Happy New Year!

May your 2024 be full of blessings and prosperity!

***

The red jewel, having swallowed the ghost, shone brilliantly.

“What does the Ghost look like?”

Melissa asked.

“It is dressed with the robe from the priest of Azhibita Church…”

I don’t know how the treasure of the Abyss is related to the ghost. But if it’s Melissa, she would know. Maybe that was the original purpose.

“To seal the great demon, Daimonion, the priests of the Azhibita Church sacrificed themselves. But maintaining the barrier for 500 years is impossible. Probably, um.”

As if realizing something, Melissa raised the corner of her mouth while holding the red jewel. I could tell from her excited smile that she seemed quite pleased.

“Look, Cantavia. The jewel that used to be nothing but a shell, now it’s shining brightly, absorbing energy. Could it be that the essence of the power originally in the jewel is mixed with spiritual energy? Azhibita Church… the legend… 500 years ago, the sacrifice of the priests. What made that possible…?”

Melissa’s expression suddenly brightened, and her nine tails all stood up at once.

She grabbed the jewel and rushed out without saying a word.

Her rushing figure, akin to Archimedes shouting “Eureka,” undoubtedly meant she had discovered something.

“Goodbye, sister.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

Anyway.

The ghost finally disappeared.

* * *

A while later, Melissa visited my room again.

Although I wasn’t thrilled about her return after being satisfied with the disappearance of the ghost, I was curious.

The ghost from the Abyss, the red jewel that was left as a treasure, and the reason why the barrier that sealed the great demon for 500 years was still intact.

Even if it had nothing to do with me, humans are creatures full of curiosity.

“I found something…”

As soon as she entered, my sister threw the red jewel at me.

I was caught off guard.

Suddenly, Melissa’s tails moved.

“Wait!”

Then things escalated quickly.

I knew back when we were in the Abyss.

Melissa’s tails moved before she used magic.

I had suspected, but suddenly, she shot a fire arrow towards me.

I stared blankly at the approaching fire.

Thanks to my damn good eyes, I could confirm the moment when the fire magic hit me without missing a beat.

I keenly felt the power of Melissa’s magic in Abyss.

Although it was weaker than back then if I got hit… I would become a roast.

“Ah!”

Unable to avoid it, I just screamed.

Kwaang!

The power of the magic was tremendous. In an instant, it exploded my bed, messed up the room, shattered all the glass windows, and burned all the clothes.

“Uh…”

But I was still alive.

In the center of the explosion, I looked around with astonished eyes.

“Oh, as expected.”

Melissa, who had cast the magic out of the blue, was smiling with satisfaction.

I was speechless.

She was impolite and thoughtless.

At least do things in moderation.

What the hell is this?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t spew out a sarcastic insult.

Anyway, since her intention was not to kill me, I calmly asked while suppressing my anger.

“What kind of experiment is this, Melissa?”

“Just caught the mouse who gave me anti-magic power. I doubted it, but the legend was true. Interestingly, there are such adventurous tools in this world.. But why only you…”

My sister was immersed in her own world.

I shouted impatiently.

“Sister! Please explain!”

Of course, my voice was loud, but there was no response.

Melissa was still excited.

I had noticed that her nine tails stiffened independently out of her will, like a dog or cat’s tail.

Such a stiff tail was clear evidence of her excitement.

Melissa waved her hand and casually extinguished the fire spreading in my room.

Seeing that no guards came despite the commotion, it was clear that she had used another magic to avoid getting caught.

As she came closer to me, she examined every corner of my body as if she were examining me.

It was unpleasant, but I had to endure it. There was no need to provoke the excited Melissa.

“It’s a perfect anti-magic stone.”

“Anti-magic?”

***

Finally, Melissa’s big nose is working properly.

“The red gem is a relic of the Azhibita Church.”

“Relic? Wait, can you explain in an easy-to-understand way?”

Melissa said.

“Azhibita Church has twelve relics. Twelve relics correspond to their doctrines.”

The explanation was long and complicated.

“Spirit · Earth · Water · Fire · Wind · Void · Gain · Loss · Suffering · Joy · Life · Death. Azhibita Church believed that these twelve concepts make up everything. As always with doctrines, I thought of them as just legends. But maybe… the existence of relics gave birth to these concepts. The twelve doctrines could have come later.”

Melissa deduced that 500 years ago, the priests of the Azhibitaa Church were able to seal the great demon because of the power of the relics.

I somewhat understood Melissa’s explanation.

Having encountered demons myself, I knew.

The identity of the ghost matched the Azhibita Church’s priest. Priests who borrowed the power of the relics.

