Chapter 131 – Gate Construction Begins

-Do you want to accept the main linked quest ‘Stop Zodiac’?

-Defeat Zodiac.

-Upon completion, ‘Black Dragon Saber’ and ‘All Stats +1’ will be given as a reward.

Coinciding with the Emperor pinning the insignia, the quest was updated.

To think a quest to execute Zodiac would link from the Blood Empress.

‘It’s an unexpected occurrence. If it had been the me of the past, I would probably have been horrified. Since I would have thought it to be an absolutely impossible future.’

Moreover, she kindly gave him her transceiver number, telling him to contact her directly from now on before she left.

In the reception area where he was left alone,

Rashid touched the insignia she had left behind.

It was a flashy accessory decorated with mana stones.

Furthermore,

‘It is not a simple insignia.’

A small mana circuit configuration was detected inside the insignia.

Had a professional mage checked it, they would have recognized immediately what kind of device it was, but Rashid could not.

However, there was definitely a part that he could guess.

‘Looking at the circuit configuration, it is simpler than expected. If it’s not complex magic, there’s no need to worry much.’

Monitoring someone…

it seemed it wasn’t just him.

‘She left without giving an answer. But there is no other candidate. Except for that woman.’

Just as he had monitored the Emperor until now,

she also seemed to have watched him from afar.

‘Now I finally understand the words she said back then. After all, who else is there besides me? If it is possible, it can only be me.’

* * *

Exactly three days after falling into Hell,

Zodiac returned to the Dharma Mage Division.

Riding the portal opened by the archdemon.

Sensing his presence, the Dharma Mage Division flocked to him, and Zodiac went to his original seat to receive them.

-Are you all here?

The sin of daring to drop him into Hell.

It shall not be light.

Zodiac intended to seek him out for revenge.

However, a problem arose.

-Why are there only this many? Where are the remaining Dharma Officers?

He had only been away for about three days,

yet the scale of the Dharma Mage Division had reduced by a whopping half.

Representing everyone, the Right Grand Dharma Officer spoke up.

“Since the day before yesterday, the other Dharma Officers, including Grand Dharma Officer Yanar, have not been seen.”

-Did they fall to him?

“That is not it. The inquisitor who invaded this place fled as he was, taking along Representative Kaiser. While there was indeed damage on our side, the blow dealt to the leadership is minimal.”

-Is the damage confined to Dharma mages and Dharma Commanders?

“Yes, the damage is at that level and not enough to warrant great concern.”

-If so, why are there only you all? Where did the remaining Dharma Officers go?

In the Dharma Mage Division, the most important combat forces were indeed the Dharma Officers.

When he asked, there was not a single person who answered satisfyingly.

-Come to think of it, that child is not visible either.

Zodiac recalled a girl who had walked out from the Dharma Mage Division’s dimensional experiment.

Because she was an otherworldly existence who had crossed dimensions like him, her identity could not be easily gauged, but she was one he had left alone since she showed no hostility.

He had left her alone for now to observe, but currently that child was nowhere to be seen.

-Where is Sayaka now?

The Dharma Officers recalled the last time they had seen her as they searched for her.

“I am cautious to say this, but… it seems the timing of Sayaka’s disappearance and the Dharma Officers’ disappearance match.”

Other Dharma Officers also began to chime in.

“Come to think of it, the missing Dharma Officers are mostly those who stayed close to her.”

“The Left Grand Dharma Officer also had a close relationship with Sayaka.”

Zodiac expressed concern at the scale of the Dharma Mage Division, which was smaller than usual.

-To return to my homeland, the gate is absolutely necessary. Can you build it with just yourselves?

“There is no issue, but… if the missing Dharma Officers do not return, our burden will double.”

-Sayaka…

Zodiac recalled her, who was not present here.

She had been annoying him without his realizing, and in the end, she had caused this mess.

-Smiling by my side was annoying…

Had he looked down on her too much, considering her a small and insignificant creature?

While he had gone to Hell briefly, that child disappeared taking half of the Dharma Mage Division with her.

-Is there a way to find them?

“Seeing that there has been no news until now, they seem to be hiding somewhere.”

“If we want to search, it’s not like we can’t find them, but… if they disappeared in this manner, it seems hard for them to return.”

Zodiac was surprised.

-She overcame the power of the Dragon Gaze?

The power he possessed was the power of submission.

The power that made others follow out of fear.

There were not many powers that could overcome this.

-Sayaka…

An untimely silence fell over everyone.

After thinking for a long time, Zodiac shook his head.

-She is no ordinary person. Indeed, her identity was highly suspicious.

The Grand Dharma Officer asked for his intention.

“What do you plan to do? If you decide to punish the inquisitor, we will gladly join you.”

His words continued.

“The damage our leadership suffered is minimal, but what that fellow did is completely unacceptable. If you wish to punish the one who trampled on the authority of the Dharma Mage Division, we shall follow willingly.”

Zodiac began to pace around the area as if in thought, with one hand clasped behind his back.

The Grand Dharma Officer and the Dharma Officers kept silent, awaiting only his command.

-If he is an inquisitor, they say he is at a place called the Order?

“Yes, that is correct.”

-If we invade, naturally we will also suffer damage, right?

“You will have to take that into account to some extent.”

The scale of the Dharma Mage Division had decreased by half compared to before.

