ALL NOVEL Chapter 116
Gorgopf cast the Soundproof Magic. It was a spell that Orthes was quite familiar with. After all, it was developed in the Mage Tower that created the High-Frequency Blade.
‘Is it a principle that wraps sound with noise?’
Once confirming that the magic was fully operational, Gorgopf revealed his wariness and asked.
“What are you thinking?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m asking why you would utter such dreadful words.”
‘Ho. Trying to weasel out, huh?’ That was Orthes’s prediction.
“You don’t need to say that. I already came to understand the situation.”
“‥‥‥.”
Silence. A sign of distrust. Still within the realm of predictions. Slowly, Orthes raised his hand and tucked it into his robe.
The glimmer of suspicion in Gorgopf’s eyes deepened. Such a deliberately slow movement couldn’t possibly be an ambush; he was just not firing back immediately.
What Orthes pulled out was a lamp.
“…?”
“Now, see with the eye of truth, not the physical eye. You will feel a power that does not belong to the Ten Towers.”
Gorgopf activated his magic power. That lamp contained a force different from mana or magic power.
“This is from a Follower of Superstition…!”
“If I was truly loyal to Blasphemia, would I have preserved this relic so completely? If I had been faithful to their orders, I would have destroyed it immediately.”
A clever misdirection. Not every Blasphemia agent destroys a relic upon discovery. If they recklessly damaged it, they couldn’t gather information regarding the Cult’s capabilities.
Only after sufficient analysis and research concludes that it cannot be used for the Ten Towers would destruction occur.
However, such inner workings were not known to the outside. After all, the Ten Towers has just issued a relic control edict.
A trick utilizing fixed ideas and currents surrounding Blasphemia. Gorgopf hesitated, and added his protest.
“If you were our ally, you shouldn’t have treated Danao like that. He will hunt down each of his comrades.”
‘Ah, right. He would react like that.’
“Think differently.”
“Differently?”
“Yes. Within the Amimone Tower, comrades must exist. But you only know that another comrade ‘exists’ without knowing exactly who they are, right?”
“How can you be so sure?”
Gorgopf feigned bravado. His demeanor, relaxed as if he knew more than the one just arriving in the city, was somehow unlikable and a light contest for control.
“Do not harbor suspicions before the Divine. …though, if I were to say that, you would probably be suspicious. The reason is simple.”
Orthes smiled as he replied.
The one who sent the distress signal is not you, is it?
*
The expression of Gorgopf, hearing my words, stiffened. He must be wondering how I know all this.
Of course, the one who sent the distress signal was me. Gorgopf probably can’t even gather clues about who sent it.
“Considering the one who sent the distress signal means at least one person, aside from you, exists who could send a signal to Argyrion. Your dedication to the Divine is so deep that it can be seen at first glance, but it seems you lacked the charisma to involve another person.”
“…I concede.”
“Now. There’s no time until the Purging Unit of Blasphemia arrives. We must find and rally the comrades as quickly as possible.”
“What are we gathering them for? If the purging unit breaks through the Extra-dimensional Contaminated Zone, it’s all over. Unless Argyrion sends someone other than you, there’s no solution.”
Gorgopf, rubbing his forehead as if a headache was surging, suddenly lifted his head.
“Is that it? To assemble comrades and break through the Extra-dimensional Contaminated Zone? It would surely incur losses, but it’s not a bad idea─” “Lack of imagination, I see.”
“What?”
Gorgopf was flabbergasted by my sudden remark. I surveyed him slowly as if evaluating him.
The magic power stemming from the Eroder did not appear in sight. I really didn’t understand how Argyrion recruits people.
‘Does he really have some kind of hypnosis app or what?’
“I mean it literally. What you all have to do doesn’t change.”
“It doesn’t change? Didn’t you say that if we root out the traitors for Danao and offer their heads, we wouldn’t be purged? Are you saying we should go for our own heads?”
