Chapter 90: Abyss (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 90: Abyss (3)
The air was thick and stale. The stench of mold dominated my lungs. Just when it felt like my vision had gone completely dark, a lantern hanging on the wall flickered faintly into sight.
Intermittent light. Flickering scenery. Minimal air. Piercing through it all, I descended into the abyss.
Down. Further down. There was no telling how many stories deep into the earth this went. A random, chilling thought crossed my mind—perhaps we were piercing straight through the planet’s raw skin, delving into its very dermis. And along with it came another sudden thought: could a human even survive in an environment like this? This place was...
“It must feel unfamiliar to you, Heavenly Sword.”
The elderly man walking ahead turned to look back at me. Al'tair Auditore. As evidenced by his role as my guide...
“This is the Auditore Dungeon.”
I was currently at the headquarters of Auditore da Sicilia.
“It’s pretty brutal. From the outside, you’d never guess a place like this existed.”
“If the exterior is glamorous, it makes it hard to imagine such an underground exists. You can think of that luxurious citadel as a camouflage to hide all this.”
“I see.”
“I apologize for treating a precious guest like this after inviting you here, but please bear with me a little longer. We’re almost there.”
“How much further?”
“Just about fifty stories deeper.”
“……”
Are we really going to breach the Earth’s mantle at this rate?
I swallowed a sigh. The air here was thin. I had to conserve my breathing as much as possible. I quieted my breathing and took another step forward.
Step, step.
To summarize the situation briefly: as soon as I hung up on Nox, I teleported to Italy and met up with him. Once I got the whole story, it turned out to be quite grave.
Apparently, while I was hospitalized, Chloe had taken it upon herself to hunt down and track the minions of the Villain Syndicate.
Up to this point, there was no problem whatsoever. Every government agreed under the banner of ‘eradication of villains.’ However, the core of this crisis was that Chloe—specifically, a Chloe who had gone completely off the deep end—had dug far too deep.
If she suspected someone, Chloe didn't care whether they were friend or foe. Of course, she didn't just storm in without evidence. Auditore blood flowed through her veins. She secured definitive evidence before approaching any target.
According to Al'tair, the end result was that those ‘targets’ indeed had ties to the Villain Syndicate, whether big or small.
‘So Chloe wasn't wrong.’
However, she ignored proper procedure during the process, substituting personal violence for the judgment of the law. That was why the heads of the 32 OECD nations were so furious.
“It is nothing new.”
Perhaps trying to ease the burden of guilt on my mind, Al'tair spoke up.
“It happens quite often when doing this work.”
“Has a wanted notice ever been issued by 32 countries before?”
“I believe so. Roughly a hundred years ago.”
“…Meaning before the OECD was even founded.”
“Mmh.”
He smoothed it over with a vague grunt. And this was an unprecedented crisis that barely happens once a century.
“That is not the important part.”
As expected of an Auditore. His sense of urgency was on an entirely different wavelength.
“You’re saying this isn’t the important problem?”
“It is important. Important, but lower on the priority list. Even within the Auditore, I and Nox are the only ones who know she is locked in the Auditore Dungeon. Among outsiders, it is only you, Heavenly Sword.”
I countered.
“The countries that issued the wanted notices will find out soon enough.”
“They seem to have caught the scent already. The Supreme Courts of various countries have been busy for an hour now. I hear that the executive branches and prosecutors' offices of all thirty-two nations are joining forces to press for search warrants against our Auditore.”
“And yet that’s still not the most serious problem?”
“I hope you understand that the primary issue we are facing is just that grave. Ah, we have arrived.”
An absentminded sound slipped out of me.
“…Pardon?”
The bottom of the stairs opened up into an empty space. No, wait. In the middle of a hollow cavern stood an old well. Naturally, located deep underground where sunlight never reached, it was thick with dark, murky moss.
“Don't tell me……”
Before I could even finish my sentence, I whipped my head around. Al'tair spoke in a dry voice.
“Originally, this place goes unused. You saw doors now and then on the way down, didn't you? Usually, if someone causes trouble, they spend a few days reflecting there.”
