Ortes had defeated Sikton and thoroughly searched the hideout of the Bacchus Cult, eventually drawing a single conclusion.
‘It’s not there?’
The force that controlled mana rather than magical power. There was no artifact to be found that could serve as the source of the power which had bound Demedes.
‘Then that means the origin of the power to control mana isn’t external but inside Sikton…’
Neuro, feeling a sense of unease about this mysterious force, felt the need to uncover its true nature. Though he lacked concrete reasoning, his intuition honed from experience urged him on.
As a result.
“Sir. Let’s rent a magic train car and move all these bodies here.”
“How do we get them to the station?”
“By hand?”
Neuro considered the distance between the nearest station and this rocky plain. It would take him a full day to walk it.
To cover that distance while carrying dozens of corpses and an unconscious youth?
“There’s nothing we can do…”
Neuro recalled a phrase he hadn’t heard since becoming the head of the Hunter’s Guild on this mission.
If you have to, you just have to do it.
In fact, moving the aftermath of hunts wasn’t new to him. While the number was larger this time, group hunts organized by the Hunter’s Guild regularly dealt with similar quantities.
It was familiar work.
Though transporting humans rather than beasts in such numbers was a first for Neuro. He began assembling makeshift transport equipment using materials and drones taken from his bag.
“Oh. Since I need to file a situation report, we might also need to bring a few Chimera specimens from Demedes’ side. Haha, doing it together will speed things up.”
…You just have to do it.
‘Where am I…’
An unfamiliar ceiling. Kine looked around. All white.
It reminded her of the hospital where she had once been admitted for prosthetic surgery.
“Oh. You’ve awakened?”
That chilling voice she had last heard before fainting. Kine immediately tried to rise and flee.
Clank!
But her attempt was futile; restraints were already fastened to the bed. Her legs and torso were tied down with straps connected to the bed.
“Don’t worry. This isn’t a hospital, but we did find internal bleeding caused by elemental poison and administered emergency surgery.”
Realizing escape was impossible, Kine glared at the squint-eyed man.
“Hello! Nice to meet you. Allow me to introduce myself first. For now, just call me Director of the Divine Investigation Office.”
Divine Investigation Office. Kine repeated the name. A name transparently intent on pursuing the Bacchus Sect — unmistakably blasphemious…
“I should mention beforehand: Blasphemia doesn’t use names like this. They refer to all faiths as ‘superstitions.’ If we were Blasphemia, we’d probably call ourselves something more along the lines of the Special Superstition Investigation Team.”
“…What?”
Kine spoke for the first time since regaining consciousness.
“Haha. You’re likely thinking this: ‘Sikton made a secret pact with Blasphemia. Sikton betrayed the cult, and Blasphemia eliminated him once his usefulness was over.’ Right?”
Choosing silence to withhold clues, Kine watched as the squint-eyed man nodded without hesitation.
“You’re right. And with that, another thought must come to mind…”
“Why is Bacchus of the heavens doing nothing? Why didn’t the deity my family so devoutly believed in save anyone from that tragedy?”
Kine’s body trembled.
It was unsettling, surely. The feeling that thoughts unspoken were being read aloud.
“Let me clarify: I haven’t used any mind-affecting magic on you.”
These were stories based on canonical lore, after all, so they weren’t too far off.
“Miss Kine was disappointed in Bacchus and wanted revenge on Blasphemia and the Ten Towers for destroying the cult. But there’s something crucial missing, isn’t there?”
“Who are you?”
I didn’t bother answering. Everything would become clear when it came time to sign the contract.
“You lack the means for revenge. Your innate divine power isn’t sufficient, so I imagine you were considering magic, correct?”
It likely was. In the original story, Kine, originally a follower of Bacchus, became a magician.
Not just any magician, but one of the purifiers of the Ten Towers.
In Part 1, the Wizard King sought to restore his past powers through contact with the Ten Sages. Each episode involving the Ten Towers introduced a key ally.
Most of these allies joined the Wizard King, becoming part of the protagonist’s group. However, some betrayed and died at the end of their episodes, and occasionally even AI characters appeared.
Astrape, once captured by the slaver Kreton, joined as such an ally to the protagonist’s party.
Each of the Ten Towers had one such ally. The only exception to this rule was the final antagonist of Part 1: Baegmun, also known as Carisia.
She remained the protagonist’s adversary throughout.
Kine could be seen as somewhere between Astrape and Carisia. If pressed, she leaned closer to Astrape since she ultimately joined the Wizard King’s side.
Described in the original as “the girl mage with two left hands,” she secretly harbored dreams of toppling the Ten Towers while learning magic.
