Chapter 211 : The Conference (3)
Chapter 211: The Conference (3)
Carl’s mind grew increasingly tangled as he chased the carriage through the darkness.
The appearance of an Origin member at this exact moment, the nature of those so-called Black Beads they had scattered, and the long-standing feud entangled with them all weighed heavily.
If only he could cut through everything in one clean strike—yet after all these years, all he could manage was this chase.
‘It won’t take too long, though.’
The past and the present were different.
With the Primordial Unity Divine Art reaching mastery and the divinity of a demigod now within him, Origin, colluding with the demon race, was no longer his match.
In fact, he even hoped that Ascalon, the leader of Origin, would appear before him again.
Tap.
The carriage moved without pause.
It squeezed through alleyways that barely seemed wide enough for a carriage, likely in anticipation of pursuit.
Only after switching carriages several times did it slow down and blend into the darkness, heading toward its destination.
‘……This place.’
Carl’s eyes lit up.
He had assumed they would enter a facility belonging to some organization or Merchant Group, but the carriage’s destination was a mansion that clearly belonged to a noble.
The entire mansion was protected by barriers and magical security so severe that stepping in recklessly would surely set off alarms.
Screee.
Carl landed on the rooftop of a building some distance from the mansion and pursed his lips to let out a sharp whistle, and before long, NOX operatives began to appear.
“Master.”
“Nine. Who owns this mansion?”
“Althausen. It belongs to the Althausen Family.”
“Investigate everything about the Althausen Family and this mansion. It seems connected to Origin.”
“Understood.”
Who the owner was, who came and went, what business they ran, and what actions they had taken recently—
Since Origin’s carriage had entered this place, there was no doubt a connection existed.
‘It wouldn’t be strange for even nobles of the Empire to be in league with the demon race.’
According to King, many nobles in foreign nations had already been corrupted.
There was no reason to think the Empire was an exception, so it wasn’t a surprising revelation.
“……Master.”
A beat later, Nine spoke again.
When Carl glanced over to ask what it was, she hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“There’s one connection I had forgotten. Instructor Frahan is also part of the Althausen Family.”
“Frahan.”
Carl furrowed his brow.
Wasn’t he the instructor in charge of ‘Understanding of Combat’ at the Bayern Academy?
He had even passed down his secret technique, Arachne, to Laysis as a reward for passing the exam, suggesting a fairly close relationship.
“He didn’t strike me as someone colluding with the demon race.”
Instructor Frahan’s energy had been upright and clean.
At least until recently, Carl had never felt anything suspicious, which made this all the more perplexing.
“I’ll look into that as well.”
“After that, all of you withdraw. I’ll infiltrate alone.”
“……It may be best to call in more Black Label operatives just in case.”
“There’s no need. And what about King?”
“He’s still stationed near the conference venue.”
“Tell him to return. Split our forces and strengthen security around Madeira and NOX.”
“Understood.”
This, too, could be a feint.
Origin also viewed NOX as a thorn in its side—maybe they were trying to wipe them out and devour the Mana Bead business entirely.
Unlikely as that seemed at the moment, preparing for it couldn’t hurt.
‘If King’s around, the rear is secure.’
Even if a formidable enemy showed up, having King nearby meant there wouldn’t be any major problems.
He might as well pray for their souls.
But King wasn’t suited for stealth or infiltration missions.
That was Carl’s specialty, and that made him the right person for this solo mission.
Tap.
Separated from his subordinates, Carl melted into the darkness at once.
No matter how strong a barrier might be, it always had a weakness.
Especially high-grade barriers— the more powerful they were, the more mana and energy they consumed.
Replacing the power source or forming a gap in the system was inevitable.
“……”
From within the darkness, Carl searched for that opening.
Since the barrier hadn’t powered down and remained active, it seemed the power source was being tightly managed.
That area was off-limits to attack, so instead, he focused on finding a gap.
Sssss.
Carl’s senses spread out, covering the entire mansion.
He couldn’t grasp the interior details, but he could clearly feel how solid the barrier was.
‘Completely sealed—above, below, and underground.’
It appeared to be a system where detection would occur unless one had a designated mark or entry permit.
If someone had been coming or going, Carl could have subdued them and snuck in, but since it was nighttime, the carriage earlier had been the last movement in or out.
‘Do I need to create a distraction?’
Attack from the opposite side and jump the wall?
But that would be the same as announcing that someone was on their tail.
He wanted to infiltrate undetected and steal information about Origin and the Black Beads……
‘So the barrier is the target to breach.’
With his magical knowledge, Carl had only managed to deduce that an entry permit was needed.
He could easily destroy it if he wanted to, but bypassing it undetected was impossible due to its advanced design.
‘……Wait a moment.’
Entry permit, Origin.
Carl caught a rat scurrying nearby.
He threw it into the barrier, and soon enough, guards came out and killed the rat that had gotten inside.
“Damn it, another rat.”
“Didn’t they say they added magic to repel animals?”
“Must have worn off. Better report it upstairs for inspection. What is this, dog training practice?”
