Chapter 189
Chapter 189
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 189
Chapter Title: A Desperate Gambit
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A sudden heat flared in Loan’s mind.
The strain of intense focus.
It was the result of considering countless scenarios and possibilities beyond his limits, weighing the priority of each step.
Was it possible?
Less than a day remained. Even at full speed, the chances of arriving before the council convened—before those bastards could activate the Carnival—were slim.
When he factored in unexpected variables, it seemed even more impossible.
Even if he left right away and moved as fast as he could, he would only make up a few hours.
He needed a revolutionary method, but nothing came to mind.
One fortunate thing was that the Union had carrier pigeons.
If the situation were like Rhodes, it would have been difficult, but for now, communications between here and Felsina should be free from interference.
‘First, a warning…’
Loan immediately took out his notebook and reported the situation.
[The Bassini family of Ferrara has colluded with the Grave. Confirmed Nostra is in a pact of shared destiny with the Bassini family. The Grave alliance intends to perform a demonic ritual called the ‘Carnival’ at the provisional council meeting in Felsina tomorrow. Vice Commander Richa's unit of the Accountability Division is expected to be in danger. Extreme caution required…]
The message was short but packed with information.
It was a significant achievement in itself, but it would only truly matter if Felsina’s safety was secured.
And what could help him with that was…
‘This.’
After confirming the letters had vanished into the air, Loan looked at the black box again.
After the illusion had lifted, the whirlwind of magical power had also subsided.
‘What a strange magical tool.’
Beyond recording sound, this box must have another, true purpose.
Especially the way it had resonated with his own mana, amplifying the refined magical power within it in a way that was difficult to comprehend.
He wanted to examine it more closely, but first things first.
For now, if he could replay the earlier sounds, it would be sufficient as evidence.
He couldn’t just leave it behind.
Loan placed his palm on the black box and moved it side to side, trying to control the mana it emitted.
After a few attempts, he confirmed it was possible.
Moreover, he could do more than just replay the sound; by interfering with the flow of mana, he could find specific moments, rewinding or fast-forwarding the audio.
‘This is enough confirmation.’
Loan now turned his attention back to dismantling the magic circle to retrieve the box.
He was dealing not with the inherent properties of the box itself, but with a magic circle placed by whoever had put it here.
This magic was of a different nature than the one that recorded and played back sound, but it was relatively less complex than the others, so he was able to remove it from the shelf without much difficulty.
All of this took only a few minutes.
Just then, Sienna and the other seniors, having cleared the hallway, were about to enter the room as Loan was leaving.
“Where’s Commander Garcia?”
Sienna answered Loan’s question.
“I don’t know. He went to the top floor. I was about to go look for you.”
“Let’s go.”
The inside of the mansion was thick with a mixture of dust and smoke.
The air was foul, a mix of blood and the smell of burning.
The enemy’s assault had all but broken.
Even so, the seniors of the Accountability Division were moving busily, cleaning up any remaining stragglers.
There wasn’t enough time to explain the situation to them.
Loan spoke to Sienna, who was following closely behind him.
“I’ve secured the evidence. The problem is Felsina.”
“Felsina? Why?”
“The head of the Bassini family and the Grave alliance are targeting the council. I think something’s going to happen on the day of the chairman’s election.”
“What?”
Loan summarized the information he had obtained from the box.
Sienna was greatly shocked.
“But even if we leave right now, the time…”
“I know. I need to report to Commander Garcia and find a way.”
However, when the two of them reached the top floor, they were unable to speak right away.
“…”
A rather astonishing sight lay before them.
Though they were in a hurry, it was only natural that they were at a loss for words. It was difficult to just blurt out a report of the situation.
Garcia, who had rushed to the top floor to face the master-level Luciano alone, appeared to be in terrible shape.
He was covered in severe wounds, but the one on his side, where a chunk of his flesh had been torn away, looked the most fatal.
An arrow must have passed through, scraping out his innards.
Yet, he did not fall.
In an awkward posture, he propped himself up with an elbow on a shelf, using muscle contraction and condensed mana to hold back the spilling guts and blood.
All five fingers on his left hand were broken, dangling uselessly and pointing down regardless of his hand’s position—a testament to the fierce battle he had fought.
Was that why he looked proud?
Despite his grave injuries, his expression wasn’t bad.
Sienna asked.
“Are you all right, Commander?”
“Better than all right. A few scratches are a small price to pay for taking down the head of the Grave. Back in my prime…”
“No, stop talking.”
Sienna urgently cut Garcia off.
She couldn’t bear to watch him launch into a long-winded story while blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Biting his lower lip in dismay, Loan shifted his gaze to ‘that thing’ which must have put Garcia in such a state.
A massive construct, so large it nearly touched the high ceiling.
It was shaped like a sculpture of a warrior drawing a bow.
Judging by the deep, dark mana and the unique, leathery texture like a demon’s hide, it was clearly not made by human hands.
‘Is that…’
Something else lay on the floor.
Looking closer, he saw it was the head that had fallen from the construct. A giant eagle’s head wearing a steel helmet.
But that wasn’t the only head.
The interior of the construct was completely exposed, and inside was an old man, with tentacles connected to every joint and muscle in his body.
That must be Luciano.
“Luciano… no, is it a demon?”
Sienna asked after finishing Garcia’s first aid.
Loan replied.