-Has our number not already halved? And you want us to pay another sacrifice here?

“Still, we cannot just stay still like this. If we leave that inquisitor be, the prestige of the Magic Tower, not to mention our Dharma Mage Division, will fall to the ground. This is absolutely unacceptable.”

-The gate is the priority.

Zodiac asked further.

-I ask you. What would happen if this seat invaded the Order single-handedly? I mean this seat will go find the place where that inquisitor is alone.

The Dharma Mage Division was the core personnel to build the gate.

Thus, Zodiac devised a trick to protect them, but this also raised voices of concern.

“Because there is a connection with us, if you punish that inquisitor directly, the Order will also not just sit still but will step forward.”

The Grand Dharma Officer continued, concerned about what he feared most.

“If so, they will interfere with all matters related to our Dharma Mage Division. Therefore, to seek personal revenge and raise our prestige, it is right to invade together with us. However, if the gate is your priority… it seems right to give up on the inquisitor for now.”

-There is no need to deliberate further.

If only he could summon the Evil God,

that itself could be called the ultimate revenge.

-Build the gate first. Since that is the priority.

Anyway, the people of this world, including these mages, did not even know the purpose itself of the gate he desired.

In fact, completing the gate was the best revenge against the two bastards who had screwed him over.

-No matter what happens, the gate is the priority.

No one raised an objection.

Zodiac twisted his lips hidden behind the veil.

‘The sin of looking down on this seat. Fine. I shall leave you a gift.’

He no longer needed to worry about revenge on the inquisitor and Sayaka who had betrayed him.

Only,

he regretted the fellow the inquisitor had taken away.

‘What a waste. I wanted to take at least you.’

Zodiac…

now vanished…

recalled him, who remained only in his memories.

Beneath the blue moonlight,

he was sitting at the edge of the pavilion.

A man who looked like a painting, with black silk robes and long hair drenched in moonlight.

As he plucked the strings of the guzheng, a clear tone brushed through the night, and Zodiac couldn’t help but catch his breath.

-You have a talent for tickling this seat’s ears. You weren’t just all talk.

Stopping his hands from plucking the guzheng, he asked,

“Is that so?”

-You don’t just tickle with your tongue. Your fingertips do so too. Keep plucking. Until this night ends.

His performance continued as the night deepened,

but dark clouds were soon casting over the clear night sky.

The energy harboring even thunderclouds was rather unusual.

-The sky is noisy. Wait here. I shall return after calming that energy.

In order to calm the clamorous sky, Zodiac shed his skin and soared up,

but that was the last moment he spent with him.

* * *

[Controversy over occupying the Mana Ore Vein… Dharma Mage Division begins construction of large-scale facility -Capital News-]

[Iron frames rise over the Mana Ore Vein… Dharma Mage Division breaks ground on giant facility -Sky Island Newspaper-]

The Dharma Mage Division began to build a massive facility on top of the Mana Ore Vein.

Construction of the gate had begun.

‘It has started. The dirty tricks to summon the Evil God.’

Fortunately, there was no misfortune of Zodiac invading.

This was expected in advance.

‘After all, they would be too busy building the gate, so would they have the leeway to come for revenge?’

That was one thing, but

the primary contributor was indeed her.

Heart of Infection.

Having split the combat forces of the Dharma Mage Division in half, Zodiac must have had no choice.

‘While the dispersal of combat forces is certainly a good thing… it would have been better to end with just Zodiac.’

That thought remained unchanged even now.

‘The world-deletion match will start soon.’

Rashid pictured the decisive battle with him in his mind.

In the decisive battle against Zodiac,

the losing side’s world would be completely destroyed by the Evil God.

‘Do I eventually have to implant the Immortal Heart?’

Even if he did, it wasn’t now.

Since he planned to implant it only when they reached the very end.

‘That way, even if I fail, I’ll feel less wronged.’

Ringgg~

Suddenly the absorption transceiver rang.

Checking it, it was her, not very welcome.

Rashid naturally grimaced.

He didn’t want to answer, but answered just in case.

“What is it?”

“Hello darling? You left me a massive screw-you, didn’t you?”

It was Veronica.

“A screw-you? I don’t know what you mean.”

He knew playing innocent was useless,

but there was nothing else to do besides that.

“You know, don’t you? Why I called. That guarantor thing… it’s joint liability, you know?”

“Shouldn’t it be commended instead? Thanks to that, we were able to screw over the Dharma Mage Division, weren’t we?”

“Ha, so you did that and left? Making it an absolute mess…”

Rashid terminated the call.

Though the signal kept ringing, Rashid ignored it and called Karl over.

“Karl, what about what I instructed?”

Karl seemed to keep silent, mindful of his transceiver signal.

“Don’t mind this.”

Only then did Karl react.

“I did submit requests to several military-industrial complexes on the Sky Island, but there is no reply yet.”

Rashid had no intention of leaving the gate to be built peacefully.

Whether a magic cannon or whatever, he planned to buy it and tear it down somehow.

‘There are indeed multiple ways to attack the gate.’

The problem was that touching it insignificantly would just get blocked by the Dharma Mage Division’s protective barriers.

‘So I need something definitive and powerful. Something unstoppable like the Arcane Flower.’

He had asked Kaiser, but there was no stock of the Arcane Flower anymore.

Thus, Rashid was in the middle of searching for another means to attack the gate.