Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Shadow Pursuit (1)
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Several people had gathered on the outskirts of the Demonic Realm.
They huddled together, cloaked in robes of varying colors and sizes.
The one in the black robe spoke up.
"As you all know, the nobles' rebellion has failed."
"What a shame. Not that I had high hopes."
The dark gray robe shrugged its shoulders.
Despite the words, there wasn't a hint of regret in the voice.
"We knew it would fail from the start, didn't we? It was just one of many plans."
"True enough. Still, it would've been nice if it had succeeded. It's not like we came out unscathed."
Unlike the gray robe, the red robe made no effort to hide its disappointment.
It was the kind of "if only it had worked" tone.
The large figure in the robe nearby nodded in agreement.
"It definitely would've made things a lot easier."
"Right? Who knew the nobles would be that weak?"
"No, actually, they're weak, that's why they rebelled. If they were strong, they would've just killed the Emperor outright instead of starting a revolt."
A brief debate broke out among them.
One side argued they'd taken needless losses because the nobles were weak; the other said it was still a chance to gauge the Empire's strength.
As both sides earnestly exchanged views, the black-robed leader, who seemed to be in charge, calmed them down.
"Is that really important right now? We've suffered losses, but we've also assessed the Empire's forces in return. That's the reality. I don't see it as a bad trade. More importantly, let's hear the status reports."
Thanks to the black robe's mediation, the argument settled for the time being.
The topic quickly shifted, and status reports followed as he suggested.
These came from those who hadn't led the nobles' rebellion but pursued other tasks.
One had gathered sacrifices to bolster his power.
He'd succeeded, fortunately, though the power's efficiency was a bit low.
Next was someone who'd found an intriguing dungeon.
He was conquering it now and would report results later.
Then came the one who'd wiped out an entire village.
"Wiped out?"
"Yeah. Tested a new black magic there. For how many died, the results were meh."
"Then tell us about it. Let's tweak it together."
Other big and small updates were shared.
Once everyone had spoken, the reports wrapped up.
The black robe nodded in satisfaction.
"He seems pleased as well."
"Good to hear. We've all received His grace."
The black mages each thought of the same being, feeling different emotions.
Ecstasy for some.
Gratitude for others.
Loyalty for yet more.
Different feelings, but all directed at one entity.
The black robe showed a touch of loyalty too.
"Indeed. Let us pray that someday we drive out the wretched Goddess and our God takes Her place."
They fell silent in prayer for a moment before moving on.
"Now, let's discuss future plans. As you know, we have many, and we can adjust them flexibly as needed. Let's start with the first one."
At his words, everyone recalled the same plan.
With the nobles' rebellion failed, all plans needed revision.
But they believed time was on their side.
No rush for them; if worst came to worst, pass the task to the next generation.
So today, they discussed just one of the plans.
Opinions and debates flew, and as the talk matured...
Just as the discussion neared its end, the white robe's gaze suddenly fixed on something.
It was behind the black robe—the mass-produced golem he'd brought.
More precisely, the sack the golem held.
The black robe noticed and asked curiously.
"What's wrong? Problem?"
"That's a corpse, right? Whose?"
At the white robe's question, all eyes turned there.
Even those mid-discussion now eyed the golem's sack.
Receiving everyone's attention at once, he shrugged.
"You all know him. Phillips Hita. Snatched his corpse right after execution."
"What? Why take that guy's body?"
The red robe tilted its head in disbelief.
Face hidden by the hood, but emotions clear as day.
To the skeptical retort, the black robe replied casually.
"Got some experiments in mind."
"Doubt that's the only reason."
The red robe's sharp insight followed.
As she said, experiments weren't the sole purpose.
"He's the human who's been with us longest. He took a bit of interest. Plus, on his final road, if he can help us even a little more, he'd be thrilled."
"Well, if that's the reason..."
Just because their god showed interest was enough for everyone to accept it.
No further questions, and with that vibe, he announced adjournment.
"That's it for today. Everyone's busy, right?"
Black mages fundamentally favored solo play.
That was why they'd never beaten the Goddess in history.
