I Became the Servant of the Blind Wicked Woman

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Orthes, having defeated Sikton, thoroughly searched the den of the Bacchus cult and came to one conclusion.

"It's not there?"

The power that controlled mana instead of magic. There was no artifact that could be the source of the power that restrained Dimedes.

"In that case, it means that the source of the power controlling mana is not external but lies within Sikton itself…"

Neuro, feeling an alien sensation from that unknown power, felt the need to uncover its true nature. There was no concrete logic, but his accumulated intuition pointed in that direction.

As a result…

"Director, let's charter a magi-train and move all the corpses here."

"How are we going to get them to the station?"

"By hand?"

Neuro considered the distance between the nearest station and this rocky plain. Even at his pace, it would take half a day.

Transporting dozens of corpses and an unconscious kid over that distance?

"No other choice…"

Neuro recalled a sentence he hadn't heard since becoming the Hunter Association's president on this business trip.

If you're ordered, you do it.

In fact, he had moved hunting byproducts many times before. This time, though, the quantity was just a bit more. For a regular group hunt organized by the Hunter Association, this number wasn't unusual.

It was a somewhat familiar task.

Although, it was the first time he had transported so many humans instead of beasts. Neuro began assembling makeshift transportation equipment using materials and drones from his bag.

"Ah, I might need to bring a few of Dimedes' chimeras for a report. Haha, it'll be quicker if we move them together."

…You have to do it.

***

'Where is this…?'

It was an unfamiliar ceiling. Kine turned her eyes around. Everything was white.

The atmosphere was similar to the hospital where she was once admitted to get her prosthetic arm implanted.

"Oh, you've woken up?"

The creepy voice she heard right before collapsing. Kine tried to get up and run immediately.

Clunk!

She tried to turn her body quickly, but restraints were already fastened to the bed. Her legs and abdomen were tied to the bed with straps.

"Don't worry. It's not a hospital, but we discovered internal bleeding from the spirit poison, so we used a hemostatic agent and performed emergency surgery."

Realizing she couldn't escape, Kine glared at the narrow-eyed man.

"Ah! Nice to meet you. I should introduce myself first. For now, just call me the head of the Divine Investigation Office."

Divine Investigation Office. Kine repeated the name. It clearly showed their intention to pursue the cult, more than enough to be called Blasphemous─

"Let me tell you in advance, Blasphemia does not use such names. They call all faiths 'superstitions.' If we were Blasphemia, we might have used a name like the Special Superstition Investigation Team."

"…What?"

It was the first time Kine spoke since regaining consciousness.

"Haha. You must be thinking something like this: 'Sikton and Blasphemia made a secret pact. Sikton betrayed the cult, and Blasphemia disposed of Sikton after using him.' Am I right?"

Kine, choosing to remain silent to avoid giving any clues, watched as the narrow-eyed man nodded without hesitation.

"That's correct. So, you might also be thinking this."

***

"What exactly is Heavenly Bacchus doing? Why did the god my family fervently believed in not save anyone from that disaster?"

Kine's body trembled.

It must have felt creepy. It would feel like the other person had read the thoughts she had not yet expressed aloud.

"Just so you know, I have never used any mind-manipulating magic on you."

It was based on the narrative of the original work, so it was somewhat similar.

"Kine, you were disappointed in Bacchus and wanted to avenge Blasphemia and the Ten Towers that drove the cult to extinction. However, you fundamentally lacked something crucial."

"Who are you?"

I didn't bother answering. She would find out everything when it was time to sign the contract.

"A means for revenge. Since your divine power is insufficient, you were probably thinking of choosing magic. Am I right?"

It was probably correct. In the original, Kine, who used to be a Bacchus believer, became a magician.

Not just any magician, but a Refiner of the Ten Towers.

In the first part, the Mage King aimed to restore past powers by contacting the Ten Commandments. In each episode where he attacked the Ten Commandments of each tower, he met a key ally.

Most of these allies joined the Mage King, becoming part of the protagonist's party. Not always, though—some betrayed and died by the end of an episode. It wasn't just people; there were artificial intelligences too.

Astraphe, who was captured by the slave trader Creton, appeared as such an 'ally for the attack on the Ten Commandments' and joined the party as a heroine.

One helper for each Ten Commandments. The only exception to this rule was the final enemy of the first part.

White No Name, in other words, Carisia.

She was an adversary of the protagonist from beginning to end.

Kine was somewhat like a middle ground between Astraphe and Carisia. To be precise, she was closer to Astraphe since she ultimately joined the Mage King's party.

