A secluded corner of a certain district.
It was so dark and deeply hidden that not even someone who had lost their way would wander into it.
Part of the reason was that the road leading there lay in ruins, but the fact that it had originally been an undeveloped district with few inhabitants also played a role.
Even so, a secret entrance stood at the very end.
There was a reason they had taken such care in a place already devoid of people.
An entirely different atmosphere unfolded beyond the entrance.
Unlike outside, rows of lights illuminated the darkness within.
A long, low building that had been extensively modified occupied the area.
Countless figures in black robes hurried in and out of it.
In the middle of it all, a man stood at the window of a spacious room on the top floor and looked outside.
“Yes… keep up the good work.”
He tightened his mouth as he watched his organization members working diligently.
His plump, sagging cheeks bulged outward along with the wrinkles.
Below them, his robe stretched tightly over his enormous body. When he crossed his arms, the fabric across his back looked ready to burst.
‘What kind of insects are acting up without knowing their place?’
Something had been greatly irritating him lately.
At some point, problems had begun disrupting the work handled by those beneath him.
At first, he naturally assumed his subordinates had made mistakes.
But it turned out that someone had been interfering with them consistently.
Because of that, the organization’s reputation for rapidly completing its commissions was crumbling by the day.
Tasks now took at least twice as long to resolve, and sometimes as much as four times longer.
It was fortunate that they were still completing them, but the resulting losses were tremendous.
‘It’d be one thing if only the small fry were being taken down, but even the somewhat capable ones are losing.’
The number of people assigned to trivial matters continued to grow.
At this rate, even his core members would have to handle worthless tasks.
When he first established the organization, he had considered recruiting only skilled people to prepare for such a situation.
But why had he founded the organization in the first place?
For money.
Since black mages were never recognized wherever they went, they at least needed to possess plenty of money.
‘Money is power. Of course it is.’
To remain true to that purpose, the more members the organization had, the better.
More people meant they could accept more commissions.
That was why he had accepted any black mage who shared his ideals.
But that decision was now causing problems.
His incompetent members had become incapable of accomplishing anything.
Even so, there was a way through this difficulty.
‘We just need to hold out until that day.’
They had been fortunate enough to receive a commission worth an enormous sum.
The job was currently in its middle stages, but the end would soon come into sight.
If they completed that commission properly, the organization’s standing would change completely.
Not only would they receive a massive success fee, but the client had also promised to open trade with other neighboring countries for them.
Then they could recruit more skilled people and expand the organization.
They would no longer be confined to one small kingdom.
All that remained was to spread across the entire continent.
‘I’ve been waiting for a day like this.’
The man closed his eyes, intoxicated by joy.
But only for a moment.
His heavy-lidded eyes soon snapped open.
‘And they dare interfere with me?’
The insects gnawing away at the organization’s work were clearly after him.
Their actions had gone far beyond mere interference with the organization.
The way they were gradually drawing out higher-ranking members made their intentions obvious.
Above all, there was one decisive reason.
‘I knew something was strange.’
A large number of people had been imprisoned beneath a building for the lucrative commission.
One day, a report came in that an intruder had entered the basement.
He was greatly alarmed, believing the commission had been compromised, but not a single captive was missing.
Instead, the caterpillar magic beast had been killed, and the statue erected in the center had vanished.
The statue had been modeled after his own face.
It was one of several statues of his face made to commemorate the founding of the organization.
Even if it had been gilded, the basement contained plenty of other valuables, including pottery and framed pictures.
‘So I wondered why they took only the statue of my face.’
They had declared war on him from the very beginning.
They had left a message that they would eventually come for him.
Moreover, they had meticulously altered even the wounds on the caterpillar magic beast.
Had they not torn the wounds apart until it looked as though the creature had been attacked with blunt objects?
Going that far showed their clear determination not to reveal their identity.
‘I let them run free, and now they’re driving my organization into a corner like this?’
Those contemptible insects.
He was certain they would never get what they wanted.
He had made thorough preparations to counter them no matter how they attacked.
Even if all those preparations somehow came to nothing….
‘I’ll have no choice but to use that.’
It was an item he had intended to preserve for the future.
The client who commissioned the lucrative job had given it to him.
They had told him to use it if the situation appeared likely to go wrong.
He had both the thorough preparations made in advance and reliable insurance.
‘Let them come if they dare.’
Certain that he could not lose, the man gave a crooked smile.
***
Time passed quickly, and at last the day of the decisive battle arrived.
For the past several days, the black-robed organization More had stopped strengthening security around its operations.
For some reason, they had instead reduced the personnel they had previously increased.
That made the days as easy as they had been at the beginning of the operation.
Hook suspected they had recalled the people assigned to fieldwork and gathered them at the main building.
Terlo agreed with that conclusion.
More needed to establish an environment where it could respond to an enemy that might attack at any moment.
‘I wonder how well they’ve prepared.’
Terlo, Ina, Hook, and Hook’s organization members had just arrived near the ruins.
Dozens of mercenaries rose when they saw them.
A group of low-level black mages stood among them.
Hook had hired them to increase their numbers.
SWISH— SWISH—
At Hook’s hand signals, the group split apart.
They had formed smaller groups so they could move quietly.
Terlo and Hook would take the lead, find the members of More standing watch, and eliminate them.
The black mages watching them would relay the signal from one person to the next, and dozens of mercenaries and Hook’s organization members would follow behind.
They intended to reach the entrance without alerting the enemy.
