Chapter184:『Commandment Frontline (5)』
Orthes lay sprawled on his back, staring up at the sky. Only the endless blue filled his vision. There were no invasive streams of information about the history of objects or their composition, no annoying data like the mana density of the surrounding atmosphere.
For the first time, he saw the world without any sense of pressure.
A shadow fell across his face. Soft, white hair brushed against his cheek, and golden eyes came into view.
“Boss.”
“You’re alive!”
“Seems so,” Orthes replied with a dry laugh. He wasn’t sure if his overworked eyes had finally given out, if they were temporarily offline, or if their function was permanently impaired.
But one thing was certain.
They had defeated White Light.
“Did we… do it?”
Carisia muttered under her breath.
“Don’t jinx it,” Orthes warned.
“Do you believe in silly superstitions like that?”
Carisia shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and looked around. The peak of White Light’s tower was surrounded by arched pillars, open to the air with no walls between them.
The wind blew freely through the gaps, and faintly, from far below in the city of Etna, came the sounds of ongoing conflict.
Then, suddenly, the tower groaned with a deep rumble.
Carisia immediately snapped into action, channeling mana into her gauntlet. The gauntlet, already damaged from the excessive strain it had endured during the battle, was on the verge of breaking completely, but she somehow managed to force mana into it.
The tower groaned again, louder this time, and an ominous sound echoed—something heavy, something vital, was beginning to fall apart.
A vivid image of the current state of White Light’s tower flashed through Orthes’s mind. Thoughts connected in rapid succession.
As his thoughts accelerated, peripheral information began creeping into his vision again, only for his senses to suddenly reset to normal.
So, my eyes haven’t permanently given out.
It seemed they had temporarily shut down to recharge after being pushed too far.
Orthes refocused his thoughts on the tower. The structure had been pierced by the overwhelming mass of Etna City.
The only reason the tower hadn’t collapsed outright was due to the constant regeneration efforts powered by the Commandment’s mana.
But now, the Grand Mage White Light—the master of the Commandment and the one sustaining the tower—was gone.
Orthes and Carisia had defeated her.
The link between the tower and the Commandment had been severed. Which meant that the flow of mana sustaining the tower…
“Is gone?!”
“What’s gone?”
“Boss, connect to White Light’s Commandment! That sound—it’s the sound of the tower collapsing!”
“Wow. That’s kind of awesome! I was disappointed I didn’t get to blow it up myself.”
Orthes’s expression twisted in disbelief, and Carisia stuck her tongue out with a playful smile. “Just kidding,” she added.
She turned and looked behind her.
At the center of the arched peak stood a massive artifact—a crystalline orb over ten meters tall. Inside, white light swirled like a storm.
Just moments ago, Carisia had been fighting within that very space. Now that White Light, the mage who had used the Commandment to create that dimension, was gone, the Commandment had reverted to its basic form.
A destructive impulse welled up inside her.
The urge to detonate the Artificial Commandment right now, obliterating the entire tower, the Commandment White Light, and even herself, was overwhelming.
But then Carisia turned her head and saw Orthes, staggering to his feet with difficulty.
She decided to suppress her destructive impulse for now.
Carisia reached out and touched the Commandment.
Slowly, light began to radiate from it. Unlike the overwhelming, blinding radiance White Light had emitted, this light was gentle—like clouds drifting across the sky or freshly fallen snow in winter. It was a calm, comforting glow.
Carisia deliberately restricted the amount of mana she drew from the Commandment. Given that she was also receiving mana from the Artificial Commandment, there was a risk of accumulating more power than she could control.
The moment White Light fell, the mages of White Light’s tower must have been thrown into confusion, she thought.
Their link to the Commandment had been severed. And now, it was time to deliver the declaration of complete victory.
***
I silently watched Carisia. My eyes were a defective tool. If I left them open, my head hurt; if I imposed restrictions to ease the strain, the constraints caused yet another headache.
I needed to take in as much of the world as possible while I could still see it clearly.