Once the guards disappeared, Carl caught another rat and sent it in from a different direction.
This time, however, he used demonic energy stolen from Kylos back at the previous temple.
-Kyeeeek.
Corrupted by demonic energy, the rat transformed into a small monster.
Even as it screamed from Carl’s killing intent, it stepped into the barrier.
But unlike before, this time the soldiers did not come in, as if they hadn’t detected anything.
‘I see.’
Carl nodded and shot a light breeze to kill the rat that had turned into a monster.
‘The entry requirement is demonic energy, then.’
It seemed that beings with demonic energy could pass through the barrier undetected.
Since that was the only method available, Carl uncorked a potion bottle and absorbed the stored demonic energy into his body.
Tzzzz.
His skin darkened as the corruption began.
He let it rampage freely, knowing he could purge it easily enough.
Step.
After that, he lightly stepped into the barrier and leapt over the wall.
Perhaps because of the barrier, the guards’ alertness wasn’t particularly high.
Having entered the mansion with ease, Carl then compressed the demonic energy that had spread through his body and sealed it back in the bottle.
“……It’s not a pleasant feeling.”
His whole body burned.
The demonic energy induced sensations like intoxication.
It made one violent, euphoric beyond words, and dulled one’s reason until only instinct remained.
Had it been an ordinary human, they would have been hopelessly addicted, never even thinking of returning.
But to Carl, who had made it a habit to keep himself under strict control, it only brought intense discomfort.
Tap.
Now safely infiltrated inside the mansion, Carl blended once more into the shadows and scanned the interior.
Magical lights and hearth flames lit the inside of the mansion as bright as day.
But where there is fire, there are always shadows.
Even the slightest flicker was enough for Carl to slip through, allowing him to avoid people's gazes and successfully enter the mansion building.
‘The servants are ordinary humans.’
It seemed not everyone in the mansion was affiliated with Origin or the demon race.
Most likely, they had thoroughly hidden their identities and disguised this place as a noble’s ordinary mansion.
Carl stood at the entrance and cautiously probed for presences within.
The underground seemed to be blocked off by a separate barrier, as he couldn’t detect anything there, but three large presences could be felt within the mansion.
Two of them carried faint traces of demonic energy and were likely Demon Humans, while the other……
‘Tch.’
Carl scowled.
The familiar presence had to be Instructor Frahan.
Of all times, he returned to the mansion tonight?
Whether he was one of them or not, he was in the same room with them at this late hour.
‘That one will be last.’
Approaching a space filled with at least master-level powerhouses risked immediate detection.
It was better to investigate other areas first.
The most suspicious part, of course, was the underground, which couldn’t be sensed at all.
Judging by the circumstances, this was likely where the Black Beads were being produced.
Perhaps Origin even had a branch located there.
‘A passage leading underground……’
The corner of the central lobby.
At the edge of the hallway where one could view the statues, he sensed a hollow space.
It suggested the presence of stairs or a passage leading downward, just like NOX’s base.
Memorizing that location, Carl continued to scan other areas.
Just in case he could spot something unusual among the other servants or attendants.
But unfortunately, aside from that, he found no other concrete clues.
“……”
Carl’s gaze turned toward the drawing room tucked into a corner on the fourth floor.
It seemed all the important elements were underground.
If he activated a mechanism from here, there was a risk of being discovered from within.
If he was going to be exposed anyway, it came down to whether to go above or below.
‘If push comes to shove, I’ll blast my way through.’
Prepared for an all-out fight, Carl chose the upper floor.
He carefully scaled the outer wall and eavesdropped on the conversation between three people inside the drawing room.
–Now it’s up to your choice.
–……Is there truly no other way?
–What can we do? This is how things turned out.
–Instructor Frahan. Don’t be too disheartened. We’ll make sure you’re treated fairly.
–……
–You’re the only one left. I trust you understand what that means.
Instructor Frahan appeared to be under pressure from the other two.
Carl suspected he might be the only one in the Althausen Family who hadn’t sided with the demon race.
‘Whether due to some threat or temptation, it sounds like the entire family has already fallen.’
If that was true, then the old man seated across from Instructor Frahan must be the current head of the Althausen Count’s Household.
Just what had they been offered to make them join hands with the demon race?
And why was Instructor Frahan still hesitating?
–Well, we still have time, so there’s no need to rush. But before that, we should deal with the vermin eavesdropping on our conversation.
KWAANG!
Along with the ominous words from inside, a tremendous shockwave blasted the wall where Carl had been perched.
Carl immediately sprang away and landed in the center of the garden.
Tap.
The three people who had been speaking moments ago followed after and landed.
Count Althausen, Instructor Frahan, and a mustached man who seemed to be a member of Origin, radiating an unpleasant aura.
“Where have you come from? It shouldn’t have been easy passing through that barrier.”
“……”
Carl looked up at them silently.
From the moment he infiltrated the mansion, he had already been wearing the NOX mask.
The mustached man who seemed to be from Origin twitched at the corners of his eyes and spoke.
“……NOX?”