Chapter 117

Carisia rolled the crystal in her hand. This relic no longer provided the same visions as before.

It was strange, after all, that trouble seemed to follow her wherever she went.

But to Carisia, Ortes felt like a human totem that brought storms wherever he went. Hadn’t Carisia herself been the storm that brought great upheaval to the magical community?

After repeatedly adjusting the Phobos crystal, and seeing no clear image appear, Carisia sighed.

“This time, I might really return without any major incidents.”

“?!”

Kine, who was receiving one-on-one magic tutoring from Carisia, tilted their head in confusion at this unexpected remark.

***

“These wicked spies! Where do you get such lies to deceive me?”

Gorgoph activated the magic embedded in his enchanted gear. Deadly poison water poured down upon those surrounding the Amimone Magic Tower.

“This is insane! We sent a rescue signal, didn’t we!”

Responding to Haltos’s firm directive, the Argeyirion rescue team faced fierce resistance from the very person they were sent to rescue.

***

Haltos was an astute individual.

Had he not been so, he could never have risen to the position of deputy leader of Blasphemia. He possessed not only the astuteness to acquire and apply knowledge but also an extraordinary intuition that had saved his life countless times in dire situations.

And then there was the extensive experience accumulated through many real battles. These three elements constituted Haltos’s survival instincts.

And now,

“This is something I must handle personally. No other officer can possibly withstand this adversary.”

“What nonsense! It’s out of the question. As the leader of Argeyirion, this is nothing more than reckless madness!”

Nastiorn, Haltos’s closest confidant, suspected that all three of Haltos’s survival instincts had gone absent.

“I know the adversary better than anyone else in Argeyirion. I’ve witnessed firsthand how everything touched by his influence goes awry.”

Viewed through the lens of Haltos’s accumulated experience and the intuition ringing alarm bells fiercely now, this could only be the work of the adversary.

Unfortunately, his intellect-based astuteness had no role to play here. The adversary’s methods were subtle and cunning, defying logical reasoning or causal relationships. However, it was clear that both his experience and intuition pointed to the adversary.

Nastiorn thought Haltos had lost his sanity by absorbing too much extraplanar power.

Absolutely unacceptable. Unless a successor had already been chosen, if the leader of Argeyirion rashly launched an assault on the Proper Tower’s location, what would become of the situation? Even if destroying an entire city and seizing the Proper Tower wiped out its social influence, there would still be some gain in victory.

However, the worst-case scenario would involve the arrival of the elders. Though the likelihood was extremely low, if surrounded by the Ten Towers’ councilors, even Haltos’s guaranteed victory in an extraplanar erosion zone couldn’t be assured.

If the leader fell without a successor, Argeyirion would collapse as well.

Nastiorn desperately dissuaded Haltos from leading the expedition himself.

In a short span, Nastiorn had expended considerable mental energy and wondered:

“Why…”

Why hadn’t the other officers of Argeyirion stopped Haltos?

When Haltos declared that no one but himself could handle the situation, the officers showed discomfort but did not raise objections.

“Why has this adversary caused such chaos…”

Nastiorn believed that Haltos and the other officers of Argeyirion were not collectively hallucinating.

Could such a bizarre entity really emerge so conveniently, just as Haltos suspected?

Nevertheless, he agreed that rescuing allies in the extraplanar erosion zone was quite a difficult mission.

Though areas eroded by the extraplanar realm were familiar territory for Argeyirion, their large-scale intervention would essentially declare war, allowing the Amimone Magic Tower to prepare for further attacks.

The plant-type mage carefully selected by Nastiorn among the officers excelled not only in direct combat but also in escape. This mage, who had replaced much of their own biological tissue with plant matter, boasted remarkable vitality.

“Sprigo. The first priority is to rescue Gorgoph. If conditions permit, you may assist Gorgoph and the others in capturing the Amimone Magic Tower and securing its magic core. But if not, focus solely on the rescue mission.”

If it turns out there truly is a traitor within the Proper Tower, the magical community will be shaken again. Originally, there was no plan to expose the collaborators within the Proper Tower so quickly, but since they’ve been revealed, we must make full use of the situation.

