Chapter 114: Amidst the Storm (1)
Can I stop this extradimensional storm?
If it were Carisia here instead of me, she could probably stop it with a fairly high success rate. The challenge would be generating enough power to neutralize such a supernatural disaster…
I could confidently say that *White No Name* from the original story would manage it, but since this is Carisia, I can’t be so sure. If I had prepared enough relics to back her up, there’s a good chance that nine times out of ten, it might work.
Cautiously, I looked up at the sky. I opened my eyes as wide as possible, trying to gauge whether I could resolve this in time using the relics I brought.
‘I think I could pull it off…’
But the problem is what comes after. Even if no one notices my suspicious eyes, if I use the relic to erase that storm, it’s inevitable that I’ll be questioned about what exactly it was.
The vision I had of the two elders of the Ten Magic Towers showing up last time was so shocking that I had prepared this insurance.
I shamelessly borrowed the relic from Kynemon, but it’s best not to use it unless absolutely necessary. If Blasphemia seriously analyzes it, they’ll discover how deeply it’s been touched by extradimensional forces, and then my identity as L13 will be ruined.
‘L13 is still useful for now. I can’t afford to waste it here.’
“Senior! What should we do!?”
Instinctively, my hand reached for my temple, but I consciously redirected it to my chin.
As calmly as possible. I had to project the composed image of L13 that Niobe believed in.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“What?”
“One of us has to report what’s happening in this city. And between you and me, I have a higher chance of surviving inside the extradimensional storm.”
“So—”
“Run, Niobe.”
My voice wasn’t loud, but it was firm. Authoritative, but not rushed.
Niobe’s lips trembled. She was likely about to argue, unwilling to accept it. I searched for a line suitable for this kind of situation.
“Don’t mistake your role.”
“You’re part of the command unit for this mission. I’m the field agent. Your job is to oversee the agents and ensure results, not to throw yourself into the frontline, especially not into an extradimensional rift.”
The time left before the storm broke through the world’s barrier and unleashed the extradimensional flood was less than ten minutes. If she started running now, she could reach the outskirts of Algoth City.
And if she kept running, she could barely escape the flood.
“Retreat with all your might and report to headquarters.”
***
Niobe, who had intended to stay and fight, had no choice but to close her mouth.
She couldn’t dismiss the determination she saw behind L13’s resolve. The kind of resolve that came with the willingness to die, if necessary, just to report Argyrion’s atrocities to Blasphemia.
Leaving only a short “Understood” in response, Niobe sprinted out of Algoth City as instructed.
This was the best way she could honor the determination her senior had shown.
As she ran, she sent concise explanations of the situation along with urgent requests for support, repeatedly transmitting them toward Blasphemia’s headquarters.
The extradimensional rift had destabilized communications in the vicinity, but if even one out of hundreds of transmissions got through, it might be enough to turn the tide.
While Niobe, with her senior’s resolve firmly etched in her mind, ran for her life, Orthes gazed at Amimone Tower.
‘How can I bring this to Kynemon without collapsing the whole tower…?’
The plan had been to plant just enough suspicion for a smooth takeover of the leadership, but now that things had escalated, I had to resort to more active improvisation.
***
“This is a ridiculous waste.”
After Argyrion’s leadership meeting ended, Nastion emerged from the shadows, addressing Halto directly.
Halto merely nodded slightly, signaling that Nastion should continue.
“There is no plausible evidence to suggest that this so-called ‘adversary’ exists. I would have understood if you proposed a powerful strike under the assumption that this was a trap laid by the Ten Magic Towers.”
Nastion went on for some time, voicing his frustrations about the irrationality of the plan. It was a sharp critique—perhaps overly so, considering he was a subordinate speaking to his superior.
Yet Halto’s expression remained unchanged, which unsettled Nastion.
Despite ordering such an unreasonable operation, Halto maintained an eerie calm, far removed from what would normally be expected.
“Listen.”
