Ch.115Storm Within (2)

As Gorgov flinched at those meaningful words, Ortes moved swiftly.

‘Staying here would be suicide.’

Being directly exposed to extra-dimensional waves was no ordinary danger.

‘They say I’m less at risk of corruption since I have no magical power, but…’

While extra-dimensional mutations primarily occur due to magical energy, it’s not the only medium for transformation. When even plants and rocks can become crazed human-slaughtering weapons after an extra-dimensional shower, it’s best to abandon any notion that humans without magic would be immune.

Therefore, Ortes calculated the optimal method for immediate survival.

Clunk!

It was to charge straight into the Amimone Magic Tower.

“Summon all the mages in the tower immediately.”

“Who are you—”

Ortes raised his hand. In it was the Blasphemia identification—disguised under the name of Panoptes Special Inspection Division—that he had received from Niobe.

“In this situation, who else would come looking for you?”

“Blasphemia…!”

The gatekeeper of Amimone Tower drew in a breath. From his reaction, Ortes could deduce several facts.

‘Hmm. It seems the Tower Master has explained the situation quite thoroughly.’

While senior officials of the Regular Towers would naturally know the names and functions of Panoptes’ two secret departments, it was another matter entirely for a low-ranking mage like this gatekeeper—who appeared to have just been formally accepted as an apprentice—to be aware of such information.

‘Danao was the name, right? It seems he’s briefed all the mages currently working in the main tower about the situation.’

Tower Master Danao was taking the current situation very seriously—seriously enough to impress upon even the lowest-ranking mages exactly who was really putting pressure on Amimone Tower.

The second impressive thing was the young mage himself, displaying raw bewilderment.

‘Conversely, this one has no thoughts about Arguirion. He’s closer to a graduate student who just does what he’s told—dissect when ordered to dissect, experiment when ordered to experiment.’

The mental image Ortes glimpsed from the mage contained no grand notions of justice or truth, only modest desires like what late-night snack to eat after finishing his shift.

If pro-Arguirion factions were the majority, they would have placed an informant as gatekeeper to guard against situations like a Blasphemia raid.

‘If the Tower Master were an informant, he would naturally have set up defenses at the entrance. The Tower Master is not an informant. Nor is the pro-Arguirion faction organized enough to do anything behind the Tower Master’s back.’

There was a Tower Master who firmly believed there were no informants within Amimone Tower, and yet if there truly were informants, it wouldn’t be difficult to place them throughout the tower without the Tower Master’s knowledge.

However, the informants in Amimone Tower, whose existence Ortes confirmed by witnessing Gorgov, had not yet become sophisticated enough to carry out such organized activities.

Having intuitively grasped the atmosphere within the tower, Ortes began to formulate his next moves.

‘The Tower Master and those loyal to the Ten Towers—no, the status quo faction—are dominant. Gorgov and the pro-Arguirion faction are in the minority.’

‘But with such a catastrophe occurring, even the Tower Master will develop doubts.’

‘If I properly balance the Tower Master’s suspicions with Gorgov’s ambitions…’

He could finish the job before the extra-dimensional overflow was contained.

Ortes smiled broadly, trying to appear friendly. The mage watching him felt an inexplicable chill.

***

The mages assembled quickly. Thanks to the emergency alert already issued due to the ominous energy detected above the tower.

Gorgov glanced repeatedly at the man who introduced himself as an “agent of Panoptes.”

‘Didn’t he just speak of truth and cause?’

“We have less than five minutes before the extra-dimensional overflow begins. If you maximize the magical core of Amimone Tower, you can block most of the extra-dimensional influence in the tower’s immediate vicinity.”

“But we’ll be isolated from the outside.”

Danao muttered with a gloomy expression.

“Yes. No one knows how long we can hold out in a contaminated zone where the extra-dimensional realm and our world have merged, or how long it will take for rescue to arrive. But rest assured.”

The man who appeared to have his eyes closed spread his hands with an exaggerated gesture as he turned around.

“The highest-ranking Panoptes commander already dispatched to Algoth City has escaped and is requesting reinforcements. The time needed for rescue will be minimized!”

