Chapter 261 – Watchmen (Three)

“What do you think?”

“Think… you say.”

The Pope’s seasoned eyes, upon receiving Solite’s question, were tinged with a multitude of emotions.

“To be honest, I still can’t quite believe it. A greater upheaval than all the years I’ve lived combined unfolded in less than two hours.”

“I feel the same. The Rainbow and the Sun… the Guardians and emotions, war, and the reason the world became like this… I’m still confused.”

The two men shared the same sentiment.

In the brief silence that flowed, it was the Pope who spoke first this time.

“What kind of person is the boy you saw?”

“……”

At first, Solite thought it was an incredibly difficult question.

But when he actually opened his mouth, the answer came out smoothly.

“He is decisive and takes responsibility for his own words. Sometimes he acts in ways that cannot be understood from a general perspective… but later, a clear reason for it is usually revealed.”

Several more sentences followed at length.

“You seem to have observed him quite closely.”

“…I think I unconsciously paid a lot of attention. He is someone who draws great interest.”

A little surprised at himself, Solite steadied his breath slightly and concluded his story.

“Anyway, he is a mysterious person. More so than any other person I have encountered in my life.”

The Pope nodded in agreement.

The word ‘mysterious’ would include a magical prowess unbecoming of his age and his connections with the Dwarves.

“As for me, at first I wondered if perhaps a reclusive old Wizard had appeared from somewhere. Disguised as a boy.”

“That is definitely not the case.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“He seems to have… quite a few food preferences. Although he claims to eat a balanced diet.”

The Pope, momentarily dumbfounded, chuckled.

“Right, right. Irrefutable evidence was found at the dinner table. Anyone can be picky, but Ray’s actions had a purity that could only come from someone of that age.”

Purity.

The thought evoked by the three-letter word immediately led to a question.

“Do you think Ray is good? Or do you think he is evil?”

“……”

This time, it was a truly difficult question.

‘Lord Ray is clearly hostile towards the Dawn Society.’

However, that seemed closer to the goal of defeating the head of the Dawn Society.

Rather than to stop a conspiracy to swallow the whole world.

Of course, that was just the surface; the boy’s true thoughts were unknowable.

But still.

Speaking based on what he had felt while watching from the side.

“I think he is good. To use a metaphor, he’s like a blank sheet of paper that has just begun to be painted with bright colors.”

Solite felt a rising sense of elation as he spoke about Ray.

Unbeknownst to him, a sprout of reverence was blooming in his heart.

“And, I heard he is searching for the Rainbow.”

“Searching for the Rainbow.”

“There is that story, isn’t there? That if you find the Rainbow, your wish will come true.”

The Rainbow and a wish.

It was a story any Wizard would have heard at least once while growing up.

“I only thought of it as a fairy tale… I never dreamed it would be connected to the history of the Ancient Era like this. Searching for the Rainbow must mean searching for that very divine being that appeared in the Ancient Era. Do you have any guesses about the Rainbow’s reincarnation?”

“……”

While Solite was lost in thought, the Pope turned his gaze forward.

There, a White Card was slowly rotating in mid-air.

Encased in a transparent spherical Ward, it had remained in that state ever since Ray disappeared with the Light Cluster.

“I feel a bit guilty too. Although the Order is in dire crisis, to lay hands on an object arranged for the Rainbow… Strictly speaking, it’s no different from theft.”

“No. It might not be theft. In my opinion, perhaps…”

It was then that light erupted from the card and Ray appeared.

“Lord Ray, you’ve come.”

“You’ve returned. What happened inside? Did things go as you thought?”

Ray answered the two men’s turbulent emotions with action.

He grasped the card in the air, closed his eyes, and recalled the forms of the equipment he had seen in the Akrassium.

Then, soon.

Whoom! Whooom!

Equipment summoned with light began to instantly cover the stone chamber floor.

“I found them. Items that should be helpful in battle.”

The two men, unable to close their astonished mouths, approached and examined the equipment: boots, gauntlets, wands, crystal orbs, and the like.

“This… isn’t a modern style. They are definitely Ancient Era equipment.”

“My goodness, to think the internal Mana circuits could take this form. Does this mean such technology was commercialized in the Ancient Era?”

For a moment, the two forgot the situation and burned with a Wizard’s curiosity.

Exclamations flowed each time Ray explained the various pieces of equipment.

Solite spoke in a voice unable to hide his excitement.

“With this, we can truly expect a tremendous increase in combat power. We may not be able to overcome the numerical disadvantage, but the power gap should narrow considerably.”

“I think we can solve that too.”

“Huh?”

“The numerical disadvantage. Not completely, but.”

The card emitted a Light Cluster much larger than when the equipment was summoned.

What appeared where the light vanished was…

“A doll…?”

“A doll, indeed.”

A jointed doll the size of a person, made of smooth silver metal.

As Ray infused Mana, lights came on in the eye positions, and Solite, who had been slowly reaching out a hand, flinched and stepped back.

“The official name is Absorber. A weapon specially crafted to deal with Wizards.”

“You even know its name?”

“There were guides at the place I was transported to.”

After briefly explaining what happened with the Spirits in the Akrassium, Ray made a request to Solite.

“So, you’re asking me to use Magic against this doll?”

Ray nodded.

“At maximum possible output.”

“I can use it, but the doll might be destroyed.”

