Chapter: 166
The flow of magical reagents led to a secluded mountain area where it unnaturally cut off.
Despite deploying a large number of agents to scour the mountain like a swarm of bees, they could not find any suspicious facilities. Considering all the agents were experts in search operations, it was bizarre indeed.
Thus, the Defense Bureau concluded that it was likely concealed with high-level illusion magic and requested a personnel dispatch from the Purple Tower. The details of the task were kept confidential, only mentioning the need to dispel the illusion magic.
Moreover, a rather enticing fee was included.
The Tower Master of the Purple Tower had gone out chasing love, leaving only a bot to manage things, leading to an internal meeting without the Master. They were swiftly looking for someone in urgent need of research funds.
“Please let me go… My wallet is really hurting… Waaaah.”
Even though Melburton had made a tidy sum from the ‘Melburton’s Hit Reduction Field’ artifact, his growing expenses left him as broke as a church mouse, prompting the illusion magician Melburton to apply.
“Is it really time for a third-year to go out…? Back in my day, once you entered the tower, you wouldn’t even think of going out until you hit year five!”
“…Isn’t that just because everyone was an indoor type?”
“A third-year has the audacity to talk back…? You wanna feel the taste of my short shorts?”
He was unceremoniously sidelined by Luce, the illusion magician who had six years of experience. Generally, experience and power tended to correlate, as did desire and strength.
After being struck by the mad magician’s butler squad, she had embarked on a lonely path to create an ‘imaginary boyfriend’ and had delved deeply into ‘hologram’ magic at the Purple Tower.
While she couldn’t replicate the insane structure of converting another’s belief into power, she did succeed in embedding physical force with a plethora of magical batteries, reagents, and her own belief. And the result was this.
“My darling… there’s recognition interference, a shell overlay, and I think there’s one more thing. Hmm, I’m a bit unsure, how do you think, darling?”
– My honey, that last one is a trap. The trigger will set off an alarm upon release.
“Just as I thought, my darling, you’re the coolest…! It’ll take a bit of time, but I think I can melt it down little by little from the outside.”
– With the power of our fiery love, right?
A display of jealousy that melts onlookers in the flames of envy, Luce clung tight to the short shorts-wearing hologram shota while dismantling the illusion magic in the mountains. Behind thick glasses, a smile of pure happiness could be seen.
Watching this, two agents exchanged idle chatter.
“Ugh, why come all this way to watch a love show… Didn’t we only call for one from the Purple Tower? Senpai.”
“We did call for one, and there’s still just one.”
“…Huh?”
“I said there’s just one.”
Ossak──!
The agent trembled, realizing the horrifying truth.
===============================================================
As the fear-inducing one-person show continued to breach the illusion magic, Pure Knight and Envers were lying in wait in the nearby forest. They were set to join the Knights of the Capital once their location was confirmed.
The operation’s goal was twofold: unlimited destruction and information acquisition.
While the bulldozer role of the Knights of the Capital would create a ruckus and clear the way, the elite duo of Pure Knight and Envers would infiltrate ahead to extract valuable information.
Envers Redburn looked around with excitement.
He spotted the Knights of the Capital about ten meters away, checking their gear. They were clad in their trademark power suits.
And among them stood the most eye-catching figure—a colossal knight over three meters tall, exuding a heavy aura just by standing still: the Captain of the Knights.
It was Envers’s first time seeing someone who had reached a state of sublimation. Or perhaps it was the second time; he couldn’t gauge how far the pinnacle of the Heavenly Horse truly reached.
“…Is this strange look directed at me?” he thought. Surely, it was a misunderstanding. What reason would the Captain of the Knights have to look disdainfully at Envers, whom she had never met?
Meanwhile, the magical girl Pure Knight was running her mental simulations for the third time.
Stay calm. Just need to clear up the misunderstanding. Back then, feeling like a hammer had struck the back of my head made it impossible to think…
That night, when he had faced a choice of death. After pulling the blanket over his head and contemplating for three hours, Roderus found a way out. A solution so neat he couldn’t help but blame himself for not thinking of it sooner.
This time, there would be no slip-ups. He would restore Roderus’s honor. Let’s go. Hye-in, watch over me…!
Clap, clap.
Pure Knight slapped her cheeks to rally her spirits, rising from the stump and walking toward Envers. She calmly voiced her prepared words.
“There seems to have been a misunderstanding… I am not in a romantic relationship with Roderus, nor am I seducing him. We are in a cooperative relationship.”
“…Uh…?”
“Yes, in truth, your brother is… rebelling against the family. I noticed and approached him for assistance. So he isn’t a lecher, nor has he fallen for seduction. Do you understand?”
“Ah, well, um, got it.”
Such a lucid explanation that even warranted a scholarship! Pure Knight praised herself inwardly. After this was all over, she would treat herself to blueberry cake.
But reality is a harsh mistress. Envers began to ponder deeply, inadvertently launching a counterattack.
“…Then why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“That’s because I was flustered…”
“Where’s the reason to be flustered in a perfectly fine cooperative relationship? And even if it is a partnership, I clearly saw a mark on my brother’s neck!”
“…?”
Envers watched the flustered Pure Knight, contemplating. Until now, he had viewed the imagery of Pure Knight leading Roderus on, but judging by her reaction, it seemed Pure Knight also had feelings for his brother?
Even going so far as to go out of her way to restore Roderus’s reputation, her reddened cheeks screamed 100%.
If it wasn’t mere seduction and they indeed had feelings for each other, there was no reason for him to meddle. In fact, it would be something to greatly support.
“Haha, if all goes well, I shall be calling you sister-in-law.”
“…!!”
Pure Knight thought, have I just been hit with an emotional dropkick?
