Chapter 164: Exposing the Truth (1)
“Hmm, I had a hunch you had some extraordinary secrets, old man. But I didn’t think you’d be this high up the chain.”
“Do you sense the ‘dignity’ of a knight?”
Orthes silently raised a finger and pointed at Hector’s loud, vividly colored shirt.
“Shouldn’t a knight be walking around in armor or something?”
Hector puffed up his chest and declared with pride:
“A suit is the modern man’s armor!”
“…That garishly colorful shirt counts as a suit?”
Clap!
Sensing the conversation veering off course, Carisia clapped her hands once to draw attention back to the matter at hand. She’d let the master-disciple banter play out long enough.
“While I do agree with Orthes’ point that ‘business-to-business deals differ from business-to-personal deals,’ I’d like to get to the heart of the matter. Hector, may I ask what exactly you’re hoping to achieve by coming here?”
“Simple. The plan to assassinate the Mage King is currently unfeasible. After all, the target doesn’t exist yet.”
Carisia observed Hector’s demeanor. It seemed that Orthes’ earlier shocking revelations had forced him to reconsider his theory of Orthes = the Mage King.
If he hadn’t completely abandoned it, he had at least put it on hold.
“Therefore, our goal is simple. The dissolution of magical society.”
Hector’s words were direct.
“Orthes’ Plan of World Division — that precise, elaborate plan — is the most sophisticated path to achieving the goal my comrades and I have long pursued.”
He had no hesitation in aligning himself with the strategy. The idea of forming an alliance with Argyrion had already been scrapped once it became clear that Argyrion’s reputation was overblown.
“Total cooperation, is it? Now that I think about it, I don’t believe I’ve heard the name of the group you lead, Hector. May I ask what it is?”
“It bears the name of the kingdom from which our founder was knighted. Ilion.”
Hector laid bare the nature of Ilion’s activities.
The secret swordsmanship designed to kill the Mage King was only passed down to the leader of each generation. However, fragments of that swordsmanship had been reworked into a system for analyzing magic spells, and that knowledge was shared among all the knights of Ilion.
Just as Hector himself had contributed to tax evasion schemes for various Magic Towers, Ilion’s knights traveled from tower to tower as “tax reduction consultants,” gnawing away at the Ten Towers’ financial resources.
Orthes scratched his head.
“Old man, do Ilion’s knights have formal job titles like ‘certified accounting knight’ or ‘tax audit knight’ or something?”
“…That has a nice ring to it. I’ll suggest it at the next meeting.”
Hector then shared Ilion’s records of Magic Towers with known grievances against the Ten Towers. These towers would serve as the vanguard for the Plan of World Division.
“Our goal, Ilion’s goal, is the same as yours, Hydra Corporation. At least, as far as the Plan of World Division is concerned. The rest, we can discuss once the plan is complete.”
Carisia understood what Hector meant by “the rest.” It was a polite way of saying, “We’ll discuss Orthes’ true identity later.”
But Carisia remained expressionless as she reached out and shook Hector’s hand.
“Oh, speaking of which, I got a message from Niobe,” Orthes suddenly said.
Hearing an unfamiliar name, Hector tilted his head in confusion. Orthes explained with calm indifference.
“She’s a high-ranking member of Blasphemia that we happened to recruit.”
Hector’s eyes twitched.
“Happened to recruit” a high-ranking agent of Blasphemia? If that were possible, the Ten Towers system would have collapsed 100 years ago.
Still, Hector kept his thoughts to himself. He knew from experience that, with Orthes, it was better to keep your mouth shut and wait. Otherwise, Orthes would somehow end up successfully fooling even himself.
“She says she’s ready to hear the truth. We should prepare to consume Blasphemia from within.”
“The truth, huh? Are you talking about the so-called ‘hypnosis’ method that had everyone baffled by Argyrion’s insane recruitment abilities?”
“Correct.”
Orthes had put significant thought into uncovering the truth behind Argyrion’s shocking recruitment method.
Rationally speaking, it made no sense for high-ranking mages to abandon their privileged positions in magical society and join a mere terrorist group.
But magic itself was never a rational field of study.
Orthes had assumed that Argyrion’s “truth” must be something profoundly shocking, something that could overturn the very framework of a person’s worldview.
“Given that the Mage King is behind Argyrion, such information would be limited to a few key truths.”
Hector nodded and muttered to himself,
“The truth of the Day of Ascension…”
The fact that the Ten Tower Masters had killed the Mage King was a truth that threatened the very foundations of the magical world.
The claim that they had inherited the Commandments from the Mage King carried the implication that they were legitimate successors of his magical legacy. The Mage King’s Ten Disciples were even referred to as Apostles, giving them not only academic but also religious authority.
But what if it became known that those Apostles had murdered their own master?
The legitimacy of the Ten Towers, and the solemn authority that underpinned magical society, would crumble in an instant.
“Argyrion probably recruited mages by claiming that they alone upheld the ‘true cause of the Mage King.’ But the game has changed. Their scheme will now become our weapon.”
It would begin with Niobe. By feeding her the truth, the plan was to create a core faction loyal to Hydra Corporation within Blasphemia, and eventually Panoptes.
Panoptes was officially a subordinate organ of the Ten Towers. No matter how high one’s rank was within Panoptes, they could not oppose decisions made by the Ten Tower Elders.
But they could manipulate the reporting structure that informed those decisions.
Orthes explained his vision of the future, adding that he would need a private room to meet with Niobe one-on-one.
“Panoptes may have numbers on their side, but ever since it was revealed that Argyrion had spies among Amimone Tower’s investigators, their influence has waned.”
“…And you were the one who exposed them, disguised as a Blasphemia agent.”
“Correct. Which is why now is the perfect time to seize Blasphemia and take control of Panoptes. The Eidolons are a concern, but since they’re even more closed-off than Blasphemia, it’s hard to come up with a practical way to approach them.”
Listening to Carisia and Orthes’ exchange, Hector let out a hollow laugh.
To magical society, Hydra Corporation was seen as just another small, insignificant Magic Tower.
Even after Hydra Corporation sponsored the Amimone Tower succession match, its name was overshadowed by the catastrophic collapse of the Regular Magic Tower’s core.
Unseen by all, a ticking time bomb was moving through magical society.
And now, Hector himself was a supplier of gunpowder for that bomb.
“If a Blasphemia agent visits Hydra Corporation for no apparent reason, it’ll draw attention. I know a good place to set up the meeting.”
“Oh, has Ilion expanded into real estate brokerage as well? Damn, I should’ve asked for some parting money when I left.”
Hector gave a dry laugh. Carisia didn’t like where this was going.
The idea of Orthes alone in a room with Niobe — a woman who might already have feelings for him — didn’t sit well with her.
But she knew it was necessary.
If Orthes met Niobe in Hydra Corporation’s headquarters, it would seem like coercion. But if it happened in a neutral location, it could be framed as a genuine meeting of the minds.
“…Alright, let’s wrap up the business talk. It’s time for the ‘high-ranking individuals’ to have their discussion. Step outside for a bit.”
“Wow, pulling rank now, old man?”
Orthes pouted but glanced at Carisia for confirmation. She nodded, and he gathered the empty teacups and left.
“Looks like you’re finally convinced Orthes isn’t the Mage King,” Carisia remarked.
Hector rubbed his temples.
“Can’t say I’m convinced, but after all that Mage King talk and no reaction, what else can I think?”