Chapter 192: The Pope's Masterstroke (3)
A certain divinity that I hadn't known until now and my 'eyes' resonated, reactivating their function. It was the most reasonable hypothesis to explain the current situation.
However, the problem was what kind of divinity it was. As the head of the Divine Investigation Office, I had checked every single one of the diverse Reliquaries collected by the board of directors.
From the Twelve Olympians to the now-forgotten minor deities. Even after reviewing the memories of all the Reliquaries, I had never detected the same kind of Divine Power as just now.
“…One thing is certain, that the very first movement was indeed teleportation. I don’t know which god’s relic he used, though.”
“Is it different from Proditor's Holy Incantation?”
“It’s different. Proditor’s Holy Incantation is based on the principle of forming a travel route connecting two points by manifesting the divinity of the guardian god of travelers, whereas the movement from just now seems to more primitively manipulate the space itself──”
Ah.
Damn it. Now I have a hunch.
I gritted my teeth. I interpret the information seen in my eyes. The Commander of Blasphemia. Beyond the information about the Commander’s history, I reaffirm the power that controls that body.
The Divine Power that bound the Commander's body like the threads that control a puppet. The pain that assails me the moment I try to confirm the name from which the Divine Power originated. If I hadn't trained enough while fighting against White Light, I might have turned my gaze away.
History, a very long history. So long that it felt meaningless to keep looking. I didn't have enough time to dig up even the name, but the fact that it was that old was a clue to its identity.
I could easily guess the origin of the Divine Power dwelling in the Commander's body.
“Primordial God…”
The Twelve Olympians who preside over each phenomenon that exists in this world, such as the sky, the sea, the land, and the underworld.
And even older than those Olympians, the providence before phenomena. The primal deity symbolizing the flow of time and the genesis of space. Primordial God¹.
The Holy Incantation of the Primordial God, which is only mentioned in academic papers or ancient creation myths, was being manifested through the Commander's body. I murmured the title of the only ally I didn't really know in the Ten Magical Commandments Front.
“The Pope, huh….”
“The Pope?”
"It's a process of elimination. When I looked into him with mind-reading, the Divine Power dwelling in that person's body originated from a Primordial God. Who else in the Ten Magical Commandments Front could use the Holy Incantation of the Primordial God right now?"
I stroked my chin. Sensing a hint of unease in that gesture, Carisia opened her mouth.
“Are you worried because you don’t know what the Pope will do?”
“Yes. I've met the other members of the Divine Cult at least once, but I haven't had any contact with the Pope. I have no idea what he will do.”
The Pope was our ally, but in reality, I had never met him.
“Then it’s simple.”
She extended her index finger and pointed towards Nokmok.
"Let's secure The Ten Magical Commandments before the Pope does anything. Since our allies are buying us time, we just have to push through the front lines, right?"
A Carisia-esque boorish solution. But in this situation, it was a brilliant idea.
***
At a time when the battle between White Light and Hydra Corporation had not yet reached a conclusion. Around the time when the battle on the Ten Magical Commandments Front was fully escalated.
Kore urgently summoned the Pope.
“It’s a trap!”
“What do you mean?”
The Pope replied with an unfathomable smile. Kore gasped in terror.
“Everything! Everything is!”
When Argyrion first revealed their identity and attacked on the Nokmok front, they swept through the Mage Alliance, citing 'an agreement with Hydra Corporation'.
Kore heard the screams of those who died at that time. Kore had suspected Orthes of being an assistant to the Mage King.
Led by Demos's persuasion and the grand slogan of The Ten Magical Commandments Revolution, she had temporarily turned a blind eye, but her fear of Orthes was only masked, not gone.
The priestess spewed out the voices of the dead that she had heard to the Pope. Argyrion, those terrifying beings, were not on the other side of the extra-dimension, but in this world, and were also in league with Hydra Corporation.
The Pope’s smile did not fade. He answered gently.
"However, remember. Argyrion are those who uphold the will of the Mage King. They can act as dishonestly as they want. How can you be sure that they are not using a counter-espionage against the Hydra Corporation Alliance?"
Orthes himself was really an assistant to the Mage King, there was no reason to share the prophecy that the Mage King would return in three years, added a reasonable analysis.
“Three years! The time from then was the problem. If the deadline that guy said was a lie, if the advent ritual of the lost mage that Argyrion is preparing right now happens today! This world is over!”
“Kore.”
The Pope's voice was still slow. Kore felt a fear from that composure, which she didn't know what it was, that was different from Orthes'.
“In fact. Whether he is a subordinate of the Mage King, or whether Hydra Corporation is in collusion with Argyrion, everything is meaningless.”
"What?"
Kore asked blankly. The Pope answered slowly, in a voice that seemed to be strangling the listener.
“No. I guess it is meaningful. If Orthes is a subordinate of the Mage King and today is the day of his advent, shouldn't we carry out our plan even faster."
Kore realized that the Pope did not call the Mage King "The Lost Mage". Not mentioning the name directly was out of fear.
The Pope did not seem to fear the Lost Mage. All she felt from him was a glimmer of anticipation.
