Chapter 185: The One Who Knows His Past
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 185: The One Who Knows His Past
The Labyrinth will one day cause an ultimate eruption, and no mortal will be able to stand against it.
This is because the Labyrinth Master can capture human souls and drive them to madness.
But humanity has hope.
The Turn-Based Wizard, said to exist among the Possessors.
He possesses immense mental power, allowing him to make countless calculations and tactical decisions in an instant.
It is said to feel as if the physical world has stopped, and only the wizard's mind flows along a different axis of time.
“...Or so the theory goes,” Meldini said.
“Professor Dalstream's old research data never really garnered much attention in mainstream academia. To be honest, it was all too unrealistic. But the events of late have been quite a coincidence.”
“The Labyrinth eruptions?”
“Indeed. The two recent eruptions were quite different from the ones before. The White Lion, the Dagger Raptor, and even the Labyrinth Master. And on top of that, a Possessor wizard that the Labyrinth Master is obsessed with has appeared.”
Meldini squinted at me.
“A Possessor who can use silent, high-speed casting, psychokinetic teleportation, transcendent cognition, and even remote wand control. One who can snatch the ultimate staff from the hands of an 8th-tier ascended wizard from afar and wield it with abandon.”
With his eyes, the professor was asking me, Are you the Turn-Based Wizard?
He must have been dying to get a confirmation from my own lips.
“The truth is…”
“Don't say anything,” Meldini cut me off. “There’s no good that can come from speaking of it.”
To be honest, since the Labyrinth Master already knows, there's no real need to hide it from our allies.
But for now, I would respect Meldini's wishes.
Instead…
“Professor.”
I decided to ask something I was curious about.
“Did Professor Dalstream ever tell you anything else about the Turn-Based Wizard?”
“Anything else? What do you mean?”
“For instance…”
I hoped some information about this remained.
“...about an impossibly giant hourglass in the Ethereal Galaxy.”
“No one knows anything about the Ethereal Galaxy... but don't tell me.” Meldini swallowed hard. “Did you see the Ethereal Galaxy? When you died this time?”
“The first time I died.”
In truth, I hadn't seen anything when I died this time.
The difference between my first and second deaths was whether or not I was within an hourglass turn when I stopped breathing.
The first time, I had swallowed the poison after turning the hourglass. But the second time, I had already given my orders to Yernil and Back Attack and ended my turn before the reaper's scythe struck my neck.
“My god.”
When I gave him a brief summary, leaving out the part about the turns, Meldini was stunned.
“My god! You met Wizus!”
He looked completely dumbfounded.
“H-hold on a moment. This isn't something I should be hearing alone!”
Meldini quickly summoned Isilof with a message scroll.
“Hmm... This is the first I've heard of such an hourglass in the Ethereal Galaxy. Perhaps it's related to the Turn-Based Wizard. Caleb, it would be wise to research this further.”
“Where should I start?”
“First, we'll need to find the researcher who studied the abyssal steles with Professor Dalstream.”
That person held the key to several problems.
Dalstream's research on the Turn-Based Wizard.
The research on the Labyrinth's ultimate eruption.
And even my lost(?) past.
“Bipa.”
I had to meet that Spirit Race Taoist.
“What a perfect, solitary moon.”
Bipa, the Spirit Race Taoist of the Deep Layer, enjoyed the moon as he poured a drink into his cup.
“A moon like that always reminds me of an old friend.”
The lifespan of the Spirit Race is very long, and they rarely show their age. It was hard to guess just how long ago "an old friend" might have been. Decades, perhaps? Or even centuries.
It had been quite some time since he'd lost contact with that friend. They had parted ways due to a difference of opinion, but Bipa was certain he, too, would have been preparing for the Labyrinth's ultimate eruption. Bipa never doubted his wisdom.
“Dalstream.”
The old friend came to mind now for three reasons: because the moon was as round as an elven ethereal lake, because he had recently heard news of his death, and because Bipa was currently holding a Possessor captive.
“Bipa.”
Mugol’s calm voice shattered his reverie.
“Stop messing around and help me.”
Beneath the firm grip of the tiger beastfolk warrior lay a Possessor.
“Ghk... Keuk.”
“Don't resist. Stay still. You'll get hurt if you move.” The tiger's piercing blue gaze shot through the Possessor.
“We're not trying to kill you. We're kidnapping you. Just stay still.”
“Are those supposed to be calming words?” Bipa took another sip of his drink with a faint smile.
“Elf. What strange new world are you wandering?” he mused, raising his cup to the moon.
“A longing for clouds and trees—ack!”
A message scroll popped into existence before his eyes.
“What insolent brat is so rude at this hour?”
Bipa checked the scroll.
It was from Caleb.
“Delphin.”
The Consul was melancholic.
“Perhaps I’m not qualified to be the Consul.”
“Because you’re not doing the Chief Inspector’s work?” Delphin, buried in paperwork at the Chief Inspector’s desk, shot back a pointed reply, but the Consul remained gloomy.
“I stabbed the Labyrinth Master!”
The citizens of Sohen call the Consul their guardian. They refer not to the man, Peterson, but to the position of Consul itself.
This is because, among the countless powerful individuals of the Deep Layer in Sohen, he is the most trustworthy, the most dedicated to the public, and the one who devotes all his efforts to protecting the lives and property of the citizens.
