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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 198: Doubt
"...This is that mask?"
"Yes."
In a private room on the 6th floor of the Alliance headquarters.
Black examined the Clown's mask I handed him and said,
"The material is quite unique."
Then, he slowly brought the mask to his face.
With a click— it attached as if being sucked in.
"The adhesion is remarkable too. What's this? It even changes my voice?"
"It's for concealing one's identity."
Black, taking off the mask again, nodded and replied,
"You said the Seven Demons don't know each other's identities?"
"It's to consider the possibility of betrayal."
"Hmm."
After a brief pause, Black continued,
"They're trying to complete that 'revelation' from the past."
"Yes."
"...Perhaps there's someone higher up controlling the Seven Demons."
I nodded as well.
"It's a low possibility, but we can't rule it out."
"If that wasn't the case, their identities would have been revealed by now. There's always a weak link. It's more likely that someone is controlling them from above."
Black stood up and walked towards the window on one side of the room.
I followed Black and looked out the window at the sky for a moment. The night sky was still dark.
As Black opened the window, a cold breeze entered the room.
Black looked back at me.
"What was the level of that Clown guy?"
"It's hard to say."
"If he could kill the Blue Magic Tower Head, he must have reached at least the superhuman level, right?"
I pondered Black's question for a moment before replying,
"Probably."
Karios wasn't defeated because he was weak.
If I had to guess...
If Karios was ambushed, it would have been difficult for him to react.
The hole pierced through his heart was cleanly severed as if only that part had been erased. There were similarities to when someone was struck by lightning.
Considering Karios's personality, he wouldn't have let his guard down, but since he didn't know what kind of magic the Clown used, it was likely that he chose to probe instead of defending with full force.
That one mistake must have led to his death.
"What weapon does he use?"
"Magic."
"Magic? Don't tell me?"
I shook my head as I looked at Black's narrowing eyes.
"It's not one of the Four Magic Towers. The Clown is the Black Magic Tower Head."
A look of disappointment flashed across Black's eyes.
"If it's the Black Magic Tower, it's a tower that's barely revealed itself to the world. It'll be difficult to find any connection with others."
I asked Black at this point,
"You said you saw Asura?"
Black's eyes changed a bit.
"I did. In the Northern Legion."
"..."
"Actually, I went to the Northern Legion after receiving your letter last time."
I asked Black,
"Tell me about the Northern Legion first. What is it?"
"The northernmost front, the land of death. To defend against the giants, our clan and the Arihama clan jointly dispatched knights."
"Is that the Northern Legion?"
"Yes. Fifty from each clan."
"It's a bit small to be called a legion."
"Only the elite were chosen. There are knights from other clans too. Though they're not much help."
I tilted my head for a moment.
"Didn't the Seren clan participate?"
Black scoffed and replied,
"Those guys are holed up in the Hwarin Mountains with no intention of coming out."
I suddenly recalled a past memory and asked,
"By the way, the giants aren't that much of a threat, are they?"
Certainly, the giants posed a significant threat to humanity, but it wasn't to the extent that two Divine Clans had to join forces to stop them.
However, Black shook his head.
"It's not easy. We'll probably increase the number of dispatched personnel soon."
"A hundred isn't enough?"
"There are some among the giants who are comparable to superhumans. Their numbers are increasing as well."
Doubts arose about this different situation compared to the past.
"Perhaps the giants are also..."
Black immediately responded,
"That's right. It's similar to the symptoms of those we saw in the Demon Realm."
"You mean some of them have become demonized."
"That's when I saw the Asura mask."
Black brought up the main point.
"It was when we were about to go subjugate one of the Four Kings after detecting their movements. I joined the Northern Legion at that time. But there were too many giants than expected. I don't know where they suddenly came from, but we were surrounded in an instant. The damage was significant. And there, I saw the Asura mask among the giants. It was strange. At first, I thought it was one of our knights, but it wasn't. Three Arihama knights who chased after him died."
"Did you see their skills?"
"I didn't. There were too many giants. But it's at least superhuman level or higher."
"They deliberately hid their skills."
"They intended to."
"Indeed."
I organized my thoughts for a moment and then replied,
"That Asura mask guy will be in the Northern Legion."
A knight currently belonging to the Northern Legion, from either the Baltahar or Arihama clan.
〈Asura〉 must be among them.
Black nodded.
"We're already looking for suspicious individuals."
I suddenly remembered a conversation I had with Hector in the past.
"Do you know Hector?"
"Yes. He's one of the few mages who participated in the Northern Legion."
"I heard he beheaded one of the Four Kings in the past."
Black nodded.
"I haven't seen it myself. I heard that he joined the knights and went on a subjugation mission alone. He was considered the weakest among the Four Kings, but it's a fact nonetheless. He's the one I value the most among mages."
It was strange.
Usually, when the knights of the current generation mentioned mages, they were quite dismissive.
And mages accepted that as a matter of course.
But Hector was an exception.
Even Black seemed to show respect when mentioning Hector.
It was completely different from the way he behaved towards the crowd on the 1st floor earlier.
"I see."
I usually didn't trust rumors, but it was strange that everyone's assessment was so consistent.
Black looked at my expression and asked,
"Why?"
"It's strange that such an unpleasant fellow has a good reputation."
"Unpleasant? Crimson Flame?"
Black let out a chuckle.
With that, the conversation briefly paused, and a lull ensued.
Black looked out the window without saying a word, and I didn't say anything either.
Black probably needed time to organize his thoughts as well.
Around the time when the darkness that gradually veiled the sky lifted and the dawn slowly broke.
"Whew."
Black suddenly let out a sigh.
