[673] The Secret of Radum (1)
As the mass mind-control was lifted, the team members gradually came to.
No one had been killed, but they felt devastated after regaining consciousness.
It had been the overwhelming power of the Lord of Fear, and Shirone felt just as shaken.
What on earth was that memory...?
It didn't feel like his. Yet when he saw Ikael's face, his chest constricted as if it might burst.
Ra Enemi.
Apart from the Alpheas School of Magic test, that gave him another reason to find the man.
Seventeen people finished preparing, fell into formation, and began to move. Kargin approached Joshua.
"You okay?"
Joshua had grown quieter after seeing the apparition of his son.
"Don't worry. We'll keep proper watch."
"That's not what I meant..."
"I didn't love him."
Joshua said it like an exhale.
"He's a child who doesn't even know who his father is. I always resented him. I only felt guilty. That's all there is to it."
The words sounded almost like self-hypnosis to make himself believe it, and Kargin didn't press the matter.
There were no residents to be seen on the way into Radum.
Maybe they were still trapped in the otherworld, wandering somewhere to avoid the Galloper's blade.
"Arrived."
Kuan announced as they reached the boundary separating Radum's outside from its inside—the so-called Siren.
"From here, it's a different dimension. Brace yourselves."
There was nothing visually striking, but the sensation transmitted through the Ultima system was undeniably of another world.
Amazing.
Within the information veil that enclosed the whole radius, countless circuits had carved out their own domains.
To Pakji it looked like a space ablaze with light.
"I heard the rumors. A high-difficulty concealment facility. Even top information mages can't fully decrypt Radum's internal locks, they say."
Even if Shirone could perceive the signal's substance, breaking it was another matter.
"How do you plan to breach it?"
At Arkman's question, Jein answered.
"There are two ways to reach Radum's center. One is to decrypt each lock one by one. The other is to cut the power."
"Cut the power?"
Evian spoke up as if a thought had just come to him.
"Now that you mention it—Radum is isolated. Where does it draw power to run those concealment devices?"
"The sun."
Lupist said.
"What I'm about to explain is a top-level state secret."
The team swallowed.
"We can see the sky because something at Radum's center lets light through."
"You're kidding."
"At first it's in the form of a small sphere."
On Lupist's palm, a metal orb about the size of a human face coalesced.
"It's a kind of seed. You plant it in the ground."
The sphere thudded onto the floor.
"A substance called light ore that transmits, absorbs, or reflects light. It's not native to this planet, and naturally I can't actually conjure it. But to demonstrate—"
The iron globe trembled. Vines coiled across its surface and sprang upward.
"It takes in sunlight and grows on its own, like an organism. It's assumed to have a sort of genetic blueprint inside it."
Buds formed on the vines and then opened like petals.
"It gathers photons and emits energy. Think of it as similar to photosynthesis."
"No, I still don't get it. So what is it, exactly?"
Jein asked.
"The Kingdom of Tormia has isolated Radum from the capital for a long time. Why do you think that is?"
"Because terrorists and demi-humans cause trouble. It's basically the capital's dumping ground."
Shirone had thought that at first.
"That's not wrong. But it doesn't explain Radum's original cause. Now I'll show you—Radum's secret."
Jein drew Nemesis from Cubrick.
"Let's begin."
Shirone slotted Nemesis in after Jein and activated the Ultima system. The Siren—the internal barrier of Radum—manifested into reality.
Jein used a simple information spell to construct an electric circuit, and Aria stepped before it.
"By entering the Level One security code, I'll cut power to the living flower."
Aria's role was Radum scout and code carrier.
Yongroe had imprinted the code into her unconscious, so even she couldn't consciously know it.
Still, as a Level One confidential holder she had been given Kuan as top escort by Lupist.
Jein reached into Aria's mind.
Whether she accepted was up to her—but if she refused, she would be killed to protect the secret.
Access granted.
At the thought, Aria's eyes snapped open and the keyword hidden in her unconsciousness triggered.
The Siren's veil blurred and Radum's interior began to reveal its true form.
Wheeeee!
A deafening alarm wailed, and a skyline of skyscrapers—wooden, stone, mechanical, and even structures beyond human comprehension—spread before them.
W-what is that?
But what startled them most was the gigantic iron tower rising at Radum's very center, hundreds of meters tall.
Lupist looked up at the bud atop the tower.
"It's grown quite a lot."
The rumored hideout of the demi-human alliance was literally a flower.
"The reason the kingdom left Radum alone. Yes, to quarantine trash, but those people were merely fertilizer. Radum is a flowerpot. A flowerpot for growing an ancient weapon."
"An ancient weapon?"
Yordic turned pale and faced Lupist.
"A super-massive interceptor—the living flower. It collects sunlight and emits a high-energy beam as a strategic defense weapon. Its power is so great it transmits energy through its roots to all concealment facilities in Radum."
