Chapter 111: The Storm Sweeping Amimone (2)
On the way back from wrapping up matters at the Grand Temple of Pluton, Carisia had analyzed the core of Adoosiam.
‘According to Carisia’s analysis, this golem—codenamed Adoosiam—was sending distress signals to two different entities.’
One was the Ten Magical Commandments. The other was to the Mage King’s subordinates, beings of the same kind as the golem.
Orthes suspected that this “Mage King’s subordinate” might be none other than Argyrion.
The simplest way to prove this was to tamper with Adoosiam’s internal circuits and trigger another distress signal.
However, Orthes couldn’t choose this option. For the time being, he had to entertain guests at Hydra Corporation, and if Argyrion really did invade Etna City in response to the signal, it would inevitably attract unwanted attention from the Ten Magic Commandments.
It also wasn’t something that could be tested in some remote area. If Argyrion had indeed responded to the first distress signal, there was no guarantee he’d respond to a second or third one.
‘If the attack on the Grand Temple of Pluton was indeed due to this signal, I can only use it once or twice more, at most.’
The Ten Magic Commandments would undoubtedly assume their distress signal had been compromised.
In fact, given that the forces sent to the Grand Temple were annihilated, it was likely that any further signal would be regarded as a trap.
Still, I thought there was a fair chance that Argyrion might fall for the bait at least once or twice more.
The results of the battle at the Grand Temple of Pluton were simply too spectacular from Argyrion’s perspective.
He had killed an Elder of the Ten Magic Commandments. How much more heroic and glorious could that appear to Argyrion?
Normally, a trap would mean certain death. But paradoxically, it’s also where the enemy’s forces are concentrated.
If Argyrion believed he could crush the trap, he might also believe he could shatter the enemy’s plans in one fell swoop.
From Argyrion’s perspective, having killed an Elder of the Ten, he might believe that intentionally falling into the trap once or twice more could decisively turn the tide in his favor.
Both Argyrion and the Ten knew that taking down Argyrion’s special forces would require at least one Elder. But the Ten couldn’t afford to mobilize that kind of power easily.
At best—a term that usually wouldn’t apply, but compared to the Elders, it fit—he’d face a siege of Panoptes-affiliated combat mages, which was their usual limit.
And Argyrion wouldn’t pass up the chance to crush Panoptes veterans.
This is why I predicted he might fall for the bait one or two more times. Argyrion, overconfident from his victory over an Elder, would not realize that the situation wouldn’t always go as he anticipated.
It was entirely possible he could suffer a defeat at the hands of Panoptes.
Argyrion might endure one tough battle, maybe even one defeat. But if he had any common sense, after two successive failures, he would realize that his forces had been overestimated.
At that point, he wouldn’t willingly step into another trap unless he had a truly revolutionary strategy in place.
There was also the chance that Argyrion might not show up at all. Even with the glory of killing an Elder, if another Elder was indeed waiting in ambush, there was no guarantee of victory.
And most importantly, there was still no definitive proof that Argyrion had responded to a distress signal meant for the Mage King’s subordinates. The entire hypothesis could fall apart.
If that happened, the person in the most trouble would, of course, be me.
If Argyrion didn’t show up, how could I tie Amimone Tower to him?
Naturally, I had prepared a backup plan.
Under the alias L13, I had sent Salmosia a message, claiming that the distress signal Adoosiam sent to the Mage King’s subordinates was likely one used by Argyrion’s forces.
At this point, it no longer mattered whether Argyrion showed up or not.
As long as there was evidence that the signal originated from Amimone Tower, Blasphemia would be forced to act.
“Still, I can’t entrust such an important task to someone else.”
I still hadn’t shaken off the absurdity of Dimedes’ unexpected and gruesome demise while on a similar mission. If Argyrion did show up, I’d need to be there to respond appropriately. I was the best candidate for the job.
“If only Kine’s magical abilities could improve more quickly.”