Of course, More had probably prepared every kind of countermeasure inside the entrance as well.
‘Still, there’s a world of difference between being attacked knowingly and being attacked without warning.’
If they charged openly from here, the members of More standing watch would contact those inside.
Would they not make even greater preparations then?
But if no report came in, they would remain careless, just as they had until now.
According to Hook, those sentries had been guarding the area for several days.
SWISH—
It was time to begin.
Terlo and Hook pulled their hoods low and vanished with black smoke.
They moved to separate positions to survey the surroundings.
Several black mages followed behind them.
Terlo teleported onto a rooftop first, lowered his body, and surveyed the area.
The ruined district came clearly into view.
‘I’ve heard about this place several times, but it looks even worse in person.’
This district connected the Krauber Territory and the Erven Territory.
Even at a glance, it did not look like a place where anyone could live.
No, it was the sort of place where no one would even imagine another person might be present.
Terlo once again found it impressive that More had established itself somewhere like this.
But that was only from the perspective of ordinary common sense.
Any criminal organization intending to hide would search for a place like this first.
As he examined the area, Terlo smiled faintly.
‘Found one.’
A figure in a black robe stood behind a collapsed building with half his body visible.
But his head was tilted upward.
Following his gaze, Terlo spotted another black-robed figure inside the building above.
The two looked at each other, their shoulders shaking.
‘They must be sharing some amusing story.’
They had been stationed here to watch for approaching enemies, yet they were completely distracted.
Clicking his tongue, Terlo turned his gaze toward the top of the building.
He had already checked everything visible from this position and was about to move.
Then he spotted two figures lying prone atop a tall pile of rubble to the right.
‘Found more.’
After memorizing their positions, Terlo moved to the building ahead and continued his search.
At one point, he discovered organization members hiding at the very position to which he had moved.
Terlo had established a proper order for dealing with them, but since he had encountered them, he gladly gave them first place.
Once he had finished surveying all the way to the entrance, Terlo returned to his original position.
Then he nodded to the black mage waiting for him.
‘Time to begin in earnest.’
Terlo had located twenty hidden members in total, divided into ten teams.
He had already eliminated three teams, so he only needed to deal with the remaining seven as he advanced.
All of them were chatting without a care, so eliminating them posed no difficulty.
WHOOSH—
“Eek! Contact headquarters, quickly…!”
“What? What are you suddenly—Ghk!”
And so Terlo began clearing the path.
Because he had scouted everything in advance, his speed was extraordinarily fast.
The people behind him followed as quickly and quietly as possible.
Before long, they reached the entrance leading to More’s base.
‘Phew.’
Terlo caught his breath, then flinched when he looked at the entrance.
‘That’s an illusion?’
A heap of scrap metal was piled against a wall where no one would ever imagine an entrance existed.
It would distort when touched, yet it looked completely natural from every angle.
‘Hmm.’
Seeing it reminded Terlo of his own illusion black magic, which had looked like a thick wall.
Hook’s group then arrived one after another.
His face was hidden beneath his robe, but Hook seemed surprised to find Terlo already there.
He quickly took his position and signaled with his hand.
SWISH— SWISH—
Ina stepped forward, while the hired mercenaries and black mages took their positions.
‘Let’s see.’
How many people would the poison affect?
Illusion magic only deceived the eyes. It did not create a physical wall.
The space remained as open as the surroundings.
Because of that, anyone behind the illusion would inevitably be affected when Ina released poison into the air.
Of course, that was only true if enemy members were stationed beyond it.
‘There should be at least two.’
When enough time had passed for the poison to take effect,
Ina moved to disperse the illusionary pile of scrap metal, while the mercenaries placed their hands on their sword hilts.
They were preparing to draw their weapons and charge immediately.
The black mages and Hook’s organization members behind them prepared to support them against any unexpected attack.
When the illusionary pile of scrap metal dispersed, four fallen members of More came into view.
Behind them stood an open door.
“T-They’ve invaded!”
“What are you doing?! Get ready! The bell!”
“Someone ran to ring it a moment ago!”
“Damn it!”
‘Looks like they were fooling around in here too.’
Otherwise, they would not have been this frantic.
But the mercenaries gave them no time to prepare.
“Graaaaaaah!”
The wooden door shattered helplessly beneath the charge of dozens of mercenaries.
With their view now unobstructed, a long building stretching to both sides came into sight.
Then,
Flaming arrows began flying from the direction of the building.
FWOOSH!
FWOOSH!
As a sudden rain of arrows poured down, the black mages joined forces and spread a broad shield.
The mercenaries were forced to hesitate briefly.
Through the shield, however, they could see that a considerable number of enemies stood before the building.
The mercenaries quickly assessed the opposition and used the brief opening to charge into the enemy ranks.
The black mages followed behind them and moved against the archers.
DONG— DOOONG—
The sound of a bell rang from somewhere, and the battle began in earnest.
“Let us go, Young Master.”
“Yes. Let’s.”
Amid the blood-splattered heat of battle, Terlo and Hook headed toward the building at the rear.
From the beginning, the battle of numbers had been left to Ina and the others.
The important part of this plan was capturing More’s core figures.
And those core figures were undoubtedly inside that building.
Terlo did not know how many there would be or what preparations they had made, but….
‘I’m looking forward to this.’
This time, Terlo felt certain he would finally experience a proper battle.
The two robed figures had just reached the front of the building when,
“Dodge!”
At Hook’s shout, a black spear flew toward them.
CRASH—!
RUMBLE—!