Chapter 91: Great Ruin

POV: Third Person

*****

Bang!

A door burst open with unusual force, making it clear that the person’s mood was not very good.

"..."

A deathly silence fell over the room as the man strode toward an elegant chair situated in the best spot in the room.

There were more than twenty people there, and not a single one dared to say a word.

Many even tried not to make a sound when breathing, as if any noise might draw that man’s attention—

He was a tall man, whose most distinctive feature was a large scar that began at his chin and ran across his entire face to his right eye, which was covered by an eye patch bearing a logo of two snakes strangling each other.

His build was also robust and well-defined, though his muscles didn’t seem bulky enough to hinder his agility.

He gave the impression of being a seasoned mob boss from the underworld.

And that was exactly what he was.

He was Isamu, one of the three leaders of the Thrysskaar underworld.

The only thing that didn’t quite seem to fit with him was the fact that he was a rabbit-beast.

He had two large, cute white ears, as well as a cute, fluffy tail.

These features were quite at odds with the rest of his appearance and title.

Even so, none of those present could even look him in the eye.

The aura emanating from that man made them feel oppressed.

Everyone knew and understood that their boss was very angry, and the uncomfortable silence continued even after Isamu had sat down in his chair.

"Let me see if I understand what happened."

After a long silence, Isamu was the first to speak.

His words and gaze were directed at the man with dark blue hair who was kneeling in front of him.

He had been in that position even before Isamu entered. He was Nabu.

"I step out for a day. Just one day, and my idiot brother dies, along with my lover, who was one of the best magic engineers among us. And, as if that weren’t enough, the person who did it... what did you say they did?"

Nabu was the highest authority while Isamu was away and his right-hand man. Even so, the events were so serious that not even he could emerge unscathed.

Still, in a low tone and, at least on the surface, calmly, he replied.

"...That person disappeared."

"Yes, they vanished into thin air, right under your nose. You, who are my best hunter and tracker, don’t even know what they did or how they did it."

"..."

Nabu was still going over what had happened in his head. He still didn’t understand what had happened in that alley and couldn’t say anything to defend himself against Isamu’s sarcastic words, which continued in the face of his silence.

"And then you started wandering around like an idiot because you felt they were nearby. But, again, what happened?"

"That person wasn’t there. My skill was functioning strangely.

"Yeah, that. Let’s see... If I put it all together, I can conclude that they’re some kind of ghost or unique magical being... Is that what you mean? Do you take me for an idiot?"

Isamu’s tone, which had been sarcastic, began to shift more and more toward contained anger.

As the boss, he really didn’t want his emotions to get the better of him and wanted to handle this disastrous incident as calmly as possible, but the facts—and Nabu himself—weren’t making it easy for him.

He felt a burning urge to grab Nabu by the throat and wring it right there on the spot, but Isamu wasn’t an idiot.

He knew that Nabu was an excellent subordinate whose value was no less than that of his dead lover.

And his brother?... Isamu didn’t care if that idiot who liked to hang around his lover had died.

As far as he was concerned, it was better that this had happened, since he would have ended up killing him himself the moment he crossed the line.

"I wouldn’t dare. It’s possible it was an elemental. They’re capable of doing things like that. It could also be that they were in possession of an undocumented artifact from the Age of the Gods, or a unique ability..."

Nabu was doing his best to come up with an explanation for his boss. Even so, that did nothing to improve Isamu’s mood.

"Tsk! An elemental capable of doing something like that wouldn’t need to run away from you. But the other possibility might be true. Still, why is it even necessary to come up with theories? Has your incompetence reached such a point that it didn’t even occur to you to bring some mages to the scene to recreate what happened?"

"No, boss. But what is shown here... I believe it is something you need to judge for yourself."

Saying that, Nabu gestured toward one of the people who had remained deathly silent until now.

That mage, with a slightly unsteady gait, stepped forward and began to cast a spell. Something resembling a screen appeared in front of him.

Isamu saw what was happening there, and his anger took a back seat as confusion set in.

"Huh? Um, what am I supposed to be looking at?"

The mage displayed a sort of projection that recreated what had happened before they arrived.

The problem was that, aside from the familiar faces of his brother, his lover, and the brother’s lovers, there was no one else.

All you could see was how, suddenly, everyone fell.

Then, his brother, who seemed to be trying to get up, stopped abruptly and lost his head.

After that, his lover seemed to defend himself, step back, and throw bombs into thin air.

There was no one else. They were fighting nothing.

It was a very confusing sight.

Finally, the scene showed the hooded man—who was Nabu himself—appearing and quickly attacking into thin air.

When it was done, Nabu spoke.

"Boss, I assure you there was someone there, but for some reason, the spells don’t seem able to recreate it. Every mage capable of using that spell tried, and none succeeded."