“Didn’t you say Chloe did nothing wrong by Auditore standards?”
A touch of anger seeped into my tone.
If Chloe had harmed innocent civilians, there would be no defense for her. But she had clearly distinguished good from evil.
‘The higher-ups are angry only out of anxiety that their authority is being infringed upon.’
I had thought at least Al'tair would understand. As I gritted my teeth tightly, Al'tair added:
“Now, now. Hear a man out to the end.”
“……?”
“Just as you said, by our standards as a shadow family, Chloe has done nothing wrong.”
Al'tair walked over to the well. Entranced, I followed him, stopping a few paces away.
Creak, creak.
Al'tair pulled the rope connected to the pulley. The old man’s voice overlaid the worn-out noise screeching from the rope and pulley.
“The Auditore isolated Chloe not because my granddaughter did wrong. Strictly speaking, it is because something is going wrong with Chloe’s condition.”
The rope vibrated intensely. Something poked out above the mouth of the well.
It was Chloe, tied up in ropes. First came her reddish hair, then a blindfold, then a gag, and finally a straitjacket. They had sealed her up completely.
“……”
Chloe's head drooped limply. I wondered if she was even breathing, but was relieved to see her gag was damp. Just then, an unpleasant stench rushed into my nostrils a moment too late. It wasn't the kind of foul odor caused by unwashed skin or subterranean dampness.
It was a murky smell. An artificial scent created when a Blessing collides with magic power. If I had to compare it, it was like having hundreds of different perfumes sprayed at once until your head reeled.
“This is…”
“Indeed.”
Al'tair nodded. The old man's eyes looked profoundly sad.
“The Blessing Awakening is taking place.”
“……!”
Leon, Abel, Ryozo, Rachel. A realm that even those hailed as the Golden Generation had failed to reach.
“In the history of Auditore, Chloe is only the second.”
Chloe was knocking on that very door.
* * *
After checking only Chloe's condition, I left the underground with Al'tair.
According to the explanation I heard on the way up, the well was named Mugan. It was a divine artifact used to contain the occasional Auditore who became drunk on bloodlust.
It wasn't an heirloom or anything; the founder of Auditore built the citadel on top of that well, meaning it had existed even before the beginning of the Auditore.
In that case, there was a high probability of a connection to the Ancients. But let’s put off consulting the experts for a moment.
For now, I had to resolve the anxiety of the guy grabbing onto my pant legs—namely, the siscon Nox.
“How was she?”
Nox panted as he asked. This guy had been waiting right at the entrance to the dungeon. I wore a bitter smile.
Nox had repeatedly requested to see Chloe, but Al'tair had flatly rejected him every time.
Nox’s judgment weakened when it came to Chloe. Seeing her state might cause him to yield to a momentary impulse and undo her restraints. To prevent that, Al'tair had blocked Nox right at the entrance.
‘This is the literal definition of a look that says "I’m dying to know."'
I cleared my throat and replied.
“It seems Chloe has awakened to a new kink.”
“…What kind of bullshit is that?”
It was a joke meant to lighten the mood, but he fired back with absolute seriousness, making me feel embarrassed.
“The Blessing Awakening is underway, but she's alright.”
“A Blessing Awakening…! That means her lifespan is being shortened!”
Wow. This was the first time I'd seen Nox drop his archaic speech pattern. He must have been through an incredible amount of stress.
I brushed up my bangs with an indifferent look.
“Lifespan shortening only happens when the Blessing Awakening reaches full maturity. Since it’s still in progress, as long as we figure something out before then, it'll be fine.”
“Heavenly Sword. Is... is this a domain you k-know about?”
“Nope.”
I shook my head side to side. Just as despair dripped from Nox's eyes, I elaborated.
“Instead, all the experts happen to be in Korea.”
“Ah.”
Joaquin Graduate School. Chloe’s awakening would serve as the touchstone testing the capabilities of that institution.
“It feels different from the Blessing Awakening ten years ago, but those people will find an answer.”
