Chapter 110

Hydra Corp was insignificant in the magical society.

Naturally. Among the magic towers with histories spanning dozens, hundreds, or even a thousand years, a newly established tower that hadn’t even lasted a year—let alone ten—was in a precarious position, like grass that could vanish at any moment.

Of course, there are exceptions among newly founded towers. Some discover ancient legacies from ruined towers in old ruins, others are founded by direct disciples of the Ten Towers branching out on their own, or perhaps by sudden geniuses with groundbreaking exclusive magics. Such towers naturally draw the attention of the entire magical community.

However, Hydra Corp fit none of these categories. This was what Carisia wanted, and Ortes had executed it.

Despite having an aggressive expansion strategy and high combat capabilities, they were merely a power contending for dominance in Etna City. To those forces wielding influence capable of moving the entire magical society, Hydra Corp was just one of many towers.

Even considering Carisia’s skills displayed during the Elysion terror incident, this remained true, as she didn’t flaunt her status as president.

Hydra Corp became a mere topic of discussion when investors considering investments in Caike Tower mentioned its stock price being affected by the disappearance of the tower master.

Thus, Amimone Magic Tower’s level of interest in Hydra Corp far exceeded the average within the magical community.

The reason for their interest was simple: Hydra Corp had been responsible for toppling the Lernian Tower.

The founders of the Lernian Tower had been exiles from Amimone. If Hydra Corp intended to fully enter the magical society and utilized the legacy of the Lernian Tower, Amimone would have welcomed it.

Given the origins of the Lernian Tower’s founders, their research inevitably bore the imprint of Amimone. Expanding on this, one might argue that the legacy of the Lernian Tower was essentially plagiarized from Amimone’s.

Using this as leverage, Amimone could gradually expand its influence over Hydra Corp and potentially attempt a merger, absorbing it like many other towers.

However, contrary to Amimone’s expectations, Hydra Corp merely engaged in minor land grabs within Etna City. Eventually, Amimone lost interest in Hydra Corp.

This turned out to be one of Amimone’s worst misjudgments.

Even if they had continued monitoring Hydra Corp, it was uncertain whether they would have realized Hydra Corp was behind the storm that eventually hit them.

***

The beginning of the misfortune came from Panoptes. Proper Towers often embed their own magicians into various sections of Panoptes to exploit legal gray areas to the fullest extent.

And then, a damning accusation arose against an Amimone-originated Argo agent.

“Collaboration with Argeyirion!”

Tower Master Danao shouted in disbelief. What nonsense was this?

Perhaps previous masters might have done something like that, but Danao himself harbored no grand ambitions. Teaming up with Argeyirion to overthrow the Ten Towers and ascend to the true peak of all towers?

It was laughable. He already enjoyed wealth and power close to the summit. Why would he gamble on such a reckless adventure?

Living a peaceful life collecting patents from smaller towers to secure future profits suited Danao perfectly.

“Damn it. What is all this about? I’ve bribed the higher-ups at Argo as much as possible.”

Danao ran his fingers through his hair, rereading the report slowly.

“Blasphemia?”

These bastards. Though nominally three agencies—Argo, Eidoln, and Blasphemia—divided Panoptes, Argo held the most real power due to its larger number of members and more general responsibilities.

Blasphemia and Eidoln were secretive organizations acting only for specific purposes, making public knowledge about them almost impossible.

Still, as the master of a proper tower, Danao should have been well-versed in the internal power struggles of Panoptes.

“Damn luck. Are we caught in some ranking dispute between two factions?”

It might not just be a ranking fight. Rumors were circulating that some agents of Blasphemia had become infiltrators for Argeyirion. The more non-Blasphemia collaborators Argeyirion gained, the less burden they’d bear.

“It’s strange that accusations are directed at my tower. Is there a magician inside Blasphemia trying to check us?”

Danao thought of other proper towers expanding in similar fields. There were plenty who opposed his relentless expansion, but few considered him a serious competitor.

Generations of accumulated expertise couldn’t be overturned by a few small tower patents. Danao focused more on diversifying his business rather than directly competing in others’ specialized areas.

‘This means the number of people with such grudges against my tower is limited. Other proper towers fighting me for market share…’

Danao shook his head after considering the possibility that a rival tower had orchestrated the situation. With the relic inspection policies of the Ten Towers, proper towers needed to focus on policing their own ranks.

That left only one remaining candidate.

The rejects from Amimone.

It was plausible that survivors of smaller towers, lucky enough to live after defeat by Amimone, joined Panoptes to find a way to survive. If they possessed enough talent to be recruited into Blasphemia, they might retaliate with accusations like these.

“Hmph. This is all the revenge they’re capable of.”

Exploiting the rivalry between Blasphemia and Argo to accuse Amimone agents is an idea anyone with a functioning brain could come up with.

But without concrete evidence of actual collaboration, the backlash would fall on the accusers.

Naturally, Amimone did not nurture traitors. Danao loved the system above all else.

With the authority and power of a proper tower, trivial doubts would fade with time. When that happened, the false accusers would be ostracized within Blasphemia, allowing for easy handling.

Real power struggles don’t play out like this.

Even with false accusations, the fight begins only after meticulously preparing evidence to turn falsehoods into truths. The failed rebels daring to challenge Amimone lacked the ability to create such evidence.

This was the difference between the powerful and the defeated.

“I need to figure out who started this rumor first if I want to resolve this quickly. I’ll need to find contacts within Blasphemia.”

And the next day,

Amimone Magic Tower was accused of concealing relics.

***

“Wow. Things are going smoothly so far!”

Cnemon shivered as Ortes explained. Using Blasphemia to accuse Argo agents of Amimone origin was territory Cnemon struggled to comprehend.

How could they recruit Blasphemia and manipulate their intentions from Etna City?

Yet, this event was even more dramatic. A large quantity of relic fragments had been discovered in the city where Amimone stood.

“The divine energy has been extracted, leaving them as mere ‘residuals.’ But we can still pin this on Amimone, claiming they removed divine energy to avoid detection during inspections, intending to restore it afterward.”

Ortes kindly explained the plan, a scheme requiring control over both Blasphemia and Argo while also securing mysterious relics in bulk.

Cnemon realized what Ortes meant when he said “it might take some time before I can offer you the position of Tower Master.”

If this was the first phase, how deep would Amimone fall by the end?

“What’s the second step?”

“Oh, nothing much. Isn’t the current rise and response of the Ten Towers due to Argeyirion?”

“If it’s because of Argeyirion, will you summon them?”

“Ah! You catch on quick, Cnemon!”

‘What crazy talk is this guy spouting?’

Cnemon stared bewildered at Ortes.

Ortes smiled, thinking about the core of Adusiam retrieved from Pluto’s grand temple.