Chapter 265. a (14)
...it's morning.
Wake up. ||||
The celestial bodies orbiting the star moved faithfully as always. Today again, the distant sky is said to have brightened. With two suns rising together like a harmonious pair of siblings, surely the upper realms feel no loneliness.
However, in the place where Y live, observing them is not so easy.
I have to get to work. Even at this very mont, countless citizens are desperately waiting for the help of our First Archmage.
From now on, I'll turn my gaze toward the sea and personally check the environnt. I'm ready to work, following the orders of my sole direct superior... Though, I had originally intended to start right away.
It was at that very mont, just before heading out to the assigned sea area, that sothing suddenly caught my eye within my field of vision.
[Wait a minute.]
The day before yesterday, my supervisor was a male. Yesterday, a female. And today, suddenly appearing in so form of body I couldn't even recognize—so honestly, it's natural to be curious.
[But what is that form?]
I asked.
[You ntioned that the cycle of changing forms has beco more frequent. Now, you've taken on a shape where I don't even know which pronoun to use for you anymore.]
Hahaha.
[At this point, it's even unclear where your original form started. Is there a particular reason you change your gender so often?]
Then the superior replied.
Reason? The reason is to understand.
There's nothing quite like firsthand experience for vivid learning. Having gone through the bodies of male, female, and the rare intense or hermaphroditic Alphaurans caused by sex chromoso abnormalities—after experiencing every kind of physical form that exists here—he ca to this conclusion. Bodies designed solely for reproduction, with their reproductive organs and driven by breeding instincts, are undeniably inferior. At least, they're inadequate for the world of today.
So.
What you're looking at now is the asexual prototype I recently developed. Once the final improvents are done, I plan to replicate it and distribute it among my acquaintances right away.
Well, anyway, that's the situation they say. It seems like a pointless task in many ways, but that superior's eccentric behavior isn't anything new—it's been going on for quite so ti.
Then now that your questions are cleared up, can you head out to work right away?
After the conversation ended and so ti had passed, my senses were filled with the vast ocean—the familiar beautiful planetary scene, where enormous satellites drifted across the sky.
***
Let's see. Now that I actually check the list, there are quite a few tasks to handle.
[Which one should I start with to make a good impression?]
I pretended to ponder for a mont, then decided to just handle the tasks as usual.
[As expected, the safest bet is to handle things in the order I was instructed.]
***
• Guidance and punishnt of criminals
The first task is to destroy a certain research facility hidden in the abyssal plains.
[Hmm~]
After looking at the information my superior gave , it seems that the research institute in question copied the 'bone experint' that took place in the distant past.
The so-called "bone experints" carried out by the organization known as the Magic Tower. From what I know, the project was quickly scrapped during the Middle Era because there were hardly any genuine mages at the ti. Due to those conditions, the experints rarely yielded results.
[Is there really a need to retry such an ancient, relic-like experint?]
Recently, many useful magical creatures have gone extinct in Alphauri's ecosystem. As a result, the prices of various materials used in magocraft have skyrocketed. It seems that even these diocre sorcerers ended up starting the forbidden experints for that very reason—he had simply beco too harsh.
Ugh!
Bam!
Damn it, I got caught!Grab the data and run!They layered so much cognitive distortion over it, how on earth did this place get discovered...?!
Still, no matter the reason, actions like these must be punished. In our world, human experintation without the subject's consent is strictly forbidden by law. Yet the researchers hiding here had even gone so far as to emulate the darke aspects of the historical militant group known as the Magic Tower. They had obtained their lost subjects through abduction. And so, isn't it about ti they paid the price?
[This place is far too well-built to simply tear down.]
Alphauri has long been rich in self-luminous materials. And with recent technological advancents, many new spells have been developed to stabilize their luminescence. As a result, it beca a trend to build bright, white houses using glowing materials for the entire structure.
And the laboratory I raided was no exception, following that sa modern style of interior decoration.
[Everyone, stay right where you are—If you don't resist, I promise to spare your lives.]
Aaaggh! You monster b*stard!Ugh.Wrong. That thing's already completely twisted the surrounding mana flow, so now even teleportation is...I'd rather die than get caught!
But after learning about all the cris committed here, I just couldn't find this sleek hallway impressive anymore.
After subduing all the resisting criminals, I searched through the interior of the research facility, following my superior's orders to secure additional evidence.
