Chapter 148
<Wasn’t This a Strategy Game? Episode 148>
《…Hagen’ti had participated in countless wars and campaigns over the years, earning fame as the Empire’s Great Mage. However, as his reputation soared, he felt himself losing control more and more. The more wars he fought and the more monsters he defeated, the stronger the urge within him for blood became. If this desire wasn’t satisfied, what would happen if he lost all control? He followed the Empire’s will diligently while wandering through unanswered questions.》
As Eden finished reading the subtitles, her expression froze. The next chapter unfolded right before her eyes.
This time, the memory background seemed to be a lodging after a campaign.
Someone burst in through the door and stammered out in a trembling voice, “D- Dalton is dead.”
At that, everyone turned to the magician who brought the bad news, except for Hagen’ti.
“He went berserk like Jayron… I… I saw it happen! His head exploded, he’s dead!”
“Calm down, Wayne!”
“Aah! We’re all going to die! Something, some side effect is happening! You all feel it too!”
The magician named Wayne screamed, clutching his head.
“Damn it, grab Wayne!”
Several rushed at Wayne, trying to hold him down.
Wayne continued to scream for a while, unable to calm down, and eventually, someone ran in and put him under a fainting spell, finally settling the chaos.
Amid all this commotion, Hagen’ti merely sat quietly, staring at the floor.
Eden covered her mouth, watching the horrifying events unfold before her.
Before long, everyone realized how foolish and impossible the Empire’s plan to raise killer magicians as combatants truly was.
Half of the combatants they had painstakingly trained had gone berserk and lost their lives.
Eden looked again at Hagen’ti, who was eavesdropping on the higher-ups’ conversation. It grew increasingly painful to look at his expressionless face.
“…The magic has consumed too much blood. Plus, he’s had sealing magic placed upon him since childhood, causing side effects. I found similar cases. A magician who fought in wars from a young age was overtaken by his killing desire and wiped out a village.”
“A village?”
“Yes. It seems the greater the magic, the greater the power during a rampage. To stop him, one needs a significant divine power. That’s why the Magic Tower folks suddenly withdrew from this plan. They’ve already caught on.”
With an annoyed click of his tongue, he spoke without a hint of compassion or guilt for the rampaging magicians.
“So this plan is a failure. It’s not something that can be used long-term. Plus, it could endanger the Empire.”
“So what should we do?”
“Since it turns out we can’t raise magicians as combatants, we’ll have to disband them.”
“But what about them…?”
“They’re too dangerous to be let outside. Handle all of them, especially Hagen’ti… it would be a disaster if things go wrong.”
Eden’s eyes widened at the covert orders.
However, they could not carry out that plan. Before their conversation even finished, Hagen’ti had ended their lives.
《…Hagen’ti then broke away from there, and several tracking teams came after him, but no one could match him. Fearing the citizens would find out about all this, the Imperial Palace spread sinister rumors about Hagen’ti and erased all records of him. Hagen’ti locked himself up in a massive castle in the north, searching for a way to hold back his rampages for years. He was sure that if he rampaged, an uncontrollable power could easily swallow half the Empire.》
Amid the chaos, Eden’s mind raced.
The quest initially given to her was to stop Hagen’ti’s rampage. But Hagen’ti’s own goal was to prevent his own rampage.
‘Then… does this mean Sereman contracted with Hagen’ti under that premise?’
In exchange for stopping his rampage?
But Hagen’ti was clearly marked as a victim of a fraudulent contract.
What exactly had Sereman done?
《Hagen’ti sought out Silverstone and attempted to suppress his magic using its power, but he failed.》
“What?”
Eden could not hold back and exclaimed loudly in response.
‘Silverstone…? So does that mean Silverstone is with Hagen’ti?’
Eden’s heart raced uncontrollably. If that was the case, then Silverstone was currently in Hagen’ti’s castle!
That’s why this memory carried such a huge risk!
‘This can’t be happening…!’
Eden covered her mouth with both hands.
