Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: The Trap Springs
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After getting sufficient rest, Damian headed to the sewer entrance. Only Agnes and Dylan followed behind.
Ariella and Ezekiel were occupied with other matters, and Anya couldn't do much about this kind of problem.
"But why are you coming along, Mr. Dylan?"
Agnes's question was reasonable.
Dylan was also an ambiguous asset. His combat skills weren't particularly outstanding.
Back when they were tracking the chimera in the sewers, he had joined as the person involved, but there was no real need for him now.
"Dylan did something big. He has an important role in this operation."
"I-I just made a device that can track the culprit...."
"Is that true? How is that even possible?"
Agnes leaned in close to ask. As the distance suddenly narrowed, Dylan's face turned as red as a ripe tomato.
Even though he had spent quite some time with Agnes, he still had no immunity to women.
"R-Really, Damian's contribution was much greater than someone like me. He even uncovered Ramsey's accomplice."
"Accomplice? Ah...!"
While Agnes had been holed up in her room, Damian hadn't just been waiting around.
Even if Ramsey was a human chimera, forcing his way through the magic tower's barrier was impossible.
Hadn't even the Empire's Greatest Swordsman and the Archmage failed to do it?
Naturally, internal assistance was essential.
Someone inside the magic tower had either created a gap in the barrier or helped forge Ramsey's identity.
"You solved a problem that even the guardians couldn't grasp."
"How did you do it, Damian?"
"I just made a bold deduction."
First, he narrowed down the people in the magic tower connected to Leon.
Not just enemies, but close allies too. Just because their relationship seemed good on the surface didn't mean they wouldn't kill Leon.
"Among them, I singled out those with even a slight connection to Cadrel."
"Y-Yes!? What do you mean by that?"
He had called it a bold deduction beforehand, but mentioning the dead Cadrel made even Agnes understandably flustered.
"Agnes. You investigated the chimera-related academic societies in the magic tower, right?"
"...Yes. You already knew."
That had been the purpose of Agnes's visit to the magic tower: to find the mage who turned Ramsey into a chimera and ask about his whereabouts.
She had ultimately failed, but she did encounter her half-brother. It was in a different way than she had expected.
'In the end, I ended up using Damian....'
As she straightened her resolve, a wave of shame washed over her.
Not just this time, but she had kept acting spoiled toward Damian.
Whether as his fiancée or as a comrade with swords, one-sided dependence wasn't good.
"I didn't find anything."
"It's because I wasn't good enough."
"It's not just that. The starting point was wrong."
After confirming that Ramsey was a human chimera, Dennis and the other guardians had begun their investigations.
But they hadn't produced any notable results.
No matter how thoroughly they combed through societies even slightly related to chimeras, no real clues emerged.
"Being a human chimera doesn't mean we have to focus only on the chimera procedure itself. Issues related to the human body are more important. And the expert in that field is...."
"Cadrel, the former councilor."
Separate from his proficiency in elemental combat magic, he was a mage with a deep interest in human experimentation.
He had kept it hidden for a long time, but Damian eventually caught on and had him expelled.
"Leon and Cadrel. There weren't many mages connected to both of those guys."
That narrowed it down to five people, and all five were accomplices.
In truth, none of them had deep ties to Cadrel or Leon.
If they had, it would have come up when Damian read Cadrel's memories in the past.
"We interrogated those mages and..."
"No, we couldn't. They were all dead."
Instead, they secured documents.
Dylan had used those to create the tracking device.
However, since it was still a prototype, no other mage besides Dylan could operate it. That's why he was coming along.
"Feels like a familiar sight, doesn't it?"
Damian said casually. He was referring to the Seekers.
Not many people knew about the Seekers yet.
There was no need to tell Dylan about them specifically, so he kept it vague.
Was Ramsey a Seeker too? If he was connected to Cadrel, it wasn't impossible.
Were they also involved in killing his father and Ruth?
The answers would come once they captured Ramsey.
"But...."
Agnes paused her steps for a moment.
"Why did you wait for me?"
Once the tracker was complete, they could have pursued Ramsey immediately. There was no need to wait for Agnes.
Because Ramsey was Agnes's enemy? Neither Damian nor Dennis were the type to consider such personal matters.
"I told you, we're setting a trap. And that's you."
He had killed Leon, yet Ramsey hadn't left the magic tower. What could the reason be?
"...He's waiting for me."
Agnes gritted her teeth hard. Her limbs trembled along with them.
She had stood up with Damian's help, but facing Ramsey still terrified her. She couldn't predict how she would react.
That frustration burned just as fiercely as her hatred for Ramsey. She was disappointed in herself too.
The tracker only gave a rough location.
If Ramsey kept running, there was no sure way for them to catch him.
"Ah, you've arrived."
When Damian's group reached the entrance, Dennis greeted them gladly.
Because Dylan and Agnes were the most crucial figures in this operation.
"Are you alright, Miss Agnes?"
"I showed some unbecoming behavior, Duke Dennis. You don't need to worry anymore."
Dennis understood the true meaning of her words. There was no need to explain the dangers of this operation to her.
"As you know, Miss Agnes, the state of the sewers is far from normal.
When Cadrel went berserk, the deep parts of the sewers were destroyed, causing major changes to the ecosystem.
The number of aberrant lifeforms increased, they grew stronger, and the space itself seemed to come alive.
Several guardians who entered to track Ramsey suffered severe injuries.
"From our investigations, it seems they react to intruders from outside."
It's also affecting the magic tower.
Reports of aberrant lifeforms have already come in from inside the magic tower, and some guardians have left to deal with them.
With Ramsey holed up in the sewers, sending in more people would complicate things outside as well.
