Chapter 123: Neither Truth nor the Greater Good (4)
Sprigo hadn’t been trying to expand using only his own power. The silver soldiers, the Drachmas, were mass-produced soldiers that had proved useful even in their basic form. But for the now-enormous Sprigo, he saw another way to utilize them.
The Drachmas were filled with extra-dimensional mana, and as a master of plant magic, Sprigo could easily absorb the extra-dimensional energy within them.
At the same time, Sprigo held command over the Drachmas. He ordered them to relocate to places where it would be easier for him to absorb them throughout Algoth City.
This retreat gave the wizards of Amimone Tower, who had been locked in a stalemate, a brief moment to catch their breath. They suspected there was some connection between the gigantic tree that had sprouted in the city center and the Drachmas’ sudden withdrawal, but they dared not make any hasty moves.
Nearly simultaneously with the explosive growth of the silver tree, all communications were cut off. In the ominous silence, the surviving wizards of Amimone Tower had no choice but to focus on their immediate survival.
At the root of this silence was Orthes.
***
Sprigo’s expansion seemed endless. Perhaps he sensed that expanding further while I watched would risk detection, so he continued extending his roots underground, devouring the Silver Thread Worms species below Algoth City, furthering his growth in secret.
I was waiting for Sprigo to finish devouring all of the Silver Thread Worms. If even a few had been left behind as reserves for Argyrion’s headquarters, my future plans would unravel with more problems than I could count.
‘No. I should already assume problems have arisen.’
Why was Halto so eager to blame me the moment something unusual occurred?
Sprigo had now consumed all of the Drachmas. This meant that I no longer had to strain myself by dividing my attention across multiple points. I could focus solely on Sprigo.
Quickly, I reached into my coat and grabbed the container of bubbles. Sprigo reacted immediately.
「Gorgov! Stop the enemy!」
Mana gathered at every branch of the tree. He was drawing in the vast power from his roots, attempting to focus it into a single point, strong enough to send a message through the storm to Argyrion’s base.
Despite being drained of mana and wounded, Gorgov attacked without hesitation. But it was in vain.
Before he could use his magic to turn his body to poison or transform the ground beneath me into a swamp, I was already holding a bubble wand.
Whoo.
I blew into the wand, and a bubble formed, floating up toward the sky. Through the distorted surface of the bubble, Gorgov’s face appeared enlarged and grotesque.
At least, that’s how it looked in the visible spectrum. What I was seeing, however, was not just physical features but the very information embedded in their existence.
I discarded what was unnecessary. My task wasn’t to erase Algoth City or Amimone Tower. Even if the tower’s mana core was linked to the Ten Commandments, erasing it wouldn’t have been easy, and besides, Amimone Tower was meant to fall into Kynemon’s hands.
What I was focused on was the physical entity of Sprigo, and Gorgov, who was now charging at me.
Gorgov’s expression showed confusion. *In this situation? He’s using that?*
From the traitor’s grasp, countless spells exploded forth. Normally, a wizard would specialize in a few specific elements based on their talents, but with enchantware and magical engraving devices, those limitations could be temporarily bypassed.
The first spell Gorgov unleashed was lightning—one of the quintessential offensive spells. As soon as the first bolt landed, many more spells would follow, riding the lingering traces of mana. It was a clever choice.
But too slow.
The lightning spell, which should have struck at the speed of light the moment it was fired, was fortunately delayed, thanks to Sprigo’s unintended mana absorption effect as a result of his transformation into a giant tree.
Even Sprigo hadn’t expected this effect. Naturally. The mana absorption wasn’t some deliberate magical construct of his, but rather a byproduct of his transformation into this massive tree—a kind of biological trait of the species.
Just as normal plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, the extra-dimensionally eroded tree absorbed mana, converted it into extra-dimensional energy, and released it.
In human terms, it was as natural as breathing. The enchantware Gorgov relied on lost some of its charge as it was siphoned by Sprigo, lowering the overall potency of the spell. This granted me a brief moment of respite.
The mana flowing along the structure of Gorgov’s spells was projected into the bubbles.
I saw everything I needed to see.
I raised a finger.
Pop.
***
Danao opened his eyes. The sky was still shimmering with chaos, but the silver tower-like figure of the wizard he had last seen was nowhere to be found.