[So this is why the mission was classified under imdiate execution authorization.]
However, the "bone experints" conducted in this lab were far more grotesque in thod than expected.
Long ago, the Magic Tower, which first devised this experint, once pondered what kind of tools would yield the best results when drawing magic circles. Shortly after, by a fortunate chance, the Mage Tower discovered that the body of a highly intelligent magical creature—in other words, a mage's bones—served as an excellent catalyst for drawing.
Orphans. Drifters without a ho. The holess, and so on.
The old Tower, unable to easily kill true mages, resorted to capturing various vulnerable people who simply held magic within them—extracting their bones. But in the present day, that cruel experint has evolved—only in a more sinister sense.
[This technology wasn't ant to be used like this.]
Nowadays, with fast-acting treatnts widely available, it's a completely different story from the old days when it took hours for a severed limb to reattach. The researchers here seed to have impaled entire mages into tanks filled with water mixed with these ultra-regenerative agents, endlessly harvesting the bones that kept growing back.
Thanks to that, I suppose they never had to worry about catalysts for magic circles, even in this era of high prices. Honestly, to build such a brute bone-chalk factory all for economic reasons...
[Hmm.]
When I turned my head, I saw tanks of various sizes in the research lab, each containing the imprisoned mages of all living things.
The weakened Alphaurans—all lay on their backs like dead sharks, belly up.
Thump!
Thump thump!
There was no response even when I tapped with the tank my tentacles.
[Did they use the sleeping pills too?]
If this continues, the victims will likely suffer severe aftereffects even after being rescued...
[There's nothing I can do.]
It's a pity, but I can't be responsible for their lives after this. I have more important things to do.
I loaded the captured old-era worshippers from the lab onto the transport one by one. Then, as usual, I sent them off to my superior's address.
.
.
.
Now, it's ti for the second task.
After shutting down the illegal chalk factory, I swam into this endlessly blue mid-layer ocean.
Kyaaah!Whaaa.Soone stop that!
This place was a high-end residential area where many of the planet's elite resided. But there was no reward for my hasty arrival—by the ti I got here, the scene was already a chaotic ss.
W Water... it's all water!
According to the hastily delivered report, this massive catastrophe was said to have been caused by a single, emaciated mage acting alone.
Chiiiiii—
Soon after, the sound of sothing vaporizing echoed through the water. Turning my head in the direction of the sound, I saw a light so intense it could be mistaken for a falling star. As I moved closer to the source of that radiance, I was greeted by a rush of dry air—sothing rather unfamiliar to marine life.
Pyromancer.
That's right. The identity of the one who started this incident is none other than the heretic of the era who enjoys using fire-attribute magic. However, it was not sothing to be underestimated just because he deviated from the mainstream tastes. He was not simply boiling water, but a talented person who could vaporize everything around him.
[Mow.]
At a glance, it was clear that a powerful figure, easily worthy of being called an archmage, was behind the terror. So, I imdiately sprang into action the mont I spotted him.
[Stop, stop!]
That blazing ball of fire had already killed about 300 citizens just by entering this residential complex. Furthermore, if we leave it like this, it is obvious that it will blow up most of the city area. We must subdue it imdiately.
[Stop casting magic imdiately. From now on, every move you make will only increase your sentence.]
But as soon as I started to give the warning, I heard a response from the other side.
So you've finally co, you filthy livestock bastard of this nation!
That's harsh.
You're a horrific machine pretending to be a human, a hypocrite, a mass murderer! I couldn't believe it, but here you are shalessly showing your face. You piece of shit!
By the way, maybe because he's a powerful mage, his lung capacity is incredible? Without even steadying his breath, he unleashed a long string of curses like a fiery speech, then imdiately charged forward.
But I wasn't flustered. The Title of First Archmage is basically a role that acts like the military and police. In a society where overwhelming public authority like mine exists, anyone brazen enough to commit cris openly is usually not in their right mind. So getting insulted out of the blue is just a common occurrence.
You filthy ■■ st*rd. A ■■■■■ who'd spend your whole life just clearing the tentacles of those above you!
Yeah, I've even gotten used to this kind of treatnt by now.
[Judging by how unoriginal the insults are, this doesn't seem like a highly intelligent individual. How did soone like this learn such powerful magic among citizens?]
Murmur.
I sighed briefly. I didn't know what exactly made him so angry, considering he was the one who committed the murders.
An accomplice, yet!
