Chapter 116
Hissss!
The train heading for Argos exhaled a long stream of steam.
Sieg settled into his private cabin and examined the materials sent by Kay.
It was a report from the Syndicate investigating the disappearance of Golyn.
As Sieg read through the report, he wore a bewildered expression.
'He went up the Giant Mountains to create a new piece, but the last area he was heard from was near the territory of the Barbarians?'
Barbarians, known for their reclusive culture, lived among themselves and killed any outsiders who approached their territory without exception.
If Golyn had unintentionally ended up being killed by the Barbarians, it would create a significant problem.
"Hmm, since the mission's objective is not rescue but search, we only need to find his body."
At the recklessness and lack of planning by Golyn, Sieg clicked his tongue.
It was then that the door to Sieg's cabin suddenly opened.
Sieg warily reached into his cloak and grabbed a dagger.
"W-wait! Hold on! It's me!"
The person who opened the door was none other than Kay.
Sieg put his dagger back into his cloak and asked the sweating Kay, "Kay, what are you doing here?"
Once Kay removed her coat, it revealed the deep-pocked dress she was always wearing.
She sat across from Sieg, crossed her legs, and put a cigarette in her mouth.
"Do you know what was in the secured box you gave me?"
Sieg shook his head while looking at Kay. "No, if I knew, I wouldn't have sent it to you."
Kay grumbled and pulled out a report.
"Take a look."
Turning over the pages that Kay handed to him, Sieg furrowed his brows.
"This is... serious."
The document mentioned experiments beyond injecting the blood of demonic beasts into humans.
'A chimera experiment combining humans and monsters.'
Human alchemy was a forbidden spell among dark magic, an absolute taboo.
The Empire was breaking taboos, conducting experiments to weaponize humans into chimeras for war.
Moreover, it stated that not only humans, but also members of the Avian Race from Ghetto and various beastman races were being kidnapped for these experiments.
"Completely insane."
Kay nodded at Sieg's conclusion.
"So, what are you going to do about this? If this gets out, the Empire will be in chaos."
Sieg shook his head at her question. "The Empire will deny it. The ruins where the experiments took place have collapsed, leaving no evidence."
"Even with the documents left behind, they'll deny it?"
"You don't know the Rom Empire well. They'll deny everything unfavorable to them. Even with irrefutable evidence, they'll likely cut off a scapegoat, probably blaming an individual mage."
Sieg had seen firsthand what atrocities the Empire committed in his past life.
When they destroyed Atlas, the Empire claimed they were deploying peace troops to capture insurgents threatening the citizens.
But those so-called peace troops massacred over half of Atlas's citizens.
Abel Draker and Morgan Bupon were involved in that massacre.
A brave reporter presented evidence of the massacre of Atlas's citizens, but Morgan shamelessly lied, claiming it was the insurgents' atrocities before the peace troops arrived.
The reporter continuously exposed the Empire's atrocities, but it was in vain.
One day, the reporter died in a suspicious accident.
Although rumors abounded that the Empire had assassinated the reporter, no one voiced it aloud.
Sieg pondered while flipping through the documents.
He focused on the part about the Empire using beastmen as test subjects.
Sending these documents to the Song of the Hunkered Flames, which was raising a western revolution army for beastmen's freedom, could hasten their justification.
'I should meet with the Song of the Hunkered Flames soon.'
Passing the documents back to Kay, Sieg remarked, "It's clear enough that the Empire is progressively going mad. Have you found anything about the place called 'Abyss'?"
Kay shook her head in response.
"I searched through every dark magic clan, but there's no place called Abyss that holds the Book of the Dead."
"So even the Syndicate's information network can't reach them...?"
"I'll keep looking. What do you plan to do with the Empire's experimental data?"
"Let's hold onto it for now. Releasing it haphazardly isn't wise. We need to set a trap to pinpoint them accurately."
Kay took the documents, stood up, and said, "You're the boss, so I'll follow your orders. But remember this: think you're working alone, but your danger isn't just your own."
Sieg grinned at her words.
"That reminds me of old times."
"Old times? When?"
Realizing he'd inadvertently thought of the Kay from his past life, Sieg quickly corrected himself.
"No, it's nothing."
"How dull. Complete your first mission well. When you return to Atlas, senior Feynon and I will have a welcome-back party prepared."
"I'll look forward to it."
Soon after Kay left the cabin, the train started moving.
Sieg closed his eyes gently and then opened them, pulling out a watch from his inner pocket.
He fell into thought, gazing at Chronos's watch, his mother's only memento.
* * *
Upon arriving in Argos, Sieg promptly stored away Draker's Regalia in his inventory and donned attire resembling that of mercenaries.
He then took the ID of Sieg Murray he had previously crafted and headed to the Adventurer's Guild.
It was usually bustling with adventurers obtaining dungeon entry permits, yet today it curiously seemed sparse.
Sieg approached an employee busy with a crossword puzzle and asked, "Why is it so deserted here?"
The employee looked up at Sieg and clicked his tongue. "Haven't you heard? The third-grade Monster Alert was issued."
A third-grade alert indicated the appearance of high-risk monsters in the mountains.
Frowning, Sieg asked the employee, "A third-grade alert? Are they dealing with Ogres?"
"Not just the Ogres. There are orcs, and reportedly even Cyclops appearing."
A Cyclops was a fiercer and stronger monster than an Ogre, rarely seen except in deep-seated dungeons.
Sieg realized something was amiss in the Giant Mountains.
'Maybe it's because those hound bastards have been stirring up the mountains.'
