Текст книги "Overlord - The Man in the Kingdom - Part 2"

Автор книги: Maruyama Kugane

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Текущая страница: 16 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

They weren't allowed to speak, but there was still a disturbance. They looked at each other with suspicious eyes, and then began adjusting their positions. The warehouse was small, but not small enough that everyone had to squeeze. There was enough space for everyone to avoid contact with everyone else.

"Relax. If any demons make it here, we'll kill them. As long as you understand where we're coming from, it'll be alright." As the mood seemed to relax, Brain capitalized on it and continued, "But, if the demons from outside come in like an avalanche, then I can't make that guarantee. Don't you think, if a demon infiltrated in here, wouldn't he want to loudly shout that there were intruders? Do you see what I mean by killing anyone who made noise? Oh sure, some of you will think, "but I'm human, why are you killing me?" but the rest of us won't know that. So for the sake of protecting everyone here, anyone who makes a noise that draws the demons will die."

Once again, he bathed everyone in the killing intent brimming from his eyes.

"Looks like you get it. First up, we've searched a few warehouses before this one. However, not only did we not find anyone, all these warehouses were empty. Taking the area surrounded by the firewall into consideration, even if this is a warehouse district there should be more than ten thousand people here. Since there's only three hundred here, that means there ought to be at least thirty three warehouses like this, right?"

Brain took a deep breath.

"So that's the problem. Why haven't we found anyone else besides you? Maybe it's just bad luck. After all, we were avoiding the areas where the demons were on alert. But... do you think anyone could accept that? Most likely they were transported from the warehouse district to somewhere else. Don't panic! We have no idea where they've been taken. But anywhere the demons take them can't be good."

Those who understood raised their heads, and there was also the sound of sobbing.

"And you lot were slated to be taken away by the demons. That means for now, you've avoided a nasty fate. But remember, we're still in the middle of the demons' territory. If you're not careful and don't move quickly and quietly, you'll be killed while fleeing. Hey, you, you look like you have a question. I'll allow you to speak."

The man who had the katana pointed at him asked his question in a frightened, small voice.

"What if we stay here?"

"Then you'll be taken away. And it'll be by those guys whom you know very well are demons, to wherever kind of hell these demons come from."

"I—"

Brain glared at him, and the woman who had raised her voice cut it out immediately.

"I allow you to speak."

"...My child is only three years old. If I stay here, and go to the same place as him..."

"Really now. I have no interest in helping anyone who doesn't want to run. But this guy is different. Just so you know, if your son's been taken to another warehouse, there's the chance he'll be rescued by another team. If you want to ignore that and stay, then I won't stop you. A kid without his mom can live by himself, but I haven't seen anyone take care of their kid to this extent."

Brain spoke coldly to the disheartened civilians.

"Then I'll say it one more time. If you stay here, you'll be taken away by the demons. If you accept this and want to stay, I won't stop you. After all, when you leave this warehouse, there's a chance you might get killed in a demonic attack while fleeing."

Climb had to interrupt here. Since Brain had said this much, it was necessary.

"But, we will defend anyone who wants to flee."

"I don't like troublesome things, but I'm doing it because of this knight of Renner's. So I'll protect you lot. We'll move out in a few minutes. Staying or leaving is your choice. If you want to discuss your freedom softly, that's your choice as well. Do as you like."

There was no discussion. This was because they were uneasy that their neighbors might be demons but because many of them were hoping that their relatives would be rescued by another team and they would be reunited.

There shouldn't be another team. We checked so many warehouses, and only a couple weren't empty.

Brain decided not to think too much on the matter, instead gripping his sword and glaring fiercely at the captives, making sure that none of them made too much noise. Climb walked over to Brain, and spoke softly.

"Thank you, Brain-san. You did what I couldn't do for myself."

"Don't worry about it, all that crap was stuff that someone like you, who serves Renner, couldn't say. But for a mercenary like me, it shouldn't cause any problems in the future. Just think of me as a whip."

"Even so, I'm still grateful."

"It'll get troublesome if we get stuck in an endless loop. I get it, I'll accept your thanks. Hm? That fellow's back."

The thief entered Brain's field of vision. He should have been keeping watch on the outside and remaining on standby. Since he wasn't coming back in a hurry, that meant it wasn't a dangerous situation.

"What happened?"

