Dier, Pielott, and Elodie split into two teams and began their search.
Of course, Dier and Pielott were a team. It was still dangerous for them to face devils alone, and Dier, in particular, had many uncertainties.
Elodie headed towards Aster's older sister, Ellen Evans, while Dier and Pielott went to find Edwin von Behetorio.
Both decisions were made based on their growth potential rather than their current level of skill.
Ellen had few rivals when it came to swordsmanship, but she lacked Mana.
This was a problem that couldn't be easily solved unless she resorted to desperate measures like Frondier, risking her life.
In fact, the only way for Frondier to increase his Mana capacity until then was to repeatedly deplete and replenish it, little by little.
In Edwin's case, he had grown significantly after the golem incident, but he had lost his divine power in the process. More importantly, he wasn't a combatant. It was unreasonable to expect a magitech genius to also excel in battle.
If Dier's thinking was correct, considering the devils were acting based on previous information, these two were likely to struggle.
Therefore, it wouldn't be strange for the devils to target them. Even if not as much as Aten, they were still worthwhile targets.
Up to that point, Dier's thinking was accurate.
And when Dier and Pielott found Edwin...
"Oh, hey guys. You came to help."
Edwin had already taken down several devils. [T/N: Lol, not even devils, even these guys have outdated info]
He revealed strange Mana lines from his neck to his toes, which upon closer inspection by Dier, turned out to be runes.
"...Senior, did you put runes on your uniform?"
When Dier asked, Edwin smiled awkwardly.
"Ah, yeah. While helping make Frondier's necklace, I got to know Mr. Daud. You know him, right? Daud Forte. I heard about how to engrave runes from him, and I got an idea."
"How many did you engrave? It doesn't seem like you just put one in."
"Hmm, I engraved one on each shoulder, below the elbows, chest, abdomen, back, thighs, knees, and ankles."
Dier and Pielott's jaws dropped.
Pielott asked in surprise,
"B-But wouldn't that cause Mana interference?"
The biggest advantage of runes was that anyone could benefit from their effects, as long as they had enough Mana.
But if that was the only advantage, everyone would have plastered their equipment with runes.
Of course, the price would skyrocket, but in this world, no one would hesitate to spend money to become stronger.
However, it wasn't as easy as it sounded.
Runes engraved on equipment needed to have an effect on the wearer. In other words, regardless of the location of the runes, the magic was bestowed upon the wearer.
Even if the runes didn't overlap, their effects would interfere with each other. This could lead to unexpected situations.
It could cause problems with the equipment engraved with runes, or even endanger the wearer in severe cases.
"Yeah. So, during the engraving process, I made some adjustments."
"Yes. I like security magic. The basics of security are to activate when an external intrusion is detected. To notice someone trying to intrude from the outside and prevent them from entering any further. It's also good to identify and eliminate the intruder if possible."
"...So you're saying you applied that to detect and prevent Mana interference?"
"Exactly! Wow, you're smart. Are you interested in magitech?"
And Dier was speechless as he looked at Edwin.
There were various types of geniuses in the world. This was the moment he truly realized it.
Then, something suddenly came to mind, and Dier asked,
"Then can you engrave that on other uniforms? Can I do it too?"
"Hmm, this doesn't really have much effect on strong people in the first place."
It didn't have much effect on strong people.
Conversely, it had enough effect for someone like Edwin to deal with devils.
Then it would naturally apply to Dier as well.
"I-I want to engrave runes too!"
Dier said with sparkling eyes. Edwin scratched his head as if in trouble.
"This one is modified to work overall, assuming the Mana circuit doesn't overheat, so mass production is impossible. It's also customized for me. It's like there's no blueprint."
Dier became a little discouraged at those words. He didn't understand everything Edwin was saying, but he got the gist that it wasn't possible.
Seeing that, Edwin smiled wryly and said,
"Then how about we try it as a custom-made piece? It will take a long time and there's a risk of it breaking. But I'll prioritize your safety first."
Dier bowed his head. His heart swelled with the expectation of being able to cover his lacking abilities.
Pielott, who was watching, said,
"By the way, it's a relief that you're safe too, senior. Now, if only senior Ellen is safe, can we consider the devils' operation a failure?"
Dier made a sound. He had momentarily forgotten what he had to do, surprised by Edwin's abilities.
Edwin asked, tilting his head. Dier gave him a brief explanation of the situation.
"...Among the people related to Frondier, those with low growth rates..."
"Yes. So we decided to look for Senior Edwin, who focuses on engineering rather than combat, and Senior Ellen, who lacks Mana. Senior Elodie has already gone that way, so as long as we're not too late, there's no need to worry..."
Edwin nodded in agreement, then suddenly frowned.
"From what you're saying, it seems like the enemies are now just trying to catch anyone, since their prediction about Aten was wrong."
"...Ah, right. Just trying to catch anyone..."
Dier realized that Edwin had a cooler personality than he thought.
Strange. He had heard that Edwin von Behetorio was timid and introverted.
But his words gave him something new to think about. Dier always moved based on calculations and judgments, so he assumed others would do the same.
However, the devils wouldn't be like that anymore. That was the blind spot.
Then Edwin's expression crumpled. When he was smiling, he gave off the impression of a friendly and kind senior, but the moment his expression crumpled, he looked like a different person.
"I have a bad feeling. We need to gather everyone."
"Yes. Everyone related to Frondier. Anyone even remotely related."
"...Wouldn't that be too many?"
Even remotely related. What was the criteria?
Dier and Pielott were first-years, so they thought Frondier, a second-year, would have made friends with many people over the past year.
But that was a misconception.
"It won't increase that much. More importantly, there's something that bothers me."
He picked up his phone and started operating it. His phone hadn't been working properly since earlier. It must have been the effect of Mana interference.
But the devils wouldn't be able to interfere forever. If he sent out messages in advance, his messages would reach everyone once the interference ended.
"...I think we might need to worry about the other side."
Edwin uttered ominous words as he operated his phone.
When Elodie found Ellen, she was also safe. However, as Dier had predicted, Ellen had struggled more than others.
As if targeting her specifically, a walking Mana tank-like devil had attacked Ellen.
The devil's downfall was underestimating Ellen's swordsmanship. It was convinced that a blade lacking Aura wouldn't be able to cut it.
Seizing the opportunity, Ellen pierced the enemy's neck with "Ilsa," a technique she could only use a few times a day, and barely managed to defeat the devil. Elodie arrived at Ellen's location right after that.
"Thanks for coming. That was close."
"...You defeated it, so what's the problem?"
"If another devil had come, I would have been done for."
Since the Mana injection incident, she had become increasingly aware of her lack of Mana.
Especially when her overly talented younger brother learned techniques from her and recreated them into incredible skills that suited him, she was genuinely annoyed. He was a younger brother with no cuteness at all.
With both Ellen and Edwin safe, a short time later, messages arrived on their phones from Edwin.
"...He says to gather at the auditorium."
"That's a good idea. The auditorium is good for dealing with devils and securing escape routes."
However, from the moment their phones started working again, it was safe to assume the devils had fled.
But their expressions didn't brighten.
Whether the devils had retreated due to a failed operation or ended their operation because they had succeeded was still unknown.