Surging Azure Lake rubbed his face as he processed the urgent message delivered to him in the middle of the night.
Then, he rang the bell to inform everyone in the Magic Tower of the news.
The sky over the coastal region was flashing with colorful lights, and there were deafening sounds of explosions, but he shouldn’t assume that they would surely know.
It wasn’t until a servant had run over and delivered the news that he’d even realized, reacting with, “Oh, is that so?” so the others were even less likely to be aware.
At this hour, the wizards were either sleeping (minority) or so engrossed in their research that they’d waste no time looking outside the window (majority). There were no other possibilities.
“Pipi, go fetch Meister.”
“Yes.”
“Sir Great Sage! If this is a mobilization order…!”
“You’re here, Liam. But there’s no need to shout like that. Act as usual. Just be sure to take more wizards since they seem to be coming in much greater numbers this time. Bring everyone you think is capable of using attack magic.”
“Yes!”If this were a typical Magic Tower, they would have rushed to the city walls immediately to prepare some large-scale magic, but Surging Azure Lake was different.
The magic of seeing the essence of things had little to do with attack spells, and Surging Azure Lake’s specialty was the former, not the latter.
No one could rival him in the number of spells he knew, but as for casting attack magic, other wizards were far better suited for the task.
In short, it was like asking someone who’d spent seventy years doing nothing but subtraction to suddenly perform addition when it would make far more sense to ask someone who’d spent forty years doing both addition and subtraction.
“The remaining wizards, prepare to move the Arcane items.”
Calculating the stock of certain items they’d have at the city wall, Surging Azure Lake prioritized the ones that needed to be transported first.
Right. Arcane Arrows or stones imbued with explosive magic were good, but it was night. At this hour, they needed to prioritize delivering items that could illuminate the surroundings.
“What weapon should I handle?”
After he’d directed and organized for a while, his grandson finally appeared.
Having seemingly grasped the full extent of the situation, he completely skipped the greetings and jumped straight to the point.
“You know, that… monstrous thing you made.”
“Things must be pretty bad if you’re even considering using that failure.”
“That thing cost me a whopping hundred million. If we don’t use it now, it’s meaningless.”
“True.”
However, this attitude was precisely what made things easier.
Surging Azure Lake was happy to have a grandson who was easy to talk with and listed the tasks he needed to handle.
Most involved transporting equipment that required delicate and meticulous management. If all the items had been moved or an urgent situation arose in the city, his grandson would also be staying behind to handle repairs.
“By the way, Grandpa.”
“What is it?”
“Did you order something from the merchant company?”
“Hmm?”
“They seem to be moving a lot today.”
“I didn’t order anything in particular.”
But was this strange? Well, not really. Merchants kicking up a fuss was hardly a rare sight, and he could also understand their sense of urgency.
After all, on days when battles against the Merfolk brought water flooding into the city, there was always news of at least one underground warehouse being breached.
“It’s probably just because a lot of goods have been coming in lately.”
“Well, true. If materials get wet, their value drops.”
Even if no buildings collapsed, water could still leak into them. In fact, that happened often.
Moreover, there were so many items in the world that lost value once they got wet.
But storing them on higher floors? That wasn’t possible.
Due to the risk of ground collapse caused by frequent flooding, Bemurchen strictly regulated the height of buildings and the total weight of items that could be stored on each floor.
“Hmm…”
So there was nothing unusual about this. Nothing at all.
Or was there?
“…Karl.”
“Yes, Sir Azure Lake.”
“You’re in charge of overseeing the Magic Tower while I’m gone.”
“Pardon?”
“Weren’t you planning to set up a research institute? Think of this as a rehearsal. And if you mess up, prepare to kiss the position of the next Great Sage goodbye.”
“…Yes.”
He called for the mercenary stationed in the Magic Tower, just in case.
Since he produced and sold expensive Arcane items, there were times when force was necessary—such as when dealing with troublesome customers or thieves—so he’d hired a mercenary for situations like these.
“Did you call for me?”
“Come with me. We need to go somewhere discreetly, so keep your dress as inconspicuous as possible.”
“Understood.”
Although this particular guard was a knight academy dropout, he was more than capable of acting as an escort in a pinch.
Azure Lake stepped outside the Magic Tower with his escort. It was time to investigate the thing that had been strangely bothering him.
* * *
Had the Merfolk used one of their unique tricks to raise the sea level in this area? Thanks to that, they could move around freely, so they’d very quietly and insidiously attempted an ambush.