"Ah, no, Unglaus-san. The demons don't look like they're coming over yet. But like you said, it's only a matter of time."

"That it is. Who knows, this might be their final objective. Did you take a look around outside? What was that earthquake just now?"

"I have no idea. Maybe the ground caved in and demons came crawling out of the earth?"

"Don't say that sort of thing, that’s the worst-case scenario..."

"Sorry, sorry, Climb-kun."

"Then, let's get ready to move."

Just as Brain was about to order the citizens around, there was a sound of something landing outside the warehouse.

The warehouse quietened immediately. The thief stuck close to the doors to carefully check out the outside. His hand began moving in signs. They formed the shapes that the three of them had decided meant "demon". Following that, he signalled, "a strong one".

Climb and Brain exchanged looks. Then they quietly moved to where the thief was.

They saw a demon outside. It was completely different from the ones they had encountered before. It gave off the feeling of tremendous power.

Its body was nearly three meters tall, and it had bat wings upon its back. Its head was a goat skull, and in its hands it held a large hammer.

The demon turned its gaze to the warehouse, and Climb's concealed party felt its eyesight on them. Had it used magic to sense them? It was definitely waiting for them to show themselves.

"That guy looks really strong..."

"No doubt about it."

Brain muttered, and the thief answered. Climb nodded his head in agreement.

Climb quietly watched Brain. He had angered him during that encounter with Shalltear. As such, if Brain told Climb to flee, Climb fully intended to obey.

"...Climb, fight by my side."

"Yes!"

Climb answered in a soft yet earnest voice.

"Will it be all right?"

"Ah, just look at that guy. He must have fled from a fight. He's covered in wounds. If he were unhurt, I don't think all of us together could beat him. But now, if we can charge him simultaneously, we might be able to win in one blow."

“I'm counting on you,” Brain said as he patted Climb's shoulder.

Climb nodded his head vigorously, and activated his ring's power. This ring, made by the Dragon Lords using Wild Magic, contained a spell that could temporarily increase a warrior's strength. If the strongest man in the Kingdom Gazef Stronoff used it, he could step into the realm of heroes, but Climb had not reached that state yet. Even in combination with his martial art 「Limit Breaker– Mind」, he could not even touch the bottoms of Brain's feet. However, it would still grant Climb the power of a mithril ranked warrior.

"All right, let's go."

Brain, who was leading the way, was stopped by the thief.

"Unglaus-san—"

"Shouldn't you call me Brain? You're older than me, calling me -san or whatever makes me uncomfortable."

"...then, Brain. What should I do?"

"Just stay here, Lockmeyer. That guy might think we're just a decoy."

"...I'll come to help you if you're in danger."

"Then I'll count on you. Come on, Climb-kun. Although you probably know by now... don't get cocky."

"Yes sir!"

♦ ♦ ♦

Lower Fire Month (9th Month) , 5th Day, 04:03

"Kuh!"

Evileye grunted as she took a hit to the belly. Although she was largely insensitive to pain, her sense of touch from her days as a human being was not completely gone yet. If she was attacked, she would definitely feel it.

In the brief window when her concentration was broken, Evileye ate another hit from Alpha.

The explosive force of the blow knocked the air out of Evileye, and sent her flying.

Evileye's objective was to draw the battle out. As such, she could not use the strategy of converting physical damage to mana damage. Without mana, Evileye would be unable to fight. This meant she would have to expend her HP and mana evenly.

Her mud-stained body was dragged back up into the air by the ‘Flight’ spell.

At this moment, Evileye saw Nabe, who had been knocked flying by her own opponents.

She looked like she had been beaten up pretty badly too. Evileye flew over to her. The enemy did not follow– were they waiting for us to join up before killing us together?

"Oh, it's you."

Evileye had been planning to help up the fallen Nabe, but she stood back up immediately and spoke coldly.

Although her injury-covered body looked like she had been in the fight of her life, something felt wrong about her. There was no fear of death, or rather, she believed that Momon could defeat Jaldabaoth before she died.

Goes for me too, Evileye thought.

"Can you still fight?"

"Of course. No problem."

That had been a stupid question.

Speaking of which... this woman has exceeded humanity as well. Could she be a God-kin too?

She had suffered assorted injuries and her clothes were stained by blood, but none of the wounds were lethal. For all she knew, Evileye might have been more badly hurt.

