Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Rebels and Traitors
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“This is Jud. At some point, the signal cut off, so we can’t pinpoint his location.”
“He’s not dead, is he?”
“That’s the most likely scenario.”
“What rotten timing for the worst possible outcome. What was the empty wish from his sponsor for that guy?”
“Longevity.”
“Longevity?”
“He said he was going to die soon and wished to live longer to serve for a longer time. At the time, Jud was about 105 years old.”
“That’s long-lived for a human. Given how young his marked face looks... Number 1 must have injected him with the longevity treatment. A relic of the Golden Age.”
“We still have spares in storage. In any case, Jud’s signal is gone, so he’s unusable.”
A large X was drawn over Jud’s face on the screen. The Arbiter turned his head without regret to the two red dots on the left.
“That leaves only Tolari and Geli. Let’s start with the analysis on Geli.”
Pop!
Next to the upper of the two red dots appeared the face of a dwarf covered in a thick beard.
“Mid-to-low combat power, unable to handle mana, high influence, low-level emotional distortion. That distortion was completely resolved after his first wish was granted.”
“Hmm.”
“He’s essentially an empty shell. Even if we drag him here by force and mutate him, it’d be hard to elevate him beyond the weapons he already commands. At best, we could make him a berserker? Of course, dumping massive resources into it might change things.”
“He’s not worth that much. So in the end, only Tolari is left? That’s the grand conclusion?”
The atmosphere around the Overseer staring at the Arbiter rapidly cooled.
You summoned me here to give orders, and this is all you’ve got? It’s just the same conclusion I already knew?
The unspoken meaning was clear. The Arbiter shook his head as if he’d been waiting.
“Not necessarily. We’ve found another candidate.”
“Another one? These should be all the sponsored ones.”
“After thoroughly investigating all records left by Number 1, we discovered three beings who can be considered already interfered with.”
“What? Three?”
The Overseer felt a rare spark of positive surprise. A triumphant smile flickered across the Arbiter’s bandaged face.
“Do you know of a sponsored one named Jess?”
“Of course. I read most of Number 1’s reports too. He was the empire’s second prince, right? He’s dead now.”
“Jess underwent a procedure to replace his blood with poison to inflict suffering on those he hated. And he injected that blood poison into exactly three people: the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the youngest prince.”
Three faces appeared on the screen simultaneously. The Arbiter stared in shock at the last one to appear.
“Claude!”
“Yes. Claude himself.”
“No way...”
“It’s true. These three were poisoned by Jess’s toxin well before the revelation came down. By that logic, they’ve all been interfered with by the Psyche dimension too.”
“...As expected of the Arbiter. To spot such a loophole.”
“Thank you. However, Claude has been designated a key figure in a lower dimension who received the revelation directly, so interference with him is impossible.”
“Right. But the other two should be fair game, no?”
“Additional interference is possible without issue. Of course, since it wasn’t through normal sponsorship channels, we can’t check surrounding footage.”
“No video barrier was set up, so that’s unavoidable. But shouldn’t locations be easy to confirm?”
“Of course. We’re already analyzing the signals from the remaining poison in their bodies. The reason I summoned you now is because results are imminent.”
“Oh, oooh...”
The Overseer gazed at the screen with eager anticipation.
“Wait, doesn’t that apply to Claude too? Even if direct interference is impossible, shouldn’t we at least be able to locate him?”
“Of course. First, we’ll pinpoint the Emperor and Crown Prince’s locations, then use shadow abilities to approach and drag them straight to the armory.”
“Excellent. Next sponsor should have strong shadow abilities.”
“Wise judgment. Ideally, someone high in both dimensional and shadow abilities.”
“That was Number 1. He was truly exceptional. Not meant to be used up like that.”
The Overseer showed regret. The Arbiter quietly urged on the administrators handling the machines as he replied.
“Number 1 did too good a job all this time. We didn’t properly cultivate other sponsors because of it.”
“The last six invasions were all handled by Number 1 alone. Compared to him, Number 2 was utterly useless. Regrettable, but unavoidable.”
At that moment, one administrator stood and reported.
“Analysis complete. In a moment, we’ll display the locations of the Emperor, Crown Prince, and Claude, presumed to hold the specific signal.”
“Oh, finally?”
The Overseer gazed at the screen with eager anticipation.
But no matter how much time passed, nothing changed. The Arbiter prodded the administrator in a tense voice.
“What’s wrong? No results yet?”
“...Results are in.”
“What?”
“The specific material signal recorded for the sponsor is not detected anywhere in the Ald dimension currently.”
“Not detected? Not even one?”
“Yes. Not a single one.”
Silence followed. After a long while, the Overseer asked in a low voice.
“It’s not a machine malfunction, is it?”
“Impossible. Aren’t Tolari and Geli’s signals still coming through loud and clear?”
The two red dots still blinked on the screen. The Arbiter gauged the Overseer’s stiff expression and barely managed to speak.
“That’s... my mistake. I shouldn’t have summoned you here without considering they might already be dead.”
“No.”
“No, it is. My error. To dare disturb the Overseer’s mind with such a grave sin...”
“They’re not dead.”
“Pardon?”
The Overseer shook his head.
“The signal vanished because they’re dead? Sure, that could apply to the Emperor or Crown Prince. But Claude?”
“Ah...”
