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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 180: The Alliance Head of the Magic Tower Alliance
"... ..."
"... Huh."
Miscalculation.
I had underestimated our elders.
While I succeeded in diverting their attention with the Demon realm core, it only fueled their fire.
To think they'd be this passionate...
A squabble ensued, led by Head Elder Norman and Elder Isaac, followed by a seemingly endless debate.
The situation only calmed down after Agouro provided them with another private room.
"Why won't you divide this, Head Elder!"
"It's more efficient to use it in one room! If we divide it, the effect of the magic stones will decrease."
"Your wicked greed is acting up again."
"What was that?"
Strictly speaking, it wasn't completely resolved.
Shouts could still be heard intermittently from the private room.
What could I do?
It was my karma.
To think that the few magic stones I had given them before would lead to this.
"... Haha, the elders are all so passionate."
I nodded inwardly at Fichte's words, meant to lighten the mood.
'Indeed they are.'
It was a bit chaotic, but this was also Samael's strength.
Somehow, the elders' faces seemed a bit younger too.
Anyway, I didn't expect them to come all the way from Khaoto.
They must have been quite worried since the incident in Urgon.
They must have been keeping an ear out for what was happening in Keplan from that distance.
Feeling a strange sense of unease, I looked around and said to Agouro,
"You said the Alliance Head was looking for me."
Agouro replied,
"Yes. Are you ready now?"
"Let's go right away. You can wait here. Let's talk separately when I get back. If it gets late, you can reserve a separate place to stay."
Fichte nodded.
"We'll be waiting."
I followed Agouro out the door and headed to the top floor of the Alliance.
As soon as Agouro activated the magic circle at the end of the 7th-floor corridor, the scenery changed, and a narrow passageway appeared.
Portraits of someone were lined up in a row on both walls.
Agouro cautiously approached the Alliance Head's office, visible at the end of the passage, and then turned around.
"Please wait here. I'll inform him of your arrival."
I nodded, and Agouro carefully opened the door and went inside.
'Hmm.'
I was wondering why there was no guard.
Now that I looked closely, it seemed like a magic circle was installed on the door.
The flow of mana that leaked out when Agouro opened the door was unusual.
As I looked at the portraits on the wall, I suddenly felt strange.
All the portraits depicted the same man's face.
'What a peculiar taste.'
By the way, Agouro clearly said he would only inform the Alliance Head...
Several minutes passed, then a long while, but there was no news at all.
There was no sign of him coming out.
Usually, in cases like this, it's one of two things:
The Alliance Head has changed his mind.
Or there's an unexpected guest.
Given the circumstances, the latter was more likely.
Suddenly, as I felt the flow of mana leaking from inside, I stared intently at the door.
Swoosh—!
The door opened by itself, and a man suddenly appeared.
'This is interesting.'
I recognized him the moment our eyes met.
Dozens of strands of blond hair, braided and tied back, wriggled like living creatures, with snake mouths at the ends.
Snakes for hair.
The man walked towards me.
I also slowly approached him.
The passage was narrow.
The moment we crossed paths,
"Hey."
The man looked at me.
"Are you Ruin Samael, by any chance?"
I looked at the man.
"How did you know?"
"I had a feeling."
I was more focused on his hair than his face.
It felt like dozens of pairs of yellow snake eyes were staring at me.
"You're quite famous. You look younger than I expected."
"I don't know what you mean by 'younger than expected.'"
"I have a question for you."
"I have a question for you too. But I have a prior engagement."
As I walked past him, an invisible, sticky force pressed against me.
"Is this a threat?"
"You'll have enough time to answer one question."
"How bothersome."
As I turned my back, the man asked,
"Do you know who I am?"
"The head of the Bellusia clan."
The man smirked, and the snake mouths on his hair stretched wide, mimicking his smile.
"If you knew that, you'd know how to behave in front of me."
The man asked,
"Did you see my son in the Demon realm?"
