718. The Instincts of a Corporate Slave

Click—clack, clack—

From deep in the passage overhead came the sound of mechanisms turning. Tanaka guessed that someone was clearly about to come down into this underground space of the anti-magic Magic Array.

"Has the Demon King... already won?"

Although he had already heard the outcome from Kiro, the struggle had ended much faster than he had expected.

"Hey." He nudged Kiro beside him with his elbow. "When we see the Demon King in a bit, what should we say?"

"Cough, cough!" Kiro frowned as if he were enduring something, but he still explained, "The Demon King is smart. There's no need to say anything in particular. Once he sees us, he'll understand."

As he spoke, the Fox-folk braced himself against the Stone Pillar and tried to stand. Tanaka stepped forward to support him, but before his fingertips could touch that patchy, hairless arm, Kiro suddenly crashed heavily to the ground.

Tanaka immediately moved forward and lifted his head. "What's wrong with you—?"

Kiro's pupils were trembling. He seemed not to have expected that he would collapse at a time like this either, and could only grip Tanaka's sleeve tightly.

"Tell the Demon King—" His voice was already hoarse, sounding somewhat slurred. "Do not—try to investigate—the sea—"

"What? Don't investigate the sea? Kiro? Kiro?!"

But Kiro could no longer respond, and the arm gripping his sleeve drooped down as well.

He was not dead. In Tanaka's eyes, this bald fox's Panel was still there, but his use of his ability had indeed severely overdrawn his body.

[Unconscious]

[Life Force Failure · Moderate]

"Kiro? Kiro!" Tanaka tried calling a few more times, his voice growing louder and louder, crashing back and forth through the empty underground space.

There was no response.

Tanaka quieted down. The concern on his face also faded,