After several days of touring the borders of the Solerion Theocracy and gathering intelligence, Soares reached a single conclusion.
“The Solerion Theocracy isn’t staging a show of force over territorial interests. They’re planning to start a war themselves.”
Disguising the Order of Holy Knights as bandits to raid their own border villages was meant to portray the Jewel Tower as the culprit, stirring resentment among the people.
The show of force at the border served as a smokescreen to prevent the Jewel Tower from noticing the series of events happening within their own territory.
“But if that’s the case, why not kill all the villagers?”
If even one survivor remained, the plan would collapse.
Yet, in every village attacked by the knights, they never killed everyone.
They always captured one or two unconscious survivors.
All those captured were women in their twenties or thirties.
“Why suddenly start a war now? The Theocracy and the Jewel Tower must have been maintaining a precarious balance of power until now.”
The tense relationship between the Solerion Theocracy and the Jewel Tower, two sworn enemies facing each other in the north, was one of the Frien Empire’s most critical concerns.
If their balance collapsed or one side deliberately broke it to spark a war, the Empire—bordering just below—would inevitably suffer huge repercussions.
Soares, once part of the Empire’s leadership, understood the delicate nature of the two countries’ relationship.
“The balance of power has been broken. Or there’s a compelling reason that demands the war start—even if it means breaking that balance with my own hands. And that reason must be connected to the abducted women.”
Solerion.
Women.
Two words that seemed unrelated, but when placed side by side, they immediately evoked another: ‘Saintess.’
The ‘Saint’ and the ‘Saintess’ were historical figures foundational to the Solerion Theocracy and the Sun Faith.
According to scripture, they brought the flame of the sun down to a world of darkness to save humanity.
In the end, the Saint purified the land by burning it with his own body, and the Saintess founded Solareon upon that very land.
Historians debated what parts of this were fact or legend, but undeniable evidence of their existence remained scattered across the continent.
Most importantly, within the Theocracy, the title and power of the Saintess were passed down through generations—an unassailable testament to their reality.
“Could there be a problem with the Saintess’s position… or her power? Is that why they’ve been abducting women of similar age in border areas? Wait, that’s too much speculation. I can’t jump to conclusions without solid evidence.”
Still, Soares tucked the theory about the Saintess away in the back of her mind.
Just as the Labyrinth symbolized the Jewel Tower and the Margrave represented Illium, the Saintess was the symbol of the Solerion Theocracy.
If that symbol faltered, this was the country that would brazenly abduct its own citizens and ignite war to fix it.
“I need more concrete information.”
Trailing the knights at a cautious distance and eavesdropping on their conversations yielded no decisive clues.
Thinking of Arcs, who had gone missing, and Zion who was hoping for her safe return, she knew wasting any more time was out of the question.
“Women in their twenties and thirties. If I disguise myself as a civilian woman, I’ll be seen as a kidnapping target too.”
There was an old, dusty saying in the Empire, rarely used nowadays:
To kill a dragon, sometimes you have to walk right into its mouth on your own feet.
***
At one end of a massive round table that could seat dozens, Zion sat with his arms crossed, glaring at those around him with a grim expression.
[People are the same everywhere—on Earth or another world. Whether they’re mages or not.]
At Frey’s teasing, Zion sighed once again, losing count of how many times he’d done so today.
In front of him, the thirty-three elder professors—high-ranking mages—shouted insults and accusations at each other.
The only familiar face was the old mage Jolt Tagion, who had come down to verify the situation.
Upon learning Zion had single-handedly cleared out the excess monsters in the Labyrinth, Jolt had turned pale and led him to the very top of the tower.
But from the moment Jolt introduced Zion and explained the circumstances, the mood took a sharp turn.
Some responded with skeptical disbelief, which was mild.
Others openly criticized Jolt.
Some doubted his abilities, saying such an incident could only happen under his command.
A few seized the opportunity to drag unrelated matters into the fray and smear him.
Jolt, who had stayed silent until then, finally rolled up his sleeves and charged into the verbal battlefield.
From there, it turned into an uncontrollable riot.
The crossfire of criticism aimed solely at Jolt spilled over onto other mages.
Those mages, inflamed, counterattacked.
Others seized the chance to pounce on fresh prey.
In polite terms, it was a power struggle among the elite; less politely, it was a brawl.
[They don’t seem to care that Zion handled the monsters alone. They’re just using this incident as an excuse to check each other’s power.]
[Wow… like politicians.]
[Haha, right? More politicians than mages.]
[If I were there, I’d shut all their mouths with a heavy gravity crush. Right, Zion, summon me for a moment.]
‘I don’t want to stand out like that, Uncle.’
Zion also found it hard to just watch quietly.
But, on the other hand, the fact that these elder professors wasted time like this was exactly the situation he had hoped for.
“You got appointed as an elder professor because of that ridiculous paper of yours! You bribed the elders, didn’t you!”
“Ridiculous paper?! You’re just a hallucinating drug addict who only knows how to tinker with potions. That’s why you don’t recognize the value of my research!”
“The recent flow of funds and Labyrinth resources in your lab is obviously suspicious. Even passing trainees notice, and if you ask any trainee, they’ll all say something’s off. Are you embezzling resources?”
“Hah. A fresh-faced kid like you sure is good at slandering others. Our lab’s finances and resources are cleanly recorded in my weekly reports without a single lie. Embezzlement? Can’t you read reports? Oh, right, you’re blind, aren’t you? Forgot for a moment. Sorry about that.”
[Hmm… this is getting interesting.]
Crooks, watching the old mages’ brawl with gleaming eyes, spoke up.