The first thing they did was block our field of view.
“Light the lamps!”
But perhaps because they had no intention of being taken off guard, or perhaps as a result of their wisdom gained from many battles, our side acted swiftly.
Three soldiers ran around, lighting lanterns scattered across the turrets, and then adjusted something installed next to them: a mirror.
“I can see them!”
“Fire!”
It was akin to a lighthouse. The mirrors reflected and redirected the lantern light until it shot out in a straight beam, illuminating the sea.
Screech!
There wasn’t only one such installation. All the devices placed at regular intervals along the rim of the circular turrets began to emit light, completely illuminating the area around the turrets.
At the very least, the Merfolk targeting the turret could now be seen with the naked eye.
“Kill them! Before they bring it down!”
Well, even if they hadn’t been there, it wouldn’t really have been a big problem.
Still, it was better to have them than not. Ignoring the adventurer yelling at me for not picking up a bow, I simply flicked my hand.
It wasn’t a particularly necessary preparatory gesture, but perhaps because I was rather simple-minded, I felt like doing this would make my attack more effective.
“What the hell are you doing instead of attacking—”
Whoosh.
With a sharp sound, an [Arcane Spear] flew through the air. Despite being night, the lighthouse allowed me to see it flying clearly.
Each time I locked on to a new enemy, an [Arcane Spear] materialized, piercing the sea’s surface and impaling a Merfolk.
“Damn, so you were doing that.”
Yeah, yeah. I’d never in my life done anything to make people think I was a salary thief.
Of course, to be fair, that was because I’d never had a traditional job but had always been a freelancer. As a freelancer, taking a break usually meant losing your livelihood.
“They’re coming!”
At that moment, something caught my senses as it headed straight toward the turret I was on. It was from the far side of where I was standing, so I noticed it too late to react.
Boom!
“Uwargh!”
The turret trembled, accompanied by someone’s scream. It seemed to have been hit by something like a spell.
“Don’t panic! It won’t collapse from just one hit!”
However, as one adventurer said, the wall showed no signs of collapsing. Unless it kept getting hit, there was nothing to worry about for now.
Boom!
Something the soldiers threw exploded on the sea’s surface, causing chunks of Merfolk flesh to scatter across the water.
“They’re coming up!”
At that moment, a Merfolk clung to the wall of the turret. It was in a spot barely visible from the window where I was stationed.
“Shoot the ones coming up first!”
The climbing Merfolk started frantically moving its throat as if trying to induce vomiting. This was definitely something that shouldn’t be ignored.
From my experience with the reconnaissance team, I knew Merfolk could spit acid.
Crunch!
“Got it…!”
“I’ll handle the climbing ones.”
From this angle, I would have to lean out the window to shoot the Merfolk clinging to the wall. That was both inconvenient and dangerous.
Therefore, it would be better for me to take care of the ones that were actively climbing. I didn’t need to stick my body out, and I could take them down with a single shot, giving me a time advantage.
“…I’m definitely making it back alive this time too.”
Aside from the fact that that statement seemed to be tempting fate, I genuinely hoped things would turn out that way.
It would just be heartbreaking if someone you were fighting alongside didn’t make it back.
Bang, bang, bang!
Meanwhile, the naval battle had grown even more intense. Explosions burst over the sea surface, but despite it being night, the water was strangely red.
Not far off, a turret had its walls breached, with Merfolk clinging all over it.
Uwaaaargh!
The sound of someone falling into the sea echoed was chilling.
“They’re coming!”
At that moment, an adventurer let out a shout filled with excitement. “Blast them to hell!” Tracing the source of their voice, I noticed that flashes of light were now erupting above the fortress wall.
“Wizards, advance!”
Rumble, ruuuumble.
Dark clouds began to gather between our turret and theirs. The faint flashes of light streaking through them were exactly like those you would see in the sky during thunderstorms.
Boom!
And the moment it struck the sea with a deafening sound—it seemed we could hear it simultaneously because of the short distance—something shot up.
No. No creature was fast enough to jump up as a reaction to lightning. It was one of the dozens continuously trying to leap up and had unexpectedly collided with the descending bolt.
Bam!
“Huh…?”
But that’s not what was truly shocking.
What really left me flabbergasted, what really shocked me…
“What’s this? Just kill one, and that’s it?”
I swallowed hard as I saw the body, instead of just being electrocuted, explode like a bomb.
That probably… wasn’t caused by it getting struck by lightning.
“Wh-What’s going on?!”
