Chapter 287 – The Third Faction
The scenery of a desolate room, furnished with old-fashioned furniture.
Beyond the worn window lay a night sky thick with clouds. Ethan, seated beside the window, was lost in quiet thought.
'What should I do now.'
At present, he and Rebecca were trapped inside an old mansion.
It was no one's particular mistake.
If anything, it had been everyone's misjudgment.
They had not expected that the moment he discerned Rebecca's presence, she could be subdued in an instant.
Should he have been more cautious.
Such thoughts came to him, but now was not the time for regret.
Having become captives, securing safety came first. He lightly clicked his upper and lower teeth together, racking his brain.
'First of all, the king of the underworld isn't a member of the Magic Tower.'
He had confirmed that the man was not a pawn of the Bohemirn Magic Tower.
And by all accounts, neither was he tied to the Larrian Magic Tower or the Magic Tower of the Volcanic Island.
The same went for the other magic towers.
If he had been, they would have already gotten word of it. The magic towers, obsessed with climbing ranks, would never leave such a formidable mage alone.
Without question, they would have made him a pillar of their tower, publicly declared it to the world, and used him to raise their prestige.
The Society's rule was to never deal with magic towers.
And that was fortunate.
For Ethan, it meant there was still room to attempt a dialogue, a compromise, or even a bargain with that man called Asher.
'The problem is, what is he looking for in the autonomous territory....'
The Mamentus Merchant Guild, the Rainbow-hued Inn, the Lord of the autonomous territory, the two magic towers.
These were the things Asher had gotten involved with since arriving. Lining them up in his head, suddenly a spark struck his mind.
'Could it be, he's chasing the same thing as us?'
The only common thread was the Bohemirn Magic Tower.
Moreover, the man had shown strong hostility toward the Bohemirn Magic Tower, while Ethan and Rebecca were pursuing the tower's enemy faction.
Ethan stroked his chin.
His eyes, reflected in the windowpane, glimmered sharply.
"If this goes well, I might be able to turn crisis into an opportunity───"
"Kyaah!"
A sudden scream made him turn his head.
Rebecca, who had been unconscious just moments ago, had sat up, panting heavily. She met his gaze.
"E, Ethan?"
"You've awakened quickly, Rebecca. Do you feel unwell anywhere?"
"Ah, no... nothing serious..."
Rebecca rubbed the back of her neck.
A throbbing pain, like a bruise, lingered there.
As the focus returned to her hazy eyes, the moment before she had fainted resurfaced.
The ash-haired man chasing her relentlessly, the terror of her throat being strangled by his staff, the cold blue eyes looking down at her—all came back vividly.
Her body trembled before she knew it.
But that monster was not here, and when she looked around, she saw Ethan guarding her side.
That meant—
"Ethan...! You really came to save me!"
"No, I was captured too."
What?
At that moment came the metallic sound of a lock.
They turned their heads, and the door swung open. Verden stepped in.
His gaze fixed upon Rebecca.
"You've woken just in time."
His tone was calm.
Rebecca's eyes widened, her face aghast.
"Kyaaaaah!"
***
"Uuugh...!"
Rebecca hid behind Ethan's back, stealing fearful glances at Verden.
Screaming twice already, and even now acting like this... she was a terribly noisy mage.
Unable to endure, Ethan cleared his throat.
"Ahem, Rebecca. Please sit down. How much longer will you carry on like this?"
"B, but...! I was almost strangled to death!"
"And yet you're alive and unharmed, aren't you. Honestly, for someone who got caught tailing, then got seized while fleeing, this is decent treatment. Truthfully, you'd have no right to complain even if you'd lost a limb."
"I had no such intention."
"Ah, my apologies. You see, even Asher-nim says so. So please, calm down."
"Ugh..."
In the end, Rebecca reluctantly pulled up a chair.
She sat beside Ethan, the two of them facing Verden across a small table.
Those blue eyes locked onto Ethan.
'He seems to have grown more favorable.'
Both in tone and manner.
The reason was unknown, but it didn't matter. If the man was willing to be cooperative, all the better.
"Are you ready to answer?"
"Yes, by all means."
"What purpose does the Society have in coming to the autonomous territory?"
He repeated the question left unasked in the underground waterway.
Rebecca glanced nervously at Ethan. When he nodded, she sighed and spoke softly.
"We came to investigate... y, yes. Concerning the faction that's attacking the Bohemirn Magic Tower..."
The group Verden had defined as the third faction.
It seemed their speculation in the underground waterway had been correct.
Ethan continued.
