"Ah!!!"
Amidst a pool of blood, Sayaka Kirasaka spun sideways, delivering a kick to Gardos's back that sent him crashing to the ground. She pressed her foot onto his back and drove her massive sword against the side of his neck, forcing Gardos to grit his teeth and clamp his mouth shut despite the pain.
"Sayaka… when did she get this strong?"
Lying on Cid's back, Yukina Himeragi's jaw nearly dropped as she watched Sayaka Kirasaka take down an entire group of Therianthropes in just over ten seconds.
During her stay on Itogami Island, she had sparred with Sayaka Kirasaka a few times. Though she had mostly lost, she had managed to win a few bouts—but judging by Sayaka Kirasaka's current display, those wins must have been because Sayaka had been holding back.
"That's right. I was able to infiltrate so smoothly thanks largely to Kirasaka's help along the way. Otherwise, the Therianthropes we ran into would have captured me long ago."
Cid nodded, speaking in a tone of genuine praise toward Sayaka Kirasaka.
"S-somewhat improved…"
Her expression stiffened slightly. Fully aware of where this sudden power came from, Sayaka Kirasaka averted her gaze and shifted the conversation.
"What should we do now? The scent of blood is too strong to hide. We'll be discovered soon."
"I don't know."
"Huh?"
Startled by Cid's reply, Sayaka Kirasaka stared at him.
"Then why did you tell me to attack just now? If the leader of these terrorists discovers us and realizes our intentions, he could use what we're after to blackmail us…"
"Well… I don't know what you're looking for, but the so-called terrorist leader you mentioned is right under your feet."
A weak voice came from the ground. Cid and Sayaka Kirasaka turned to see the only Human among this group of Therianthropes.
"There. That's why I told you to act. My friend is right here among these Beastmen."
Nodding toward Asagi Aiba's direction, Cid stepped forward, pushed aside the few Therianthrope corpses near him, and pulled her out.
"Cid! What are you doing here?"
Leaning against the wall, Asagi Aiba recognized her rescuer and asked, confused.
"I came to rescue you. I saw you walking among these Beastmen in handcuffs along the way and sensed something was off, so I followed you here."
"This… I've really made a fool of myself."
Her expression darkened, and Asagi Aiba felt like crying but couldn't.
"You can explain everything later. If I'd followed you and known you weren't a criminal but had been kidnapped, I wouldn't have thought that."
Patting her shoulder, Cid reassured her with a deliberately lighthearted tone.
"It's not that simple. Back then, there were a bunch of people filming. Once I get out, I'll have to coordinate my story with the Gigafloat Management Corporation and deal with my… Never mind. Anyway, thanks, Cid. I'll remember this favor."
Sighing, Asagi Aiba thought about having to deal with the Gigafloat Management Corporation and her father once she got out, and felt completely overwhelmed.
"We can talk about favors later. Right now, I'm more curious why these terrorists kidnapped you. Was it for ransom?"
A probing look flashed in Cid's eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips as he watched her from a blind spot she couldn't see.
To be honest, he had long been curious about Asagi Aiba's true identity. A Magical Art capable of influencing fate and luck, hinting at an extraordinary background. A hidden mastery of a spellcaster's power—truly an Eminence in Shadow.
"What else could it be? They wanted to use my status as a Gigafloat Management Corporation employee to cover their tracks. I had no choice. To save my life, I had to temporarily comply and work for them."
Asagi Aiba said this naturally, as if it were the truth, but…
Cid's nostrils twitched. He drew a slow breath and exhaled.
It smelled like a lie.
The thought that she still wouldn't trust him, even though he had risked his life to save her, made Cid feel a pang of sadness. Only an Eminence in Shadow could truly conceal their identity. Anyone else trying to hide would still fall within the calculations of an Eminence in Shadow.
"Speak up. Where's Yukina's antidote?"
"Ah!"
The massive sword swept across the ground, severing one of Gardos' arms. The pain forced him to scream, blood gushing from the wound and splattering the floor.
But the next second, the broad side of the sword slammed into his face, cutting off his screams.
Even after such a beating, Gardos remained lucid, refusing to utter a single word. He knew that the only thing that could save his life now was Yukina Himeragi's antidote. Revealing its location would be certain death. His goal was to stall—buying time until the two Evil Dragons realized something was wrong.
The earlier screams had drawn the attention of Asagi Aiba and Cid. Turning to look, they saw the bloody scene unfold.
"What's happening?"
"One of our comrades has been poisoned. To find the antidote, we had no choice but to interrogate this terrorist leader."
Cid explained to Asagi Aiba.
"I see. Unlock the Anti-Magic Shackles for me. I can make him reveal where the antidote is."
Hearing this, Cid signaled Sayaka Kirasaka to stop. After searching Gardos' body, he found a key.
Once the handcuffs were opened, Asagi Aiba's pale, exhausted complexion visibly improved. She stretched her limbs, strode forward toward Gardos, and slapped him across the face.
