Chapter 274
Chapter 274
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 274
Chapter Title: Chapter 274
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 274
Chapter Title: Wrong Path Taken - 2
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Yes. Thanks to that, we gathered the fragments smoothly, 『Lasso』.
I don't know what accident happened, but with 『Corpse Flower』 gone into hiding now, the only black mages sharing the same horizon are the two of us.
Isn't this ridiculous? We just thought loose cooperation was fine, saw each other as chess pieces at best—never once as comrades.
They say an external threat unites the internals, but who knew a madman who could truly make us 'cooperate' would show up in this world.
If asked what to use the fragments for, a dagger.
Yes. We'll assemble them properly to create a doppelganger. Then have it target the original body. Only a genius can stab another genius, after all.
'Infuse it with malice and turn it into an evil being—' No. I'm against that plan.
We can't lead it that simply.
He's a monster.
...
Do you know about solitude?
Put all sorts of poisons in a jar and pit them against each other so only one survives amid the hellish chaos. I saw potential in that method.
If it's too solid to chip away at, make it erode itself.
Set up an arena with illusion magic and force the fragments to fight one another. Constantly whisper hints that if they don't win, they'll lose their family, their lover—everything.
Of course, he'll see through it even as a fragment. Some fragments will grow suspicious, others will realize it's an illusion. The clever ones who figure out it's all the black mages' scheme... well, they'll come up with their own countermeasures.
But can every fragment manage that?
Yes. We'll find the weakest one. The picky, sensitive, impatient type that's easy to shake—and let it survive.
In an arena where survival means slaughtering countless versions of oneself, plant seeds of loathing for that identical existence, then lash it relentlessly with pain.
We'll end up with a 'chess piece' that believes itself is the real one, striving endlessly to kill the true original and prove its own existence.
And so.
Amid the repeating nightmares, countless time passed.
One day, a small fragment of the mad mage woke from an uneasy dream.
"...I'm the real one. I'm real, don't abandon me. Believe in me—I'm real...!"
He had become a terrified monster, trembling in the shadows of the closet crevice.
Analyst C politely knocked on the office door of the Imperial Defense Bureau.
A weary voice came from beyond the door—Irid's. With the holy city in utter chaos, he'd been locked in a war with paperwork ever since.
Reestablishing the Church of the Goddess under the reformist vanguard was something the former city girl Tara couldn't handle alone. She needed a specialist in processing duties.
Their interests aligned perfectly: shrink the church's influence and reshape it to be empire-friendly.
"...Hoo."
Normalizing a single city shouldn't have dragged on like this. But there were variables.
First off, the old cardinal faction hadn't died—they'd only been exiled. Some had crash-landed nearby and started raising political hell, so they needed reining in.
Hit squads had been dispatched to quietly wipe out the shady old men who fell in remote spots.
Then there was managing the anxiety over the goddess's rampage, and caving in the skulls of lunatics proclaiming, 'The goddess declares the empire's heavenly mandate is over!'
And plenty more besides.
So unless it was something massive, the office door stayed unknocked. That was why Irid let out a deep sigh—trouble had brewed.
"Come in."
"Pardon the intrusion. The alias 『Mad Mage』 has requested a visit..."
"...First thought is what mess he's caused this time."
"But... it's a little strange."
Strange, huh.
He was always strange. But Analyst C wasn't one to repeat the obvious. Had they detected some danger signal?
"...I'll talk to him first and see. But prepare emergency contacts."
"Yes."
"On my signal, move accordingly."
Irid rose from his seat and descended the stairs. It wasn't humility for a prince to move himself instead of summoning underlings.
Simply, he hated anyone else entering the room that held memories of Centra.
Irid reached the reception room. Inside, the mad mage and his... entourage sat waiting. No sign of the Violet Magic Tower Master or Yuri Lanster.
The mad mage curved his lips in a smile with those dull red eyes. He offered his usual casual, rude greeting...
"You came?"
"Yeah. What is it this time?"
"Need some help. A small magic mishap created something like an evil doppelganger of mine... and it ran off."
Just as expected, a headache. Irid pressed his temples.
"...So, what do you want from us?"
"Track it down and kill it. Sounds harsh, but it's dangerous. Infiltrated the tower, stole data, and bolted."
"......"
Irid slowly blinked his blue eyes.
Truth be told, he didn't know the mad mage that well. They'd only met a handful of times, and he still didn't understand why the guy acted oddly friendly.
But this feeling was different. He remembered that much. The man before him felt off.
Chasing the sense of incongruity, he pieced it together—what was causing it.
There were no jokes.
Even right before the goddess's rampage threatened to obliterate the holy city, the guy had quipped about saints and holy cities. Crudely put, it was flippant; kindly, he never lost his smile even in a corner.
The type whose tongue would bob on the surface even if he drowned—and it wasn't off-putting. He had a knack for making people feel upbeat.
Whether he'd turned serious because the situation was dire, or... well, he'd have to check.
So Irid covered his face with both hands.
"...Your Highness?"
"I can't hide my expression from you. No one could. So we'll talk like this, without looking. Not sure if it'll help."
"......"
"I'm suspicious of you. To clear it, one question. Answer carefully."
Irid didn't know what question could separate truth from lie. Whether it'd resolve the doubt, avoid having his intent read, or let him peer into the mage's heart.
Against this crow-like wizard, everything felt ambiguous.
Which made this... a gamble, born from a flash of inspiration.
"I've heard you have a condition where you can't remember names. But you can recall certain ones under special conditions. I know it's not a disease—it's some worldly effect."
"...Right. You knew. Because you're royal...? Anyway?"
"If you're real, repeat the name I say. Kargan."
"......"
The fake mad mage couldn't speak for a long while.
