Chapter 33
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 33
Magic is a profound field of study.
Even mages of different schools often know next to nothing about each other’s crafts.
So, what could Lucian—who hadn't known a lick of magic until recently—possibly know?
He was simply poking around at random and throwing out plausible-sounding words. After all, he had to get the man to open his mouth before any interrogation could truly begin.
‘What even is this magic? Were these bastards really planning some kind of ritual?’
He had poked the bushes, and something had indeed slithered out. Whether it was a common earthworm or a venomous snake, however, remained to be seen.
Lucian spoke again, intending to dig a little deeper.
“Of course, this is merely my conjecture. I’m no mage, so I don’t know the exact details of the ritual.”
He made sure to leave himself an out. He couldn't pretend to know everything; if their stories contradicted each other, his lack of knowledge would be exposed in an instant.
“So you were trying to trick me after all!”
The young man’s distrust deepened as a side effect, but that wasn't a problem. The prisoner knew even less about magic than Lucian did.
Lucian lowered his voice, setting a heavy atmosphere.
“However, only Black Magic can bind incompatible monsters together and force them to move on such a massive scale. Didn’t that mage tell you to install certain objects to serve as anchor points in the surrounding area?”
“...!”
“If he really gave such an order, then he’s definitely a Black Mage. Unlike ordinary mages, a Black Mage must first pollute the natural mana in that manner before they can cast their spells.”
“T-That can’t be!”
The young man’s eyes darted wildly through the air.
The installation of the anchor points requested by the mage was a top-secret matter known only to a few within the Empire Liberation Front. How could a man who hadn't even set foot near the Yellow Forest know such a thing?
“I-If what you say is true, what happens then?”
“What do you think? I told you already. It’s a large-scale sacrificial ritual. Though I have no idea what he intends to achieve through it.”
“...!”
“Tell me. Are you people planning to massacre us at the cost of your own lives? Is this really a contract made with full knowledge and consent regarding the ritual’s contents?”
The young man fell silent, his head dropping low.
Doubt still lingered. But if they had all been deceived by the words of a wicked Black Mage... if not just him, but even the executives had been fooled without knowing a thing...
‘...I have to stop this!’
He wouldn't hesitate to give his life if it were for the liberation of his motherland. But to die just to satisfy the selfish greed of a Black Mage would be a dog's death—utterly meaningless.
The young man grit his teeth and looked up.
“If I tell you the details, can you stop this evil ritual?”
Lucian gave the youth a solemn look and nodded.
“I will make sure of it.”
“Sigh.”
The young man let out a long breath, seemingly having made up his mind. A moment later, the information he had been guarding began to flow.
“I don’t know much about the mages myself. I only know that the higher-ups brought two mages with them one day. They said they were reinforcements.”
One appeared to be in his thirties, while the other looked to be somewhere between middle-aged and elderly.
The younger one introduced himself as belonging to the Celestial School, and the older one claimed to be from the Beast School.
“Naturally, we had no way of knowing what those schools were. We rarely even see magic; how could we know the hierarchy of their factions?”
“That’s true enough.”
Lucian nodded in agreement, as if validating the man’s defense. Perhaps reassured by this attitude, the young man’s voice grew slightly lighter.
“The mage from the Celestial School didn't really do much. He said he had to accumulate mana and store his strength for later. In contrast, the one who called himself a Beast School mage was very active.”
Controlling the monsters, carving the totems to serve as anchor points, and deciding where to place them—it was all the work of the Beast School mage.
While the Celestial School mage did nothing and gave no orders, the Beast School mage was excessively enthusiastic. Eventually, he even began demanding freshly caught animals, claiming they were necessary to strengthen the magic.
“Everyone’s resentment grew because this mage who appeared out of nowhere kept bossing us around. But the leadership told us to accommodate his requests as much as possible, so we had no choice.”
“And you gave him everything he asked for?”
“He said the magic wouldn't have its full power without freshly caught animals, so we had to comply.”
The Beast School mage had emphasized several times that the sacrifices had to be animals, not monsters or humans. His comrades swallowed their annoyance and hunted for him, convinced by his claim that only animals imbued with the essence of nature would be effective as offerings.
Fortunately, after receiving a few animals, the mage seemed quite satisfied and made no further demands.
“He kept the totems inside the animals' bellies for a few days, then took them out once they were stained bright red and distributed them. He told us to install them in specific locations, saying it was the most important stage of the plan.”
“And that day was today. You were caught while returning from installing a totem, weren't you?”
The young man fell silent at Lucian’s words. It seemed he wanted to stop the Black Mage but still wished to avoid giving away more information than necessary.
Lucian scowled openly and crouched down in front of the youth.
“I understand being cautious since we’re enemies, but do you really need to hide information even in this situation?”
“....”
“You know nothing about magic, and I don’t know that much either. Even if we put everything we know together, there might still be gaps. And yet you’re picking and choosing what to reveal? Do you actually want to prevent a tragedy?”
At those words, the young man bit his lip so hard it bled. He seemed torn between the lingering hope for the ‘plan’ and the fear that his actions might constitute a betrayal.
Lucian waited patiently for him to reach a conclusion. Adding more words now would only make the boy more likely to shut down.
After dozens of seconds, the young man spoke with great difficulty.
“In three days, the mages plan to lead the monsters in an attack on Greve City, located behind Bornholm Castle.”
“Greve? That’s just an ordinary city. It’s densely populated, but it has almost no strategic value.”