“…Can they really do it?”
“It’ll be tough. But no matter how hard it is, I’ll open up a way forward somehow.”
Thump.
I lightly bumped his collarbone with my fist. Nox’s center of gravity wobbled slightly.
“Times like this are when we need to trust and rely on each other.”
“……”
“It sounds cheesy, but… just trust your big brother.”
Nox took a step back. He turned around so fast he stirred up a gust of wind. Was he wiping away tears or something?
“I am… the older brother.”
Now of all times? Quibbling over who's older or younger over a few years? Not that being older is something to brag about, but strictly speaking, I'm vastly older than him anyway.
“…Still, Heavenly Sword, you are the sun that allows our Auditore to exist as shadows, so I will trust you……”
I chuckled softly.
“Yeah, yeah. Just trust your big brother.”
“On second thought, I take it back. I’ll be the big brother.”
“Seriously petty. That’s why you act like such a siscon.”
“S-Siscon?! I’m merely worried about my younger sister!”
Al'tair, who had been quiet, chipped in.
“Going to extremes like that is precisely what makes you a siscon.”
“L-Lord Patriarch!”
“Well, since it stems purely from attachment to blood kin, I suppose I understand, but I worry you’ll never even get married at this rate.”
While we were having our little banter, a presence rapidly approached.
The next moment, a masked figure trailing beams of light landed nearby and dropped to one knee before us. It was an Auditore member I’d seen around. Was she Nox's half-sister?
Either way, she pulled her mask down to her chin. After glancing briefly at me, her pink lips began to move.
“Reporting to the Patriarch. A summons order was just issued by the 32 OECD nations against everyone aiding in the concealment of ‘Chloe Auditore da Sicilia’.”
“Mmm.”
Al'tair suddenly looked up at the sky. A contrail was drifting softly across the blue.
“So things have escalated to this point after all. Tell me, Flavia. When and where are we commanded to present ourselves?”
Al'tair feigned gentleness.
Flavia hesitated, staring only at the ground. Then, almost like a groan, she answered the Patriarch’s question.
“…They said they would notify us regarding that via video call……”
The old man’s gray-streaked eyebrows twitched. A summons order via video call? They were blatantly attempting to humiliate the Patriarch of the noble shadow family, Auditore.
In this world, formal letters stamped with a seal were the standard among nobility. Conducting this via video call was a deliberate insult.
Al'tair quietly suppressed his anger. The ripples of wrinkles on his face smoothed out into a stern, straight line.
“Let us proceed to the assembly hall.”
“Yes……”
Flavia lowered her shame-filled eyes even further. Nox was so dumbfounded he couldn't even find his words. This was my cue to step in.
“I should head over as well, then.”
Flavia snapped her head up. Her eyes shook with confusion.
“Lord Heavenly Sword, you are an outsider.”
“I just witnessed Chloe's concealment, and I fully intend to aid and abet it. That makes me an involved party, doesn't it? I ought to hear the summons order too.”
“……”
“Let’s go.”
Leading the three Auditore members, I arrived at the assembly hall in the heart of the citadel. A massive screen covering the entire wall greeted us. Divided into thirty-two rectangular sections, the screens displayed faces putting on solemn, authoritative expressions.
However, whether due to poor video quality, they failed to recognize me immediately, likely assuming I was just another Auditore member.
—Al'tair Auditore da Sicilia, Patriarch of the Auditore.
The man in the very center fired the opening shot. It was the President of the United States.
—Every nation belonging to our OECD hereby issues a summons order to you.
“Understood……”
—And since the individuals standing there are also involved parties, every single one shall attend as well.
It wasn't even worth listening to any further.
Step.
I stepped forward. Though in the material realm they might look down on me...
“Who the hell do you think you are, telling me to come and go?”
—…Insolent?
...from a cosmic perspective, I looked down on those fools from far higher above.
“I am Kang Geomma.”
—……!
The screens flickered with static, as if reflecting the sudden shift in their emotional state.
“If you don’t want to be wiped off the map, you come here.”