Chapter 36
Chapter 36
The plan had begun.
Tillis would chase me, carrying the book of Lemegheton close to my chest.
I had already sent the invitation to Cult.
All that was left was for me to lead Coran Lekias into his area of greatest confidence.
The only thing to worry about was how to lure Cult in.
I already had that figured out too.
“Hello, Mr. Johan.”
“...Ah, yes. Hello.”
Deep in a remote mountain, I had called Cult to a small cabin, and he had readily accepted my invitation.
Even though anyone could see it was a trap, he hadn’t cared.
He had probably shaken off Robelia’s surveillance as well, making every effort to step right into the trap on his own.
Of course, Cult must have been confident he could escape any trap.
And that was because the bait I had set was worth the risk.
“What should I do for you? Judging by the circumstances, you’re either the Saint or Ex Machina, right?”
“...Exactly.”
As always, Cult smiled brightly and extended his hand to me.
He had seen through the plan I was setting up with perfect clarity.
A true prophet.
That saved me the trouble of explaining. Time was tight anyway, so that worked out.
“Yes, there’s been a stalker following me lately. I’d like you to take care of that.”
“Indeed, Your Highness must have felt uneasy returning to the royal court recently.”
“...Exactly.”
So that’s why Robelia had been missing. She had returned to the royal court?
Had it already been that long?
I hadn’t realized how much time had passed, being pulled about so recklessly.
Once this was over, I’d really need to take it slow for a while.
“Alright. The information you’re going to share is crucial to us.”
Cult smiled, then untied the bandages over his eyes.
Blue eyes appeared.
Eyes as if they contained the sky itself. Within them, shining pupils traced the symbol of Eden.
That was the mark of a prophet.
A miracle granted by God, allowing him to pierce through falsehood and destiny.
“But first, shall we receive the advance? You promised to give us a hint about the location of Elysium’s relic.”
As expected, Cult was not an easy person.
He even had the ability to enforce divine power, just in case I tried to lie.
Of course, I had no intention of lying, but the sight still sent chills down my spine.
“I trust that if you know we’re searching for the relic, you also understand what that means to us.”
Elysium’s relic.
It was one of the essential conditions for fulfilling Cult’s wish.
The problem was that while Cult was the leader of Eden, he had no connection to the original Elysium Church.
Even someone with his authority didn’t know what form the relic might take.
From my perspective, it didn’t matter if I told him right away.
Maybe it was even better that he knew in advance.
“I see. But...”
Clank!
The sound of gears meshing.
Bang!
The wooden chair I had been sitting on shattered, revealing a precise mechanical device that bound me.
It all happened in an instant.
“There’s no time. If we survive, we can talk later.”
“Uh...?”
Cult must have considered all the possibilities of how I might act.
He would have calculated contingencies and solutions.
But it didn’t matter.
No matter how wise he was, he couldn’t know how an unfamiliar device would work.
You can’t predict what you don’t know.
“Ah, I’m not running away. There really isn’t time.”
Whoosh!
The floor collapsed, and the device bound to me dragged me along.
A small cabin in a remote mountain. Who could have expected the cabin itself to be a massive machine?
I had let Coran Lekias choose the optimal location for the plan.
Coran Lekias had chosen his secret laboratory, the domain of Ex Machina, as the location.
And as is always the case with secret places, an emergency escape device existed.
The chair restraining me was that emergency device.
“Uh...?”
Cult, dumbfounded, could only watch me disappear.
He was smart, but had no idea how to respond to the unexpected.
Well, experience matters. Scheming behind the scenes doesn’t prepare you for real combat mistakes.
“Then good luck, adios!”
Once I was out of sight of Cult, I closed my eyes.
The device was moving at incredible speed, and the strain on my body was immense.
All that was left now was to watch.
Cult stared blankly at the spot where Johan had vanished.
‘What the hell is he doing now…?’
No matter what, he hadn’t expected Johan to act like this.
Johan wasn’t a coward.
He couldn’t have imagined Johan would strike from behind and escape in this manner.
Was he not afraid of repercussions?
Creak.
At that moment, the cabin door opened, and someone entered.
“Oh my.”
“...?”
Cult, still staring blankly at the closing floor, met Tillis entering the cabin.
“Hello.”
“Yes, hello.”
They smiled at each other. Both naturally smiled when facing a potentially suspicious person.
There was no awkwardness between them.
They looked like old acquaintances.
“Are you from Eden?”
“That side must be the recently notorious Saint, right?”
Exchanging bright smiles as if they might share tea together, they assessed each other.
“What brings you here?”
“Oh, a friend called me. And what brings you to this remote mountain?”
“I’m looking for someone. I have to ask them something, but I can’t find them.”
“I see.”
Used to dealing with people, they worked together surprisingly well.
Just as it seemed they would part ways,
KWA-ANG!
Cult struck first.
A brilliant light followed his gesture, engulfing the space where Tillis stood.
‘Judging by the situation, this side is definitely the enemy.’