Compared to Evileye who had only two opponents, being able to perform this well against three opponents... though Evileye was loath to admit it, she had to admit that Nabe was better than her.

"You look like a mess."

"Not exactly."

Evileye laughed at the reply, which was so much like Nabe.

Although the mask covered Evileye’s expression, Nabe could still feel that the air had changed, and surprise showed on her face.

"No, I was thinking that that reply was just like you."

"...Was it now. So, what will we do now?"

"What can we do? How can we draw this battle out?"

Evileye turned a sharp look at the five enemies. Apart from the insect maid whose killing intent stabbed at her like a lance, the others didn't radiate any hostility at all, though from their attitudes they seemed pretty confident of killing them both easily.

"Your enemies are there too."

"Looks like we’re out of options. If the numbers were even we might have a chance to win. But if they're on the same level as us and there's more of them, then we'll lose for sure."

"How about running? If you turned around and fled, they might not pursue."

"If you want to do that, I'll cover you from the rear."

Dissatisfaction twisted Nabe’s otherwise prim face. Although even if she made a sinister expression, it would not detract from her beauty in the slightest, Evileye thought in with a rather out-of-place sense of appreciation for a rival.

Suddenly, a person was blown through the air as a building collapsed. He bounced several times on the floor, tumbling head over heels before grinding to a halt.

Evileye did not need to breathe, but she still held her breath.

For a moment, she thought it might be Momon who was sent flying, but that was not the case. It was Jaldabaoth.

Seeing Jaldabaoth unsteady on his feet, Evileye got excited. It was obvious who had wounded him so badly and knocked him back so far.

Evileye's vision spotted the warrior standing where the body had come flying from.

The jet-black armor was heavily damaged, making it clear just how intense their duel had been. Even so, the man standing there did not waver in the slightest, showing Momon's clear superiority in comparison to Jaldabaoth, who was getting to his feet.

Evileye's body was filled with joy, and she tightly clenched her fists.

Momon slowly lowered his swords, and spoke to the rising Jaldabaoth.

"Well, that was fun. How shall I put it... it felt real. I could feel myself really battling with you. So this is what it feels like to be the vanguard... in the past, I used to overpower all my opponents in melee combat, so I didn't feel anything, but now I feel like a berserker. So, bringing out your full power shouldn't be a problem for you, no?"

Telling one's opponent to use their full strength was a grave insult. Thinking about this, Evileye shook her head. Perhaps this was Momon's true desire.

A strong man like Momon rarely had the opportunity to go all-out. Most of the time his opponents would be slaughtered before he could get serious. A man like him would be overjoyed if he got the chance to face an opponent that required his full strength.

"Then, please allow me to do so."

Jaldabaoth had probably understood it as an insult, and so he repaid it with exaggerated, sarcastic politeness.

As she watched him, Evileye was filled with the pride of knowing that she understood Momon better than Jaldabaoth.

"Then, I shall come at you seriously."

"Bring it, Jaldabaoth."

With those words as the signal, the two of them clashed in the middle of the plaza.

Their exchange was like a replay of the time Evileye had first met Momon. His high-speed, consecutive attacks were deflected by extended claws. Since they could parry his greatswords, the hardness of those claws must be beyond human understanding.

Momon leapt back in a grand, soaring arc. His jumping strength made her think that he might have been using the ‘Flight’ spell. In the moment where her view of Momon was blocked by his spinning swords, she saw him produce a spear from nothing, from the corner of her eye.

It was a crimson spear whose point was like a cyclone of fire. Momon hurled it at Jaldabaoth. So fast did it fly that all she saw was its crimson trail seared into her vision as it headed for Jaldabaoth.

"「Aspect of the Demon: Hellfire Mantle」."

As the spear struck, a roaring flame blazed up from the ground, and a massive shockwave erupted from Jaldabaoth.

“Kuh!”

In order not to be blown away by the titanic displacement of air, Evileye crouched down and tried to weather the storm. Fortunately, because she wore her mask, she was able to keep her eyes open during the tempest.

Looking ahead, she saw Momon raising his swords, which stood unwavering in the wildly-blowing wind. Then, as though he was going to cleave the air in two as well. He charged at Jaldabaoth once more.

Jaldabaoth was ready to receive the attack, his body wreathed in flames, and the spear from earlier lodged in the ground by his feet.

