Chapter 462
Chapter 462
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 462
>Chapter Title: Tomorrow or Today
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Rumble, grrrrrumble—!
Was it because the 'hand' had surged up?
The presence emanating from the depths grew even more intense.
As the Sanctuary vibrated under that overwhelming aura, Kahazar and Pahren bolted straight toward it.
'Fall back for now.'
He pondered it, just for a moment.
What if they pierced through the 'hand' and descended into the depths to resolve things?
But facing this monstrous presence made him realize how idiotic that idea was.
...On the way back.
At a fork in the path, Kahazar and Pahren stopped in unison, as if by prior agreement, and exchanged glances.
Kahazar posed the question.
"Which way?"
"...Who knows."
There were two paths.
Straight ahead led to... the Tower Lord, Demeia, and Jamal's Arbiter.
To the right... to Kijystone, Count Taurus, and the imperial mage Paraphus.
For reference, the warp gate to the outside was to the right.
So, which way should they go?
After a brief moment of thought, Kahazar made his decision.
"I'm joining the Tower Lord."
Without waiting for Pahren's response, Kahazar kicked off and dashed away. Pahren watched his retreating figure for a moment before following after him.
How far had they gone like that?
The two passed the site where Aster, Demeia, and Jamal's Arbiter had battled the 9th Elder.
It wasn't long before the two linked up with Demeia and Jamal's Arbiter.
"......"
"......"
Kahazar approached Demeia and Jamal's Arbiter, who were staring at him intently, and got straight to the point.
"Share the situation first. Did you encounter Salvatium?"
Demeia replied.
"We ran into the 9th Elder and took him out. You?"
"Ours was the 11th Elder. But we let him slip."
"Let him slip?"
Demeia tilted her head. Her gaze soon shifted to Kahazar's rear. At the end of that gaze stood none other than Pahren.
"How curious."
"...Is it?"
"How could it not be?"
It was far from a compliment.
To spell it out, it was an expression of doubt: 'You had an Archmage and still let a Salvatium Elder get away?'
Catching the implication, Kahazar let out a deep sigh.
"I get what you mean, but let's table this for now. The urgent matter isn't Salvatium. You know that too, don't you, Patriarch Demeia? What truly demands our attention."
"Hmm."
He was right on the money.
Whether Pahren had deliberately let the 11th Elder go or not, Salvatium wasn't the biggest problem right now.
So, what was?
...That entity in the depths.
That was it.
That said...
"You speak with such certainty."
"About what?"
"That the entity in the depths and Salvatium aren't connected. You seem awfully sure of it."
"...Hmm."
Kahazar groaned.
How to put this.
'The first button's on the wrong hole.'
Demeia's voice brimmed with suspicion. So, the issue was probably... yeah, letting the 11th Elder escape.
"Take a look at this first."
"...?"
Kahazar pulled a crystal orb from his robes and held it out.
He and Pahren hadn't moved right after encountering the 'hand.'
The 'hand' was chillingly dangerous but confined to a 'specific area,' and Kahazar had realized that, opting to observe it.
This crystal orb held the record of that observation.
"You'll understand once you see it for yourself."
"......"
Demeia glanced at Kahazar before focusing on the orb. Soon, the recorded footage played within it—not a long clip, maybe ten minutes at most.
But by the end of that brief footage, Demeia had no choice but to understand.
Kahazar's conviction that it couldn't be Salvatium's doing.
Why wouldn't she?
The 'hand' in the footage was no entity conjured by forbidden magic.
Even glimpsed through the recording, Kahazar's magical experiments proved it.
"See? This can't possibly be Salvatium's handiwork. Or... even if they triggered it, it's spiraled beyond their control."
* * *
Having convinced Demeia with the crystal orb, Kahazar glanced at Jamal's Arbiter.
Demeia was reasonable enough to set aside her doubts once she grasped the situation, but Jamal's Arbiter was unpredictable.
Especially since...
'...He's got a prickly personality.'
There was always the chance he'd lunge at Pahren over suspicions.
Fortunately, though...
Jamal's Arbiter observed the situation without any notable reaction.
Kahazar watched him for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.
'...Prickly grand mages.'
They just wouldn't gel.
Each one individually was a force to inspire awe, but when it came time to unite, they were all powder kegs.
If there were clear hierarchies of power or status, he could pin one down as the focal point...
'...That won't fly either.'
Four regional overlords.
No one's faction overwhelmingly dominated.
Same with their levels of power.
In times like these, a hype man would be handy...
