◈ Episode 229: Tangled Truth (1)
Setadel had a headache.
“John Doe. It wasn’t until you died that I realized for the first time that you were such a good joker. sorry It would have been nice if we had been a little closer.”
[What are you talking about?]
“You said you started talking to someone who was just hiding his identity because he was a fan? Is that also you during the mission?”
[Isn’t that okay? And he’s not just a person who hides his identity!]
said John Doe hotly.
Cetadel was dumbfounded at the emotional reaction that he usually doesn’t see.
‘no. If you think about it, it’s true that he’s not an ordinary person.’
So, after John Doe died, he imitated him and went undetected until now.
Of course, Zero Order noticed right away, but surprisingly, he accepted the fake John Doe as if it were real.
‘If Zero Order was able to evaluate it that way, it would certainly not be an ordinary person.’
How was his behavior at the Owners Synod?
He was obviously fake.
That would have been the first time he had met another First Order on the spot.
However, at the first meeting, he took the mood so naturally against someone who did not know who it was.
Didn’t even the dark-hearted Nikolai tremble at him for giving him a shot?
“… … okay. John Doe. Admit that I made a mistake. As you said, he must be an extraordinary person.”
[I respect Zero Order the most, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who value it highly. All other humans are worms that hold me back, but that person was different.]
“Who is he?”
[I do not know. his identity, his actions. Because very little is known about it. Even I, who had known him for a long time, only knew three of his identities.]
“If you have three, you know a lot, don’t you? What did you find out?”
[Phantom thief Arsene Lupine, detective Vidoc. And the last one is one of the main players who led the Utah kingdom’s civil war to victory a while ago.]
“If it’s the leading role that led to victory, no way.”
[A mercenary who made achievements that even the famous Monarch Mercenary Corps could not achieve. The one who finally turned the cornered faction of the princess into a victor. Mercenary Machiavelli.]
“… … .”
The name Machiavelli has also been heard by Setadel.
One day, a mercenary suddenly appeared in the cold northern kingdom where civil war broke out.
Armed with all kinds of weapons, a fighter who trampled the battlefield more brutally than any wizard or knight.
“That man was Machiavelli?”
[Yes. And for some reason, she abandoned her identity as Machiavelli and boarded the Demon Engineering Train disguised as a wealthy merchant.]
“… … What is the possibility that he was targeting you?”
[I can’t be sure because I don’t dare to know what’s inside him, but I can’t see it as unlikely.]
“… … .”
Setadel pondered.
For now, the person called John Doe decided to call himself Ludgar, his current identity.
‘Ludger Chelsea. Did he know that John Doe got on the magic train and boarded the same seat?’
No matter how much I thought about it, there was no way that the two of them could have met by chance.
It would be fair to say that at least one person deliberately approached.
‘In addition, he changed his identity after the train terrorism.’
John Doe is caught in an explosion and thrown out of the train, after which the train terror is subdued by the Knights of Cold Steel.
in the midst of that chaotic event.
It is unknown to anyone that a man named Ludgar Celish has usurped John Doe’s identity.
‘Thinking of it like that makes me fall in love with it. Ludgar Celish hijacked John Doe’s identity after the train attack. The process must have been so secret and natural that even the Knights of Cold Steel did not get caught. He must have known in advance that such an event would happen and prepared for it.’
Then what is his purpose?
A person whose true identity is unknown has taken the position of an executive of the Black Dawn Society.
In a way, it’s like a ticking time bomb that doesn’t know when it will explode.
‘Why did the Zero Order want to keep such a dangerous person by his side?’
Setadel is Zero Order’s lieutenant, but he doesn’t know what Zero Order is thinking.
Zero Order was such an existence.
Without revealing his thoughts to his closest associates.
No matter how many of his subordinates die, he doesn’t even get angry at it.
Because it was such a zero order, it was understandable to accept Rudger as John Doe.
‘Maybe this is an opportunity.’
