NOVEL NEXT Chapter 75
Something feels off.
The leader of Argyrion, Halto, frowned. Blasphemia’s tracking was much faster than expected. The confusion caused by the Silver Thread Host shouldn’t have been settled this quickly.
Sometimes, Blasphemia even ambushed Argyrion’s agents before spreading the Silver Threads.
If Halto hadn’t felt any discomfort in such a clear anomaly, he likely wouldn’t have been selected as an agent for the Golden Desert Operation.
“Nastion.”
The shadow beneath Halto’s feet wobbled. The limp shadow slowly stood up on two legs, taking on the shape of a person made entirely of blackness, without any facial features.
“Is there a traitor among us?”
The voiceless shadow spoke. Strangely, the voice seemed to echo evenly from all directions.
“Our comrades are proud even in the shadows; they are more than qualified to uphold the Divine.”
If that’s the case, the current situation made even less sense. If it wasn’t a plot from the spies planted by Blasphemia, how on earth could information have leaked?
Halto methodically retraced the methods he had used to gather information while with Blasphemia. However, he had found no means to obtain information without leaving behind any evidence.
“…No. So that’s how it is.”
The future prediction operation based on the Ten Commandments was a high-level tool that could only be used at the Ten Towers. Even if Blasphemia, being a mere puppet organization of the Ten Towers, applied to use it, getting permission for future predictions would be difficult.
The Ten Commandments were so powerful in their existence that they acted as variables for future predictions, meaning that to accurately predict the future, more than half of the Ten Commandments had to be used simultaneously. It was a privilege that could only be exercised after crafty dealings in secret meetings of the elders of the Ten Towers.
However, Blasphemia had a means to peek into the future, even without the Ten Commandments.
“The Prophet in the Basement…”
Blasphemia had recognized the dangers of the Followers of Superstition and sought to eliminate them. However, at the same time, they did not deny their usefulness.
Especially useful among them were the prophets, including the Priest of Phoibos.
To save their loved ones, or to escape pursuit, the prophets who had made deals with Blasphemia.
The ‘Prophet in the Basement,’ created from the minds of these prophets interconnected in parallel, was one of the mysterious tools created by Blasphemia.
“…Wasn’t the Prophet in the Basement shut down after the birth of the White Light monster?”
Nastion questioned. The White Light monster, the bastard child of the Ten Commandments, was a massive variable that shook future predictions like the Ten Commandments themselves.
Originally, the predictions made by the prophets were more akin to ‘foreknowledge’ rather than ‘forecasting.’ It was a glimpse into a moment of the future without any logic or causality.
However, the crude imitation crafted from the corpses of the prophets, the ‘Prophet in the Basement,’ was closer to prediction. While it could be made operable by excluding the Ten Commandments from the variables from the beginning, lowering the accuracy of the prophecy….
The White Light monster dealt a fatal blow to the Prophet in the Basement. It was a variable that transcended the limits of what could be calculated.
No matter how many times they rebooted it and interpreted the prophecies produced, only a blue light shone through.
“Just like the Prophet in the Basement excluded the Ten Commandments from the predictions, isn’t it likely that a new Prophet in the Basement has been created, excluding the White Light monster?”
“The Followers of Superstition have been declining in numbers due to continuous hunts. In the current situation, where there are limits to securing materials for maintaining the Prophet in the Basement, it would be difficult to create a new one.”
“Our former superiors may have compromised with reality and decided to use the relics of the Followers of Superstition. What’s important is that, with such non-magical means, they have started tracking us.”
Nastion couldn’t deny this. If there were no traitors, the only possible explanation for being read at every turn by Argyrion’s movements was the involvement of some non-magical means.
“What should we do?”
“After all, using the Silver Thread Terror had its limits in obscuring the eyes of the Ten Towers. It’s unfortunate that the goal was to buy half a year of time, but we won’t even last three months…”
Halto’s calculations became complicated. First and foremost, the priority was to interfere with the prophecies. Secondly, the destruction of the ‘Prophet in the Basement’ that Blasphemia had newly forged.
There were two ways to interfere with the prophecies. Argyrion could likewise engage in a battle of wits using prophets to read the future or complicate the future that needed to be read.
