Ch.208Emergency Meeting (4)

Just as Lampades was about to ask, “What on earth are you talking about?”

A thought flashed through his mind: “Ah, so the Ten Tower Masters are no different from us after all.” In the end, everyone from the Ten Tower Masters to nameless fixers was equally susceptible to Ortes’s worldwide schemes.

Because Lampades was lost in these thoughts, he was a beat too late to speak up.

“Indeed! The Tower Masters’ discerning eyes cannot be deceived!”

“What?”

Lampades asked in bewilderment.

Ortes bowed with an exaggerated gesture and pointed at Lampades.

“Master Lampades, they have passed the test. As expected of those who once held positions in the Ten Towers, even if they were displaced. They possess sufficient insight.”

Lampades looked around. First, he cautiously glanced toward Carisia, the true leader of this gathering.

However, far from objecting, Carisia had already stepped back behind Ortes, observing the situation.

Lampades’s gaze shifted to the board members. Hydra Corporation’s directors averted their eyes, thinking, “Ah, the director is plotting another strange yet effective scheme!”

Hector? Though Lampades had heard rumors about him during his fixer days, they weren’t personally close. In the end, the only person who could save him was Knemon, who shared the common experience of being captured by Ortes.

Just as Lampades looked at Knemon:

“Indeed. To recognize the leader at a glance. The ghosts of the old regime cannot be dismissed so easily.”

Knemon nodded and recited an absurd line. Since the former Tower Masters also knew that Knemon was a magician who had taken over the Azure Tower, their misconception that Lampades was the leader of the Hydra Alliance deepened.

‘Knemon, you too!?’

‘This is payback for the meeting earlier….’

“Let’s put aside this pointless battle of pride. We all know who we should be fighting against.”

The Black Darkness Tower Master spoke up. Ortes was the one who responded.

“Of course. You have passed the minimum test. So let me ask you: do you have the means to confront the Demon King of Magic?”

The Black Darkness Tower Master studied Ortes’s faint impression. He seemed familiar, yet it was impossible to be certain about this peculiar figure. Thinking that this person must be Lampades’s trusted subordinate, the Black Darkness Tower Master answered:

“No.”

It was a surprisingly concise answer. The Black Darkness Tower Master stepped forward as if representing the other former Ten Tower Masters.

“You must be the ones who invited us. Haven’t you heard from one of your leaders, the White Light Monster? The Ten Towers’ formulas have been defeated.”

“How honest of you. Master Lampades, may I reveal our plan to them?”

Frankly speaking, Lampades had reached a state of resignation where he thought, “I don’t understand any of this anymore.” Coincidentally, his profound gaze of complete surrender, having let go of everything, perfectly matched his role as the world’s behind-the-scenes manipulator.

Lampades nodded heavily.

“Our ‘Alliance’ will seal the Demon King’s magic and defeat him using non-magical abilities such as martial arts and divine power.”

“…Didn’t you hear from the White Light Monster? We were defeated by precisely the same magic.”

“We have already completed our analysis of that magic. Actually, we’ve been preparing an even ‘higher’ form of magic for some time.”

“Higher? Are you dismissing the history of the Ten Towers?”

“I’m not dismissing the Ten Towers’ history. You were the Ten Towers, and thus the pinnacle of magical society. That’s why magic took ‘that’ form.”

Ortes emphasized the word “that.” The former Tower Masters couldn’t understand his intention. The structure of magic that prevented all mana from taking on attributes and used non-attribute mana to bind the Demon King was beautiful in its own right.

Could there be a more sophisticated magic than that? A magic beyond the colorless formula that could reduce any attribute in this world to non-attribute?

“Let me explain from here.”

Carisia interjected. She introduced herself as the originator of the anti-Demon King formula.

“The reason I was able to cooperate with your formula without difficulty earlier is because, as I mentioned, we were developing a magic that goes one step further. While you constructed anti-attribute magic, we created something beyond that.”

“So what is this outrageous magic that supposedly couldn’t be conceived by those at the pinnacle of magical society?”

“Anti-magic field.”

Just those few words, without any detailed formula deployment or shared imagery. Yet the former Tower Masters immediately understood why the Ten Towers couldn’t have developed such magic.

“A ‘magic’ that eliminates all magical power? Do you think such a contradiction is possible?”

“In our Hydra Alliance, we have a powerful creation made through Master Lampades’s special technique. We call it the Artificial Ten Realms.”

Clear bewilderment settled among the former Tower Masters. Artificial Ten Realms? Could such a thing be created?