[The mages here aren’t picking fights randomly—it looks like there are four factions. Judging by their numbers, the balance of power among them seems roughly equal. Oh, and I think there are four elder mages above the elder professors.]
[Are you analyzing that mess while watching it?]
[Haha, it’s my hobby, what can I do.]
[Is that all you’ve found out? You’re smart, aren’t you?]
[The atmosphere is so chaotic that no solid clues have come up. Or maybe they’re deliberately hiding sensitive info because they’re wary of Zion.]
Yumin, who seemed uninterested until now, tilted her head and chimed in.
[Wait, you’re saying those mages aren’t really fighting, but acting?]
[Not acting exactly… it’s just such a routine sight that even while fighting, they have room to mind external factors.]
“How often do they fight, anyway…” Yumin sighed in exasperation.
Frey, on the other hand, laughed as if entertained.
[Guess they didn’t waste their lives, huh. Yeah, you gotta be that sharp for us to enjoy going up against them.]
‘But I’m the one facing these guys directly.’
[We give you plenty of advice. If you ask for help, we’re always ready.]
Zion nodded helplessly.
Then, he realized the anger and frustration that had been boiling just moments ago had quieted down.
The conversations with the Awakened had helped calm his mind and body.
Staring again at the mages before him, Zion let out a deep sigh and forced himself to think of something else.
‘I wonder if Yuria is doing well.’
During his stay, whenever the monster overflow in the Labyrinth flared up, Zion would intentionally show off by defeating monsters, drawing the mages’ attention.
Meanwhile, with their guard down, Yuria explored the restricted areas of the tower—especially places where visitors were forbidden.
This plan was devised by Soares, Yuria, and Zion after Soares left.
This very situation was prepared for Yuria.
***
After confirming no one was watching nearby, Yuria slipped out of the twelfth restricted zone, melting into the shadows.
‘Nothing much here either.’
A full day had passed since she began reconnaissance triggered by the Labyrinth’s monster overflow.
She minimized time for meals and sleep in places where no one could see her, combing the tower thoroughly without wasting a single minute.
Thanks to the artifact Frey, Arcs, and Zion crafted, there was no fear of magical detection.
In fact, not being seen by anyone was even more crucial.
And Yuria’s espionage skills, honed steadily under Soares’s guidance, had reached near-master level.
She was confident she wouldn’t be discovered by the tower’s mages, who had little experience with espionage.
‘There must be an area where they study monsters.’
Lost in thought, Yuria descended the stairs leading to the second floor above ground.
The Labyrinth was underground, and monsters appeared from it.
She assumed the monster research area would be close to the Labyrinth, so she started searching from the lower floors, but so far had found nothing concrete.
‘Nothing on the second floor either. Could it be higher up? That doesn’t seem likely. Or maybe…’
Hiding her body in the narrow gap of a ceiling vent, Yuria looked down.
Jolt Tagion, the mage who had guided her last time, had explained that the basement first floor contained no laboratories, only the Labyrinth and its entrance.
‘How naive. If they’re really conducting dangerous research on monsters here, then what he said must be a lie.’
To Yuria, Jolt wasn’t a bad person like the Devine Trading Company’s merchant boss she’d met back in Kornika.
She had confidence in her own judgment, praised by Zion, and had come to trust Jolt without realizing it.
‘Just because he’s not a bad person doesn’t mean he’s honest.’
Reminding herself of this obvious fact, Yuria slipped out of the vent and carefully avoided the gaze of mages as she passed the first floor and descended underground.
Two mages guarded the corridor leading to the Labyrinth.
Judging by their youthful appearance, they seemed low-ranking.
She could have distracted their senses and slipped past, but if there was an easy way, better to take it.
Yuria took out a single-use artifact Arcs had made and wrapped it around her wrists and ankles, then clung to the wall like a frog.
‘Arcs really went all out to help. Ugh, I hope my skills don’t rust away with all this ease.’
Ignoring such frivolous worries, she gracefully crawled along the ceiling past the mages, then safely landed back in the corridor, putting enough distance between them.
No sign of any nearby people remained.
Instead, something else filled her entire view.
‘The monster energy is incredibly dense here.’
The violet Fiery Evil Eye shimmered, revealing just how many monsters were hiding deep inside the Labyrinth.
Thanks to this, finding her target was easier.
One section of the passage to the Labyrinth was unnaturally free of monster energy, completely clean.
Examining the walls back and forth, Yuria quickly came to a conclusion.
‘There’s a hidden space behind the wall!’
Contrary to expectations that it would be concealed by magic, the space behind the wall was hidden by mechanical devices.
Probably because if it were magically hidden, other mages would easily detect it.
‘Thank goodness. This is the method Soares taught me.’
That very caution, ironically, had caused this discord.
Pressing a part of the wall, sliding the rising floor sideways, ignoring the keypad that appeared and input numbers, then pulling on the lower wall—after bypassing several mechanisms this way, the wall slid open soundlessly.
No dust stirred, indicating the hidden space had been accessed frequently in recent times.
The space beyond the wall was pitch-black, without a single light.
Yet with her Fiery Evil Eye-enhanced vision, Yuria could easily see inside.
At first glance, it wasn’t much different from the research rooms in previous restricted zones.
But the decisive difference lay along the walls.
Huge glass tubes filled with mysterious liquid, inside which floated grotesque monsters—twisted fusions of human and monster corpses.
‘They’re the same monsters I saw in Pargon!’
Yuria covered her mouth with both hands to stifle a scream and stumbled backward.
Because of that, she failed to notice a black, shadow-like mass slowly crawling across the floor and slipping out.