“It has similarities to the Nostra consigliere I met before. A man named Mario. He wore a demon like a suit of clothes and wielded terrifying power.”
This time, however, it was a bit of a stretch to say he was wearing it.
With tentacles connected to his joints and various-sized arrows and mechanisms protruding from all over its torso, it seemed closer to a large mechanical device.
A new form, a mix of human, machine, and demon, perhaps.
There could only be one reason for its creation.
To shoot a bow, and for that purpose alone.
But something was a little strange.
Luciano inside the device had completely lost his life force, yet a considerable amount of magical power still remained in the device itself.
Dark mana swirled within it, ready to unleash an attack at any moment.
‘Did it become inoperable because the host died?’
As Loan frowned in thought, Sienna glanced at Garcia’s complexion and muttered in quiet admiration.
“Commander, you fought one hell of a beast.”
Garcia replied, his voice a little more stable.
“Luciano had five signature techniques, as I knew them. I figured it was a good trade if I used my five fingers to get close to him. But things far more incredible than the five shots he fired were waiting for me.”
He must have been stunned. It wouldn’t be surprising if his thoughts had frozen for a moment upon seeing that form.
On top of that, it must have been a tough fight, with all those countless, varied arrow-launching mechanisms bombarding him relentlessly.
Garcia laboriously raised an arm and pointed.
“Look at that. Is that even an arrow? It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call that a siege weapon.”
In place of legs on the construct's lower body was a large ballista.
A scaled-up version of a crossbow, it typically possessed enough power to destroy buildings.
Perhaps that was what had caused the wound in Garcia’s side.
Just as he thought.
“I barely managed to cut off its head, but I couldn’t dodge that thing firing at the same time. It was my mistake to stubbornly hold on when it almost blew me outside. Maybe I should have just let it carry me away. That was no ordinary force. And now look at me.”
Sienna frowned, showing her displeasure.
“Blown away? Are you joking at a time like this?”
Meanwhile, Loan blended Garcia’s words, the image of the giant arrow, and Sienna’s comment.
A strange picture, unsuited for the grave situation, formed in his mind.
Riding an arrow…
He forced a serious expression, feeling guilty.
Garcia, misinterpreting Loan’s look, managed a smile.
“I’m fine. I literally can’t lift a finger right now, but I’ll recover after a good day’s sleep. It’s a good thing Richa isn’t here. If she were, she’d start with nagging, which would turn to anger, and she’d end up bursting into tears, haha.”
He knew the commander was just trying to keep his juniors from worrying.
Waiting for the laughter to subside, Sienna spoke with difficulty.
“Um, Commander…”
Knowing the relationship between Garcia and Richa well, she was particularly hesitant to tell him the truth, as she knew exactly how he would react.
Especially given his current state.
Garcia frowned and said.
“It’s not like you to hesitate.”
“…”
“Spit it out.”
“Loan found the black box and secured the evidence. But he has something to tell you.”
As Sienna finished, Garcia slowly exhaled and looked at Loan.
A momentary pressure weighed down on Loan.
Was Garcia tense because of Sienna’s hesitation, was he on edge because of his injuries, or had he sensed something ominous?
“You secured the evidence? I feel like my own contribution is being significantly downplayed. But Sienna wouldn’t be so cautious just for that. Surely, I, your far…”
“Commander.”
Unable to waste any more time, Loan rudely cut the commander off.
He then quickly relayed the information he had learned from the black box.
“Given the situation, it seems Felsina is likely to be in grave danger…”
As the story unfolded, Garcia’s expression hardened.
A scorching energy began to rise from the mana enveloping his body.
He seemed to be barely suppressing the urge to dash to Felsina that very instant.
He managed to speak, his voice strained.
“Richa is the Vice Commander of the Accountability Division. She’s smart, but I’d say she’s also the strongest of the Seekers. With her and the 2nd Runner Squad there, no major problems should arise immediately.”
His words were a stark contrast to his expression and demeanor.
He was clearly worried sick.
“I’ve sent a carrier pigeon, so they’ll be prepared, but they’ll still need support as quickly as possible. The problem is, we are the closest ones in Ferrara to Felsina. In this condition, I can’t think of a clear solution. Do either of you have any ideas?”
He had wanted to ask for advice to find a solution, but it seemed Garcia didn’t have a good idea either.
Just as Loan and Sienna failed to answer, a clang came from behind them.
Clang—
They turned to see that the eagle head on the floor had shifted slightly, its helmet hitting the ground.
“It’s alive?”
Sienna asked.
Loan looked closely and saw black mana squirming out from the severed surface of the head.
It seemed to be attempting to reconnect, as the flow of mana was directed toward the mechanical device.
As if in response, the mana swirling within the device also tilted slightly toward the head.
Sensing this instinctively, Sienna lunged forward and brought her twin swords down on the eagle’s head.
Crunch!
The mana in the head dissipated.
But the immense magical power within the construct remained.
‘It’s still there, even without a head. Even without a host?’
Suddenly, Loan’s gaze fell upon his own hand.
Looking at the mana swirling from the black box—
‘Could it be that the mana remains in the device because there’s something that can take the place of the head?’
Loan thought that the box could synchronize with the device and act as a substitute for the head.
Of course, the box itself had no such intention.
Right now, control of the box lay with Loan.
‘If I refine and amplify it…’
Loan looked at the ballista’s giant arrow and recalled the fantasy he had briefly buried.