“Ah, it’s not Ten Realms using magical power. It was created by gathering sacred artifacts scattered throughout the world, so at its core is divine power, not magical power. What do you think? Using this, wouldn’t it be possible to implement an anti-magic field?”

The anti-magic field was being theorized by Kaicle under Carisia’s orders, who was racking his brain to formulate the theory. It could only be completed by combining the colorless formula Carisia had experienced today with the temple domain function of the Pluto Grand Temple.

“Divine power and magical power share the same track as abilities. Just as Arguilion was able to convert magical power into mana, isn’t it entirely possible to convert magical power into divine power and exclude it from a space?”

“…That’s radical.”

While Carisia captured the attention of the former Tower Masters, Ortes had stepped back and was conveying instructions to Lampades. They needed to deceive these people into signing a mutual destruction pact for the Ten Realms.

Lampades felt the back of his neck stiffen as he read the message appearing in his augmented reality vision. To improvise the role of Hydra Corporation Alliance’s hidden strategist and leader right here. Just how far could one bad acquaintance take him?

Step. Step.

Lampades, who had been staying among the crowd, finally stepped forward. Even the White Light Monster, who had inherited the White Light, took a step back. It was a scene that demonstrated the treatment he received in this group.

The Black Darkness Tower Master was on high alert. Although the Demon King’s return was an unprecedented crisis, the Hydra Corporation Alliance was also a crisis unparalleled in magical society. Had the Demon King not descended, they would have been the most treasonous anti-Ten Towers organization since the mythical era.

“I believe you now understand the feasibility of our plan.”

“…Who will face the Demon King?”

The Pope and Hector stepped forward. They had received instructions from Ortes in the meantime.

“We meet for the first time. I am Hector, the Sword Master of the Knights.”

“Ruler of the sinful, I am the leader of those you call superstition followers. You may call me the Pope if you wish.”

Sighs erupted among the former Tower Masters. The Hydra Corporation Alliance was truly like the Hydra of ancient myth.

Were not all the heretical groups threatening magical society gathered here? They were indeed the most powerful poison that could ravage the magical society.

“So that’s how you were able to procure the sacred artifacts needed for the Artificial Ten Realms…!”

“That’s a question that needs no answer. Let’s get to the point. Transfer the usage rights of your remaining Ten Realms during this battle.”

The former Tower Masters still had four Ten Realms. They were being asked to hand them over.

“Do we need to transfer all four Ten Realms? The next battlefield will be Bifung anyway.”

“No. It’s impossible to overwhelm the Demon King with just Bifung’s output. We will gather all Ten Realms at Elysion to confront the Demon King.”

Lampades spoke following Ortes’s explanation. The Ten Realms draw infinite power from the realm of ascension. It’s only magical power because the Demon King’s wisdom served as a catalyst. If modified by the right person, the connection realm could be reversed to summon divine power instead.

“An anti-magic field using divine power emitted from ten realms, including the Artificial Ten Realms. Wouldn’t that be enough to match the Demon King in a decisive battle?”

“How would you—”

The former Black Darkness Tower Master was about to ask how they would transport the Ten Realms but stopped. Hadn’t they already demonstrated their capability by moving an entire city through a massive Eleusis? They would simply apply the same principle.

“Then, the final issue is this: how can we trust you?”

“If you had arrived from your expedition just one day later, all the Ten Realms would have already been ours.”

“But now, they’re with us.”

Lampades’s gaze met that of the former Black Darkness Tower Master. Inwardly, Lampades counted seconds, following Ortes’s instructions.

One, two, three.

“Very well. Let’s negotiate. If the battle with the Demon King ends, you will fully return the Ten Realms you currently possess.”

“Who will guarantee that?”

“We can.”

The Pope explained about the Sacred Path of Aigio, the power of oaths. A powerful contract that binds the soul, making it impossible for anyone to violate the constraint and ensuring that promises must be kept.

“With superstition followers on your side, if the contract is distorted—”

“This will never end at this rate. Do you intend to just watch the end of the world?”

Having seized control of the atmosphere, Lampades finally cast the bait that was Ortes’s reason for setting up this scenario.

“Let me propose a condition first. Until the Ten Realms connected to me are destroyed, your Ten Realms will absolutely not be destroyed either. Let’s make a mutual assured destruction treaty where if one person’s Ten Realms are destroyed, the other’s must also be destroyed.”

A guarantee that if Lampades’s Ten Realms were safe, the former Tower Masters’ Ten Realms would also be safe. Followed by a return treaty. The former Tower Masters realized this was the realistic boundary.

The former Tower Masters nodded.

It was at that moment that Ortes smiled.