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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 137: The Night of the Mages (2)
The Basement of the Artificial Island.
Ninth Prince Berkan entered the AI control room, escorted by the Royal Guards.
Inside, workers brought in by the imperial family were already moving around, collecting data.
As he glanced over the chaotic interior, he asked,
“Have you found anything?”
“We have discovered numerous traces of an intense battle.”
The Royal Guard reported the findings from the preliminary investigation.
“There is only one trace of a person present. Hair strands, torn fabric, and footprints… all belong to Oscar Crucian.”
“He couldn’t have fought alone.”
“No, sir. This significantly raises the credibility of his report regarding the homunculus.”
“Hm.”
Berkan stroked his chin.
He had already heard Oscar’s report, but verifying the facts was essential.
After all, soul transmutation and similar experiments were strictly prohibited by the Empire.
“Is there a possibility he fabricated the information?”
“We believe it’s impossible. Over 40 distinct magical patterns have been detected in this location. In other words, it would be nearly impossible for him to stage this alone.”
“I see.”
Crunch, crack.
As Berkan stepped forward, shards of broken glass crunched beneath his shoes.
He crouched down to examine them, prompting a knight beside him to add,
“Analysis suggests that the material forming the glass chamber is an ultra-durable glass, presumably crafted by Dwarves. It’s dozens of times stronger than steel.”
“Hm. How did it break, then?”
“The dispersion pattern of the shards suggests it wasn’t shattered from the outside.”
“…It was broken from the inside?”
“Yes.”
Intrigued, Berkan circled the spot where the glass chamber once stood.
“How peculiar. There wouldn't have been a door on the chamber. How did anything get inside?”
“We don’t know, but it likely possessed a unique magic ability such as ‘spatial movement.’”
“Spatial movement, huh?”
Time and space—two subjects that even humanity’s ancient magical traditions had yet to fully grasp.
The possibility that someone had wielded such magic made it a crucial piece of information.
“What else have you learned?”
“The opponent, presumed to be a homunculus, had at least high-tier magic reserves. It likely used the energy from the magic power plant on the opposite side of the basement. The fact that Oscar managed to defeat such an entity means his own magic reserves must be on par.”
“Hm. That makes sense.”
No matter how skilled one is in magic control or spell composition, overwhelming mana can render those skills meaningless.
In other words, Oscar Crucian met the conditions to contend with a being of such immense mana.
Berkan continued his questioning.
“According to the imperial records on Oscar Crucian from a few years ago, his mana reserves were at an ordinary level. Where do you think he obtained such immense power?”
“……”
The Royal Guards exchanged uneasy glances, hesitant to answer.
The imperial family kept close track of the distribution of powerful elixirs.
As far as they knew, the only substances Oscar had consumed recently were the illegal potion that erased his memories and the core of the Heavenly Silkworm.
“Even if he had taken a stronger elixir, it wouldn’t explain this level of power. Correct?”
“That is correct.”
“Then we need to take a different approach.”
It wasn’t just a matter of consuming an elixir.
Berkan tapped his staff lightly before speaking again.
“To my knowledge, harmony-type mages accumulate magic power at the slowest rate. But the White Tower had a breathing technique that overcame that flaw.”
“But that technique… it was lost during the Demon invasion.”
“If they managed to restore the Cadena vaccine and cure, we can’t rule out the possibility of that technique being recovered as well.”
Having reached his conclusion, Berkan surveyed the area and issued his orders.
“The AI-controlled management system for the island’s facilities will be replaced with magic engineering. How long will it take?”
“About five days.”
“Not bad. Also, I will personally report everything that happened here to His Majesty.”
It was now almost certain that the previous Emperor had dabbled in forbidden magic.
Any leaks regarding the events that transpired here had to be prevented at all costs.
Turning to the workers, he instructed,
“Ensure their silence with Oath Parchments.”
* * *
“Oscar! There are so many people…!”
“I almost attacked them, thinking they were just another illusion created by the homunculus.”
As they awoke one by one, the misfits instinctively gathered in Oscar’s room.
It was as if they had some kind of homing instinct, like pigeons returning to their nest.
Oscar briefly summarized his conversation with Berkan while they were unconscious.
“…The imperial family didn’t know anything about the homunculus? Does that even make sense?”
Naturally suspicious, Veronica didn’t believe it at face value.
“The imperial family is known for knowing everything. But isn’t it strange that there are no historical records related to the artificial island, which was a massive project?”
“I agree. There’s a possibility that the imperial family deliberately used us as their vanguard.”
“Hm.”
Even Killian’s comment made Oscar reconsider.
‘Indeed, even in my past life, the imperial family’s reputation wasn’t particularly good.’
If anything, they leaned toward the opposite extreme.
More people feared and resented them than respected them.
However, Oscar himself had a relatively positive impression of the imperial family.
That was likely because of his mentor, who had facilitated his interactions with the Emperor since childhood.
