Chapter 130 : Chapter 130
Chapter 130 Noah Basor (4)
Just because they are parent and child doesn't mean they have to be the same.
That fact, Simurtr already knows. He has even experienced it firsthand.
When he first met Haryun, he was truly happy and wanted to kill her… but didn't that soon subside?
He has no intention of blaming the child for the parent's sin. For now, it is irrelevant.
If it becomes an obstacle in the future, he will gladly kill her, but he didn't want to do so first.
‘He’s different too. Is it because he’s still young? How old is he? Nineteen? Eighteen?’
He acknowledges that he is different.
But Haryun is enough. He had no intention of making any more exceptions. It's just annoying.
He wants to confirm Noah's reaction after learning the truth, but he has no intention of getting close.
“Just don’t get in the way. It’ll be troublesome if you act like you did just now. I might kill you without realizing it.”
“…I apologize. I will be careful.”
The first basement floor was for successful test subjects.
And the second floor was the research lab, the third floor was the laboratory.
‘There’s nothing below that.’
Deban’s words were roughly correct.
The difference was that this place was not the cold and chilly Serepes, but the warm Lampina.
It is within the territory, and it is a branch of the Red Tower where many people come and go.
It is the same reason why the facility for successful test subjects is in the basement and not on the ground floor.
‘No matter how much guts they have, they can’t research chimeras.’
He would tear Kua to pieces, but he is satisfied with that fact alone.
Because chimeras cannot be reversed.
“Who are you? You’re not in the branch’s register.”
Noah said.
It was a question directed at the guide walking ahead.
“What?”
“He says he wants to hear it from your mouth, not mine.”
Simurtr pointed at Noah.
“Who are you to…”
“He is a noble person who came from Basor.”
“Ah!”
It was the stairs leading to the basement.
The man who had been guiding the way looked at Noah and bowed his head.
“I am the lay believer, Hans. It is an honor to meet you.”
A lay believer.
It means they are distinguishing between clergy and believers.
‘What a joke.’
Simurtr let out a hollow laugh.
The Ruo Holy See also strictly distinguishes between believers and clergy. The basis for that is divine power.
Only those who receive baptism by praying to Ruo and can act as a substitute to spread the power of God in this world can stand above the believers.
‘The bastards who don’t even pray.’
Kua is a heretic.
In the first place, even the word ‘holy order’ is funny.
Isn't it a group created to escape from the truth of reincarnation, created by God?
Nevertheless, they call themselves believers. They don't have a single bit of divine power, and they've only been engrossed in black magic.
‘By what standard.’
Could it be that they rank the order of soul transplantation by considering the contribution to human experimentation?
“If you are a lay believer, which lay believer are you referring to?”
“What?”
While following the guidance of a Kua lay believer to a Kua facility?
As Hans was flustered, Simurtr said.
“Please answer. He is someone who prefers to confirm everything for himself.”
“Ah. I have heard many rumors. That those of Basor enjoy such questions and answers.”
“That's right. He can't help but resemble them.”
“I am a lay believer of Kua, which denies the truth of karma and prays for rebellion against heaven.”
Hans smiled brightly.
Simurtr, on the other hand, struck the side of the stiff-faced Noah.
When his facial paralysis was released, Simurtr lightly poked Ayade, who was following behind, with the scabbard. The killing intent subsided.
“Wouldn’t it be better to put the beastman in front?”
Tsk. Simurtr clicked his tongue slightly.
The fighting spirit of a beastman is annoying for this reason.
They don't know how to hide their strength. They not only can't understand it, but they were born that way in the first place.
Hiding it is the same as going against the harmony with instinct. It is an act only of a coward who runs away.
‘Moreover, a tiger tribe.’
The tiger tribe is one of the top predators.
Even the young Ayade possessed a strong aura that could make an ordinary human flinch.
“Don't worry. I've taken all the necessary measures. All she can do is glare.”
“Still…”
“Are you doubting my skills?”
“My apologies.”
Hans stopped when they reached the first basement floor.
They stepped on a clean marble hallway, and at the end of it, the entrance of a steel facility was visible.
‘It’s the same.’
It’s the same as what he saw in the Black Land.
Not only the door, but the walls are also made of steel. It is to prevent any possible escape.
Inside, the believers would be managing the test subjects, pretending to be benevolent guardians.
‘Or is this stronger?’
It is stronger than the outer wall of the branch he saw on the ground floor.
More magic circles were engraved on it.
