Limit Breaking Genius Mage Chapter 287

Episode 287 The Third Force

A view of a bleak room filled with antique furniture.

Beyond the old window, a night sky filled with clouds can be seen. Ethan, sitting next to the window, is quietly lost in thought.

'What should I do now?'

Now he was trapped in the old mansion with Rebecca.

Otherwise, it wasn't anyone's fault.

Strictly speaking, it was everyone's misjudgment.

Because he didn't expect that Rebecca would be able to subdue him in an instant, while also detecting her presence.

Maybe I should have been a little more careful.

I had that thought, but now was not the time to regret it.

Since I was a prisoner, my first priority was to ensure my safety. I rolled my head while lightly hitting my upper and lower teeth against each other in my mouth.

'First of all, the king of the underworld is not a member of the Magic Tower.'

I confirmed that it is not the tip of the Bohemian Tower.

And, circumstantially, it is unrelated to the Larian Tower and the Tower of Volcano Island.

The same goes for the rest of the towers.

If that were the case, they would have already received the information. There was no reason for the magicians, who were obsessed with raising their own ranks, to neglect such a powerful magician.

I'm sure they used it as a pillar of the Magic Tower and announced it to the world to raise the status of the Magic Tower.

It is the society's rule not to do business with the Magic Tower.

That's why it was fortunate.

For Ethan, there is still room to try to talk to that guy named Asher and come up with a compromise or deal.

'The question is what he is looking for in the Dominion… … .'

The Mamentus Company, the Rainbow Inn, the Dominion, the Two Towers, etc.

These are the things Asher has been involved in since coming to the Dominion. When I listed the information like that, my mind flashed for a moment.

'Could it be that they are chasing the same thing as us?'

The only intersection of the clues is the Bohemian Tower.

In addition, the opponent showed strong hostility towards the Bohemian Tower, and the force that Ethan and Rebecca were chasing was the enemy force of the Bohemian Tower.

Ethan rubbed his chin.

His eyes reflected in the window shone clearly.

“If we do this well, we can turn this crisis into an opportunity───”

“Whoa!”

I turned my head at the sudden scream.

Rebecca, who had been unconscious until just a moment ago, was raising her upper body and breathing heavily. I met her eyes.

“Uh, Ethan?”

“You’re up so quickly, Rebecca. Are you feeling unwell?”

“Oh, yeah…… Not much……”

Rebecca rubbed the back of her neck.

I felt a stabbing pain, as if I had been bruised.

As her blurry eyes came into focus, the moment before she fainted came to mind.

She vividly remembered the gray-haired man chasing her fiercely, the fear of being strangled by the staff, and the cold eyes looking down at her.

My body trembled without me knowing it.

But the monster wasn't there, and when he looked around, he saw Ethan standing by his side.

That's right.

“Ethan……! You came to save me as expected!”

“No, I got caught too.”

what?

Immediately afterwards, a clicking sound was heard.

As I turned my gaze towards him, the door opened wide and Verden was coming inside.

He looked straight at Rebecca.

“You just woke up.”

It's a calm voice.

Rebecca opened her eyes wide in shock.

“Gyaaaah!”

* * *

“Euuuu……!”

Rebecca, hiding behind Ethan's back, kept glancing at Verden.

He's already screamed twice, and he's even showing up now… He was quite a loud wizard.

Ethan, unable to stand watching, cleared his throat.

“Ahem, Rebecca. Sit down. How long are you going to do this?”

“Ha, but……! I almost got strangled!”

“You’re still alive and well, aren’t you? And considering you were caught while being followed and then caught while running away, this is a fair treatment. Honestly, I wouldn’t have anything to say even if one of your limbs was blown off.”

“I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Look, Asher said the same thing. So, please calm down.”

“Ugh…….”

Eventually, Rebecca reluctantly grabbed a chair.

Ethan and the other two sat together, with a small table in the middle, and Verden sat on the other side.

Blue eyes stared at Ethan.

'It seems like things have become more friendly.'

Whether it's in the way you speak or in your attitude.

I don't know why, but it didn't really matter. If they were willing to cooperate, I welcomed it.

“Are you ready to answer?”

“Yes, please.”

“What is the purpose of the Society coming to the Dominion?”

I continued asking the questions I couldn't ask in the sewer.

Rebecca hesitated and glanced at Ethan. When he nodded, she let out a small sigh and spoke.

“I came here to investigate…… regarding the forces attacking the Bohemian Tower…….”

A group that Verden defines as a third force.

It seems like the guess made in the underground waterway was correct.

Ethan continued.