'...Who'd have thought the Tower Lord would be absent.'
But what to do?
They had to navigate this somehow.
His lament was brief.
Kahazar pressed on with the discussion.
First...
"You saw it earlier, but I'll explain again. Here's what I learned about the 'hand.'"
First off.
...Immunity to magic.
"Even the family's core secret art 'Soul Erosion' couldn't inflict any damage."
It wasn't just Soul Erosion.
Excluding it, Kahazar had tested two types of magic on the 'hand.'
...Two.
A small number, perhaps, but both were core secret arts of the Kutlan family—more than enough proof.
Fire and wind attributes.
Yet neither dealt any damage.
And second.
"These 'hands' can't leave a certain area. ...For now, at least."
The 'hands' could extend to the vicinity of the deep-layer staircase entrance, but that area was slowly expanding.
And the rate of expansion was accelerating.
"Started at one handspan per minute. Last check, it was three per minute."
No telling how much faster it'd get, but if it kept speeding up, the Sanctuary would be devoured in due time.
Finally, third.
"As you might guess, the 'hand' isn't magic."
Not 'magic.'
Here, 'magic' encompassed orthodox magic, forbidden magic, ancient magic—everything.
So, what did that mean?
"The 'hand' isn't something conjured by magic; it's a separate entity, like a spirit. For example..."
Kahazar scratched his head for a moment. Then a word from his mind surfaced.
Frankly, he hated uttering it, but it was the most likely candidate right now.
And that possibility was...
"Destroyer."
...An abomination.
* * *
Of course, he wasn't saying the 'hand' was a Destroyer.
Literature described Destroyers as emanating an 'omen' or 'malevolence' that could unhinge the mind just by looking.
Even discounting exaggeration, considering testimonies from the recent Destroyer in the Hamern Great Forest, the 'hand' fell short of being one.
But...
'If I had to pick... it's closer to a Destroyer.'
The 'hand' was that dangerous.
But what was more despairing...
'...That the deep-layer entity and the 'hand' are separate beings.'
No one needed to tell him.
The 'hand' wasn't the deep-layer entity.
So, what was the deep-layer entity?
Unknown, but undoubtedly something as shocking as the presence it exuded.
Thus, the conclusion was singular.
Confronting the deep-layer entity was impossible.
So, the goal was...
"...Escape."
Embarrassing for five grand mages to decide on together, but no one in the room objected to Kahazar's call.
Now, the dilemma was this.
"Head to the depths, or seek a way out from the outer areas?"
He could ask it like that.
...Isn't heading to the depths just suicide?
Think about it.
The 'hand' alone is unmanageable, and now they're crawling toward something even stronger lurking there?
Absurd!
So why was heading to the depths even an option?
Simple.
'...The warp gate key.'
It was down there.
With all the key-holding Hermits having gone to the depths, retrieving it meant going down.
Sure, activating the warp gate needed not just the key but the mana pattern too, but that wasn't a worry.
With this many grand mages, they could crack the mana pattern somehow.
...That was the rationale for the depths, while seeking from outside had its own logic.
'We might escape without the warp gate.'
The 'barrier' encircling the Sanctuary isolated inside from out, but maybe they could find a way?
That was the mindset...
"What say you?"
Kahazar asked the others' opinions there.
The key was the other grand mages' choices.
Whether depths or outside, uniting their power offered the best shot.
"I'll vote first. I favor seeking from outside."
Kahazar stated his piece and awaited the others.
When the result came soon after, Kahazar couldn't hide his bafflement.
"To the depths."
"The depths."
"To the depths."
Three voices, unanimous as if scripted, for the depths.
Kahazar alternated glances between Demeia and Pahren before asking them.
"Did you perhaps bring a grimoire?"
No reply, naturally.
Anyway.
"...Even if the Tower Lord objects, the depths it is."
With the descent decided.
Kahazar thought to himself.
'...We'll make it out alive, right?'
No one knew.
* * *
Meanwhile, at that moment.
[So, what'll it be?]
"Hmm..."
Having heard up to the second option, Aster closed his eyes in thought.
The first and second options.
Both were so tempting that Indurance's choices made him loath to abandon either.
But...
[Time's short.]
The moment of decision approached.
"What if both...?"
[Think that'll fly?]
"...Yeah, figured."
He knew it wouldn't.
So the question was this.
'Tomorrow or today.'
The first option was 'tomorrow.'
The second was 'today.'
Picking the first meant tomorrow was ideal; the second, today...
"Alright, decided."
[Have you?]
Aster nodded.