"...Right then. Let's go over the situation once more."
The day after their talks with the neutral noble faction had concluded.
They had all been gathered in the Cathedral's conference room to hammer out the details of the Archbishop faction's subjugation operation.
Surveying the assembled group and presiding over the meeting was the Second Princess, Laila. Though she appeared somewhat displeased, she opened her mouth to deliver the briefing—the operation would fall to Ermes and the others, and she intended to make sure they understood it properly.
"First, let me address the Archbishops we need to take down. Right now, they're at—"
"not the Cathedral, mind you—"
"but at a different base entirely."
"A base?"
"Yes. ...It's not a proper stronghold, of course. That's precisely why Archbishop Johann had tried to build one up north—a proper one, with established supply lines and transportation routes."
And that was precisely why—
"Thanks to you all thwarting that plan... the Archbishop faction is now cornered."
The value their victory had generated—far beyond what anyone had anticipated. Laila went on.
"They've retreated into that 'base' with what remains of their forces. But like I said, there are no supply routes and the location is terrible. They've already rallied nearly all their troops, and we've already sealed the area in an encirclement, so they can't expect any outside rescue."
"...From what I'm hearing, doesn't that mean they're already done for without us even lifting a finger?"
"Exactly. Without supplies, all we have to do is wait for them to wither away. In truth, if we simply maintain the siege, the Archbishop faction will collapse on its own—"
Laila affirmed Ermes's straightforward question, then—
Bluntly stated the reason she still needed their help.
"—
Time is"
infinite"
"If so—"
—is how it goes."
"......I see."
"Oh, you already understand? ...It's helpful that you're quick on the uptake, but it's not very interesting."
Ermes grasped what she was driving at perfectly from that alone.
Laila's displeasure grew slightly at Ermes's reaction. Still, she continued her explanation concisely, hitting the key points.
"Most likely, it's what you're thinking. Even if we were to starve them out, they'd have considerable reserves stockpiled, so waiting for them to run dry would take months. And—"
"—in the meantime, the First Prince's faction... or rather, the 'Organization'... who knows what they'll do."
"Exactly."
Listening to the two of them, Liliana and the others all nodded in understanding.
Yes. Their goal—and probably Laila's as well—was ultimately the reconquest of the Royal Capital. It would be far too optimistic to assume that the First Prince's faction, currently occupying the capital, would sit idle under these circumstances.
In the worst-case scenario, they might even launch an attack on whichever side was besieging that 'stronghold,' temporarily releasing the Archbishop's forces to let the two groups crush each other... That was the kind of scheme they could be hatching. The risk would only spike the longer the subjugation operation dragged on.
In conclusion—every person here agreed that they simply could not afford to spend all their time on the Archbishop alone.
What they needed was a short, decisive battle.
"The troublesome thing is, their 'stronghold' may have a poor location, but its defensive capabilities are extremely high. That's why, until now, we never had enough forces to mount an offensive."
—But now, you're here."
Hearing that much, they could roughly guess what was being asked of them this time.
"So what we're meant to do is..."
"Yes."
Laila nodded, as if confirming Ermes' deduction.
And she relayed the details.
"What we're asking of you is an infiltration of the enemy stronghold by a small, elite team, followed by the elimination of the Archbishops."
"In short — sneak in and take out every last one of their leaders. That's the gist."
...Goes without saying.
The danger was unquestionably extreme. Striking at their stronghold — on their home turf, where they held every advantage — against Archbishops who, by station, and perhaps even in raw power, might rival that Yohan. It was the kind of mission that could end in catastrophe.
But if they could pull it off, the Archbishop faction would be crushed on the spot, and resources could be redirected that much sooner to the operation to retake the Royal Capital.
On top of that, there was the reward for their cooperation. Chrono — the mouthpiece for the neutral noble faction, whom they would need to work with going forward, and who was also present at this meeting — had already given them a remarkably favorable response.
In other words... there was more than enough obligation to justify cooperation, and more than enough incentive to make it worthwhile.
And the current them had enough confidence to say they could do it.
Once Laila saw that every member of the Third Princess faction shared that understanding, she continued.
"The three we need eliminated are Archbishop Gregorio, Archbishop Nicola, and Archbishop Varen."
"Of those — one is to be handled by the neutral noble faction, correct?"
"Yes. It seems they're dispatching my father's most trusted blade — an elite mage."
Chrono, to whom the question had been directed, answered with his characteristically gentle expression.
"We do not serve any single royal, but we have sworn our loyalty to the Crown. The Archbishop faction has already abandoned the royal family. As such — in this time of national crisis, we will show no quarter."
His voice was quiet, yet carried an unfathomable depth that sent a ripple of tension through the room... Regardless, the understanding was clear: one of the three Archbishops would be handled by the neutral noble faction's elite — likely a powerful mage who, much like Chrono, had never shown their face on the public stage.
Which meant...
"So what we'd like the Third Princess faction to take on are the remaining two."
Just as Ermes had predicted, Laila declared.
The Third Princess faction. Ermes, Katia, Sara, Albert, Yurugen, Liliana, Nina... and since the Northern Allied Forces were scheduled to join the subjugation operation soon, Lucius would be included as well. Liliana was suspicious, but they would pit those "individually powerful mages" against the remaining two Archbishops.
Including Chrono, that made roughly four people per Archbishop. Given the numbers and the fact that it was their home turf, the ratio seemed reasonable.
Furthermore, each Archbishop was powerful but also had strong quirks, and because of that, they almost never coordinated with one another.