“That won’t happen.”

“No, even so…”

“Absolutely not.”

“……”

His pride slightly stung, Solite moved to a wide open space in the stone chamber.

Ray controlled the doll and placed it opposite him.

“If the doll breaks, it’s not my fault.”

“It’s fine. Use the strongest Magic you can.”

“…Understood.”

Taking a deep breath, Solite focused ahead and drew up Mana.

No Mana could be felt from the doll standing still.

‘I don’t know what special defensive measures it has, but…’

It couldn’t possibly remain intact after receiving a full-power attack from a 3rd Circle Wizard.

Whoosh!

Dozens of Fireballs Solite poured his heart into creating surged toward the doll, and.

Kwaaang!

They hit directly.

With a massive explosion, the doll was engulfed in flames.

For a moment, Solite felt relieved, then ‘oops’ and asked,

“Lord Ray, did I fail to control my power…”

“It’s not over yet.”

“Huh?”

The flames covering the doll were dying down at a rapid speed.

Soon, the doll appeared intact, its entire body tinged with a red glow.

The next moment.

Fwoooosh───!

The red glow concentrated in its chest transformed into a stream of flames and fired violently.

“……!”

Solite hastily erected a Ward, followed by a tremendous explosion that shook the stone chamber.

Kwaaaaang───!

Vibrations echoing in all directions.

Dust billowing up hazily.

Amidst it, Ray’s Ward, already cast one step ahead, was visible.

After the commotion subsided, Solite could feel cold sweat flowing all over his body.

“…Thank you for blocking it. But now, did that doll absorb and reflect the Magic?”

“Correct. I tested it; it can absorb all Magic of 3rd Circle or below.”

“My goodness…”

The Pope approached the doll, around which heat still lingered, and examined it while saying,

“I can’t even begin to guess what material it’s made of. If it absorbs Magic of 3rd Circle or below, doesn’t that mean it can essentially neutralize most Wizards in the world?”

“Based on Beyond the Wall for now, yes. I don’t know about the Wizards Inside the Wall, at the Red Citadel.”

“Does it have any weaknesses?”

“It’s not that there are none, but from the perspective of an enemy facing an Absorber for the first time, they wouldn’t be able to discover it and would inevitably be defeated. Also, regarding its functions…”

While Ray and the Pope were conversing about the doll, Solite approached, his eyes shining, and said,

“Lord Ray, might I try controlling it once?”

“It’s not difficult.”

Ray transferred control via operation and then extracted all his Mana from the doll.

“…The control method is like this. Got it?”

“I roughly understand. It has a similar structure to control or manipulation-type Magic.”

Afterwards, Ray and the Pope moved away towards the equipment on the floor while conversing.

Solite infused the doll with his own Mana and concentrated his mind.

And.

“……”

He immediately hit a wall.

He understood the theory, but putting it into practice was a completely different matter.

Controlling the doll was far more difficult than imagined; to use a metaphor, it was like having dozens of hands simultaneously performing different tasks.

As Solite began his mental struggle, sweat began to pour from his entire body like rain.

‘Does that mean Lord Ray performed this difficult task so easily without changing his expression at all?’

He couldn’t help but be amazed.

He struggled for quite a long time, but in the end, the only proper movement he could manage was making it take a few steps forward.

“Haa.”

Violent breaths escaping.

When Lord Ray controlled it, the doll clearly moved with natural gestures like a real human.

No matter what, isn’t this difference too great?

Solite turned around and asked,

“Lord Ray, this time, perhaps there’s something wrong with the doll’s settings or…”

He saw dozens of dolls organizing the equipment on the floor.

Each one boasted precise and smooth movements.

“Settings?”

“No. It was my skill that was lacking. But were there more than one doll?”

“There are 200 in total. Combined with the ones here and the ones in the Akrassium.”

Hearing that, the Pope involuntarily let out a hollow laugh.

“With that number, we could wage war against the entire Sector.”

“That’s not it. There’s a limit to how many I can control at once.”

Ray had already completed various experiments with the dolls inside the Akrassium before coming out.

Strictly speaking, there was no limit to the number he could control.

200 units—it was possible to activate and move them all simultaneously.

However, efficiency dropped.

As his mind dispersed, the dolls’ movements inevitably lacked in precision, reaction speed, and other aspects.

After several more tests.

“The optimal number found that way is 20 units.”

“20 units… even that alone is a tremendous number, I think.”

The Pope thought while controlling one doll quite naturally.

It seemed the seed for a counterattack had been prepared.

Time passed quickly thereafter.

The Pope united the non-defectors within the Order, evading the eyes of the defectors.

Solite and the Eighth Priesthood formulated response plans aligned with the defectors’ movements on the Day of the Sun.

Veronica continued her analysis of the Hybrid Ring’s weaknesses based on the research materials received from Ray.

And.

“Just who are you…!”

“No need to know.”

Zap!*

Ray proceeded to eliminate as many Dawn Society members arriving at Sector 28 as possible.

Using their Communication Stones.

Secretly, within the bounds of not being detected.

During that time, the streets echoed with laughter and fireworks, songs and music.

Wherever one went, amidst the heated air, feelings of excitement and joy floated about.

Everyone was only looking forward to the day the sun would rise.

And so, that day approached.

It was a day with a hazy sky after the rain had stopped.