The terrorist pyromancer shouted repeatedly in a loud voice.
You're the ones holding power who are actually ruining this planet, yet you try to pin the bla on innocent people?
[...]
So you still think we're fools, huh? You really believed we wouldn't find out about that population control plan!
[...]
I'm going to be the one to suffer, then I'd rather strike first and die. After I wipe out all the rich bastards in this city, I'll make sure to turn the body of that damn chief you serve into nothing but a pile of ash!
I took advantage of his one-sided rage to calmly begin evacuating the residents. Using magic that detects heartbeats, I swiftly pinpointed the locations of the citizens. Then, with a golem modeled after an underground creature—one with a long snout—I let it swim through the collapsed buildings, swallowing up any survivors it found with its chanical mouth.
SrrrK...!
Soon, sensory feedback flowed into . Several residents had been safely secured within the rescue golem's abdon. Having swallowed all the survivors, the golem began to flee the area, following the pre-programd ergency path. Moreover, it was equipped with secret healing agents for the injured inside. With that, the safety of the rescued citizens was no longer a concern.
[Hmm.]
But if there was one small concern, it was that complaints about the rescue golems had been increasing lately. People said the interior was too hard and the ride too uncomfortable. Even the dicine-dispensing system—which I had painstakingly added—was often criticized for resembling a beast secreting stomach acid after swallowing its prey, which made passengers feel uneasy. If more harsh feedback cos in today, I may seriously need to gather the engineers soon and co up with so improvents.
[Phew.]
But if I design new golems... taxes will skyrocket, and everyone will complain about that too, won't they? I think this all the ti—what on earth do people even want from us Archmages?
[Anyway, they don't even know my concern to do not extra budgets as much as possible—]
What are you talking about?
Well, whatever the case, that's not sothing I should worry about right now.
Let's see if those soldiers you brag about can even withstand extre heat, Mage Captain. I bet because of your miserable duties, you haven't even set foot on the ice floes up there for decades, right?
I quickly shook off that pointless thought and focused on the current situation. The pyromancer was approaching from the distant sea.
You probably don't even rember the last ti you saw the sky, and yet you dared to raise your head before the blazing sun...
Cliiiik—
The bright light, and the pyromancer, draped in continuously rising steam, looked almost like a deity from a legend. Anyone who recklessly approached his radius would see even high-end battle golems—built with city-sized budgets—lt away in an instant.
However, I knew this would happen and prepared counterasures.
Kaught! Ugh... Ash?!
A positive signal ca back quickly. I activated the newly developed vacuum magic from not long ago. It is a small technique that artificially empties the space where matter was, so it is extrely difficult to activate enough to cover all of the flas.
Kaggh... ugh...
I was able to take away a small organ that the pyromancer was protected with several layers of barriers. I deleted the pyromancer's right lung, which had been rampaging. And taking advantage of his montary hesitation as he stopped the spell, I finished it.
Brain. Heart. Spinal cord.
Even in an age of advanced technology, these organs remain difficult to regenerate. In other words, if a mage's source of magic—and will—is attacked, their future is dood.
[That's it.]
The pyromancer that had been running wild stopped his actions with a pitiful ease. These days, antimagic has also developed a lot, so if you use a technique that soone else originally casts, you often get your spells returned.
[Hmm.]
Despite having fought on countless battlefields, I had never been caught off guard by such a tactic. Perhaps it's because of the difference in processing speed after all?
[I don't know.]
Titt.
I started cleaning up with a light sense of concern. Except for the one long-shaped golem used to rescue the citizens, I utilized about 28 golems brought to the site to quickly restore the collapsed city. But working alone on the construction, other questions slowly began to creep into my mind.
[I'll make sure to turn the body of that damn chief you serve into nothing but a pile of ash!]
Honestly, what exactly did the higher-ups do wrong? Why do the planet's inhabitants so easily resort to cursing their own leaders?
[I don't know.]
This planet has long been dominated by a single nation controlling the entire waters. So from the citizens' perspective, they really have no other options—no wonder they get frustrated sotis...
Still, isn't life decent enough as it is? ■ is actually a pretty good leader.
[They have no idea how hard we're working to protect this planet. Honestly, everyone's just too spoiled these days.]
I muttered to myself as I continued my work.
Clang, clang, clang.
The only sounds in the area were the inorganic noises produced by the golems—but that was fine. It would be ti to leave work soon.
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