But expecting so much from someone who hadn’t even been under Hydra’s care for a year was too much. I brushed aside those thoughts and headed to see Carisia.
At the very least, I had to report my travel plans.
***
Orthes didn’t even bother to bring a formal itinerary, simply stating, “I’ll be heading out.” His attitude was almost cold.
Carisia didn’t offer any comments on Orthes’ plans.
“Why don’t you take the crystal with you?”
Instead, she left him with a concerned reminder. Orthes shook his head with a smile.
“I would normally take it, but this time I’m headed out to expose Amimone Tower’s ‘relic concealment’ and their ‘collusion with Argyrion,’ right?”
Referring to his mission as “exposing” those crimes, rather than fabricating or framing them, was likely Orthes’ way of joking.
“But if I get caught in a search and it’s discovered that the crystal is a relic, wouldn’t that be a problem? I could be accused of treason against the Ten Commandments.”
Carisia, who had been about to insist that Orthes bring the crystal—citing the last ambush by Talo as an example—found herself reluctantly agreeing with his excuse.
“You’re the kind of person who’s more likely to commit proper treason than just some makeshift crime like relic concealment.”
She made this remark half-jokingly, feeling a bit annoyed.
“This time, I’m going as a Blasphemia inspector, so I need to dress the part.”
Orthes deflected her complaint with a calm laugh, then added,
“I suppose I could use the crystal if I needed to persuade a real Argyrion collaborator within Amimone Tower, but that’s highly unlikely.”
Hearing Orthes’ words, Carisia thought to herself.
‘…There might really be a collaborator.’
From her long experience, Carisia knew that most of Orthes’ schemes were planned in such a way that, at least until the plot was over, the lies would be impossible to expose.
Most of the critical evidence Orthes provided was usually the result of carefully arranged fabrications. Yet, there were times when his fabrications provoked a real response from the world, occasionally bringing forth genuine situations.
What Carisia couldn’t quite be certain about was whether Orthes had already premeditated a trap to lure out a real collaborator with his false accusations. It was unlikely he had orchestrated such a meticulously calculated scenario in advance, given how logical and practical Orthes typically was.
‘Still, that man has his careless moments.’
Orthes preferred solving issues on the fly with force when things didn’t go according to plan.
A delicate, intricately plotted scheme like this didn’t really suit his style.
‘This time, the move to corner Amimone Tower has been exceptionally well-planned. But knowing him, this could be the unintended result of his usual impulsive actions. If only he put that brain of his to proper use…’
Carisia’s assessment of Orthes was remarkably similar to how Orthes viewed Carisia.
***
The plan to modify Adoosiam into a Mage King alarm system, which I had entrusted to Carisia, had produced meaningful results. For one, she had reworked the core’s circuits to allow it to be turned on and off. Second, I could now control whether the distress signal was sent while it was powered on.
The final feature was a power regulation device. This was a contingency in case the Mage King returned and unlocked the golem’s higher functions.
If a higher-ranking authority appeared and the shutdown command no longer worked, the idea was to physically cut off its power source to disable it.
‘I can’t use it as a proper alarm system just yet since one key element remains unresolved…’
For it to work as an alarm, it had to be left in a state where it could communicate with the Mage King. This also meant that the moment the Mage King appeared, he would be able to locate Adoosiam’s position immediately.
I still hadn’t found a suitable place to store Adoosiam’s core. It needed to be somewhere distant from Etna City but close enough for me to monitor its status. That would be a difficult condition to fulfill unless our company opened a branch office nearby.
Arriving in Algoth City, where Amimone Tower was located, I discreetly contacted Blasphemia.
In fact, Blasphemia had already reached out to me once they discovered relics near Amimone Tower. They wanted me to provide military support in case Argyrion launched an assault to back up Amimone. I responded by gladly agreeing to Salmosia’s request, and upon arriving in Algoth City, I quickly made contact with a field agent.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—I knew the agent in charge of Algoth City.
“Oh, senior?”
“Niobe, long time no see!”
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