Chapter 683 – The Watching Eyes and the Person Who Believed Nothing
000
In the temple of the Exiled Church located in the eastern country, there is a secret place where only the executives of the Exiled Church and some believers are allowed to enter.
Here, it was a place where people like Dharma and Enma could communicate with Adam, the father of all things.
Also, it was the most essential part of the temple, so to speak, the part closest to the heart, where the powerful magic source needed to hide the temple from people’s eyes was sealed.
By accessing the magic source, executives of the Exiled Church can control magical power beyond the talent allowed to them and use magic.
In that room, Dharma was bringing in two of the lowest-level believers serving the Exiled Church and having them carve another magic brand on his body.
Originally, he should have been guarding Enlai’s side in Asteris or preparing an attack targeting Cleon and Amelia.
He was ‘inevitably’ here because Owl Mask, who was a fellow member of the Exile Church and could be said to be his colleague, had summoned him.
And from the space where the two people are gathered, a foul smell comes out along with the sound of burning flesh.
Dharma, who was carving yet another brand on his body, seemed to have already become insensitive to things like the temperature of the soldering iron.
He was trying to talk to the owl mask standing in front of him without any hesitation despite the burning sensation in his body.
There, there was something like a huge mirror made of magical energy, and a scenery was unfolding somewhere where the glass should be.
“You really took me. Is this okay?”
When Dharma, who was watching Cleon taking the automata and Enrai with the mirror of farsightedness created by the owl mask, said so, the owl mask nodded.
“The utility value of Enlai has disappeared. He gave him several chances, but he couldn’t handle the dark magic swordsman properly. He could have used you a little more usefully…”
“Under. That’s because he’s a guy who cares a lot about what’s going on around him. In the end, it seems like he was trying to do something only after he lost Enma.”
The owl mask responded to Dharma’s words with a laugh that seemed to mock Enlai.
＂This guy’s family came from Seonjo Medical School and came from his father. Still, until now, I had tolerated it because it was useful in its own way… But that was impossible for Enrai this time. In the end, his family just repeated failure.”
“So, my father doesn’t have any more expectations from these guys…”
“Okay. You, too, should be careful. Just like the time of unchecking, if you fail this time too…”
When the owl mask opened its mouth like that, Dharma boom! And he hit his fist.
In the aftermath, when the upper body of a low-level believer next to him was blown away, the believer who was standing right next to the believer whose upper body was blown away said ‘Hee!’ And sat down on the spot as if frightened.
Of course, after the surrounding area becomes covered in blood and the lower body, which has lost its stomach, flops down next to the collapsed believer.
＂Tch…＂
Dharma was looking at the believer he had killed with an expression that seemed somewhat distressed.
“That’s your weakness right now. The emotions that should have been dulled after living for a long time are not extinguished at all. As his father’s follower and his proud son, the virtue you must have is ‘calmness’. Dharma.”
＂Nagging… Is that what you want to say to your younger brother? Brother.”
Looking at Dharma, who is talking sarcastically after hearing a comment, the owl mask narrows its eyes and looks at him.
Of course, the two are not related by blood, and it may have just been a joke by Dharma since they both have the same person as their father.
If you’re an owl, you probably don’t want to think of Dharma as your younger brother.
His skills – should I say, his body has definitely been trained to a level that can decorate a page of history.
This is because his personality and temper were broken to an unacceptable level.
From the perspective of the Owl Mask, which worships Adam and seeks to unify the world through knowledge and establish a new order, it was an entity that could not be understood even if one tried.
For some reason, Adam trusts him and wants to keep him under his control, so he recognizes him as a comrade.
If you talk like that in a relationship where there is no bond or anything, there will be a tense atmosphere between the two people.
It was Dharma who opened his mouth first, as if breaking it.
“I understand. I’ll be careful. Don’t stare at me like that. And then I too will be thrown into the gap of another dimension.”
Should I say it was a kind of declaration of surrender? It was probably an action taken because the current Dharma could not think of a way to kill him.
Then, the owl mask also suppressed the intimidating feeling, turned his head again, looked in a mirror he had created, and opened his mouth.
“Well, anyway. Enlai is a greedy guy, but I think he will do something helpful in the end.”
＂Haa… You don’t mean to be dragged in and have your information stolen?”
Dharma speaks as if he doesn’t know, and orders the remaining believers with his eyes to carve the brand.
The believer would then rise on trembling legs, pick up the branding tool with his cramping arms, and continue working on Dharma’s body.
“Okay. The gynoid who was taken away with Enlai… Arnia has been implanted with a device that can open a powerful portal to this place. And, even if control of the body is taken away, the device can be controlled from here.”
＂Hoo.＂
At those words, Dharma’s eyes shine.