I recalled something I’d learned while eavesdropping on a conversation between the Archmage and White Wind—it wasn’t my fault they’d decided to discuss such sensitive matters somewhere as public as a restaurant—before I distanced myself from my party.
While continuing to conduct experiments with the Jahukaya, White Wind uncovered a new characteristic.
There was a limit to how much creatures capable of absorbing Arcane Power could consume. So, if they overloaded their bodies, they would die.
They would suddenly explode.
“…So, they were here too.”
Of course, it might be a bit disappointing if a type of Mob only appeared once and never again, but couldn’t they have made it just a bit disappointing?
This world was really damn cruel.
* * *
> [Damn snake bastard.]
Pandemonium felt a deep sense of regret over the disrupted plan. They’d originally intended to draw things out a bit more, but the other party had unilaterally moved up the timeline.
“My apologies.”
> [Shut up, you incompetent fool. You’re really pissing me off.]
That regret wasn’t just directed at that “damn snake bastard.”
Hearing the sharp tone, the woman shut her mouth. Standing right beside her, their loyal attendant and contractor silently received the same punishment.
The thorns embedded in their entire bodies continued to suck out their blood endlessly.
Thud.
And the blood that was sucked out became jewels and fell to the floor. The ground at Pandemonium’s feet was littered with countless gems.
> [Go and guard the door. While I gather my power, make sure no one interferes.]
“Yes.”
Once their mood had improved slightly, the thorns retracted.
> [Remember, this is your last chance.]
“…Of course.”
The person, having lost too much blood, stumbled once or twice before bowing her head. The pearl she wore shimmered with a smooth glow.
Clack.
> [Kyle.]
As one of the contractors left, they called the one who still remained.
Even though he shared responsibility for their displeasure, the other person’s expression showed no complaint.
Among all the contractors they had chosen based on greed, this one was chosen solely for his unwavering loyalty.
> [Come here.]
“Yes.”
Pandemonium stroked the head of their servant, a creature with violet-tinted black fur, a large beak, and enormous wings. He was the thing they cherished most.
> [I once told you that the moment would come when you would have to give me your everything.]
“Yes.”
However, that affection never outweighed their self-interest. They spread out their long, jointed fingers, reminiscent of spider legs.
The already unnaturally long fingers extended even further, sharpening incredibly.
> [That moment is now. May I kill you?]
“Yes.”
The razor-sharp fingertips ended the contractor’s life by mutual consent. Because the act was permitted, the contract imposed no penalties.
Blood flowed endlessly from where they had pulled out his heart. Its color wasn’t the crimson glow of a flame but the fading hue of something dying.
It was less beautiful than any flame Pandemonium had ever known, but apart from that, its color was the most exquisite.
> [Haa.]
Pandemonium consumed the heart of what she had cherished. The power they’d granted him through the contract returned to them, along with the strength equivalent to a human life.
Sluuurp.
Meanwhile, the flowing blood gathered on them and climbed up their garments. The hem of their dress burned away, revealing the true form of greed incarnate to the world.
A veil of molten gold and gemstones, but where the face should have been, there was only an endlessly empty void. Their body brandished three pairs of hands, each clutching treasure. Six ears ready to hear every desire of the world perked up alongside a massive tail.
A searing heat spread outward to consume everything around her, even the corpse of the being that had been their contractor.
Destroy.
Then, right before their body moved to melt the door and leave, they froze. A voice that resonated like thunder within Pandemonium’s mind dominated her will.
Everything, together with the Hero. It must be done.
…That damn King! Inconsiderate bastard!
> […Damn it.]
They knelt down, steading their trembling hands.
Though grateful for his permission to unleash their full power, they wished the King would stop shouting directly into their mind. Did that lunatic think this was their homeland, where their strength was wholly unrestricted?
> [Even a bastard with only a soul left could endure this…]
They thought they’d already increased their power considerably by culling useless contractors, but it still wasn’t enough. Pandemonium gritted their teeth in displeasure, forcing themself to their feet.
> [But this time, I’ll win.]
“Huh? What’s that? Is something burning inside…?”
“What? Fire?”
“Someone, get water, now…!”
Hundreds of crates were visible through the melted, burning door, all filled with gold, silver, and jewels.
> [Open the Pandemonium.]
“What the hell is this?!”
“Run, run…!”
“Woaaaaaargh!”
Countless riches surged toward them as the seal of their King fell to the floor.
The porters, working through the night to move the cargo as commanded, were engulfed in flames.
____
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