Cause Identified

The closure of Korea’s Red Gate caused an uproar across the world.

What shocked the world even more was the fact that, aside from people getting hurt from falling during the evacuation, the damage caused by the Gate had ended without anyone actually being injured.

Then, when it became known that the person chiefly responsible for closing the Gate was a black mage, the truth that South Korea’s 8th Circle black mage was no lie became known, and the news even spread that black mages from all over the world now wished to head to Korea.

But regardless of such international affairs, the two of them ended up meeting face-to-face at the Blue House.

“…Do you really intend to take all of that?”

“Isn’t it enough that you took all the good international publicity?”

“…Hah, so in the end, you asked to meet me just to twist my insides.”

“I’m speaking definitively. Besides, China and Japan also want a clue to resolving this Red Gate incident, do they not?”

At present, only an extremely small number of people knew what form that clue had taken.

Unless the masters on our side recklessly loosened their lips and leaked the information, there was no way the outside world would learn the method for resolving the Red Gate incident, so it could be said that Kim Dae-san now held a “card” he could trade for enormous gains.

In many ways, the government had gained a great deal, starting with the chimera.

“So even if you share a little, it won’t hurt you, will it?”

“It is by trying to take everything that one gets hurt.”

“You are speaking about yourself, I see?”

“…You really are insufferable.”

When I gave him the fullest version of the smile that everyone I knew had warned him to be careful of, Kim Dae-san’s expression stiffened.

Then he spoke to me seriously.

“Please do not make that bizarre smile in any official setting.”

“I have no intention of appearing in any official setting. I have plenty to do, and I have no desire whatsoever to suffer because my face becomes known.”

“Please…. I truly hope you carry through with those words to the end.”

I gave a light shrug and continued speaking.

“You can collect whatever gains you can from other countries as you see fit, and since the hypothesis that the Red Gate incident may have been artificial is effectively certain, I think it would be right to examine all movements around the Gate during the several days before its mutation.”

“I heard about it from Commander An Sang-ik.”

“It will not be something that can be taken lightly. And if you fail to stop the group that artificially caused the mutation, then the Red Gate incident will proceed along a course very different from the Great Cataclysm. It will not be easy to deal with.”

“…Are you the sort of person who can even give advice like this?”

“I am a normal person too. Just how terrible is your image of black mages?”

Kim Dae-san had no answer.

So I brushed myself off, rose from my seat, and left the Blue House, and Kim Dae-san did not bother to stop me.

‘I gave the warning, so he will take appropriate measures. He would rather die than watch his empire shake.

Now it is time to investigate the information regarding the black sphere.

‘Research comes first.’

Thinking of the masters who would be waiting for me, the corners of my mouth merely curled upward slightly.

“Oho…. Remarkable, it is sacred script.”

“I never thought I would get to see divine language like this.”

“There are a few letters I can recognize, and it looks like a prayer?”

“We will need an expert. It does not seem like anything will change just from us looking at it ourselves.”

“Does anyone know a Chantra?”

“As if we would have any reason to be close to the Chantras?”

Those were the things each of them said while examining the black sphere.

For safety, we had actually wrapped the black sphere in several layers of Barrier magic, and were even examining it with a ward deployed as well so that no accidental contact would occur.

So, in order to seek consultation about it, we had taken a rubbing of the sacred language.

“Still, it is fascinating. It feels as though we might understand how it works if we split it in half, but it does not seem to have been made from something simple like a Magic Stone.”

Just as Han Sang-gil said, if some special material had been used, then that too might become a discovery in itself.

Most of the equipment and materials used by Awakeners at present are special substances imbued with unusual power or materials that can be obtained inside Gates.

That was because there were no materials on Earth capable of enduring magic power and supernatural abilities for long periods.

Even when it came to the same iron, the fact that it showed strange differences in strength was still an unresolved mystery in the scientific world.

“But is there anyone fit to take that to?”

Everyone looked puzzled. It seemed they assumed that I too, being a black mage, could not possibly be close to the Chantras. But there was one person I knew from whom I could seek advice.

“I intend to find the Saintess of Zodiac.”

At my words, everyone stared at me in shock.

The five religions of the Chantras, commonly called “divine Awakeners,” each possessed their own distinct traits.

Commonly, Gaia had built the strongest power base, and was a lineage that served the Earth Mother Goddess. In reality, it was an organization that performed quite varied forms of miracles, including healing and praying for abundant harvests.

And Zodiac, the one I intended to visit, was called the stellar divinity, and was most famously a group whose Apostles of the Twelve Zodiac Signs flaunted their individual dispositions and authority.

Aside from those, Fallen of the Sea, Arcsect of the Blazing Sun, and Kravados of Darkness were active as officially recognized otherworld religions.

“Zodiac is…. quite a rough group. Are you saying you know the Saintess of such a group?”

“There was a time I almost died in the past, and I received a bit of help.”

Everyone wore surprised expressions. Were they surprised that I had nearly died, or that a Chantra had helped a black mage?

