Chapter 50 – Variable (5)

“What…… is this?”

A fist-sized magic stone held in Archer’s hand.

That was to say, Yann, who witnessed an anomaly that could not come from inside a living creature’s body, asked in a trembling voice.

Since he also naturally knew that it was a magic stone, the question was why on earth such a thing came out of the wolf’s body.

“It is a magic stone. We have not yet figured out why this is inside their bodies.”

“Is it a mutation? Isn’t there a possibility that they swallowed a magic stone through some route, or that it was artificially inserted?”

Yann Casselos asked back, bringing up various possibilities, but Archer shook his head firmly and continued.

“That is absolutely not the case.”

“Why is that?”

“Given the structure of beasts’ internal organs, it is impossible for a magic stone, which would have flowed through the esophagus into the stomach, to be positioned near the heart by any route. And this magic stone was integrated with their hearts as if it were a single organ.”

“Does that mean……?”

“Yes. This mutation, this monsterization, cannot be explained otherwise than having occurred naturally.”

“……!”

At the shocking news, everyone could not help but be astonished.

It was unbelievable enough that a magic stone existed inside the body, but to think it was innate from birth and even combined with the heart to promote mutation.

This was the first discovery and a fracture in the ecosystem that would shake the common sense and six-hundred-year history of the ice age.

Judging by the fact that there was still no news related to mutations from any other Ember, it was bound to be the first.

However, the dramatic reaction of the people of this small Ember did not stem from it being the ‘first,’ but rather came from ‘fear.’

“If what the captain says is true, does that mean our Ember might no longer be able to hunt?”

“No, we can hunt. The important thing is that people will die every time we go hunting, people…….”

“……!”

Of course, even before this, the hunters had risked their lives to obtain food.

Had they not waited and endured day after day on that vast snowy plain, fighting the fear of death, with the sole determination to feed their families?

But now, it was different.

Previously, they had only dealt with the cold, but now they had to fight those terrifying mutants as well.

Although they were both threats that led to death, there was a very big difference between the two.

The fight against the cold was merely ‘one might die,’ but the fight against the mutants was awaited by the ending of ‘certain death.’

It was not something they could prepare for even if they tried.

Had not even the hunting party of fifty suffered this much damage right away?

Fifty to four.

If one only looked at the numbers, it was no exaggeration to say they had suffered a truly devastating blow.

Soon, Archer reported with an apologetic face.

“Six died in this hunt, and fourteen suffered injuries of varying severity.”

“……There are injured, and their number is as many as fourteen?”

“I am sorry, but yes. As the hunting captain, I have no excuse for failing to protect them.”

“Hmm…….”

The faces of everyone except the already gloomy hunting party members contorted.

In an Ember of only a thousand people, six deaths alone carried an unspeakable severity, but fourteen more injured had occurred.

At that, Nikolai spoke up.

“Lord Yann, this is not a matter where the labor vacuum ends with twenty people. Considering the manpower and resources to care for them, we must view it as a loss of at least double that.”

“Double…….”

“I believe it would be best to convene an emergency meeting.”

Although it was a cold statement to make in front of the dead, no one pointed out Nikolai’s remark.

Because labor was a matter directly linked to survival for them, facing reality took precedence over mourning and memorializing.

“Nikolai, would you come over here for a moment?”

“Yes?”

“I have something urgent to tell you. Come this way.”

However, Yann Casselos walked slowly toward the window, and with his back turned to everyone, he spoke with a sinister smile.

“Nikolai, this is no crisis. It is a golden opportunity.”

“What do you mean by that……?”

“Think about it carefully. If the captain’s words that those monster-like mutants occurred naturally are true, what will happen to the exchange between the Embers?”

“Don’t tell me……!”

“Yes. All exchanges between the Embers will be cut off. If put negatively, it is isolation, but what could it be for us?”

The clever Nikolai instantly read Yann’s intention and replied with an admiring look.

“Freedom……! Leader, you wanted to say that we no longer need to worry about the intervention of the Immortal Ember.”

As if Nikolai’s interpretation was exact, Yann’s eyes curved into crescents.

Just as he said, the appearance of the mutants was good news for Yann Casselos and the leadership.

Now that they were preparing to transition to a dictatorship under the leadership, severance from other Embers fundamentally blocked the greatest variable of external intervention.

What was the reason they had maintained a two-power structure with the magic engineering department until now?

It was entirely because they had to be conscious of the Immortal Ember and Herman Melville.

“That dreadful backing disappears just like this.”

Yann let out a chuckle of triumph that he could not hide.

Now, he only had to wait for five months when the reality of the golem development would be laid bare.

The day they would swallow the magic engineering department as a subordinate department of the leadership, using their failure as a justification.

Of course, they could start the dictatorship by force now that they reinforced the hunting party, but that would draw countless backlashes from the citizens eagerly awaiting the golem.

It meant they would hit a backlash.

Since he dreamed of a long-term rule, he had no choice but to wait patiently.

“From now on, I will take charge of the situation.”

However, Yann wished to exclude all possible variables that might occur in the meantime.

