Ch.7Feast of Empty Words (1)

A massive man with six arms and a witch with flowing white hair sat across from each other at a table.

Geryon of the Six Arms glared at the nameless witch of Hydra Corporation, a rising power that had appeared in the city of Etna.

“You’re quite insolent.”

Magical energy gathered in four of his hands, except for the two clasped in front of his mouth. It was a rather threatening sight, but not enough to break the witch’s expressionless face.

“Your business has begun to encroach on our territory. More and more of our residents are being enticed and sold off, bewitched by those damned drugs you distribute. How do you plan to compensate us?”

The witch blinked a couple of times. Golden pupils glowed ominously beneath her eyelids.

The witch, adjusting the black gauntlet on her hand, slowly opened her mouth.

“I see.”

It wasn’t an answer to his question. Just as Geryon was about to rage at her near-mumbled response that seemed like a soliloquy, she rose from her seat.

Thud. Thud.

His reaction was delayed because he sensed no hostility.

The witch’s right hand, covered in the black gauntlet, hovered above Geryon’s head. Like a parent caressing a child.

First came bewilderment, then anger. Just as curses were about to erupt from Geryon’s mouth.

White light gathered in Baekmumeong’s grasp.

The light, streaming from each of her five fingers, burst into a white radiance that bleached the entire room.

When those momentarily blinded by the flash regained their senses.

They saw Geryon with everything above his jaw vaporized.

Not even blood pooled, as the searing heat of the light had cauterized the flesh. His once-proud six arms hung limply, confirming their master’s death.

Baekmumeong looked around at those present.

“Anyone else who wishes to object to the merger?”

…That was the entirety of Geryon’s description in the original novel I had read.

The protagonist’s group employs various methods to gather clues about Baekmumeong.

He was a minor character who briefly appeared in a past scene that began when they used necromancy to read the memories of spirits.

As one of the Tower Masters of Etna City, he must have had considerable power, and judging by his words, he seemed quite attached to his faction.

But since he was just a minor character whose role was to emphasize Baekmumeong’s cruelty before exiting, nothing was known about his personal history.

Comparing his proud stance confronting Baekmumeong in the original work to his current state—arms torn off and crumpled—makes him seem rather pitiful.

I suppose I should be grateful that he’s alive now, whereas in the original work, his role was to die.

I gazed at Geryon with mixed feelings.

***

“Boss, who is that person?”

Ortes, glancing sideways at Geryon, asked Carisia. As the second-in-command overseeing Hydra Corporation, he couldn’t possibly not know Geryon.

Setting aside various reasons, wasn’t Geryon a business competitor of Hydra Corporation?

“Geryon. He is our guest.”

The directors interpreted this near-ceremonial exchange as the two’s plan to humiliate Geryon.

Geryon had attacked Carisia while she was registering as a Tower Master but was counterattacked and taken prisoner. What could be more insulting than calling a prisoner a guest and pretending not to recognize one of Etna City’s most formidable powers?

Ortes would have felt wronged had he known the directors’ true thoughts. From his perspective, the conversation was merely a way to gauge Carisia’s mood.

Ortes had too many memories of being reprimanded for acting on his own without asking for Carisia’s intentions.

‘So she doesn’t intend to kill him. Well, looking at his current state, he doesn’t seem to have any will to fight either.’

“Pleased to meet you, Lord Geryon. It’s an honor to meet such a renowned magician of Etna City.”

Not only the directors but also Geryon himself felt that every word was filled with provocation.

He recalled the rumors about the man standing behind Carisia.

Ortes, as shrouded in mystery as his master Carisia. The only reliable information was cross-verified testimony that he used a sword.

“But what brings you here today?”

Ortes asked out of genuine curiosity. He couldn’t understand how this man had been captured in such a state, and why he himself was said to be the reason.

Not many directors knew the answer to that question.

For most directors, including Kriton, they had come for a meeting only to find Geryon, with half his arms gone, held as a prisoner.

Arabella, who knew some of the background, bit her lip.

‘Good heavens. He gave advice to Carisia and now acts so innocent?’

Arabella remembered what Ortes had said out of the blue before Carisia went to register as a Tower Master.

“Don’t be a fool who includes death in your plans”—advice that was beyond impertinent, even insulting, for a subordinate to give to his master.

At first, she had assumed it was a warning directed at the directors who might be plotting rebellion while Carisia was absent.

‘But that wasn’t all. It was a message to us, but also advice to Carisia.’

A dual implication to capture Geryon alive rather than kill him when he attacked.

The uses for a corpse are limited. A tragic death would only give Geryon’s subordinates a reason to unite.

The best option would be to summon a necromancer to control the corpse like a puppet.

But a living hostage?