Kine’s defining trait was being a mage who hated mages. Once a believer, she now believed herself abandoned by her god. Though the specific deity wasn’t clearly described, it was surprising to discover it was Bacchus.
Ironically, due to her outstanding talent, she ended up joining the very Ten Towers she intended to destroy—simply because it was the place that taught the most diverse and powerful forms of magic. She cultivated her strength while hiding her rage.
And when the Wizard King arrived, she played a pivotal role in his contact with the dark sages of the Ten Towers.
Seeing the Wizard King initially as “just another evil mage,” she decided to cooperate solely for the destruction of the more wicked Ten Towers. Eventually, she joined the Wizard King’s group and embarked on the journey with them.
In my plans for the future—Carisia’s future—the optimal outcome involves the protagonist clashing with the Ten Towers in 2077 while only destroying Baegwang’s sage and then disappearing.
Thus, the balance between the protagonist and the Ten Towers must be maintained. In the original story, the protagonist moved too quickly. By the time Carisia could act, the protagonist was already reaching for Baegwang’s sage.
Reducing even a few of those originally meant to assist the protagonist might slow their progress.
Kine felt her whole body trembling.
She desperately tried to convince herself that what she was feeling was anger, but deep down, she knew better.
This was fear.
Everything the squint-eyed man said matched her own thoughts.
Thoughts that hadn’t fully formed yet, buried beneath her boiling betrayal of Sikton and resentment towards Bacchus.
This man understood her inner feelings faster than she herself did.
Kine began to doubt whether these thoughts were truly her own.
Perhaps this man had planted them.
What was truly terrifying was the rising feeling that it didn’t matter if he had.
Even if this man was trying to use her anger and resentment as a tool, she was willing to accept it as long as it allowed her revenge against the Ten Towers.
Had she not learned to observe her emotions from the elders of the Bacchus Cult, she might have acted impulsively right then…
“Let me correct a few facts for you.”
Ignoring Kine’s fear, the man continued speaking. His eerie squinting eyes held her gaze.
“First. We don’t know who was behind Sikton. It wasn’t Blasphemia. Checking their database a few days ago revealed they weren’t particularly concerned with your group.”
“…”
The man smiled wider at Kine’s silence.
“And certainly not us. We were sent here to investigate a missing staff member who went on assignment to your area.”
“Staff? Company?”
“Yes. Miss Kine, we suspect there may be a third party involved with Sikton.”
The muttering “technically, not us but me” barely reached her ears. Only the question ‘why’ filled her mind.
Why stir her anger and resentment only to dismiss it now?
Why reveal the truth instead of burying it in darkness?
“Let’s return to the topic of magic. Miss Kine, we are willing to fully support you if you choose to study magic.”
“Wh…y?”
“Of course, because of your talent. You’ll need to learn how to conceal your divine power or abandon your faith, but you possess talent. Talent even the Ten Towers would covet.”
Ortes snapped his fingers.
An image projected onto the white wall showed people encased in capsules. They were all people Kine knew.
“You have a natural talent for necromancy within the dark magic spectrum. Perhaps enough to recall the souls of these individuals currently in brain d*ath.”
This struck a deeper chord within Kine. Beneath her resentment and anger lay a seed of vengeance. But digging deeper into the soil where that seed took root revealed sorrow.
The sorrow of wanting to see lost people again. A more primal emotion than rage.
‘Kine only realized such sorrow existed at the core of her psyche after battling the Black Rock Tower.’
But it shouldn’t be this way. Misunderstandings must be resolved before any misguided vendetta against our company surfaces. A confrontation with the protagonist leading to disaster must be avoided.
I wish for our scholarship students to brim with pride and love for Hydra Corp.
Overflowing with corporate loyalty, proclaiming, “When I grow up, I want to join Hydra Corp!” while enduring harassment from Carisia…
No. I hope for a competent successor to aid Carisia.
I extended my hand to Kine.
*
“A complete resurrection is almost impossible.”
“But wouldn’t you like to see them again?”
“Wouldn’t you like to say goodbye?”
Tears streamed down Kine’s face as she realized why the squint-eyed man had drawn out and then scattered her vengeful spirit.
It was to leash her.
The leash was called hope — the hope to meet again and soothe her sorrow.
“To meet everyone again…”
Looking at the outstretched hand, accepting it meant selling her future to him. But she couldn’t resist.
Because she couldn’t ignore the profound sorrow filling her heart.
“Do you not desire power?”
Kine took Ortes’ hand.
She accepted the leash.
