I Became the Servant of the Blind Wicked Woman

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

Argyrion split into four squads, infiltrating the unknown ruins from all directions.

The squad advancing from the east fell silent, leaving only terrible screams echoing over their comms.

An obvious emergency. The commanders of the remaining three squads were busy exchanging opinions.

Splash.

A faint sound of water echoed through the comms.

Among the static-laced communications, an ominous voice emerged.

"Haha, where are you all rushing off to?"

***

The commander of the western squad cast a spell the moment he spotted a suspicious silhouette. It was his instinct as a Blasphemia operative.

A lightning bullet that balanced power and speed for human suppression. Five thunderbolts aimed at different vital points.

However, the lightning never reached the man. The moment the commander began his spell, "water" surged up, blocking the magic and rushing toward him.

As the barrier embedded within his artifact activated, the water attacked the commander with even more ferocity.

'The barrier's taking sustained damage. Judging by the weight and density, this isn't normal water. This is…!'

Splash. The man stepped on the water again.

"What a pity to meet you here like this. You could've been good friends of the Ten Towers."

A blatant taunt. The Argyrion agents quickly identified his affiliation.

"Ten Towers…!"

So, the distress signal was falsified by the Ten Towers? Or was it extracted from a tortured prisoner?

"I appreciate you all gathering like this. I regret having to come out and greet you myself because you were so slow to descend."

The arrogance typical of those affiliated with the Ten Towers was evident. That kind of self-display could only come from someone who believed themselves to be in absolute control. The Argyrion agents gleaned numerous clues from his voice.

This ruin was a well-constructed trap. The deeper they went, the higher the cost to escape, like an antlion pit.

"Retreat immediately! It's a trap after all!"

"Oh dear. I still have plenty prepared."

"What's going on?! Report the situation immediately!"

"The distress signal was a trap set by the Ten Towers! Get out however you can!"

As the commander tried to gather magic to target the transparent "water" again, the liquid surged at a faster pace. As a Blasphemia operative, his instincts for this kind of danger were well-honed.

"The liquid familiar tracks magic! Suppress all magic and retreat to the surface. I'll hold them off here!"

His subordinates did not foolishly choose to die alongside their commander out of sentimentality. They suppressed their magic as much as possible and retreated quickly.

The Argyrion commander glared at the Ten Towers mage beyond the barrier. The water continuously poured down, gnawing at the barrier and obstructing his view.

But that sneering, twisted smile was unmistakably visible, as if it had imprinted itself in his sight.

It was always the same. Those "Chosen" by the Ten Towers.

The cruel expression of an absolute power intoxicated with its ability to crush lives like a child playing with ants.

The artifact's durability was at its limit. The barrier needed to be manually reactivated. To stall the Ten Towers mage for another minute, another second…!

"Damn Ten Towers. You damn traitors…!"

Gritting his teeth, the commander cast his spell. Before the barrier completely failed, the magic of fire momentarily dried up the water streams.

Finally, a clear view. Now, if he could just re-cast his defense magic—

The commander locked eyes with Orthes's blue glow.

The sinister blue hue seared into his retinas, resurrecting faded memories blessed by extra-dimensional forces. A blue nightmare.

"You…! You're—!"

"Well."

Orthes activated his ultrasonic blade. In the next instant, the commander's entire field of vision was engulfed in that chilling blue light.

***

A warning alarm flashed through Thalo's artificial brain. A message directly transmitted from observation drones scattered around the temple.

『Fluid movement detected near the entrance.』

Thalo smiled gleefully.

"Looks like they're more perceptive than I thought. As expected of the pets raised by the Ten Towers."

They must have realized the liquid metal summoner attacking them wasn't inside the temple but on the surface, prompting them to abort their mission and engage directly.

A swift and accurate decision. Typically, the more powerful a familiar, the weaker the mage's own defenses.

A powerful familiar generally equated to significant mana consumption, necessitating one of two strategies: either the mage fought near their familiar for protection, or they operated from a distance, using only their familiar for combat.

If the summoner was far from the battlefield, focusing solely on mana supply, it was reasonable to assume their combat ability would be low.

