Ch.113Storm Brewing in Amimone (4)

After opening the box, Ortes repeatedly turned Adusiam’s power off and on several times.

If the signal was detected just once, he could claim it was a malfunction or coincidence, but with multiple detections like this, such excuses would be impossible.

‘This should be enough to get detected.’

The eavesdropping radar that Blasphemia had installed throughout the area for evidence collection would certainly have detected the wavelengths emitted from Adusiam.

Ortes left the Amimone Magic Tower with a satisfied smile.

What Ortes overlooked was the situation in the Amimone Magic Tower, specifically the condition of the Arguirion collaborators trapped inside.

The public exposure of the Amimone Magic Tower had spread widely throughout the magical society via the Ether Space. Being a public disclosure, it was something that couldn’t be hidden from the beginning.

Therefore, it was only natural for Arguirion to understand that the envoys from the Amimone Magic Tower were in danger.

The reason Arguirion hadn’t taken direct action was because of a plan previously agreed upon with their collaborators. If they were truly in danger, they would send a distress signal.

That “dangerous situation” didn’t include death. The collaborators fully sympathized with what Arguirion called “the cause.” They were willing to swear that they would die before revealing anything about the cause.

But there were times when they absolutely must not die. Like when a mage from the Dark Tower, specializing in necromancy, had prepared to capture souls for interrogation.

If their souls fell into the hands of the Dark Tower, they would dissect the souls completely and tear apart every strand of magical power constituting the soul to uncover secrets.

It was precisely in such situations that the collaborators had agreed to send a distress signal.

There were other situations where they had agreed to send distress signals. For example, if they obtained a powerful artifact but were being pursued by the Ten Towers and would lose it if they didn’t flee immediately. The fundamental premise remained the same: “If we don’t escape from this place right now, Arguirion will suffer great damage.”

The fact that this emergency distress signal had been leaked posed a significant danger. Due to the incident at the Great Temple of Pluto, Arguirion believed that the Ten Towers had somehow replicated their distress signal—which was, of course, contrary to the truth—and as a result, they were developing a new distress signal with a different wavelength.

If it had been completed, they would have gradually approached those they had already recruited and passed on information about the new signal that differed from the old one.

…But that was only if it had been completed. Arguirion had run out of time.

In fact, even if it had been completed at this point, a huge problem would still remain.

It hadn’t even been a month since the elder of the Ten Towers died at the Great Temple of Pluto. The Ten Towers’ security was already at its highest level, making it difficult to contact the collaborators in the Amimone Magic Tower.

Arguirion had no opportunity to contact the spies they had recruited.

Therefore, the distress signal sent by Ortes was like a storm of chaos.

***

“How should we interpret this?”

One of Arguirion’s leaders, a veteran who had participated in the Golden Desert Operation, spoke up. The discussion surrounding the distress signal from the Amimone Magic Tower had already lasted over an hour.

“We must be cautious. We already know from that black cliff that the Ten Towers can imitate our signals.”

“But our comrades in the Amimone Magic Tower don’t know that. And this is still the only pattern of distress signal that a real comrade could send.”

“What if it’s another trap? Assassinating the elder was certainly a great achievement, but the annihilation of the entire dispatch team would be a tragedy!”

The debate among the leadership showed no signs of ending. Both sides had valid points—those who insisted on immediately opening the door and dispatching troops, and the cautious faction who believed this was another trap by the Ten Towers.

If the discussion among the executives couldn’t reach a conclusion, there was only one person who could make the decision.

Gradually, the voices subsided, and the executives’ gazes began to converge. Although the table where Arguirion’s leadership met was a round table symbolizing equality, there was one who had received the deepest blessing of the cause.

Everyone in Arguirion looked at Haltos. He had held the highest position among them since the Blasphemia days and was the undisputed representative of Arguirion, having received the most favor from the cause.

Haltos heaved a deep sigh.

“This matter…”

His sunken gaze swept across the round table. All of Arguirion’s executives, even Nastion who always hid in the shadows concealing his emotions, were waiting for Haltos’s decision.

