Obtaining Important Information (2)

What America revealed and requested was “cooperation.”

“Our United States of America is actively cooperating with the Sea Sun Brigade from behind the scenes. We are generously adding everything we can support them with, including the equipment they use and their means of transportation.”

It was a sudden story, but I roughly understood the feeling.

“Eiden Smith, you are also a member of the Sea Sun Brigade, aren’t you?”

After hearing my words, he nodded calmly.

Seeing how the others who had come with him did not even have their breathing disturbed, as though this was information they already knew, it was clear they had come here with determination. Just then, one person came to mind, so I said,

“Hera, who came to see me recently, also told me to join the Sea Sun Brigade. Did you come to make the same offer?”

“This is a little separate from her matter. The offer I will give you is to ask for your cooperation in Beral’s raid.”

The Sea Sun Brigade had publicly declared that all their remarkable personnel would gather and track Beral. Had they not announced that they could not immediately find where that bastard had disappeared to?

So just as my doubt raised its head,

Eiden Smith showed one additional piece of material.

“Currently, thirty-eight members of the Sea Sun Brigade are trapped inside a Gate. They said they are in a standoff against Beral.”

I did not know how many total members the Sea Sun Brigade had. However, from the fact that as many as thirty-eight had been trapped, I could tell that the situation was quite serious.

“Where is that?”

“It is Iceland.”

“That means they found Beral’s refuge. How did they end up trapped in a Gate?”

“It would be quite long to explain….”

“I have plenty of time, so please tell me.”

Eiden Smith, who let out a sigh, nodded.

“Robin Willow, who was in charge of tracking Beral at the time, tracked down Beral after he had hidden himself in Iceland. But they realized too late that this was a trap.”

I wondered what kind of trap it could have been, and just then, Eiden Smith pointed at the people he had displayed in the video and spoke.

“One of the three I mentioned earlier appeared in Iceland, and many high-ranking members of the Church of Ruin had been hiding silently there.”

It meant they had walked into a trap.

But just as I wondered whether, with the Sea Sun Brigade’s ability, they could not have torn through such a trap as though it were nothing,

“Iceland had already been controlled by the Church of Ruin. Most of the population was eliminated and replaced by members of the Church of Ruin. It was not an enormous number, but in effect, Iceland had evaporated. On top of that, not only had they used all the victims as sacrifices to carry out a large-scale reinforcement, but they were also making many Gates run wild and using monsters.”

I turned to look at the person who had spoken.

Since she was a “master-class” black mage among Eiden’s party, I looked at her and asked,

“Seeing how you speak with quite a bit of resentment, it seems you are someone connected to this.”

“That is right. I lost my homeland.”

It meant she was Icelandic.

“They said that when the members of the Sea Sun Brigade first went to Iceland, they did not feel anything strange. They only knew that Beral had secretly hidden himself there, and once it was confirmed that he had hidden inside a Gate, they began preparing for a subjugation. But the problem occurred afterward.”

“Robin, are you sure this is the place?”

“I have no reason to lie, do I?”

At Robin Willow’s words, all the members of the Sea Sun Brigade steeled themselves. Amid that, Kasim, who had the highest rank among the gathered members and was representing them, opened his mouth.

“If we enter inside, you must pass the story on to Ben and the others. You know that, don’t you?”

“Don’t worry about that part. Marcelo seemed ready to come immediately.”

Marcelo was gripped by anger after losing his lover, so he was in a state where he could not distinguish front from back. That was why Robin had informed Marcelo of the news a little later.

Even so, it was obvious that he would be rushing over. However, Kasim had no intention of waiting for Marcelo.

Even within the Sea Sun Brigade, rank was extremely important, and that rank was usually decided according to achievements in battle.

Because he was currently in the position of representative, if he subjugated Beral, he was certain that his rank could draw close to Ben’s.

So Kasim looked around at everyone and spoke.

“Any member dissatisfied that I am taking command should remain here and stop Beral if he tries to flee. Those who are not will enter the Gate with me.”

At that, some stayed behind, and most followed Kasim.

Since the Sea Sun Brigade was like a group that worshiped strength, there was no reason not to follow Kasim, who possessed great power.

Moreover, the being they had to face was a monster that had even led to a raid draw against Ben’s party, the remarkable group called the hero party.

“Victory is certain. He is a bastard who was injured and hiding silently. So if we are prepared and do not let our guard down, it will be enough. Do you understand!”

At his shout, everyone took out their respective weapons and steeled themselves.

Afterward, Robin, who had decided to stay behind while watching the people entering inside, was just confirming that about five people remained outside.

Suddenly, the Gate’s color changed, and then it transformed into a “black” color he had never seen before, making Robin panic.

“What is this?!”

He urgently tried to enter inside, but it was no use. Then, just as the other comrades also tried to rush in, there was one person who was the only one to enter inside.

“Jonathan went in. What happened?”

Robin was troubled, and the four people were panicking and falling into confusion. It was then.

“How amusing. I thought everyone would go in spiritedly and die for me, but did some of you have a brain, or were you just lucky…? You all need to die.”