Dennis judged that the optimal number was three.
With Agnes and Dylan as essentials, the remaining spot was...
"I'll go."
Dennis nodded at Damian's words.
These three had already investigated the sewers together before. Their skills were top-notch, and their teamwork was excellent.
"It feels like I'm always passing the work to you. I'm truly sorry."
"No worries. When you think about it, I'm part of the magic tower too, so don't feel too bad."
Moreover, with a high chance Ramsey was part of the Seekers, this matter was deeply tied to changing Ariella's fate.
"In exchange, keep that promise from before."
"Of course."
The promise was that the guardians would use Hilton Trading Company's new potions.
They had originally used their own self-made potions, but they had decided to contract with Hilton this time.
The profit itself wasn't huge. But with the symbolic status of the magic tower's guardians, it would serve as massive publicity.
The guardians also benefited by cutting down on one task, so it wasn't a loss.
The reason they stuck to self-made potions was trust.
But with Damian bridging the guardians and Hilton, his presence served as a guarantee.
"Don't worry about the magic tower's situation. We'll handle it as best we can."
With Dennis seeing them off, the three entered the half-destroyed entrance.
Kakaduk. Unlike last time, the elevator's condition was precarious. It had also suffered major damage from Ramsey.
"What if it stops midway.... Aaaah, saying that always makes it...."
Dylan clutched his head. Just as he said, the elevator suddenly halted.
Tuduk. Tuduk. Tuduk. Kiiiyaak. With chilling sounds, the walls crumbled.
What emerged from inside was a horde of massive aberrant lifeforms. They were amalgamations of mantises, centipedes, spiders, and various other animals.
They were probably creatures that had accidentally entered the sewers and mutated upon contact with the contaminated mana.
In a way, they could be seen as naturally occurring chimeras.
"This is bad...."
Agnes drew her sword and let out a groan.
If she fought using aura, there was a high chance the elevator would be completely destroyed.
Dylan could use flight magic, but only barely enough to save himself.
They could climb down the walls, but that would leave them vulnerable to the aberrant lifeforms' attacks.
Bubグルbubグル. While Agnes pondered, black mud boiled up from beneath Damian's feet.
Shaaak! Just as the aberrant lifeforms' blades were about to pierce the elevator, the black mud formed a sphere completely enveloping it.
"Dylan, can you fix it somehow?"
"I-If you just give me some time...."
The sewer elevator was a type of magic tool. Dylan could shine in this area.
Kwang. Kwang. Kwang. Impacts transmitted from beyond the mud wall, but it didn't break through.
Dealing with them using black magic wouldn't be hard. But the space where the elevator was located was precarious.
That's why he used black magic—Nightmare—for defense. Its durability was lower than a barrier made with Stone Scales, but it could withstand attacks like this.
Plus, it had no weight, so it didn't strain the elevator.
Damian stood still, focusing only on his breathing. He was a master at handling the black mud.
Agnes recognized it as the technique she had seen in Hameln.
Its defensive power was reliable. Still, she drew her sword and assumed a combat stance just in case.
"I-It's done!"
In just a few minutes, the elevator resumed operation.
Covered in black mud, it continued descending. The horde of aberrant lifeforms came along too.
Kung. Pajijik. As the elevator hit the ground, a strange sound rang out.
The aberrant lifeforms on the underside had been crushed.
"When I give the signal, focus only on defense more than anything else."
Both Agnes and Dylan nodded.
They understood what Damian meant.
It wasn't about the enemies' attacks, but preparing for the shock from Damian's own attack.
Kiiiyaak!! As the mud wall receded, the aberrant lifeforms filling the ceiling poured down like rainwater.
Hwaruk. In a battle against numbers like this, no black magic was as effective as Hellfire.
The green flames Damian ignited from his fingertips filled the space.
As the scorching heat up close dissipated, chunks of charred flesh rained down.
"Everyone okay?"
"Yes."
"I-I'm managing somehow."
But there was a problem. In the end, the elevator couldn't withstand the impact and broke.
"Um.... Hmm.... This is...."
Dylan examined it for a long time but eventually shook his head.
"Let's think about it after securing Ramsey."
Escape could come later.
The sewer situation was linked to the magic tower anyway. If changes were felt above, Dennis would send people.
"The device is working properly. This way."
Dylan pointed the direction while holding the magic tool. Just as they were about to move in earnest.
"Wait."
Damian stopped the group. Did he have something to say separately?
"Agnes."
"Yes, Damian."
"Sorry in advance."
"What do you...."
White powder scattered from Damian's hand, and Agnes, inhaling it, slowly collapsed. She had fallen asleep.
She never expected Damian to do something like this, so she was caught completely off guard.
"Huh?"
While Dylan stood there awkwardly, unable to grasp the situation, Damian pulled out a magic tool from his subspace pouch and set up a safe zone.
"So, is Dylan safe?"
After laying Agnes inside it, Damian turned around.
Asking Dylan about Dylan's own safety. To Dylan himself, it was utterly absurd.
"Is the acting a family trait? It's about time to come clean."
Agnes was asleep, and they were alone in the sewers. Even if he used an escape device, Damian could easily stop him.
This was the trap Damian had mentioned.
Anyone could see it was a trap, but it was too tempting not to take the bait.
"When did you figure it out?"
Puk. A gas mask sank into flesh. But it wasn't Dylan's face.
It was a young boy's. One who resembled Agnes.
"Is it the bond between illegitimate children?"
"Don't talk nonsense...."
Ramsey grinned grotesquely as he spoke. Soon, Dylan's body twisted violently, transforming into a grotesque form.
'As expected....'
And the power of hell could be felt as well.