Instead, in front of him stood the man who called himself an “agent,” his blue eyes glowing faintly.
“You…”
“Rest assured, Amimone Tower is safe,” the man said calmly.
“What?”
“The wizards who followed you out to chase Argyrion—they’re not dead. The tower’s strength remains intact.”
Danao couldn’t detect any emotion in the agent’s voice. No mockery, no deception—just cold detachment.
‘I don’t know why he’s keeping me alive… but…’
If he wanted to survive, Danao knew he had to try something.
“You must need me for something.”
“No.”
The answer was calm but felt brutally final to Danao.
“Then why are you keeping me alive?” Danao’s eyes darted around, taking in his surroundings. The massive form of Argyrion’s officer, or the tower’s traitor—neither of them was anywhere to be seen.
“Because I have to keep a promise. Now, please listen for a moment.”
With a *thunk*, the agent placed something down from within his coat. It was the very relic they had intended to use to lure Argyrion.
“In truth, this relic has already been used once. Not as bait, but for its original function.”
“What?”
“This is the Lamp of Estia.”
Slowly, the man began to explain what he had done while he was in Amimone Tower.
***
The Lamp of Estia isn’t particularly useful in combat. All it does is provide peaceful sleep to those who rest in its light.
Yes, I see that part caught your attention.
Indeed, it affects multiple people at once. I’ve experimented with its effects because ‘peaceful sleep’ can be interpreted in many ways. For some, it’s a deep, dreamless sleep. For others, it’s waking up refreshed after reliving pleasant memories.
The measure of “peace” in the sleep it offers is determined by the user of the relic.
When you and Gorgov began your conversation with Sprigo, I knocked out everyone gathered in the Tower Master’s chamber and disabled the mana core’s communication relay.
And then I lit the lamp.
Yes, even when they were unconscious, lighting the lamp still fulfilled the condition of ‘sleeping in its light.’
I showed them a dream.
A dream in which, after passing out, they awoke bound, and a broadcast from the mana core revealed that both you and Gorgov had been traitors working for Argyrion.
In the dream, I revealed myself as a Blasphemia agent, proclaiming that this vile conspiracy was finally over.
The dream likely ended with the captured traitors losing consciousness once again.
***
Danao muttered in confusion.
“You… why?”
His first thought was how needlessly convoluted this plan was. Whether to kill him or keep him alive, there were far simpler ways to achieve the agent’s goal than manipulating events from the shadows.
And yet, the agent had gone out of his way to implant a false reality in the minds of the traitors, making them believe they were Argyrion’s collaborators.
Like a teacher answering a curious student, the agent’s voice was gentle as he explained.
“My goal isn’t to kill you. It’s to pass your position to someone else. That’s why you cannot simply die in battle. I had to prepare the situation so that Danao would be deemed unfit to remain as Tower Master.”
“So, you plan to frame me as an Argyrion traitor?”
“Yes. Your position will be stripped from you, and it will go to someone ideologically pure from among Amimone Tower’s many factions.”
“Hah. Hahaha…”
*Huh—hahahaha!* Danao laughed bitterly. The very position he had fought to protect until the end was now gone forever.
“I’ll ask… just two things.”
Resigned to his fate, Danao felt a strange sense of peace as he watched the man nod in acknowledgment.
“Who will take my place?”
“Kynemon.”
“…Who?”
“The last direct descendant of the Tavning Tower you destroyed with your own hands. This is his revenge.”
Danao’s memory of it was vague. He had destroyed so many towers that it was hard to keep track.
“One of my friends mentioned this at a bar once. He said he wanted to carve his name into your mind, just as you did when you brought down his tower—one by one, listing how he dismantled it.”
This was that moment.
“I’ve come to fulfill that request.”
Danao chuckled softly before asking his final question.
“Names, huh? Yeah. Names.”
It was the mention of a name that had suddenly made Danao realize everything was wrong.
“What’s your name?”
“How many letters would you like?”
“All of them. The shortest one first.”
“With three letters, it’s Utis.”
Nobody. Nobody at all.
What a ridiculous name.
The irony of being bested by someone named “Nobody” was the last thing Danao ever felt.
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