Kaiser rested his chin on his clasped hands and pondered.

There’s a group targeting the 「Peacemaker†」 inside the Goldenfield Casino’s underground vault. How will they approach the vault?

First, they’ll cut off the [Magic Power Transmitter]. They’ll locate the transmitter ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) that the casino has refused to disclose, and destroy it.

Suspicious individuals have already been observed near the [Magic Power Transmitter]. That needs to be stopped. But if they fail to stop it?

Then the contracted Grand Mage must be summoned to activate the [Auxiliary Transmitter]. But if the enemy is aware of that? There’s a high chance they’ll try to snipe the Grand Mage. They need to buy time.

< Kaiser: Moong. Liu Wei. Please handle it. >

< Moong: Understood. >

< Liu Wei: Leave it to me. >

This calculation proved spot-on. Moong and the supporting assassin deflected the sniper bullet perfectly.

< Heliope: Found them. >

< Heliope: Assassin. >

< Heliope: I’ll kill or cripple them. >

Simultaneously, Heliope sent a message that she’d located the “enemy” inside the club. A female assassin dressed as a club promoter. She was decisively unraveling the enemy’s plan.

On the other hand, bad news arrived too.

< Guard No.1: I’m sorry. We can’t provide support. >

< Kaiser: Why not? >

He had tried to dispatch the guard, but a warrior in rags suddenly appeared, crazed, and started trying to smash down the door to the casino basement corridor. They were pinned down.

“...Shit.”

Kaiser furrowed his brow.

He called Eymon urgently.

< Kaiser: Master Eymon! >

< Eymon: Speak. >

< Kaiser: Seal off point B-1 in the basement. >

< Eymon: Why there? >

< Eymon: You need a Master Card Key to get in. Even we can’t access that place. >

Exactly.

That outdated storage room was accessible only to three of the casino’s top-level officials.

Even the royal guard was told to ignore it—it was considered casino domain. In fact, access through the underground wasn’t possible even if it wasn’t part of the casino.

< Kaiser: That’s exactly why it must be blocked. The casino entrances are already heavily guarded. But if the [Master Card Key] has been duplicated, from that point on, no one will be able to stop them! >

< Eymon: How the hell would they duplicate that? That’s... >

< Kaiser: Someone capable of that just arrived! >

As he finished speaking, Kaiser bit down on his lower lip. He was doing what he could, but these were all surface-level countermeasures. What he needed was a more fundamental reason.

First, he had to know who the enemy was.

You.

Kaiser closed his eyes.

He imagined the enemy standing somewhere deep within that pitch-black, invisible space.

A translucent human figure.

Who are you?

Your goal is the vault.

The 「Peacemaker†」 hidden within.

What are your capabilities?

He thought back.

That skinny little Scout babbling idiotic nonsense.

Perhaps even the [Control Room] had already fallen into that bastard’s hands.

The casino’s facilities—meaning the arena, the banquet hall, the club, the underground gambling den—were all being influenced.

You don’t have just one or two abilities.

One person couldn’t possibly handle all of that. So the enemy consisted of at least five individuals.

And yet, they were moving in perfect coordination, as if under the control of a single mind.

You must be that controller. And you’ve deceived countless others.

“You” were probably an [Illusion] assassin. But possibly also a mage.

The important thing was your level.

So high that you could ignore all of the casino’s many security devices—a high-tier [Challenger]-level [Illusionist].

That meant a top-100 ranking globally. And among them, there were only three illusionists.

Agion was far away at the moment. That left two others...

Shuffle shuffle.

Kaiser hastily pulled out some recent foreign newspapers from his pocket dimension bag and rifled through them.

The [Challenger]-rank illusion mage “Gyulgyul” from the Hitahita Kingdom had attended a royal event earlier that morning.

Which meant...

Only one person remained.

“......”

Kaiser froze.

The person with the highest illusion mastery after Agion and Gyulgyul. He didn’t even have a global rank, but there was only one like him. A citizen of Hiaka. A professor at the academy. And—

Kaiser stared blankly into the darkness where the “enemy” lurked.

...Could it be, your true identity is...

At that moment, the comms blared.