Just as Cetadel thought so, John Doe’s spirit opened its mouth.
[Are all your questions answered now?]
“iced coffee. okay. I think she knows what’s going on.”
[Anyway, I’m glad you came to visit me even now. Even though my body is dead, only my soul remains, but if you tell the truth to Zero Order, that’s enough.]
profit.
Putting on a hood, Setadel gave a deep smile.
“I’m sorry, but that won’t work.”
[what?]
Before I could feel the strangeness of those words, Cetadel moved first.
with my daughter
At the same time as the clear sound of a bell resounded, silver chains bound John Doe’s soul.
[What are you doing! Thetadel!]
“What are you doing? You’re asking something obvious. I am doing what I have to do.”
[what?]
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“The order Zero Order gave me was to come here and find you dead. You didn’t give orders what to do after that.”
[What are you talking about!]
“I don’t have any intention of explaining why. To put it simply, that’s it. You don’t need it anymore.”
John Doe opened his eyes.
However, no matter how hard he tried, his soul could not escape the chains.
“There is no point in resisting. The chains that bind the soul are not so easy to break free of.”
[Setade EELL!!!]
“John Doe. Good job so far. Get some rest.”
Cetadel shook the bell as it was.
that was the last
The silver chain was gone, and John Doe’s soul was gone too.
John Doe’s corpse was scattered to dust as soon as the spirit disappeared.
Setadel, who watched the scene to the end, eventually came out of the cave.
The blizzard stopped before I knew it, and beams of light poured through the cracks in the parting clouds.
‘No matter what Rudger Celisch’s identity is, there’s nothing wrong with his existence to me.’
There was a high possibility that he would have taken care of Esmeralda hiding in Ceorn.
The enemy of your enemy is your ally.
“Please. An unknown man.”
Setadel muttered as she walked slowly through the snow.
“please. Kill Zero Order.”
* * *
“It’s annoying. It’s really annoying.”
A young man, Nikolai, sitting inside an ornate office, crossed his arms and tapped his forearm with his fingers.
He recalled the order synod that had taken place not too long ago.
The humiliation of that day was so deeply embedded in his brain that he could not forget it even if he tried to forget it.
Even now, when he recalled the insult John Doe had inflicted on him that day, he would clenched his fist involuntarily.
“Why didn’t he die? Was that not enough?”
When John Doe boarded the magic engineering train from the Northern Kingdom to the Exilion Empire.
Nikolai picked up on the information and moved without anyone noticing.
Liberation Army.
He leaked secret information to them.
There are nobles on board the magic engineering train that will arrive soon, so get rid of them all.
At the same time, so that the liberation army could easily break into the train, they even planted a spy to help break in from the inside.
Through the sudden raid, he planned to eliminate John Doe, who had been bothering him before.
But his plan failed spectacularly.
John Doe was not killed, and the train raid had no significant results.
‘The joining of the Cold Steel Knights should have been after all the incidents were over. failed nonetheless. Are the Liberation Army guys much more useless than I thought?’
It can’t be.
How many wizards were put into that train?
There was even a guy who took a stimulant to commit a suicide bombing at the cost of his own life.
Even so, he failed to kill John Doe.
There is only one reason.
‘John Dow was much stronger than I thought.’
I thought he was a guy who rose to the ranks of the First Order simply by being a little good at disguise.
John Doe has often avoided battles while performing his duties, and even if he fought, he showed his skills only against a job he could definitely win.
At least that’s what John Doe has shown so far.
There, Nikolai noticed that John Doe’s personal strength was insignificant.
He may have wanted to hide it, but his eyes couldn’t be fooled.
‘So I thought I’d prepare as much as possible and get rid of it by accident.’
John Doe is not dead.
He was hiding his skills.
I thought he had prepared thoroughly, but this was his calculation mistake.
‘A loach-like fellow. Could it be that all of the actions he has shown so far were just to deceive others?’
