Chapter 394 - Variables (2)
Rovellin did not easily loosen her guard, but accepting Verden as an ally was ultimately only a matter of time.
From the moment the name Rayshen was mentioned, the flow had already been decided.
For the truth that Rayshen, secretly dispatched to the Central Continent, was currently in Gargant, was known only to insiders of the Bohemirn magic tower.
Rovellin furrowed her brows.
"...I never heard that separate personnel were deployed."
"Surely they would not simply send Lady Rovellin on her own. You are none other than the cherished fourth disciple of the Bohemirn tower master."
Of course, the truth was the exact opposite.
Rayshen, on one hand, judged objectively that Rovellin's survival odds were quite high, and on the other, would not particularly mind even if she were to die inside the labyrinth.
'At most, all he fears is incurring Balrog's displeasure.'
And even that, if she succeeded in securing the dragon's remains and sending them to the tower, then the tower master would not hold her death against him.
That Verden could be so sure of this was thanks to the unofficial system Balrog had built.
In the unseen underside of the Bohemirn magic tower, which Rovellin did not know, there existed a division between "insiders" and "outsiders".
If one bore the engraved forced magic circle, one was an insider. If not, one was an outsider.
In other words, the former meant one was of high importance in the eyes of the tower master, while the latter, who made up the majority of the tower's members, were expendables, their deaths nothing more than a tool for shaping external image.
'In that sense, Rovellin is an outsider.'
Most likely she had been assigned the role of contributing to the Bohemirn magic tower by operating on the Black Hour frontlines.
Without even realizing it herself.
For reference, the third disciple and thesis thief, Lucard Maniacs, also belonged to the outsiders.
'Because Balrog knows who actually created the Multi-dimensional Continuity Theory.'
However, since he espoused an innate elitism that prioritized hierarchy above all, he never proclaimed Verden as the originator of the theory.
Instead, he used Verden as an experimental subject, exploiting his life and abilities, and raised Lucard—who had just enough talent—as a promising star of the magical world.
"So, the name?"
"...Alan, that is what I go by."
Verden suppressed the seething hatred that welled up for a moment, and answered Rovellin's question.
The staff that had been crackling with flame now angled downwards, her hostility, as he expected, dissipated.
He pressed the momentum.
"Since the resources inside the labyrinth are limited, we should move at once. Of course, let us gather those two's belongings first."
Verden took the initiative and plundered whatever useful items he could find.
Searching the corpse of the dead man, he found a single bright blue potion hidden away.
A fine trophy.
Without hesitation he handed the mana potion to Rovellin, adding in two ordinary potions he already had.
"...Did I ever say I wanted a share of the loot?"
"You are more important than I am, Lady Rovellin. And more powerful, besides. Forgive me if I presumed too much."
In truth, the firepower Verden could muster at the moment fell far short of Rovellin's fire magic, empowered by her special trait.
"I shall take the lead."
Thus Verden, having given her the potion, walked ahead, exposing his back defenselessly.
Even so, Rovellin could not quite cast aside all suspicion. After confirming the potions were genuine, she kept some distance while following him.
The exploration route was mostly quiet.
Rovellin asked occasional questions about the Bohemirn magic tower, but Verden, without the slightest fluster, gave precise, concise answers to her satisfaction.
And so, inevitably, her vigilance continued to soften.
[Grrr....]
Several hours into their journey together, at a passage reeking of blood, they found a wounded Ogre.
With the hierarchy suppressed, facing such a brute was no easy task. The same must have been true for other participants. The Ogre's shattered club, still clotted with flesh and blood, attested to that.
"It looks like a burden to take on. Shall we detour around it?"
"No, if we only avoid it, better to expend some effort and secure a valuable item. The Ogre is already injured, and with our firepower, we can subjugate it here."
Rovellin, with the staff she had obtained in the labyrinth, could wield third-tier magic. On that basis she outlined her plan for the subjugation.
A magical offensive, with front and rear lines.
As soon as Verden grasped the tactic, the two acted at once.
KWAANG!
The fireball struck and exploded.
As wind swept around it, the flames roared all the fiercer.
[GUAARRRGHH!!]
An arm grievously scorched, the Ogre dropped its blazing club.
'A class above ordinary tiered magic. So this is Rovellin's special trait.'
Come to think of it, he had only ever heard of it before, never seen Rovellin's true strength, let alone fought alongside her.