“That’s the opposite.”
Gorgopf’s expression was now halfway between anger and bewilderment. Quite an entertaining face to behold.
“Why should you all become traitors?”
“That story…”
“Take Danao’s head and submit it to Blasphemia. Then, you can serve the Apex Towers with all your might, right?”
“…!”
Seeing Gorgopf, who looked like he was about to say something in awe, I shook my head. I raised my index finger to my lips. A silent gesture to keep quiet.
“Do not make a fuss. I will buy as much time as possible while gaining Danao’s trust and making him let his guard down. You need to help me find the comrades. Do you understand?”
“I got it. Indeed, is that why Argyrion hasn’t sent anyone else?”
I shrugged. I was just grateful he was falling for the misunderstanding.
“Now, I’m going outside to say that your purity has been verified and assign myself as your aide. Please check that position thoroughly and select your comrades. And when I signal, you know, right?”
Gorgopf’s eyes sparkled as if he saw a string dropped from the sky. I added one more request.
“In case, other forces might approach from the outside. When that happens, be sure to remember my words and act accordingly…”
Seeing Gorgopf nodding fervently, I opened the door wide and shouted.
“Danao, the Tower Master! Come here!”
*
Danao was facing Orthes one-on-one. He felt deep displeasure, suspecting the Blasphemia agent had the audacity to face him.
“First, use the Soundproof Magic.”
“Where’s your esteemed skill of Blasphemia?”
“To verify if extra-dimensional magic is detectable from the magic power wavelength during spellcasting.
Danao’s expression twisted with anger. He snapped his fingers and cast the soundproof magic, then shouted in rage.
“Do you think I’m a lunatic colluding with the morons of Argyrion!”
“No, Tower Master, please hear me out.”
A completely different attitude than outside. Danao’s eyebrows twitched at Orthes referring to him with the honorific.
“First, I must explain this. Much of what I said outside was greatly exaggerated.”
“What?”
Orthes began to calmly explain.
While it was true that personnel had been siphoned off from the tower to send a distress request, gathering the necessary forces to handle the enemies of the Apex Towers was impractical.
“As you might suspect, the supervision of the Amimone Tower is an extension of the balance between Argos and Blasphemia. Argos wouldn’t be so desperate to oppose the cleansing of the Amimone Tower, would they?”
“Even under such circumstances?”
“Precisely because of these circumstances. Would Argos wish to portray a picture where ‘the entirety of the Amimone Tower colluded, and Argos was entirely unaware’? Or would they prefer a frame saying ‘some traitors existed within the Amimone Tower, but the triggers were the faults of Blasphemia, and the key members, including the Tower Master, are innocent’?”
Danao fell into thought. Indeed, I had consistently oiled the gears of connections on Argos’s side, even now. Argos would certainly be convinced that I wasn’t a traitor.
“So. Why are you telling me this, Blasphemia agent?”
Mentioning his position was a probing into why I was doing something that could benefit Argos. Orthes skillfully parried it.
“We can’t catch the traitors simply through rough investigations and pressures right now. But do you have a plan to lure them out?”
Orthes pulled out Estia’s lamp from his robe. Danao felt an unusual force, a depth of blasphemy as old as history emanating from the artifact.
‘To possess such a high-risk relic. Certainly, this one is a strong elite among Blasphemia!’
“This is an antique from a Follower of Superstition that I recently confiscated. I was on my way to have it analyzed at headquarters when I received an urgent dispatch from Algoth City and couldn’t submit evidence, so I kept it with me. I plan to introduce myself as a spy for Argyrion through this.”
“Using yourself as bait to gather the traitors, and then my loyal faction and I will step in to subdue them and offer them to the Ten Towers?”
“Yes. The timing for the subjugation will be when I signal. If it goes well, I can save both my life and the Tower Master’s position, right?”
Enjoy two flavors with one item. Orthes smiled inwardly.