Unlike the exiled Black Tower, if things go wrong here, it will be exposed immediately.
‘Even if the entire branch collapses, this won't break.’
On the contrary, it’s good.
“Is there anything to inspect?”
Alengdre and Ayade.
Hans's eyes were taking in both of them at the same time.
“No. The details will be carried out inside the facility. It will be around tomorrow.”
“Not today?”
“A noble person has come. The schedule has been changed.”
A noble person.
He’s not talking about Noah.
‘A guest who came to the branch.’
Simurtr recalled what the magician on the first floor had said.
The noble person must be referring to that guest.
“How many people are in here in total?”
Noah spoke to Hans.
His gaze shifts. At that moment, Simurtr pushed the pommel with the palm of his hand.
Thud. The tip of the scabbard touched Ayade's ankle shackle.
Eudeuk. A sound of the exact size he wanted echoes.
“Are you referring to the members of our order?”
“I am asking about everyone.”
Eudeuk.
This time, the scabbard touched the wrist shackle.
It was to the extent that Hans couldn't hear it, and the cracked shackle could be broken by Ayade's strength alone.
“There are not many believers. It would be conspicuous for someone who has not learned magic to reside in the branch for a long time.”
“The children?”
“The Matrix and the experiment. You are asking about both, I presume?”
“…The Matrix and the experiment?”
Pagna.
One line. It's something he barely filled while crossing the Great Desert Hindra.
‘What a waste.’
Even at this moment, his magic is being nibbled away.
It was because he was maintaining Alengdre's face with Phantasmal Ability.
“The facility here in Abera is not that large. Although it is on the outskirts of Lampina, the size of the branch is also not large. Precious Matrix are not handled here. In that sense, a beastman can be considered a really big harvest.”
“……”
“There are currently no Matrix on standby. Instead, five experiments are in the process of learning. However, the Matrix is ordinary. I would be grateful if you could understand our situation in this regard.”
One line of Pagna.
In fact, even considering the magic currently being consumed by Phantasmal Ability, it is not an insufficient amount.
He had roughly heard about the level of the magicians at this branch from Rubi.
The branch manager is not a very great high-ranking magician.
Kua? There are no chimeras. The believers are idiots who don't know how to fight.
All of them, he can easily handle with one line.
‘As long as Noah Basor doesn’t take their side.’
Simurtr looked at Noah.
He was in the middle of asking Hans about the existence of other branches.
A trembling voice. Eyes that were starting to become bloodshot. It didn't seem like he would take Kua's side… but he wasn't sure.
Generally, the arm bends inwards.
‘7th circle.’
Noah's achievement is higher than that of the branch manager here.
He doesn't know about his experience, but it would probably be the same in a real fight.
The head of the five Magic Towers. A Basor bloodline must be proficient in the magic of all the Magic Towers.
Noah, who is evaluated as a monster, would surely be so.
‘And on top of that, Basor's unique magic.’
Noah Basor.
He is a dangerous person who must be dealt with first when things get started later.
It will be troublesome if he joins forces with the branch.
White. A Phantasmal Color shone from Simurtr's body. Noah, who discovered it, flinched, but he didn't show it to Hans.
The illusion hid Simurtr's voice. It was a materialization solely to speak to Ayade.
“That guy. Don't trust Noah Basor too much.”
“He just swore that if it's true, he'll apologize and kill them all.”
Ayade no longer guards against Noah.
She still thinks he's trash, but she believes he can at least be disposed of.
“He didn't put it on mana then.”
“Ah. As expected, trash is trash.”
“You never know.”
“I got it. I'm the type to throw away trash immediately.”
“That's a good personality. If you meet up with him later and I'm not there, just run.”
In fact, there is no way Noah would go to meet Ayade alone.
He will definitely be with Simurtr, and he might even be passed out and being dragged on the floor.
“What about fighting?”
“I told you, you'll lose.”
“Even if I go berserk?”
“The other side might give up.”
“I just need to stall for time until Egna comes, right?”
“That's right too.”
It's simply to give him a sense of alarm.
If Noah does something suspicious, Ayade will be able to understand the situation and react immediately.
“Just trust me.”
The wariness that had disappeared from her eyes as she looked at Noah returned.
***
In fact.
At this point, he should be able to say it with conviction.
“The second floor?”
“Yes. It is where the research facility is located. He said they would be discussing the future direction of the order there.”
Who on earth came?
As Simurtr was thinking that, Noah walked one step ahead.
He closely followed Hans, who was going down.
