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Chapter 265: Null City (2)

A missing-person case, huh.

Oscar looked up at the building called Zenith Tower.

It was fairly large, but not so big that a determined search couldn’t find the missing people.

“First, I have two questions.”

“Ask anything.”

“One: why isn’t the Black Tower conducting the search themselves? Two: why would they ask an outsider — and from a rival tower at that — for help?”

As the one responsible for the party’s safety, Oscar had to ask.

It might sound cold, but if the reasons weren’t clear he was even prepared to refuse the request.

“…That needs getting into a little deeply.”

Kiri breathed out softly and continued.

“Do you remember? I told you before that there are two factions in the Black Tower.”

“The Radicals and the Reformists, right?”

“You remember. Right. The Reformists, the faction I belong to, are finally about to reach the goal we wanted.”

“You mean this city?”

Null City, where the Prometheus system had been applied everywhere.

Kiri nodded.

“Twenty years ago, when the Black Tower entered the steel industry and began developing mechanical command magic, public opinion was frosty. Everyone was pessimistic and suspicious.”

But in the end the Black Tower pulled it off.

They brought mechanical command magic to the mainstream, and now it was a flagship school of the Black Tower acknowledged by everyone.

“The Reformists learned something big by succeeding with mechanical command magic. If we change ourselves and keep that attitude, the negative views of us will fade over time.”

Oscar found himself nodding before he realized it.

Even he, who once shuddered at the Black Tower, had finally taken off his tinted glasses after seeing their sincere efforts and change.

“If mechanical command magic was meant to remove the Black Tower’s bad image, Prometheus will be the key to building a positive image.”

“Go on.”

“If this system becomes fully integrated into daily life and enough time passes, the Black Tower will be remembered as the mage-tower that handles mechanical command and artificial intelligence. The dark, negative image of dealing with corpses will become history.”

Thinking that, Oscar understood how much the Black Tower was staking on the success of this city.

It was a project on a level comparable to the White Tower’s airship program.

‘Actually our side’s situation is a little better.’

At least there were no factions within his own tower.

Oscar asked,

“Is this disappearance the work of the Radicals?”

“I don’t just suspect — I’m sure.”

She bit her lip hard.

“The imperial inspectors will be coming to do a final inspection of the city in fifteen days. Because this is the first city with an implanted AI system, the checks are going to be strict. If we pass, we can open to tourists across the country.”

“When did people start disappearing?”

“…Exactly five days ago. It was the day after we finished our internal safety tests and the day they told us the inspection schedule.”

The timing was suspiciously convenient.

It felt like someone had waited for the point of no return and then begun acting.

“The Radicals want us to fail the safety certification. It’s their last gasp. They know that if this project succeeds they’ll have no place left.”

“Why not just cut them out completely?”

Kiri paused at that question, then frowned a little, as if her pride had been pricked.

“The Radicals’ ideology is dangerous, but their skill is real. They’re at the pinnacle of black magic.”

“Oh, I get it.”

In short, the Black Tower still needed their power to maintain its current stature.

You can’t throw everything away chasing ideals.

Oscar, having run a mage-tower himself, understood that.

“But that still doesn’t answer why they don’t just carry out the search with Reformist mages.”

“We tried many times. All failed.”

Kiri sighed deeply.

“You tried and failed? Even mobilizing the Black Tower’s forces?”

“That’s the awkward part. If we bring in a very high-ranking mage on purpose, no one disappears that day. But no trace of the missing person is found either. On the other hand, when we sent in only mid- or low-level mages, reports came back that they found traces of the missing people — and then those mages disappeared too.”

So when a high-tier mage was present, disappearances stopped?

Oscar narrowed his eyes.

“At least, it doesn’t seem like ghosts.”

“I think the culprit is human. If they stop all activity and hide when a high-tier mage arrives, it means they can’t handle facing high-tier magic.”

“And when only lower-tier mages go in, they start abducting again.”

“We even tried outside mercenaries. I personally directed operations from outside through Prometheus while getting real-time feeds.”

“What happened?”

“All of them disappeared. Five level-5 mercenaries — gone, as if swallowed by ghosts.”

Kiri didn’t stop there.

“Nine people have gone missing so far. Embarrassingly, I think our strength alone can’t solve this. That’s why we decided to ask for external help.”

