TRPM 121

chapter 121

At the same time that the world’s strongest, including Yeon Mirae, entered the dungeon,

I had already driven a magical sword—created by the effect of the Harmony Divine Sword—into the body of a member of the Japanese House of Councillors.

“(Aaaah?! It hurts…! I said it hurts…!)”
“(You won’t die.)”

The fire energy infused in the magic sword tormented him by burning the inside slightly, but it wasn’t enough to kill him.

For the record, I wasn’t torturing just any council member.

The reason I had singled out this particular councillor was…

‘Because this guy is the planner and responsible party behind the idea of gathering awakeners from other countries.’

It wasn’t hard to find out.

I had seen him talking to his subordinates at the dungeon’s entrance.
And I could overhear the content of his calls.

“(Outwardly, he’s claiming to gather awakeners from other countries to solve this crisis… but behind the scenes, he’s preparing this kind of thing…)”
“(Ugh…!)”

The Japanese government and the awakeners were already at odds.
Even the Japanese government, knowing the severity of the situation, was using all means to resolve it.

But this councillor, instead of helping solve the crisis, wasn’t just fanning the flames—he was trying to pour oil on the fire.

“(Planning to annihilate the world’s strongest gathered in Japan at Japan’s request…?)”

His plan was to unleash a biological weapon inside the dungeon to wipe out the strong individuals.

Normal biological weapons wouldn’t affect sufficiently skilled awakeners, but the one he had prepared this time could contaminate the aura and magical energy of awakeners, making the likelihood of success quite high.

Even if it failed, the strong inside the dungeon couldn’t leave until the biological weapon was completely neutralized.
Otherwise, the viruses or bacteria forming the biological weapon might escape the dungeon, causing a disaster.

“(No, even if it succeeds, it’s still a problem. He planned to make Japan the enemy of the world?)”

Even if the mission was unofficial, the world would quickly realize that Japan was the culprit.

This councillor had to know that.

Then why would a Japanese councillor try to destroy Japan?

‘…I have a rough idea.’

A being capable of manipulating a Japanese councillor.
A being capable of developing and distributing biological weapons.
Above all, a being who would benefit from the deaths of the world’s strongest and Japan’s destruction, the frontline defending East Asia from the black mist.

How many such beings could exist in the world?

“(…Oracle?)”
“(Eek…!)”

He couldn’t answer my question.
He only trembled, intimidated by my presence.

But that reaction was enough.

‘After the Katie Hunt incident, I thought it had quieted down… but they’re at it again.’

No, maybe they only stopped in Korea but were still active elsewhere.

Then I had to choose here.

‘Do I go to save Mirae and her group… or trust that they’re safe and pursue the Oracle behind this incident?’

If the biological weapon contaminates aura, it wouldn’t affect Yeon Mirae.
She uses magi energy, which is resistant to such contamination, and the viruses or bacteria forming the weapon would die against her magi.

But…

‘That’s only for Yeon Mirae.’

Arthur, Chairman Shin Hanji, and the countless strong in the dungeon would be vulnerable to the biological weapon.

Protecting Yeon Mirae’s magi directly isn’t feasible either, since her magi could overwhelm the weapon.

‘Chasing the Oracle will have to wait.’

I concluded that saving the strong inside the dungeon took priority, so I moved immediately.

“(…Aaaaah…!)”

I placed my hand on the councillor’s head and tore into his brain.
Though he, like other Oracle members, had likely erased important memories such as the headquarters’ location, he was still a key figure in this operation.

If things went wrong, he would know the location of the biological weapon to stop or retrieve it.
There might even be vaccines or treatments against it.

As I read his memories, I discovered something unexpected.

“(…This operation wasn’t directed by the Oracle but was the Japanese branch acting independently?)”

After the Katie Hunt incident, the Oracle had reportedly ordered branches worldwide to suspend activities and lay low for a while.
The Japanese branch, under this councillor, was supposed to comply, but he acted on his own greed.

He thought that wiping out the world’s strongest and blaming Japan would gain him recognition and a chance to enter headquarters, even though he didn’t know its location.

‘Where the hell is their headquarters…?’

It wasn’t just him.
Many Oracle operatives I had encountered wanted to prove themselves to go to headquarters.

“(…Ugh…)”

Anyway.
Though this plan was independent, the biological weapon came from Oracle’s headquarters.
Tracing it could reveal the route by which it entered Japan, if not the exact headquarters coordinates, but I’d deal with that later.

