Carisia rolled the relic in her hand. It wasn’t showing the same revelations as before.
It was strange that everywhere she went, chaos seemed to follow.
But to Carisia, Orthes felt like a human totem bringing storms. Wasn’t she herself a storm that brought upheaval to the magical society?
After confirming once again that the crystal of Phoibos reflected no clear image despite her adjustments, Carisia let out a sigh.
“This time, it’ll definitely be without any incidents.”
“?”
Kine, who was receiving one-on-one magic lessons from Carisia, tilted her head in confusion at the mysterious sound.
*
“Those wicked spies! Where did they get such nonsense to try to deceive me!”
Gorgopf activated the magic loaded into his enchanted gear. Deadly poison water poured down on those surrounding the Amimone Tower.
“This is madness! Distress signal! You guys sent it!”
The rescue team of Argyrion, urgently dispatched under Halto’s unwavering will, faced fierce resistance from the individuals they were trying to save.
*
Halto is a clever one.
If he weren’t, he wouldn’t have climbed up to the vice-leader position of Blasphemia. Beyond his cleverness in acquiring and applying knowledge, he also possessed an extraordinary intuition that brought him back from dangerous situations multiple times.
And all the experiences he accumulated in countless real battles. These three elements composed the survival instinct of Halto.
And now.
“I must go myself. No other executives can deal with that adversary.”
“What kind of madness are you talking about! Absolutely not. As the head of Argyrion, that’s nothing but insane nonsense!”
His right-hand man, Nastion, was doubting whether Halto’s three elements had all left him.
“I know the adversary better than anyone in Argyrion. I’ve seen too many times how the schemes touched by that being go awry.”
Considering all the experiences Halto amassed and listening to his intensely ringing instincts right now, it could only be attributed to the adversary’s skills.
Unfortunately, the cleverness cultivated by strict intellect had no chance to emerge. The adversary’s cunning was subtle and sly, difficult to grasp through logical reasoning or causality. However, it was clear that both his experience and instincts pointed toward the adversary.
Nastion thought Halto had taken in too much extra-dimensional magic and lost his reasoning.
Absolutely not. Maybe if a successor was chosen to replace him afterwards, it would be a different story, but if the head of Argyrion stormed into the Apex Tower without a thought, what would happen?
He would wipe out an entire city and take the Apex Tower. While all social powers the Apex held would be eliminated, there would still be some benefits in having won.
But the worst case would be if the elders came marching in. The likelihood of that was extremely low, but if the Ten Towers’ elders surrounded him, even in the extra-dimensional contaminated zone, Halto’s victory could not be guaranteed.
If the head collapsed without a successor, Argyrion would also fall.
Nastion desperately countered Halto’s expedition.
After expending a tremendous amount of inner power in such a short time, Nastion sighed. And he held a question.
‘Why…’
Didn’t the other executives stop Halto?
When Halto declared that no one could handle the adversary but him, the executives showed discomfort but did not raise objections.
‘What in the world did that adversary do…’
Nastion thought that Halto and the other Argyrion leaders’ collective delusion couldn’t be real.
Did it make sense for such a bizarre entity to pop up just when Halto suspected it?
However, he agreed that rescuing Argyrion’s allies in the extra-dimensional zone was an extremely difficult task.
The extra-dimensional contaminated space was an area utterly familiar to Argyrion, but declaring Argyrion’s involvement was akin to inviting attacks from Amimone Tower, which could prepare for subsequent attacks.
Among the executives, Nastion carefully selected someone well-versed in both combat and escape: a plant-type mage who had replaced his biological tissues with those of a plant. This mage boasted extraordinary vitality.
“Sprigo. The one we must rescue first is Gorgopf. If the conditions allow, you can assist Gorgopf and other comrades to conquer the Amimone Tower and bring back the Mage Tower Core, but if not, focus solely on the rescue.”
If a traitor were to be exposed within the Apex Tower, the magical society would be shaken once again. Although there hadn’t been a plan to reveal the Apex’s traitors this quickly, if it were to be exposed, they had to capitalize on it.
Sprigo, called upon by Nastion, nodded. However, as if something was bothering him, he glanced around and whispered a question.