Next, fire flared within the labyrinth, targeting the Ogre's legs. Verden supported her barrage with his crossbow.
Still, to pour all one's mana into a single fight was a grave waste.
And considering the Ogre's toughness and resistance, investing time and effort was inevitable.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The Ogre charged through the blaze, an eye pierced by a bolt, a leg's muscles seared, its mobility partially crippled.
Verden dashed forward, hurling his spear with all his might. CRACK—its metal head rammed into the Ogre's knee joint.
Rovellin's precise magic further distracted the beast.
In that moment, Verden drew his longsword, rushed in on the downed Ogre, and pressed the assault.
Suddenly, long-settled conjectures resurfaced in his mind.
If he had never taken interest in magic, if he had lacked talent for its comprehension, if he had been born with only ordinary gifts, if he had never boarded the carriage bound for the magic tower, if he had remained in the orphanage—what then?
Perhaps he might have become an adventurer, formed a party with Rovellin, wandered the world like others, living an ordinary life.
But such thoughts were meaningless.
This was reality.
Thus Verden neither regretted nor longed to turn back.
CRUNCH.
At the end of the clash, he drove his blade deep into the Ogre's eye as it toppled backward.
The beast shattered into radiant fragments as its life ended.
Where its corpse had lain, far more loot than from goblins appeared.
Rovellin approached.
"Didn't we agree that I would finish it with
"I thought this would conserve more mana... my apologies."
"I'll overlook it this time, but next time, follow my command. Don't go acting alone and get yourself killed. Still, when we fought those raiders earlier I felt the same—you're too skilled in close combat for a Mage... yet not lacking in elemental magic either."
"Isn't that exactly why Lord Rayshen sent me?"
He ought to have projected himself as a proper Mage, yet inadvertently he had been the one to finish the Ogre.
He had been too caught up in his thoughts.
Verden, breathing heavily, patched over his mistake belatedly, and thankfully Rovellin pressed the matter no further.
Rovellin's exploration of the labyrinth advanced with larger strides, while Verden's original purpose for entering the labyrinth was being achieved in real time.
Thus, their companionship benefited both.
And then—
"Lady Rovellin!"
"Phew, we finally found you."
Her close aides, Arril and Hezen, rejoined the party.
Naturally, wary eyes turned on the outsider, but once Verden explained his status and Rovellin vouched for him, there was no friction.
Her odds of survival rose even higher.
In a crevice of the labyrinth's wall, Verden inscribed a concealment magic circle.
To employ such a circle in live combat was proof of his caliber as an elite Mage. Rovellin's doubts eased further still.
They took their rest in preparation for future competition.
Verden was quite pleased with how smoothly things were flowing.
So it was, about a day and a half since the labyrinth had begun.
"...!"
Suddenly, Rayshen called directly to Shedger—Verden—through [Resonance].
'What's going on?'
Essentially, the mental body granted by Ignacia was entirely different in principle from Shedger's
Even without deliberate focus, it could be moved remotely, as though casting multiple spells at once, with a portion of one's processing devoted to it.
For now, responding swiftly to a new variable was wiser than simply persisting in the labyrinth.
Verden shifted his primary consciousness into Shedger's
Isabella stood on the rooftop of a tall building in Gargant,gazing down below.
The place linked with Coercion.
She silently watched a house that looked utterly ordinary from the outside,
then drew from her bosom an old, grotesquely shaped dagger.
The artifact [The Price of Phalanhard].
"I, so wish."
She murmured the activation words softly.
In response, a strange resonance began to stir within [The Price of Phalanhard].
"I shall offer half the world I possess, and my only window."
She gripped the dagger with both hands.
Then stretched out her arms, the blade aimed toward her own face.
"Grant me, the power to encompass space."
Thrust, the dagger pierced Isabella's left eye.
Indescribable pain echoed through her, yet no physical wound appeared.
At once, [The Price of Phalanhard] melted into a handful of molten iron.
The sole artifact had vanished.
At the same time, her left field of vision faded, like the setting sun.
Isabella moved her fingertips.
Kugugugu...
Space trembled faintly.
***
Rayshen was pleased with the information Verden had slowly trickled about Licentia.
Naturally, there had been no suspicious errors to arouse doubt,and even when he had submitted the second report hours earlier,there had been no sign that anything was amiss.
If all went according to plan, the boy would be leaving Gargant around the time the labyrinth ended.
'And yet, an abrupt summons.'
Not a welcome situation.
