Chapter 72
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Invasion and Encroachment (1)
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"But Reina! It's late!"
"Just a word, I just want to hear what he has to say. Does it make any sense not to even investigate?!"
A shout echoed late at night.
The city of Rihelm, situated on the outskirts of the continent, was a sizable city founded by the many who had once gathered to explore an ancient labyrinth.
Though now, with the labyrinth's exploration halted and the continent's power dynamics shifted toward the center, interest had waned, and it had lost its former glory, becoming a quiet city on the frontier.
"I heard the Vice Guildmaster already has it out for you. What are you going to do if you draw any more attention and get expelled?"
"...I don't care. I'll just go and get the full story before the Vice Guildmaster leaves."
She gritted her teeth. For any mage in this world, rising through the ranks to the central Mage's Guild, which held the world's power in its hands, was a universal aspiration.
But sometimes, some people valued other things more.
"I'm sorry, Deputy Director. For now..."
"W-we have an emergency!"
However, before she could even leave the office, the panicked face of a man appeared on the communication sphere humming on the Deputy Director's desk.
Faced with one problem after another, the Deputy Director rubbed his already thinning hair.
"Alright. What is it now, Bob? If you're making this much of a fuss over a trivial matter like unpaid wages for the laborers, you'll have me to answer to."
"We've lost contact with a large number of mages from the administration office, the ones on duty at the Labyrinth watch post!"
"...What?"
But the news that came this time was anything but trivial.
His eyes widened, and he met the gaze of Reina, who had been listening beside him.
"He's probably at the mansion with the Director right now. He's leaving early tomorrow."
"I-I'll go and talk to him. Deputy Director, you contact the mayor and send a search party immediately."
"R-right."
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the Deputy Director changed his tune.
Having found out the Vice Guildmaster's location, she hastily grabbed her coat and stormed out of the office.
'This was never a trivial matter...'
Crossing the night streets, she bit her lip against a growing sense of dread.
The labyrinth had been quiet for a long time, but the moonlight elves who were rebuilding their strength there had sent an urgent cry for help, even sending a child.
That was why the Vice Guildmaster's nonchalant response made no sense.
Of course, this was a thought Reina could have only because she was unaware that the Vice Guildmaster's mind was completely consumed by something else entirely, something she couldn't possibly imagine.
"W-wait! This is the residence of Director Orne of the Blakel Guild..."
"I am Reina, a research mage of the Guild! I need to see the Director—no, the Vice Guildmaster, immediately!"
She shouted, out of breath from running, at the guard blocking her path.
The guard flinched at her intensity and instinctively stepped aside.
She strode straight into the mansion. Since a crisis seemed to have already erupted, there was no need for hesitation.
"What is the meaning of this!"
So when the flustered Director himself appeared and bellowed at her, she stared right back at him.
"Hah... Did you not receive the communication? Something has happened."
"Something's happened?"
Director Orne's eyebrow twitched as he confronted her in the hallway.
Almost simultaneously, an old butler came rushing with something in his hands, then paused, sensing the tense atmosphere and eyeing the situation. In his hands was a communication sphere from which someone was shouting.
"Yes, Deputy Director. What in the world is going on?"
The Director clicked his tongue, took the crystal sphere, and received the report from the Deputy Director on the screen.
Reina listened quietly. She only needed to stand there and listen as the Director's face hardened on its own.
"I-it could be nothing."
The Director broke out in a cold sweat, desperately trying to deny reality.
The news was too shocking, coming just as he was celebrating his imminent promotion to the central branch.
"Director. The mages' lives are in danger. And we have the testimony from the elf who was rescued from the labyrinth this morning, saying there was a problem!"
"So?"
"Let me see the elf child. At the very least, you must take appropriate action. This is not a trivial matter!"
Reina cried out in frustration at his inaction. But the Director's state was becoming stranger.
His eyes trembled more violently, and sweat poured down his face. It was a stark contrast to his usual authoritarian and high-handed demeanor with his subordinates.
"Th-that's... that is..."
"Calm down. Both of you."
It was then that the Vice Guildmaster appeared. With his neatly trimmed beard and sharp eyes, he always carried a certain weight, and now he commanded the scene with a solemn voice.
"It seems the problem is indeed serious. Director. Let's go to the laboratory with her."
"Y-yes...? Yes?! But!"
"Are you going to defy me now?"
The Vice Guildmaster's eyes flashed as he pressed the pale-faced Director.
Reina wondered why the Director was reacting this way, but she quickly dismissed it. That wasn't what was important right now.
"This way."