It never occurred to me that he would deliberately hide his power and reveal it only when he really couldn’t help it.
‘Besides, what the hell is that information power?’
He knew something he didn’t know yet.
Moreover, since John Doe entered Ceorn, his actions have been unreadable.
As Ceorn’s teacher, he was doing his job properly, but that was all Nikolai could know.
Didn’t you know that he immediately got rid of the Lederbelk branch’s laboratory?
‘Besides, I knew that Casey Selmore was targeting our Dawn. Is his information power superior to mine?’
I can not admit it.
I don’t know anything else, but I didn’t want to admit that I was pushed behind in information power.
If the.
Very if that’s true.
I absolutely had to kill him.
‘I want to kill him right away, but… … .’
Nikolai shook his head.
‘I can’t do that now. John Doe is hiding his powers. I can’t say for sure that what he showed me now is everything.’
Rather, considering what he showed at the Owners Synod, there must be a few more hidden tiles.
Rather, I could have acted hastily and fallen into a trap set by him.
‘Maybe he’s waiting for that.’
Since Nikolai was seeking his own safety, he decided to stop thinking about what to do with John Doe right away.
But that meant holding on for now, not giving up.
Because the resentment of that day still remained like a stigma deep in his heart.
‘It’s better Just by dealing with him indirectly like that, I’m no longer satisfied with my last name.’
It must have been cool inside, but that was all.
Considering what happened to him, getting rid of it with someone else’s hand is too merciful.
‘John Doe. I will definitely kill you with my own hands.’
Opportunity comes anytime.
So for now, as an officer of the Black Dawn, let’s do what we have to do.
“It is me.”
When Nikolai called, the answer came back through the crystal ball.
[Did you call. Nikolai.]
“I have one person to deal with.”
[Who is that? We will deal with it right away.]
“That’s a good answer. However, this opponent will not be so easy.”
[Who are you to say that?]
“The target this time is Casey Selmore. He is a user of the single element of water and a wizard who received the title of color in the Mage Tower.”
[The Magician of Color. That would be pretty troublesome. All right. We will move after being fully prepared.]
“yes. I can trust your skills.”
With those words, just as Nikolai was about to end the communication, a subordinate hurriedly called him from beyond the crystal ball.
[Nikolai. There is one more thing I need to tell you.]
“What is it?”
[That, that.]
Unusually, the subordinate, who was reporting anything like a knife, hesitated.
Nikolai narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t be shy and speak up. After hearing it, I will make a decision.”
[That, please don’t be surprised. Just a few days ago, a secret branch that Nikolai-sama was preparing disappeared entirely.]
“… … What did you say just now?”
[That, that… … An entire branch has disappeared.]
“Has the branch disappeared? suddenly? Is that possible?”
[I don’t know the details. Seeing that contact with them was cut off, I wondered if they had all been affected.]
“… … All right. What has already happened cannot be undone. Take care of what you are told to do first.”
[yes.]
“Then, thank you for your hard work.”
After completing the communication, Nikolai sighed and exhaled.
Then, as if in a fit, he violently whipped his head with his hand.
‘What the hell happened again!’
One of the Black Dawn’s branches under his command is gone?
Who the hell got rid of it?
‘Could it be John Doe?’
If there was a possibility, it was only the guy’s work.
Knowing this hand that no one else knows about, being able to get rid of it without anyone knowing about it.
Because there was only John Doe right now.
‘John Doe! You damn bastard!’
It seemed that revenge would take a little longer.
* * *
‘what?’
After returning from the Arcane Chamber, Ludger, who was organizing his papers in his room, raised his head.
‘Who called me?’
Seeing that his ears were strangely itchy, it seemed that someone else was calling his name anxiously.
But it’s not just one or two people like that.
Rudger went back to organizing the thesis.
‘Oh.’
Rudger remembered something he had forgotten just in time.
‘I should give you a warning.’
He pulled out an empty piece of stationery.