In order to throw the enemy into chaos and prevent them from banding together — the assault teams for each Archbishop settled on operating separately.
"As for the team assignments, we'll decide those from here on out... At this point, does anyone have any questions?"
And as if she had finished everything she needed to say, Laila cut the conversation there and posed the question.
But Ermes understood.
That Laila had intentionally withheld "certain information" up to this point.
Moreover, given her personality — the information she was withholding likely contained something extraordinary.
The aim was probably to reveal it at the end and throw them off balance.
And so, understanding that he was being steered into asking about it, Ermes opened his mouth. What came out was,
"......
where their
'
stronghold
'
actually is
"
"Yes."
"Your Highness Laila, you intentionally withheld only that particular piece of information. I'd like you to tell us why —"
"Before that —
"
——But.
It wouldn't do to let the meeting proceed while their intentions went unchallenged.
"I've formed some tentative theories about that 'base' — might I be permitted to share them?"
"!"
The very information that Laila had most likely been concealing — Ermes had already deduced it from within the course of the conversation itself.
And now, here, he would lay it bare.
"First, the base is said to be situated in an extremely unfavorable location, with supply lines difficult to secure. In other words, it must be somewhere far removed from any human settlement."
"..."
"Furthermore, you stated that 'the base's defensive capabilities are extremely high.' But that simply doesn't add up. If the location is so remote and devoid of any traffic, there would be little point in going to the trouble of building a sturdy fortress. And the transportation costs alone would be nothing to scoff at."
But then, he recalled.
Laila had not once — that the "base"
was a fortress.
That it was
one — she had never
said so.
What's more, her peculiar choice of words. And from his own experience... even now, having reached this conclusion, he could hardly believe it — yet everything fit. A single, inescapable deduction.
"
"Therefore, the true nature of what Your Highness calls this 'base' —"
A place far removed from human settlements, ideally suited as a defensive stronghold.
A structure that met those conditions — he knew it well. No, everyone in this country knew it well.
It was—
"— It's a Dungeon, isn't it?"
"—!!"
Nearly everyone present was struck dumb.
But if so, it would satisfy the conditions without any contradiction.
After all, a Dungeon was an anomalous structure that appeared from nowhere.
The impression of it being a "Monster's stronghold" may be strong, but... fundamentally, there was no direct correlation between "Dungeons" and "Monsters."
It was simply because the Dungeon's location and structure happened to be convenient as a Monster stronghold, so—
by chance
Monsters
there
settled in
more
often than not—
that was all there was to it.
Therefore, once the Monsters inhabiting it were driven out and steps were taken to prevent others from entering, it was not impossible for something other than Monsters to operate a Dungeon as their base.
But even knowing the logic behind it... even understanding that it would be useful...
To use a Dungeon — which the world believed to be a Monster's lair — as a "human base"... and the people of the Church, of all people, who would loathe such conceptual contradictions above all else.
For Russia, this was something hard to believe.
...Once again, catching a glimpse of what could only be called the darkness of the Church.
Second Princess Laila, having been told of Ermes's reasoning—
"...You really are not adorable at all, you know."
She stared at Ermes with an expression clearly belonging to someone whose plans had been foiled, tinged with a hint of spitefulness.
That expression, more than anything, spoke volumes — it was a bullseye.
Laila continued to glare at Ermes for a time... but eventually, she shrugged her shoulders as if in resignation and spoke with a composed expression.
"...Haa. Well, fine.
You've hit the nail on the head. The 'base' where the Archbishop faction is currently holed up is inside a Dungeon — or rather, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that a modified Dungeon has become the base itself."
"...Modified?"
"That's right. Ah, but let me say upfront — that base is not something thrown together on the spot... If anything, you could say it's the building with the most history in all of the Church."
Even Ermes couldn't hide his surprise at that information.
"Then, let me start fresh. Shall we get to the heart of the matter?"
Before the assembled group, accompanied by a thin smile.
"What you will be heading toward this time — what we'll have you 'clear' — is a structure that was once a Dungeon, now modified. The Church's greatest powder keg: a place where every document, every magical tool, and every secret supply the Church possesses is kept, known only to a select few within the Church itself."
"..."
"Its official name is Modified Dungeon: Hidden Cathedral. But those who can't keep their mouths shut call it this—"
Laila uttered the name, tinged with self-mockery.
"—the Church's 'Shadow Headquarters.'"
Those words served as the opening salvo.
It would lead them to touch upon the darkness of the Church far beyond what they had imagined.
The Archbishop Subjugation Operation, and—
the Dungeon Conquest Operation—
were about to begin.
Starting next time, the absolutely wild Archbishop Subjugation Battle begins! Look forward to it!
And now for an announcement!
We've entered the final week before the March 25th release of Creation Magic, Volume 2!
So, to coincide with this update and the next, I'll be sharing more about the book's contents through my activity reports!
First up, today I've posted a frontispiece illustration from Creation Magic Volume 2 on my activity report.
It's an incredibly beautiful piece, so please do take a look!
Volume 2, just like Volume 1, has been crafted to satisfy all you web readers,
so I'd be truly happy if you'd consider picking up a copy!
As always, thank you for your continued support of "The Reincarnator of Creation Magic"!
[If you could, I'd also appreciate the following:]
If you've been enjoying the story, if you're curious about what happens next, or if you'd like to show your support, please drop a star rating or bookmark using the buttons below!
Star ratings in particular make a huge difference. Just one click would mean the world to me...!!