Three dark figures flew high through the air, flipping and vaulting between buildings before finally crossing over a large building and landing at the entrance of a hotel.
"Strange... this place seems empty?"
Epsilon did not enter through the front door. Instead, she leaped onto the hotel's outer wall, opened a second-floor window, and slipped inside. After a quick search, she frowned and spoke in confusion.
The front entrance on the first floor was wide open, and the hotel lights were still on. Yet after a brief sweep, Epsilon was puzzled. Not only was Yuuma Tokoyogi, the person she was looking for, nowhere to be seen, but she had not even found a single living person here.
Even if there were barely any people on the streets because of that inexplicable rampage of Magical Power that had dyed the island's sky purple, there still should not be no one at all. And Shadow-sama had said Yuuma Tokoyogi was here. How could Shadow-sama possibly be wrong?
So... did I just fail to find her?
"Epsilon-sama, there's something here. A giant creature passed through here a few minutes ago, and there are also traces of a large group of people moving nearby."
While Epsilon was thinking, Omega suddenly called out, sticking her head out from one of the rooms and pointing in a certain direction to draw Epsilon's attention.
Epsilon quickly stepped forward and saw what Omega was pointing at. There were drag marks left by a massive object scraping along the ground. Judging from the traces, some creature had dragged its tail across the floor while moving in a certain direction.
After examining it, Epsilon confirmed that the large creature was most likely a Dragon-like reptile, while the surrounding footprints should have belonged to the people watching over it.
After confirming the general situation, Epsilon and the other two followed the traces forward, only to stop in front of a wall, because the trail vanished right there.
Looking at the clean white wall in front of her, Epsilon's expression shifted uncertainly. She pressed her lips together slightly, hesitated for a moment, then swung her slime-sword forward.
"Boom!"
An explosion rang out, and the wall blew apart. But behind it, there was no hidden passage like Epsilon had hoped. It was just an ordinary kitchen.
"Epsilon-sama, it looks like the other side entered an alternate dimension..."
Seeing this, Chi came to a conclusion based on the clues they had gathered since entering, but Omega cut her off halfway.
"Enough. I can see that too. The question is, do we have a way to break through the alternate dimension's barrier?
"And the Itogami Island Guard are idiots. A whole alternate dimension appears here, and they don't even investigate it?"
A gloomy look appeared on Epsilon's face. She never would have imagined that the other side had actually hidden inside an alternate dimension, and the confidence she had held in this mission, which had seemed practically guaranteed, suddenly turned uneasy.
Creating an alternate dimension was not especially expensive, but it was troublesome, caused a lot of commotion, and required extremely advanced technology. Without being a major power, there was no way to build one.
But an alternate dimension could not be built in the territory of a hostile force. Under normal circumstances, the moment construction began, it would be impossible to hide it from the local administrator. After all, this was a massive project. If the spatial fluctuations it released were not discussed with the administrator in advance, the impact would be anything but small.
And with such huge commotion and difficulty came obvious benefits.
Concealment and security. A space built within the void could not be found without someone leading the way, or without something like a beacon in hand. That greatly ensured both secrecy and safety.
At present, there were only two known ways to breach an alternate dimension. The first was to tear it open by force with overwhelming strength or a specialized item. The second was to infiltrate it and secretly eliminate the master of the alternate dimension to seize control.
But as Epsilon had said, even all three of them combined did not have the power to touch an alternate dimension in the void. And there was no way they could have predicted this in advance and brought an item for breaking through an alternate dimension.
There was no helping it. According to Epsilon's calculations, Itogami Island should have had one or two alternate dimensions at most, and it would even be normal if there were none. It was only an Artificial Island, after all. The Gigafloat Management Corporation here was not some major power, and probably could not even defeat Shadow Garden.
Since the entrance to this alternate dimension was inside this hotel, there was no way it had been built by the Gigafloat Management Corporation. In other words, this place was almost certainly the enemy's lair.
That left Epsilon in a difficult position. They could not break into an alternate dimension.