"Kidnapping, huh? Burning bridges, huh? Dining and dashing, huh? You were acting so cocky before—come on, show me how cocky you are now…"
Each slap landed heavier than the last, until finally Asagi Aiba even started pounding Gardos with her fists.
"Asagi Aiba, I know you're angry about being kidnapped, but don't kill him—we still need him to find the antidote."
Seeing that Gardos was on the verge of being beaten to death, Cid stepped forward and restrained her, reminding her what mattered most.
"Ahaha, sorry. This guy really gave me a hard time earlier, so I got a little carried away. I'll make him tell us where the antidote is right now."
Scratching her head, Asagi Aiba explained awkwardly, then pressed her hand against Gardos's beast-like head.
A strange magical array appeared on the back of her hand, glowing dark purple as Magical Power surged through it.
As the array took effect, Gardos's emotions spiraled violently. He thrashed like a fish out of water, eyes bloodshot, almost bulging from their sockets.
By the time the array dissipated, Gardos was completely dazed, his body curled on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, his gaze vacant.
"All right. Now, no matter what we ask him, he'll answer truthfully."
Standing and clapping her hands in satisfaction, Asagi Aiba turned to report the results to Cid.
"You… what kind of magic is that?"
Narrowing her eyes, Sayaka Kirasaka gripped her massive sword, watching Asagi Aiba warily.
The runes Asagi Aiba had just used didn't match any known magical school's foundational patterns, and she had never heard of such a spell.
This meant it was either a creation of a master mage or the result of Asagi Aiba's own research.
While magic isn't inherently good or evil, anyone capable of developing mind-control magic like this certainly wasn't someone to trust.
Truth be told, combined with the dim lighting, the power Asagi Aiba had just demonstrated didn't make her look like a good person at all.
"Uh… well, I bought it on the Netheril Black Market."
Averting her gaze, Asagi Aiba turned her head, too embarrassed to meet Sayaka Kirasaka's eyes.
"…Never mind. I'll pretend I didn't see that. But a word of advice: you'd better not buy too much from the Netheril Black Market. Everything there is contraband."
Hearing this, Sayaka Kirasaka nodded thoughtfully. If the magic came from the Netheril Black Market, it made sense—there were all kinds of dangerous items there.
After a moment of silence, given the urgency of the situation, she decided to let it slide and let Asagi Aiba off with just a warning.
"Don't worry, don't worry…"
Asagi Aiba laughed, brushing it off. Cid ignored the minor incident, crouched down, and lifted Gardos's head.
"Where's the antidote?"
"Ah-ba… ah-ba…"
Gardos's gaze was vacant, and his words were slurred and indistinct.
Cid frowned, noticing something was wrong—Gardos's vocal cords had been damaged.
"His vocal cords seem to have been destroyed."
"That's impossible!"
Sayaka Kirasaka reacted instinctively. She had indeed struck Gardos's throat to stop him from calling for help, but she had controlled her strength and hadn't damaged his vocal cords.
"Does it matter? His arms have been severed too. He can't even show us where the antidote is."
"Damn it!"
Stopping Sayaka Kirasaka from striking again, Cid paused for a moment, then turned to Asagi Aiba.
"Asagi, are you sure this Beastman will obey every command we give them?"
"Uh… this is the first time I've used this spell since buying it, but according to the instructions, yes. As long as he isn't subjected to strong sensory stimulation, he'll do whatever we tell him."
"Then there's no problem."
Satisfied with her answer, Cid snapped his fingers and looked down at Gardos.
"Take us to where the antidote is kept."
Gardos stood up, his vacant eyes fixed ahead, ignoring the still-bleeding wounds on his severed arms, and moved at a normal pace.
Seeing this, Asagi Aiba and Sayaka Kirasaka hurried to follow behind him.
After walking a short distance, Sayaka Kirasaka glanced at Asagi Aiba and deliberately slowed her pace to catch up with Cid, leaning in to whisper.
"Hey, can you really trust this friend of yours?"
"What? You don't trust Asagi? Is it because of that magic?"
Raising an eyebrow, Cid lowered his voice.
"I can't trust her. She's far too suspicious…"
Shaking her head slightly, Sayaka Kirasaka explained.
"It's not really because of that magic. Sure, it's a bit sinister, but knowing it comes from Netheril, that doesn't surprise me.
The problem is the excuse she gave for being captured. It's way too far-fetched. And after reviewing it several times, I'm certain I was careful not to damage this Beastmen's vocal cords. That means the only one who could have done it is her…"
Could it be that the magic didn't actually come from Netheril? The backdoor might have been removed. Those Witches wouldn't do something that foolish. No, they simply don't have that ability.
And why did everyone immediately believe Asagi when she said it came from Netheril? Didn't anyone stop to think? Or has Netheril's reputation really fallen that far? It's starting to feel more and more like some version of America from my past life. Damn it, at this rate, Netheril is doomed sooner or later.
