Karisia’s opinion was simple.
“It’s a problem that it’s hard to convince people why we have to fight the Ten Towers. Can’t we just prepare a reasonable justification?”
When it came to fighting the Ten Towers, recalling Argyrion was common knowledge in the current magical world. As I was about to voice the sensible counterargument that our temple’s aspirations were not to become terrorists…
“Succession War.”
“…Are you serious?”
A declaration that she would claim the name of White Light. Karisia harbored infinite hatred for the existence of the Ten Commandments’ White Light, so the idea of possessing it had never crossed her mind.
“Of course, I don’t intend to have White Light. My intention to destroy it remains firm. But you see…”
iCan’t we use the justification for wanting to possess White Light?i
The tone of her softly spoken words was gentle.
“It would be easier for the directors to accept that I want to possess White Light rather than that I’m trying to destroy it. Once I obtain formal ownership of it, I can destroy White Light without any interference.”
And once the destruction of White Light was accomplished, Karisia would have no reason to maintain Hydra Corporation anymore. If the remaining nine towers declared her the public enemy of the world, she could simply vanish without a trace.
“The idea of convincing others through the guise of the Succession War is quite persuasive. However, there is a problem.”
“It’s about the Mage King.”
I nodded. If we were to destroy the Ten Commandments before the Mage King appeared, it would certainly complicate his ascension attempt.
The original Mage King was recovering the authority of the Ten Commandments to make another attempt at ascension. However, it was uncertain whether the remaining nine Towers could defeat the Mage King.
‘Most importantly…’
I was concerned about whether the original story accurately reflected the Mage King. In the original work, the Mage King was overwhelming and sometimes cunning, but still, a ‘protagonist’.
There was no mention in the novel about plans to eradicate the Divine Cult over thousands of years with something like a mental parasite.
Unrecorded actions in the original work. Thrilling aspirations observable only outside the novel.
‘Under the circumstances, the mental parasite must have been the sacrifice for the Mage King’s revival, so now that the parasitic entity is gone, it wouldn’t be strange for the revival to happen much later than the original…’
I wondered how many other means remained aside from the parasite.
Suddenly lifting my head, I found Karisia looking at my face.
“What are you thinking so deeply about?”
“Just extending the previous discussion. It’s about the Mage King.”
*
Thoughts raced through Karisia’s mind. Since the moment Orthes led her to Phoibos’s temple, she had an instinct about something.
Orthes was unusually focused on the Mage King.
If his speculation was correct, the essential element for the Mage King’s revival, the mental parasite, had been obliterated by the magic bomb prepped by Karisia. Yet, Orthes’s wariness hadn’t diminished.
Even with the early warning device for the Mage King’s revival made from the remnants of Adoosiam, he still seemed uneasy. He held a paradoxical conviction that they could not confront the Mage King without the transcendental artifact of the Ten Commandments being gathered.
‘Then…’
How about changing our perspective?
“Let’s hold off on destroying White Light for a bit.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Given the situation, let’s try to destroy the entire Ten Commandments.”
“What?”
A clear look of bewilderment showed on Orthes’s face. Karisia, impromptu yet certain, devised a new plan.
“Let’s assume we suppressed one of the Towers while keeping the Artificial Ten Commandments intact. Then we could leverage the magic power of two Ten Commandments to attack another Tower.”
The power distribution would shift overwhelmingly as they defeated other Towers.
“With all due respect, boss. Did you sleep well yesterday?”
“That’s because you’re worrying too seriously about everything. Anyway, let me continue.”
Orthes pointed out the absurd scenario, but Karisia maintained her calm and even brazen attitude, unwilling to be deterred.
“Then, after we claim all the Ten Commandments, let’s assume the Mage King is revived.”
The Adoosiam alarm alerts us to the Mage King’s resurrection.
First, White Light explodes.
Second, the Golden Thunder erupts.
Third, fourth, fifth…
Thus, they would all be blown up in succession.
“And if he’s still alive after that, we can blow up the Artificial Ten Commandments as well. Ta-da!”
Karisia spread her hands and smiled brightly. Orthes, watching that smile, chuckled in disbelief.
