Chapter 150

Carisia’s opinion was simple.

“It’s difficult to justify the reason for fighting the Ten Towers, isn’t it? Perhaps we should prepare a justifiable cause?”

The current common sense in the magical world associates any fight against the Ten Towers with Argeyirion. Just as our priests’ aspirations aren’t to become terrorists—a reasonable counterargument—was about to surface.

“Inheritance Battle.”

“…Are you serious?”

The declaration that she would take the name Baegwang. Carisia harbored infinite hatred toward the existence of Baegwang of the Ten Sages, so claiming it was never an option.

“Of course, I have no intention of owning Baegwang. My resolve to destroy it remains unwavering. However…”

Can’t we use the idea of taking possession of Baegwang as a justification?

Her tone was soft, almost like a whisper.

“The board members might find the idea of possessing Baegwang more convincing than my plan to destroy it. Once I officially acquire ownership of Baegwang, I could then destroy it without interference.”

And once Baegwang is destroyed, Carisia would have no further reason to maintain her relationship with Hydra Corp. Even if the remaining nine towers declared her a global enemy, she could simply vanish.

“The concept of using the Inheritance Battle to rationalize the situation is quite persuasive. However, there is one issue.”

“The Wizard King.”

I nodded. If we dismantle the Ten Sages before the Wizard King reappears, his ascension attempt will undoubtedly face significant obstacles.

In the original story, the Wizard King was reclaiming the powers of the Ten Sages to attempt another ascension. But whether the remaining nine towers can defeat the Wizard King remains uncertain.

‘Firstly…’

It concerns me whether the original narrative accurately reflects the Wizard King. In the original, he was overambitious and sometimes cunning, but still, fundamentally, ‘the protagonist.’

There’s no mention in the novel of him preparing a millennia-long plan to eradicate the Theistic Order akin to a psychic parasite.

The unrecorded deeds of the original Wizard King. The chilling determination observable only outside the confines of the novel.

‘Given the circumstances, the psychic parasite was likely a key element for the Wizard King’s resurrection. Now that it’s gone due to Carisia’s prepared magic bomb, it wouldn’t be surprising if his resurrection occurs much later than in the original timeline…’

But how many other means remain at his disposal?

Suddenly raising my head, I found Carisia looking directly at me.

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

“It’s a continuation of our previous discussion. The Wizard King.”

***

Various thoughts swirled in Carisia’s mind. Something she had instinctively sensed since Ortes led her to Phobos’s temple.

Ortes was unusually vigilant about the Wizard King.

According to his hypothesis, the essential component for the Wizard King’s resurrection—the psychic parasite—had been annihilated by Carisia’s magic bomb. Yet Ortes’s caution remained undiminished.

Even with the early warning system crafted from the remnants of Adusiam, something still felt amiss. There’s an inverse certainty that without the convergence of the transcendental artifacts known as the Ten Sages, the Wizard King cannot be defeated.

‘So…’

Let’s change our approach.

“Let’s delay destroying Baegwang.”

“Delay?”

“Why don’t we destroy all the Ten Sages instead?”

“Huh?”

A clear note of bewilderment came from Ortes. Carisia spontaneously formulated a new plan with conviction.

“Assume we suppress one of the Ten Towers while keeping the artificial Ten Sage intact. By simple calculation, we can mobilize the power equivalent to two Ten Sages to attack other towers.”

And the power ratio becomes increasingly overwhelming as more towers fall.

“Pardon my presumption, Chairman. Did you sleep well last night?”

“I’m saying this because you’re overthinking things. Anyway, keep listening.”

Though Ortes pointed out the shaky premise, he couldn’t stop Carisia, who maintained an audacious, even shameless attitude.

“And let’s assume the Wizard King resurrects after we’ve taken control of all the Ten Sages.”

The Adusiam alarm signals the Wizard King’s return.

First, Baegwang explodes.

Second, Hwangryeo detonates.

Third, fourth, fifth…

Thus, all ten Ten Sages explode.

“And if he’s still alive after that, we’ll blow up the artificial Ten Sage too. Done.”

Spreading her arms wide, Carisia smiled cheerfully. Watching her smile, Ortes couldn’t help but chuckle incredulously.

The truly absurd part was that according to Ortes’s calculations, if the Ten Sage bombs went off eleven times consecutively, the Wizard King’s chances of survival seemed negligible.

“So, Chairman’s suggestion is that we drive out all the Ten Towers to secure ammunition against the Wizard King?”