“Correct. It is strictly a diversionary attack. Since it’s the most populous city in the area, Bornholm Castle will be forced to dispatch reinforcements if it’s attacked by a monster horde. The true objective is Bornholm Castle once the reinforcements have left.”
“...!”
Raymond, who had been listening quietly, flinched. He knew they were up to something, but they were actually going to attack the castle?
Bornholm Castle was a recognized iron fortress. How could a group without a proper army pull that off?
‘It would be difficult even with proper siege weapons. Can they really do it with just a monster horde and two mages?’
“The mage from the Celestial School is supposed to destroy the walls. They said he’s been conserving his strength for a spell to be used on that single day.”
The young man immediately answered Raymond’s unspoken question.
The walls shattered by magic, followed by a tide of monsters pouring inside? No matter how well-defended the castle was, it would undoubtedly fall into utter chaos. If the castle’s defenses were paralyzed, the Liberation Front would be free to run wild and achieve their goals.
“That is all I have to say.”
The young man’s mouth clamped shut. He seemed to think that since he had revealed everything involving the mages, there was no need to disclose anything further.
Lucian was satisfied enough and nodded with a pleased smile.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, there won't be any innocent victims.”
“....”
Despite Lucian’s praise, the young man showed no sign of opening his mouth again. He truly intended to say no more.
Having finished the conversation, Lucian stepped away from the bound youth to call for men to transport him to the castle.
At that moment, Raymond, who had been silent until now, approached with an exclamation of awe.
“That was incredible, Young Master. When did you study magic?”
“What magic?”
“You said earlier that they were polluting the surrounding mana by installing anchor points. I’ve never heard of Black Mages using such a method.”
“Of course you haven't. Because it’s not a method used only by Black Mages.”
“...Pardon?”
“Installing something to serve as an anchor point—whether it’s a totem or a mark—to amplify magic is a common technique used by mages. It’s not limited to Black Mages.”
Raymond stared at Lucian with a blank expression. Hadn't he spoken earlier as if it were a method exclusive to Black Mages?
Reading the confusion on his face, Lucian gave a short laugh.
“I threw out a few bluffs to dig for information. They probably never even imagined the possibility of a real Black Mage being involved. If they think they might be victims themselves, they’ll naturally start talking, won't they?”
“T-Then, was it all a lie?”
“Half of it was a lie. Though it seems the other half was true.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, there’s good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”
Raymond felt a subtle sense of unease at Lucian’s words. Since they had uncovered the enemy’s plan, shouldn't there only be good news?
“I’ll hear the good news first.”
“The good news is that I’ve figured out the enemy’s plan.”
“I heard that as well, standing right here.”
“I’m not talking about the Empire Liberation Front’s plan. I’m talking about the mages’ plan.”
Raymond was confused again. Was he saying the mages had different intentions than the Empire Liberation Front?
“I’m not sure I follow, but it seems you’ve realized something. I’ll ask about that later... What is the bad news?”
Lucian replied with a bitter smile.
“It wasn't just a bluff; there really is a Black Mage. It looks like the Empire Liberation Front bastards have been played.”
“...!?”
Lucian immediately sent the prisoner from the Empire Liberation Front to the castle. At the same time, he summoned Tristan for an emergency meeting.
“I interrogated the prisoner briefly before you arrived, Brother.”
“...I told you not to concern yourself with this, yet you go and pull something like this anyway.”
Tristan’s face soured. He clearly didn't appreciate Lucian’s tendency to keep escalating matters.
Seeing Tristan making no effort to hide his displeasure, Lucian simply shrugged.
“You seem upset, but I have even more upsetting news. There is a Black Mage among the Empire Liberation Front.”
“What?”
“They seem to be hiding as unauthorized mages, so the Front doesn't even know yet. You should understand what this means, Brother.”
Tristan fell silent, his expression turning grave.
Unauthorized mages were generally people who were forced into hiding. If not for the Imperial pursuit, they would want to reveal themselves and gain proper status.
But Black Mages were different.
‘They don't care about social status; they only want sacrifices and scapegoats.’
The very direction of a Black Mage’s life was centered on destroying social order. There was no way such people would cooperate with the Empire Liberation Front for the sake of political power. It had to be assumed they were merely using the Front to get what they needed.
“The Empire Liberation Front intends to bring down Bornholm Castle with the help of magic. The Black Mage likely plans to piggyback on that.”
“Do they intend to use the residents of Bornholm Castle as sacrifices?”
“Hardly.”
Lucian shook his head at Tristan’s guess.
“Bornholm Castle has high strategic value, but it’s not exactly a pleasant place to live. It’s a location that becomes the front line the moment war breaks out. Most of the population lives in Greve City, behind the castle.”
“But the Empire Liberation Front has no reason to target Greve City, do they? It’s just a populous city with nothing else of note. It’s nothing more than a waypoint that would fall instantly once Bornholm is breached.”
“From what I’ve heard, they plan to target it as a feint. The plan was to strike Bornholm Castle once its strength was depleted by sending reinforcements to Greve.”
“...Wait a moment. Let us organize this.”
The Empire Liberation Front’s original goal was to attack Bornholm Castle while feigning an assault on Greve City. Since the destruction of Bornholm Castle would deal a massive blow to the Empire, there was no other logical target.
However, for a Black Mage, the attractive target isn't Bornholm Castle—it’s Greve City, with its large population to be used as sacrifices.
And coincidentally, the mages were scheduled to send the monster horde to Greve City first for the diversion before joining the main force.
“The Black Mage is using the Empire Liberation Front to secure sacrifices in Greve City, and then he plans to vanish.”
“...!”