“We came here to find out which group is eradicating the influence of the Bohemian Tower in the vicinity of the Dominion.”

"wherefore."

“Because they are supported by the Dominion and the Volcanic Island’s Magic Tower and the Larian Magic Tower. Do you happen to know what our Society is pursuing?”

Verden shook his head.

I had only vaguely heard the name, but I didn't know the details.

Ethan said firmly.

“The Society is not simply an organization that opposes the Magic Tower and wishes for its downfall. Ultimately, it aims for a freer magical society. However, the current Magic Tower system is very closed and extreme in a bad way. It is not visible at the moment, but in the future, it will grow into an irreversible problem.”

Verden knew that better than anyone else.

The upper level magic tower was secretly carrying out human experiments that were considered taboo in the world. And on a massive scale.

Other magic towers may also be breaking some taboos.

'But they probably don't know about human experiments.'

Because the unofficial experiments of the Bohemian Tower were completely unknown to the outside world.

So far, only Verden has escaped the compulsory magic circle. It is safe to say that its suppressive power is absolute.

'Then why does the Society think so?'

I was very interested.

“What is the evidence that the rooftop is extreme?”

“To put it simply, what is happening in this Dominion is an example of this. As you know, due to the power struggle between the Magic Towers, dozens and even three-digit numbers of people have been killed, including at the Mamentus Trading Company and the Rainbow Inn.”

“That’s woefully inadequate. If the reason were simply that many people died, there would be more extreme groups everywhere.”

There is no day when life does not die.

Innocent or not, that's the world.

“What I’m talking about is the means they use. They operate their power unofficially, away from the public eye. That could easily lead to a secret disaster that follows the interests of the Magic Tower. Needless to say, if those powers include extremely dangerous magicians.”

Was it because they were worried that the competition between the magic towers would involve small territories, large countries, or even continents? It was a reasonable and understandable reason.

But there was something else I wanted to point out.

“What you’re saying is… it sounds like you know the identity of that force.”

“We didn’t waste our time either. As a result of investing time and effort, we were able to obtain detailed information about the members of that faction and one of their leaders.”

Verden's eyes widened slightly.

Because what they had was the information he wanted.

It's a weak but clear reaction.

Ethan noticed it quickly and smiled.

“Judging by the circumstances, I know that Asher is also trying to pursue them. In that sense, I would like to propose a deal. In exchange for the information we have, you will completely guarantee our safety.”

“I promise. So tell me.”

It was a straight answer without hesitation.

Ethan cleared his throat for a moment and said.

“That group is largely comprised of fugitives who were targets of the Bohemian Tower in the past and then hid in the Eastern Continent. One of the leaders classified as dangerous among them is Kendras, who was formerly the leader of the ‘Followers of the Three Eyes’.”

* * *

Follower of the Three Eyes.

A force that was active in the Central Continent in the past, its leader was notorious for gouging out people's eyes and using them as mediums for magic.

And they were brutally suppressed.

The Bohemian Tower has become a springboard for increasing fame and expanding influence in the Central Continent.

The leader's corpse was hung at the gate, and the Three-Eyed Followers were annihilated and disintegrated.

Most of the remnants were also killed while being pursued, but only Kendras and his men managed to escape the pursuit by reaching the Eastern Continent.

This was also one of the background knowledge that Verden knew.

“Kendras is a cruel and strong man, as he was the right-hand man of the leader. Although he is not a wizard, he has followers of the Three Eyes and their remnants, wizards of the third rank or higher. It would be unacceptable for such people to receive aid from other magic towers and unite.”

“Did you get the location?”

“I haven’t figured it out yet… something unexpected happened along the way.”

Rebecca pursed her lips and scratched her neck.

When I heard that, I understood why they had attempted to follow me. They must have wondered why I suddenly appeared and caused trouble in the territory.

“So, is this the end of simply investigating those guys?”

“I was planning to figure out the scale of the force and come up with countermeasures accordingly. After that, I planned to secretly eliminate them based on my judgment.”

There are many cruel wizards in Kendras' gang.

The Society could not just sit back and watch. It was against their rules to condone the tyranny of the Magic Tower and to turn a blind eye to extreme magicians.

It was like a kind of mission.

How did you even try to find out the location information?

To Verden's question, Ethan readily answered.

“The only people who know about Kendras’s whereabouts are the two magicians dispatched from the Magic Tower, Ezra and Molly, and the Dominion. I tried to infiltrate them somehow and get information… but honestly, it wasn’t easy. It’s incredibly difficult to fool the eyes of a magician belonging to the Magic Tower, of all people.”

But that doesn't mean we can kidnap them and interrogate them.