As Carisia touched the Commandment, the once-unstable tower quickly began to stabilize. At the same time, the sounds of combat from below grew quieter. The mages must have understood the significance of White Light’s silence by now.
“Ah—”
Carisia tested her voice, letting out a few meaningless sounds as though testing a microphone. Then, she spoke in a calm, measured tone.
“This is a public announcement. Hydra Corporation has undertaken a merger and acquisition of the Ten Towers’ White Light in order to enhance its competitive edge in the rapidly evolving magical society. As of today, at this very moment, the acquisition is complete. The company name will remain Hydra Corporation, and the existing organizational structure will be maintained.”
A merger, huh? Not technically inaccurate. I couldn’t suppress a wry chuckle.
“With this merger as a stepping stone, Hydra Corporation has secured an unparalleled position in the magical society and promises to introduce innovative methods for operating the Commandment White Light—methods unlike anything you’ve seen before.”
Sure. The Commandment bomb was certainly a revolutionary way to utilize White Light. Carisia’s farcical tone was so absurdly effective that it further eroded the morale of White Light’s mages. It was as if all the bloodshed and carnage up until now were being reduced to mere “corporate friction” in the course of a merger.
“In addition, all contracts and employment statuses under the former White Light Corporation will be subject to a comprehensive review. Effective immediately, all ongoing tasks undertaken by employees of the former White Light Corporation are hereby suspended. All former employees are instructed to disarm and remain seated. Detailed operational guidelines and personnel restructuring will be provided at a later date.”
A mischievous smile played across her lips.
“Hydra Corporation, which continues its ‘explosive’ growth toward the future, stands at the forefront of magical innovation. We look forward to surprising you with extraordinary rewards in return for your continued interest and support. Until that day, Hydra Corporation will keep growing.”
Damn it. What an unsettling way to end a speech. I trudged over to Carisia.
“Signed, Carisia, CEO of Hydra Corporation.”
Carisia ended her speech and stood still for a moment, gazing up at the sky. Though she hadn’t destroyed White Light outright, she had finally achieved her long-held dream.
Whether it was satisfaction or bittersweetness, the moment clearly carried a unique weight for her.
“How was it?” she asked.
“A bit long. Probably excruciating for the employees to listen to.”
“Really? I thought it was a well-crafted statement for something I made up on the spot.”
“So, Boss…”
I had other questions I wanted to ask after taking down White Light, but now wasn’t the time. The unpredictable variable of Argyrion was still out there.
“Do you think Lamphades succeeded?”
“Well, it’s been about 42 minutes since the succession war was declared. I’d say it’s a fifty-fifty chance at this point.”
“Whether Lamphades managed to secure Yellow Thunder or not will determine how quickly Argyrion’s schemes spread. That, in turn, will dictate our next moves. Damn it. The seal we created by forcibly merging the Artificial Commandment with White Light is impossible to undo quickly.”
Carisia hadn’t delivered her victory speech out of sheer arrogance. If they could move to Nokmok’s frontline immediately, they would have. But the barrier formed by the fusion of the two Commandments was a knot that couldn’t be untangled easily.
It was like tying a thread into a mess in an instant but needing an eternity to unravel it.
Carisia had realized she couldn’t head to Nokmok right away, so she had focused on decisively breaking the morale of White Light’s forces. Understanding this, I resolved to undo the formula once my eyes recovered.
If only there were a way to contact the outside… I muttered aloud, and Carisia tilted her head curiously.
“Why don’t we just check?”
“Huh? The seal blocks all external communication. Sure, Etna City’s terrain is still connected to this tower, but only someone like Proditor could navigate that route to reach us.”
Carisia tapped the Commandment White Light lightly.
“You said Nokmok’s Tower Lord sent a communication here, didn’t you? Since the Commandments are linked, it must be possible to bypass the seal and communicate between them. Let’s try contacting Lamphades.”
Carisia began sifting through the spells embedded in White Light, searching for the formula used for direct communication between Tower Lords.
When she finally spoke, her voice was eerily identical to White Light’s. If I weren’t me, I might not have been able to tell the difference.
“Yellow Thunder. What’s your status?”