“Yes. Simple, right?”

“Truly simple and definitive. Except for the fact that we’re not entirely sure if we can even topple one tower.”

Ortes smirked in response. Despite the ridiculousness of the plan, he assumed the mastermind must have some hidden strategy.

However, Carisia shook her head.

“Figuring out how to achieve this goal is your responsibility, isn’t it?”

“Excuse me?”

“My original plan was merely to destroy Baegwang—a modest ambition, wasn’t it?”

Whether collapsing the upper echelons of the magical society could be called modest was debatable. Normally, Ortes would have complained about the chairman assigning all the details to him, but today was different. Hearing this bizarre plan brought him unexpected relief.

‘The Wizard King would definitely die from that.’

Now that their identities were exposed to Argeyirion and its shadow revealed as the Wizard King, it was oddly comforting.

“Since the boss has adjusted the company’s goals to suit the employees, I trust you’ll handle it accordingly.”

Ortes’s burden lightened, and his enthusiasm began to burn brightly—pleasantly so.

“The idea of the Inheritance Battle is very useful. Let’s start from there.”

***

Question: Defeat the Wizard King.

Answer: Eleven consecutive Ten Sage bombs.

It was a remarkably straightforward principle. Since the Wizard King fell when the Ten Sages united, wouldn’t eleven make it even easier?

Carisia’s brash calculations were usually headaches, but today was different. Setting aside everything else, let’s consider securing the Ten Sages as the benchmark.

“The Ten Towers will join the expedition against Argeyirion. Argeyirion has continuously challenged the magical establishment—”

“Isn’t most of that actually your doing?”

“The important point isn’t that. It’s that the Ten Towers believe Argeyirion did it.”

Gently setting aside the truth Carisia interjected, I continued explaining.

Even the Ten Towers must feel the weight of an expedition into some extraplanar dimension where Argeyirion lurks.

If they prepare space travel that completely excludes extradimensional infiltration, they’ll need to use the mana stored in the Ten Sages. While the mana stored in the Ten Sages may be limitless, the individual mages handling them have limits.

“When the powerful wizards, including the elders of the Ten Towers, depart for the Argeyirion campaign, we’ll shake the magical society.”

“How?”

“Inheritance Battles. With the elders absent for long periods managing the Ten Sages, now is the perfect time for succession battles. Though currently, no one dares to attempt it given the atmosphere, the departure of the Ten Towers is the ideal moment.”

So far, my provocations have occurred between groups already predisposed to conflict, such as Argeyirion and the Ten Towers, the Ten Towers and the Theistic Order, Blasphemia and Argos.

It’s time to move onto bigger waters.

The time has come to pull off a grand scam targeting the entire magical society.

“How do you plan to determine the Ten Towers’ deployment schedule?”

“We can obtain internal information from the Ten Towers by using Kine, who received a recruitment offer from Black Rock Tower. Even a newly initiated low-ranking member would notice if several elders leave simultaneously.”

…No. Relying on a single method invites disaster.

“Lampades’ Radar. Extraterrestrial expeditions inevitably generate massive waves. Constantly monitoring the extraplanar realms like Eidoln does will allow us to pinpoint their departure times.”

“We might also extract information from Blasphemia. If Niobe trusts me enough to reach out, we can get intelligence from her.”

“The most hopeful scenario would be if the Ten Towers themselves announce their departure. Given the repeated assaults on their authority by Argeyirion, they might hold a grand ceremony to showcase their military might. That would automatically provide us with the perfect timing to incite the magical society.”

Feeling lighter somehow, ideas flowed endlessly. Carisia tilted her head and asked,

“What next?”

“We agitate the other towers. Since Argeyirion’s downfall is already a foregone conclusion, let’s seize the opportunity to conduct inheritance battles and claim the Ten Sages before the elders return.”

Until now, the Ten Towers have relied on their power to solidify their regime. Especially in the current period where Argeyirion stands out as a disruptive force, they’ve wielded fear more strongly than ever.

Edicts like artifact confiscation or immediate execution orders for suspected Argeyirion sympathizers are bound to provoke backlash. They’ve been suppressed solely by the Ten Towers’ might so far.

What if the Ten Towers’ ‘power’ leaves for the Argeyirion campaign?

“They’ll regret relying solely on brute force for internal discipline.”

For a long time now, dividing the world into three factions has grown stale. Can the whole world really be neatly divided into just three parts?

Why impose limits on possibilities?

Alright. It’s time for the division of the world.

***