Naturally, the four major towers were the top candidates for outside mages.

Oscar asked,

“Why choose us?”

“Of course we first thought of inviting the Red Tower. But after that incident with you and the Red Tower, their atmosphere’s bad, and they’ve suspended external activities for now.”

Oh — so that happened.

From the Red Tower’s perspective they had just lost an eight-level ultra-high force; they were probably busy plugging that gap.

“What about the Yellow or Blue Tower?”

“The Yellow Tower has been monitoring us closely since the White Night incident. They’re pioneers of magical engineering and have their own AI tech, but Prometheus’s performance is in a different league. They asked for tech sharing in exchange for help.”

“What a bunch of ruffians.”

“Totally. Robbers.”

Kiri, united in her disdain, continued.

“As for the Blue Tower, there just hasn’t been any contact. If it weren’t for you, there wouldn’t have been contact even with the White Tower.”

“I see.”

The questions were cleared up.

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Oscar nodded and said,

“Can we discuss this among ourselves for a moment?”

“Of course. Call me when you’re done.”

Kiri stepped back, and Oscar cast a silence veil to stop sound from leaking.

“What do you think?”

“Doesn’t seem like she’s lying. The issue is the danger of the job.”

“Given that mid-level Black Tower mages and five level-5 mercenaries were taken, yeah.”

“Oscar, you decide. I’ll follow.”

Kilian met Oscar’s gaze.

The others seemed to share the sentiment and nodded in agreement.

“I don’t mind. I’ve never gotten to pick what I want to do anyway.” Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novel·fire.net

“This is a good chance to put the Black Tower in our debt. That one’s the type to always keep favors.”

They decided to help.

Oscar withdrew the veil and called to her.

“Well, what’s your call?”

“We’ll help.”

Kiri visibly brightened at that.

She nodded vigorously.

“Thank you! Of course you won’t be the only ones going in. I’ll come too, and I’ll call more mages from Black Tower. Gale and Borg will come as well.”

“A nostalgic lineup.”

It felt like the old days when they faced a lich at the Grave of the Dead — though Fran had been in seclusion then.

Oscar glanced at Zenith Tower and said, “If everyone’s ready, let’s go in immediately.”

* * *

At Kiri’s single call, the Black Tower sent more than thirty mages at once.

Gale and Borg, whom they knew, came up to thank them.

“Thanks for helping.”

“I didn’t expect to be needing your help.”

“When times are hard, we help each other.”

After a brief reunion, Oscar turned his head.

“Kiri, before we enter the building I’d like a briefing on the operation.”

“Of course. Listen while we go over the floor maps.”

The mages followed her to the information board in front of the building and read.

The board listed each floor’s facilities clearly.

B2: stables & parking.

B1: food court, dessert specialty shops.

1F: Starlight Library.

2F: artifacts & equipment shops.

3F: fashion boutiques.

4F: world art exhibition hall.

5F: luxury goods.

6F: aquarium.

7F: sky lounge, Zenith observatory.

“Zenith Tower has two underground floors and seven above ground — nine floors total.”

Considering the apparent height, the number of floors wasn’t large.

That meant each floor probably had a very high ceiling.

Kiri continued.

“We’ll search from B2 upward, one floor at a time. The basic formation is eight parties of four people each. Each party will be linked by radio-magic, and we’ll use Prometheus’s communications so Borg can stay outside and be in contact.”

“Don’t worry about the outside. I’ll stop a single ant from getting in, and if you need help I’ll feed you info.”

Borg, assigned as the comms operator, spoke reassuringly.

“If we find traces of a missing person?”

“Immediately report via radio-magic. Everyone will converge on that point.”

They were prioritizing safety even if it slowed the search.

Oscar raised a hand and asked,

“If the culprit is strong enough to be a problem for high-tier mages, mid-level groups of five would still be overwhelmed. What if we sweep to the top floor and there’s no reaction?”

“…We’ll return to the first floor, then set out again leaving one party behind.”

In other words, as time passed personnel would decrease and strength would weaken.

It was a tactic to keep chipping at them until they dared show their fangs.

Kiri said,

“Our top priority is to find the missing people and rescue them safely. Apprehending the culprit is a secondary goal.”

With that warning, thirty-two mages entered Zenith Tower.

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