Chapter 1369: 127. The Price of Genius

"Fuck, as expected of the Origin Tower."

On the lower level of the prison, Muen staggered out of the radiance of his Divine Kingdom. Despite having traveled only such a short distance, he already looked somewhat disheveled.

And there was no helping it. In that instant just now, if he had been even a few seconds slower, or if he had not possessed something as absurdly exceptional as the Divine Kingdom to conceal himself, the person who had laid down that "mist" would one hundred percent have caught him.

If he had been caught by an enemy on the spot within the confines of Divine Sigh—especially when he was someone whose entire body practically reeked of an Evil God—there was no need to think too hard about what would happen next......

He would most likely be labeled an accomplice of an Evil God and sent off to become neighbors with his cheap senior brother.

"That's way too insidious. Even with security this tight, that bastard still set up such a terrifying trap that can subtly influence a person's perception without them noticing!"

Muen soothed his rapidly beating heart and, relying on his powerful mental fortitude, quickly recovered from the lingering fear.

But the doubt in his heart could not be dispelled.

"That person......who was it?"

He had fled far too quickly and decisively, without even having the chance to let the Black Book record anything. Naturally, Muen had been unable to obtain any useful information about that scheming bastard.

But thinking about it for even a moment......

His cheap senior brother was already being held under such stringent confinement, yet someone had still gone out of their way to set up a trap like that......

That person was definitely not merely a guard.

There was a very good chance that they were connected to this entire incident surrounding his cheap senior brother—one of the people hiding behind the scenes......

They might even be the very name that had been smeared out inside the prison!

The reason was simple.

Setting things up like this was practically the same as anticipating that someone would come to rescue his cheap senior brother—or at least investigate his condition.

And right now, his cheap senior brother had been imprisoned for "colluding with an Evil God." Under circumstances where anyone who tried to rescue or even make contact with this "traitor to humanity" would most likely be regarded as an accomplice......

Would any normal person actually do such a thing?

Yes.

There were probably two kinds of people who would.

The first kind: an Evil God's lackey.

As a veteran Truth-Rank mage and a former core member of the Origin Tower's upper ranks, his cheap senior brother was an extremely useful chess piece to an Evil God, whether because of his strength or the information he possessed.

Since he had now been judged to have colluded with an Evil God, regardless of whether that accusation was true, perhaps some Evil God might take an interest and send a lackey to rescue him.

Of course, if his cheap senior brother really had colluded with an Evil God......

Then there would be even more reason to rescue him.

The second kind was someone like Muen himself—someone who suspected that there might be something wrong with this entire affair.

If you suspected something was wrong, naturally you would want to go to the source and search for the answer. Even someone thinking with their toes could figure that much out.

So what kind of person would be most wary of those who suspected there was something wrong with this matter?

——Obviously, someone who knew exactly how innocent his cheap senior brother really was.

It was precisely because they knew the truth that they were uneasy.

That was why, even when security was already so tight that an ordinary human being basically had no possibility of infiltrating the place, they had still shamelessly set up such a despicable trap.

In fact, the trap itself might have served another purpose: to lure the intruder into extending their consciousness into the prison, thereby conclusively establishing them as an accomplice. Then they could simply crush that person outright, leaving them no chance to clear their name—and certainly no chance to help his cheap senior brother clear his!

Every part connected perfectly to the next!

"Hiss......damn it. I still let my guard down a little."

The more Muen thought about it, the more frightened he became in hindsight.

If he had really fallen into that scheming bastard's hands just now, he might have immediately been subjected to the full three-piece package of interrogation, conviction, and execution. Whether he could even hold out until that old loli arrived was uncertain!

"But......I still need to calm down first."

Muen took a deep breath and quickly steadied his state of mind.

So far, everything was merely conjecture.

If he wanted to establish the truth, he still needed intelligence and evidence.

That was exactly why he had taken the risk of coming here in the first place.

"So while I use my identity as a school master to gather information, I should still start with the current rotating Tower Master, Douglas, and see whether I can find a breakthrough."

Muen rubbed his chin and began settling on a course of action.

And choosing Douglas was simple......

The first name his cheap senior brother had mentioned was the Tower Master.

