Earlier, Rio had woken up in his bed in the medical wing. Since his arrest he hadn’t been allowed to leave the fortress compound. The medical room was chosen because it was available, it was secure, and it allowed them to keep his body intact for the demon ambassador who would possess him. His wrist ached against the wooden shackle which bound him to the bed.

  Shortly after his waking, two guards entered the room.

  “It is the day of prayer,” he reminded them. “May I go one last time before the end?”

  One of the guards swished his hand in a “no” gesture. “You are to remain on the compound. However, the Leader has ordered that all who have not been scanned for mana fibers do so immediately. Those who have already been scanned are to report to the library.”

  He was dejected at first, but eventually he stopped caring. Maybe it’s better this way, he thought. What does one say to God in shackles?

  When Rik had returned to Toi after being scanned with Yubi, he’d found him in the control room for the fortress repositioning. Due to Loya’s scanning decree, Toi was alone save for a few mana generators kneeling blindfolded around the diagram which would rearrange the halls.

  I guess it’s a new month, Rik thought.

  “Naiouyubi says he’s ready.”

  Toi nodded. “Good. Go back to the scanning station. When Kainolautis says the scans are complete, go to the library and report it. Make sure to close the door and don’t leave until Yubi tells you to.”

  He protested, but eventually gave in to his superior. I’m not some errand boy. I should be training for battle, not delivering messages!

  “You see,” Yubi said, after Rik reported the completion of the scans, “there is a demon in this room right now.”

  This captured the attention of everyone in the library.

  “Naiouyubi,” head general Gor groaned, “I heard your amnesia was bad but this is ridiculous. Look around you. Do you see any demons? You of all people should know how they stand out.”

  “Not necessarily. Demons can use mana to change their appearance, even disguise themselves as humans. Isn’t that right, librarian?”

  She nodded hesitantly. “It’s possible but… it would have to be a rare and specialized skill.”

  Gor shook his head. “The demons are powerful but they don’t act without reason. Why would one disguise itself here?”

  “To avoid being caught by the mana fiber scans,” Yubi answered.

  Head doctor Kyuzu’s eyes widened and her attention became intense.

  Gor glared. “So that’s what’s going on.” His hand hovered over a weapon at his hip. “Any one of us could be a demon, then, and only you know who it is. How convenient.”

  “Don’t worry, I know it’s not you.”

  “Oh, good,” he chuckled wryly. “I’m glad to not be lumped in with this delusion of yours.”

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  Loya started to step forward but the Librarian held him back by the sleeve.

  “It’s no delusion,” Yubi said. “It’s the one who sabotaged the diagram to Kassia.”

  Kyuzu shouted, “Rioshkaltis is a demon!?” Multiple apprentice healers held her back from rushing forward.

  Yubi shook his head. “Not so. You see, I asked some people where he was at the time the sabotage took place. Two stories emerged. Kain, a diagram operator, saw him enter the room where the diagram is located just after it worked successfully and just before it failed and killed someone. At the same time, both Rik and Toi reported meeting him outside Toi’s office. Isn’t that right?”

  Toi nodded his hand. “That’s right, I did see him there.”

  Loya frowned. “But that can’t be. It takes too long to get from the city to the fortress. And why would he be at Toi’s instead of at church?”

  “In principle,” Gor suggested, “he could’ve moved between the locations with a… Wait, no, the forest is in the way. The fireleafs would disrupt any teleportation.” He stroked his beard. “That is peculiar but it doesn’t place a demon in this room.”

  “Yes, it doesn’t,” Yubi agreed, “but hear me out. Rio says he was at Toi’s office because Toi had told him to skip church. Isn’t that right?”

  Rio silently nodded his hand.

  “And Toi, you don’t remember telling him this?”

  “Of course. I had no business that demanding with him.”

  “This is another impossible pair of stories. Lots of people seem to be in two places at once, don’t they?”

  Gor suddenly understood. “You’re saying it was the demon impersonating Toi?”

  “Yes. It impersonated Toi to get Rio out of church so that a crowd wouldn’t give him an alibi. Then it impersonated Rio in the facility to commit the sabotage. Then when the order for mana scans came in, it was under pressure and found a new place to hide.”

  More convinced, Gor looked around the room. “Toinoioeo, your pale haired knight there came in late. Is there some way you could verify his identity?”

  “I could start a fire,” Rik said, clearly annoyed.

  “No!” snapped Toi. “Not here! You’ll damage the texts!”

  Gor turned to the guards beside Rio. “Do you have extra fireleaf shackles? With the amount of mana a demon gives off, it would heat the wood up and be identified immediately. We should start with the healers.”

  Kyuzu paled and jolted away from the apprentices around her, a deep fear in her eyes.

  “You're close,” said Yubi. “During the past ten days, the demon would’ve wanted a guaranteed way to avoid being scanned. The medical staff were scanned in two groups, one early and the other late, so that at least half of them were always attending patients. What they didn’t consider was the opportunity this presented. If a demon slipped into the first group who stayed and then switched its face to sneak into the other, then it could effectively avoid being scanned. That said, I don’t believe it’s among the healers right now so you don’t need to test them. Instead, I’ll just ask some questions. Kyuzu, what was it you said to me before I regained my first memories?”

  “I… was it…” Her shoulders quaked. Her eyes darted from person to person. “To use the dream powder to remember my name?”

  “Essentially, yes. Loya, what was it you said the other day after I told you my treatment was going well?”

  “Um…” He glanced at Kyuzu with some concern. “I don’t think it would be wise to repeat that right at this moment.”

  Yubi nodded, satisfied. “I agree.” He stepped toward Toi. “Three days ago you came to see me in the medical wing. You had some questions for me.”

  “Yes. I asked you about the other world.”

  “That you did. When you asked what the most powerful weapon was, what was my answer?”

  “I…” His eyebrows furrowed in thought. “You said it was something called the nuclear bomb, but you couldn’t tell me what that means.”

  “Close.” Yubi grinned. “That was when you were disguised as an apprentice healer.”

  A frozen moment hung in the air as everyone processed what Yubi had just said.

  “Hehe~ gotch-”

  All at once the false Toi’s body erupted into fur and stone. Its face, which was the size of Yubi’s torso, was made of solid jade surrounded by a lion’s mane. Its body was thickly muscled and, while its torso was short, its limbs were long.

  An arm emerged from its back. It grabbed Yubi up and ran for the door. The only one between it and the way out was Loya, whom it pushed aside. It charged for the door and broke through.

  Only to be stopped immediately after. The now-broken door swung open to reveal a wall of solid stone. The passage outside the library was gone.

  It turned around to see two guards, a general, and Rik all threatening it at once.

  Yubi groaned from within the demon’s clutches. “You really thought I hadn’t thought of that? What did you think the real Toi was doing?”