I Became the Servant of the Blind Wicked Woman

To read over 200 fully translated episodes, patreon.com/Denji02

Rationally speaking, it was clear that Utis noticed the pursuit and left his reinforced suit behind to escape.

The pursuers following Utis could be divided into two main groups. The first group consisted of those following orders from Torres Tower.

Torres Tower was not a group that would let a suspicious person like Utis disappear at will. They employed subcontractors for the pursuit, fearing that their mages might detect something suspicious.

They made a reasonable judgment, believing that the unidentified figure, Utis, had escaped.

The second group consisted of troubleshooters close to the site manager. The site manager had tried to dismiss the rumors but still thought this might be an omen of some kind.

He subtly shared the rumors about Utis, who only signed paper contracts and "left no traces of his magic," with his close hunter friends.

The troubleshooters, after hearing the rumors, cheered for the miraculous speed Utis showed but were filled with unease when he declared, "There's nothing but misfortune beyond that door," and turned back.

And now, the troubleshooters faced the empty suit of Utis, left like a shed skin.

One of them spoke up.

"Did anyone see his face inside the visor?"

No one had.

The fear grew stronger.

As several situations overlapped, fear began to seep into the second group of troubleshooters. They shouted,

"The rumors! The rumors were true!"

The troubleshooters who were about to contact Torres Tower were puzzled by the strange reaction. A sense of relief at finding someone to share their growing fear with spread. The site manager's story circulated in hushed whispers.

Among those using the alias Utis, there is a special kind of Utis.

The most ominous of all Utises. Wherever the Utis with no footprints appears, accidents always follow.

The subcontractors of Torres Tower shook their heads, trying to dismiss it. They couldn't be swayed by such uncertain rumors. They focused instead on the special bonus they would receive for this additional task. One of them suddenly turned around.

"…How did we get in here?"

"We followed Utis."

"How do we get out?"

"…"

They looked at the passage they had followed Utis through.

In truth, this passage was still unexplored. It was one of the many places Utis discovered as he descended to the bottom of the underground and then ignored.

They had some unease about the unexplored area. But every place Utis had set foot in had been safe.

They had trusted Utis' instinct and decided to follow him.

But now, Utis was nowhere to be found.

The troubleshooters realized they had to escape from the labyrinthine unexplored area.

In the silence and darkness that had persisted since ancient times, they were isolated.

***

I felt a bit guilty for those who followed me. The structure was a bit complex, so it would take them some trial and error to get out.

From what I saw, there weren't any fatal traps. It was just that the passageways were complicated and confusing. If they didn't proceed too cautiously, they could get out in about 30 minutes.

'I'll be really sorry if they miss the meal distribution time.'

Not getting a proper meal after working hard is one of the worst things. As I recalled the hardships of my days as a troubleshooter, I moved quickly.

My intuition that most of the Torres Tower mages had flocked to the deep levels of Cretera Island was correct.

There were hardly any personnel left on the surface. It was natural that there were no external workers, like troubleshooters, around since it was exploration time. Usually, a few supervisors would stay behind to prevent escapes.

It seemed even those who should be playing supervisory roles had flocked to the deep levels. I retraced my steps towards the assembly point for the middle-level excavation team.

'In the morning, the middle-level team gathered separately here.'

Finding the entrance to the middle level from the assembly point wasn't difficult. When a large number of people move, footprints inevitably remain. The traces left by dozens or hundreds of footsteps were clear.

The entrances to the surface and deep levels were in different places, and the middle level was located even further away.

"They said it's like the control tower of the ruins. For security reasons, I guess?"

Installing the entrance in a secluded area and strictly selecting the entry personnel for security purposes doesn't matter much if people don't do their jobs properly.

I narrowed my eyes slightly. If anyone other than Carisia saw me, they would ask, "What do you mean, opening your eyes? They're still squinting."

Even that slight difference changes my perception. Though it doesn't make all the scenery turn into text like when I fully open my eyes, intangible information that should originally be invisible floods in.

For example, special ability fields. An area of influence occupied by an entity with a special ability. I could see several special ability fields wandering inside the middle level.

The fields I could see were filled with mana. They were the characteristic magical fields of mages.

Perhaps because the middle level was an important area, it seemed there were mages who hadn't gone to the deep levels. I avoided the presence of these special ability fields and explored the middle level.

The shiny silver passages that Torres Tower seemed to have maintained well exuded a futuristic atmosphere, uncharacteristic of ancient ruins. Maybe they had modernized it for long-term occupation.

'At least there's no extensive surveillance network, which is a relief. If there were, it could have been annoying.'

I arrived in front of a door in the middle level. The headache grew stronger when I tried to peer beyond the door. A reaction different from when viewing ordinary materials.

It was the kind of headache I felt when trying to interpret entities with special abilities or highly structured artifacts.

