Chapter 151

The bold declaration of the “Divide the World Plan” had been made, but it couldn’t be immediately put into action.

Firstly, the problem was that the Divide the World Plan could only commence after the Ten Towers’ expeditionary force departed. If we needlessly provoked the fiercely enraged Ten Towers and an early full-scale war broke out, my carefully laid plans for the future would be dashed to the ground instantly.

After momentarily shifting focus from the Divide the World Plan and reviewing immediate tasks at hand, I realized there wasn’t anything at this point that absolutely required my personal intervention. It felt strangely familiar.

For the first time in a long while, I decided to conduct an internal inspection of Hydra Corp. Following Carisia’s suggestion, instead of telling the board members “We’re going to destroy Baegwang, prepare for battle,” I’d approach them with “We’re going to possess Baegwang, prepare for battle.” Nonetheless, there were still a few facts I needed to explain to the board members.

Specifically, the bitter history between Carisia and Argeyirion. Reflecting on it, the entire situation stemmed from getting entangled in their feud.

‘At least the board members don’t know that Argeyirion considers us adversaries.’

In fact, Argeyirion didn’t even know that Hydra Corp regarded them as enemies—until Nastiorn returned to them bearing my name.

Fortunately, Argeyirion currently lacked the resources to engage in external activities, as they needed to prepare to withstand the wrath of the Ten Towers.

‘I might as well meet each of the board members individually while arranging the schedule for a general meeting.’

***

“Master Bertrand is asleep.”

Geryon, yawning as he emerged, replied nonchalantly.

“Hmm? Is Master Bertrand directly involved in some task?”

“…Don’t you know? All I know is that the old man has been pouring his heart into something labeled as a ‘direct order from the chairman.’ Even Arabel was mobilized to an extreme extent.”

I have a vague idea what task Carisia personally directed. Likely something related to designing magical bombs. Feeling apologetic about waking anyone up, I merely conveyed the meeting schedule and returned.

When I met Kreton, the situation was similar. It was during a break at a demolition site. Using a carpenter’s apron rolled up as a makeshift pillow, he seemed quite accustomed to the worksite environment.

‘But does Kreton even sweat…?’

Even under extreme conditions, his heavily modified body wouldn’t normally require a towel. Of course, dust accumulation at demolition sites is inevitable, regardless.

After distributing coffee and bread among the physically augmented magic users led by Kreton, I simply reminded them that upon rising, they should participate in the next scheduled meeting.

“By the way, who informed the board member about this?”

“Oh. Just say some giggling guy came and went from headquarters, and they’ll know. I’m handling all the miscellaneous communication tasks between the board members.”

Neuro, Divius, and Mecoonion were still deployed on divine investigation missions and hadn’t returned yet. It was quite unexpected to see Mecoonion engaged in external activities outside Etna City.

I always imagined her confined to her drug den. Could there have been some change in her mindset?

I managed to convey the meeting schedule to Caike when he came to report to headquarters, leaving me with only Taros, the half-man, half-dragon mutant, to visit face-to-face.

Taros, with his bronze scales gleaming, stared at me with a peculiar gaze.

“To come here personally…”

“Haha. Lately, I’ve been busy outside and haven’t had much chance to meet the board members. With the overall meeting schedule set, I’m visiting each of you to inform you.”

“Regarding the task entrusted by Director Bertrand, it is progressing well.”

Bertrand. His name came up again. The scale of the ‘task’ Carisia assigned must be quite significant.

…Surely, they aren’t already preparing to turn the Artificial Tenth Rank into a bomb, are they? As the representative of mutants exposed to magical waste, Taros was one of the people who knew the underground mana conduits of Etna City best. Was some construction work being carried out on the mana conduit connected to the Artificial Tenth Rank installed on Mount Etna?

I resolved to ask Carisia about it sometime and shifted the topic. Since I hadn’t gotten the chance to inquire about the conflict with the Ten Towers from other board members, now that I’ve encountered Taros, I might as well ask for his thoughts on it.