Whatever it was, leaving the astonished masters behind, I said I would return and ended up leaving the research institute within the academy grounds.

The five religions of the Chantras respected one another, and, according to their respective traits, maintained cooperative relations so long as they did not trespass upon one another’s domains.

Among them, Zodiac, which was granted the strongest physical characteristics, was commonly classified as what one would call a battle healer, and was also a group where Paladins and Crusaders were particularly dominant.

Because of that, an unexpected visitor arriving there had stirred up a commotion.

“…This is Zodiac’s holy ground. Did you come here knowing that?”

I looked back at the burly men and women blocking my way and asked,

“I came seeking consultation. I have no impure intentions, and if you cooperate, I will provide a holy relic in my possession.”

The priests were startled at the mention of a holy relic, but soon shook their heads and said,

“The person you wish to meet is not someone with so much free time. Besides…. I cannot believe that a black mage would possess a holy relic.”

Thinking it would be best to show them directly, I took out one of the items I had, or more accurately, one of the things I had looted from a Cultist of Ruin vault.

It was a holy relic with considerable divine power, one of the few worth counting on one’s fingers among the spoils.

Its form was that of a “candlestick,” and the moment I revealed it, the priests did not merely look shocked, but became flustered and began murmuring among themselves.

It was then, just as confusion was throwing them into disorder.

“So you were the one who asked to see me?”

At just the right moment, I met the gaze of the muscular woman who had emerged from inside the temple, and, feeling that I might be able to achieve my purpose, I immediately opened my mouth.

“It has been a long time, Saintess.”

“Well…. that is true, but it is still unexpected that you would come looking for me even while knowing that you and I are not on such generous terms.”

“There are too many people who recoil at the mere sight of a black mage.”

“We are the same.”

“For that, the priests of Zodiac are nice in that they only use ‘words.’”

“That is because there is no one insane enough to use ‘force’ on you. Follow me.”

Then Saintess Kang Han-na turned around and went inside the temple.

‘She feels even stronger now. That must mean five years was not a short time.’

It was a connection from the height of the war.

Kang Han-na had served without rank then. Despite possessing the powers of a Saintess, she had thrown herself across the battlefield as a common soldier and performed immense feats during the war, to the point that people even called her a “holy zombie,” and in truth, hundreds had been saved thanks to her help.

Kang Han-na looked much more mature than she had back then, and as I followed behind her, she glanced back at me and asked,

“You come here after all this time, and instead of asking how I’ve been, you present a transaction. Are you still living with your mind gone?”

“This is not a world one can live through in one’s right mind, is it?”

“What is the matter?”

“There are too many watching eyes.”

At those words, Kang Han-na frowned, then spoke seriously.

“These people are tight-lipped. And there is no need to worry that words will leak out carelessly.”

In the end, thinking that I had no choice but to show trust in Kang Han-na’s words, which were filled with firm conviction, I said all right and took out the rubbing.

Then I passed it to her and asked,

“I need it interpreted.”

Kang Han-na accepted it for a moment, then read it through for a while before asking me with a grave expression,

“…Where exactly did you get this?”

“It would be difficult to tell you the source.”

“Everyone, step back.”

“But….”

Everyone looked between Kang Han-na and me with cautious expressions. It seemed that the mere fact a black mage was by her side left them uneasy.

However, Kang Han-na expressed her will simply by shaking her head instead of answering, and eventually, as everyone withdrew, she looked once more at the rubbing.

After a while, she let out a sigh and said,

“It is indeed sacred language. However…. it contains content that blasphemes the gods.”

“Content that blasphemes the gods? In that case, could you tell me what that content is?”

“Judging from the rubbing, it seems to have been taken from something spherical, and if possible, destroy that thing or throw it away. It will not be easy to handle.”

“You clearly know something, do you not?”

Kang Han-na took a seat and gestured for me to sit as well.

I could not help but be a little surprised by the words that followed, along with the statement that this would be a long story.

“There are six otherworldly gods known to the world. One of them has still not been officially recognized as a formal religion, but aside from them, there is yet one more god, and this concerns that being.”

“…Then there are seven gods?”

“There is a god called the Nameless One. More precisely, a god known only to them.”

“And by them, you mean?”

“The Cultists of Ruin. He hates the six gods and sings of destruction. That content is all contained there.”

‘So in the end, the Red Gate really was the work of the Cultists of Ruin. It was not far outside my expectations, then?’

“You had already expected it?”

At Kang Han-na’s words, I gave a light nod. Then I placed the candlestick on the table and said,

“This is the price for unraveling the clue.”

“It is excessive, but I will gratefully accept it. We do not refuse offerings.”

Thinking that she truly had not changed, I rose to my feet and ended up leaving the temple. As we walked side by side, Kang Han-na asked,

“There are rumors that another Great Cataclysm may come. Do you really think so?”

It was a sudden question, but it was also one I could answer.

“It will come.”

“You do not hesitate in the slightest.”

“It is not an answer that calls for hesitation.”

Kang Han-na saw me off without another word, and that was how I came to confirm the source of the sphere.