‘A declaration of war?!’
For Soares, the news struck like a bolt from the blue.
‘The mass production of Saintesses is still underway, but already? This is too soon.’
Ever since she’d sent her subordinate, Olsora, to Zion, her workload had increased—but strangely, her mind felt lighter.
She had planned to bide her time, gather a bit more information, then find the right moment to break the brainwashing of the saintess candidates, win over some of the priests, and escape from the holy city.
Right now, she was in the midst of preparations for that plan.
‘The security has become incomparably stricter. Has war really begun?’
Even as she pretended to be a demure doll sitting in the middle of the room, Soares continued analyzing the situation from what she overheard, stifling a groan inside.
‘Did they discover Olsora’s escape? No, if that were the case, the annex wouldn’t be this quiet. Instead of picking a fight with the Jewel Tower, they’d have turned this place upside down first.’
In fact, even when the priests discovered the meticulously crafted fake corpse in Olsora’s room, they barely reacted.
They simply wore bored, irritated expressions.
Apparently, sudden deaths among candidates due to the side effects of drugs had occurred a few times before.
‘Soares. Stay calm. Things haven’t reached a point of no return yet.’
Though war had broken out and security was tight, the daily routines of the saintess candidates hadn’t changed.
The priests still treated them with utmost care, and the brainwashing was currently focused on etiquette and behavioral patterns.
The kidnapped candidates, though in truth one-time-use bombs, were slated to be publicly lauded as a ‘Saintess Battalion’—brave volunteers who risked their lives for the holy war and received power from a true saintess.
The same story would be told to the public and to the soldiers and knights at the front.
To make them appear dignified, and to avoid suspicion of them being mere puppets, the brainwashing had to be repeated thoroughly and naturally.
‘It’ll take at least another week before the first kidnapped girls can act the part of a true saintess. It’s not enough to just brainwash their behavior. Considering the time needed to imbue them with relic power and send them to the front lines, it’ll be at least two to three weeks before the first Saintess Battalion makes its appearance. So why declare war already?’
The answer was obvious.
She didn’t even need to think it over herself.
There were high priests everywhere, trusting that the saintess candidates were secure, carelessly leaking information.
“The people’s fighting spirit is through the roof. I’m worried they’ll grab farming tools and charge into battle any moment now.”
“Hmph. War doesn’t end just because you recklessly crush the enemy nation. It can’t be helped—the uneducated are hopeless. Tsk, tsk.”
“Precisely why we, in accordance with the will of the Sun God, must guide them onto the right path, don’t you agree?”
“Oh, so it’s true that Bishop Liihainer’s devotion is admired even by His Holiness the Pope.”
“You flatter me too much. Hahaha.”
The biggest problem was the overheated public sentiment.
The staged acts and fabrications spread by the Order of Holy Knights had been all too effective.
The Lawkingdom’s longstanding policy of keeping the populace ignorant had borne fruit.
Strictly speaking, the Lawkingdom wasn’t being pushed along by public sentiment; rather, they feared that failing to control it would cause scandals that would tarnish their international reputation.
For the continent’s sole theocracy, which claimed to be the Sun God’s rightful agent, reputation was paramount.
‘If they can stalemate the front and drag the war out long enough… then they can buy plenty of time. But does the Lawkingdom even have the strength to do that? Against the Jewel Tower, of all things?’
From the Empire’s perspective, both the Lawkingdom and the Jewel Tower were threats, but the greater concern was always the Jewel Tower.
That’s how great the tactical and strategic advantage of mages was.
Depending on their skill, a single mage in the Imperial army could face entire platoons of dozens.
The Jewel Tower had nearly a thousand mages—most far stronger than the Empire’s best.
There was a reason the Empire formally recognized and treated the Tower, a group that hardly even qualified as a nation, as a sovereign state.
Other countries might focus on the Tower’s wealth, but the Empire knew all too well how threatening it was to have hundreds of mages, each capable of facing entire armies, gathered in one place.
‘If the Lawkingdom’s capabilities exceed the Empire’s assessment—enough to deliberately stalemate the front lines and buy time… then the war will be much fiercer than anyone expects.’
At that thought, Soares began to worry about her new master.
If Zion read her report, it was a given that he would try to stop the war or at least intervene to minimize the damage.
‘I want to go back and support Lord Zion right now… but he’d never forgive such recklessness.’
Soares felt uneasy about abandoning the girls—innocent, kidnapped, doomed to be used as expendable bombs.
Fortunately, there was still time.
The sudden declaration of war wasn’t all bad.
Though the annex where the candidates were held was now heavily guarded, the priests in charge of brainwashing became increasingly rushed and careless.
They were trying to expedite the deployment of the Saintess Battalion to the front lines.
As a result, the cracks—barely visible before—were slowly widening with each passing day.
‘With things as they are, I must wait for the optimal moment. To lead as many as possible to safety.’
The sharpened claws she kept hidden would not take long to fulfill their purpose.
***
‘Start the explosion up top, and help them escape from below. Most of the labs on the ground floor are small or already past saving.’
Over several days, Yuria meticulously scouted the inner structure of the tower, mapping out the most efficient routes.