Although Muen could not be certain whether the Tower Master he had referred to was actually Douglas, now that there was already a possible connection, it would make no sense not to investigate him.

Besides......

"There's still one thing I don't understand."

Muen raised his head and looked toward the ceiling of the lower prison level.

Above it, the low growls and crashing sounds produced by his cheap senior brother continued to echo without pause.

A certain spiritual force was being carried along with those sounds, enough to affect even the prisoners down here and make them equally deranged.

"If they clearly have the means to completely isolate the medium, then why deliberately leave an opening in this direction and allow that ominous spiritual power to seep through?"

Even if everyone imprisoned down here consisted of dangerous criminals who had committed every imaginable evil......

Wasn't this still a little too inhumane?

......

......

"Forget it. Whatever they're planning, I can't do anything about it for now. I'd better obediently wait until I can get out first."

After confirming that no one was tracking him and that he was completely safe, Muen finally returned to the cell where he had been imprisoned earlier.

Looking to the side, Huffer was still unconscious.

Moreover, he was unconscious in an extremely alluring pose, exactly the same as when Muen had left.

"Good. Looks like no guests came by while I was gone."

Muen breathed a sigh of relief.

He crooked a finger and flicked it through the air, startling the unconscious Huffer awake.

"Who? Who dares sneak-attack the great Professor Huffer? Don't you know the future revival of the Life School depends on me?"

Huffer sprang to his feet with a kip-up. Despite being a pure mage, he proceeded to perform an extremely standard set of bare-handed combat techniques on the spot, his momentum astonishing.

Then, the moment the corner of his eye swept across the figure of a certain demon—in his eyes—the combat routine transformed into an exceptionally sensual and alluring dance.

"Ah......so it was Lord Enmu."

Huffer twisted his hips and threw him a flirtatious glance.

"I was wondering whose attack could be so mighty and masculine. As expected, only Lord Enmu could possibly......"

"If you keep acting horny, I'll stuff your head into your own ass."

"I am terribly sorry. I was wrong."

"You know what to do?"

"Understood!"

Huffer shuddered and immediately crouched down. With remarkable familiarity, he cleaned up the blood he had spilled earlier, then used what little magic power he had left to cast a healing spell on himself, completely removing both the signs of his injuries and the marks left by the impacts on the ground.

Only after finishing all of that did he retreat back into the corner and begin trembling again.

As obedient as a little kitten.

"Hm?"

Muen gave him an odd look.

"Actually, you didn't need to be that thorough. I only told you to wipe up the blood."

"Eh?"

"What's with the 'eh'? Aren't you supposed to be insane?"

"Right!"

Huffer suddenly realized.

That's fucking right, I'm insane. Isn't it perfectly normal for a madman to smash his head around a little?

"Damn it......my precious magic power......"

Huffer immediately sank into grief.

In a godforsaken place like this, who knew how long it would take him to accumulate even enough magic power to cast a healing spell, yet he had just wasted it so casually......

Huh?

"No, wait!"

Huffer suddenly reacted.

"I'm not insane!"

"How could a genius like me possibly be insane?"

"I am Professor Huffer, the greatest genius in the world! I am destined to restore the Life School to glory, stomp the Church beneath my feet, and punch the Goddess!"

"......"

Muen helplessly held his forehead.

He could not even be bothered to say anything. He merely pointed at the ground again.

"What?"

Huffer blinked in confusion.

"Aren't you a genius? How can you not understand what I mean?"

Muen smiled.

"You repaired those dents. If someone comes here, it'll be very easy for them to become suspicious......so please put them back."

"......"

Huffer looked at the floor he had only just restored until it was smooth and pristine, then raised his head and looked at Muen.

After remaining silent for a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a smile that looked uglier than crying.

"Um......Lord Enmu, I'm a genius, you know. Do you understand what the word 'genius' means?"

"Of course I do. How many geniuses do you think I've met by now?"

Muen nodded and said seriously:

"So, genius Lord Huffer, if you really can use some genius method to recreate dents identical to the ones made by smashing your head against the floor, I don't mind......"

"But if you can't......I'll send you off to fight the Goddess right now."