Genius Prismatic Mage Chapter 283

#283. Hat under the tree (3)

The light blinked a few times and then returned to normal.

“Haha, it looks like the auction was getting too heated so the auction house is offering a brief break.”

“That’s right. I was surprised when all the lights suddenly went out, but that was considerate.”

The embarrassed people lightened the mood by joking.

“… … .”

Philip was still staring blankly at the other side of the auction table.

The boy's dark brown eyes.

The brown-haired woman reflected there.

Her eyes met mine for a split second before the lights went out, and she had moved closer to the auction house, watching the children trapped in the cage.

Philip's lips moved quiveringly.

"perhaps…."

"perhaps?"

“Maybe it’s my mom.”

Ray followed Philip's gaze and looked at Upaccess.

Same eyes and hair color.

Why did I only notice this now?

It was a fact that I had not been able to connect with at all, as I had simply regarded her as the doctor's subordinate.

I thought as I watched the intense excitement and anticipation swell in Philip's bowl.

'Philip doesn't know that Upseth is an executive of Murcred.'

Objectively speaking, the chances of Upseth being Philip's mother were slim.

Because there aren't just one or two women in their 30s with brown hair and eyes in the world.

But still, if by any chance, if by any chance Philip's expectations are correct.

“… … .”

It would have been much less shocking to know the inconvenient truth from the beginning rather than to learn it later.

Ray said, gathering his thoughts.

“I am an executive of Murcred.”

"…what?"

“The name is Upseth. He’s the person I told you about before, the one you met in the last forest.”

Philip's face became blank again.

A variety of complex emotions rose like smoke in a bowl.

“Oh, it looks like there was a power outage for a moment. On behalf of all of Tenenbaum, I apologize. Then, let’s continue with the auction that started a little while ago─.”

Chi-chik- Chi-chik-

It was then that a voice was heard, accompanied by noise, from the broadcasting device on the ceiling.

[As of now, the entire Tenenbaum has been taken over by our resistance. Everyone inside the building will be treated as a hostage, and anyone who moves without permission will be considered an enemy and will be shot to death. Please be mindful of your precious life.]

After that, the voice suddenly stopped.

People began to murmur.

“What? Resistance?”

“Have you ever heard of it?”

“No… I… .”

“I’ve heard rumors. They’re a radical group of lowlifes demanding the dismantling of the wall. And now they’ve taken over this place….”

Aaah!

The words were cut short by screams heard from outside the doorway.

Then the door burst open and about twenty people rushed in and started shooting inside.

Toodoodoodo──!

“Kill about half of them! Make an example of them so they listen well! The more hostages you have, the more advantageous you are in negotiations, but the more damage you can do because of those who rebel!”

Gunshots and screams rang out everywhere.

Philip, who was hiding behind the chair with Ray, let out a gasp of breath.

“Oh my goodness, what the hell is going on? Didn’t you say there was a terrorist attack on the train last time? Are these violent incidents a daily occurrence inside the walls?”

“Maybe so. First of all, Resistance is a name I’ve never heard of before.”

Ray said that and leaned his head slightly over the top of the chair.

The terrorists were armed with all sorts of equipment that flowed mana, such as walkie-talkies and shock-absorbing vests, and their main weapon, a gun, also fired mana bullets.

An item of the same principle as that used by the group that attacked the train.

'They said it was something made by a scientist.'

Perhaps they are being released in large quantities in places like black markets.

First of all, it was clear that there were still unknown objects inside the wall.

Because people who thought it was a normal gun and tried to protect themselves were getting shot and dying.

“Coolook… What the…! A gun or something…!”

“Gyaaaaah! Please save me!”

“I, I will not rebel!”

In the midst of the chaos of Abigyu.

Ray said as he gave Philip a strengthening spell just in case.

“Don’t move from here.”

“Oh, I see.”

Ray's legs kicked up, sending electric shocks through them.

The destination is the auction house.

It was to secure the tears of Aurea in the midst of a hail of bullets and prevent them from being damaged.

And in the rapidly changing field of vision, Ray could see another figure running towards the auction house.

'Up access.'

She, too, was aiming for Aurelia's tears on the stage.

Although Ray was incomparably faster in speed, Ups*x was right in front of the auction house, and arrived in front of the stage just a hair ahead.

Just before shedding Aurelia's tears.

Taang!

A bullet passed through our bars and lodged itself in the feet of one of the trapped children.

The children under the spell showed no reaction, but Upseth, who witnessed the scene, was different.

“Those humans who will tear you to pieces…! How dare you…!”

In an instant, an enormous amount of anger surged through the bowl, and it gritted its teeth as it flew towards the terrorists.

“Hey, why are you suddenly like this!”

“That crazy kid! He’s shooting at our own troops!”

“It’s magic! It’s enchantment magic!”

As Ups*x's new form moved swiftly and precariously across the battlefield, enemies began firing at each other.

No matter how hard you try, the number of intelligent beings that can be controlled simultaneously with enchantment magic cannot exceed a single digit.

Such absolute common sense in the magical world did not apply to the current situation.

A vessel of ups and downs.

Because the feelings of great possession and obsession were abnormally amplifying the power of magic.

Ray arrived at the podium and held Aurea's tears in his hand.

“… … !”

In an instant, hundreds of images flashed through my mind, along with a sensation like a bolt of lightning striking my spine.

Blue's memories absorbed from the lake.