He led the Director and Reina to the basement laboratory located beneath the mansion.
Reina was inwardly impressed. For a personal laboratory and a basement facility, it was filled with remarkably sophisticated equipment.
"Ah..?"
"It was quite fascinating. The patterns they engrave on their bodies from a young age are continuously influenced by magic as they grow, developing into a special kind of organ. It was excellent material for studying magic circulation."
But Reina was speechless at the sight that unfolded before her.
"H-how could you..."
No, she was more than speechless; the shock was enough to make her mind go blank for a moment.
The eyes of the boy, whose severed head was floating in a test tube, detached from his body, were lifeless.
"You should have known when to stop."
-Non-lethal mode-
While she was reeling from the shock, he pulled something from his coat, aimed it in an instant, and fired at her chest.
There was no time to cast a spell in response. Needles shot out in a flash, piercing her clothes and digging into her body, and a powerful electric shock knocked her unconscious.
"A-amazing, sir. What in the world is that strange device...?"
"It's something to protect myself in case of an emergency. Don't worry about it. Orne, you just handle the cleanup."
"I-is she dead?"
"No."
He nudged the fallen Reina with his foot and smirked at the Director's question.
"I need a test subject to apply the data I've gathered from dissecting this indigenous elf species. Preferably one with magic."
"Don't tell me..."
"Lock her up securely. We'll use her later. After we deal with whatever this problem is first. Not that it matters if a few rejects who couldn't even get into the Guild have gone missing."
Ignoring the horrified Director, he put the gun back into his coat.
He was quite meticulous. This gun was an item he had obtained from his current, temporary ally.
It was a weapon meant for sniping any Units or Players from this world who might threaten his life.
'No matter how many of these foolish mages come at me, they're no match for my magic and these weapons combined. The only remaining problem is the Execution Ticket, perhaps?'
He smirked, then berated the Director and sent him away to deal with the problem outside.
[Don't be careless. This is a fundamental principle, Roses. Never, ever be careless.]
"I know! That's why I'm being so damn careful! No swordsman or mage will ever lay a hand on me!"
Now alone, he snapped in irritation at the voice whispering in his head.
*
"Search quickly!"
"What's the status of the detection magic?!"
"It's almost ready!"
Well into the late hours of the night, a large number of people left the city and entered the forest.
This forest, deliberately left undeveloped instead of being turned into farmland, was designated a restricted area due to the labyrinth's presence. As such, it wasn't suitable terrain for a large group to traverse.
"Deputy Director. Don't you think we brought too many people...?"
"I had no choice. It was the Director's order."
The Deputy Director gave a bitter smile at the words of the city's garrison commander who had accompanied him.
The Director, who had shown little reaction during the initial report, had suddenly called and urged him to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
'Did that girl Reina do something again? Should I have waited?'
With an unsettled mind, he glanced around his surroundings.
The forest was dark and eerie. If not for the presence of nearly a hundred people, the place would have felt truly unsettling.
It seemed like overkill, but in this region, which had been completely stabilized, the disappearance of a group of mages—even if they were unaffiliated and unrecognized—was not something to be taken lightly.
"Detection magic!"
"Ready now!"
"Good. Everyone, halt! Cease all movement!"
He ordered all personnel to stop for the casting of the detection magic.
A few mages took their positions in the center, unfolding a piece of paper with a complex magic circle drawn on it and forming a triangle.
"Ooh. Is that it?"
"It's a spell the Eucaleria Guild, who specialize in magic circles, proudly unveiled. It can detect anything of a certain size that moves."
He explained the magic, puffing his chest out a bit at the garrison commander's impressed reaction.
The spell was nearing completion. As intended by the mages, a faint magical wind spread out in all directions, carried by the breeze.
"Anything it picks up will now appear on the magic circle, so place the map over it. The scale is identical to the map."
As he commanded, the prepared map was laid over the magic circle.
Sure enough, a response came almost immediately.
"Oh! Could these shining dots be... th..."
The garrison commander's face lit up as he pointed to a spot where glowing dots were appearing.
However, his excitement quickly died, and he trailed off.
"Wh-what is this..."
The Deputy Director was just as speechless, his face instantly turning pale.
A murmur spread through the crowd as they saw the result. The dots appearing on the map increased from one or two to dozens, then hundreds, appearing in a continuous stream with no sign of stopping.
The dots gathered, as if they would form a solid surface.
"...Oh no."
That was when the Deputy Director, finally tearing his eyes from the magic circle, saw them.
The black waves, which had been hiding in the shadows of the dark forest.