In other words, as long as they have Arnia, they can open the portal and retrieve Enlai at any time-
This means that you can attack Cleon and kill him, or capture Amelia.
“Indeed. There is a reason why they just let it go.”
“Okay. Even without Enrai, there are still many eyes of the Exiled Church left in Asteris. If we open the portal at the moment they send the signal, we can make up for this failure and defeat.”
In response to Owl Mask’s words, Dharma nods his head as if he understands and looks at the believer whose branding has been completed.
“Gather the battle believers. It seems you and the dead guy here aren’t the only ones working for your father tonight.”
At the threatening tone and voice, Shindo nodded his head in fear and ran out of the room.
001
＂Haa…!＂
When he thought he heard a squeak, Cleon threw the fat body he carried from Enlai’s mansion into the prison with a loud thud.
As dust rose and shook the ground, Cleon raised his body with his hands, quickly escaped from the prison, and locked the cage door.
“I never thought you would really catch Lord Enlai… But are you okay? If you act like this, no matter how much you call yourself Cleon, it is dangerous in many ways.”
It was Calia who led Cleon, who suddenly kidnapped someone at night, to the prison in the basement of the store building without even hearing the circumstances.
Since Herti was already asleep, Cleon wipes the sweat from his forehead while thanking Calia for responding on his behalf.
And I will answer her questions as well.
“Are you okay. Because I already had proof that En Lai tried to plot her treason. Kuzunoha arrived first and is probably in our dorm.”
“Proof of Lord Enlai’s treason… If there really is such a thing, the Enlai family will be destroyed…”
Kalia is nodding her head, her face looking a little bitter.
“But… Who is behind it?”
“Ah… This guy…”
When Cleon looked behind her as she said that, she saw the automata she had encountered at the main entrance of the company headquarters
It seemed like she had somehow managed to shake off her pursuit and arrive here.
Her appearance is striking, but I don’t know how she escaped.
“It’s a little complicated if we talk about all the details, but for now, we’re on our side, so don’t worry.”
“… Indeed, I understand. In that case, I will install a soundproof barrier in this prison, as it will be noisy if Enlai-gong wakes up tomorrow morning and screams. We’ll talk about it in detail tomorrow morning… When Herty wakes up.”
“I wish so. I’m a little tired today…”
[Detecting the fatigue of the person in command. Would you like to enter fatigue recovery mode?]
＂What is that mode… It’s okay.＂
In response to the automata suddenly saying something strange behind her, Cleon shook her head and walked with her towards her own quarters.
He had already understood the situation to some extent through the telepaths flowing in through the imprint, but because there was too much coming in at once, he was unable to answer everything, and was hoping to control the situation by answering to Kuon as his representative.
It was nice to hear that most people were worried about him.
And, when you finally return to your home and open the door, you are surprised by the smell of alcohol.
I knew the story, but it seemed true that Diora came this way rather than returning to the camp with Selena.
＂Cleon!＂ ＂Mr. Cleon!＂
When Amelia and Sasha ran out of the living room at the same time, Cleon’s tired body and mind regained some vitality at the welcome of the two.
“Amelia, Sasha. “Did anything strange happen to Diora while I was away?”
＂Oh, that… It was okay! Although there was a bit of an incident.”
＂… Happening?＂
Cleon’s expression hardened for a moment when he heard some disturbing words from Sasha, but Amelia shook her head.
“Should I call it a happening… As soon as Selena, whom Diora brought, saw my face, she cried loudly and said, ‘You’ve worked hard so far~’ and came to me. As Diora tried to take it off, Selena accidentally fell to the ground and got a nosebleed…”
＂… What was that? Thank goodness.”
“I’m not sure if it’s all a good thing.”
At Cleon’s cold words, Amelia smiled sheepishly, but shifted her gaze to the expressionless automata standing behind him.
“Is that the automata? It is said that he was in charge of guarding Prince Enlai.”
“That’s right. You’ll be fine now that you’ve taken control with the Imprint of Domination. Now that I think about it, has Kuzunoha arrived?”
The most important thing in this counterattack was the existence of the devil’s ledger, so it would have been the biggest problem if Kuzunoha, who had the ledger, had not arrived.
“Yes. A little while ago. Mr. Lila forcibly stopped him from leaving the ledger to save Mr. Cleon…”
＂Well done. Thank you for trying to come, but it would have stood out more.”
After Cleon answers Sasha’s answer, he heads to the living room with them.
Then, there, all the people waiting for Cleon’s return were gathered together and talking noisily.
“So, should we say that Cleon is now at a level where nothing is almost impossible? You can tell just by looking at the number and type of women you face, but the defense range is too wide.”
“If you think about it, the closest opponent, Galatea, wasn’t human either… Shall we just list the non-human attributes?”