He shouldn't know. Fragment memories wouldn't include it. 『Bankrupt』's Kargan was a mercenary who'd cushioned the landing in the holy city—no session involvement. Correct answer: 'Don't know.'
But.
Would the Second Prince pull that name out of nowhere? Maybe in some forgotten moment, Mima had come to remember Kargan—through a session, simulation, whatever.
50-50. One right, one wrong.
The original would recognize even a glancing name, layered obsessively. But not the doppelganger. It rang all too clearly.
After long silence, he finally forced out an answer.
"...Kargan?"
"...All agents, full alert! Mad Mage, remain here until verification—"
『Silent Gold』
[Voice muted in range]
Tik.
The finger snap echoed, and Irid's voice vanished from the air like it had been muted. Now he hid nothing.
Beneath his black hair, red eyes blazing with venom gleamed fiercely.
"Names, names... right, can't remember names. Ka-whatever. There. Satisfied now, Irid?"
"......"
"Why do this? Why does everyone—Yuna, Irid—treat me like a fake? Doesn't make sense. 『Marionette』."
『Marionette』
[Target mind control / Puppet state]
Kiiing—!
Mana glowed an eerie purple, triggering Irid's various defensive artifacts to counter. Irid shouted something in his silence.
"Next time, buy artifacts that link organically. 『Mana Disturbance』. See? Compatibility error—they're dead."
『Mana Disturbance』
[Artifact disruption / Incompatibility overload]
The doppelganger dismantled it all too easily.
Threads of mana burrowed into Irid's mind. His pupils dilated in an instant, turning him into a living puppet.
In that brief window subduing Irid, Evil God-chan had already knocked out all the surrounding bureau agents.
The doppelganger sprawled on the sofa, manipulating the creaking Irid to fan him.
"...Why do this."
Why, why.
Why does everyone act like I could never be the real one.
The doppelganger stared blankly at the ceiling, then clutched his head, then slumped like the exhausted—repeating. And at the end of that turmoil.
"I get it."
He admitted it.
"I'm different from the 'fake' in some 'something.' Right?"
It was an illogical sentence. But he'd grasped the core. People who knew the mad mage were suddenly suspicious—something was off. There was an element he was missing.
"Evil God-chan, know what's different?"
"...Beats me."
"Yeah, you know. You know, but won't say. Sorry, Evil God-chan. Acting so pathetic... You hate this stuff..."
If it's because of that difference.
If that 'something' different made Yuna abandon him, made even Irid act this way.
"I'll act it out."
"Act?"
"Act something out."
Wasn't the mad mage a master of performance? Donning masks, scripting lines, embodying characters—it was as natural as breathing. So.
This time, just act the 'Mad Mage.' Keep up the method acting, and maybe then they'll look at him instead of the fake. Accept him as real.
"Alright, let's do this. I'll work hard till I reclaim my spot!"
"...You."
Watching him, Evil God-chan's face twisted bitterly as if to speak—but she stopped. What trembled on her tongue was pity and compassion.
But she didn't know what to say or why she felt it, so she held back. Because.
Wasn't she the 'Evil God'?
A being that mocked the world and wrought evil. No reason to care.
"Alright, assemble! The 1st Doppelganger Emergency Countermeasures Committee meeting is now in session. Third in the Four Heavenly Kings ranking, 『Yuri Frostlover』, beat the drum to open it."
"Yes, 『Fallen Magic Demon King Lucifer Zekiel』."
"M-Me, 『Infinite Void Existence』 or whatever...?"
"...Am I the only one lost here?"
Thump thump thump.
Yuri pushed up her glasses and raised the curtain on the grand conference. Attendees: Me, the 30% mad mage—body hurting, mind hurting, back kinda hurting.
Yuna, the soft Violet Magic Tower Master and chief wife ranking first.
Yuri Frostlover, the predator bouncing between ranks zero and two on a whim.
Selvia, my childhood friend who's technically not close yet if we're splitting hairs.
And the Violet Magic Tower family.
Fancy nameplates with engraved names lined the table, curtains drawn tight over the windows, and just one moody light hanging.
I banged the desk.
"No time for this fucker. Plan's simple: Yuna lays down a teleport block, then me and Yuri link hands and smash its head with a sledgehammer."
"...Know where it is?"
"Can't track the fragment, but I can track Evil God-chan? 『Gingoa』 control's mostly stolen, but not zero—might work if lucky."
"Facing Mima as enemy darkens my vision. Annoying, strong, irritating—all of it."
Exactly.
This fucker's problem is knowing too much. Give it time, who knows what it'll prepare—scares even me. Need a swift, decisive beheading.
But even a mad mage like that had a weakness.
"Splash it with Flame Angel and Binding Net subtract at once—think we won't lose?"
"...How do you say something so obvious so shamelessly."
Losing means death.
Numbers on our side. Seize the momentum when advantageous. Midway through debating how to smash the doppelganger's head clean and proper.
Bang. Scar-faced senior burst in, pale as a ghost.
"Junior! Tower's officially marked hostile—what'd you do?! Before they lop heads, they're gutting the budget first—official notice!"
What the—?
Frantic doc check: Empire official declaration stamped with Irid's name. This little shit persuaded Irid!
At the shocking news, the Violet Tower mages started tearing their hair and wailing.
"What? Take my head, but not the budget!"
"My research! My research!"
"Kyaahahaha—!!"
Gutting the budget, you heartless bloodless fucker...!
"Pack up. Can't have gone far from capital—go smash it and escape this nightmare!"
"I-I'll grab my stashed info bombs! Prepped for if we got empire-marked..."
"Then in the meantime... how 'bout a wash with me, Mima?"
"W-Wash? What're you saying, bro? T-Two of us washing together?!"
I sprang into action. Head to the capital now and crush it!
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