I Became the Servant of the Blind Wicked Woman

To read over 260 fully translated episodes, patreon.com/Denji02

The silver creature, with the head of a unicorn, rapidly approached its target. The silver brass instruments that formed its limbs were busy playing.

But the sound wasn't meant for anyone to hear. In fact, its melody was beyond human hearing.

Like a bat's ultrasonic waves, the sound was outside the range of human perception. The magically tuned ultrasonic waves permeated every corner of the temple, reflecting back to the silver creature.

It was a spell that allowed the creature to detect where everything was through the echoes of its sound. Though inaudible to humans, the melody was imbued with curses of decay and dullness.

The creature's transparent symphony. It knew that this mere curse wouldn't be enough to fell the intruders within the temple.

But the creature had no intention of eliminating all the intruders by itself.

However, when the master's disciples and minions arrived, the enemies would be startled to find their strength significantly diminished.

That single moment of surprise would be enough.

The arriving disciples would unlock the creature's full capabilities, and under the overwhelming power of magic, this temple would once again return to the silence decreed by its master.

There was just one problem: the alien divine power, the likes of which it had never witnessed before.

The creature's master had always been wary of the unknown, a habit passed down to the creature. It was preparing to launch the most effective ambush it could muster.

It didn't matter if it couldn't immediately neutralize the variable. All it needed to do was make the enemy waste time, staying vigilant for an ambush in the dark.

The scenery around the creature shimmered. No longer silver, its body blended into the gray walls of the darkened temple. A perfect imitation of its surroundings—magic that even modern-day camouflage spells would struggle to match.

The variable had stopped moving at the deepest part of the temple.

That was where the master had personally destroyed the emblem of the temple.

What if this variable could restore the shattered emblem with a divine spell, or perhaps something even greater than a spell—a sacred order?

The Great Temple of Pluto would once again become a focal point for the old gods, disrupting the master's grand plan.

The creature's movements became more urgent.

It slithered into the thick darkness.

And met the piercing blue gaze aimed directly at it.

***

How?

This was the creature's question.

That gaze was fixed on it. Those glowing irises were locked onto its own hollow eyes.

Its camouflage was flawless. It had used its sound manipulation ability to erase even the sound of its footsteps. Even if one could see through the darkness, they would see only the walls; if they tried to listen, they would hear only the wind.

Was it a divine gift from a priest of a hunting god? How could the enemy know where it was and track it without ever seeing it?

An alarm, unused for eons, began to ring within its primal instincts. It had to either flee immediately or fight.

It rationalized its instinctual fear. If it ran, the enemy would surely alert the others to the anomaly. As they had done in the past, the master's enemies would escape.

But if it fought now, it could at least buy time until reinforcements arrived.

"Are you Adoosiam?"

The creature—Adoosiam—shuddered.

"I'm very interested in you."

The unknown variable murmured calmly.

"A golem forged in ancient times by the Mage King. You were made from a magician who existed before the Ten Towers were established. I never imagined I'd find you here."

Kore was watching this scene unfold.

***

At the deepest part of Pluto's Great Temple, there were four passages leading to the core. While Orthes and Adoosiam stared at each other from the eastern and western passages, Kore was observing them from the northern passage.

'From here, both of them are in my blind spot…'

It was certain the creature couldn't detect her. This was thanks to the effect of Pluto's sacred technique, the 'Invisible Helm.'

Invisibility wasn't just about visual concealment. It was closer to a power that erased one's very existence from the world.

Pluto was the god who governed the underworld, symbolizing 'invisible death' that could strike anywhere, anytime.

But unlike the creature, Utis might be able to see through her sacred technique. Thus, Kore cautiously hid in the shadows of the passage.

She couldn't see the creature's form, but she could sense its presence through her divine power. It was right in front of Utis.

And Utis spoke, in that same calm tone she had heard during the meeting.

"Adoosiam, is that right?"

He knows its name.

There was no response. Utis, as if expecting this, continued speaking calmly.

"I'm very interested in you. A golem forged in ancient times by the Mage King."

So, such a thing was in Pluto's temple? Kore was taken aback, but she quickly grasped the situation. The Mage King was cautious. He must have placed it as a sort of alarm, to signal an attack if the resistance tried to liberate the temple.

What was harder to understand was Utis.