Among them, all the memories associated with the scarlet jewel were revived.

After a very brief moment.

"ha."

Ray let out the breath he had been holding as if he had escaped from deep water.

Memories that shine brightly like stars in my head and show off my existence.

But it wasn't the right time to look into them right away.

He rushed straight into the battlefield.

The manas of the rings that ran on both legs were manifested as magic from the tips of Ray's feet according to his will.

[Terrain Manipulation]

Kugugugu──!

With each step, cracks appeared in the floor and spread throughout the auction house.

An illusion that a huge earthquake had struck the area.

Ray has learned all the magic registered in the association's Pokedex.

One of them, terrain manipulation, was modified based on imagination and was showing a different power than before.

“W-That’s ridiculous. T-This is terrain manipulation? What kind of magic is that used at construction sites…?”

“I can’t move… ugh!”

The enemies' legs sank to the ground, their posture collapsed, and they lost consciousness at the hands of Ray who arrived in front of them.

And besides Ray and Upss, there was another character who used fire magic and overwhelmed the enemies.

It was a man in a ghost mask who had been watching the situation without participating in the auction.

Thud!

With the last enemy defeated, the situation was quickly resolved.

After confirming Philip's safety, Ray approached the man in the ghost mask and spoke.

“I think you can explain this situation.”

The reason I asked that was because the man's feelings of confusion and doubt were not great.

As if they had somewhat anticipated that this situation would occur.

The masked man took a deep breath and spoke calmly.

“First of all, I would like to thank you for your help in subduing the terrorists. I am Leon, the assistant manager of Tenenbaum. The situation is urgent, so I will speak frankly.”

As we heard on the broadcast, the terrorists were said to be members of the resistance.

A radical group from outside the wall whose motto is to bring down the wall.

“I know they haven’t been active for a while, but they’re causing a lot of chaos in society. They’re attacking the wealthy, they’re destroying major buildings. You could say that the discontent of the people from outside the walls has been building up and finally exploding. The discrimination and contempt they usually receive is indescribable. There are even cases where they’re taken away as slaves.”

Leon's voice grew faster and faster.

“Anyway, I figured out that there was a Resistance spy hiding inside Tenenbaum and was secretly investigating. However, it seems I’m too late. Things have gotten to this point before I could do anything. It seems their infiltration ability was greater than I expected.”

“… … .”

“Ray, I know it’s shameful, but could you help me?”

Ray looked at her as if asking how she knew his name.

“How could I not know? I’ve been keeping an eye on you since you’ve been sweeping up Tenenbaum’s property recently. In fact, I suspected you might be a spy for the Resistance…”

Leon glanced at the corpses of the fallen resistance fighters and continued speaking.

“… I guess it was an absurd suspicion.”

At that moment, a broadcast came on.

[This is a message that will be transmitted both inside and outside Tenenbaum, so everyone listen carefully.]

[In twenty minutes from now, the explosives placed throughout Tenenbaum will be detonated. If you do not wish to see hundreds of hostages buried in shrapnel, you will be better off meeting our demands until then.]

[Our demands are as follows: First, the release of all our comrades currently imprisoned.]

[Second, destroy the wall and release the distortion field that has spread throughout the city, thus eliminating the distinction between inside and outside the wall.]

[Third, Max Mann, the representative of the discrimination camp, will be executed.]

[It is as above. Also, if an intrusion from outside is detected, the detonator will be activated immediately, so we recommend that you do not engage in any foolish activities.]

Chijik.

The voice suddenly stopped.

Leon said urgently.

“It’s likely they’ll detonate regardless of whether their demands are met. That’s based on the pattern of the guys who have been around so far.”

“I think so too.”

Ray thought for a moment.

Once the Tears of Aurea were secured, the original purpose of visiting the auction house could be considered accomplished.

'It's no problem to leave one Philip out.'

But the problem was Upscess, who had a dazed look in his eyes and showed no intention of moving in front of us.

This state would last for hours until the waves of emotion subsided.

Also, there was something that caught my eye.

“Are there any more children caught from outside at the auction house?”

“Yes, it is very embarrassing, but there are quite a few.”

It was the moment when Ray's choice became clear.

“I will help you.”

“Thank you…! This will really help me a lot…!”

Leon, with a moved face, continued his explanation calmly and quickly.

“First, we need to recapture the control room. There is a high probability that the leadership with the detonator is there. It is also a place where all of Tenenbaum’s facilities can be activated. If we use it well, it will help us split up the enemies spread out everywhere and rescue the hostages.”

At that moment, Philip, who had been hesitating while looking at Upaccess, approached and said.

“Control Room? That sounds like a very military base-like name.”

“I understand that this building was actually used as a military base.”

“Uh… yes?”

Leon explained briefly.

According to the information passed down, it is a building that the dwarves of old created in imitation of the elven world tree.

“So I know that the top of Tenenbaum has the shape of branches extending in all directions.”

“I just said it, but I never thought it would be true.”

Ray listened to the conversation and thought quietly.

Maybe this building was also designed by Rael.

“I’ll guide you to the control room. The management area on the top floor is a complex maze-like structure, so if you don’t know your way around, it’ll be hard to get to where you want to go.”

After a short briefing, Ray followed Leon out the exit.

Beep-

Boom!

The CCTV on the ceiling, which had been turned around, was immediately destroyed without even capturing Ray's face.