The atmosphere suddenly felt heavy.
As if we had promised beforehand, we looked into each other's eyes.
"...You said there was a traitor?"
Black brought up the question he had been pondering.
"It's not certain."
"Do you have any clans in mind?"
I didn't answer.
Because Black himself would already have a guess.
As expected, Black nodded.
"Our clan is also a suspect."
"..."
I decided it would be better to tell Black about the record I found in the White Magic Tower's library. It was information that would be difficult to find out unless I directly infiltrated the Divine Clans. But since Black was a member of the Baltahar Clan, he might be able to find out something.
"A traitor..."
Black's expression was unusual.
"It means something different if the clan head betrayed us."
Black hit the nail on the head.
Until now, Black had suspected that there might be people related to demons even within the Divine Clans.
But it was a different story to consider the possibility that his own ancestor might have betrayed humanity.
Magnus Baltahar.
Iris Seren.
Galtan Arihama.
Whoever it was among the three.
The clan that betrayed humanity might still have its entire leadership under the control of the demons. It was fundamentally different from simply having a spy mixed in with the clan.
"The probability of it being the Baltahar Clan is low. You would have noticed if it were."
Black's eyes turned cynical.
"You never know. I've been chasing them for a long time, but I haven't found any traces. They're that thorough. Moreover, if the entire clan has been taken over, it's only natural that I haven't found any traces."
"As expected of the Swordmaster's bloodline." Black was looking at the situation from a broader perspective.
I didn't answer this time either and turned my gaze out the window.
I suddenly thought the sky was clear.
The night sky had completely cleared, and today's sky was crimson. As I gazed at the sunlight gently entering the room...
Knock, knock—
The sound of knocking on the door echoed.
"Crazy Mage Squad Commander! Are you in there?"
Before I could answer, the door burst open—and the 2nd Elder of the Blue Magic Tower appeared.
"There you are! What in the world happened!"
His usually calm face was nowhere to be seen, and his hair was a mess.
His bloodshot eyes were full of rage.
"The Tower Head was killed! Explain what happened!"
I sighed and looked at the 2nd Elder.
"It's because of Parin. Karios was killed while tracking down Parin's backer."
"I already know that! Who killed him?"
"Someone related to the demons."
The 2nd Elder shook his head.
"I can't believe it. The Tower Head was already a 7-star mage. How could he be killed without any significant signs of struggle on his body?"
"Because he was ambushed."
"That doesn't make sense! Where is that bastard?"
"I killed him."
"You killed him? The one who killed the Tower Head in an instant?"
"I was prepared."
The 2nd Elder shouted,
"Where did you find the Tower Head's body?"
"..."
"Hey, Crazy Mage Squad Commander!"
The bloodshot 2nd Elder strode towards me and took a stance as if he was about to grab me by the collar.
But I didn't defend myself and just watched him.
Because I knew the reason for the 2nd Elder's behavior. I've experienced the pain of losing comrades many times.
What should I say at a time like this?
It was then that Black, who was also silently watching the 2nd Elder, spoke.
"2nd Elder!"
The Alliance Head, Agriche, who had followed them into the room, stopped the 2nd Elder.
"Calm down. Didn't I say I would look into it?"
The 2nd Elder shouted,
"Alliance Head! The Tower Head is dead! Do I look calm?!"
"2nd Elder!"
"You know too, Alliance Head! The Tower Head shouldn't have gone like this! You know how much the Tower Head contributed to the Alliance, so how can you be so cold?!"
The 2nd Elder suddenly yelled.
"We don't know who killed him. We don't know where it happened. All we have is his body. Do I look calm?!"
The 2nd Elder, who had been shouting for a long time, suddenly fell to his knees and began to mutter something self-deprecatingly. He showed no signs of calming down.
The Alliance Head, sighing, quietly closed the door of the room.
I said to the 2nd Elder,
"Karios died at the Black Mountain."
Suddenly, all eyes in the room focused on me.
My revelation of this fact was driven by an impulsive emotion.
Originally, I hadn't planned on revealing it, but the 2nd Elder's appearance reminded me of my comrades from the expedition.
"Where is that place, Crazy Mage Squad Commander?!"
"I won't tell you unless you calm down. I'll explain afterward."
While the 2nd Elder took a moment to catch his breath, the Alliance Head, seated on a chair, quietly asked me,
"Black Mountain... how did you know he died there?"
"Let me ask you something first."
I looked directly at the Alliance Head.
"Mahon Sirius."
"Why are you suddenly bringing up the 13th Elder's name?"
"Is he trustworthy?"
The Alliance Head firmly shook his head.
"The High Elder of the White Magic Tower cannot be an object of suspicion."
It was then.
I suddenly felt the sunlight in the room dimming and looked towards the window.
Black was already looking out the window.
It was strange.
A gray shadow was slowly pushing away the sunlight from the sky.
From the west, a thick fog-like presence ominously rolled in, beginning to cover the sky.
A sight I had never seen before.
Bang, bang—!
"Alliance Head!"
As soon as the sound of knocking on the door was heard, a figure rushed in. Clerk Aguro, with a terrified expression, urgently reported,
"Alliance Head!"
Even after confirming who was in the room, Aguro didn't hold back.
Or to be more precise, he seemed too flustered to be cautious.
"What's going on?"
"I apologize. It seems there's an abnormal phenomenon in the westernmost region."
"Explain it clearly."
Just as Aguro, after swallowing hard, was about to continue, this time the administrative bureau chief rushed into the room.
"It's a disaster, Alliance Head!"
Aguro immediately followed up by shouting,
"The regular branch, the westernmost regular branch, is out of contact!"
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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