Their very existence prevents Geryon’s remaining forces from moving recklessly while also serving as bait to guide their actions.

Using Geryon’s release as leverage to command his subordinates would be effortless. Geryon could become a useful tool.

But Arabella didn’t explain her deduction to the other directors. Carisia had gone alone to register the Tower Master change. If Arabella were to explain the circumstances, it would be tantamount to confessing that she had been keeping surveillance.

“Many directors may still be unaware of the situation. Allow me to explain.”

As the directors’ silence continued, Carisia finally spoke.

***

The power structure of this world is simple.

The ten towers that manage the Ten Realms form the upper echelon of the Mage Alliance. They are comparable to royalty. The towers under them that have been granted access to the Ten Realms could be likened to high nobility.

While being a magician alone grants privileged status, towers connected to the Ten Realms are even more special among magicians.

These powerful towers are called Summit Towers (Jeong-matap), as they stand at the pinnacle of all towers.

The Tower Master registration process begins when a new Tower Master appears at a Summit Tower and declares, “I will now manage Tower No. X in such-and-such city.”

Once the declaration is made, the Summit Tower verifies the qualifications of the Tower Master.

First, they check whether the self-proclaimed Tower Master has control authority over the magical core of the tower.

All tower magical cores are connected to the Ten Realms. Therefore, Summit Towers with access to the Ten Realms can easily determine whether someone possesses control authority over a magical core. It’s a simple procedure that usually takes less than five minutes.

The real test comes second: the magical power injection measurement.

The most important function of a tower is to purify magical power from other dimensions.

Originally, a tower’s purification magic uses magical power that the core automatically charges by collecting excess magical power from the atmosphere.

However, if an unexpected accident depletes all the magical power charged in the core, the Tower Master and subordinate magicians must manually charge it with magical power.

The essence of the magical power injection measurement is “Can you supply sufficient magical power to the core in an emergency?”

In this test, one passes by injecting enough magical power to meet the required charging amount.

The required charging amount varies depending on the grade of the tower’s magical core, but the standard remains the same regardless of grade: enough magical power must be charged for the magical core to use magic for 24 hours.

It is extremely difficult to handle alone the amount of magical power needed to maintain magic for 24 hours.

Therefore, not only the Tower Master but any subordinate magician can participate in this test. Since not just the Tower Master but all members have an obligation to charge the magical core.

For schools with many members, it was a test that could be passed even with human wave tactics.

But Carisia appeared for the test alone. Thus, she had no companions to share the magical power consumption.

Geryon had planned to ambush Carisia as she returned to Etna City after completing this measurement, intending to easily dispose of a magician whose magical power was depleted.

…And as you can see, Carisia brought Geryon back with barely his life intact.

“I remembered the advice you gave. Something about not including death in my plans.”

I really didn’t mean it that way. I feel like sighing.

Geryon’s expression seemed to say, “How did that guy know I was going to attack?!”

Let me organize my thoughts.

While Carisia’s reason for keeping Geryon alive was partly due to my words, there must be other reasons as well.

Using my words as an excuse is probably a kind of “discipline” directed at the directors. Specifically, it’s a hint that my subordinates and I already knew about such unexpected situations, so they should stop having foolish thoughts.

Would she really spare the life of an enemy who came at her just because of something I said? Carisia doesn’t live so haphazardly. She clearly has something in mind.

What could Carisia’s true intention be?

If I don’t figure it out, she’ll probably scold me again later. Hoping my employer’s temperament improves, I loosened my tongue.

***

“A dead enemy is merely a corpse, but a living enemy can be utilized.”

Geryon heard Ortes’s cold words. It was obvious that the fate of the defeated general rested with Ortes, the confidant of the boss.

The hopeful aspect was that Ortes had mentioned “utilization.” After all, one needs to be alive to be utilized.

He was grateful that none of Hydra Corporation’s directors specialized in darkness or lightning magic. If they had used electrical manipulation for brainwashing or necromancy to control his soul after killing him, he would have appeared alive without truly being so.

As Geryon anxiously awaited Ortes’s verdict, he noticed a momentary exchange of glances between Carisia and Ortes.

A conversation of eyes that ended in an instant. Eventually, Carisia nodded. Carisia had authorized Ortes’s action.

“Directors, if I may ask,”

Geryon instinctively sensed that he was about to hear something he shouldn’t.

“Do you know the founding purpose of Hydra Corporation? The boss’s goal?”

***

Our eyes just happened to meet, but Carisia nodded. Having known her for a long time, I can tell. It was a look of great expectation.

The problem is that I don’t know what she’s expecting.

Since I don’t have mind-reading abilities, it would be nice if she just told me with words.

Damn it.

She must have brought Geryon for the reason I thought, right?