The mages of Amimone Tower showed little reaction. Even if they called themselves rescuers, weren’t they the same people who had been oppressing Amimone Tower for the past several days? Guessing their inner thoughts, Ortes chose his words again.

“Hmm. Let me put it differently. You all know this anyway.”

“Let’s drop pretenses like Panoptes Special Inspection Division and talk plainly.”

Ortes brought his hands together. All eyes in the room focused on him.

“Blasphemia will be convinced of your collusion with Arguirion because of this incident. A purge squad disguised as a rescue team will come.”

His voice contained neither coldness nor severity. It was merely a matter-of-fact tone, explaining the future that awaited them.

“You will die.”

“Amimone is a Regular Tower! Could such an outrage be sanctioned?”

“You’ll be branded as traitors who summoned Arguirion. The tower’s life ended the moment the storm broke above your heads.”

Danao’s gaze sharpened. His intuition, honed over decades, told him this Blasphemia agent wasn’t using provocative language without reason.

“Stop stirring things up and get to the point. I know your kind well. You don’t provoke without gain. I assume you don’t have some perverse desire to become magical explosion debris?”

“Haha. As expected of the esteemed Tower Master, such astute insight. Yes, of course I have a purpose.”

Ortes stepped away from the center of the gathered mages and began to walk slowly.

“But first, we should offer prayers to the Magic King. You don’t want to become mindless monsters caught in the extra-dimensional overflow, do you?”

One, two, three.

A multi-layered sound—like breaking glass or a giant bell tolling—reverberated through the skies above Algoth City.

The sound of reality crumbling. The sound of mixed extra-dimensional information finally pouring down on Algoth City like a storm.

A massive hemispherical veil deployed around Amimone Tower. The softly glowing barrier collided with extra-dimensional fragments containing indescribably diverse colors. The extra-dimensional magical energy deflected by the veil poured down around Algoth City, eroding reality.

The ground melted into slush, water flowed from top to bottom, and fallen pieces of sky grew mouths that moved to devour life.

Algoth City was surrounded by an extra-dimensional contamination zone.

People living in the outskirts where the barrier was weak, or those who had fled but failed to get far enough away, melted as they were hit by extra-dimensional raindrops.

Niobe gritted her teeth as she watched the colorfully boiling landscape of Algoth City.

She needed to reach another city and request aid as quickly as possible.

***

Vibrations, screams, and turbid currents of magical energy mixed and poured down. More terrible than the roaring sounds or vibrations was the strange magical wavelength that seemed to scrape at the marrow of the mages’ bones.

A nauseating presence felt despite the tower’s barrier. After a brief but intense period of pain, Danao was the first to raise his head.

Danao saw the Blasphemia agent, who had been standing firmly in place, slowly walking away.

He looked up at the sky through the window with leisure, as if he hadn’t even felt the vibrations.

“So it has come to this.”

“State your business.”

Danao rose from his seat, maintaining his composure as best he could. Ordinary provocations usually carry meaning. Having mentioned death, he would likely propose a way to survive.

“Even if you are a Regular Tower, it would be simple to dismantle the tower if the consensus of all Ten Towers were gathered. But that would be such a waste.”

“A waste indeed. Arguirion has never moved so decisively before. There is much to extract from informants with such deep connections.”

‘I can guess what he’s proposing.’

Danao’s expression twisted. This man was indirectly saying, “Start killing each other now.”

“I’ll give you an opportunity. Find the wicked ones who disobey the Ten Towers. The betrayers of truth. Before Blasphemia’s purge squad breaks through the extra-dimensional overflow, you must distinguish the wheat from the chaff among yourselves.”

Ortes shrugged.

“Ah. If you wish to kill me to silence me, I won’t stop you. But the moment you act on that, your last chance disappears.”

The mages held their breath, glancing at one another.

“Tower Master Danao, could you provide me with an empty room? I’d like to start with individual interviews of the mages.”

Ortes’s finger pointed at several people. It was a gesture as if randomly selecting anyone.

“You. You. And you. Only one of you three come inside, the other two please wait outside.”

Among those selected was Gorgov.

***

“Truth and cause.”

‘W-what…?’

Gorgov was thrown into confusion as he watched Ortes whisper the slogan of Arguirion.