‘I was originally going to go down anyway.’
Nothing changes.
No, it's better to be together like this now.
I don't know where he'll bounce off to. If possible, I should keep him in my sight like this.
That's also more suitable for my original purpose.
“This way.”
As expected.
The structure of the second-floor research lab is also the same.
If he follows Hans straight like this, he will soon reach the research guidance room.
In the Black Tower's research guidance room, he had killed a Kua priest.
‘A guest to the Red Tower. A noble person to Kua.’
Recalling that the highest rank dispatched to a branch is a priest, it must be higher than that.
Perhaps he could achieve more than just the destruction of the branch.
“Noah Basor.”
Flinch. Noah, who was looking at Hans's back, let out a sigh of relief when he saw the white Phantasmal Color.
He had heard so much about Phantasmal Ability, but experiencing it directly like this was very confusing.
If it weren't for the Phantasmal Color, it would be a power that could not be easily noticed.
‘He said that the illusion of a Phantasm can even hide its color if it wants to.’
But the man disguised as Alengdre Heichi is not at that level.
The man's Phantasmal Ability is very different from what he had heard. It is not secretive. On the contrary, it stands out.
That's why it sometimes seems more effective… but that's a minor point. It is far from the Degrate that the world fears.
‘It’s different from the essence of Phantasmal Ability.’
He said that the true value of Phantasmal Ability lies in its secrecy.
‘Not all Degrates are the same, I see.’
Noah thought of Simurtr as a Degrate.
It's natural. Because Phantasmal Ability is a power unique to Degrate.
‘Who is he?’
Noah Basor does not know the man's identity.
However, there are some clues that he can guess from.
‘He knows a lot about Basor. And about the Red Tower and Kua.’
This must be thanks to the crow.
He seemed to have a lot of connections with the crow as well.
‘Did Degrate use a sword?’
They do not discriminate against weapons, but they also do not favor only one.
They are assassins who believe that they will degenerate if they develop a habit.
Except for Phantasmal Ability, they seek to handle all things that can kill a person equally.
But the man is proficient with a sword.
He hasn't seen his swordsmanship, but it must be so. The man seemed very familiar with a sword.
‘It was the same earlier. He touched Ayade Serilka's shackle without looking. Without looking, and just by pushing the hilt of the sword.’
Later, he only made a crack so that Ayade could break the shackle on her own.
It was perfect power control. In that process, only a sound that Hans could not hear echoed.
It is an act that is impossible if one is not familiar with a sword.
‘It's efficient.’
The authority of illusion is based on magic.
If he was not confident, he would have hidden the sound with Phantasmal Ability.
But the man did not. He was familiar with the sword, and he possessed a confidence to match.
He wields Phantasmal Ability, but he does not rely solely on it.
‘He’s definitely different from the known Degrate. It doesn’t fit.’
His presence itself is like that.
Even when he is still, the man forces those around him to feel a sense of alarm.
A pure white magic. The authority that comes from it, even giving a hundred concessions, cannot be called an assassin.
‘But he possesses Phantasmal Ability.’
The existence of that authority makes him judge that the man cannot be anyone but a Degrate.
…But it is not to the extent that it makes him certain.
That's why it's confusing. The current situation surrounding the Red Tower branch and Kua is also like that.
Today, Noah was having an unfamiliar experience.
‘It’s been years.’
Since he experienced something so unpleasant, and that made him accumulate distrust.
‘Is he a Degrate? Or not.’
In fact, Noah does not have the leisure to have such doubts.
What is important is the relationship between the man and the crow.
If the man refuses, the crow will not accept the request.
At Rubi's general store, Noah had already gained confidence in that.
‘But if I find out, I might be able to create a more favorable environment for myself.’
The thought of threatening the man by using the identity he found out is out of the question.
Hadn't the Red Tower branch participated in the atrocity of human experimentation?
In the time it would take to create a negotiating table with the man's identity, Noah had to resolve this mess.
He had to match the man's purpose, and he had to apologize to Ayade Serilka.
Even so, he had to curry favor with the man.
Only then would the crow accept the request…….
Creak.
Hans, who had stopped walking, opened the door.
“The White Sword Master.”
The research guidance room.
“I request that Basor also issue an order to exterminate the man.”
A monastic robe. The symbol of Kua embroidered in the center of the investigation.
Below it, eight knots were embroidered.
”The White Sword Master, Simurtr Mectera. That man is the culprit and the enemy who has made our order so miserable.”
The archbishop of Kua said.