With her sleep and meals drastically minimized, her body felt sluggish, but her mind was sharper than ever.
‘If I hadn’t become an Awakened, I could never handle such a grueling schedule. Zion truly is incredible.’
She praised Zion out of nowhere, not even realizing it was odd.
Strictly speaking, Yuria was not in a normal state.
It was similar to when she battled desire and fate in the capital, but this time the cause wasn’t an MP oversaturation—it was a heightened mental focus.
Thanks to this, she didn’t blindly worship Zion or put his words first, but maintained a calm judgment while still drawing endless motivation from her respect for him.
For Yuria, it was the ideal mental state.
‘Diversion is still the most effective.’
Once she’d secured the escape routes, she had to decide how to rescue the most victims as efficiently as possible.
She was armed with various Artifacts, but ultimately, she was just one person, and though she’d learned from Soares, she still lacked tactical insight.
The best plan she could think of in her state was to use herself as a distraction and launch a diversion.
‘There are so many things to consider. And for some reason, there are suddenly more mages coming and going from the underground labs. It’ll take several more days to devise the optimal operation.’
Even the scope of the victims she should rescue was an issue.
For example, those who had completely fused with monsters, like the ones she’d seen in Fargon?
The monsters in Fargon couldn’t even speak properly or behaved like beasts.
‘Then again, not all of them acted like monsters.’
The biggest difference between monsters and other beings: monsters always tried to kill humans, regardless of the situation.
Not out of survival instinct, nor for fun like some wild animals tormenting weaker prey, but as if the urge to kill all humans was encoded in their very genes.
‘Let’s save them all.’
Yuria chose to believe what she saw with her own eyes.
Maybe they couldn’t be called human anymore, but neither did they deserve to be called monsters.
However, if those who escaped from the labs did start behaving like monsters…
‘Then I’ll take responsibility. Without Zion noticing, I’ll make sure not a single one is left behind.’
She felt the weight of the dagger hidden in the leather pouch on her thigh and quietly steeled herself.
‘But first, I have to make this escape a success.’
A few more days went into reviewing and preparing for the final operation.
During that time, she and Zion only managed brief exchanges of status reports.
Lately, as Zion delved deeper into the Labyrinth, their communications became even more sporadic.
Loneliness threatened to creep in, but Yuria pushed herself, turning even her loneliness into motivation.
‘Let’s think of Kornica. Father, Zion, those who helped me, those who resented me and Father—everyone.’
The source of all those tragedies lay right here.
“…Let’s begin.”
***
These past days, Jolt Tagion was so stressed he could barely sleep at night.
Of all people, Zion had secured the escaped Experimental Subject K, and before Jolt could even get close, Zion had entered the Labyrinth with K in tow.
‘Was it a mistake to grant him so much authority? No—without it, there was no way to keep Zion bound to the Tower. Besides, ever since Zion began the Labyrinth assault, monster outbreaks have ceased entirely. It was the right decision.’
The Order of Elders had no right to forcibly recall Zion once he entered the Labyrinth.
Zion’s progress was simply too fast to even catch up.
There hadn’t been any new reports lately, but considering his previous pace, he was probably well into the lower reaches, below the 20th floor.
Only the Four Elders had ever reached that far.
Even if all 33 elders of the Order went in together, there was no guarantee they’d find Zion without losses.
‘Dear heavens. Does this mean that boy’s strength rivals the Four Elders?’
The realization made Jolt’s skin crawl.
Before the Four Elders returned from the Labyrinth with the ‘Heart of the Dragon’ and fell into deep sleep, their 33 direct disciples, who now formed the Order of Elders, never even considered defying them.
The Four Elders possessed overwhelming, transcendent power.
For Zion to be their equal…
‘Have I… been making mistakes from the very start?’
The dread named ‘the unknown’ crept up from below, grabbing at Jolt’s ankles.
But he shook his head violently, shaking off the fear.
‘No… No. Get a grip, Jolt Tagion. It was I who vowed to stop at nothing for the dream of human evolution. Even if it means sacrificing the innocent. Even if the being has power beyond comprehension. Even if it costs my own life! As long as I’m convinced my wish can come true!’
Clenching his teeth, Jolt squeezed his fists so hard they turned white.
His bulging eyes gleamed with fanatical conviction.
No matter what obstacles appeared, even if he realized his beliefs were wrong, he would never stop—those were the eyes of a zealot.
“KWAANG!”
At that moment, a violent explosion rocked the tower—so powerful the tremors reached even Jolt’s personal lab high above.
Moments later, his private comms device for emergencies buzzed to life.
A baseless anxiety swept over Jolt.
-Professor Jolt Elder! E-emergency situation!
‘I feel like something similar happened not long ago…’
-A massive explosion has occurred in Lab 8. All assistants and associate professors are dead… and the surviving human test subject has escaped.
Jolt’s vision swam.
Ever since Zion had come to the Tower, mishaps and accidents in the labs had been constant.
‘…Was I really the one who made a mistake?’
To escape from the reality before his eyes, Jolt began to seriously reconsider his decisions.