Ranting silently about Netheril in his mind, Cid was certain he hadn't misjudged it. The magic Asagi Aiba had just used had no backdoor.
What's the difference between the original basic magic of the major powers and Netheril's upgraded basic magic?
Aside from the widely known advantages, 30% more power and 30% less mana consumption, from Cid's perspective, there was one more key difference. The advanced version has a backdoor, while the basic version does not.
The Anti-Magic Sphere that Netheril used to threaten the Norse Pantheon when the Magic Knowledge Copyright Protection Act was enacted was built upon this very backdoor.
If the advanced version hadn't become widespread back then, the blackmail wouldn't have worked. But there are no "ifs." The Witches probably thought of this money-making scheme the moment they discovered the advanced versions of the basic spells in The Library, spending over a year developing it.
The major factions lost out unfairly. Who could have expected someone to embed backdoors across multiple magical systems? Even upgrading all foundational spells of an entire system, how could anyone have defended against that?
Who exactly created The Library? They must have been unbelievably idle, with that much free time, they could have wiped out every mage in the world.
As long as this information gap existed, Netheril's victory was inevitable.
At first, the major factions might have suspected Netheril of scheming. But as the first faction to adopt the advanced spells grew stronger, internal competition forced the others to follow suit and update their Magical Arts.
Once every major faction had completed their updates and the upgraded spells had become widespread, stepping forward to extort them was just a blatant scheme. It forced every faction to spend twice the resources, plus a massive patent fee.
Now, if they tried to revert the upgraded spells back to their old basic forms, not only would the process consume massive resources, but the pressure from rival factions would be enormous.
When a member of another faction can use a C-rank upgraded attack spell to break through their own B-rank basic defense, that faction is inevitably doomed to be crushed by competition.
Perhaps, for the time being, this faction can hold out a little longer thanks to its top-tier powerhouses, but how long can that last.
This faction's intelligence will hold no secrets in the eyes of other factions, because despite the same level of difficulty in learning and casting, the S-rank detection barrier they painstakingly set up can be easily bypassed by the enemy with a single S-rank concealment spell.
It has always been the shortest plank that determines how much water a barrel can hold. Netheril's move is equivalent to raising the magical capacity limit of every barrel's planks at once. If you don't keep up, your barrel's capacity is destined to be smaller than the others.
Most importantly, for Netheril, the "planks" representing the magic of other factions haven't actually improved. As long as the backdoor remains, they need only expend a tiny fraction of their Magical Power to render all upgraded Magical Arts—used by anyone other than their own people—completely ineffective within the arena.
Therefore, even after the major factions have weathered the internal competition among other factions, they must still devote equal resources to preparing basic-level instruction and defenses against Netheril.
This is absolutely necessary. While the basic version is still a B-rank spell that can't beat the upgraded C-rank version, at least it allows you to use some magic. If you don't learn it, you'll just have to wait until you face Netheril's forces, when they'll throw an Anti-Magic Sphere your way and ban all your spells.
Then there are the exorbitant patent fees, pure extortion. Yet the upper hand lies with Netheril, refusal is not an option.
Netheril must be raking in a fortune. Not only have they planted backdoors in every magical system, but they also collect exorbitant patent fees in broad daylight. The Basic Version is a joke to them. If they lose while holding a one-version lead, they might as well kill themselves to avoid humiliation.
In the end, the only ones losing out are the major factions and their heirs, extorted for patent fees, forced to spend double the resources on barriers, and facing a doubling of study materials and assignments.
Cid had to admit he was curious which Witch had come up with this scheme. To have drawn inspiration from the "Demon-Repelling Sword Manual joke" he once told, she was truly a genius.
As for whether anyone could dismantle this backdoor on their own, Cid could only say it was difficult. Part of the reason he skipped the basic version and went straight to the core was precisely because of this.
He was confident that even a top-fifteen-ranked expert, fully immersed in Magical Arts, wouldn't be able to dismantle the backdoor of the upgraded magic. The backdoor was fully fused with the upgraded system, and altering it would render the spell unusable.
But if someone's talent were so extraordinary that they could alter the system without touching the Magical Art itself, then consider what I said null. If the system that activates the backdoor is gone, what use is the backdoor.
Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Cid looked at Asagi Aiba ahead and couldn't help but wonder how she had survived this long.
The Magical Art Asagi Aiba had just used was an upgraded version without a backdoor, and it wasn't even a spell recorded in The Library.
What did this mean.
It meant that Asagi Aiba had successfully developed a new system that perfectly matched the upgraded Magical Art, a system capable of completely replacing the old one with its backdoor.
This meant Netheril would stop at nothing to hunt down Asagi Aiba, to prevent her from disrupting their schemes and from writing upgraded Magical Arts without backdoors for other factions.
At this thought, Cid drew in a sharp breath. It seemed he had finally figured out Asagi Aiba's secret.