Chapter 154

Taros’s confession went on for quite some time. While his slow and halting tone contributed to the length, most of it was due to hesitation stemming from the content of his confession.

Ortes, enduring a severe headache—caused by both his ‘eye’ and unforeseen circumstances—found no trace of falsehood in Taros’s inner thoughts.

“Having been enticed… I did hesitate, but I haven’t handed over any information yet.”

A sudden silence enveloped the conference room.

The board members instinctively sensed it wasn’t their place to interject and remained silent, while Ortes was preoccupied analyzing the incomprehensible thought that surfaced in Taros’s mind: “So the Director of Sacred Investigations knows everything already…!”

“Hmm.”

It was Carisia who broke the silence. As president, she served as the perfect instrument to dispel this uncomfortable quiet.

“As President of Hydra Corp, I must ask: why did you hesitate at their proposal?”

Taros gathered his faltering voice to speak.

If their claims were true, and extra-dimensional mutations could be freely controlled, it might also be possible to treat the mutation phenomena affecting Taros’s group of mutants.

However, even if Hydra Corp’s efforts toward creating the Artificial Tenth Rank succeeded, granting access to immense magical power, they wouldn’t provide the ritual techniques necessary to utilize that power for healing.

Thus—

“Ahh, that isn’t the reason. If their offer had been so convincing, I might have leaked information obtained through my role as a board member, such as details about sacred investigation duties. But since I haven’t divulged anything, what made you refuse their proposal?”

Carisia’s question seemed driven more by curiosity than accountability. Though taken aback by her unexpected demeanor, Taros answered straightforwardly.

“Fear.”

“Fear?”

“The fear that the Director of Sacred Investigations might know. Or that this itself is a test of loyalty orchestrated by the Director…”

“Aha. And?”

Ortes now appeared almost like a mythical transcendent dictator, monitoring all communications and observing every move. Carisia silently reaffirmed that Ortes’s reputation had long passed the point of no return.

“Distrust… of Argeyirion.”

Carisia nodded. After all, Argeyirion wasn’t exactly known for its reliability. She then signaled Ortes with a glance.

Ortes nodded in return, certifying that there was no falsehood in Taros’s testimony.

“Ortes.”

While Carisia prepared the grand strategy, it was Ortes’s responsibility to plan and fill in the details. Whether to dispose of Taros or assign him another role—it was Ortes who had to make the judgment call.

“Director Taros.”

Ortes looked at Taros. The squinted eyes exuding unreadable emotions made Taros feel uneasy.

“In this situation, let’s sell them some information.”

“…?”

***

At first, Taros was perplexed. Argeyirion had acted faster than expected, targeting one of the most peripheral board members to sow discord. Had Taros not overestimated their capabilities, it might have been an effective scheme.

It hadn’t been a week since Nastiorn disappeared upon hearing my name, and already they were attempting to turn one of the board members against us. Such a strategy would have worked well if Taros hadn’t misjudged me.

‘This plan was likely devised by Haltos.’

Nastiorn was somewhat of an anomaly within Argeyirion. Although the entirety of Argeyirion was once a special detachment of Blasphemia hunting Carisia, neither Carisia nor I had ever encountered someone like Nastiorn in that unit.

My clash with him began in Algus City. It was probably the first time he’d encountered me face-to-face.

On the other hand, Haltos retained faint memories of our past battles.

Given that the members of Argeyirion calling themselves my ‘nemesis’ mimicked social strategies they’d used against me, it was only natural. They had indeed successfully sown discord between the Magic Tower and the Ten Towers.

Repaying an old enemy with their own tactics must have been tempting.

Still, something felt off.

“Perhaps Argeyirion never seriously intended to recruit Director Taros.”

“What…?”

“There’s a history of animosity between Argeyirion and our company, Hydra Corp.”

As I started this explanation, curious glances turned toward me. Mecoonion, who was fidgeting with her pipe due to nicotine withdrawal, gave me a look implying, “Isn’t this more about your personal ties with the president rather than Hydra Corp?”

But I was confident. After all, my name was officially listed among Hydra Corp personnel, so we were all in the same boat now.

“They’ve overestimated my abilities somewhat. Their swift discovery of your contact information is commendable, but this strategy feels too simplistic to be genuinely devised by Argeyirion.”

Argeyirion regards me as a formidable nemesis and treats me with caution. They wouldn’t attempt to bring down such a rival with a simple betrayal plot involving just one board member.

“How does this connect to selling information?”

“What do you think their reaction will be if an unexpected traitor actually emerges? Will they assume their strategy has been uncovered, or will they try to recruit the traitor? Either way, they’ll have to respond.”

We don’t know whether the requests or information coming from Argeyirion are truthful or deceitful, but reacting at all provides clues for future judgments.

More channels to gather information are always better.

“With gratitude for Director Taros’s honest report, let’s proceed to the main topic of our general meeting.”

I pressed a button, projecting a hologram onto the table—a sleek presentation tool crafted by Arabel.

“I will explain the Heaven-Dividing Strategy.”

***

Nastiorn looked at Haltos.

“Do you truly believe their director will betray them?”

Haltos could guess the unspoken doubts in Nastiorn’s mind. Would the betrayal of a Hydra Corp director significantly impact Ortes? Could it qualify as an unexpected attack against Ortes?

Having pondered these questions hundreds of times, Haltos could answer succinctly.

“No.”

Nastiorn’s shadowy form rippled slightly. He was likely confused. Haltos added, considering how emotional Nastiorn had become after exposure to Ortes.

“Ortes likely anticipates everything. From the moment our identities were exposed, he knew attacks on Hydra Corp would come.”

Haltos gazed at the trembling barrier of the outer dimensions and beyond it, at their adversary who viewed the world as nothing more than a play. Breaking Ortes’s carefully prepared script had become Haltos’s mission.

“By now, any director approached with our offer has either been exposed to Ortes or has reported the approach back to him.”

“How…?”

“To him, human minds are no different from books. You’ve surely felt it. All deceptions and stratagems are meaningless against him. A close confidant of Ortes, having served beside him, should understand this all too well.”

“If all this is meaningless, why did you send the offer?”

The question implied: if everything was doomed to fail, why waste time and resources on a predetermined failure?

“Sometimes, you need to lose a local battle to capture the great horse. It’s called a sacrificial pawn.”

To Nastiorn, this was incomprehensible. However, recalling his experience in Algus City, he deeply acknowledged one fact:

When facing ‘the Adversary,’ Haltos’s insight surpassed anyone else’s in all of Argeyirion.

While reflecting on the memory of that terrifying existence, a signal rang in Nastiorn’s mind. It was communication from spies scattered across the outside world.

“…Hydra Corp Director Taros has agreed to deal with us. He’ll send mutation samples in exchange for appropriate antidotes and will provide part of Hydra Corp’s operational list.”

“It’s a trap.”

“Is… it?”

“Certainly. This is clearly a scheme to extract information from our side. Based on what we request, they can deduce the current situation.”

Nastiorn’s shadowy form quivered again. Haltos easily understood the unspoken question.

“Ahh, you wonder how I know so much. Let me share my secret with you—just this once, so listen well.”

The shadow drew closer. Haltos smiled wryly and whispered.

“Our adversary always fulfills the worst scenarios I imagine. Sometimes, it gets even worse.”