It was a voice that was suddenly heard, and Robin flinched in shock, then urgently ran forward while looking only ahead.

After that, he heard the sounds of his comrades fighting desperately, but Robin only glanced over and identified the enemy’s appearance before leaving the battlefield as he was. The desperate struggle of his comrades, who realized his intent, shook Iceland.

Afterward, Robin barely managed to preserve his life and leave Iceland, and the Sea Sun Brigade learned of this fact through him. However, because they currently could not know the internal circumstances, America and a small number of strong people from various parts of Europe were being gathered to somehow prepare to resolve the situation.

“That is how the circumstances became like this.”

“Then that means this person called Robin also does not know the rest of the situation…. And the reason you came to find me is because the person who entered that black Gate was a black mage?”

“That is correct. It is also the same reason we were summoned like this.”

I could understand what kind of story it was, but the problem was that there was no benefit.

“It seems possible to help them even without me, though?”

“In truth…. Ben Smith of the Sea Sun Brigade and his comrades have already occupied Iceland. They are dealing with the Church of Ruin and searching for the person suspected to be the Saintess, but….”

“There have been no results. And they still cannot enter inside.”

Eiden Smith answered by nodding.

‘Why was only a black mage able to pass through?’

“What does this person Marcelo say?”

Since he was a mage, I judged that perhaps he might know the circumstances of the Gate. And Eiden answered as if he had been waiting for this question.

“He says it seems to have been sealed through black mana. To begin with, if one looks anywhere in the world, you are the only black mage who has become stronger beyond the limit, Geum Seong-chan.”

It meant that among the other Awakener groups, there were those who had reached a realm above masters and should be classified as “superhumans” beyond human limits, but among black mages, I was the first.

Perhaps the Church of Ruin had also grasped this fact and had carried out this matter because they thought it was a loophole.

But it felt too sloppy.

If it had been me, rather than a trap like this, I would have used the Church of Ruin’s forces to deal with them.

At the very least, even the people suspected to be the Saintess and Saint, as well as Jo Yun-hui, who was active in Korea, were strong enough that even I could not easily grasp them.

If they had fought with the determination to kill or die, I could not know what conclusion they would have reached. But if the other Saintess and Saint, along with the powerful being called Beral, joined forces, I expected that even the Sea Sun Brigade would not have had an easy time.

But they prepared a trap?

‘Should I consider that the apostles of the Calamity God are less united than I thought, or if not that, then that they are highly likely to be a loose coalition?’

I thought that some kind of factional struggle might be taking place.

“We would like to receive your help. In return, our American Black Mage Association and Black Tower will use all our authority to actively support any area we can support. We will also certainly pay compensation, and there is also room for us to actively intervene in improving the treatment that black mages have received in Korea until now.”

It could be called an exceptional offer.

But the condition was that I had to risk my life.

Even assuming I entered inside while bringing them with me, the question was how long they could endure against Beral and the prepared trap.

Even if the Sea Sun Brigade had cleared the outside, it seemed likely that the inside was still the same. Since that was the biggest variable, I had no choice but to be cautious.

“How long has it been since they went missing?”

“It is coming up to one week.”

‘That means they came running here immediately after the incident occurred. It means they were quite desperate, but this is interesting.’

“Wouldn’t it be too late even if we went now?”

“…I cannot say it is not too late, but we must go. Because we do not know what other worst-case scenario that may lead to.”

I thought I understood what concern Eiden had spoken of.

The purpose of the Red Gates and Yellow Gates had been confirmed. However, the important thing was that the purpose of the black Gate was unknown.

“Then let us do this.”

Did he sense a sign of permission in my words?

Looking at the American black mages, who leaned forward and gazed at me as if telling me to say anything, I spoke.

“Either way, unless they can cross the boundary, they will be of no help. And the personnel who do cross also need to have the ability to back it up, but by my standards, only two people meet the conditions. So I do not know how many people will still be left inside, but I believe at least many of them are dead…. If you accept my proposal that I may freely use their corpses, then I will accept this operation. I also intend to receive sufficient compensation, so include that part as well.”

To Eiden, who showed curiosity as if asking who those two were, I looked at one person.

Han Sang-gil received my gaze and had a sullen expression.

“Are you thinking of making an old man work?”

“If you are at the level of the owner of the Necronomicon, isn’t it only basic that you can exert power beyond your realm?”

They likely knew information about Han Sang-gil, so there was no great agitation at my statement. But when asked who the other person was, I said the name “Go Yu-jin,” and all the Korean masters were surprised.

“Has she crossed the boundary, by any chance?”

“That is not the case, but she can exert strong power in many ways. And in this operation, I plan to bring all the members of the Sea Sun Brigade inside with us, so in many ways, it will not be an especially difficult operation.”

Everyone looked puzzled after hearing those words from me, but I thought there was no need to tell them the correct answer in advance.

‘Because it’s obvious where information will leak from.’

When I quietly looked at Bak Young-min and grinned, he flinched in surprise.