After circling around several times and still failing to find even a single switch to open the gate into the alternate dimension, Epsilon seemed to realize something, and her face turned pale all at once.
This was the first mission Master had given her since she had finally discovered his other identity and joined Netheril at great risk.
It was already humiliating enough that the Witch Council's actions had caused her to deviate from Master's original plan. Now Master had personally stepped in and given her the address of the person she needed to watch, practically spoon-feeding her the mission. If she still failed now, she would have no face to see Master again.
Her plan to rebuild Shadow Garden would collapse. The recognition she had gone to such lengths to earn would change. The disappointment she had finally obtained would disappear. No, then wouldn't that mean nothing had changed at all?!
At that thought, Epsilon looked at the wall with the large hole blown into it, and a hard glint flashed through her eyes. Magical Power slowly began to surge from within her.
Chi and Omega, standing beside her, saw this and both widened their eyes. They hurriedly opened their mouths to persuade her, but Epsilon cut them off.
"Chi, Omega, I'm not very confident, but whether I manage to break through or not, I'll fall into a weakened state afterward. So once we get inside, I'll have to rely on you. Be careful. That is the enemy's home ground. You'll probably be discovered the moment you enter. If things truly become impossible, call Master for help..."
"..."
Chi and Omega looked at each other. Both could tell that although Epsilon said that, she very much did not want them to reach the point of calling Shadow-sama. After all, this was their mission. Shadow-sama might not say anything if they called him for help, but he would definitely feel disappointed in their superior, Epsilon.
They knew that Epsilon could now be said to be operating completely on her own. Shadow-sama had placed great expectations on her, and she was currently preparing that plan in Netheril. If something like this happened now, it would definitely affect the plan.
Under normal circumstances, Epsilon would never make such a reckless decision. How stupid would she have to be to cripple herself, their greatest combat asset, and send her two subordinates to complete the mission?
But this place was an exception. She only needed to think about how to complete the mission. Shadow-sama was here, so no matter what happened, she would not die.
According to her investigation, the Cult of Diablos had not deployed many combat forces on this island, and the Seats here were not particularly skilled in combat.
In that case, she would gamble. She would bet that her subordinates could kill the controller of the alternate dimension, seize the initiative, and complete the mission.
Chi and Omega exchanged another glance, opening their mouths as if to say they would replace Epsilon and tear open the alternate dimension themselves. But they also knew very clearly that with their strength, even if they overloaded their bodies to attack, they still would not reach the point of pulling open an alternate dimension. So they merely opened their mouths, then closed them again, keeping watch on their surroundings to avoid a sudden attack.
Hmm?
Omega happened to glance out the window and noticed something. Her eyes lit up, and she took a step forward.
"Epsilon-sama, something's happening. It looks like someone is coming downstairs."
"Huh?"
Hearing Omega's report, Epsilon instinctively let out a confused sound and stopped the Magical Power raging through her body. The next second, she made a sound that clearly carried aching pain, and her face twitched several times in a row.
"Hiss... Ow, ow, ow..."
Her body had been running beyond its limits, and suddenly stopping the act of squeezing out Magical Power did not make the damage she had already suffered disappear. Rather, because she had relaxed so suddenly, the soreness in her muscles flooded her mind all at once, making Epsilon's expression shift several times within a few seconds.
After taking a few seconds to recover and barely adapting to a body that hurt with every step, Epsilon walked to the window and looked toward the place Omega had just been watching. There, a sloppy-looking middle-aged man was smiling and greeting Epsilon.
"Hi there, beautiful lady..."
"Hiss!"
Although the other party acted friendly, Epsilon was still startled into taking a step back. She instinctively took a deep breath to stay calm while pulling her two subordinates close, ready to flee at any moment.
She recognized the middle-aged man in front of her. Rather, the faces of leaders from forces like his were part of the information that an investigator like her had to memorize. Azazel, the Governor General of the Fallen Angels.