In the original, Kine was described as 'a girl magician with both hands being left hands,' hiding her dream of destroying the Ten Towers while learning magic.

Kine's characteristic was a magician who hated magicians. A former believer who once trusted a god but felt abandoned. It wasn't clearly depicted which god she had believed in, so it was quite surprising that she was a Bacchus follower.

It was ironic that she ended up in the Ten Towers, which she sought to destroy due to her outstanding talent. But the Ten Towers taught the most diverse and powerful magic, so she hid her anger and gained strength.

When the Mage King arrived, she played a crucial role in contacting the Dark Ten Commandments.

Seeing the Mage King for the first time, she said, 'You are an evil magician too, but I will cooperate for the destruction of the even more evil Ten Towers,' eventually becoming the Mage King's companion on his journey.

The best scenario for my future plans, which involved Carisia… no, me, was to destroy only the White Light Ten Commandments during the protagonist's conflict with the Ten Towers in 2077.

So the balance between the protagonist and the Ten Towers must be maintained. In the original, the protagonist's pace was too fast. He reached out to the White Light Ten Commandments before Carisia could take full action.

If I reduce the number of people who would originally become the protagonist's allies, his pace will slow down.

***

Kine felt her whole body tremble.

She desperately repeated that the emotion she felt now was 'anger,' but she knew best that it was not.

It was fear.

Everything the narrow-eyed man had said with a smile were her own thoughts.

But they were still rough, like unrefined gems, lying dormant in the betrayal by Sikton and resentment towards Bacchus.

That narrow-eyed man knew her mind faster than she did.

Kine began to doubt whether the current thoughts were truly her own.

Perhaps, that man had planted those thoughts in her.

The truly terrifying thing was that she began to feel that it didn't matter.

Even if that man planted anger and resentment in her to use her as some kind of tool, she was willing to accept it if she could avenge the Ten Towers.

Living alongside the adults of the Bacchus cult, she had learned the art of observing emotions secondhand; otherwise, she might have…

"Let me correct a few facts."

Ignoring Kine's fear, the man continued speaking. She couldn't turn her eyes away from the somehow sinisterly gleaming narrow eyes.

"First. We still don't know who is behind Sikton. It won't be Blasphemia. According to the Blasphemia database I checked a few days ago, they didn't pay much attention to you."

"…"

The man smiled more deeply at the silent Kine.

"Of course. It's not us either. We went there looking for a missing employee on a business trip."

"Employee? A company?"

"Yes, Kine. We suspect there's a third force connected to Sikton."

Muttering to himself, the man's words, "To be precise, it's not 'we' but 'me,'" were barely audible. Only the question 'why' filled her mind.

Why concretize her anger and resentment, then tell her it's not so?

Why not keep the truth buried in darkness and reveal everything?

"Let's get back to the magic. Kine, we are willing to fully support you if you learn magic."

"Why…?"

"Of course, because you have talent. You'd need to learn to hide your divine power or abandon faith. But you have talent. The Ten Towers would also covet such talent."

Snap. Orthes snapped his fingers.

A video was projected on the white wall of the room. It showed people in capsules. They were all people Kine knew.

"You have an innate talent for necromancy, particularly in the dark arts. You might even be able to call back the souls of those now in a vegetative state."

That touched something deep within Kine. Within the seed of resentment and anger was the flower of revenge.

But if you looked at the ground where that seed was planted, it was sorrow.

The desire to see the vanished people again. An emotion more primal than rage.

***

'Kine realized that the root of her thoughts lay in such sorrow only after fighting the Dark Magic Tower.'

But it must not be. Before unnecessary anger is directed at Hydra Corporation, misunderstandings must be cleared. If she harbors resentment against our company and meets the protagonist, it will be a disaster.

I want our corporate scholar to overflow with pride and loyalty towards Hydra Corporation.

To shout with full company spirit, "I'll work for Hydra Corporation when I grow up!" while being scolded by Carisia…

No, to be the competent successor who will assist Carisia.

I extended my hand to Kine.

***

"Complete resurrection is nearly impossible."

"But don't you want to see them again?"

"Don't you want to say your final goodbyes?"

Kine shed tears. And she realized why the narrow-eyed man had drawn out her vengeance and then dispelled it.

To put a leash on her.

The leash's name was hope. The hope that she could ease her sorrow by seeing them again.

"To meet everyone again…"

Looking at the outstretched hand. Taking that hand meant selling her future to that man. But she couldn't refuse.

She couldn't ignore the overwhelming sorrow within her.

"Don't you want power?"

Kine grasped Orthes' hand.

She accepted the leash.

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