Ch.120Truth, Not Justice (1)

Ortes wiped one side of the scale with his sleeve. As the dust cleared away, the golden plate beneath regained its luster.

Blue eyes reflected in the golden scale.

After examining the scale for a moment, Ortes eventually tucked it into his breast pocket. Though it was physically too large to fit into his jacket’s inner pocket, that’s precisely what magic was for—overcoming such limitations.

The jacket pocket, imbued with magical energy in every thread to create a spatial enchantment, was much more spacious than it appeared from the outside.

The lantern and scale clinked together with a rattling sound. Ortes patted down his jacket to straighten his appearance and looked around the storage room.

‘Originally, my interest was only in ancient sacred artifacts, but…’

Such suspicious storage rooms that housed questionable items typically contained other unsavory things that shouldn’t be shown to others.

Illegal experiments, secret ledgers, or perhaps records of items prohibited by the Ten Towers.

I eagerly searched through the storage room.

This was the final preparation to overthrow the Master of the Amimone Magic Tower.

***

The silver soldiers called Drachma, mass-produced by Argyrion, possessed considerable magical capabilities. Even by the strictest assessment, they were several levels above novice mages who had just entered actual combat.

First of all, they executed commands from their commander without hesitation, whether engaging enemies or serving as shields. This was an extremely important quality for soldiers on the front lines.

However, Sprigo couldn’t properly utilize these qualities of the Drachma.

It wasn’t that Sprigo was disqualified as a commander. The mages of Amimone Magic Tower were confronting the Drachma and doing everything possible to prevent cooperation with Sprigo.

Due to the Drachma’s ability to endlessly recover as long as residual magical energy remained, and the special circumstances of the extra-dimensional overflow, the mages couldn’t easily defeat the Drachma. However, the Drachma likewise couldn’t inflict fatal damage on the mages who were containing them.

Such was the ability of the mages of the main tower. As long as the extra-dimensional overflow continued, if they forced a war of attrition until the very end, the advantage would eventually tilt toward the Drachma, but it was unknown how much time that would take.

A decisive move had to be made.

Beneath Sprigo’s bark-like skin, the muscle fibers made of wood rippled as they shifted something stored between the fibers.

It was the elixir of angelization that Argyrion’s group had used at the Great Temple of Pluton.

For an ordinary mage, transformation using the elixir of angelization was an irreversible decision that prevented returning to one’s original body. However, for Sprigo, the weight of this irreversible choice was lighter.

It wasn’t due to blind devotion to the cause. Since ascension to angelhood was somewhat religious, strong faith would actually make the decision feel heavier.

Sprigo was already a mage who had replaced his physical components with plant matter. He had already once abandoned his original flesh.

Thus, making an even swifter decision, Sprigo absorbed the elixir into his body without hesitation. The elixir spread through his bloodstream.

Gorgof and Danao watched as parts of Sprigo’s body gradually turned silver.

‘Huh?’

Gorgof thought. Isn’t something wrong? That elegant transformation into silver was characteristic of Argyrion’s silver parasites. Had Blasphemia, and the Silver Iron Tower behind them, succeeded in replicating it to this extent?

Danao’s thoughts were simpler. Don’t let him complete the transformation.

Without hesitation, Danao tore off his left prosthetic hand. The hand contained numerous reagents stored in solidified form. The magic of toxic water moistened his hand, and the hardened reagents began to dissolve.

An indescribably terrible smell spread. A deadly poison that could dissolve lungs just by breathing it. Following Danao’s gesture, his left hand shot toward Sprigo, who was turning silver.

As more reagents dissolved in the toxic water, the poison evolved to develop new properties. It was a kaleidoscopic poison that constantly changed, making it impossible to counter even with antibodies specifically designed for it.

Sprigo countered this with a very simple method.

From beneath the silvering bark, something like tree roots explosively shot out. It was an expansion as if every single muscle fiber in Sprigo’s body had transformed into roots.

The deadly poison Danao created immediately corroded, dissolved, and irreparably destroyed whatever it touched.