As Momon swung down on him, Jaldabaoth caught the sword with both hands. Smoke rose from his palms, and the metal between his fingers started to melt.

“So, you’re able to melt a weapon like this… the ability has gotten stronger.”

Since it was a blade favored by Momon, an adventurer of the highest caliber, it must have been made of an amazing material indeed.

But that was not important. What was important was that Jaldabaoth could spit flames that could melt steel, and that Momon could still talk casually to him despite being so close to the deadly flames.

“―These two are incredible.”

Evileye was terrified. She already knew how strong the two of them were, but her body was still trembling uncontrollably.

“It is as you have surmised. The fire-type damage was strengthened by a special ability.”

On closer observation, the flames wreathing Jaldabaoth had a blackish tinge to them.

“Hellfire, is it?!”

“Just so. Even a being protected with fire immunity will not escape unscathed, don’t you think?”

For the first time in their battle, Momon took a step back in retreat, but Jaldabaoth would not permit it.

This time is was Jaldabaoth’s turn to close the gap, launching a flurry of blows at Momon. That attack could have slain a human being in an instant, but Momon parried them all with his gigantic sword.

While engaged in close combat that was slowly melting his armor, Momon once again reached into nothingness and drew forth a strange weapon.

"「Frost Pain Modified– Icy Burst」!"

A wave of frigid air rushed forth from the weapon, dropping the surrounding temperature instantly. Although it seemed as though the cold could even freeze fire, Jaldabaoth’s hellfire burned hotter than normal flames. Still, for a moment, the heat was suppressed.

Jaldabaoth’s surprised exclamation reached Evileye’s ears.

“What was that? It was like the spear from just now.”

“Since I can’t use magic, I made up for it with elemental weapons. Although this was a copy of Frost Pain made as an experiment… well, I should count myself lucky it turned out stronger than the original. Granted, it’s a tool that lets me use a high-level spell three times a day, but without the special abilities to power it up, it should be nothing to you.”

The dialogue between the two of them beggared belief.

They were supposed to be engaged in an intense struggle for their lives, but the mood felt like they were merely confirming each others' strength in an easy and relaxed manner.

Evileye recalled something Gagaran had said once. When warriors put their lives on the line, sometimes they would be able to fully grasp the thoughts of their opponent, and it would create a feeling as though they were close friends who had known each other for a long time.

At that time, she had wondered what she was talking about. But now―

"Maybe she had a point after all."

Evileye was starting to become jealous of the closeness between them.

The man in the jet-black armor, which had lost its shine due to its melted surface, and the demon whose tuxedo had been shredded by countless sword blows.

The two of them who had dueled each other in a domain beyond the grasp of humanity seemed like old friends to Evileye.

"Your puissance is unparalleled."

"Indeed, so is yours, Jaldabaoth."

"In that case, might I make a proposition?"

Momon raised his chin to Jaldabaoth, as though telling him to carry on.

"If I concede this battle and the victory to yourself, perhaps we can both take a step back from the edge? Or rather, to be more precise, I will withdraw myself from this incident, and I hope you will cease your pursuit of myself."

"Are you kidding me!"

Evileye's cry was fueled by intense emotion. For someone who had filled the capital with this much chaos and death, a plea for mercy and forgiveness was nothing short of shameless.

However, a calm voice accepted Jaldabaoth's proposal.

"It's all right."

Under her mask, Evileye stared goggle-eyed at Momon. She could not understand why Momon, who was in such a superior position, was accepting Jaldabaoth's terms.

Sensing Evileye's confusion, Demiurge shrugged his shoulders. Much as she hated to admit it, he looked quite stylish while he did.

"It baffles me why Momon-san would bring an air-headed woman like yourself along. A moment's consideration should reveal why Momon-san accepted my proposition."

Turning to Evileye, Jaldabaoth continued speaking.

"In order to bring Momon-san here, and to keep others from interfering with our battle, you committed a lot of your friends and allies to the fight, did you not? Did you really think they would be enough to keep the demons from intruding into this conflict?"

Evileye felt as though she had been impaled through the spine with an icicle.

"The demon army is always waiting for a chance to assault the capital."

It was the worst-case scenario.

Although Marquis Raeven was patrolling inside the capital with his troops, she honestly could not believe he could deal with all the demons Jaldabaoth had in store. A similar conclusion awaited if the demons started taking hostages from throughout the city.