Still deep in thought, Oscar turned to Fran, who was standing by the window, and asked,
“What do you think?”
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“Hmm.”
Fran, who had been looking down at the busy imperial officials moving outside, replied.
“Even if they’re from the same imperial family, wouldn’t it depend on their status? Who was it that said that?”
“Berkan de Calderan, the ninth prince, apparently.”
“The ninth prince?”
“Uh…”
At the mention of the ninth prince, the expressions of the three became awkward.
“Why do you all look like that?”
“No, it's just… surprising. You don’t know the rumors about him?”
“I don’t.”
Judging by their expressions, the rumors weren’t good.
But from what he had seen, there was nothing particularly odd about the man.
He had a somewhat sickly image, but he was handsome, gentle, and even had a nice voice.
“Ah, right. That damn amnesia of yours again? I swear, you’re amazing. You remember all sorts of useless old stuff, but manage to forget only the important things.”
Ignoring the guilty feeling creeping in, Oscar responded shamelessly.
“How should I know? Anyway, explain it to me.”
“He’s famous for being excluded from all major imperial events.”
“Why? Did he commit some serious crime?”
“It’s a bit ambiguous… Do you know that he’s cursed and limps on one leg?”
“Yeah. He told me.”
“Well, that makes this easier to explain. The ninth prince was suddenly cursed as a child, and there are rumors that it had something to do with demon summoning.”
“…Demons?”
Oscar’s eyes narrowed, and Fran lowered his voice.
“As you know, being the ninth prince puts him at the bottom of the line of succession.”
“He’s practically unqualified to even compete for the throne.”
That’s because the position of the crown prince, who was already in his mid-forties, was far too secure.
Unlike his father, he had a fiery temper, but apart from that, he was highly competent.
Because of that, he had the largest faction, and everyone saw him as the next ruler of the empire.
“But then a problem arose. The ninth prince was too talented from a young age, so his mother, the seventh empress, began to harbor ambitions for the throne.”
“…Even though she had no chance of winning?”
Of course, an emperor couldn’t be incompetent.
In fact, the more capable they were, the better.
But there was one thing even more important than that—legitimacy.
“Exactly. Neither the imperial subjects nor the royal family wanted a settled issue to become complicated again. But the seventh empress couldn’t let go of her lingering attachment… and about fifteen years ago, she suddenly disappeared and was confined to a secluded palace.”
“Confined?”
Oscar looked slightly surprised.
‘Uncle Emperor isn’t that cold-hearted of a person.’
He was so generous that even the half-brother who had fought him for the throne was merely exiled to the provinces.
And yet, he had confined his own wife?
Veronica, who had been quietly listening, chimed in.
“She must have done something serious, then.”
“Probably. But the strange part is that it happened around the same time the ninth prince lost the use of his leg. Rumors spread that the seventh empress had tried to summon a demon and something went wrong.”
“Hmm.”
Fifteen years ago.
That was shortly after the war with the demons had ended—when hatred toward them was still strong.
“……It’s not impossible. If the demon summoning was real, they wouldn’t have been able to execute the empress, so imprisoning her for life would have been the best option.”
“Exactly. Since then, the ninth prince has been completely excluded from all official imperial events. That’s why I was so surprised earlier—it’s shocking that he was even given permission to leave the palace.”
Oscar had thought he’d found a useful connection within the imperial family, but it turned out to be a lost cause.
Clicking his tongue, he muttered,
“So, does that mean he’s regained some trust if they’re letting him out now?”
“Well, in the rumors, the ninth prince is a victim. He only lost his leg because of his mother’s madness.”
“If that’s all there is to it, then it would be a waste to let such a capable person go to waste.”
Especially since Uncle Emperor highly valued talent.
He wasn’t the type to care about birth or status as long as someone was competent.
‘If he was assigned to oversee such an important event, then he must have spent the last fifteen years proving himself tirelessly.’
Still, after hearing such unsettling rumors, Oscar decided he should keep some distance.
“In any case, the imperial family probably didn’t set us up on purpose. There’s not enough motive for that.”
“What if they wanted to use us to gather information since they lacked data on the artificial island?”
“They wouldn’t need to use us for that. They could easily handle it on their own.”
There was only one reason he was so sure.
The ninth prince hadn’t just brought workers—he had brought the Royal Guard as well.
The Royal Guard only served the imperial family, and their exceptional skills were well known.
“With the Royal Guard here, they could wipe out those homunculi we fought in an instant if they wanted to.”
“Hm, now that you mention it, that makes sense.”
Veronica nodded but then pouted.
“Still, I don’t like it. Whatever the reason, we still suffered through all that.”
The ninth prince had already earned her resentment.
Oscar, seeing no need to defend him, simply shrugged.
“Well, at least the imperial family has agreed to handle the cleanup from now on, so let’s just rest until the other mages arrive.”
There was just one week left until the Night of the Mages began.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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