Chapter 24: Chapter 23 – Blasphemia Branch (3)
To read over 200 fully translated episodes, patreon.com/Denji02
"Damn it."
Nardanit cursed. At this point, I sensed something was off.
'Huh? Usually, when the inspection team shows up, they don't curse…'
Don't they usually try to buy time by groveling?
To openly curse at the inspection team like this…
'Is this guy really up to something shady?'
Such a reaction typically occurs when there are undeniable corrupt activities.
***
Nardanit stared at L13, no, Orthes, who had revealed his identity.
A seasoned Blasphemia agent confident enough to use his name. Such a person, claiming to be a relic of the old times, was standing here with him.
What does this mean?
"…You knew everything before coming here. You managed to get here with that ridiculous excuse of being a lost agent."
"Haha, I have no idea what you're talking about."
The moment he revealed his identity as a secret inspector, everything became clear.
He came here to uncover the treasonous activities of the Charlotte Branch.
'But I'm not sure how much he knows.'
If he knew everything, he would have initiated combat as soon as the one-on-one situation arose.
However, just because the entire truth wasn't revealed didn't mean Nardanit's crisis had disappeared. The moment the inspector accesses the database, he will see the missing funds between the files.
The next step is obvious. Purge.
Nardanit expected the agent who would come here to be one of three: incompetent, cowardly, or unlucky.
In reality, he was none of the three. He was an executioner disguised as an unlucky one.
If he were incompetent or a coward who couldn't even join the war against the monster, he might have been coerced or forced into joining his side.
If he were truly unlucky and became a straggler, it would have been enough to give him a suitable excuse and send him back to headquarters, hiding the truth.
Even if he had noticed the treason, creating an 'unfortunate accident' could have dealt with one ordinary agent.
But this one was a prepared executioner. Blasphemia's elite, ready to start a fight at any moment, in any situation.
Nardanit slowly, very subtly, began to draw his magic. He had to deliver the most significant impact with his first move. For the future of his comrades.
Orthes was simply bewildered by the strange behavior of Branch Leader Nardanit.
'What is this? Is the branch leader really skimming off the top?'
'The loyalty of the Blasphemia agents I've fought so far was not so shallow.'
"Now, Branch Leader. Let's calm down and have a conversation."
"Aren't you tired of being loyal to the old men of the Ten Magical Commandments? How long do we have to live like this?"
Nardanit laughed at the persuasion, never intending to let him live. How many years had he spent in Blasphemia not to know this trick?
Inspectors do not tolerate traitors. Even if he declared full surrender now and provided a list of collaborators, he would either receive the reward of a swift death or be imprisoned in the basement of a magic tower to become part of a biological computation unit.
"The Ten Commandments treated us worse than dogs. Who was it that bled fighting those monsters? Even though Blasphemia was annihilated generation after generation, no one compensated us."
"I don't understand what you're saying."
"Shut up! You wretched being. You know this as an inspector! The blasphemous monster born from the White Light. Because of that, we…"
Nardanit vented his anger. The Ten Commandments, especially the White Light Magic Tower, did not want their disgrace revealed to the world.
The most discreet force available to the Ten Commandments was Blasphemia. However, even they had missions where the truth was concealed.
The mission from the White Light Magic Tower was one such mission.
Blasphemia was deployed with only the explanation that they were dealing with an incarnation that contained divinity.
Most of the frontline agents were obliterated.
The fact that the incarnation was first observed in the research lab of the White Light Magic Tower only became known after the situation had escalated. Even the White Light couldn't hide the truth from the other Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments agreed to exert Blasphemia's full force to erase its existence.
As a result, the life signs of the incarnation have not been observed since the great clash, but the cost was a devastating blow to Blasphemia.
"The Golden Desert Operation, you mean. Many agents died."
"Many agents died? They were all the cream of Blasphemia! Those old men destroyed Blasphemia's future and describe it like that?"
***
I remained silent.
'Not that many died in the Golden Desert Operation…'
I merely used an accidentally approaching extra-dimensional storm to make them disappear.
