Chapter 93: Tip of the Iceberg - III

I found it suspicious that out of all possible scenarios, <Fate> would manipulate my surroundings to lead me to an attempt to defy it.

Was it somehow trying to threaten me by showing me what it could do?

...Did it have such a consciousness?

Or was it because it knew that I would defy its restriction on my strength and act beyond my means? Was its intention to shatter my consciousness?

’Wait,’

For a moment, my heart dropped when I recalled the sight I had seen when inspecting Taylor’s <Indomitable Human Spirit>.

I hurriedly dove into my own consciousness to check, sifting through my surface thoughts and plunging into the depths of my own subconscious mind—

"Phew..."

I sighed.

It seemed like <Fate> had not taken that opportunity to infiltrate my mind... But could I truly be sure about that fact?

What if this was another setup that would only reveal its fangs when I had no way of resisting?

There was no way for me to figure it out.

’<Fate’s> natural progression...’

Mulling over this idea, I drifted over to the Game of Walvaskaz. The chess players of such a grand game were all good at manipulating <Fate> in indirect ways.

How did they do that?

’No...’

Perhaps I had to redefine that understanding.

<Fate> itself had its own machinations. It was infallible and definite.

However, using the <Law of Fate> was a different matter entirely—it concerned the smaller interactions that <Fate> had already dictated. The stronger one was, the greater the ripples one made when moving against the flow. Thus, the players of the Game of Walvaskaz could utilize the way <Fate> had laid out the board and make minute adjustments to affect the general trend of the times.

However... they could only make small nudges—anything too big would be an act of defiance. Anything even bigger would be <Blasphemy>.

’So, could it be said that the Primordial Dragon Empress has committed more than just a few <Acts of Blasphemy> throughout her long life?’

It was likely.

...And maybe that was why Walvaskaz was also the site where a game with the <Law of Fate> could be set in motion.

’Interesting...’

***

While Aventine was lost in thought, Clementine and Taylor slowly recovered from the dread and despair that had infected their hearts. This experience in the <War Dungeon> had been a massive spike of adrenaline.

They both felt a little sick to the stomach.

Even when Clementine found her two old friends, Kuvie and the unconscious Reazue.

Kuvie—already stressed with having to think about how to explain everything to Clementine and somehow calm an angry Reazue—shook when she saw Aventine walk into the light.

She almost yelped, ’You!’

But in the end, the exclamation only made it to the surface of her thoughts. Her self-control, honed by all the double lives she had been living, came into play.

Unfortunately for her, Aventine saw right through the little quaking of her eyes.

"Hello, Miss Kuvie~" He took the initiative to greet her. "A pleasure to finally get to meet you! Clementine told me a lot about you."

The smile on his face was plastered with friendliness, hiding the poison of mischief in his tone.

Hearing Aventine’s words, Clementine frowned, thinking: ’When did I— Ah, it’s probably a formality.’

On the other hand...

"Ah... Hello, Mr Aventine—" Kuvie, surprised by the friendly approach, defaulted to a polite greeting back.

"Oh? You know who I am?" Aventine feigned a gasp. "How nice! I didn’t know that my title as the Info-Hunter had made it so far and wide."

His gaze fluttered over to the sleeping Werebat on the floor.

"...Hm? Both Snakespawn venom and a Nature Magic sleeping spell? Did you two have a fight?"

Clementine stepped into the conversation the moment Aventine inquired. "That’s Reazue... And yes, we did fight for a bit."

The Snakespawn then looked over to Kuvie and tilted her head.

"That being said, why are you still here? Did something come up?"

As far as Clementine was concerned, she had asked Kuvie to bring Reazue away from the layers beneath Walvaskaz. Though her venom was well-controlled, it was best for the Werebat to wake up somewhere comfortable.

Kuvie sighed, pushing down her anxiety caused by Aventine’s friendliness, thinking, ’It’s unlikely that he can recognize me since I was in a disguise...’

Her thoughts paused.

’But he is the Info-Hunter...’

No... Reazue was more important. She had to focus on the immediate problem of her friend going berserk on her the moment he woke up.

"That’s the thing. I can’t bring him above ground. If I do... He’ll be targeted."

Reazue had consumed the Wolfman’s blood and had yet to digest it. Given what Kuvie knew about Blood Magic, she realized there was a high likelihood that <Angel’s Bane> would find him and kill him.

Only by being beside Reazue here in the layers beneath Walvaskaz could she make their tracking magic hazy.

They would think that Kuvie and that Wolfman were still busy completing the mission they were assigned to do.

Hearing Kuvie’s reasoning, Clementine squinted. "What do you mean, he’ll be targeted? By who?"

Of course this question came.

Kuvie hesitated only for a brief moment before answering.

"...The ones who gave him his Blood Arts."

Then, she swallowed her fear.

"The ones who gave me and that Wolfman a mission to go down here."

Aventine’s widened eyes depicted the greatest surprise.

***

Apparently, Clementine and Reazue had known that Kuvie was hiding something for decades. I checked their memories, and the suspicions indeed went that far back.

It made sense.

I mean... how could they not have, when she would disappear with some vague excuse several times a month?

Not once did she say anything about what she was doing and where she was going.

So, the pair had their suspicions, but since Kuvie was their friend for centuries, they trusted her enough not to ask.

Thus, Reazue’s crash out was more than reasonable.

...In comparison, Clementine’s sigh was quite the mystery.

Her shock wasn’t what I’d expected when Kuvie dropped the bomb that she was part of <Angel’s Bane>. In the first place, did the organization not have some sort of failsafe to prevent their members from running around screaming about their affiliation?

Technically, Kuvie had aided in the death of her fellow comrade—was that not betrayal?

As a concerned citizen, I checked. Most of the shock I inadvertently showed came from the possibility of Kuvie’s sudden, inexplicable explosion into a shower of flesh and blood.

[Absolute Awareness].

’They don’t have anything of the sort?’

Huh.

How... interesting.

I guess it was time to figure out why <Angel’s Bane> sent two of their members here—where a group of Treasure Gnomes was about to complete a <Ritual of Blasphemy>.