That was another thing that puzzled Nabu and the reason his report was so lacking in information, which filled Isamu with rage, but he didn’t really know how to explain it.

Spells capable of recreating events were advanced spells, but the knowledge wasn’t strictly secret. Many mages from different organizations and powers around the world could use them if they met the requirements.

Because it was such a common and useful spell for catching culprits, there were ways to evade it. Artifacts or other spells could be used to counteract it, but that only helped conceal the target’s identity.

At most, they made the image of the caster blurry or indistinguishable, but they did not conceal the actions or eliminate all traces of the person.

As far as he knew, a spell capable of concealing something to that degree did not exist, which left only two possibilities: a very powerful artifact or a very peculiar and little-known ability.

Even so, being able to vanish without leaving any record of one’s existence was a phenomenon that, at least for everyone present, had no known precedent.

"...It’s the first time I’ve seen something like this."

That included Isamu, who was now genuinely intrigued by all these events and by what lay behind the person.

Isamu came to the conclusion that the matter at hand—and the cause of it all—didn’t seem to be as simple as he’d initially thought.

"..."

As his boss remained lost in thought, another deathly silence spread through the room.

Until, finally, Isamu spoke again.

"All right. It seems there’s something else here we’re missing. There’s no point in dwelling on it, but Nabu, I put you in charge while I was away, and even though it’s inexplicable, the responsibility falls on you, since, to begin with, you let yourself be fooled and allowed my brother to escape with my lover and his little group."

The mere mention of that infuriated Isamu, but he kept talking, making it clear what the problem was.

"My brother is one thing, but Nahna was a great asset. She created artifacts for us and was in charge of many projects and logistics."

"I understand. I’ll accept any punishment and make sure to make up for my mistake by catching that vermin."

"Hmm. Of course you will... hmm, you said they probably weren’t stronger than fourth rank? If that’s all they are, have others handle it—have them keep an eye on the place and the surrounding area. Tell me, at least—did you notice any distinguishing features before she got away?"

"Yes... she was wearing a hood that’s a cloaking device, but it wasn’t very powerful. As I mentioned in my report, she was a girl with red hair... or maybe pink... Hmm, I can definitely recognize her if I look for her myself."

"No, leave that job to others. You have a more important job to do.... But before that, I want you all to leave the room."

Suddenly, without warning, Isamu asked everyone to leave, and everyone—as if they’d been waiting for that order—didn’t hesitate to leave.

In less than a minute, the room was completely empty, leaving just the two of them, and Isamu spoke.

"You’re my best hunter, and I need your skills for another matter. As you know, I was away meeting with the other two leaders, since some intriguing information came in about the discovery of the location of a Great Ruin."

"Great Ruin? How big?"

The fact that it involved the exploration of a ruin—the very reason the three underworld bosses had gathered—meant this was no ordinary ruin.

Furthermore, the fact that their boss had asked everyone except him to leave meant it was a sensitive matter, which greatly intrigued Nabu.

"Enough for the most distinguished houses to get involved. It’s not confirmed, but it may have been the capital of an entire civilization. Its magical technology and resources could be truly abundant; there might even be gateways to small dimensions, if one or more gods supported that civilization."

Upon hearing that, Nabu didn’t know what to say. A discovery of that magnitude wasn’t just any find—it was a vast source of many things.

Discoveries of that caliber could even propel the kingdom to surpass other kingdoms in power, and according to the information, the Thrysskaar Kingdom—the Beast Kingdom—was falling behind other kingdoms in terms of technology, modernization, and other aspects.

It was a colossal opportunity.

"Did they hire us to help?"

If that were the case, this ruin was beyond the reach of the underworld’s leaders, and at best, their role would be that of assistants.

"Ha! Those guys only call us when it comes to dirty work. Obviously, they’ll want to hoard this sweet honey, but it’s also possible this will turn into a succession battle, with multiple factions having their own agendas regarding this ruin. You know what that means, right?"

"Yes, boss. It’s very likely they’ll hire us, but even so, they won’t share the loot."

"Exactly... So we need to start making our move. We can’t let those guys corner all the good stuff. The expedition will begin in a month. We need to make preparations to get the most out of this opportunity."

"Understood, boss. I’ll have some men search for the culprit and apprehend anyone who looks suspicious. I’ll also make sure to carry out the task you assign me flawlessly."

"Good. If things go well, it’ll make up for your previous incompetence. This is a joint operation with the other two groups, and what you’ll do is sneak into the royal castle with the others and..."

In the now-empty room, Isamu told Nabu what he had to do and explained the plan.

When Nabu heard it, he really thought it was risky, but if that ruin was what it claimed to be, the risk was worth it.