The truly absurd part was that even in Orthes’s mind, there seemed to be little chance the Mage King would survive being hit with the Ten Commandments bomb 11 times in a row.
“So what you’re saying is, to secure the bullets aimed at the Mage King, we should drive out all the Towers?”
“Yes. Simple, right?”
“A remarkably straightforward and certain solution. Except for the fact that I’m not sure we can even take down one Tower right now.”
Orthes replied with a wry smile. Given that he was the originator of this ridiculous plan, he must have surmised that I would have some sort of backup plan.
But Karisia shook her head.
“Figuring out how to achieve this goal is your job, right?”
“What?”
“You know my original plan was just a simple one to destroy White Light, right?”
It was questionable whether such an act of toppling the upper echelon of the magical society could reasonably be termed simple. Normally, Orthes would complain about the boss tossing out an incredible goal and leaving all the details to him.
However, today was different. Upon hearing that bizarre plan, he felt a sense of relief wash over him.
‘Even the Mage King would die from that.’
In the end, it was even more fitting comfort, given that Argyrion had been exposed, and they sensed the shadow of the Mage King behind them.
“The boss has adapted the company’s goals to match the staff’s capabilities, so I believe you’ll handle the execution well.”
Orthes’s enthusiasm began to spark, relieved of much of the burden. How delightful.
“The idea of the Succession War is very useful. Let’s start from there.”
*
Door. Defeat the Mage King.
Answer. Detonate the Ten Commandments bombs 11 times.
It was really simple logic. They had defeated the Mage King when the Ten Commandments gathered in ten, so wouldn’t it be easier to defeat him with eleven?
Karisia’s reckless calculations were usually a headache, but today was different. Setting everything else aside, let’s focus on the criterion of securing the Ten Commandments.
“The Towers are embarking on a crusade against Argyrion. Argyrion has continuously challenged the magical system—”
“Isn’t that mostly due to what you have done, not Argyrion?”
“The important point isn’t that. What matters is that the Towers believe Argyrion is the culprit.”
I continued explaining while gently pushing away the truth Karisia had presented.
No matter how strong the Towers were, they couldn’t launch a campaign against Argyrion’s main base, which must be lurking somewhere in another dimension, without feeling the burden.
If they prepared for movement that completely excluded extra-dimensional encroachments, they would have to use the magic power stored in the Ten Commandments. While there might be no limit to the magic power stored in the Ten Commandments, individual mages wielding them had their own limitations.
“When the elders of the Ten Towers and other powerful mages embark on the crusade against Argyrion, it will shake the magical society.”
“In what way?”
“Succession War. The elders who have handled the Ten Commandments for a long time are currently absent, right? Given the currents of the magical society, no one dares to take the initiative, but when the Towers launch their crusade against Argyrion, it will be the most opportune moment to execute the Succession War.”
Until now, my incitements had been between two groups that were hostile from the outset, like Argyrion and the Ten Towers, the Tower and the Divine Cult, Blasphemia and Argos.
Now it was time to swim in larger waters.
The time had come to pull off a grand scam against the entire magical society.
“What are your thoughts on how to gauge the timing of the Towers’ departure?”
“I can use Kine, who has received a scouting invitation from the Dark Mage Tower, to gather information from within the Towers. Even if she’s just a newly initiated junior mage, she would have no choice but to notice if multiple elders are absent at the same time.”
…No, relying on a single means will always bring great misfortune.
“The radar from Lampades. A massive wave will inevitably be detectable when heading to another dimension. If we observe the extra-dimensional space constantly, like Eidolons do, we can pinpoint the timing of their departure.”
“We could also siphon information from Blasphemia. If Niobe trusts me and gets in touch, I could gather internal information from her.”
“Of course, the most hopeful scenario would be if the Towers themselves revealed their departure timing. Given that Argyrion has continually tarnished the authority of the Towers, they might even try to showcase their strength by holding a grand departure ceremony. That way, we would automatically know the perfect time to incite the magical society.”
Feeling lighter in spirit, ideas flowed endlessly. Karisia nodded and asked,
“And then?”
“We stir up the other Mage Towers. Since the demise of Argyrion is a given, let’s hold the Succession War and take possession of the Ten Commandments before the elders return.”
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