But decades ago, their god intervened directly, uniting the black mages.
Thanks to that, they gathered here now—though they still leaned solo.
At the black robe's words, some nodded and dispersed.
In an instant, all were gone, leaving only him.
He turned and slowly approached the golem.
Then a voice echoed.
[What. Goal?] "I've got several ideas right now. Turn it into a golem like this one? Summon a spirit and fuse it? Or experiment with that vampire we caught recently? Still thinking."
He spoke words that might make anyone hearing them not just gasp but call for his extermination.
Their god sent a wave of intense satisfaction.
He staggered briefly but soon recovered.
"Ahem. Any advice?"
[All. Viable. No bias.] "Thank you. I'll avoid preconceptions."
He bowed to empty air in thanks, then placed a hand on the golem.
An ominous aura enveloped it, and a platform of darkness formed beneath its feet.
Soon, the golem vanished with him.
Heading to his lab to ponder how to prepare Phillips Hita's corpse.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The strange lump of flesh—no, the black magic victims now?
Simply put, the poor test subjects all tragically died.
All except the first man failed to endure the purification rite.
They died midway, dissolved, or crumbled apart.
Anyway, the tough-luck survivor underwent days of interrogation.
Imperial investigators dispatched from the palace questioned him for several days.
There were screams and faints aplenty, but they got some results.
"A transformation potion."
"Yes. The victim's memories are fragmented, so not certain, but we confirmed it was inspired by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."
Damn, what a mess.
The lead black mage must've been quite the chatterbox.
Even this confused man remembered that much.
Of course, it might've just stuck out strongly.
Truth is unknowable, and now I'm in a real bind.
Back to the council, dragged there again.
This time, to the council building next to the palace in the capital.
A place mainly for nobles and imperial factions to debate.
With everyone surrounding and watching me, the Emperor spoke.
"Never thought I'd end up in the council chambers. Me, in the nobles' domain—live long enough, you see it all."
"Haha, indeed."
No hint of apology in his tone.
Even on Earth, parliaments had existed for ages.
France's Estates-General was one, after all.
Though it was summoned by royal decree, so a bit different?
Anyway, in this world with noble factions opposing the Emperor, a council isn't odd.
But having my fate on the agenda? That's the issue.
Why?
"Edn Rlangbur, your book influenced black magic!"
Never imagined my Prometheus identity would come out like this.
I'd vaguely thought I'd reveal my face someday.
But fate kindly forced it out.
Damn Goddess.
Anyway, they wanted to punish me for influencing black magic.
Most nobles agreed; the Emperor stayed neutral.
Without a solid defense here, I faced maximum penalty: burning at the stake.
"How the hell do I handle this?"
In modern times, people would've called bullshit first.
Even if dragged into politics.
Making crime flicks doesn't make you a criminal.
But here, witch hunts were real.
Human rights barely a topic, so crying injustice wouldn't fly.
Hmm, what now?
As I pondered silently, the room grew noisy.
One side demanded punishment in the Goddess's name; the other, how could we punish a talent like Prometheus?
"Oh, time to borrow my fans' power?"
That's when Duke Apontuna raised his hand.
The chamber fell silent as if by magic.
He cleared his throat and spoke.
"Edn Rlangbur is innocent, I believe. Your Majesty, isn't that so?"
"Ahem, yes."
What? Why do those two act so in sync?
The nobles sensed the weirdness too.
One raised a hand to question, but the Emperor was faster.
"But we can't call it complete innocence. So, I propose assigning Edn Rlangbur to track the black mages. Thoughts? Seems fair enough."
"Agreed!"
My fan noble nodded eagerly.
Chaos spread among the nobles, but they soon conferred and calmed.
A representative stepped forward to summarize.
"We agree. Can't punish someone just for writing a book. But considering the drug could spread across the Empire, he can't fully escape responsibility. We concur with Your Majesty."
"Good. Hearing adjourned."
Wait, my say?
But clearly, this was the best outcome.
Thus, I was teamed with Lieutenant Colonel Rittun's unit to hunt black mages.