“What should I do if I encounter the adversary?”
A shiver was felt from Sprigo’s bark-covered body. Nastion felt a mix of disbelief and anger.
Isn’t it nonsensical? The ‘adversary’, which had gone missing during the Golden Desert Operation and hadn’t shown a hair of its existence until now, is appearing at this time in Algoth?
And that it might be the cause of the Amimone Tower incident? Did all the executives of Argyrion collectively have a panic attack?
Yet Nastion didn’t scold Sprigo or refuse to answer. He didn’t want to diminish Sprigo’s will to carry out his mission.
“…Maintain high flexibility and respond proactively with improvisation.”
“?”
“You can make any decision. If the adversary truly appears, I’ll delegate full authority to you at the scene.”
What else could be done for an entity that might not even exist? There’s no manual to deal with urban legends. It’s best to grant the maximum freedom for appropriate responses at the scene.
Sprigo still had a puzzled expression, but on hearing that he could retreat or request reinforcements, he nodded and prepared for spatial leap.
Of course, Sprigo wasn’t moving alone. Next to Sprigo, individuals with similar looks to Nastion, yet not dark but silver-colored beings, were orderly waiting.
Silver Thread Hosts would reach their next stage without being consumed as suicide soldiers when proper procedures are followed. Silver soldiers, Drakma.
They were the forces prepared to finish the matter before the Ten Towers could interfere with the extra-dimensional contaminated zone.
And this was the rescue team led by Sprigo…
“We have come looking for comrades who requested help from Argyrion! Oh people who have yet to awaken to the Divine, unite with our comrades and resist the vile rule of the Ten Towers—” “Shut your crazy mouth!”
“Those wicked spies! Where did they get such nonsense to try to deceive me!”
—This was the story leading up to facing fierce resistance from the target of rescue.
*
Sprigo couldn’t comprehend.
“Our Amimone Tower does not negotiate with beings like you! Leave Algoth City at once!”
That voice shouting from the fully deployed barrier was undeniably Gorgopf, Argyrion’s comrade.
Argyrion’s encapsulator report included a photo and an evaluation of his human nature. Didn’t Gorgopf’s interview, briefly skimming through before departure, note, ‘His faith in the Divine is remarkable’?
“O people who believe in truth and the Divine! Open the door and become one!”
“Shut up!”
How could his faithful comrade lack this much trust?
Yet at the same time, Sprigo could understand everything.
‘It’s the adversary.’
The very one revered Halto had highlighted since the planning phase of the operation. Having reborn under the blessing of the Divine, the memories of the mortal world had been shed, but the evil was etched deep like a scar in his soul.
If the adversary was behind this, anything was possible.
*
“Indeed, there were those who approached pretending to be Argyrion with their insight.”
Gorgopf suddenly shifted from casual talk to formal speech. First, he showed distrust, then trust, and now respect.
It seemed he truly followed the concept of Argyrion’s ‘Divine’ more sincerely than expected. The more I acted in ways beneficial to Argyrion, the more favorably he seemed to respond.
“When those claiming to be reinforcements from the Ten Towers appear, let them in, but if they call themselves Argyrion, attack. I didn’t expect you to use such shallow tricks while being here.”
“My disguise is quite perfect. In Blasphemia, we set up our battle tactics to infiltrate the tower in disguise if our comrades manage to subdue it.”
I added a few words with a relaxed smile.
“An excellent plan.”
Of course, it was fabricated. In reality, the very notion of an ‘action guideline for when another force approaches’ was a trick prepared for when the real Argyrion risked assaulting the Amimone Tower.
When the real Argyrion appeared, I felt a jolt. Thankfully, Gorgopf revealed eagerness to display animosity toward Argyrion upon hearing my words.
“However, Blasphemia simply failed to recognize the more cunning skills of the adversary.”
“It’s only natural that foolish beings who have yet to awaken to the Divine cannot follow the sage who upholds the Divine!”
Gorgopf laughed loudly. Hearing that laughter, I thought.
‘The Argyrion forces have arrived. Deceiving Gorgopf alone isn’t enough. I need to involve Danao.’
Now it was time to use the operation name ‘Temporary Alliance!’
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