How should she put it? Although this guy's strength was only around the upper-middle range among the leaders of major powers, that was still not someone Epsilon, whose body now hurt with every movement, could defeat together with her two subordinates. At the very least, the current Epsilon had no confidence in beating him.
Her expression changed rapidly as she watched Azazel go upstairs. Epsilon's mind spun at high speed, but in the end, she did not order Chi and Omega to retreat. Instead, she tilted her head toward Azazel, signaling the two of them to follow him.
"Follow him..."
"But Epsilon-sama, if we end up fighting the Fallen Angel Governor General, with our current identities... shouldn't we ask the others for support?"
After hesitating for a moment and choosing her words for a few seconds, Omega looked at Epsilon and spoke uncertainly. With only the three of them, the risk was simply too great. They had no way to guarantee they could fight while concealing their identities.
"No need. He probably isn't an enemy."
Epsilon shook her head and took the lead, walking in the direction Azazel had gone. Behind her, Chi and Omega froze for a few seconds after hearing that, then quickly followed Epsilon.
"Why do you say that, Epsilon-sama? Do you have a way to determine whether he's an enemy or an ally?"
Faced with Chi's question, Epsilon glanced at her and shook her head.
"No. I can't be sure."
"...Then why are you so certain he isn't an enemy, Epsilon-sama?"
"Because this is Shadow-sama's command..."
Epsilon said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world, proudly puffing out the slime on her chest.
"Everything is within Shadow-sama's calculations. The so-called Cult of Diablos is nothing more than an old relic being toyed with in Shadow-sama's palm. And since Shadow-sama sent us here to find Yuuma Tokoyogi, he must know the situation here."
"Under those circumstances, Shadow-sama still chose to have us come here and help him deal with the enemy. That proves Shadow-sama trusts us and is certain we have the ability..."
At this point, Epsilon's voice suddenly grew much louder, her faint echo ringing through the spacious corridor.
"Then under that premise, this Fallen Angel Governor General who suddenly appeared definitely cannot be one of the Cult's people. In fact, his appearance may even be a clue Shadow-sama arranged for us to complete the mission. Am I right?"
Her cold gaze looked forward. As Epsilon's voice fell, a middle-aged man with a pair of black wings on his back appeared in front of her.
"My apologies, beautiful lady, but I don't know what you're talking about. I only came here because a friend invited me to attend an academic presentation for our little circle."
"Although that friend of mine did seem to say he came from a force called the Cult of Diablos, I personally don't know much about him. If you're willing to tell me some private information about him, I'd be grateful."
Azazel smiled as he sold out the information about the friend who had invited him. After all, he had only been invited here to observe. He was not interested in the conflict between his friend and the three people in front of him. Since they had already found this place, there was no point denying it. It was only an unimportant piece of information anyway. If admitting it could reduce trouble, then he might as well admit it.
"Sorry, we don't know much about the Cult of Diablos either. But may we come with you to that academic presentation you mentioned?"
Epsilon shook her head in denial. Although she had indeed found a little information on the two Round Table seats on this island, she had no intention of revealing it and only brushed the matter off.
"...Sure. Follow behind me. That guy was already complaining that too few people came anyway. But let me say this first. If you make a move against my friend there, then I'll have to act too."
After thinking it over, Azazel directly agreed to Epsilon's request for him to lead the way. After all, he knew the presentation was on the top floor. Hiding it was meaningless. They could find the location with a little investigation, so he only made his stance clear.
Epsilon did not answer, and Azazel did not mind. Making his position clear was enough. He did not want to interfere in other forces' affairs, but he still had to look after his friend a little.
"Oh, more people."
When Epsilon reached the top floor, the first person to greet her was a woman with pale green hair sitting in the front row of seats at what had already been converted into a presentation venue.
"The Third Primogenitor!"
Before Epsilon could react, Azazel had already recognized the other party's identity.
"Hi, Azazel."
The Third Primogenitor greeted him kindly, but Azazel's expression turned somewhat ugly. He suddenly had a very bad feeling.