"We came here to uncover the organization that is erasing the influence of the Bohemirn Magic Tower near the autonomous territory."
"For what reason."
"Because they are being supported by the Lord of the autonomous territory, as well as the Magic Towers of the Volcanic Island and Larrian. Perhaps you know what the Society pursues?"
Verden shook his head.
He had heard the name vaguely, but knew little more.
Ethan spoke firmly.
"The Society is not an organization that merely opposes the magic towers or delights in their downfall. Ultimately, we aim for a freer magical society. But the current system of the magic towers is extremely closed-off, and in the worst sense, extremist. Though not visible now, one day this will swell into an irreparable problem."
And that, Verden knew better than anyone.
For the upper magic towers had been conducting human experiments—tabooed by the world—in secret. On a colossal scale.
The other towers might well be violating their own prohibitions.
'But they shouldn't know about the experiments.'
The unofficial experiments of the Bohemirn Magic Tower had never leaked outside.
Until now, Verden was the only one who had escaped the forced magic circle. That suppression was near absolute.
'Then what makes the Society believe so?'
His interest grew keen.
"What grounds do you have to call the magic towers extremist?"
"To speak plainly, what's happening here in the autonomous territory is the example. As you know, due to the struggle for influence among the towers, the Mamentus Merchant Guild, the Rainbow-hued Inn, and more—tens, no, hundreds of people have been killed."
"That reasoning is flimsy. If mere death counts were the cause, there are countless groups far more extreme."
There was no day without death.
Innocent or not, such was the world.
"What I mean is their methods. They are employing unofficial forces, hidden from the public eye. That, in pursuit of their interests, could easily bring about disasters in secret. Especially if such forces include dangerously powerful mages."
So, they feared that competition among the towers might drag in not only small territories, but entire nations or continents. It was, in its own way, a reasonable point.
But there was another matter to press.
"So what you're saying... sounds like you know the identity of that faction."
"We haven't been wasting our time. As a result of investing effort, we've obtained detailed information on its members, and on one of its leaders."
Verden's eyes widened ever so slightly.
For what they held, was the very information he desired.
A faint but clear reaction.
Quick to sense it, Ethan smiled.
"From the looks of it, Asher-nim, you too are pursuing them. In that sense, I'd like to propose a deal. In exchange for the information we hold, grant us complete assurance of safety."
"I promise. So speak."
The reply came without hesitation.
Ethan cleared his throat briefly, then said,
"That group consists largely of fugitives who once became targets of the Bohemirn Magic Tower, then fled to the Eastern Continent to hide. Among their leaders, one classified as especially dangerous is 'Kendras', once the captain of the personal guard of the former 'Followers of the Three Eyes'."
***
The Followers of the Three Eyes.
A faction once active on the Central Continent, its leader infamous for gouging out human eyes to use as magical mediums.
And they were mercilessly subjugated.
They ended up nothing more than a stepping stone for the Bohemirn Magic Tower to raise its renown and expand its influence in the Central Continent.
The leader's corpse was hung on the city gates, the Followers of the Three Eyes were annihilated and scattered.
Most of the remnants were hunted down and slain, but by a hair's breadth, only Kendras and his subordinates reached the Eastern Continent and shook off pursuit.
This, too, was part of the background knowledge Verden already possessed.
"Kendras, being the right hand of the leader, is a brutal powerhouse. Though he is not a mage himself, he commands remnants of the Followers of the Three Eyes, including mages of tier three and above. To think such men would rally together with the support of other magic towers, it cannot be tolerated, can it."
"Have you pinpointed their location?"
"We haven't yet... no. An unexpected event occurred along the way."
Rebecca pouted, scratching at her neck.
Hearing that, it was easier to understand why they had attempted to tail him. If someone suddenly appeared and started stirring up the autonomous territory, suspicion would naturally follow.
"So, is mere investigation of them all you intended?"
"We planned to assess the scale of their forces, then devise proper countermeasures. Afterward, depending on judgment, we intended to eliminate them covertly."
Among Kendras's followers were many cruel mages.
The Society could not just sit by. To condone the tyranny of the towers, or to ignore extremist mages, was against their code.
It was, in a sense, their mission.
As for how they meant to obtain the location information, Ethan readily gave an answer to Verden's question.
"The only ones who know Kendras's movements are Ezra and Molly, the mages dispatched by the two towers, and the Lord of the autonomous territory. We tried to infiltrate and gather information, but honestly, it wasn't easy. Fooling the eyes of tower-affiliated mages is no simple task."