“That’s good news, Director Taros. How do you view the standing of Hydra Corp?”

“You’re not asking for a complete answer, are you?”

Taros appeared deep in thought. I originally thought him to be similar to Kreton—crafty in combat but lacking profound wisdom.

This was due to my premature judgment based solely on his appearance, influenced by the original story where he didn’t play a major role.

“To be precise, it’s hard to answer. All I can ascertain is that Hydra Corp has the capability to conceive and execute daring plans to deceive the Ten Towers.”

Though he claimed uncertainty, his response struck at the core. Hydra Corp is already deceiving the Ten Towers.

“In that case, if things escalate beyond deceiving the Ten Towers to outright confrontation, will our company still have the capacity to carry out its plans?”

Upon hearing my words, Taros’ pupils trembled.

“Is this meeting…?”

“It’s related. Before the meeting starts, I’d like to gather honest opinions from the other directors to present to the chairman.”

I added various details. In reality, how many employees would dare to speak honestly if they were told their candid opinions would be relayed to the chairman?

“Of course, everything will remain anonymous. Feel free to speak your mind.”

People tend to find courage when assured their honest opinions will be delivered ‘anonymously.’

“Because ignoring internal unrest before embarking on major undertakings could lead to greater problems later, the chairman wishes to hear everyone’s views. There are already examples of large corporations suffering greatly due to neglecting such issues.”

“The Ten… Towers…”

“We’ve let Argeyirion run rampant, leading to the current situation.”

After pondering deeply, Taros shook his head. He promised to prepare a response by the meeting, acknowledging the difficulty of organizing his thoughts immediately.

His attitude alone was sufficient; thus, I refrained from pressing him further.

‘The board members don’t believe Hydra Corp lacks the potential to fight against the Ten Towers.’

Perhaps because from the start, we announced our intention to create the “Artificial Tenth Rank,” an act that fundamentally challenges the Ten Towers system. Taros’ reaction to the prospect of war with the Ten Towers leaned more toward resignation—”it was bound to happen”—than disbelief.

‘They seem to think the odds are low, but they don’t perceive victory as entirely impossible either.’

The phrase “difficulty organizing thoughts” was evidence of this. Had victory seemed completely impossible, he would have outright declared it a foolish endeavor.

Could the board members’ confidence in Hydra Corp’s strength stem from the Artificial Tenth Rank?

Or perhaps due to the recent decline in the Ten Towers’ status? Alternatively, maybe word had quietly spread that the massive explosion in Algus City was actually caused by a magical bomb prepared by Carisia.

Whatever the reason, morale seems higher than I anticipated. Revealing part of the succession plan and the Divide the World Plan would likely encourage more active participation in the fight. This alone makes today’s efforts worthwhile.

***

Taros’ hands trembled. For the first time, he truly experienced Ortes’ fear.

The visitor had suddenly singled out the phrase “internal unrest.”

Then subtly brought up Argeyirion, referencing the current dire situation caused by Argeyirion, once a part of the Ten Towers.

Recalling a message sent to him recently, Taros shuddered.

Among all magical mutations, the most enigmatic was dimensional erosion-induced mutation. And Argeyirion possessed the ability to freely induce and cancel such dimensional erosion.

The message was filled with implications: someone like Argeyirion could surely cure the mutations affecting him and his family.

It was an invitation to betrayal.

A message he had deleted without telling anyone.

How…

An unresolved question continued to haunt Taros.

***

While organizing Hydra Corp’s documents, Arabel approached with a fatigued expression.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you inform the other board members to clear their schedules for the meeting?”

“I did.”

After briefly contemplating, I decided to tell her the truth.

“Director Arabel, where were you just now?”

“In the basement strategic planning room of this building.”

“Judging from your appearance, it seems you’ve been living there for days. I assumed you’d remain at headquarters until the day of the meeting, so I didn’t notify you separately.”

Arabel let out a silent scream.