It's impossible to subdue it all at once in a magic battle, and if you move around so openly, you'll have to deal with two magic towers.

It was a risk that even Rebecca and Ethan could not afford.

“I have told you everything I know. Seriously. Are you satisfied?”

Knock knock.

Verden tapped his fingers repeatedly on the table. Then, after thinking about it, he looked at the two of them.

“I will provide you with food and a room while you stay here. I have set up a magic circle outside the mansion, so you may freely wander around the mansion and garden.”

Verden stood up from his seat.

“Instead, you’d better not even think about leaving without my permission. I sincerely advise you not to.”

After leaving a one-sided notice, he immediately left the room.

Footsteps could be heard getting farther and farther away in the hallway. Soon, when the sound completely disappeared, Rebecca turned her head abruptly.

“Ethan! What if you reveal all the information without permission? All of it, without exception!”

“It’s not like it’s been specifically designated as confidential, so this much is okay.”

“That’s true, but…….”

“And this was the best. If I had just been uncooperative, I wouldn’t have gotten into a good situation. As the Master always says, you have to be alive before you can do anything.”

“But you didn’t have to be so cooperative. You could have just told them to let us go as a trade price.”

“Why? There’s such a talented person right in front of you.”

… …Talent?

Rebecca blinked slowly.

Suddenly, memories of the past flashed through my mind.

“You, you, are you thinking of recruiting that human into the Society?! Are you crazy?!”

“It’s perfectly normal. Honestly, aren’t there more than enough reasons?”

First, it did not belong to the magic tower.

Second, he is a powerful magician that the two cannot approach.

Third, although he is called the king of the underworld, he is too personal to be called the ruler of evil criminals.

“And did you see the magic circle surrounding the mansion? It’s a high-grade magic circle that I can’t destroy. If you try to force your way out of the mansion, you won’t be able to get out safely. In other words, Asher is very knowledgeable about magic circles.”

Now that I hear it, that's true.

To be honest, he fit the profile of the person the society was looking for.

“Well, there’s no guarantee that I’ll get the offer though…….”

“But we can still be friendly. It’s much better than being hostile, no matter what. And, after all, we’re trapped in the mansion, so there’s nothing we can do.”

There was nothing to refute.

It was Rebecca's fault that this situation started in the first place.

“Ha, what is this…….”

She sat up on the bed, her mouth agape.

'huh?'

I bounced my body slightly and it was softer than I expected.

Now that I looked at it, the room overall looked old, but it was clean, without a single cobweb, as if it had been cleaned recently.

The environment is incomparably better than any other hotel I've stayed in so far.

'It's not bad, but… …isn't it?'

Rebecca lay down on the bed quietly.

My mind was uncomfortable, but my body felt extremely comfortable. The feeling of alienation only lasted for a moment.

My eyelids closed and I fell asleep.

Then my mind was at ease. In fact, it was sleep for escape.

* * *

Verden recalled the information he had obtained about the Society.

I tried to find a way to find out about the third force. After a while, I came to one conclusion.

'Is the key a self-governing territory?'

The purpose of coming to the Dominion is to build a force that will become your base.

In the midst of all this, causing conflict with other magic towers was the worst of the worst. Rash actions would cause all sorts of troublesome situations.

Verden will have a private meeting with the Dominion in about three days.

It would be a good idea to take this opportunity to find out where Kendras is.

'Of course, it is highly likely that it will not meet my standards.'

From what I've heard, Kendras is as cruel as anyone else. The others may be of a similar ilk.

But whatever it is, I plan to make a decision after meeting him in person.

Rather than simply judging something by rumors, it would be more accurate to see it once. Verden decided to trust his own judgment completely.

“…….”

Suddenly, I thought of Society.

They have a unique purpose as a half-tower, but… … they are not suitable as a base.

For now, that's it.

If we do that, it will end up being Society that moves Verden himself. It is not easy to take control of an organization that has already been established.

Moreover, the power of the society is unknown.

Verden had no intention of handing over the initiative to anyone else. Revenge was his sole responsibility, from beginning to end.

'There is no need to argue unnecessarily.'

Because there is no reason for that.

So, it would be better to have friendly relations like the ark.

Of course, that didn't mean I was going to release Ethan and Rebecca right away.

As of now, their goals partially overlap, so there is a possibility that they could become a hindrance.

So, hold on for now.

It wouldn't be too late to let him go later after he finished his business… … Berden made a firm decision.

As time passed, the promised day began to approach.

It was about two days later.

Three uninvited guests have arrived in the Midloth Dominion.

There were two clowns and one inspector.