The Executed Sage Reincarnates as a Lich and Begins a War of Aggression
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Cale
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 158: The Sage Detects an Incident
I observed the detained spies.
I carefully investigated the details.
I didn’t forget to observe them from a magical perspective as well.
After spending some time observing them, I stroked my chin.
I can’t see any traces of magical interference…
I couldn’t sense anything strange from the spies.
If I had to insist, it would be that there were disturbances in their magic powers, but those were caused by the magic tools that had been used to restrain them.
It wasn’t from an abnormality from their bodies.
However, there was definitely something abnormal about them.
So much so that Luciana had called me over to check.
As a matter of fact, not even her charm was effective against them.
It was practically impossible to resist with just the level of mental power an ordinary person possessed.
There might be some people who appear to remain unaffected by that due to compatibility problems, but even if they were amongst these spies, they would be one or two people at most.
It was impossible for around twenty people who’d been gathered together to have the same compatibility problems.
There must be some sort of cause lurking behind this.
Have they been affected by some sort of spell that not even I can detect?
It was unlikely, but it wasn’t something that I could outright deny as one of the possibilities.
Magic continued to constantly evolve.
There would be cases where the effectiveness of a spell would experience a sudden jump in output simply from the spark of inspiration.
It wasn’t uncommon for a magic system which had been treated unfavorably until a certain point to be able to overturn its reputation just because of that.
Therefore, it was possible to create some sort of spell that could be developed enough that it could stay undetected even by my eyes.
Each nation was currently devoted to creating countermeasures against the Demon Lord.
There had been no noticeable event after the demigod, and the days after had mostly been spent peacefully on the surface.
This time though, dark clouds began to drift into such a situation.
I asked Luciana.
“Do you know who these people are affiliated to?”
“That’s the weird part. I have a rough guess, but since the people in question are in that state, I can’t get clear evidence on that.”
Luciana sighed.
It couldn’t be helped.
Various nations had sent their spies to the Demon Lord’s Territory.
Recently, it seemed that there were spies that even came from outside the continent.
There were too many enemy candidates to narrow it down.
As we conversed, the spies in question just became more agitated.
They sweated a lot and drooled out of their mouths.
Everyone looked scared.
…It sure is a strange sight.
If they were spies that had been sent into the heart of the Demon Lord’s Territory, they should have already been prepared for this possibility.
Since they ought to have received specialized training, it seemed out of place for them to display this state of fear.
Even if they were scared of me, this kind of reaction was exaggerated.
They were even aware that their covers had already been blown and were currently being detained.
Unless they had various resolutions beforehand, they couldn’t be spies.
After taking all those circumstances into consideration, it still felt weird after all.
They seemed as if they were scared of something else.
“…Fumu.”
I stood in front of one of the spies and took off his blindfold.
I also pulled out the gag that had been put in his mouth to prevent suicide.
The spy, who was a man, had a face wet with sweat and tears.
He was staring at the void, and his half-opened mouth leaked out a faint moan.
I grabbed the man’s chin.
Then I forcefully lifted it up to match my line of sight.
“Look at me.”
“Aah, aaaaaaahhh…”
The man moaned and shook his head in resistance.
He shook his restrained limbs and began rampaging.
“Be quiet. Don’t do anything.”
“No—Nononononononononono.”
The man repeated the same words with all his might.
Blood was flowing out of his nose.
Was it due to over excitement, or was it the effect of some sort of spell?
I tried to analyze it again, but I still couldn’t find any abnormalities.
“I’ve done it it shouldn’t have ended like this if I knew this was what awaited me I should have just refused back then no way damn it I don’t want to die.” 1
“Take a breath properly. Listen to me.”
“Uuh, Uuuuuuuuuhhhhh…!”
The man kept moaning.
His meaningful mutters were also incoherent.
All that could be barely transmitted was intense regret and fear.
A proper conversation couldn’t be established.
“Calm down.”
I grabbed the man’s hair and forced him to raise his face.
The man spit a great deal of blood from his mouth.
Apparently, he had bitten his tongue off.
I immediately healed it with magic.
The man continued to cough and spit blood.
It seemed his suicide had been prevented for the time being.
I paid attention to the man’s eyes.
His stunned expression was still not focused on me.
His blue irises were shivering and his black pupils were contracting.
“Hm?”
I felt something out of place there.
I perceived something trying to wriggle behind the man’s eyes.
It wasn’t a reaction that was being produced out of agitation.
I could see something clearly moving there.
I was fascinated by it and stared hard.
Then I noticed a fact.
The one who was peeking at it wasn’t me.
Rather, it felt like something on the other side was peeking at me—
“…gh.”
The next moment, I moved my hand in reflex.
I bathed the man with miasma and rotted him down, instantly transforming him into a ghoul.
He didn’t moan anymore; just kept hanging down there.
Both of his eyes dissolved into black mucus and flowed down from their sockets.
“Demon Lord-sama? Are you okay…?”
Luciana called out to me from behind.
When I turned around, I could see her worried expression.
What was that earlier…
I looked at the spy that had now turned into a ghoul.
It wasn’t a spell that had been cast by this man.
He wasn’t merely acting; he was truly scared of what awaited him.
That kind of mental state wasn’t something that could be deliberately reproduced through magic.
In the first place, the magic power of the man had remained disturbed until the end.
If a third party had attempted to attack using the spy’s body, they would have likely failed.
However, I had clearly felt somebody’s interference.
It was an ability completely different from existing magic.
That was an unfamiliar feeling.
Perhaps some sort of anxiety had been forced upon my spirit.
If humans were to be at the receiving end of such spells, then it was understandable why these spies had been left practically insane.
If I wasn’t an immortal, my heart would have beaten to the point it might have burst at any moment by now.
I strictly quarantined the remaining spies with forbidden spells.
I told people to not look directly into their eyes.
Soon, the spies were surrounded by colorful barriers.
The barriers were multi-layered and were sturdy enough to be able to withstand being attacked with great magic specialized for offensive power.
After finishing the spell, I commanded Luciana.
“I will put these people under my jurisdiction. Please continue to process the other spies.”
“What will Demon Lord-sama do?”
“I will proceed in solving the problem. This is an urgent task.”
After saying that much, I transferred away with the spies.
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