NOVEL NEXT Chapter 74
“Aren’t you supposed to start with something different? Like whether the Mage King’s resurrection is true and why you’ve been hiding it until now?”
“Uh, you’re serious?”
Carisia asked with a nonchalant attitude, as if she was saying, “Did you eat breakfast this morning?” I nodded hesitantly.
“…Yes. It’s the truth. At least, that’s what I believe.”
“Well, then, is there any reason to worry about anything else? Unless knowing why you hid the prophecy helps in defeating the Mage King.”
Unexpected trust there!
“Did you hide it on purpose? That’s upsetting. Is there anyone who trusts you more than I do?”
There was a faint smile. A statement tinged with humor, but I wasn’t going to let my guard down. I had just given Carisia something to hang over me later, which would come back to bite me with more work.
“It wasn’t intentional. I thought I’d tell you someday….”
“You thought?”
“I forgot.”
Carisia’s gaze was sharp. She let out an awkward ‘Hmm’ and then shook her head.
“You aren’t someone who would lie. About the Mage King.”
“Aren’t you afraid of the boss?”
“It’s a person from thousands of years ago, right? Before fear or terror, it doesn’t really feel real. I’ve defeated him once, after all.”
I could hear Carisia mumbling in thought. Yes, maybe a bomb might indeed be the surest way.
Why on earth does she love explosions like this?
The difference this time with the talk about bombs was that I also thought it was worth considering seriously. As a means to take down that powerful Mage King. Would there be a chance to defeat him if we detonated the Artificial Ten Commandments at his resurrection point?
According to the original depictions, it was certain that right after his resurrection was the Mage King’s weakest time. Still, that overwhelming mana control and magic manipulation abilities would surpass common sense.
If we could blow the Ten Commandments bomb just at the exact moment of his resurrection, it seemed like even the Mage King would receive an injury he couldn’t ignore….
But, the original didn’t properly cover the moment of awakening. He’d open his eyes, be enraged by betrayal, and then head toward the strongest mana sensing place to punish his disciples, only to end up seeing the dazzling neon mana signs of 2077 flashing on skyscrapers as the prologue ended with a confused “Huh?”
After that, the Mage King wandered the world, gathering information, and making plans to reclaim the Ten Commandments. And so, what followed after a while was the first episode.
In other words, the resurrection location wasn’t specified, and the Mage King managed to leave the place of his resurrection immediately.
“Assuming the Mage King wasn’t prepared for an attack, we could deal significant damage.”
“You aren’t saying we could kill him, are you?”
“I’ve never seen him directly, you know.”
From Argyrion to the Divine Cult, this world had changed in many ways from the original story. It was enough to be certain that the flow of the world didn’t follow the novel.
Despite this, we couldn’t lower our guard against the Mage King not just because he was the protagonist, but because he was the world’s strongest sorcerer.
“With time left, I want to address other immediate incidents before the Mage King. First, we need to hear from the Divine Cult─”
Vwoooommm.
With a vibrating sound, a hologram unfolded over the gauntlet. An email had arrived in the L13 account. The sender’s name looked like it was pulled from a random number generator; it made no sense.
Divine Cult.
Just as I was about to open the email, another vibrating sound echoed. Niobe’s email address.
I received messages from both the Divine Cult and Blasphemia.
Looking at Carisia, she nodded. Given her permission, I quickly started reading the mail.
*
Orthes was scanning the email with his usual gaze. Carisia’s thoughts were complicated.
The major event of the Mage King’s reappearance. Orthes dismissed it simply as “I forgot.”
Rationally speaking, Orthes had no reason to lie to himself. However, at the same time…
“Does it even make sense to forget that?”
It was impossible not to have doubts. Even if Orthes was somewhat impulsive, he wasn’t someone who’d forget something that important.
To put it precisely, he hadn’t forgotten the fact that the Mage King was resurrecting. He remembered it, which is why he brought it up as a negotiation card in conversation with the Divine Cult.
He simply forgot to tell it to himself.
“How could he forget that?”
