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A massive man with six arms and a witch with flowing white hair sat across a table from each other.Geryon, the Six-armed, glared at the nameless witch of Hydra Corporation, the new powerhouse who appeared in Etna City.
"How arrogant."
Except for the two hands clasped in front of his mouth, the magic gathered in his other four hands. It was an intimidating sight, but it was not enough to break the witch's expressionless face.
"Your business has begun to encroach on our territory. More and more of our residents are getting hooked on those damn drugs you're distributing. How do you plan to compensate for this?"
The witch blinked twice, her golden eyes gleaming ominously from beneath her eyelids.
As she toyed with the black gauntlet on her hand, she slowly opened her mouth.
"Is that so."
It wasn't an answer to the question. As Geryon was about to explode in anger at the witch's cryptic muttering, she stood up.
Step. Step.
He was slow to react because he didn't feel any hostility.
The witch's right hand, clad in a black gauntlet, came down on Geryon' head, like a parent patting their child.
First, confusion. Then, rage. As curses were about to spew from Geryon' mouth…
A white light gathered in the hand of White No Name.
The light, connected from each of her five fingers, burst forth as White Light, flooding the entire room.
When those momentarily blinded by the flash regained their senses…
They saw Geryon with the top half of his head vaporized.
The searing heat from the light had cauterized his flesh, preventing any blood from forming. His six proud arms hung limp, attesting to his death.
White No Name looked around the room.
"Anyone else want to challenge the merger?"
…This was the entirety of Geryon's description in the original novel.
To find clues about White No Name, the protagonist's party employed various means. Among them, necromancy to read the memories of souls, briefly featured this extra in a past scene.
As one of the tower masters in Etna City, he would have had some strength, and judging by his words, he had considerable attachment to his faction.
But as a minor character whose sole role was to highlight the cruelty of White No Name, nothing was known about his personal life.
Comparing his defiant stance against White No Name in the original with his current dismembered and crumpled form, one might feel a bit sorry for him.
At least, unlike in the original where he died, he was still alive now. I guess that's something.
I looked at Geryon with a complicated expression.
***
"Boss. Who's that?"
Orthes, casting a sideways glance at Geryon, asked Carisia. Someone in Orthes' position as the second-in-command of Hydra Corporation couldn't not know Geryon.
Setting aside all other reasons, wasn't Geryon a business competitor of Hydra Corporation?
"Geryon. He's our guest."
The directors interpreted the current formality as a plan by the two to humiliate Geryon.
Geryon had attacked Carisia when she was registering as a tower master but was captured in a counterattack. Calling a prisoner a guest and ignoring one of Etna City's top mages as if seeing him for the first time today, if not an insult, what was it?
Had Orthes known the inner thoughts of the directors, he would have felt wronged. From his perspective, the conversation just now was merely a way to gauge Carisia's mood.
Orthes had countless memories of being scolded for acting without asking Carisia's intentions.
'So they don't intend to kill him. Well, judging by his appearance now, he doesn't seem to have the will to fight.'
"Nice to meet you, Geryon. It's an honor to meet such a distinguished mage of Etna City."
Orthes' words were filled with provocation, and not only the directors felt it, but so did Geryon.
He recalled the rumors about the man standing behind Carisia.
Like his master Carisia, Orthes was shrouded in mystery. The only reliable information was that he used a sword, confirmed by cross-references.
"So. What brings you here?"
Orthes asked out of genuine curiosity. He couldn't understand why this man had been captured in such a state and why he was said to be captured because of him.
Not many directors knew the answer to this question.
Most, including Cretone, had come to the meeting only to find Geryon, half his arms missing, captured as a prisoner.
Arabella, who knew some of the backstory, bit her lip.
'My goodness. He gave advice to Carisia and now acts nonchalantly like this?'
Arabella remembered the words Orthes had left abruptly before Carisia moved to register as a tower master.
'Don't be an idiot who plans for death,' an advice more audacious and insulting than anything a subordinate should say to their master.
At first, she thought it was a warning aimed at the directors plotting rebellion while Carisia was absent due to the situation at the time.