But their thinking was shallow.

For an apprentice or even a junior adept of the Ten Towers, such "general" logic might apply.

But Thalo was already an elder of the Ten Towers.

To him, conventional magic wisdom was meaningless.

Though still in the middle of completing his spell, it was more than enough to deal with lesser mages not affiliated with the Ten Towers.

Thalo, having assigned two of his three computational auxiliary brains to the spell, pressed his palm into the ground. Metallic components buried hundreds of meters beneath the soil converged. Designs of lethal weaponry stored in his computational brain flowed through his fingertips.

A munitions factory powered by the earth itself. This was why the mages of the Silver Iron Tower were known as one-man armies.

Thalo could see Argyrion's operatives rushing toward him. Ideally, every operative deployed here would arrive.

"It'll save me the trouble of doing this twice."

In a pleasant environment, he'd leisurely excavate the relics. Thalo flicked his fingers.

The autonomous turrets locked onto their targets.

***

"When did they—!"

The Argyrion operatives who escaped to the surface were horrified.

To avoid being defeated individually, they had maintained communication within the ruins and fled together from the Ten Towers' sinister familiar, the "water."

While they were momentarily regrouping to decide whether to retreat, a sight appeared on the horizon: an advancing magical war machine.

Should they re-enter the ruins and scatter toward other exits?

But the cold gleam of metal hovering in the sky blocked their way. All exits were under surveillance. If they split up, they would be picked off one by one.

There had been no detectable magic presence from other mages when they first entered the ruins. So how was this intricately arranged formation of war machines now surrounding them?

Even if they tried to use teleportation magic, it was nearly impossible. It wasn't that the Ten Towers lacked the capacity for such a large-scale spatial spell, but Argyrion would never have missed it if it had been cast.

Maybe it was some trick of superstitious fanatics operating with divine power instead of magic…

The Argyrion commanders quickly assessed the situation.

Only one magic tower could deploy mages with this kind of small-scale entry capability and rapidly create such a vast unmanned army: the Silver Iron Tower. And this mage was of elder rank.

"They've set up traps throughout the ruins and deployed an elder-level mage outside!"

"Dangerous. The distress signal wasn't falsified; it could have been leaked from a captured comrade."

The elders of the Ten Towers do not act recklessly. For those dedicated to ascension, worldly battles are trivial scuffles.

If an elder has decided to step in, it might mean that some secret plan known only to Argyrion's leadership has been exposed.

"If we make it back, we'll have to thoroughly re-evaluate the list of missing comrades. Have they betrayed us?"

"They might've developed magic that can extract memories even from brains blessed by the Great Cause. The power of the Commandments is limitless."

They coolly assessed the situation. Even if every Argyrion operative deployed here joined the fight, it was doubtful they could take down a single elder.

"I'll do it."

So they made their choice.

One of the Argyrion commanders drove a silver stake into his heart. The stake slowly melted, circulating through his veins, and his skin turned silver as his body twisted grotesquely.

Centered around the gaping hole in his heart, his body crumpled into a circle. With a grating sound, the silver ring expanded.

The heart's cavity also grew larger, and silver waves began to flow out from within.

This was power bestowed by the Great Cause.

As the silver tide soaked Argyrion's bodies, their flesh began to mutate. Like the commander who had impaled his heart with a silver stake, their skin turned silver, but it didn't stop there.

Their bodies transformed, as if donning radiant armor, and from their shoulders sprouted feather-like blades that formed wings.

Grateful for the overflowing power and grace, they flapped their silver wings. The mana carried by their wings freed them from the earth's pull.

At that moment, the war machines began their assault. Amidst the gunfire, special rounds, each imbued with different attributes, flashed. The silver-winged angels of the Great Cause charged to annihilate their enemies while the gates of grace were open.

Watching from afar, Orthes sighed.

"Good grief. Now they're flying?"

***

Kore, observing Orthes through the temple's powers, muttered.

"What a damn con artist…"

With just a few words, he had driven Argyrion to the surface, pitting them against the Ten Towers' mage. Does that man cast magic with his tongue?

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