Unlike Tillis, Cult recognized he had relatively few opponents.
He must have expected Johan to pass on his bothersome task.
“…I see.”
But only then did Cult realize why Johan had run.
Was he not afraid of repercussions? He surely was, but...
‘If this is the enemy, I understand.’
In short, Cult did not know Tillis’ true identity.
He only assumed she was the hypocrite known by her ridiculous title.
Her actions alone were insolent enough.
But Cult saw something hovering in the air.
What the world called spirits, he saw with prophetic eyes.
“I suppose I should thank Johan for this.”
Everything visible was a demon.
Once he realized that, Cult gave a dry laugh.
How audacious could one be?
“Openly commanding demons, yet no one suspects a thing.”
She did not hide the demon. She merely called it a spirit without trying to conceal it.
Hence, no one doubted.
Whoosh!
As the pile of wings in the air shook, the brilliance Cult had unleashed dimmed.
The light itself faded.
One by one, the wings unfolded, revealing what had been hidden.
“Mastema.”
At Tillis’ call, the demon hiding behind the white wings opened its eyes.
Huge pupils stained with blood.
The pure wings concealed a monstrous form.
“It is time to fulfill the contract.”
Mastema shed blood tears.
The tears pulsed along the white wings like veins.
Droplets formed at the tips of the wings.
“The balance of the world has collapsed, and evil overflows everywhere.”
The other opaque beings in the air gradually revealed their demonic forms when touched by the blood.
“The elves were exterminated, and most other races sank into a sea of blood.”
Drop. Drop.
Mastema’s blood also soaked Tillis’ body, turning her silver hair into a crimson hue.
“What is good and evil?”
Tillis slowly drew her sword.
Blood running down her wrist coiled around the blade.
“When good meets good, it spreads together. When good meets evil, they clash and weaken each other.”
Tillis smiled.
Confident she was right, she continued.
“But evil devours evil to grow stronger.”
That was the core of Tillis’ belief.
“Then I shall become the greatest evil and cleanse the world. I shall judge all evil.”
This was her way of saving the world.
Malevolence surged.
It swept over the small cabin, spreading across the mountains.
Cult, impressed by the Judicator’s power, could only sneer.
“She’s insane.”
“And isn’t that mutual, prophet?”
Tillis responded to Cult’s derision with a smile, aiming her sword.
At the moment when Cult and Tillis were likely facing each other,
I, freed from Coran Lekias’ escape device, focused on the task that required immediate attention.
“Uwaaaack!”
Right. First, I vomited.
The ride was awful.
At first, it felt like a rollercoaster, slightly dizzying, but soon I couldn’t even feel that as I was tossed in every direction.
I couldn’t think of the next plan; I thought I’d die here.
After emptying everything from lunch and then breakfast, I could finally assess the situation.
“Wow, what a sight.”
Even from the base of the mountain, I could see the bloody currents and brilliance clashing explosively.
Unexpectedly, Cult was holding his own better than I thought. Perhaps due to divine power, the match-up was favorable.
“Has the other side finished preparing?”
I sat on the floor, looking up at the mountains.
I had set Cult and Tillis on a collision course. Even without me, they wouldn’t tolerate each other. I was just the bridge connecting them.
And I awaited the one who would intervene in the battle between two similar yet opposite forces.
Yes, the one who had orchestrated and awaited this chaos.
The protagonist of this revenge play.
KWA-AAAAANG!!!
Coran Lekias moved.
Honestly, I didn’t expect much. Compared to Cult and Tillis, Coran Lekias could hardly compete.
Even as a non-executive of Ex Machina, how well could he fight?
“Ha...”
But I had underestimated the synergy between Coran Lekias’ devices and Maxwell’s demon.
“This is insane. No safety nets at all.”
Despite my warning, Coran Lekias poured everything into it, leaving nothing behind.
The mountain began to crumble.
The machine Coran Lekias prepared was massive.
A gigantic machine, taking up a part of the mountain, clawing the ground with hundreds of limbs.
It rose, opening a monstrous maw, a colossal centipede crawling across the earth.
It unleashed immense heat from the start, burning the mountain.
“Was the mountain location chosen because…”
Not simply because it was remote, nor to avoid harming people.
Coran Lekias planned to use the mountain as fuel, burning it with Maxwell’s demon’s power.
It might just work.
“That should be enough.”
The deal with Coran Lekias had ended the moment the battle began.
I provided him the materials for synthesis, the optimal environment, and even Cult as an ally.
The transaction was over.
Just as I was about to leave,
“...”
I felt Emily’s gaze behind me.
Ah, she came to greet me.
“...Alright, got it.”
Unfortunately, the deal with Emily wasn’t over.
I didn’t want to imagine what would happen if I ignored it.
“Damn old man, you should’ve listened when I warned you.”
I turned around.
“...The master has always been a bit stubborn.”
“I know. It showed.”
Damn old man. If he had listened, I could have gotten off easy. Now he’s just a nuisance.