The hounds Sieg encountered in Kaiser's dungeon had all been shredded to death by the Barbarians.
It was possible other hounds had stirred up the mountains, but he felt there was more to it.
With a third-grade alert, there'd be no regular carriage running up to the base camp.
With no other option, he had to climb up to the Barbarians' territory alone.
'Given the circumstances, I should head straight up since I have ample water and food in the inventory.'
Any extra monsters would be dealt with and could replenish his energy through his Devour skill without issue.
Resolved, Sieg began his ascent up the Giant Mountains.
He soon understood why a third-grade alert was declared.
"Why are there Gnolls at the foot of the mountain?"
Gnolls snarled, exposing sharp teeth as they rushed toward Sieg.
Whoosh!
Sieg deftly evaded the Gnolls' attack, slicing through them with Bahamut.
Shlick!
The Gnolls were instantly shredded into pieces, scattering over the ground.
『You've defeated a wild Gnoll, earning 5 Karma Points.』
Sieg noted that as he grew stronger, the points received from defeating monsters diminished.
'Still, better than nothing.'
Reminded of the saying "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow,"
Sieg lent his focus to cutting down the trash mobs that jumped on him as he climbed the mountain.
As he skillfully ascended, dispatching any monsters in his path, he sensed movement ahead.
"Aghhhh!"
Hearing a sharp scream, Sieg cloaked himself in the invisibility spell and approached the source of the sound.
Climbing atop a tree to survey, he saw a party of adventurers surrounded and battling with monsters.
Fwish!
The archer shot arrows at the monsters while the mage cast spells to create defensive barriers.
The swordsman pushed back monsters, striking vital points with his blade.
Another mage shot long-range spells to keep distant monsters at bay.
They appeared to be high-ranking adventurers, well-versed in battle.
The problem was simply the number of monsters attacking them.
Sieg observed the shambling monsters and tilted his head in puzzlement.
'What is this? Orcs, gnolls, and even Minotaurs? Why are different species of monsters together?'
Especially considering Orcs and Gnolls typically didn't get along.
Their similar habitats and environments often led to frequent clashes between the species.
Yet here they were, cooperating with Orcs and Gnolls, backed by the Minotaurs, a phenomena Sieg had never encountered in all his varied experiences.
Unleashing his Dragon Eyes, Sieg scanned the surroundings.
Often when strange occurrences unfolded like this, a black magician had some hand in it.
Through his Dragon Eyes, Sieg discerned a sinister aura wafting from a cave nearby.
Wasting no time, he headed directly towards the cave.
Whiiish!
Sieg plunged into the cave, immediately facing a group of gargoyles.
Caawww!
With skin as hard as stone, gargoyles were a nightmare for adventurers.
Their tough hides rendered swords and magic largely ineffective.
However, Sieg was undeterred.
Swick—
With a single sweep of Bahamut, he lopped off a gargoyle's head.
A black-robed figure at the back watched this unfold with shock and retreated a step.
『An enhanced gargoyle... defeated so easily?』
Sieg felt something off about the black-robed figure.
"You're more than just a simple necromancer, I presume. A lich?"
Transforming oneself into an undead to extend one's lifespan was a forbidden spell for high-level black magicians.
Liches attained greater magical prowess at the cost of becoming undead.
The lich pointed a bony finger at Sieg and spoke.
『You bothersome adventurer! Begone from this place immediately!』
Instantly, skeletal monsters made from monster bones erupted from the ground.
Kaahhh!
The monster skeletons lunged at Sieg.
Yet with a swift strike from Sieg's sword, they disintegrated into dust.
The lich panicked seeing its formidable monster skeletons crumble so easily against Sieg.
『You... You're no adventurer. Are you a knight?』
"Do I really need to explain that to you?"
Chuckling, Sieg charged towards the lich.
Hiss!
Bahamut sliced through one of the lich's arms.
Black smoke billowed from the severed area.
The smoke coalesced, and the lich's skeletal arm reformed.
Pointing to Sieg, the lich said.
『You arrogant knight. I shall transform you into a Death Knight and enslave you for eternity.』
Upon finishing those words, black smoke enveloped the lich.
Turning into sharp spears, it charged towards Sieg.
Papapap!
Protected by Dragonscale Armor, Sieg was unaffected by the lich's dark magic.
At that moment, Sieg had a realization.
'Could purification work on him too?'
From his cloak, Sieg retrieved Agamemnon's mask and employed his purification skill.
Woooong!
Golden waves flowed out from Sieg.
He focused the golden wave into his sword and swung the purifying power at the lich.
Shrrk!
The golden aura clashed against the dark smoke that enveloped the lich.
Sissing!
『Kwoooahhh!』
Upon contact with the purifying energy, the smoke turned to ash and scattered.
The lich twisted in pain, trembling all over.
"Oh, that's interesting."
Inspired, Sieg decided to try out his Soul Binding technique as well.
Whoosh!
Chains shot out from Sieg's arm and coiled around the lich.
『Ack!』
Bound by the chains, the lich could barely twitch.
Seeing this, Sieg approached while the lich trembled and cried out.
『P-Please spare me!』
"Spare you? You're already dead, aren't you?"
『I-It's a bit different.』
"Regardless, why should I spare you?"
Since liches were high in magical power, capturing one would earn him a significant number of points.
Without hesitation, Sieg advanced, drawing the golden aura nearer.
『Kyaaaa!』
On the brink of complete annihilation, the lich hurriedly shouted in desperation.
『M-Master! Spare me! I shall offer you treasure!』