At any moment he was prepared to reclaim the processing power devoted to Ignacia's mental body,and exert the full might of his main body.
If he did, Verden in the labyrinth would lose consciousness,but with Rovellin and her close aides present,there was little need for concern.
Resolving this variable would not take long.
Verden, after ordering Adrian and Heras to remain on guard,at once entered Rayshen's safehouse through Shedger's
Standing solemn guard were his personal escorts, Sarokan and Barkent.
In their midst, Rayshen held a short staff, its body engraved with magic circles—
'A forced magic circle?'
Verden sharpened his focus.
The surface of the staff was adorned with intricate, complex shapes...
Yes, it was unmistakably Coercion.
Even if not identical, its entire foundation was that of a forced magic circle.
Could that perhaps be a means of verifying the life and death of those engraved with it?
Indeed, when he partially deciphered the circle, it seemed to also contain a function of tracking.
Rayshen stared at the bright, flickering light at the staff's tip.
He waved the staff here and there, yet nothing noteworthy occurred.
"Hmm? Strange. Master said it could be activated remotely. Why is there no response?"
"Perhaps Isabella is resisting, as before."
"Is that it? Tch, difficult, yet amusing. That meticulous senior brother really missed something."
Isabella.
Resistance against the forced magic circle.
Mention of Rayshen's senior brother, Crodon Olentia.
All unfamiliar information.
Verden quickly forced the puzzle pieces together, though incomplete.
'So... Rayshen came to the Central Continent to capture this Isabella,
whom Crodon failed to catch in the past?'
The pieces fit, more or less.
While Verden pondered, Rayshen sighed and issued orders.
"No helping it. Barkent, take this and find out where Isabella is. Since that esteemed Transcendent has imposed a ban on conflict across Gargant, under no circumstances are you to engage."
"Ha ha, of course."
"And Shedger, you are to trail Barkent from a distance and monitor the surroundings as much as possible. We cannot know what may occur."
"Yes, Lord Rayshen."
Rayshen's trademark caution showed.
Verden nodded, even as he thought hard on how to respond to this new variable.
Isabella... Naturally, he had no intention of letting her be.
But there was nothing he could do immediately.
Better to intervene when Rayshen left Gargant.
Yet all those present overlooked one fact.
That the relationship of hunter and prey was not an absolute proposition.
"...Hm?"
The light on the staff vanished.
It had only just been activated,there was no way its duration had already expired.
At the same time, a foreign presence and violent mana surged through the safehouse.
All eyes turned back.
Suddenly, a beautiful woman with dark green hair appeared, glaring at them.
In that instant, silence fell.
Rayshen's eyes widened.
"You, from the theater?"
Naturally, his staff swung toward her,and the magic circle reacted even more fiercely.
As all eyes were drawn to that light for a moment,she raised her arms,channeling a distorted mana.
"...!!"
Though Sarokan and Barkent tried to respond,they could not stop the fortune's songstress who had already prepared her strike.
Isabella unleashed all the power she had gained from [The Price of Phalanhard],
pouring it down into the floor.
A volcanic explosion of violet waves.
Twisted space engulfed the surrounding area of the building all at once,leaving behind a small crater.
And the link with Verden's projection of Shedger's
***
Verden's true body opened its eyes.
He cast aside the [Circlet of Projection] and at once strode to the map of Gargant.
"My lord?"
"Y, your Excellency?"
No time for explanation.
The sudden collapse of
It was simply that the distance had grown too vast to sustain.
Verden recalled the shift in spatial coordinates he had sensed just before.
He back-calculated it in his mind,then jabbed his finger at a spot on the map.
"Not far."
He confirmed the location.
"A variable has arisen. Use the Society's marks at once, order Cain to track Rayshen, and signal the reinforcements—if the target is found, herd them into the 'Sixth Spider Den'. Heras, you will lead all forces in Gargant, move to this site and join with Cain."
"...! Yes, Excellency."
Then Verden turned to Adrian.
"You will assist the Society individually, subdue Rayshen's personal guards, and bring them to me. It does not matter if they lose a limb or two, so long as they live."
"I shall return shortly, my lord."
Even with all his thorough preparations, an unforeseen situation had erupted...
yet Verden showed no agitation.
For he had already completed a trap from which there was no escape,and whether by choice or compulsion,Rayshen's party would ultimately leave Gargant.
The ending was decided.
Today, Rayshen dies.
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