“For Claude’s signal to vanish too means he completely removed the poison from his body.”
“That’s impossible, isn’t it? It’s called poison, but it’s a substance from the Golden Age. Particles hundreds of times smaller than bacteria burrow into joints and nerve clusters. Once infected, no medicine or magic can remove it completely.”
“But he did.”
Results don’t lie. At the same time, the energy flowing over the Arbiter’s surface began to surge wildly.
“To think such advanced technology existed in the Ald dimension... Terrifying. High-potential dimensions can’t be ignored, after all.”
“Arbiter.”
“Yes, Overseer.”
“Is interference possible on sponsored ones whose signals have vanished?”
“There’s a high chance it violates regulations. Even bearing the risk, it wouldn’t be easy.”
“Why?”
“We can’t know their locations, so we can’t send a sponsor precisely. We could force one to the last known signal location, but... if the sponsored has left, it’s just a loss.”
“What’s the current manifestation of potential in the Ald dimension?”
He could check himself but asked anyway. The Arbiter directed an administrator, and a number appeared on the screen.
26.
“26 percent.”
“You know it was 14 percent not long ago? It’s advancing frighteningly fast. What’s the Ald dimension’s maximum potential?”
He knew but asked on purpose. Sensing the atmosphere growing dangerous, the Arbiter replied.
“Excellent, Overseer.”
“Excellent” sounded middling, but it was actually the second-highest rank after “Supreme.”
“Every dimension we’ve invaded so far rarely even hit ‘Excellent,’ let alone lower like ‘High-Mid’ or even ‘Adequate.’”
“The Kenrod dimension hit Adequate once. The one that secured Camira.”
“But even with Ald’s maximum potential that high... it barely manifested any at all. So we got complacent, and it hits us over the head like this.”
The black bandages around the Overseer’s body began to slowly swell. The Arbiter flung himself forward and grabbed the Overseer’s leg.
“Steady yourself! You are the Overseer! All of Psyche’s affairs manifest through you! You must not be ruled by emotion!”
“I am perfectly rational.”
“Overseer...”
“But I’m not in a good mood. So explain Plan B. Quickly.”
“Yes. Understood.”
The Arbiter rose hurriedly and pointed at the screen.
“We target Tolari in the end.”
Pop!
On the screen appeared Tolari’s face from when he was still in his teens.
“No physical combat power. Supreme magic. Mid-level influence. Moderate emotional distortion. That distortion hasn’t increased at all since the first wish.”
“So it’s still there.”
“According to Number 1’s last confirmation, yes. Above all, compared to Geli, the abilities inherent in his main body are extraordinarily high. He’s the Arch Wizard that Number 1 targeted intensively, and records say he was the strongest among them.”
“And the video barrier is broken, so we can’t assess his current state. But since there’s a signal, we can go grab him.”
“Of course. However, Tolari is presumed to be under Claude. So even if we sneak in with shadow abilities from behind...”
“Claude could pop out right beside him?”
“He can’t stick around forever. Targeting late night local time and taking him out in an instant should make success likely.”
The Arbiter spoke in a tense voice. The Overseer relaxed his rigid body and nodded.
“The fact that we have to weigh possibilities is unpleasant in itself. But...”
The detailed display of Tolari’s abilities on the screen, along with the mutation outcomes, barely suppressed his surging rage.
Thanks to that, the Overseer’s body began to settle back to normal. The Arbiter let out an unvoiced sigh of relief.
“Leave it to me. I’ll create a weapon that overwhelmingly surpasses Number 2’s final work.”
Right then, the blinking red dot for Tolari on the screen went out.
“......”
“......”
“......”
And how much time passed after that.
High City’s second-tallest Arbiter Tower was engulfed in an explosion.
The explosion started from the top floor and crumbled downward, after which massive black flames wrapped around the remaining tower, reducing everything to ashes.
* * *
Tolari woke up after two days.
“You okay, Tolari? How do you feel?”
“......”
Tolari propped up his upper body in bed, staring blankly at my face with a dazed expression.
“Prince. Something’s off.”
“Me?”
“No, my head feels weird. Hold on.”
Then he abruptly stretched both hands toward the window and struck a spellcasting pose.
“Wait, are you seriously trying to cast Tempest indoors right now...”
“Just posing. But why isn’t this working?”
From the pose, he seemed to be trying Double Magic. What a natural-born wizard. Prioritizing magic issues right after regaining consciousness.
“Tolari. Listen carefully from now on. About that wish you made to your sponsor before...”
“It’s gone.”
Tolari touched his head and broke into a bright smile.
“Gone? Feels so refreshing. Wow, my mind’s completely clear!”
“Uh... yeah?”
“The sponsor wish? Yeah, that’s it. The wish let me use Double Magic. But after, something always felt off in my head. Now it’s gone! Yes!”
“But you can’t do Double Magic anymore...”
“What was that?”
Tolari floated into the air, slipped smoothly out the half-open window, and waved.
“I’ll show you right now! Come on, Prince!”
“Hey! Tolari!”
I hurriedly flew after him, shouting.
“Wait! You just woke up after passing out for two days! And you’re in pajamas!”
“So what?”
Tolari spun through the sky like an acrobat, yelling.
“Feels amazing! I could fly forever! Hurry up, Prince! I’ll show you the new Double Magic over there!”