"What's your question?"
"My son went missing in the Demon realm. Did you see him?"
"I did."
"Tell me."
"He disappeared somewhere."
"In detail."
"He went off alone to some strange rat hole."
I stared intently into the man's eyes and said,
"You must have heard about the general situation, so I'll get straight to the point. There was artificial intervention in this Demon realm incident. I believe the mastermind was also present within the Demon realm."
"What do you mean?"
"I suspect your son."
"An interesting statement."
One of the snake mouths on the man's head widened its eyes vertically.
Hiss—!
The invisible force pressing against my body suddenly doubled in intensity.
A sticky serpentine aura enveloped me.
It was an aura I hadn't felt in a long time.
The moment I opened my circles and broke free from the pressure, a subtle glint flashed in the man's eyes, but it was fleeting.
"How dare you."
Just then, I sensed a flow of mana from behind, and the door opened, revealing Agouro's voice.
"Crazy Mage Commander. Please come in."
Agouro's eyes darted between me and the Bellusia family head, his expression quickly filling with panic.
The Bellusia clan head, who had been staring at me with an unreadable expression, finally spoke.
"We'll meet again."
"Indeed, we shall."
I watched the retreating figure of the Bellusia family head, then followed Agouro into the office.
* * *
The Alliance Head's office was surprisingly modest.
A small window frame and a small wooden table.
It felt like looking at a single room occupied by some rural handyman.
A white-haired old man sitting across the table gestured to me.
"Welcome. Please have a seat, Crazy Mage Commander."
I recognized his face.
The white-haired old man who was with the Bellusia clan head when I first saw him at the Alliance.
I had only seen his back then, but seeing him like this felt a bit different.
I sat down on the small wooden chair and asked,
"Are you the Alliance Head?"
There was a reason for my blunt tone.
It was the same tone I used with Porter, with the Bellusia clan head, and now with this man.
Despite my direct question, the old man replied without a change in his expression.
"Indeed. I am Agriche. I also oversee the upper floor of the White Magic Tower."
"You're one of the Upper Tower Heads?"
"That's right."
"Who is higher, you or Mahon?"
A subtle look of curiosity appeared on the Alliance Head's face.
"Have you met the 13th Floor Head?"
"The 13th Floor, was it? I met him recently, within the Alliance."
The Alliance Head tilted his head slightly and replied,
"Our status is the same. There is no higher or lower."
I nodded inwardly.
He gave off a similar feeling to Mahon.
I couldn't sense any magical aura from him, but there was something ambiguous about him.
However, unlike Mahon, he didn't give off an irritating feeling.
"You've done well, Crazy Mage Commander. Thanks to you, we were able to prevent significant damage."
No.
He's different from Mahon.
As the Alliance Head showed signs of getting to the main point, I felt the aura of someone responsible for a massive organization.
It wasn't a matter of strength.
It was a similar atmosphere to when I spoke with the heads of the Vassal Clan or the Divine Clan.
I also got straight to the point.
"Have you found anything?"
"It's indeed a double Demon realm. There was a special-grade Demon realm beneath 'Hexen's Tomb.' They concealed the special-grade Demon realm with a magic circle."
"Is that naturally possible?"
The Alliance Head shook his head.
"It was artificial intervention. Quite sophisticated. Chronologically, the special-grade Demon realm was open first. They waited until a Level 1 Demon realm opened nearby and then connected the two."
"I don't understand the specifics, but it sounds complicated. Did you find out who's behind it?"
The Alliance Head sighed.
"All our investigation teams have been deployed, but there's no concrete evidence. It was meticulously planned to avoid the headquarters' eyes. However, one thing is certain."
The Alliance Head looked straight at me.
"There's a traitor within the Alliance. We believe there might be more than one. There are traces of interference in the barrier as well."
"What about Bellusia?"
The Alliance Head suddenly asked me,
"Did you happen to meet the Blood King Serpent just now?"