That’s why, even after death, they remained as ghosts in the underground of the Abyss for 500 years.

“I think you swallowed the spirit of the Priest.”

“Uh…? Uh.”

“Maybe because of that. The relic of the Azhibita Church reacts only to you. I experimented on ‘subjects’ before, but none of them triggered an antimagic response like you. Interesting, isn’t it? It means the relic can choose who it grants power to.”

Melissa seemed pleased.

She was delighted to have uncovered a bit more of the world’s secrets.

“Yeah… congratulations.”

But I was dumbfounded. One of the twelve relics of the Azhibita Church is this red gem.

Moreover, it reacts only to me and grants me power?

What kind of power is related to anti-magic?

To me, the Azhibita Church was nothing more than the state religion of the Empire, no more, no less.

At best, I knew they had twelve doctrines.

But Melissa knew much more than I did.

Scratching my head, I asked Melissa.

“What is the power of anti-magic?”

She seemed to be in a good mood.

“It’s the power of Void.”

The priests of the Azhibika Church are known for manipulating the power of barriers. They sometimes referred to that power as Void.

Void means emptiness, nothingness.

Priests trapped demons using the power of Void.

They also played a role in subduing crazy wizards.

Melissa explained in detail about anti-magic.

In simple terms, it was the power to dispel magic.

The power to dispel magic.

As I stared at the red gem, my heart trembled.

“Huh?”

Melissa immediately caught my gaze.

She spoke with a stern expression. Her intuition was fox-like, incredibly quick.

“Cantavia… think before you speak.”

“What did I do…?”

“Do you think you can block my magic? Want to test it out?”

As her nine tails twitched, I bowed my head.

“No, no fighting. No, not that.”

***

Melissa immediately began the experiment with me.

Why does the relic of Azhibita respond only to me?

The answer was not clear.

Perhaps it was because I happened to have the ‘eye’ that could see spirits.

Or maybe because I swallowed the spirit of the previous owner.

Melissa was passionate.

Every hour, she used magic on me.

She used increasingly powerful magic, and despite the intense commotion, no one came looking for us.

I almost died on the fifth attempt.

The anti-magic did not activate.

In the end, the experiment lasted longer.

Three days and nights passed.

The results were roughly obtained.

The relic of Azhibita, the red gem, possessed ant-magic.

But there was a limit to its activation.

The criteria were not revealed, but maybe four or five times a day.

Melissa was an enthusiastic researcher.

She tirelessly tormented me.

No wonder she almost destroyed the world in my previous life.

Tired, I collapsed, but there was no bed to lie on because it was burning.

Finally, Melissa said I had become the new owner of the relic of Azibika.

“Congratulations. You’ve become the owner of the relic of Azhibita.”

“Huh?”

I naturally thought Melissa was taking the relic of Azhibita.

I quickly raised my head to look at her, but Melissa just gave me a vague smile.

Was she happy?

No, it was closer to a sly smile.

“Is it okay if I give it to you?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Using you seems reasonable.”

It wasn’t a favor.

Rather, I thought it was closer to malice.

“It was fun. There are twelve relics according to the records, so maybe the other eleven are somewhere. Oh, it’s delightful. The more I know about this world, the more I like it.”

I raised the red gem.

This shining red gem is the relic of the most influential religion in this world.

If I lose it or if priests find out about it, it’ll be a big problem.

“What if I lose it?”

I asked subtly.

If it was Melissa, I thought she would have a way.

“Eat it.”

Let’s pretend not to hear the answer.

“Eat it.”

But Melissa was serious.

I stood up and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Eat it?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I really eat it?”

“Probably.”

Probably.

A vague answer.

I hesitated.

No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like my throat would tear if I ate it.

“The red gem is just a vessel containing the power of the relic. Since the power has also transferred to ghosts and spiritual energy, it’s not impossible for the power of the relic to be imbued in a living body. If the vessel and power are combined, the power might transfer completely by swallowing it. However, I can’t give you a definite answer.”

Melissa was kind. At least she didn’t deceive me.

“So, you have to research it yourself.”

Lately, my decisiveness has increased.

Whether I hesitate or delay, I have to swallow the gem anyway.

Suppressing the discomfort, I swallowed the red gem.

“Ugh.”

It didn’t feel pleasant.

Bang!

As soon as I ate the gem, Melissa cast a spell, and the anit-magic protected me.

“You seem like a good experimental subject.”

“Why do you keep calling me an experimental subject? Consider the listener’s perspective.”

“Whatever I say, you’re still an experimental subject, right?”

Maybe it was a misunderstanding.

That Melissa was on the kinder side compared to my other siblings.

In fact, Melissa might be the most malicious one towards me.