Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Madman: Begerton Antares (3)
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The Fantasy Archives, Celestia.
In the heart of the library where all manner of magic tomes were gathered, I was currently seated at the head of the table, facing four visitors.
Lua. Creighton. Peria. Begerton.
The four mages had taken their seats around me, one by one.
The four mages encircling me were busily engaged in conversation, each on their own topics.
“The finishing touches on that magic tool Master Johan mentioned should be done soon.”
“It looks almost complete. Oh, right—Lua, didn’t you say you were planning to publish a paper soon?”
“Yes. Once this project wraps up, I plan to release a new one. At the very least, it seems Master Johan wants me to rise to the upper echelons of the Magic Tower.”
I quietly watched Lua and Creighton discussing their future plans.
A group meeting among the members of the Secret Society.
The time had come for the guests who visited Celestia every night to exchange their thoughts.
What had sparked this meeting, exactly?
To explain, it stemmed from a single request I had received from the Doctor in the past.
—‘Depending on the circumstances, I’d like to receive help from those here. At the very least, I hope they won’t interfere with my work of summoning a great being to the earthly plane.’
While preparing his research to bring me down to earth, the Doctor had advocated for the need for information exchange among the mages affiliated with the Secret Society.
Given that they belonged to different factions, it was at least to ensure they wouldn’t hinder my descent.
As a result, the mages tied to Celestia now held periodic meetings like this.
Once every two weeks, a regular assembly where all the Secret Society’s mages gathered.
That was the nature of the meeting unfolding before me now.
“The leadership of the Blue Tower… Well, I believe you can make it there, Lua. If you need any help, just say the word.”
“Thank you, Creighton.”
“Was the magic stone I sent last time enough? It seemed like you requested less than I expected.”
“Ah… I think I’ll need a bit more magic stones still. If the marquis’s house could possibly procure a larger quantity…?”
“No problem. I’ll arrange for purchases to start by tomorrow.”
The mages attending the meeting shared their stories, roughly outlining their plans.
Moreover, they were requesting what they needed from each other and confirming what they could offer in return.
Watching their exchange, it seemed an invisible bond had formed before I knew it.
A horizontal organization where each moved in ways that benefited the others.
At the very least, it was clear the society’s members were starting to develop a sense of belonging.
‘Just the fact that the secret society shares a common goal is enough to foster that kind of camaraderie?’
It felt quite different from the loose structure I had initially envisioned.
What had changed them?
What had strengthened the bonds between the members?
Even I didn’t fully know the reason.
I simply faced the direction the Secret Society was heading, watching the positive conversation unfolding before me.
“The laboratory we’ve been preparing in the Alperatz marquisate has finally been completed. We should be able to start full-scale experiments soon.”
As I quietly observed the meeting, the very man who had initiated it soon spoke up.
The Doctor, Begerton Antares.
The man now called “Doctor” by everyone in the library addressed the assembled mages with his main topic.
A secret laboratory for the descent.
Having heard of its existence, I looked at the Doctor with eyes full of interest.
“To the young lady who provided the greatest assistance in this matter, let us offer profound gratitude.”
“Oh, no. Wasn’t it really not that much help?”
“The trickiest part of building a facility like this is avoiding the eyes of those in power. Thanks to your aid, things proceeded smoothly.”
Heh heh heh.
The Doctor said this while flashing a chilling smile.
Peria, still finding it hard to deal with the Doctor, could only offer an awkward smile in return.
After delivering the news of the laboratory’s completion.
The Doctor turned to me and continued in a deferential tone.
“And so, great one. We plan to begin the first experiment soon… Is it alright to proceed as is?”
The Doctor bowed his head, seeking my permission for the schedule.
It was a natural procedure, since my cooperation was required to conduct the experiment.
Nod.
I readily accepted the Doctor’s request.
“No issue. Proceed with the experiment.”
“Thank you. Then we’ll go ahead as scheduled!”
It was an experiment for escaping to the earthly plane.
No matter how reckless it might be, from my position, there was no reason to hold it back.
Right after I accepted Begerton’s request.
Begerton spread his arms wide and declared his ambition to everyone in the meeting hall.
“This Begerton Antares! I shall never disappoint the great one!”
Watching the Doctor like this, I merely gave him a faint smile.
The Celestia Secret Society.
The gathering that began from chance encounters was now gradually taking shape.
What results would this journey yield?
At the very least, I hoped it would hold some meaning of its own.
* * * * * *
The northern empire, the Rozers March Bishopric.
Before the temple of the White Church, covered in tiles of every color, Cardinal Matthias in his black cloak stepped inside.
Step, step.
As the solemn-faced Matthias advanced, the priests around him hurriedly cleared a path.
Matthias Bartias.
He was a cleric renowned within the Church for his vast knowledge and unyielding faith.
The only time the priests of the diocese knew him to enter the temple with such a dark expression was one.
—Heretics.
When judgment upon heretics or equivalent procedures were to be carried out.
His face was always like that during such times.
“Your Eminence. Shall we convene the meeting immediately?”