But if they defeated Jaldabaoth here—

"Even if you kill me, do you think they will vanish? I have but to give a single mental command and my infernal hordes will immediately begin rampaging through the city. Granted, their numbers might be somewhat diminished... but how many casualties do you think they will cause in the time it takes to kill them?"

"But then, how do we know that you'll actually keep your promise?"

If Jaldabaoth continued fighting with Momon, he had no guarantee of actually winning. That being the case, why not withdraw all his troops and beg off from the pursuit? If not– well, then if he died, he was going to take everyone else with him. Something like that.

However, with the capital's population as hostages, their circumstances were not even.

It was a truly manipulative and cunning offer.

I see, Evileye thought, her opinion of Momon rising even further up. He had grudgingly accepted Jaldabaoth's proposal because he had already foreseen this development. Indeed, he had no other choice.

"Then, since this outsider has accepted it as well, I will begin my withdrawal, though it is a shame I could not recover my objective. I pray we will never meet again."

"Same here, Jaldabaoth."

Jaldabaoth smiled under his mask, and then gathered the maids around before they vanished via ‘Greater Teleport’.

"They're gone..."

Evileye floated in the sky, her eyes looking to where the wall of fire had been. Nothing was left; only a slightly livelier patch of the night skyline.

The curtains were drawn on this disturbance. But what had been born of today's sacrifices?

The fact remained that Jaldabaoth existed, a demon with power surpassing the Demon Gods by far. And against him stood Momon, a top-ranked warrior. What would the world make of these two once the word spread, and how would the world change after that?

Evileye shook her head to scatter the thoughts which had blended into a big pile inside it. She would consider these things slowly, in the future.

There was something far more important than this. Evileye landed on the ground and opened her arms.

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

With a joyous cry, Evileye broke into a run. Although her ‘Flight’ spell's duration had not yet expired, this was a situation which called for running.

Evileye ran toward Momon. Perhaps out of surprise, Momon took a ready stance with his swords. Ignoring this, Evileye leapt through the air toward him. Since she had been running at full tilt, it felt like she had hit a wall. But because of her vampiric physiology and endurance, no harm was done.

And so, Evileye tackle-hugged Momon.

"You did it! You won! You won! As expected of Momon-sama!"

"I... uh... do you mind, I'd like some space here."

Momon spoke calmly to Evileye, who was hugging him like a koala. Maybe he was embarrassed.

I win as long as I hug him.

Evileye was banking on a piece of trivia she had heard of in the past. Some men would use members the opposite sex to bleed off tension after a battle. She was hoping that Momon would be such a man, and that he would pick her for that duty.

Evileye glimpsed at nabel who was glaring at her.

First girl wins.

Although Evileye was grinding her soft body against Momon, his armor meant that he probably didn't feel anything, and if she bumped a wound, it would hurt.

"Ah... forgive me, Nabe, hold my swords."

Realizing that this was just wasting her strength, Evileye let go, falling from the tree that was Momon.

Well, that's true. I should keep an eye out for a good opportunity next time. Now that Jaldabaoth's seen Momon-sama's power, there's no way he'll break his part of the bargain. But even so, there's still fighting, and people left hanging... ah, pursuing my own desires will be bad in so many ways.

The battle for the capital had ended.

But her battle as a woman had just begun.

Evileye, who was thinking of her next move, turned at the sound of ringing steel.

Before her was a group of people. They were adventurers and soldiers and-

"Is that the Warrior Captain? With everyone else?"

Beside Gazef Stronoff were Lakyus and Tina. Gagaran and Tia were there too. Everyone was covered in grime, a testament to the vicious battles they had fought to get here. They looked around at the aftermath of the intense battle that had taken place here, and then, with an intake of breath, they all looked to Momon.

Sensing the meaning of that gesture, Evileye whispered to him.

"Momon-sama, lead us in a cry of victory."

But Momon did not do so. Just as Evileye was starting to get suspicious, she heard a still, small voice.

"I'm feeling a bit shy right now."

The surprisingly human reaction from the superhuman warrior made Evileye laugh out loud.

"...but, doesn't that honor belong to the one who did the most for us? Don't let this chance go by."

Momon gripped his sword tightly and thrust it toward the sky.

"UOOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

In the next moment, everyone in the plaza raised their fists to the sky, shouting in celebration of their victory. In everyone's mouths was the name of Momon, the hero who had saved the nation.

