Chapter 139
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Inkling
"You're the last one to arrive."
The Tower of Intellect spoke to me indifferently from the side, but before his words could fully reach my ears...
My gaze was already fixed on Roselin.
She stared at me with wide eyes, saying nothing.
A gaze layered with surprise, wariness, and unexplained doubt.
In short, it was like... Why are you coming out of there?
She was keeping silent because she still wasn't entirely sure if I was truly the 'Secret Scale'.
Of course, that subtle silence had likely crumbled the moment the Tower of Intellect spoke.
If I weren't the Secret Scale, he wouldn't be talking to me so casually.
I pulled my eyes away from Roselin and replied lightly.
"Am I late? I didn't realize everyone was already here."
I already knew through the chat room that the Tower of Intellect had dealt with another Apostle of Evil, but for now, I was just one of the apostles gathered here at '0's summons.
So, I needed to play it off like I didn't know.
The closer I got with each step, the more intensely I felt Roselin's gaze clinging to me.
Her mind must be racing with thoughts. She might think I'd been deceiving her all this time, or she could dismiss it as some inexplicable coincidence.
But in the end, she said nothing.
...She's decided to play dumb too.
Considering Roselin's cautious nature, I figured she wouldn't blurt out that she knew.
I decided to match her attitude for now.
The Tower of Intellect continued.
"Come to think of it, isn't this the first time seeing the Son of Valor? I thought it was a son, so I assumed it was a boy."
Seeing him glance over Roselin as if noticing her for the first time, it seemed they hadn't been gathered here long either.
After a brief silence, Roselin spoke up.
"Do all of you... know why we're here?"
Her words were directed at everyone, but at the last moment, her gaze clearly brushed past me.
She really wanted to ask me.
But her choice to play dumb was clear.
Well, personal talk could wait until we met alone later.
"I don't know the details either."
The purpose of '0' summoning the chat room members here.
The stated reason was simple.
Forces of evil had stirred in Mugun, and the aftermath hadn't fully settled.
In this situation where we didn't know what schemes the forces of evil might still be plotting in Mugun...
It wasn't just empty rhetoric. Right before this, I'd spotted an Apostle of Evil nearby, and the Tower of Intellect had just finished dealing with it on his way back.
Roselin must have sensed this flow already.
She'd shown consistent interest in the forces of evil, so there was no issue with '0' calling her here.
"In the end... we'll have to go to Mugun to find out."
I nodded at Roselin's low murmur and naturally turned to the Tower of Intellect.
"Come to think of it, didn't you say you were coming back after dealing with an Apostle of Evil?"
"Ah, right. No big issues."
"No issues means... you finished it completely?"
"Yeah."
The Tower of Intellect had taken out two Apostles of Evil.
Two already... or so it felt.
Apostles of Evil were clearly my polar opposites. No doubt it was better for them to be eliminated quickly and decisively.
Still, one question lingered in my mind like instinct.
Isn't this too easy?
It made me wonder if I could just use the Tower of Intellect with a suitable pretext and reward to wipe out all the forces of evil.
...Is the Tower of Intellect just that overwhelmingly strong, or are the forces of evil weaker than I thought?
I couldn't be sure yet.
The Tower of Intellect then described what he was like.
His appearance. Wings spread wide, countless artifacts hanging from those wings. And his combat style of infusing mana into all of them simultaneously.
"He won't come back to life like last time. Unless there's something I don't know hidden away."
"Artifacts?"
Naturally, I couldn't help but take interest in that.
Hanging dozens of artifacts on his wings like ornaments, coordinating and fighting with all of them at once.
And each one was so extraordinary that even the Tower of Intellect deemed them no joke.
A strangely familiar sensation washed over me.
...Isn't this pretty similar to my style?
Even if not, the artifacts themselves piqued my interest.
"If you dealt with him, where are those artifacts he had?"
At my question, the Tower of Intellect answered without a moment's hesitation.
"In my stomach."
"...?"
For a moment, I couldn't grasp the meaning.
Stomach...?
Metaphor, or... literal?
"Why? Jealous?"
"...Trying to figure out what you mean."
Only then did the Tower of Intellect seem to understand my reaction, letting out an exaggerated "Ahhh" as if on purpose.
"Literal meaning."
He patted his stomach a few times with his palm.
"They're in here."
"So... they're fully yours now?"
"Mm, pretty much."
The artifacts the Apostle of Evil possessed.
As he described, the dozens of artifacts were all ancient relics.
Like the spear that opened the first-floor entrance in Mugun, they were sure to grant me more knowledge and deeper inspiration.
But I couldn't demand them right away. Deals like this always came with a price.