Compare him to the strongest figures in other organizations.
Blackdog. Needless to say, they're a back-alley gang that preys on the powerless.
The Nathaniel Temple. They're obsessed with money.
The University. They're devoted to magic and research and have no contact with the citizenry.
In the end, when the civilians of Sohen feel threatened or suffer an injustice, the institution they appeal to is the Public Security Headquarters, and the ultimate responsibility falls to the Consul, its most powerful figure.
The Consul is the guardian of Sohen because he truly must protect the lives and property of all its citizens.
“But I almost destroyed the Labyrinth! I almost ruined this city!”
When he plunged his sword into the Labyrinth Master's chest, the demon had said: Consul, you will carry the guilt of this impulsive act for the rest of your life.
Just as he'd said, the Consul was suffering from considerable aftereffects.
“To be honest, Delphin, I was relieved that the Labyrinth Master didn't die.”
That sense of relief tormented the Consul even more. Just how much uncertainty had he felt when he swung that sword?
“I might be unqualified.”
“Then why don't you step down as Consul and come over here to handle the Chief Inspector's duties?”
As the two bickered, another visitor arrived at the Consul's office.
“I unintentionally overheard your conversation from outside the door.”
It was Servan, the Cardinal of Nathaniel.
“Consul, please do not torment yourself so.” He offered the Consul simple words of comfort. “Was there not a risk of a great eruption from the Labyrinth?”
That issue was the problem that had been complicating the Consul's thoughts the most lately.
The Consul stood at a crossroads with two extreme paths before him.
The first path was to summon the Deep Layer adventurers, charge in together, kill the Labyrinth Master, and destroy the Labyrinth. The great eruption would be prevented, and though the Labyrinth cities would fall into poverty, they would survive.
The second path was to dismiss the threat of a great eruption and maintain the status quo. The Labyrinth cities would continue to prosper, or the great eruption would occur, and the entire surface world would face ruin.
“Honestly, I don't know!”
How could anyone make such a monumental decision?
“The evidence is too flimsy to base a decision on.”
The Consul trusted Caleb. Although the lie detection magic had been wrong, he didn't seem to be lying about Dalstream's last words. Besides, considering the circumstances of Dalstream's sudden murder, wasn't it reasonable to be suspicious of the Labyrinth's movements?
“But when we interrogated the White Lion, no information about a great eruption came out.”
All the Consul had gotten from that was information about the Assembly. Perhaps Rococo hadn't had enough time for the interrogation.
Or perhaps.
“Isn't it possible that Caleb misheard, or that Professor Dalstream misunderstood?”
At the very least, the Consul had never seen Dalstream's research data himself, and he couldn't yet be certain about closing the Labyrinth.
“We need someone who knows Dalstream's research well. Professor Meldini and Professor Isilof said they don't.”
Knock, knock.
Another visitor came to the office. It was Isilof and Caleb.
The story they brought was like rain in a drought for the Consul.
“There is someone who used to conduct Deep Layer research with Professor Dalstream.”
“Who!”
“We're going to discuss the great Labyrinth eruption with him.”
“Who is it! Summon them at once!”
“I already have.”
“You have?”
“Yes. By message scroll. I don't know if he'll come... He hasn't replied,” Caleb said. “But the transmission itself was successful. So he hasn't blocked incoming messages, and he isn't inside the Labyrinth.”
And if he saw the message, he will definitely come.
I made sure he had no other choice.
[The leaders of Sohen wish to speak with you regarding Professor Dalstream's research. The specific topics are the great Labyrinth eruption, the Turn-Based Wizard, and my past.]
“He can talk about his own past himself.”
Mugol had never liked that disrespectful wizard.
“It seems his own testimony wasn't enough for some reason.” Bipa tapped his palm with his fan. Tok, tok.
“Let's go, Mugol.”
“We've gotten tangled up with that bastard twice, and nothing good came of it either time.”
“We still have to go. He has us by the throat.”
“Leverage?”
“Read the back of the scroll.”
[If you do not present yourself in Sohen by the end of this month, I will reveal the location of the Possessor village to the Deep Layer adventurers and lead an assault on it myself.]
“That son of a bitch.”
“We have no choice.”
“No, I told you back then I was against taking him to the village.”
“How was I to know this would happen?”
To be honest, when they took Caleb there at Hyedam's request, Bipa and Mugol had been confident it was safe.
1. Since he was Hyedam's lover, she would handle him.
2. If that failed, they could just capture and imprison him by force.
“But then that monstrous spider suddenly appeared and raised hell, messing everything up.”
“I definitely said we should have killed them all and locked Caleb up back then.”
“I never imagined he would threaten the place where his own lover lives.”
The biggest reason Bipa let Caleb go at the time was because Hyedam's soul-tracking had reconfirmed that he wasn't a Possessor. In the end, it turned out to be a foolish, self-defeating move.
“This has become interesting.” The Spirit Race Taoist's heart pounded for the first time in a long while.
“That spider from back then, Mugol. That thing was probably an Inter-floor Lord.”
“Probably.”
“Caleb. So you've become a wizard who can even command an Inter-floor Lord, have you?”
Bipa flung the remaining contents of his cup into the air.
“I suppose I must go with a clear head. To reminisce about the old days with you, in Dalstream's stead.”