＂Demon sword, holy sword, homunculus, demon beast, demon, beast god… Dhampir…”
These were the words of Laila, Kuon, and Illenu, respectively.
And Elenu, if you were going to make him blush, you didn’t have to add ‘dam pir’ at the end.
It was Cleon who thought so.
And while listening to the story, Diora reacted with interest, saying ‘Huh!’.
Kuzunoha was clearly listening but pretended not to hear, even pretending to sleep.
＂What on earth are you talking about…?＂
“It’s a story about what type of woman Cleon will bring next.”
Lila looks this way while clearly answering Cleon’s question.
Then, she looks at the automata that seems to be standing behind it and quietly scanning the group, and speaks to Illenu with her sigh.
＂Automata also added.＂
＂There are two more to go until all 10 fingers are filled.＂
Cleon frowns at Illenu’s words as if she were talking about the achievement rate of a challenge.
And, I sigh as I look at the ledger that is neatly placed on the table in front of the sofa where they are sitting.
“You heard the general story from Diora and Kuzunoha, right?”
“Huh. Turning a crisis into an opportunity is a pretty good idea, Cleon.”
“What. I learned many things.”
Cleon, who raises his eyebrows at Lila’s praise, reaches out her hand and picks up the ledger.
If you turn over the disgusting cover of the devil’s ledger, you can read the names of the nobles of the Eastern countries written there.
＂They’re all famous… They’re from an aristocratic family.＂
Diora speaks as if she is well-versed in the situation in the eastern country, and Cleon answers her with a nod.
“If things had gone according to that guy’s plan, Lord Miyeom might have been dethroned. … I’m glad I was able to stop it in advance.”
“I’d be honored if it helped.”
Diora shrugged her shoulders and shifted her gaze to the automata standing behind her.
“I guess that’s because he’s the guy who was watching over Enlai… He’s cuter than I thought?”
＂…＂
“No, don’t look at me like that. Because I didn’t mean it in a sexual way.”
＇Then when you said you were ‘cute’, did you mean it in a sexual way?’
A thought about something he shouldn’t do passes through his head, but soon Cleon shakes his head.
“Anyway, give me some rest today. When Herti wakes up tomorrow morning, she will drag Enlai to the palace. Diora, please bring Selena. So that I can stand as a witness.”
“Okay. With that, we can put an end to Enlai… What’s next, the Exiled Church?”
Diora stood up at those words and walked closer to the automata.
“If you ask this guy, won’t he be able to answer? The location of the Exiled Church base.”
Cleon nodded his head at her words and asked the automata what Diora was curious about.
Then, she closed her mouth for a moment and-
[Sorry. Information about that order is marked as ‘access prohibited’. Please use a higher command authority.]
“Command authority from above? Is there a higher command authority than the seal of domination…?”
Cleon narrowed her eyes as she said this, but Lila looked at it for a moment and seemed to think about it, then she stood up and walked closer to the automata.
“Let’s dissect this guy.”
＂Anatomy!?＂
Sasha’s voice trembles as if she is surprised by Lila’s words.
＂If he was originally operated by the Exile Church, I don’t know what’s inside his body. For example, a tracker that tracks the location, or an explosion from a distance if the Exile Church is unable to do so.”
[It is possible if it is self-destruction.]
＂Look.＂
＂They said they won’t cause self-destruction…＂
Looking at her as she was making her suicide plan from earlier, Cleon sighed and nodded her head at Lila’s words.
“Okay. Then, I’ll leave the dissection to you. However, don’t break it.”
“Don’t worry. Although I am not an expert on automata, I understand the basic theory.”
When Lila answers as if to reassure Cleon, the automata listen quietly to the story and then looks at Cleon and speaks.
[… Warning. This aircraft was created using technology from the past. Not analyzed with current technology.]
In other words, it may be impossible for Lila to disassemble and reassemble herself.
“What!? What do you think of me?”
Is it because of my mood? I have no expression, but my pupils seem to be shaking.
“… Are you scared?”
[… I would like to inform you that such feelings do not exist for this aircraft.]
Although he responded to Cleon’s words in that way, he still seemed a little uneasy.
“─I’m sorry, but I can’t help it. Because there might be something inside you that is targeting us. Lila will do her best to return it to its original state as much as possible. Close your eyes just once and take the test.”
[… Detect the command of the person in charge of command. Changed the mission of this unit to receiving an inspection from a wizard entity called ‘Lila’…]
As expected, it doesn’t seem like the reason my voice became sullen was because of my mood.
Wasn’t this guy devoid of emotions?
Then Lila shrugs her shoulders and speaks jokingly.
“Well, I think it’s okay. Could it be that this guy has a device inside his body that opens a portal and teleports towards here?”
002
“The car is a portal device!! I’ll break it down first and think about it! Eight!”
Kwasik!