Come to think of it, when the Tower of Intellect reported dealing with the Apostle of Evil, he'd definitely mentioned wanting a 'reward'.
He wanted to get closer to the System...
I'd accepted that request in '0's name.
It wasn't hard for me now.
I'd even given similar guidance to Merrin and Oz before.
"Ah, right. On another note."
The Tower of Intellect cut in abruptly.
"There's something you all need to know."
He seemed to lose interest in the artifact topic quickly and shifted gears.
"What is it?"
"No matter how I look at it, '0' is connected to Mugun."
I showed no particular reaction. Neither my expression nor my breathing wavered intentionally.
It was almost too obvious.
But I fully understood the implication hidden behind it.
Call it something predetermined.
I'd fortified the area around Mugun's entrance thoroughly. I'd even passed info on a nearby Apostle of Evil to the Tower of Intellect without using '0'.
At this point, it was more normal to suspect '0' had a close tie to Mugun.
The Tower of Intellect continued.
"In my view, he's someone close to Sephirot... or possibly Sephirot himself."
That was likely what he really wanted to say.
The connection between '0' and Sephirot.
Someday, the moment might come to reveal it. That '0' was Sephirot's successor.
Like handing over arrangements to Roselin, this was a process of gauging their 'inkling'.
"Keep this among yourselves. It's too iffy to bring up in the chat room."
Maybe he felt like he was probing '0's identity.
I nodded calmly, keeping my face as neutral as possible, while Roselin looked like she hadn't fully grasped it yet.
And then, Burning Glory.
Only now did I turn my gaze to him.
He'd been caught in Asma's mental attack, barely able to stand for a while, but he seemed fairly recovered now.
His complexion, though, was still poor. Probably some invisible aftereffects lingering.
To change the subject, I asked him.
"Are you feeling better?"
Burning Glory looked up.
"You're... the Secret Scale."
A short, curt remark.
His unique blunt speech from the chat room carried over unchanged into reality.
That made it even harder to tell if his pallor was from aftereffects or just his natural look.
"I'm mostly fine."
"No lingering effects from the mental attack?"
"For now... none."
"Then, can I hear the details?"
Asma was still alive.
Gathering info from Burning Glory, the sole survivor of Asma's assault, was necessary.
Burning Glory paused. As if recalling the memory, his expressionless face twisted ever so slightly. It was such a minute change that I might have missed it if I hadn't been watching closely.
"...It whispered endless despair and desire to me."
"Despair and desire..."
A mind-shaking attack, but more primal than I'd imagined.
"But that became the answer."
"The answer?"
"Yes. ...The hardest to endure was despair."
"Did you see hallucinations?"
"I did. But thanks to it, I learned."
Burning Glory spoke in his usual calm tone, but with a strangely heavier weight.
"What I fear most."
If I had to describe the Burning Glory I'd seen so far, it'd be pure ignorance.
He'd spent his entire life in Mugun watching over the prisoners.
Without even a moment to reflect on himself. Following commands ingrained from birth.
He didn't know.
What he feared, what he wanted, what he craved.
So, it made sense that realizing his greatest fear was a breakthrough.
"Death... I'd never seriously considered it. Not a natural fading, but a meaningless death, and how terrifying that is."
"...Then what about desire?"
"Surprisingly, none."
He caught his breath before adding.
"That's why I escaped the confusion so quickly."
No desire...
"So... I got curious. What I ultimately want."
He raised his head.
His face was impassive as always. Like chiseled stone, with no room for emotion.
But his eyes were different. Or maybe I just wanted to see it that way.
Like a long-dormant ember finally breathing, eyes shining clearly.
"I want your help."
Too broad for a clear request, but...
I inadvertently met the Tower of Intellect's gaze.
Because I understood exactly.
Like a child learning the concept of wanting, uttering their first words.
The Tower of Intellect spoke first.
"Well, I was planning to help anyway, but..."
He trailed off, glancing at Burning Glory.
I seized the opening.
"What exactly do you want help with?"
"I want to journey with you."
"Journey..."
I murmured lowly.
"It's less our personal path and more following '0's plan."
"Doesn't matter. '0' led me here for a reason. I want to see it through."
A massive man with purple skin.
And a winged, tailed non-human with refined features like sculpture under gray hair—a handsome man.
Me, cloaked fully in black, and Roselin with golden hair, looking utterly human.
A mismatched group with no similarities. To outsiders, a bizarre crew whose identities and goals were inscrutable.
How did such members end up in one chat room? Even I found it oddly amusing.
Yet, strangely enough.
Their gazes, their steps, were slowly converging toward one direction.