As Cardinal Matthias walked through the temple with a grim face, a holy knight soon approached his side.
Holy Knight, Oliyas.
He was the guardian of this grand diocese and a cleric as close as the Cardinal’s right hand.
At Oliyas’s question, Cardinal Matthias immediately shook his head in denial.
“No time for that. We must head straight to the Holy City—no room for a meeting, it seems.”
He was moving at the command of Saintess Arianne.
Only after the Saintess’s orders came down could Cardinal Matthias discuss his next actions.
Hoo.
A heavy sigh escaped Cardinal Matthias’s lips.
Holy Knight Oliyas pressed close behind the Cardinal and asked.
“I heard Your Eminence went to the site in place of the investigation team.”
“I went there myself. To be honest, it wasn’t a pleasant time.”
Step, step.
The footsteps of Matthias and his following holy knights echoed continuously.
As the footsteps of Matthias’s group headed toward a corridor with fewer people.
Cardinal Matthias spoke to the holy knight standing behind him.
“For now, it might be best if just you heard this first, Sir Oliyas.”
The holy knight, surmising it was about the anomaly in the skies over the March Bishopric, listened intently to Cardinal Matthias’s words.
“Your Eminence. What did you see there?”
“The sky was shattered. Horribly cracked open and crumbling down.”
“The sky… was shattered, you say.”
A shattered sky.
Darkness flowing from beyond it.
Matthias frowned as he recalled the alien landscape.
“It was a sight I’d never seen even in my lifetime. For now, returning to the Holy City and searching the remaining texts takes priority.”
“…….”
“Still, it’s not as if I have no inkling at all. At least this much I can say for certain.”
Swish.
Cardinal Matthias’s eyes turned to the temple’s stained glass.
A scene where dozens of rays of light scattered and poured in.
Gazing at the spectacle fitting the White Church’s foundation of myriad colors, Matthias spoke in a grave voice.
“This is no mere matter of a single diocese. Heretics are attempting to summon monsters from the outer world… among them, beings capable of destroying this world.”
“Your Eminence, that means…!”
“Prepare yourself. A holy war will be declared soon.”
Matthias’s eyes gleamed with every color.
Cardinal Matthias of the White Church.
He sensed the holy war approaching all too soon.
* * * * * *
In a vast underground space hidden in the rugged mountains of the Alperatz marquisate.
There, preparations were underway for the research of Begerton Antares, technical advisor to the Magic Research Society.
Transparent glass tubes lining one entire wall.
Countless glowing stones illuminating the ceiling.
Living beings cultured while submerged in pale green liquid.
And circuits maintaining the myriad magical devices in the laboratory.
Countless facilities for Doctor Begerton had been installed.
“…….”
Begerton Antares, the researcher who had created these facilities, was now seated in a chair, organizing a mountain of documents.
Was it due to years of accumulated research?
The sheer volume of materials the Doctor had brought could fill a cramped room and then some.
Thus, he had to spend the whole day sorting the documents in his hands.
Rustle, rustle.
As the Doctor’s rough fingers sorted through the countless books and logs.
Thud.
His hand, moving at a brisk pace, suddenly halted upon discovering something.
“Hmm, here it is. I’d been thinking I should take a look at this soon.”
The Doctor’s gaze swept over the document in his hand.
A suspicious research segment conducted by the chairman of the Extremist Magic Research Society, the Pilgrim Bartov.
The material titled ‘On the Inexplicable Unknowns,’ striking in its cover, was gripped in his hand.
Chairman Bartov was one of the few mages who had greatly impressed him in his life.
A figure who seemed less a human and more a machine devoted to researching magic.
That was the mage known as Pilgrim Bartov.
“Might as well check it out this time.”
Swish.
After briefly scanning the cover.
He soon turned a page and examined the next section of the research document.
“—At times, mages fall into the arrogance of believing they have unveiled most of the mysteries.”
Before long, lines from the research document began flowing from Begerton’s lips.
Bartov’s research featured an introduction bordering on contemplation.
And right after that introduction.
Lay the passages that would resolve the faint unease the Doctor had been feeling.
“—Yet, could the knowledge they possess truly encompass all the secrets the world conceals?”
Secrets of the world.
Mysteries unsolved by mages.
The tale of someone pursuing the unexplainable continued to spill from the Doctor’s mouth.
“—The wise will realize the cost of the unknowns they failed to discover and regret it.”
“—The foolish will gaze at skies they know not and repent.”
“—Those who do not watch will have their eyes gouged and be made blind as punishment.”
“—Those who do not prostrate will lose their freedom and be reduced to livestock.”
The Doctor’s eyes moved busily.
He read through the research document in his hand at a rapid pace.
Letter by letter.
Sentence by sentence.
Crossing beyond those boundaries, his eyes reached the end of the page.
“—Great laws. Concepts beyond explanation. Orders beyond existence watch over us.”
“—This is the record of failure from a researcher who delved into the ‘Inexplicable Unknowns’ forbidden to humanity.”
Smirk.
A bright smile crept across the Doctor’s lips.