They could not simply abduct and interrogate them.
It was impossible to subdue them in one strike during a magic battle, and moving so openly would mean facing both towers at once.
Even for Rebecca and Ethan, such risk was unbearable.
"That is all the information I know. Truly. Are you satisfied?"
Tap, tap.
Verden drummed his fingers on the table. After finishing his thoughts, he looked at the two of them.
"While you remain here, I will provide food and chambers. I have set a magic circle outside the mansion, so within the house and the garden you may move freely."
Verden rose from his seat.
"But I advise you sincerely, do not think of leaving without my permission."
Leaving only that unilateral warning, he walked out of the room.
Footsteps receded down the corridor. Once the presence vanished completely, Rebecca snapped her head around.
"Ethan! How could you just blurt out all our information like that! Every last bit of it!"
"It wasn't designated as confidential, so this much is fine."
"That may be, but still..."
"And besides, this was the best course. Had we stubbornly been uncooperative, we would've met a bad end. Didn't Master always say? That as long as you live, you can do anything."
"But there was no need to be that cooperative, was there? You could have asked for our release in return for the trade."
"Why? When such talent is right before our eyes."
...Talent?
Rebecca blinked slowly.
Suddenly, memories of the past brushed her mind.
"Y, you're not, you're not seriously thinking of recruiting that man into the Society?! Are you insane?!"
"Perfectly sane. Honestly, isn't there more than enough reason?"
First, he was unaffiliated with any tower.
Second, he was a mage of overwhelming strength beyond their reach.
Third, though called king of the underworld, he was far too composed to be described merely as the ruler of vile criminals.
"And did you see the magic circle surrounding this mansion? For me, it's an unbreakable, high-tier magic circle. If we tried to escape by force, we'd never make it out intact. Which means Asher is highly skilled in magic circles as well."
Hearing it laid out like that, it was true.
To be honest, he perfectly matched the kind of talent the Society desired.
"S, still, there's no guarantee he'll accept a proposal..."
"Even so, we can at least form a friendly bond. Better that than hostility, by far. Besides, trapped in this mansion, there's little else we can do."
She had no rebuttal.
After all, it was Rebecca's fault that had caused this mess in the first place.
"Ha, what a sight this is..."
Mumbling, she flopped onto the bed.
'Hm?'
She bounced lightly, finding it softer than expected.
Though the room looked old overall, it seemed to have been cleaned recently, for there wasn't a cobweb to be found.
Compared to the inns they had stayed in until now, this environment was far superior.
'Not all that bad... is it?'
Rebecca eased herself down onto the bed.
Her mind was unsettled, yet her body felt utterly at ease. The sense of disparity lasted only briefly.
Her eyelids closed, and she drifted to sleep.
Even her heart found comfort then. It was, in truth, sleep taken for the sake of escape.
***
Verden recalled the information he had gained about the Society.
He sought a way to uncover the movements of the third faction. After a while, he reached a conclusion.
'The key is the Lord of the autonomous territory, perhaps.'
His purpose in coming to the territory was to build a power base of his own.
In such circumstances, provoking disputes with other towers would be one of the worst options. Rash action would only breed all sorts of troublesome outcomes.
Verden would be meeting the Lord of the autonomous territory privately, about three days later.
That would be the opportunity to extract where Kendras was.
'Though the chances are high he won't fit my standards.'
If what he had heard was true, Kendras was as savage as any, perhaps worse. The others might be cut from the same cloth.
Still, he would judge with his own eyes.
Relying on mere rumor was less accurate than meeting them firsthand. Verden decided to place his full trust in his own judgment.
"..."
Suddenly, the Society crossed his mind.
Their unusual goal of opposing the magic towers... yet as a foundation, they were unsuitable.
At least for now.
Were he to accept them, it would be the Society moving Verden, not the other way around. Seizing control of an already-formed organization was no easy task.
And besides, the Society's true strength remained unknown.
Verden had no intention whatsoever of yielding the initiative. Revenge, from beginning to end, was wholly his own.
'Still, there's no need to make pointless enemies.'
There was no reason to.
So, better to establish a friendly bond, like with the Ark.
Of course, that didn't mean he had any intention of releasing Ethan and Rebecca yet.
Their goals overlapped, and they might very well become hindrances.
Thus, for now, he would keep them confined.
There would be no harm in letting them go only after his business was concluded... Verden settled firmly on that decision.
Time flowed, and the promised day drew near.
And so, two days later, three uninvited guests arrived in the autonomous territory of Midros.
Two clowns, and a swordsman.
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