< Heliope: Requesting backup. Requesting backup! >

< Kaiser: What’s going on? >

< Heliope: Pink-eyed assassin came to rescue the promoter. She’s with some girl with insane divine power. >

Pink eyes.

Kaiser’s skin crawled. The man he’d seen standing in the darkness was looking down at him with pink eyes. That gaze felt far too familiar.

“......”

A tendon twitched down his cheek. His jaw clenched tightly.

You...

Your true identity is...

< Eymon: Hey! >

Eymon’s urgent voice burst through the comms.

< Kaiser: Yes, Master. >

< Eymon: They’re coming! Just like you said—they’re coming to point B-1. But... there’s a problem. >

A problem?

< Eymon: Aren’t they your friends? >

Kaiser closed his eyes again. Then exhaled from deep in his gut.

Damn it.

Goddamn it...

< Kaiser: Are you certain? >

< Eymon: They’re both wearing anonymizing masks, but I’ve got a feeling. I can see the truth of a fight just by watching one. They took down four security agents—and their movements are real similar to two I saw back in Count Kahla’s territory. I think the names were... Gray Cat and Red Chickenhead. >

< Kaiser: ...... >

Kaiser fell silent.

< Eymon: Hey, Lord Regent? >

He had to pause to think.

Because he knew the methods of the Black Star⚉.

The first time she had made contact with him, Count Kahla had declared the meeting forbidden, saying it was his jurisdiction.

The next morning, the Count had woken up in bed to find the severed head of his favorite retainer beside him.

That was the Nibelung family’s method.

< Heliope: No backup? Pink Eyes is about to flee. She’s stronger than I expected. >

That enemy was someone she believed in as a god.

< Eymon: Lord Regent. What now? What do we do? They’re getting closer! >

But the Dominion❆ was giving him overwhelming support and trust. They were now the people he had to protect inside this new nest.

“......”

The hesitation didn’t last long. But the depth of it was vast. A hundred thoughts and possibilities passed through him. Each one spiraled toward its conclusion. And from within that storm, Kaiser found one answer.

< Kaiser: Listen to me very carefully... >

***

< Gray: B-1 point reached! >

< Gray: Gray and Chickenhead entering~ >

B-1 point was an old warehouse. A tunnel connected it directly to the casino’s underground.

Using a [Master Card Key] duplicate, the two entered the building.

At this time, all doors leading underground should have been locked due to the emergency protocol. However, this warehouse was built decades ago and wasn’t linked to the new system. It could still be opened with a [Master Card Key].

< Dante: No time. Once the [Auxiliary Magic Transmitter] activates, the card key access data will be sent to the security office. Move fast. >

< Gray: Okay! Just leave it to Gray! >

She revealed the building’s ventilation system. A vertical shaft led into the underground tunnel.

Pitch black—no light at all, since the [Magic Transmitter] had already been shut down. The vent for underground maintenance.

“Uoh!”

Kendreik was about to jump down at the mention of urgency.

“Eh? Hey! Don’t—!”

Whack!

Gray smacked the back of his head to stop him.

“Uuh?”

“Seriously, you idiot. What the hell were you listening to during the professor’s briefing?”

With a sigh, Gray pressed her hands together and cast [Illusion].

『 Glass Butterfly: Zone Control, [Smoke Grenade] 』

A dozen or so blue butterflies fluttered downward. As they touched the tunnel, they released smoke—pre-synced with Dante’s mana frequency.

Then, lines of red began to emerge in the darkness below.

Old-fashioned devices from decades ago.

But old systems had their own cunning. These were standalone magical traps—they didn’t need the Transmitter’s mana.

“If you touch those red lines, you’ll get electrocuted. And the tunnel ends in a deadlock.”

“Uuh...”

“Moron. That’s why you have to control the line tension carefully, got it?”

The vault was at the end of this passage. Once Gray reached the internal lock and opened it, Dante would come in and unlock the main vault door.

With that in mind, Gray activated her family’s hereditary ability 『Silver Thread』 in both hands.

Then handed it to Kendreik.

“...Hey. You better not screw up. If you do, I’ll get electrocuted and turn into roast meat. A 36kg bone-dry roast with no meat. You got that...?”

Gray swallowed dryly.

Then Kendreik’s hands started shaking.

“Uuh... 😱;;”

He admitted—he had acute tremors.