“This is undoubtedly the work of our great enemy.”

“…?”

Everyone in Arguirion knew who Haltos meant by the “great enemy.” Although their memories of the secular world had become somewhat dim due to the blessing of the cause, they couldn’t help but remember the enemy who had formulated and executed the Golden Desert Operation.

Even if the detailed appearance had been distorted within the extra-dimensional blessing, it was impossible to forget the object of hatred that had caused them such hardship during the Blasphemia era.

But why was that name coming up here and now?

“The cause has previously revealed that our great enemy would become our biggest obstacle. The current situation is a challenge that our Arguirion has never experienced before. I sense the shadow of the great enemy behind this incident.”

Nastion pondered Haltos’s words from within the shadows.

It was incomprehensible.

‘He says it must be the work of the great enemy because it’s so damn difficult to make a decision. Has Haltos already lost his wits?’

Unlike the rational-thinking Nastion, the other executives of Arguirion were affirming Haltos’s words.

“Indeed! This dilemma-like situation! It was the great enemy’s specialty!”

“Certainly. Creating a situation where we lose no matter what we choose, while they escape the encirclement in advance and mock us… it’s identical to that cursed individual’s pattern!”

Nastion couldn’t understand the empathy spreading among the executives. Haltos nodded as if he had expected this reaction.

“We have never achieved any proper success against the great enemy except for the Golden Desert Operation. No matter how tightly we prepared the encirclement, if there was even one gap, they would escape. Only in the radical Golden Desert Operation, which exceeded their predictions, were we finally able to confront them properly.”

“Then?”

“It means we must respond to their trap with an even bigger trap to gain the upper hand.”

Haltos snapped his fingers.

A hologram appeared showing the locations of the silver hosts spread throughout Algoth City.

“If we can catch a trace of the great enemy even at the cost of all these hosts, it will be our victory.”

“Wait…!”

Nastion tried to advise that this was sheer madness and waste. But his voice was drowned out by the enthusiastic applause of the executives.

From within the shadows, Nastion lamented.

‘For Arguirion’s leader to have already lost his judgment like this. Was he indeed insufficient as a vessel to hold the cause…!’

***

Ortes immediately returned to his lodgings. It was accommodation arranged by Blasphemia, meaning not a single penny of Ortes’s money had been used.

‘It’s not too luxurious since we shouldn’t attract attention, but it’s decent quality in its own way.’

As expected, Niobe would soon come running, saying that traces of communication with Arguirion had been detected by Blasphemia’s surveillance equipment.

That would give him a legitimate reason to enter the Amimone Magic Tower.

No matter how much Ortes mobilized his abilities, it would require considerable effort and luck to enter the personal space of the Tower Master.

But with such a justified pretext to search the tower, Ortes could simply open his eyes slightly and confidently walk to the place where the ancient relic was visible.

‘With this, House Hydra’s objective will be accomplished.’

Besides giving the Amimone Magic Tower to Knemon, Ortes also needed to find the ancient relic hidden by the Amimone Magic Tower.

If he found the ancient relic, he could use it as leverage to further entrap the Amimone Magic Tower—truly killing two birds with one stone.

Ortes smiled as he imagined inspecting the Amimone Magic Tower alongside Niobe and the Blasphemia agents who would soon appear.

Knock, knock, knock. An urgent pounding on the door.

“Senior!”

Just as expected. Ortes leisurely opened the door.

“What brings you here at this hour? Has some evidence emerged?”

Evidence must have emerged. He expected to hear something like, ‘We need to enter the Amimone Magic Tower right now!’

“That’s not the issue! Look outside!”

‘Huh?’

Something was wrong. Ortes was dragged outside his lodgings by Niobe.

Niobe pointed at the sky. Ortes’s eyelids twitched nervously.

‘Why is that there?’

A black vortex-like phenomenon was forming in the air. At the center of the vortex, magical light of various colors was flickering.

“Extra-dimensional storm…”

The precursor to an extra-dimensional overflow. A super-magical disaster he had seen countless times during his days as a troubleshooter.

The storm was circling precisely above the Amimone Magic Tower.