"You. What the hell…?"
“Blasphemia Vigo has the relics of the Olympians. All nine relics except for the three relics that have escaped our hands will be gathered.”
He didn't give up.
The Pope did not give up his insane plan. Kore wanted to scream this time, but she couldn't.
She had to stop the Pope's bullshit.
"Stop it right now! If you pull troops from The Ten Magical Commandments Front and infiltrate Blasphemia, the front will collapse!"
"That's strange, Kore. Until just now, didn't you say that we should stop cooperating with Hydra Corporation?"
“People are dying! Because of your irresponsible decisions, most of our cult members will die! At least we should prepare an orderly retreat, and if you only pull out your people without notifying Demos's moderates or the priestess faction that have been put into the front lines!”
Haha.
Hahahahahahahaha.
Only the Pope’s laughter was clear in the dark shadows of the Pluton Grand Temple.
“There’s nothing to worry about, Kore. There is no reason to pull people from the front lines.”
"What?"
“We already have spies inside Blasphemia. Though none of them have noticed.”
The Pope’s smile deepened. With that smiling face, he greeted Kore.
“I’ll tell you in advance. Because we won’t see each other anymore. Have a good afternoon, a good evening, and a good night.”
Kore drew up the power of the Pluton Grand Temple. She couldn’t let the Pope leave the Grand Temple.
The internal structure of the Grand Temple began to intertwine like a maze. A bizarre entanglement where going forward leads to the back, and turning to the left leads downward.
But it was meaningless.
Hyacinth was there as a guide in front of the Pope. Making full use of his powers of foresight, he solved Pluton’s maze without any problems.
Kore realized that she had to at least inform the other members of the cult about the Pope’s erratic behavior. It was the moment she cried out a final plea to stop the Pope.
“You have to stop the Pope!”
It was Kore's voice. But Kore hadn't spoken yet. She looked around. Some kind of kaleidoscope-like shape was spreading in Pluton's stone chamber.
Everything in that shape was Kore herself. The materialization of actions that Kore might choose in the future.
Just as Kore had tried to trap the Pope in Pluton's maze, the Pope had trapped Kore in the maze of time.
***
The level of difficulty of hiding while watching the battle between mages is vastly different from maintaining concealment while traversing the middle of a mages’ battlefield.
Mages who have entered battle mode activate their sixth sense of detecting magic power to the highest degree. Within a certain area to promote their own survival, they can even see and feel the flow of the atmosphere.
Approaching The Ten Magical Commandments without being noticed by anyone in a battlefield where such magic detection abilities are overlapping is impossible even for Carisia.
But it was very easy for Orthes. Magic power detection? Even if Orthes, who has no magic power at all, is subjected to magic power detection magic, the result would be worse than inanimate objects.
“…But conversely, I cannot connect to The Ten Magical Commandments because I have no magic power.”
Therefore, Orthes' plan was like this. If he revealed himself when he approached The Ten Magical Commandments, the attention of all the forces would be focused on Orthes himself.
In the meantime, Carisia uses Photonization to reach The Ten Magical Commandments, connect to them, and end this mess.
Photonization requires a huge amount of magic power, and the resulting surge of magic power inevitably attracts attention. An operation that uses Orthes as bait for the safe activation of Photonization.
Carisia considered the possibilities for a few seconds. Is there a faster, more reliable way to access The Ten Magical Commandments than this?
No. She nodded and began preparing to draw up magic power.
***
Halto felt a sense of unease. Extra-dimensional energy and magic power surged as if they would devour each other, and in that gap, the prestige of Divine Power was indiscriminately destroying both sides, burning them both.
In the midst of this chaos. The being who should definitely appear was not visible.
‘Where is he. Where is he?’
The enemy has no face. A proposition widely spread among Argyrion. Unseen, he was hiding somewhere in this battlefield.
A chilling premonition ran down Halto’s spine. If he alone occupied The Ten Magical Commandments while everyone was stuck in battle, he could become the sole victor.
The moment he completed his reasoning, he felt a strange flow of magic power near The Ten Magical Commandments. A deformed formula created by forcibly connecting the magic of both Argyrion and the Ten Towers. Unable to be constructed with proper magic, it caused a huge explosion and swept away the surroundings.
At the center of that flow was Orthes. On the verge of The Ten Magical Commandments.
The moment everyone else rushed towards Orthes, Halto felt a familiar suspicion. Was the enemy of such a nature to expose himself so carelessly?
Where is the other enemy?
Beyond the wave of attack magic towards Orthes, he feels one foreign magic power. Halto immediately rushed towards the place where that magic power was felt.
Nastion responds. The shadow cast under Carisia's feet reached out a demon hand to grab her. Carisia's response was simple. Increase the amount of magic power put into Photonization.
A body that glows white. The shadow melts and disappears in the incandescent light. Halto's speed cannot block Carisia.
Barrages continue to try to stop Carisia, even as attacks. Carisia simply crushed everything with a fast and powerful physical charge. The end of Carisia's gauntlet touches The Ten Magical Commandments.
At that very moment.
Time stopped.