Bang!

I tossed the councillor aside, drooling as his brain fried.
Having roughly located the biological weapon, it was time to move.

‘…Though by his memories, it might already be too late.’

Yeon Mirae and Arthur slaughtered dinosaurs, while Chairman Shin Hanji protected them from the creatures and their many weapons.

Typically, frontlines like aura users defend while mages attack, but to minimize Shin Hanji’s magic expenditure, they adapted their strategy.

Yeon Mirae and Arthur only used minimal magi and magic to slay the dinosaurs, and Shin Hanji was specialized in support to protect the academy students rather than attack.

Swish!

As Arthur broke through under the dinosaurs’ legs, limiting their mobility…

Crunch!

Yeon Mirae smashed or cut the dinosaurs’ heads.

This cycle repeated.
Attacks or projectiles from the dinosaurs were blocked by Shin Hanji’s protective barrier or easily dodged by the pair.

“Smooth.”
“It’s smooth because it’s us; others might not manage this.”

Everyone entering this dungeon was a strong individual, making the task easier.

“……”

Conversely, this implied that the dungeon wouldn’t be difficult for anyone entering with sufficient strength.
Yeon Mirae felt uneasy.

‘The purpose was probably just to buy time… but the traps at the entrance are all there is?’

Though dinosaurs wearing equipment could slow them down, it seemed too easy.
If the group was advancing this smoothly toward the dungeon’s core, the opposing side might have other measures in store…

‘It’s almost as if they’re satisfied with the time bought…’

There was no reaction.

“Shall we speed up?”

Perhaps sensing her thoughts, Shin Hanji asked with a kind smile.

“…Yes, please.”

Thinking of the battles ahead, Yeon Mirae judged they shouldn’t waste energy on the dinosaurs but needed to move quickly.

“It seems other teams made similar decisions to Yeon Mirae’s.”

Hearing her decision, Shin Hanji noted that many of the other strong entering the dungeon had likely realized the same and were actively reducing the number of dinosaurs faster than before.

“……”

Seeing this, Yeon Mirae kept silent.
It was good news that many made similar judgments; the dungeon’s core could be reached quickly.

But…

‘Why do I feel so uneasy?’

Speed wasn’t the issue—the dungeon should be conquered as quickly as possible.
Yet she still felt anxious.
Was it because the true purpose of the dungeon manipulators wasn’t known?

‘Or maybe it’s because my mentor, who went out to investigate the Japanese government’s schemes yesterday, hasn’t returned.’

She swung her sword, trying to locate the source of her unease.

Then…

“(Aaah?!)”

The cause of the unease soon revealed itself.

“Hey, are you okay?!”
“Gah…! Don’t come near me! This is a kind of virus! It could spread!”

An awakener, who had been fighting well, suddenly cried out in pain.
As soon as his aura was contaminated, he identified the cause and shared the info to minimize casualties.

“Virus? Where did that come from… Wait, it affects you too?”
“Don’t ask me how…! But I know where it came from…”

The infected awakener pushed back the contaminated aura and pointed at a dinosaur corpse.

“Those missiles it fired… when they exploded, a suspicious liquid sprayed everywhere. That must be the virus.”
“I’ll attempt treatment. Try to suppress aura as much as possible.”

The awakeners, surprised by the trap, tried to counter the virus.
Unfortunately, the virus wasn’t ordinary—it was potent enough to infect even the magic of the treating mage.

“Ugh…! What is this…!”

As infections spread, the awakeners had no choice but to isolate the infected.

“Look, at this rate… shouldn’t we not be advancing this dungeon?”
“What?”
“The virus is highly contagious, enough to infect simply by attempting treatment. If it spreads, advancing the dungeon is dangerous…”

If the virus escaped the dungeon, disaster would follow.

“…They might endure because they’re aura masters and archmages, but others wouldn’t stand a chance. Civilians or awakeners alike couldn’t resist it. Impossible.”

“Even though many archmages are here and could eventually neutralize the virus through research, until then, we’re essentially trapped inside this dungeon.”

No one in the group wanted to ignore the looming disaster and leave.
Even if someone might, no one openly said so here.

“Perhaps we should have advanced faster before the virus spread…”
“I knew time was the goal, but I didn’t expect them to use this method…”

Although the archmages began quickly collecting samples for research, they realized it would take a long time to safely exit the dungeon.
And whatever happened outside in the meantime…