Where to even start fixing this misunderstanding remained a mystery as the word ‘sister-in-law’ echoed in Kim Lulu’s ears from far away. Sister-in-law?
Thud, thud.
The hefty power suit thudded heavily as it strode over.
“Oh, it’s the Captain of the Knights. I am Namgoong Cheonghui…”
“It’s mine!”
“?”
“O Dae-su is mine!”
The altered voice from the power armor echoed through the forest. Kim Lulu wrapped her arms around Pure Knight’s waist and pulled her in. A moment of silence fell over the forest.
The Knights of the Capital were left to ponder. So the Captain of the Knights and Blue Rose have ended up falling for each other! Ronald, Team 3’s head, would likely be crushed!
O Dae-su? The name lingered in Envers’s mind. Hadn’t he passed by the dessert café where a short girl had addressed a lady as such?
Envers thought, so this means…
Pure Knight is involved with the Captain of the Knights.
Pure Knight is involved with Roderus.
The girl seen at the dessert café, O Dae-su is somehow related to that short girl. They had shared kisses.
And as Envers had caught on before, Pure Knight and O Dae-su were one and the same, identical in body type and movements.
“…!!”
All mysteries unraveled. The arrows converged in one direction. Roderus wasn’t in the wrong; it was that mischievous Blue Rose causing the fires everywhere!
With various emotions bundled together, Envers cautiously spoke.
“…Um, might I ask you to stop seeing Roderus? I’ll handle the information extraction, and I’ll be the one to win him over.”
“…Alright.”
Roderus promised not to go through O Dae-su to reach Roderus anymore.
===============================================================
Yes, let’s just drop the transformation. Just close my eyes.
I’ll just say that I was cursed by a mad magician, turned into a woman. That will do. That way, all misunderstandings and conflicts will be avoided.
If any more misunderstandings arise, it’s going to escalate beyond all proportions. Breaking free from Destiny is a determination, so Roderus steeled himself.
“Actually──”
At that moment, a Defense Bureau agent rushed in, shouting.
“The illusion magic has been breached!”
“…Save this for after, Envers Redburn. I have something to discuss.”
“…I, I already have a significant other. This is complicated.”
“Shut up──!”
“You little brat.”
Pure Knight almost smashed her wand on her brother’s head. No matter how much misunderstanding there was, there were things you could say and things you couldn’t.
Had it not been just before the operation began, she would have revealed her identity and battled it out, but for the sake of the bigger picture, she managed to control her rage.
And the suppressed rage became her strength.
The illusion magic that had been cloaking the facility dispersed, revealing a set of deep stairs leading underground. They also found traces of transported carts around.
Upon descending to the first basement floor, they arrived in what appeared to be a living area. It was spacious enough to accommodate around a hundred people. Simple beds and living supplies had been arranged in the regularly excavated space, alongside a food storage area.
Of course, being a living area, there were also enemies. Cloaked figures in black hoods began pulling out weapons and preparing for combat.
“Who, who goes there!”
“It’s an enemy invasion!”
“Do you even know where you are…?!”
“Shut up, you filthy commoners──!!”
Pure Knight roared and plunged into their midst. Her “Ribbon Rope” unfurled in all directions, binding their arms and legs.
Thwack! Whack!
The once unsteady foes were struck by her magic rapier. Quick and dexterous, her movements were sharp and ruthless; a style akin to that of an assassin.
Envers couldn’t shake off the sense of familiarity as he observed her.
The task force stormed through without hesitation. They swept down the stairs into the depths while vanquishing foes, encountering occasional strong ones, but none beyond the realm of myths.
Moreover, there were no black magic users among them.
Pure Knight frowned. This was concerning. A nagging feeling began to creep up her spine.
Finally reaching the fourth basement level.
In the center of the wide chamber stood an ominous altar. The sticky scent of blood filled the air, and mummified corpses littered the surroundings.
And the remnants of overwhelming magic swirled in the air.
A wizard from the Purple Tower adjusted her thick glasses and spoke.
“…This, I cannot discern the intent of this altar, but it appears to have activated a day, or perhaps half a day ago. Darling also seems to think so.”
“Are you saying they escaped already? Just half a day ahead of us?”
“Truly unlucky. If we had arrived just a bit earlier…”
“No, don’t think of it lightly, Envers. This is… internal information having leaked out. They knew we were coming.”
From where could the information have leaked? The Defense Bureau? Or perhaps the Knights of the Capital? Or the Purple Tower from whom they had requested assistance?
“More importantly, if they knew, why leave people behind?”
“…?”
It was a valid point.
If they were going to completely empty the facility, then the reason for leaving anyone behind must have been… bait. Had it been entirely vacant, they would have advanced with caution.
Perhaps this unsettling intuition had manifested!
“…It’s a trap. Get into defensive formation!”
Grrraaaahhh.
The entire facility began to tremble violently, and a red glow surged ominously from the altar.
===============================================================
Despair Engraving Noose, Duke Maximus Redburn keenly watched the chessboard. The white pieces were precariously trapped in black traps.
The white queen was powerful, but her vulnerabilities were evident. Lacking the technique to modulate her output, she would be unable to unleash her full strength if forced into close quarters.
Even if she did, her allies would likely get caught in the crossfire. Either way, it worked in his favor.
The Duke lifted the black pawn.
Aaaaaahhhh──!!
The souls connected to the pieces screamed like an orchestra, and a sea of magic surged forth. Countless streams of information darted through his mind.
He could see as much as he knew, and regarding the unknown, he could illuminate with magic. The path to success began to take shape.
Today, is my meticulously crafted plan sufficient to kill Blue Rose and injure the Captain of the Knights?
The clump of information transformed, intertwined, and finally completed a beautiful, simple number.
98%. Yes.
The Duke was nearly in complete control of the game.
The name of Transformation was known as the Foreknowledge Lantern.
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