However, the physical quantity of the poison was insufficient for Sprigo’s expanding size. Rooted in Algoth City, Sprigo absorbed extra-dimensional magical energy with his entire body and grew larger.

“The World Tree…”

Gorgof murmured in bewilderment. A legend often revered by the elven race. A giant tree of transcendent size capable of supporting the world.

Sprigo, grown and silvered, had become a tree-like form reminiscent of the legendary World Tree. From roots to trunk to leaves, everything gleamed brilliantly silver, exuding an almost divine aura.

“Truth and—the Cause!”

Greater confusion washed over Gorgof. There was no reason to impersonate Argyrion at this point.

‘Let me think. In a situation where there’s no reason to impersonate Argyrion, the reason to claim to be Argyrion…’

There is none. Nevertheless, if one claims to be Argyrion, there could only be one reason.

‘The real Argyrion?’

What on earth was going on? The guide who had revealed the truth to him was inside the Amimone Magic Tower!

Sprigo was experiencing expanded senses. Every branch extending from him, and every leaf on those branches, was his eyes and ears. He saw the two mages opposing him with hundreds, thousands of eyes.

Next to Danao’s expression of dismay, Gorgof’s bewilderment was evident. Plus confusion, and fear.

That expression was one Sprigo himself had once worn. When facing his adversary.

“Listen, Gorgof. The true truth and the grand cause are with us.”

“Im-impossible! That can’t be. I definitely received instructions from the guide!”

Listening to the conversation between Gorgof and Sprigo, Danao composed himself. Whatever relationship these two had, it was fortunate that they were lost in their own world and not launching an immediate attack.

“Guide? No! The one you met is not Argyrion’s guide!”

“Huh?”

Danao let out a startled exclamation. The only person who could have met Gorgof was that Blasphemia agent.

‘That person claimed to be Argyrion’s guide in front of Gorgof? Then doesn’t that mean Gorgof is Argyrion’s mole!’

The Blasphemia agent’s plan to use himself as bait to lure out Argyrion’s mole. If Gorgof was the one who fell for it, why did the agent try to make Gorgof the acting tower master?

Danao’s survival instinct quickly began to reason.

‘In the most ideal scenario… that agent also just discovered that Gorgof was the mole. That’s why he secretly sent Gorgof to the front line to cause infighting with the real Argyrion.’

If the Blasphemia agent was also an Argyrion mole, there would be no reason to create this situation where Sprigo and Gorgof are fighting. If they had launched a coordinated attack the moment Gorgof gained access to the magical core as acting tower master, Danao would have been at an even greater disadvantage.

But Danao felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding. He had the feeling that the agent’s schemes wouldn’t end with just this.

“That’s impossible! He promised me the position of Amimone’s tower master!”

Despite Danao being right beside him, Gorgof shouted in confusion. This was after calculating that there was no need to be overly cautious since Danao had already used his trump card—the poison explosion from his prosthetic hand.

“Is that so? Haha. Can you really trust him?”

“Of course I—”

“If you really trust him, why aren’t you continuing your attack on me? Didn’t you feel, upon seeing this sacred silver, that I am your true comrade? Now, Gorgof, let me ask you.”

Didn’t you feel inexplicable hostility when you first saw him?

At the same time, once you listened, weren’t you naturally drawn in…

In the end, whatever he said felt like the truth, didn’t it!

Danao watched as Gorgof’s eyes widened, unable to even formulate a rebuttal. Judging from those words, it seemed that the Blasphemia agent had repeatedly fought against Argyrion and manipulated them.

As a sense of relief rose within Danao, Gorgof clutched his head.

Everything was exactly as Sprigo said. To Gorgof, who was trembling with doubt and confusion filling his mind, Sprigo’s cold judgment continued.

“You. Have you ever heard his name?”

“Name?”

“I’m asking if you’ve ever heard anything that could be called his real name, even once.”

Gorgof tried to recall. But his “guide” had never revealed his name.

“That is our adversary. A devil hiding in anonymity, manipulating people. That thing with neither name nor face.”

Gorgof unconsciously turned to look back at the Amimone Magic Tower.

In that moment, Danao realized that he too had never heard the agent’s name.