The fact that a sentinel created by the Mage King was stationed in the temple was information unknown even to a priestess of Pluto.

In fact, it would be strange for anyone other than the god's own people to know. The Mage King would have deployed that golem as a guardian of the temple after the siege on the Great Temple was over.

And who was there with the Mage King after he had defeated the largest of the cult's resistance forces?

Only the disciples of the Mage King—the founders of the current Ten Towers.

Kore shook her head. The possibility that Utis was a spy for the Ten Towers was the worst-case scenario she could imagine.

It was also the least likely.

If he were a spy for the Ten Towers, there had been countless opportunities for him to enact schemes that could have led to the annihilation of the Divine Cult.

'Utis said he had operated within Blasphemia.'

He might have learned about the golem from Blasphemia. Although Pluto's Great Temple was sealed by a special method that the Ten Towers couldn't break, if Blasphemia had encountered similar golems while investigating other temples, it wasn't impossible.

"Made from a magician who existed before the Ten Towers were established. I never imagined I'd find you here."

The way Utis casually explained Adoosiam's craftsmanship gave Kore chills.

"Since I can see everything, why don't you come out?"

Kore flinched. Utis's gaze was still fixed in the direction of Adoosiam. But why did it feel as though those words were directed at her?

A deep hum resonated through the darkness. It was a wave of mana—a spell.

It was an action imperceptible to the eyes or ears. Only by the faint turbulence in the supernatural aura could one infer that a spell had been cast.

In the face of this invisible attack, Utis simply tilted his head slightly.

Sssss…

The section of the temple wall that was struck disintegrated into dust. Utis nodded as he spoke.

"A compressed sonic projectile? It vibrates at the resonant frequency of the target material upon impact, instantly pulverizing it. The principle is closer to modern thought than ancient magic. Were you really made centuries ago?"

Utis raised his sword. Kore enhanced her vision to discern shapes in the darkness. Though she couldn't see the golem itself, she could trace its movements through the dust and debris it disturbed.

And the meaning of those traces was clear.

Adoosiam was being chased by Utis.

For some reason, the sonic projectiles it fired weren't damaging Utis's sword. Using a strange sword technique, Utis was interfering with the projectiles' trajectory, putting pressure on Adoosiam.

Each deflected projectile hit the exact location where Adoosiam's aura had been detected. It was as if Adoosiam was being killed by its own magic.

It looked almost like deliberate mockery. Kore saw a parallel between her futile attempts to open the doors one by one while chasing Utis, and Adoosiam's current predicament.

But this was far more relentless. Without even moving from his spot, Utis was merely swinging his sword, using the enemy's attacks against it.

It was as if he was determined to crush it with its own magic. Like a master disciplining a dog that dared bare its fangs.

***

I adjusted the output control on my high-frequency blade.

Luckily, the magic this thing uses was a sonic projectile. If it had charged at me recklessly, thinking, "I use sonic magic, so I'll move at the speed of sound!" it would have been much more troublesome.

The principle behind the sonic projectile magic was simple. It used resonant frequency vibrations to shatter materials.

And my sword was a high-frequency blade. A tool that enhanced its cutting power through ultrasonics. By adjusting the ultrasonic output to the right timing, I could appropriately counterbalance the resonant vibrations of the sonic projectile.

In this case, getting closer would have been more dangerous.

Adoosiam used the instruments in its body to fire sonic projectiles. In other words, if it were willing to risk self-destruction, it could unleash a full-body sonic blast the moment I got close.

There's no reason to risk getting caught in its self-destruction.

I calmly deflected the sonic projectiles as I pondered how I could bring this thing back to Hydra Corporation.

According to what these eyes showed me, Adoosiam currently had its higher functions locked.

The reason I hadn't destroyed it as soon as I detected it was because of this. For it to unlock its higher functions, it would need the approval of its creator or a representative, but there was no Mage King around to grant that approval.

In other words, if that thing somehow managed to unlock its functions, it would mean that the Mage King had returned.

'I'll have to bring it back and repurpose it as an alert system for the Mage King's return.'

***

In front of Pluto's Great Temple, a silver flash streaked across the sky. From a gaping tear in the air, figures in camouflaged combat suits began to emerge.

"You say there was a distress signal from a comrade here?"

The members of Argurion had arrived.

To read over 260 fully translated episodes, patreon.com/Denji02