Instead of expressing disappointment, Carisia chose to gauge the impact this would have on the world’s situation. If the Mage King wielded his power, the Ten Towers would either bow to him or be forced to fight against him.
The reason he descended back into the world could only be for the Ten Commandments. The Ten Towers, unable to give them up, would naturally seek to fight.
The determining factor that allowed the first ten disciples to defeat the Mage King was the Ten Commandments. Infinite mana added to the betrayal. If either one of them hadn’t existed, defeating the Mage King would have been impossible.
Recalling the remnants of the ancient past, a pain like a tear filled Carisia’s mind. A pain that seemed to shred all the way to her marrow.
Until meeting Orthes, this had been a familiar pain. Carisia maintained her composure and organized her thoughts.
Thinking about a seesaw made it easier. No matter how much the opponent tried to lift from the other side, it first needed to be a matched weight. The counterweight to the overwhelming presence of the Mage King. The Ten Towers, having lost the Ten Commandments, had no capacity to oppose him.
“Should we crush the White Light and face the Mage King, or defeat the Mage King and then crush the White Light….”
A crossroads of the future.
Since the revived Mage King wanted the Ten Commandments, and Carisia aimed to destroy the White Light, a clash with the Mage King would also be inevitable.
“There’s no need to separate them, is there?”
The answer to Carisia’s musing came from Orthes.
“Pardon?”
“I’ve been thinking about the Artificial Ten Commandments bomb operation. If we were to use it as a bomb, ideally, we should aim to set it off at the moment when the Mage King comes to reclaim the White Light.”
Orthes’s eyes sparkled. Carisia tried to fathom his gaze. Just as Orthes sometimes tried to read Carisia’s thoughts, Carisia too found Orthes’s inner workings a mystery.
“If we set it off once for the greatest effect, wouldn’t it make sense to do so in front of the Ten Commandments when the Mage King comes to reclaim them?”
“…Are you serious?”
At Carisia’s serious rebuttal, Orthes wore an aggrieved expression.
“No. It came to mind because the boss was talking about bombs non-stop.”
Orthes, gathering excuses like he didn’t like crude measures such as bombs made Carisia smirk.
“Let’s leave the talk of unexplored futures there. What’s the response from the Divine Cult?”
Orthes, grumbling somewhat, adjusted his posture.
“It’s a second option. For reasons unknown, they’ve declared they would actively cooperate in retrieving the relics. The Pope might require the relics for his ‘blasphemous plan’.”
“So, what does that mean?”
“Both the records from the Blasphemia database and the ancient ruins recorded by the Divine Cult can now be subjected to Divine Investigation.”
Orthes proceeded to explain his scheme.
The Divine Cult sees Orthes as a member of Blasphemia. Under the pretext of revealing the areas with the least Blasphemia’s surveillance network, the Divine Cult could provide the location of their own ancient temples.
Orthes’s status as a secret inspector of L13 was still valid, and his channel with Niobe was also active. He could partially gain access to Blasphemia’s surveillance network data.
“This alone won’t be enough. However, the location information about Argyrion that the Divine Cult tracks and tips me off could be very useful.”
It was nearly impossible to trace Argyrion magically. They were once top-tier magical trackers themselves as agents of Blasphemia.
There was no one harder to hunt than a hunter.
But the Divine Cult could mobilize Saints. If the Saint of archery, the Saint of hunting, or Phoibos’s prophecy was utilized, it wouldn’t be difficult to find Argyrion.
What if they delivered Argyrion’s appearance information under the name of L13 to Blasphemia?
Blasphemia would have no choice but to dispatch agents to that area. Then, the surveillance network around the ruins of the cult in that area would have a gap.
With that gap, the Divine Cult could collect the relics.
In other words…
“I can provide the location information about Argyrion to mobilize Blasphemia while also informing the Divine Cult of the ruins with the weakest surveillance, thereby guiding their movements too.”
“Divine Cult and Blasphemia. The ruins that fall outside the influence of both sides will entirely belong to the Hydra Corporation.”
Orthes nodded happily. He had perfectly succeeded in balancing between Blasphemia and the Divine Cult.
“It’s time to begin the Divine Investigation in earnest.”