“...Are you serious? Don’t pull this shit now.”

Whack!

She smacked his head again.

No time to waste.

They hooked up a pulley system—like a toy crane—at the tunnel entrance.

“...I’m going.”

Gray tied the thread around her waist and leapt down.

“...Uuhh...”

Kendreik lowered her carefully between the red lines.

“Lower. Slowly.”

Avoiding the first line, to the left.

Lowering again.

“Good.”

Then avoiding the second, to the right.

Lowering once more.

“Uuh...”

The next set of lines was a tangled trio. Gray curled up and hugged her knees. She slipped between them, roughly the size of Kendreik’s thigh.

“G-Good... Gray’s flexibility is... nuts...”

“Uuhh...”

The descent was going relatively smoothly.

But maybe she was too tense.

A drop of sweat slid off Gray’s cheek—and touched one of the lines.

Zzzzzzzt!!

A powerful mana-charged jolt incinerated the sweat in an instant.

“......”

Startled, Gray froze. She whispered, “I almost lost control of my sphincter...” then wiped her sweat with her sleeve. Thankfully, that alone didn’t trigger the security system—there was no mana interference.

Buuuuuuuuuung—

Then, an ominous sound made her glance up.

A hornet had landed right on Kendreik’s nose.

“......”

Kendreik froze in place.

***

Heliope and I had been posturing for about three minutes, both of us hesitating, waiting for orders through our comms.

Meanwhile, Elize, in front of Adele Mouin’s divine energy surge, began healing in an instant.

At the same time, a flash of Rebecca crossed my mind—when Layme collapsed from poison and she couldn’t do a thing.

Sorry, but that’s not what I’d call a priestess. She didn’t have the gift.

Elize’s wounds visibly closed. Her broken bones were rejoining. In just a few seconds.

Now this—this was real talent.

But the standoff didn’t last long.

“Hey! Over there!”

“That’s the bastard! Pink eyes! Get him!”

A dozen thugs came rushing at us with guns and knives. According to the 【Script】, they’d been sent by some arms dealer who lost money in the underground VIP casino.

Bang bang bang!

Gunfire erupted.

I picked up Elize and threw her over my shoulder and bolted. Adele Mouin followed close behind. Not to state the obvious, but Elize was as big and heavy as a grown man.

“Hey, you—”

Heliope hesitated. She didn’t give chase. Looked like her spirit had been slightly broken.

I shoved Elize into a nearby parked vehicle and asked,

“Adele. Can you drive?”

“Nope. But they’ll trace this by the plate in like a minute.”

Snap. I flicked my fingers. [Illusion] modified the license plate. I reached for the wheel—then a voice spoke up.

“I can drive...”

Elize was waking up, rubbing her eyes.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Huh? My body feels fine... huh?”

Then she looked at Adele and wagged her internal tail.

“Unnie~ When did you get here?”

“...Unnie?”

“Was it you who healed me, unnie?”

She suddenly tried to hug her—but Adele Mouin recoiled, pushing her face away in horror. “What the hell?! Don’t touch me!”

“Why not?”

Looks like she was mistaking Adele for our Adele Mouin. But now wasn’t the time to explain.

“Elize, take the car and get as far away as you can. Wait for my signal.”

“Okay.”

⋮

With Elize gone, I sprinted toward B-2 point nearby, while checking Gray and Kendreik’s progress.

But when I arrived at B-2 point—inside the casino’s sealed underground tunnel—

I had to stop at the entrance.

“......”

From the moment Balmung mentioned Moong, I had the feeling he might be here.

Sure enough, that bastard had placed a chair right in front of the tunnel entrance and was sitting on it.

At the same time, the Grand Mage we failed to stop seemed to have activated the [Auxiliary Magic Transmitter].

It was 9 PM. The building’s entrance lights flickered on. Under the dim glow, I muttered the name of the one now standing as the biggest obstacle to my plan.

“...You’re here, Professor.”

Long hair. Vertically slit pupils. Unlike when I met him back at Count Kahla’s estate. He looked at me—but not once did the weight of his expression shift.

“Kaiser Truman.”

At the same time, assassins appeared from the woods, trees, and the second-story window frames.

They were members of the Dominion❆’s assassination force.