Those who drift into the extra-dimension usually return to reality after some time.
The inherent magic in living beings protects them from the extra-dimension and acts like a magnet drawing them back to their original dimension.
There are cases where those returning from the extra-dimension experience side effects like panic disorder or amnesia. However, generally, the purer and stronger the inherent magic, the less severe or absent the side effects.
Therefore, the clear anger displayed by the branch leader was quite unexpected for me. The weakening of Blasphemia to this extent was unforeseen.
I had to understand how a traitor emerged from Blasphemia. Understanding the internal situation of Blasphemia and the Ten Commandments could make it much easier to destroy the White Light Magic Tower's Ten Commandments.
At times like this, the best way to extract information is to…
"Hmph, do the returning ones say that? Do you really believe they are the same as they were before they disappeared?"
It's time to throw out random nonsense.
I began to utter words that seemed plausible.
'Returning ones' refers to those tainted by the extra-dimension's depths, their very souls eroded.
It was the least likely possibility among the identities of those inciting Blasphemia's rebellion.
'If they are skilled mages, they would have managed to protect themselves before falling into the depths.'
Magic users can draw power from the world itself. They wouldn't have drifted that deeply.
By deliberately throwing out a wrong answer, the opponent would usually scoff at the ignorance. I'd gather clues from that conversation and…
"You knew that much and didn't draw your magic? Arrogant."
Why is this turning out to be true?
***
Nardanit seethed with restrained anger. He knew all the facts, yet he was having this conversation. Was it to mock us?
"The returning comrades told us. Let's strip away the hypocrisy and pretense of the Ten Commandments and establish a new order."
"This is absurd. Are you serious? You must know that those tainted by the extra-dimension are not the same as before."
"No. Who cried out about the dangers of the extra-dimension? Weren't they the old men of the Ten Commandments? We've been deceived all this time! By the reckless actions of those who hid the truth!"
Orthes felt a deep sense of bewilderment. He never expected that among those he fought in the desert, some would return as tainted beings.
And not just coming back mad and rampaging, but moving systematically to overthrow the Ten Commandments? While recruiting and seducing non-tainted humans?
Nardanit noticed Orthes' bewilderment.
Though his smiling face remained unchanged, indicating no readable emotions, it was clear that the secret inspector was hesitating for some reason.
Seizing the moment, Nardanit drew his magic and constructed a spell.
Cables in the engine room adhered to his body. Magic directly supplied from the magic core of the magic engine train supported the execution of a grand spell.
His hair moved, drawing complex shapes. With the metaphysical symbols formed by the attached hair, magic circulated, creating destructive magic.
The branch leader's authority was activated. The limiter on the magic core of the magic engine train was released, synchronizing with Nardanit. The spell he prepared expanded over the entire train.
Nardanit's ultimate move.
To bury the truth of his comrades, he was ready to blow up the train, himself, and the inspector.
He saw the inspector gripping a high-frequency blade. A pitiful resistance.
Even if he cut off his head, it was too late. While he might stop the spell, he couldn't cancel the command input into the magic core.
Crunch!
However, the high-frequency blade did not aim for Nardanit's neck. Instead, it plunged into the train's floor.
'What is he doing?'
Orthes' blade pierced the pipeline where the magic core circulated its power. But attacking it now wouldn't change anything.
Orthes inserted a magic engraving drive into the blade handle.
Only then did Nardanit understand what Orthes was attempting.
"Magical interference? Ha!"
When a spell is cast, using a similar type of spell at precisely the same timing can disrupt its structure.
But it's impossible.
The effect of magical interference increases the closer the timings are, and the larger the interfering magic's power, the lower the effect.
To interfere with a spell powerful enough to blow up the entire train, the interfering spell must be cast with absolute precision.
Nardanit began the countdown to the explosion.
'Three, two, one.'
At the last moment…
Orthes opened his eyes.
To read over 200 fully translated episodes, patreon.com/Denji02