'I don't sense the characteristic magical fields of mages. It's an artifact storage room.'

The door was sealed with complex security magic, but dismantling such a stable structure was actually easier.

I didn't need to use tricks like opening my eyes wide or overlaying formulas as I would against attack magic. I took out a basic attack magic artifact and activated it. It was a simple fireball.

Being a cheap, slow-building fireball was precisely my intention.

Its output was so low that the security magic took a while to recognize it as an attack.

As the mana density gradually increased, the sensors began to activate.

I analyzed the circuit structure supplying mana to the sensors. There were three active circuits and one standby. Even if I cut all three active circuits, the standby circuit would keep the system running.

Three seconds remained until the fireball was fully formed. Three seconds until the security magic issued an alarm.

It was enough time to cut the circuits connected to the formula.

I severed the four mana supply circuits, including the standby.

Some security formulas could self-repair periodically, so there was no time to waste. I swiftly cut the remaining physical locks with a high-frequency blade.

Confident, I opened the door.

Behind the silently opened door was…

A writhing mass of silver thread, more densely packed than anything I'd ever seen.

"What the…?"

***

Orthes had a simple reason for dismissing Arabella's theory of a Torres-Argyron secret deal: time.

It had been less than ten days since the Elysion terror incident. There wasn't enough time for Argyron to show Torres Tower that they were a negotiable entity and persuade them that they had attractive products worth risking a purge order from the Ten Towers.

Orthes' reasoning was sound.

If we assumed Argyron's recruitment efforts started after the Elysion terror attack.

Orthes had told the priest of the Vanished God he met in Elysion that "the Elysion terror attack was just for show, and the actual Silver Thread hosts were already spread worldwide."

'Already.'

There was more than a month between the day Sictone was killed and Kine was rescued, and the Elysion badge evaluation day. It was enough time for Argyron to make secret alliances.

At that time, Argyron didn't even have the image of being an "Elysion terrorist." After the terror attack, Argyron could even pressure their secret allies.

'Do you think you'd be safe if our deal is exposed?'

The deal between Torres Tower and Argyron was maintained in this way. Silver Thread hosts were manufactured in the middle levels of the ruins, accessible only to a limited number of people. These hosts were then mixed into Torres Tower's slave distribution network and spread worldwide.

To streamline the production of Silver Thread hosts, Argyron kept a Silver Thread mother host in the Cretera ruins. It remained inactive normally, and even if it was accidentally activated, it was securely sealed with security magic to prevent a rampage.

"Haha, damn it. This is messed up."

At that moment, Orthes appeared….

***

A warning echoed throughout the middle level. Argyron's agents frowned.

"The Torres Tower fools rushed out, fearing they'd lose the deep-level treasure. Are they being hunted by that troubleshooter now?"

"We can't afford to lose this base. If necessary, we might have to act ourselves."

Despite saying this, Argyron's agents were quite relaxed. Although they weren't the elite who participated in the Golden Desert operation, they had the skills to evade Blasphemia's surveillance and join Argyron.

With their original skills enhanced by the "blessing of the cause," they were far beyond the reach of ordinary mages.

"Hm? Wait."

Being highly skilled mages, they sensed something was wrong. The massive presence they felt wasn't coming from the deep levels but right next to them.

"Damn, Silver Thread Worms?!"

"How did they escape? If the seal was being undone, the security magic would have activated!"

"Did they eat the magic to disarm it?"

"No. Silver Thread

Worms, without a mage's control, have only a primal instinct to consume nearby life forms! Even if they ate the circuits, if the standby circuits were intact, the security magic should activate! Someone must have…"

As they hurried, they saw a shadow of a person ahead.

They walked slowly as if taking a stroll, despite the tide of silver threads behind them.

The Silver Threads dared not approach the silent walker.

It was them.

They had released the Silver Threads and were now driving them towards us.

There was only one organization that could so quickly understand and control the activation and containment of Silver Thread Worms. Once comrades, now traitors.

"Blasphemia! How did they find this place?"

There was no answer. The Silver Threads, sharpened like awls, extended towards their former owners. The two mages of Argyron instinctively prepared for battle.

***

What are those guys doing?

I watched the mages battling the Silver Thread clump.

'I noticed it reacted to vibrations and sounds, so I tried to move quietly….'

Whenever I said something, the Silver Thread clump tried to stick threads into me. Its sensory organs seemed focused on touch and hearing. Using a vibration-reducing walk, I escaped, and it didn't detect me, extending threads towards other sources of mana.

Since it grew by absorbing mana, I thought it might lead me to an artifact if I followed it quietly.

What are those guys doing, suddenly shouting and agitating it?

'Well, it's not all bad.'

While those two are fighting the Silver Threads, I can loot the middle level!

To read over 200 fully translated episodes, patreon.com/Denji02