Epilogue

Translator: Nigel

Editors/Proofreaders: Ferro, TaintedDream, Namorax, Skythewood, SifaV6,

JcqC, ZackTan

Month of Descending Fire (9th Month), 6th Day, 08:45

The maids were formed up in neat lines in front of Sebas. There were 41 of them in total, and all of them were homunculi. At their head stood the dog-headed chief maid, Pestonya S. Wanko. Thus the domestic maid staff of Nazarick was assembled.

"Everyone, this is Nazarick's newest maid."

"My name is Tsuareninya, pleased to meet you."

The head maid greeted Tsuare, whose head was bowed low, as a representative of everyone else.

After speaking with the maids, Tsuare had not shown any signs of fear.

Apart from the stitching that ran down the middle of her face, Pestonya had kind eyes and a gentle expression. Additionally, the maids behind her were all human, without any frightening facial features.

Even so, judging by Tsuare's condition, it seemed her fear of others would never truly vanish. Although she looked like she was getting along well with others, she knew exactly what kind of situation she was in, and she was trying to distract herself from it by forcing herself to work hard.

If I don't watch her carefully, she might break.

While Sebas was pondering these questions, the meet and greet session ended, and one of the maids brought her outside. Along the way, Tsuare turned to look at Sebas. Sebas nodded to her, and she nodded by way of reply, before turning away and leaving.

"Sebas-sama, how much training will that human need-wan?"

"Train her until she qualifies to be a maid of Nazarick. However, she is a mere human, so when you train her, please don't push her beyond her limits."

"Understood-wan."

Pestonya's dog-like face tilted, revealing her canines. Although her expression made her look like a beast whose prey had escaped, her eyes were still filled with warmth.

"I think that for her, being a maid is just a first step."

"What do you mean?"

Pestonya answered Sebas, who had not quite grasped her meaning and was wondering what she was talking about.

"...wan. That is to say, I meant she would probably retire after marriage-wan."

"What?!"

As Sebas' face seized up, Pestonya's gentle laughter echoed throughout the ninth floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

♦ ♦ ♦

Month of Descending Fire (9th Month), 7th Day, 16:51

After making sure there were no guests present and that the time was right, Climb opened the doors to Renner’s chambers.

The princess sat in her usual place, her room dyed red by the rays of the setting sun. They illuminated her like a spotlight.

“Welcome, Climb.”

That gentle beauty calmed Climb’s pounding heart, and he felt as though he had been healed. Climb tugged down on his relaxed face, and went over to Renner’s side.

“Come, have a seat, Climb.”

“There is no need, Renner-sama. I have to help with the cleanup of the demon attack in a while.”

Renner’s eyes sparkled. She had originally given that order, so replying this way seemed to be the correct answer.

Climb’s next task was to take over the security detail responsible for protecting the Magician’s Association.

This was because of a certain item.

Although the whole picture of the demon invasion had not been fully revealed yet, a very disturbing magic item had been found in a warehouse. The Magician’s Association was still analyzing and investigating it, but considering the fact that it had been imbued with abnormally powerful magic and the information Jaldabaoth had let slip, it seemed likely that it was the item he had been searching.

As a result, the Magician’s Association had gathered strong veterans. Until they decided how to properly dispose of it, they had to have teams of adventurers protecting them at all times. Naturally, Climb had been one of the people selected for the task.

It’s so annoying, we can’t punish the members of the Eight Fingers who brought this item to the capital…

Even though he stood in front of Renner, Climb could not fully suppress the irritation in his heart.

The magic item which had led to the tragedy in the capital had been found in a warehouse that was positively linked to the smuggling division of the Eight Fingers. That being the case, they should have immediately moved to destroy them. However there was a crucial reason why they could not do so, and only a few people knew about it.

They had started searching for the item because Jaldabaoth had leaked the information about it. That was Renner’s opinion. However, Jaldabaoth might have been counting on the humans to find the object his troops could not, which was why that information had gotten out in the first place.

Since everyone understood the implications of that leak, they had suppressed all information about the artifact, and as such it could no longer be used as a reason to attack the Eight Fingers.

“You should be working with the Warrior-Captain, right? I see, then everything should be fine. How about the people you helped? You should have been busy protecting the palace, but you must have stepped outside for a bit, no?”

Climb's heart lurched as Renner unleashed that bombshell on him.