“What about the towers trading with us?”
“Since the annihilation of the Torres Faction, everyone has been shrinking back. Some are slow to cut off trades, and a few show signs of legal transactions.”
“We’ll have to use them.”
Halto gazed out of the window.
A massive magic circle was being drawn, accumulating Mana through the Silver Threads. A passage to the extra-dimensional realm.
It would still take more time until the Door was completed.
“For the Divine and the Truth.”
*
Blasphemia and the Divine Cult formed a united front against the Argyrion alliance using me as a foothold.
In fact, they each thought of me as a spy working for their own factions, so the term united front didn’t quite fit.
“Director Neuro, please head to the ruins of Elimon, and Director Divius, to the ruins of Piraios.”
And the Hydra Corporation, amidst the two factions fervently facing Argyrion, was increasing their efforts in the Divine Investigation.
Most of the investigation sites had no visible relics left. There was a reason why Blasphemia left them unattended. However, whether scraping the entire temple to find pieces of artifacts or taking the altar if necessary, Kaicle could extract divine power.
The Artificial Ten Commandments were slowly, but surely, accumulating divine power.
“If any unusual occurrences are discovered, please contact me. I will liaise with nearby Blasphemia agents.”
After giving each of the Directors their respective work orders, I set out on my own. The message I had received from Niobe contained a request to meet with me.
I had been busy tracking Argyrion, so I had declined to meet her several times. At the same time, I passed along information provided by the Divine Cult to Niobe for her free use. This was to provoke a clash between Blasphemia and Argyrion.
It seemed that Niobe had found the information I provided useful. News of Argyrion’s capture or elimination flowed in one after the other from her email. The operation was a success.
As tracking Argyrion was the main goal of Blasphemia at the moment, Niobe, who was always fishing for breaking news, must have experienced quite a few promotions as well.
If she reported the information I gave her as her own accomplishment, she would likely have become an elite agent, holding at least some degree of independent operational authority, right?
That Niobe now requested a meeting saying, “Now we really must meet,” chose a contact location at the safehouse of Blasphemia located near the expected Argyrion emergence area.
While I was reluctant to meet and take on risks, continuously declining would only create discomfort. Thus, I made all necessary preparations and headed to the designated spot.
*
An agent known as L13 had been the center of attention within Blasphemia for some time.
The first incident of discovering Argyrion’s trace, the betrayal of Charlotte branch chief Nardanit.
The Elysion Terror, where Argyrion had fully revealed its name.
Even on Crete Island, where the Torres Tower’s treasonous activity had occurred, the name L13 popped up.
Before Orthes vanished from the scene, he had left a message for the prisoners and troubleshooters of the Torres Tower: “If they ask for my name during the interrogation process at the Ten Towers, respond with L13.”
As Blasphemia reviewed the testimonies, they couldn’t help but fall into confusion. How could an agent that had been completely off the grid for a long time still be active?
Was L13 perhaps a fictional identity created by Argyrion to distribute false information?
The person to quell such suspicions was Auditor General Salmosia.
Niobe faithfully followed Orthes’s advice that “do not trust the existing reporting system, and ensure the really important information gets conveyed to either the Auditor General or L13 himself.”
Instead of disguising the information received from L13 as her own evidence collection ability or inferences, she decided to relay everything directly to the Auditor General.
As a result, Salmosia, filled with immense trust toward L13, dismissed the internal issues raised within Blasphemia.
From that atmosphere, Blasphemia also vaguely grasped L13’s identity. If it were an unknown agent from the Auditor Office, there was no one besides the Secret Inspector.
While it still remained a mystery how L13 was tracking Argyrion, everyone knew that digging into the ‘secrets’ of the Secret Inspector was not a wise course of action.
Niobe was elevated to a position similar to a dedicated operator for L13 by Salmosia. And Salmosia wanted to meet with the most capable agent loyal to her directly.
Thus.
“I’ve heard the reports you provided through Niobe. I understand the caution regarding the Doomsday Cultist within the Ten Towers who is in league with Argyrion, but sometimes don’t you think it’s necessary to return to your roots?”
“It’s an honor to meet you again, Auditor General.”