"I saw the Bellusia clan head."
"Then you might have the same suspicion."
The Alliance Head continued,
"It's unlikely that the entire Bellusia clan is involved. There's no connection between the Bellusia young master and the Blood King Serpent. There were no signs in the southern jungle. Moreover, it was confirmed that the Blood King Serpent was visiting the Zick clan at that time."
[TL/N: Zick is not the confirmed spell :)]
How much of the Alliance Head's words could I trust?
Of course, I also got the same feeling as the Alliance Head when I saw the Bellusia family head just now.
At first, I suspected that the Bellusia family head might be a Half-Mask, but it didn't seem like it.
He didn't seem to know anything.
Just pure rage stemming from the death of his heir.
But I couldn't jump to conclusions.
"Demon."
I couldn't help but look straight at the Alliance Head when I suddenly heard his voice.
"What did you just say?"
"Amazing, Crazy Mage Commander. Seeing your reaction, you must have suspected it too."
"... ..."
"Those monsters that came out of the Demon realm this time. Strictly speaking, they're not monsters. They're a race of demi-humans called the 'Black Clan' that was eradicated in the past."
"... ..."
"The real problem is that they're not ordinary Black Clan members. No matter how I look at it, it's strange. Some of their characteristics match those of the monsters described in ancient texts."
I looked at the Alliance Head and asked,
"By ancient texts, do you mean legends?"
"Legends are often based on truth. And if those were truly monsters, there's a high probability that demons, their superior species, also exist. But how do you know about this?"
When I didn't answer, the Alliance Head continued,
"Well, it's even more unbelievable that you came back alive from there. Anyway, it's not a simple matter. It's difficult to judge based on the revealed information alone. I thought the recent events in the Demon realms were unusual, but perhaps the Vassal Clan, or maybe even someone higher, is involved."
If the Alliance Head was an Upper Tower Head of the White Magic Tower, it wasn't surprising that he knew this information.
But in the end, there was no concrete information.
The mastermind remained unknown.
If there was any consolation, it was that this incident had brought those who had been hiding in the shadows to the surface.
I didn't know their purpose, but whoever orchestrated all this was extremely reluctant to reveal their identity.
They were concealing their collusion with demons and moving in secrecy.
It was the same with the Half-Mask.
At least it was revealed that the next head of the Bellusia clan had tried to massacre people in the joint Demon realm.
Everyone had witnessed it, so there was no room for him to escape.
Information about the monsters would also spread soon.
That alone would severely restrict their movements.
I said to the Alliance Head,
"Oh, by the way, have you seen Black Star?"
"Black Star? Are you talking about Balthar's Black Star?"
"You haven't seen him?"
"Why bring up Black Star all of a sudden?"
The Alliance Head tilted his head and looked at me.
"This matter will be reported to the Divine Clan as soon as it's settled. Now that the issue has surfaced, we need to be fully prepared. But I don't think you brought up Black Star because of that. Do you have any other suspicions?"
"... No. I was just curious. If you happen to see Black Star, please let me know."
It was strange.
He had vanished without a trace after we left the Demon realm.
Neither Agouro, nor the fools, nor the Alliance Head here had seen Black Star since we returned.
'Hmm.'
For now, I had heard all the information I could get from the Alliance Head.
I couldn't be sure if he had told me everything or if he was hiding something.
I also deliberately didn't mention the Half-Mask or Black Star.
As I was about to leave, I suddenly became curious and looked at the Alliance Head.
"Mahon said he wanted to talk to me about incantations. What do you think?"
"Mahon said that?"
"He did."
"That's unusual."
The Alliance Head nodded.
"It wouldn't be bad to have a conversation with him. You might learn a lot."
"I see. If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."
"I'll let you know if there's any news."
As I closed the door and left, I turned around one last time.
"When will the contribution points be calculated?"
"It will take some time."
"Please do it as soon as possible. There are some places I need to go."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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