: .....aare you going to be okay?

Igni: Ms. Mila, theres no one who can use the {Fireball} like I can!

Mila: Well, it cant hurt to try. Go for it, Igni!

Igni cant use a {Fireball} with too much fire power.

Thats because he might kill the girl inside if he did.

Although its hard to tell if this girl is alive or dead...if she was dead, they wouldnt have sealed her with this much caution. Then, its more probable that shes alive.

If he uses a {Fireball} with high fire power, he might accidentally crush the Crystal and the girl inside at the same time and kill her.

Thats why.

Igni: [Equip Flame] {Ignite} : [Molecular Minima]

He uses a tiny {Fireball} and

Igni: [Colony Creation] {Generate}!

He begins creating countless molecular-sized {Fireballs}.

He slowly carves away at the perimeter of the Crystal, and in this way, he will overpower and destroy the Seal Spell with brute force!

Each tiny {Fireball} cannot destroy the Crystal on its own, but if he uses enough to surround the entire thing, then he has enough power to overwhelm the Seal Spell structure!

Igni began chiseling away at the Seal Spell and a few dozen seconds later...a giant crack appeared on the Crystal.

Mila: Igni!

Igni: Yes!

As soon as Igni erases all the {Fireballs}...

<CRAAAAASHHHH!!!>

With the sound of glass breaking, the girl inside the Crystal was released and fell towards the grounds.

Igni: ..........!!

Igni slides in and.catches her.

Her long, purple hair tickles Ignis arms.

Alicia: How is she, Igni?! Is she alive?!?!

With Alicias words, Igni immediately checks if the girl is breathing.

Igni: ......shes alive

The girls chest rises and falls and she breathes.

Igni: (..........whwho is this girl..?)

Igni falls silent as he holds the girl in his arms.

And without a doubt, all of the Magic Power.was overflowing out of this girl.