'But it wasn't just that. Though he said it to us, it was also advice to Carisia.'
A suggestion to capture Geryon, who would soon attack, instead of killing him.
But Arabella did not explain this. Carisia had gone to the tower master registration alone. Explaining the context would be tantamount to confessing they had spies on her.
"There are still many directors who don't know the details. I'll explain."
As the directors remained silent, Carisia finally spoke.
***
The power structure of this world is simple.
The ten towers managing the Ten Commandments are the top of the Mage Alliance. They are, in a sense, royalty. The towers permitted to connect to the Ten Commandments under them can be likened to high nobility.
Being a mage alone confers privileged status, but towers connected to the Ten Commandments are even more special among mages.
These powerful towers are called the Apex Towers.
The tower master registration process begins with a new tower master appearing at an Apex Tower and declaring, 'I will manage the tower number ○○ in such and such a city.'
Once this declaration is made, the Apex Tower verifies the tower master's qualifications.
First, they check if the mage claiming to be the tower master has control over the tower's magic core.
The magic cores of all towers are connected to the Ten Commandments. Thus, Apex Towers with access to the Ten Commandments can easily verify if someone holds control over a magic core. It's a simple procedure that usually takes less than five minutes.
The real test is the second one: the magic infusion measurement.
The most important function of a tower is purifying mana from the outer dimensions.
Typically, the purification magic of a tower is powered by mana automatically recharged by the core, which collects excess ambient mana.
However, in case of an accident where all mana in the core is depleted, the tower master and their subordinate mages must step in to manually recharge the core.
The magic infusion measurement tests if the tower master can provide enough mana to the core in an emergency.
In this test, one passes by infusing the required amount of mana into the core.
The required amount varies by the core's grade, but the standard is the amount needed to sustain the tower's magic for 24 hours.
Providing enough mana to maintain magic for 24 hours alone is extremely difficult.
Therefore, this test allows the participation of any subordinates of the tower master. Anyone under their command can partake, as they also have a duty to recharge the core.
A faction with many members can pass the test through sheer numbers.
But Carisia attended the test alone. So there was no one to share the burden of mana consumption.
Geryon planned to ambush Carisia, exhausted from the measurement, on her way back to Etna City to easily deal with the depleted mage.
…And as you can see, Carisia brought Geryon back barely alive.
"I recalled your advice. Not to plan for death."
That wasn't my intention at all. I feel like sighing.
Geryon had an expression that seemed to wonder, 'How the hell did she know I was going to attack?!'
Let's organize my thoughts.
While Carisia might have spared Geryon partly because of my words, there must be other reasons as well.
Using my words as an excuse was probably a way to 'establish order' among the directors. Specifically, an implication that they should stop having any foolish thoughts because she and her subordinates were aware of such sudden situations in advance.
Would she spare an enemy's life just because of my words? Carisia doesn't live without a plan. She definitely has some ulterior motive.
What is Carisia's true intention?
If I don't figure it out, she'll scold me severely again later. Hoping my employer's temper improves, I loosen my tongue.
***
"A dead enemy is just a corpse, but a living enemy can be used."
Geryon heard Orthes' cold words. It was clear that the fate of the defeated lay in the hands of Carisia's trusted aide, Orthes.
The hopeful sign was that Orthes mentioned 'use.' After all, one must be alive to be used.
He was grateful that Hydra Corporation's board lacked mages who primarily used darkness or lightning magic. If they used electricity for brainwashing or necromancy to control his soul, he would be worse than dead.
As Geryon held his breath, awaiting Orthes' judgment, he saw Carisia and Orthes exchange glances.
A swift, silent exchange. Then Carisia nodded. Carisia had approved Orthes' course of action.
"Directors, I dare to ask."
Geryon instinctively sensed he was about to hear something he shouldn't.
"Are you aware of the founding purpose of Hydra Corporation? The goal of our president?"
***
By chance, our eyes met, and Carisia nodded. Having watched her for a long time, I could tell. She was looking at me with great expectation.
The problem was that I didn't know what she was expecting.
I don't have mind-reading abilities, so it would be nice if she just told me.
Damn.
She brought Geryon because of what I said, right?
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