Chapter 75

Something is off.

Haltos, the leader of Argeyirion, furrowed his brow. Blasphemia’s pursuit was far too swift compared to what had been anticipated. The confusion caused by the dissemination of grace shouldn’t have been resolved so quickly.

There were even instances where Blasphemia would ambush Argeyirion’s agents before they could spread grace.

If Haltos hadn’t sensed something amiss in this abnormal situation, he wouldn’t have been selected as an operative for the Golden Desert Operation.

“Nastiorn.”

A shadow wavered beneath Haltos’s feet. The prostrate shadow slowly rose to its feet, taking the form of a person made entirely of darkness—featureless and black, like a void shaped into human form.

“Is there a traitor among us?”

The mouthless shadow spoke, its voice resonating evenly from all directions.

“Our comrades are above reproach, even in the shadows, and are unwavering in their commitment to the greater cause.”

Yet, that only made the current situation even more incomprehensible. If it wasn’t the work of spies planted by Blasphemia, how could information be leaking out?

Haltos meticulously retraced the methods he’d used to gather information during his time with Blasphemia. But there was no way anyone could obtain information so thoroughly without leaving a trace.

“…No. There was one.”

The future prediction calculations conducted by the Ten Sages were advanced techniques usable only within the Ten Towers. Even if Blasphemia, merely a subsidiary organization of the Ten Towers, submitted an application, it would be difficult to gain approval for such predictive capabilities.

The Ten Sages were so powerful that their very existence acted as a variable in predicting the future. To properly forecast the future, at least half of the Ten Sages needed to act simultaneously—a privilege limited to secret meetings of the elders of the Ten Towers after intricate negotiations.

However, Blasphemia possessed another means to glimpse the future, even without the Ten Sages.

“The prophet in the basement…”

Blasphemia understood the dangers of mysticism believers and sought to eliminate them but also recognized their utility.

Especially useful were the prophets, including the Priest of Phobos.

Through deals struck to save loved ones or escape pursuit, these prophets provided information beneficial to Blasphemia.

One of Blasphemia’s mysterious creations was the “Prophet in the Basement,” formed by connecting the brains of prophets in parallel.

“…Wasn’t the Prophet in the Basement supposed to have been shut down after the birth of Baegwang’s monstrosity?”

Nastiorn questioned. Baegwang’s monster, the illegitimate offspring of the Ten Sages, was a massive variable that disrupted future predictions much like the Ten Sages themselves.

Originally, the prophets’ foresight was closer to “pre-knowledge” rather than “prediction.” They glimpsed moments of the future without any logical causality.

But the “Prophet in the Basement,” created from the corpses of prophets, leaned more toward prediction. By excluding the Ten Sages from the outset, it sacrificed accuracy for functionality. However…

Baegwang’s monster dealt a fatal blow to the Prophet in the Basement, being a variable that exceeded its computational limits.

Repeated attempts to restart and interpret its outputs only resulted in flashes of blue light.

“Perhaps they’ve created a new Prophet in the Basement, one that excludes Baegwang’s monster from its calculations?”

“The number of mysticism believers has dwindled due to continuous hunting, and maintaining the Prophet in the Basement has reached its limits in terms of resource procurement. Creating a new prophet seems unlikely.”

“Our former superiors may have compromised with reality and opted to use relics of mysticism believers. What matters is that they’ve begun tracking us using non-magical means.”

Nastiorn couldn’t deny it. If there was no traitor, the only explanation for Argeyirion’s movements being revealed step by step was the involvement of some non-magical method.

“What should we do?”

“Even with the grace terrorism, there was a limit to hiding from the eyes of the Ten Towers. It’s disappointing that we couldn’t stretch our six-month plan past three months…”

Haltos’s calculations grew complicated. First, they needed to disrupt the prophecy. Second, destroy the newly recreated “Prophet in the Basement.”

There were two ways to interfere with prophecy: either engage in a battle of divination using their own prophets, or complicate the future itself so it becomes unreadable.