Summoned by Nastiorn, Sprigo nodded but seemed hesitant, looking around before quietly asking,

“If we encounter the adversary, what should we do?”

A tremor could be felt from Sprigo’s bark-covered body. Nastiorn felt both absurdity and anger.

Rationally speaking, doesn’t it sound ridiculous? The ‘adversary,’ who disappeared during the Golden Desert Operation and hasn’t shown a single trace since, appearing right now in Algus City.

And being the cause of the Amimone Magic Tower incident? Have all the officers of Argeyirion suffered some sort of mass panic attack?

Nevertheless, Nastiorn neither scolded Sprigo nor refused to answer and forced them into the mission. There was no need to dampen Sprigo’s motivation.

“…Maintain high flexibility and respond appropriately to the situation.”

“Huh?”

“Make whatever judgment calls you need. If the adversary really appears, I’ll grant you full authority on the scene.”

What response plan could there possibly be for a non-existent entity? There’s no manual for dealing with urban legends. The best course of action is to allow maximum freedom for the field team.

Still looking somewhat perplexed, Sprigo nodded upon hearing that retreat or requesting reinforcements was permitted, and prepared for dimensional travel.

Of course, Sprigo wasn’t traveling alone. Beside them stood silver beings with featureless faces similar to Nastiorn’s, orderly arranged in formation.

This was the next stage reachable by “Silver Hosts” who hadn’t self-destructed due to overload but had undergone proper procedures—silver soldiers, Drachma.

This battalion was prepared to end the situation before the Ten Towers could interfere in the extraplanar erosion zone.

And this was the rescue team led by Sprigo…

“We’ve come to aid comrades who requested help from Argeyirion! Ignorant ones still blinded to the greater cause, join our comrades in resisting the vile rule of the Ten Towers─”

“Nonsense!”

“These wicked spies! Where do you get such lies to deceive me!”

─was the sequence of events leading up to the fierce resistance from the rescue target.

***

Sprigo couldn’t understand.

“Our Amimone Magic Tower does not negotiate with your kind! Retreat from Algus City immediately!”

The loud voice coming from the fully-defensive magic tower undoubtedly belonged to Gorgoph, Argeyirion’s ally.

The recruitment report from Argeyirion included not only physical descriptions but also evaluations of character. Didn’t the brief review of Gorgoph’s interview before departure mention “notable loyalty to the greater cause”?

“Beloved people of truth and justice! Open the doors and unite!”

“Bullshit!”

How could such a loyal comrade lack faith to this extent?

At the same time, Sprigo understood everything.

“The Adversary.”

The very figure esteemed Haltos had pinpointed from the operation’s planning stages. Though reborn under the blessing of justice and having cast off worldly memories, the scar-like malice etched onto the soul remained.

If the Adversary was behind it, anything was possible.

***

“Indeed. As you foresaw, there were those approaching us pretending to be from Argeyirion.”

Gorgoph suddenly switched from informal to formal speech. Initially distrustful, then trust, and now respect.

He seemed to genuinely follow Argeyirion’s “greater cause.” The more actions I took that benefited Argeyirion, the more favorably he treated me.

“If external forces claiming to be reinforcements from the Ten Towers appear, let them in. But if they claim to be Argeyirion, attack. I never expected you’d resort to such a shallow deception while you’re here.”

“It’s thanks to my perfect disguise. In Blasphemia, we have established combat doctrine to infiltrate towers by posing as comrades if our allies manage to capture them.”

I calmly smiled and added a few words.

“A brilliant plan.”

Of course, it was fabricated. In reality, the “guidelines for responding to outside forces” was a trick prepared by the real Argeyirion in case they risked attacking the Amimone Magic Tower.

When the real Argeyirion appeared, I was startled. Fortunately, Gorgoph followed my words and aggressively showed hostility toward Argeyirion.

“Blasphemia simply failed to recognize the subtler tactics of justice compared to them.”

“It’s natural that fools blind to justice cannot follow the wise who embody it!”

Gorgoph laughed loudly. Listening to his laughter, I thought,

“Argeyirion’s forces have arrived. Simply deceiving Gorgoph isn’t enough. We need to bring Danao into this.”

Time to use the operation codenamed “Temporary Alliance!”