If this were true, she needed to get out of Hagen’ti’s memory right now, ask Hagen’ti about Silverstone’s whereabouts, and find him to control Sereman and the Dark Sorcerers with that power!
But…
“How do I get out of here…?”
Eden, now anxious, paced back and forth, but Hagen’ti’s memory unhurriedly continued to display subtitles.
《Hagen’ti, having lost his last hope, tried to take his own life before rampaging, but that too failed. The killing desire that controlled him wouldn’t let him go. At that moment, Sereman Laok appeared before him.》
Eden’s eyes widened even further. Finally, it was Sereman’s part.
《Originally, Sereman Laok was a pious and promising priest raised in a monastery far from the capital. However, one day, he began to question the malformed world and became captivated by the ideology of those who revered the fallen Demon King’s power and Dark Magic. At that moment, he was in the midst of empowering himself to fulfill his grand plan of resurrecting the Demon King.》
Eden let out a baffled breath and frowned.
《Sereman, using all his might, successfully found the sealed Demon King and transferred him to his heart, but his magic was vastly insufficient, preventing the resurrection. Thus, he desperately needed powerful magic.》
“What? Transfer the Demon King to his heart? This guy is completely insane.”
Finally, Eden realized Sereman’s true identity. In a word, a cult fanatic.
《…Then, upon learning of Hagen’ti’s news, he sought him out to use his power.》
At the same time, Eden realized why he needed Hagen’ti and grit her teeth.
Once again, the surroundings began to brighten, and the long-awaited memory unfolded.
The background was a cozy little room in a rural house bathed in warm sunlight, where Sereman and Hagen’ti sat facing each other.
Eden held her breath, watching the scene.
“It will become harder to control as time goes on. That’s why the Empire is searching for you so desperately.”
Eden glared at Sereman, who looked at least ten years younger than now.
As the subtitles explained, Sereman had already known about Hagen’ti’s situation back then. So, from the beginning, he found Hagen’ti to use him.
“So.”
When Hagen’ti responded briefly, Sereman smiled sweetly.
“I heard from the blacksmith that you attempted to take your own life.”
“……”
“That too won’t be easy. Controlling magic dominated by killing desire is a challenging task.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Hagen’ti glared at him with sharpened eyes, and Sereman simply replied with a gentle smile.
“I will kill you.”
At that shocking statement, Eden’s eyes widened. Yet Hagen’ti didn’t flinch, merely staring through Sereman.
Hagen’ti’s tone carried an air of annoyance, lacking even a hint of expectation. What kind of greenhorn priest could succeed at something he himself had already failed?
Sereman, undeterred by Hagen’ti’s cynicism, spoke in an affectionate tone.
“We can bind a pact.”
At that, Eden furrowed her brow. She was well aware of what a pact was; it referred to the pact she had made with Asmun.
So, did that mean Hagen’ti and Sereman had formed a fateful pact?
“The fifth pact.”
The fifth pact. At the familiar term, Eden’s pupils dilated.
She recalled the quiz she had to solve to enter the Abandoned Hall of the Great Temple, which had five answers. Sereman was now speaking about that fifth pact.
“People often think there are only four types of pacts. But there’s actually one hidden pact, so dangerous that no one dares to form it.”
“……”
“The fifth pact is the pact of death. A pact bound by blood, fulfilling the joint goals of the pact makers.”
Hagen’ti’s eyes showed a faint glimmer of interest at this kind and gentle explanation.
As expected, since he hadn’t been educated in the Magic Tower, his information level was likely lower, regardless of his vast magic power. Sereman seized the opportunity to push forward.
“So, you and I can set ‘your death’ as a joint goal.”
As Sereman uttered those horrific words, he still wore a soft smile.
“As a priest, I can’t just stand by and watch you rampage.”
Hagen’ti stared at Sereman for a long moment, then stood up, having confirmed the massive divine power that resided within him.
When Sereman looked at him quizzically, Hagen’ti spoke in a nonchalant tone.