Halto’s words were brief but heavy. Nastion, suppressing his emotions, resumed his place in the shadows, waiting for the leader of Argyrion to issue his command.
“When you’re hunting, there comes a moment when you’ve cornered your prey. Everything falls into place like a complex machine, all at once. You feel the intellectual thrill of solving a difficult puzzle, the satisfaction of defeating a worthy opponent, and the relief of knowing the job is done.”
The story seemed irrelevant. Nastion began to wonder if Halto was truly losing his grip on reality.
“And then the adversary shows up at that very moment and says, ‘You’re trapped in here with me.’”
“What do you mean?”
“A hunter who chases prey into a cave is just as trapped as the prey, with only one way out. The adversary doesn’t hesitate. They blow up the cave.”
“…Excuse me?”
Nastion didn’t know this, but Halto was speaking from personal experience.
Orthes had once been cornered in some ancient ruins, only to collapse the entire structure and escape unharmed. Halto could recount several such experiences.
The entire leadership of Argyrion had faced numerous failures in chasing down Orthes—failures they could hardly count on both hands, and each time, their lives had been in danger.
One time, Halto had ordered teams to hunt in pairs after a failure, only for the two agents to turn on each other and end up incapacitated. Another time, they had rigged an entire extradimensional ruin with explosive magic, only for it to detonate selectively when the chase team arrived, trapping them instead of Orthes.
And every time, before these disasters struck, they had been confident they were just moments away from catching Orthes.
After several such experiences, the adversary became a living dilemma.
‘He toyed with us, like a matador…’
For Halto and the others in the Blasphemia pursuit team, it was the moment Orthes deliberately left a trace that gave them migraines.
It was always a clue discovered after a desperate chase, leading to the rational conclusion that Orthes could not have had the time to prepare a trap.
They would think, “If we act now, we might catch him. If we hesitate, we’ll lose the trail again.”
The moment they gave in to that urgency, they fell into a trap.
Should they press on? Or bite their tongues and turn away?
If they turned away, was there any other way to find him?
The suffocating pressure that came with approving every mission.
Orthes would have described it as “the feeling of getting matched with that guy who plays like trash in a game, only to lose to him again.” A combination of anger, fear, and an overwhelming desire for revenge, all melded into an unshakable sense of frustration.
Halto felt the same rage as he contemplated the distress signal from Algoth City.
…After hearing this, Nastion thought:
‘Is he insane?’
“I’m sure of it. That nauseating sensation can only be caused by *him*…”
Halto muttered with certainty. Nastion felt both pity for the man Halto had become and a growing unease about his fitness to lead Argyrion.
***
Gorgov was thrown into confusion by the sudden storm.
‘What on earth is happening?’
There was no natural way for an extradimensional storm to occur like this. Only Argyrion could disrupt the stability of a city protected by a magic tower and summon such a storm.
Gorgov tried to rationally assess the situation.
‘Could there be a coward among our ranks?’
Perhaps someone, unable to withstand the worsening situation and Blasphemia’s tightening net, had sent out a distress signal.
Argyrion must have acted immediately upon receiving the signal, causing this situation.
‘There’s no way to contact Argyrion right now. I have no choice. I’ll gather the comrades inside the tower and strike Danao after the storm passes…!’
It was clear that after the extradimensional storm came the flood. The complacent Danao wouldn’t be able to adjust to the sudden shift in mana. A swift strike from the comrades would easily remove the corrupted tower master.
Looking out the window, Gorgov saw an unknown man with narrow eyes gazing at the tower.
Something blue seemed to gleam faintly from the corners of that man’s eyes.
‘Blasphemia agent?’
That eerie appearance. He gave off a feeling of foreboding. Perhaps he was a Blasphemia agent who had detected the disturbance and was preparing to arrest everyone in the tower.
Just as Gorgov was about to prepare a spell, the man’s lips moved slightly. Gorgov repeated the words he thought he saw.
“Truth and… the Cause?”
***
Good. Gorgov.
You’re the one I’ve chosen.
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