Having finished his calculations, Yann stood before everyone and began to make an announcement.

“Everyone, unfortunately, preventing the spread of rumors has become impossible. Therefore, before the citizens’ agitation grows larger, we will transparently disclose the information related to the mutants and the news of the hunting party members’ deaths through the propaganda department.”

At first glance, it seemed like a decision that took into consideration the citizens’ basic right, the ‘right to know.’

However, the reality was not so.

‘I must utilize the fear and alertness generated by the mutant crisis to the maximum.’

This was to make the citizens aware of the severity of the situation, thereby lowering the resistance to reinforcing the hunting party and later converting the hunting party into an army.

A thoroughly calculated move.

Yann added words to those who were nodding, unaware of the devious plot cleverly hidden within.

“Hang one wolf and one snow bear in the plaza without dissecting them.”

“Lord Yann, must we go that far?”

Even if it was a beast, hanging its corpse was a shocking matter.

Although the vice leader Victor asked negatively about the excessive measure, Yann was firm.

“Yes, it must be done. The citizens also have the right to know the exact cause of the situation. Especially so for the bereaved families.”

Since seeing once was better than hearing a hundred times, there was no more effective way to make the citizens feel alert.

It was just as Yann was about to wrap up the situation.

“How about calling the magic engineering department?”

Nikolai, who had approached from behind at some point, whispered secretly to Yann.

“The magic engineering department? Why?”

As the leadership was in a competitive relationship, Yann wore a face that did not understand.

Although the news would reach the magic engineering department anyway, the later the information was passed to the competing group, the better.

Whether he had pierced Yann’s inner thoughts, Nikolai’s reply was clear.

“There is no particular benefit to be gained from an information gap, and after entering the leadership’s dictatorship, these mutants will become a headache for us as well. We must make them analyze the cause of this strange phenomenon as soon as possible and, if possible, create a countermeasure.”

Yann nodded humbly.

Nikolai was perfectly filling the gap in his judgment, which had been clouded by the obsession to keep the magic engineering department in check.

But it was too early to admire.

“Declare a state of emergency.”

“Everyone will know the severity of the situation anyway, but you want me to declare a state of emergency as well?”

“The citizens perceiving it as an emergency on their own is a completely different level from a state of emergency actually being declared. Just as you ordered, Yann, we must build up panic and fear among the citizens to the extreme.”

“It is said that excess is as bad as deficiency. If I do as you say, the side effects will be severe.”

“This time, the greater the side effects, the better.”

“Why?”

“Only then can we force the magic engineering department to develop magic guns. The greater the side effects, the more the citizens—not the leadership—will want the development of magic guns.”

“……!”

Research and development of magic guns on a small scale, and military magic engineering on a large scale.

It was an agenda that the leadership had pushed for so hard, but was repeatedly rejected at the Grand Assembly due to the magic engineering department’s desperate opposition.

Because it was obvious that even if they researched and developed magic guns, they would end up in the hands of the leadership.

In addition, military magic engineering was pushed aside by the top priority tasks of daily life magic engineering and mechanical magic engineering, remaining out of the citizens’ interest.

However, just as Nikolai said, if they could maximize the fear of the mutants, the citizens would clamor first to develop magic guns, rather than the leadership.

“A good move, Nikolai…….”

Although he had known for a long time that Nikolai’s resourcefulness was outstanding, Yann had no choice but to adjust his evaluation of him even higher.

Because connecting this incident to the research and development of military magic engineering was something even he could not have imagined.

Although the ability to read the overall situation and captivate people was not comparable to his own, in terms of political strategy, Nikolai was on a higher level.

This was exactly the reason one had to keep talent by their side.

“Call the magic engineering department.”

“Yes!”

The one who received the order immediately ran toward the magic engineering department.

The magic engineering department was able to assemble at the tavern before long.

It was an advantage, if it could be called one, of having a very small Ember.

“What on earth are those giant beasts……?”

Demian, who had brought the entire magic engineering department, inspected the mutants with disbelieving eyes.

Just as the hunting captain Archer was about to start explaining once more.

“Wait.”

Demian raised his hand to stop him.

Then, with deeply sunken eyes, he headed somewhere and knelt.

The place where he knelt was in front of the six corpses hidden behind the beasts.

“Hanson, Logan, Javier, Owen, Austin, Brian…….”

Clasping his hands, Demian recited all the names of those who had become cold corpses.

Even though among the corpses, there were those whose faces were so severely damaged that their identities were hard to recognize.

“……!”

“How……?”

At that, not to mention the hunting party members who had lost their comrades, even the leadership wore expressions of disbelief.

After all, a thousand was not a small number, yet he remembered all of their faces and names.

It was something that even the leader, Yann Casselos, who was swallowing dry saliva while watching the situation, could not be confident of doing.

“May you be embraced in the arms of the Sun God…….”

Demian, who closed the eyes of the corpses with his own hands, rose while offering a prayer.

At this moment, among the hunting party members looking at Demian, there was no one who viewed him simply as the head of the magic engineering department.

No one at all.