“What about the magic towers we deal with?”

“Since the annihilation of the Torres School, they’ve all become cautious. Some are gradually severing ties or showing signs of judicial trade.”

“We need to use them.”

Haltos gazed out the window.

A massive magic circle was being drawn through the accumulation of mana via grace—an interdimensional gateway.

It would take more time to complete the portal.

“For the greater good and truth.”

***

Blasphemia and the Theistic Order formed an anti-Argeyirion united front, using me as a bridge.

Actually, since both sides believed I was a spy working solely for them, “united front” wasn’t quite the right term.

‘Director Neuro, please head to the ruins of Elymon. Director Divius, please proceed to the ruins of Piraeus.’

Meanwhile, Hydra Corp took advantage of the two factions’ efforts against Argeyirion to accelerate their divine investigations.

Most investigation sites lacked noticeable holy artifacts, which was often due to Blasphemia’s deliberate neglect. But scraping the entire temple could uncover fragments of relics, or at the very least, carrying away the altar allowed Kaike to extract divine power.

The Artificial Tenth Rank was slowly but surely accumulating divine energy.

‘If you discover anything unusual, please contact me. I will liaise with nearby Blasphemia operatives.’

After issuing individual instructions to the directors conducting the divine investigations, I began acting alone. A message from Niobe requested a meeting with me.

I had previously declined several attempts at contact, citing my busy schedule pursuing Argeyirion. Simultaneously, I passed along information given to me by the Theistic Order to Niobe, intending to provoke a clash between Blasphemia and Argeyirion.

Niobe seemed to make good use of the information I provided. News of Argeyirion members being captured or killed came frequently through her emails. The operation was successful.

With Argeyirion pursuit being Blasphemia’s top priority, Niobe, who always chased breaking news, must have received multiple promotions by now.

If she reported my provided information as her own achievements, she likely became an elite agent with the authority to conduct solo operations.

Niobe requested a meeting, insisting, “We really must meet now.” The location was a safe house of Blasphemia near an area where Argeyirion’s presence was expected, as sent by me.

I hesitated to risk meeting unnecessarily, but continuously rejecting her might raise suspicion. With all preparations in place, I headed to the designated spot.

***

For a while, the operative known as L13 was the hottest topic within Blasphemia.

The first discovery of Argeyirion’s traces, the embezzlement of Charlotte Branch Chief Nardanit.

The Elysion terror attack where Argeyirion truly emerged.

Even on Crete Island, where Torres Tower defected, the name L13 surfaced.

This was thanks to Ortes’s parting advice to Torres Tower’s captives and troubleshooters before disappearing: “If they ask your names during the Ten Towers’ interrogation, reply with L13.”

Blasphemia was understandably confused during their review of testimonies. How could an agent whose communications had long been cut off still be active?

Could L13 be a fabricated identity created by Argeyirion to spread misinformation?

These doubts were dispelled by Inspector General Salmosia.

Niobe faithfully followed Ortes’s advice: “Ignore the existing reporting system and report truly important matters directly to the Inspector General or L13.”

Instead of disguising the information received from L13 as her own investigative abilities or deductions, Niobe decided to forward everything to the Inspector General.

Thus, Salmosia, filled with immense trust in Agent L13, dismissed any internal criticisms within Blasphemia.

From that atmosphere, Blasphemia roughly deduced L13’s identity. An unknown agent belonging to the audit department could only mean one thing—a secret inspector.

Though it remained unclear how L13 tracked Argeyirion, everyone knew better than to pry into the secrets of a secret inspector.

Niobe was promoted to a position akin to L13’s dedicated operator under Salmosia. And Salmosia wished to meet her most competent and loyal agent personally.

Thus:

“I’ve heard well of the reports you relayed through Niobe. I understand the need to guard against eschatological collaborators within the Ten Towers, but isn’t it also time to return home occasionally?”

“It’s an honor to see you again, Inspector General.”

Ortes stood face-to-face with Salmosia.