Lupist finally issued the real mission.
"From now on we infiltrate the living flower, seize control, and steal the seed."
Damn, so that's what it was!
When the first living flower was reported in the Kingdom of Tormia, Radum was quarantined because once a seed takes root, it can't be moved.
They grew the living flower to produce new seeds.
After that decision, the kingdom sealed Radum, and demi-humans gradually slipped in until now.
Kugugugugugung!
The ground trembled and the team looked up at the living flower.
"It's...opening."
The bud unfurled, casting a shadow across Radum's radius.
One petal measured two hundred square meters, and dozens of those petals spreading out was a spectacle.
As the flower fully bloomed, a massive shadow stretched across the opposite side of Radum.
It was probably as dark as night there.
Ughhhh!
The ground rocked like a ship at sea, and then photons across kilometers were sucked into the petals.
When the world abruptly dimmed, the team scanned their surroundings and Lupist shouted.
"Interception! Get inside!"
"Damn it!"
A beam from the living flower slashed diagonally through the western district.
It traced along the boundary and carved it open, unleashing a tremendous explosion.
"They noticed already."
The fact they launched a counterattack the instant the Siren's veil was lifted was proof.
Meirey clapped a hand over one ear and shouted.
"I can hear Ra Enemi's voice! He's giving orders!"
"Dammit! Do something! We're all going to die here!"
The beam's destructive radius was so wide it seemed impossible to dodge in time.
"Jein!"
At Lupist's shout, Jein reacted immediately.
Cosmic Rail!
She cast a mind-affecting spell and everyone heard her voice inside their heads.
—Allied personnel: boarding passes not required.
What is that sound...!
Bycon, grumbling, felt himself lift against his will and be deposited into a compartment that felt like the passenger cabin of a wheeled carriage.
What is this?
All seventeen were gathered, and ahead of the carriage-like cabin a rail—about a meter wide—was being laid at incredible speed across the opening.
A public-transport magic: Cosmic Rail.
The faster the rail is laid, the greater the mobility, and it provides passengers with the same inertia as reality.
It was designed so passengers could focus on combat—something impossible without simultaneous environmental, mental, and physical control.
As expected of the Magic Association's Chief Secretary.
The rail-pattern algorithm, the air-based physical force transporting all seventeen at once, and the mental control preserving passenger autonomy combined into top-tier service.
"Slow! Faster!"
Even though it was more efficient than teleportation for moving a group, Lupist fussed like a demanding customer.
'Sixteen is a bit rough.'
Jein popped a hole in the ceiling and the speed at which the rail was laid surged.
Still, the energy beams from the living flower were sweeping the ground like an opening umbrella and drawing closer.
At top speed the rail unfurled, and the gusting wind made breathing difficult.
Taller buildings had their tops blasted by the beams and rained down rocks.
Jein bent the rail in a curve and the carriage's path swung sharply.
"Woooah!"
"Hold on tight!"
As the roller-coaster algorithm kicked in and the rail rose near-vertical, the team braced against the walls.
The energy beam skimmed past them by the slimmest margin.
"Hah! Hah!"
Bycon, drained, slumped and hooked an arm over the wall.
"What a damn brutal transport spell."
"Keep going—get as close to the living flower as we can."
"Are you kidding? We're almost there with this."
As Yordic pushed off the wall to stand, goblins on hang gliders leaped from a rooftop.
"He who kills it eats it!"
Goblins of Radum's middle tier were small, carnivorous, quick, and cruel.
Jein warned them.
"It'll be dizzying. Be careful."
Lupist looked over at the team.
"Hey, mercenaries. Start earning your pay."
Joshua flashed his eye technique and nocked an arrow; Weig drew twin blades, ready.
"Go!"
As the Cosmic Rail's path curved like rapids, arrows rained from the goblin squad.
"Pathetic brats!"
Mages who had teleported out of the carriage answered with their specialties.
Goblins began to fall one by one, but Jein's eyes widened.
"Danger!"
An electric net spread above the skyscrapers, blocking their route.
"The living flower's power's back. Should we land on the ground?"
"No. Get as close as you can."
As dangerous air defenses came back online one by one, the Cosmic Rail pushed forward on a knife-edge.
Just a bit more! Just a bit more!
After passing more than half of the concealment facility zone, photons began gathering on the living flower's petals again.
When night fell in an instant, Jein shouted.
"Land now! This time we won't miss!"
"Keep going!"
They needed every second—three seconds, one second—to get close enough to reclaim the living flower in time.
The moment a huge sphere of light exploded from a gun emplacement embedded in the stem, Lupist shouted.
"Jump!"
"What the hell...!"
Trusting gravity, the team leapt, and a roaring flash streaked across the sky above them.