Zephis picked up his pen for the fifth time to write a report to be sent to the Inquisition Office and the Papacy, but let out a deep sigh and put it down again.
His main task was to organize and submit reports from the field, and he prided himself on being quite competent at his job so far. However, he had no idea how to summarize this report, which was filled with numerous attachments and fantastical stories.
-Tap.
Zephis rested his hand on his forehead and glared at the report sent by Fernandez. If his gaze could pierce through something, this report would have already been shredded.
“Sigh…”
After another deep sigh, Zephis simply added a postscript to Fernandez’s report. There was nothing more to add or remove. He didn’t even have the courage to try.
He wrote a single sentence as a postscript at the end of the report and sealed the envelope with wax.
The rest of the judgment would be up to Beorn… It was a vague expectation, almost like shirking responsibility.
-Swish.
He took out his rosary, wrapped it around his hand, and clasped his hands together on the desk. Oh God, forgive me for having to pass on this responsibility. I dare not judge this situation.
Their God remained silent.
[Attention, Urgent Order No. 221, Access to this document is restricted to Sub-Archbishops or higher.]
[Dispatch Mission Report: Desert Acrobatics]
Operation Area: Western Great Wilderness, City of Mosat.
Operation Summary: Approval of the Leviathan Empire’s Iron Side confidential dispatch mission request (Attachment 1). Tracking traces of the Necropolis near the ruins of Mosat City.
Operation Progress:
1) Contacted Shaksisi, the Sultan’s envoy, during the search mission in Mosat City.
2) Discovered the sealed site of the Necropolis buried beneath Mosat City.
3) The seal of the Necropolis was destroyed due to unauthorized bombardment by Iron Side. Casualties were limited to the sealed site, with field agent Albert and Shaksisi Sadia Amal neutralizing the threat.
4) The aftermath of the seal’s destruction released wraiths of the Necropolis into the Great Wilderness (Attachment 2: Signal Fire Incident in Mosat City).
5) Coordinated with Shaksisi to assess the destruction of the remaining Necropolis seals (Attachment 3: Signal Fire Incident of the Three Dynasties).
6) Three factions of wraith warlords emerged in the Great Wilderness (Attachment 4: Territorial Reversal in the Great Wilderness at the time of the incident).
7) Field investigation concluded that the influence of the Great Demon had diminished (Attachment 5: Individual Report / Fernandez).
8) Initiated preliminary investigations for the subjugation of the Great Demon. Coordinated with nearby Beastman Nobility.
-Snap.
The sound of Beorn’s pen breaking. Beorn paused for a moment, then threw the pen into the trash bin. Inside the bin, a pile of pens met the same fate.
The report was completely disassembled, with attachments scattered across the desk. Beorn picked up one of the attached maps and drew a line on it.
“Mosat City.”
The incident clearly began with the investigation of the ruins buried beneath the oasis commercial city. But suddenly, Iron Side started bombing? This was one of the pieces of information they had gathered beforehand. It must be true.
In the midst of it all, Fernandez, who survived, coordinated with the local Shaksisi to stop the bombing. A remarkably clever judgment for a field agent. It was possible.
But then, suddenly, the influence of the Great Demon is mentioned? Beorn opened the report containing Fernandez’s ‘personal judgment basis’ and pushed up his monocle.
The Three Dynasties’ official stance to neighboring nations was to recognize their own independence and sovereignty, claiming ownership of the Great Wilderness.
The three factions of wraith sovereigns, each divided into separate groups, either allied with completely different forces or began wars with allied forces of other dynasties.
Based on this, the field agent judged that the wraith sovereigns possessed independent self-awareness and a desire for self-realization.
When considering the three factions of wraith sovereigns as secular dynasties in the Material World, the following hypothesis is necessary to make this possible:
(1) The wraith sovereigns are minions of the Great Demon.
[1] This was confirmed in a cooperative document from Iron Side (Attachment 6: Wraith Sovereign of the Dane Kingdom).
(2) The influence of the Great Demon projected onto each wraith sovereign has diminished.
[1] The wraith sovereigns did not act in coordination with each other or for a specific purpose for the Great Demon.
To prove this hypothesis, the field agent contacted a high-ranking entity of one wraith faction. Through information exchange with this entity, the hypothesis was proven true.
After reading that far, Beorn took off his glasses and pressed his temples.
“As soon as the area he was dispatched to was bombed, he deduced the opponent and coordinated with their enemy to stop the bombing…”
A remarkably intelligent and clever judgment, but one that was within the realm of possibility. Beorn glared at the map with tired eyes.
“Immediately after the bombing, wraith nations rose to power…”
This was the result, separate from the field agent’s judgment. Beorn tapped the desk and put down the report.
“As soon as the wraith nations rose to power and claimed independence, he judged that the Great Demon behind them had weakened. He contacted the high-ranking officials of those nations… and proved his judgment to be true.”
Is this a judgment a human can make? Someone caught in the chaos of a shifting wasteland’s power struggles?
In a crisis where even an ordinary person would struggle to survive, a highly trained elite agent would aim to survive… but this ‘saint’ aimed to resolve the situation.
“He plans to kill the Great Demon and calm the situation?”
Generally, you can’t see the storm from within the storm. Chess pieces can’t see the chessboard. A soldier in the midst of battle can’t grasp the overall situation. That’s common sense.
But this ‘saint’ did it. In the midst of the turbulent wasteland. Not just surviving, but making resolving the situation his primary goal!
At such a young age, it should have been impossible…
