I observed Maria's expression after giving her my assertion.
"N-Nether...? Isn't that what you said Merlin warned you about?" She mumbled thoughtfully.
"Indeed. I wouldn't have thought that the danger itself was in the Eastern Kingdom—especially a Noble household."
Was the Nether Cult also in possession of the same element? If that was the case, then it could be a war on two ends.
'First things first, though...' I had to get rid of whatever abyss they found to access Nether.
According to both Merlin and the Pope, the world would be destroyed if I allowed Nether—an energy not meant to exist on this plane—to thrive.
"We have to act fast, Maria!"
Things could have progressed past the point of no return, so it was best if we moved as quickly as possible.
"But what exactly do we have to do?"
"First, we get enough information on the Netherlores and what they are up to..."
Deducing from the incident that happened to Maria so many years ago, the Netherlores had been involved with Nether for a while.
'Also, since they separated from the Helmsworth and took on the name of Netherlore, it must have been caused by their exposure to the element...'
"The Royal Family might eventually get involved in this. In the worst case scenario, the Netherlore household could be purged from the Eastern Kingdom."
I heard Maria give a surprised gasp. I understood she didn't understand the severity of the situation.
Even I didn't—at least, not until I recieved my locked memories back.
'It looks like I won our bet, Solomon.' A slight smile formed on my face, but it didn't last lonh.
I calmly grabbed Maria by the shoulder and stared into her eyes.
"I know you're confused. Everything is happening very fast, and there's a lot you don't understand. Don't worry, I'll explain everything as soon as we wrap this whole thing up."
"Everything?"
I nodded at her question.
"We just have to hope that everyone else is fine with their search. We're going to be quite busy with this mess..."
Thankfully, Maria was quick on the uptake. I could still sense worry locked in her eyes, but she pushed it back with determination.
"I understand! Let's do this, then!"
A smile formed on my face, and then I noticed something glow from Maria's grasp.
"Is that—?"
"Ah! Yeah... it's [The Pope] Arcana. It sort of helped me for a bit when you fell unconscious."
'Ah, I see...'
"Here." Maria pointed the card at me, but I quickly shook my head and clasped my two palms on her hand.
"No. Keep it."
"E-eh? Why?"
"Trust me, okay?"
"A-alright..." Maria didn't argue.
I heaved a sigh of relief, happy to have such an understanding partner.
'She must be so confused and shaken right now. I'm surprised she hasn't broken down despite all the overwhelming power she just experienced...'
It showed that Maria had potential. Perhaps she too would develop a connection with the source?
'No. I can't be too sure. Maybe she's just compatible... like Stefan is.'
Too many unanswered questions swirled in my head, but I had to shove them away at the moment.
Layers upon layers of overlapping memories also surfaced. My time with Solomon and Lilith especially reared their head.
The situation demanded I remained focused, though, so I pushed them down.
"Alright, Maria. Let's go."
A bright blue flash of light appeared, and space instantly distorted.
'This place is a research facility used for the purpose of Nether. I'm sure it goes deeper than this. First, I'll clear the building, and then take my time to explore the results they've reached.'
My Automatons had already gotten most of the building's layout, and I knew just where my enemies were situated.
Thanks to the commotion we caused here, a good number of them had to be headed to this location already.
If I didn't act fast, they were going to interrupt my investigation.
A smile formed on my face as I calculated the time and distance it would take for me to finish everything.
The most optimal solution presented itself, and I nodded in approval.
'Alright... why don't we greet them instead?'
>VWUUUUSSSHHH<
*********
Maria was important for another mission, so I dropped her off there before assuming my position in the extermination of the vermin closing in on me.
It honestly didn't take me very long to handle everyone.
Thanks to Anti Magic, I shut down everyone's use of Spells within the entire building. None.of them could even detect me, or offer much resistance when I appeared before them.
The problem was that they were scattered like cockroaches, each group in a different location from the rest.
Those who used regular Magic stood no chance, but a few had access to Original Magic.
Of course, I chose to be careful with those who had achieved such heights of Magic. Not only were they going to be experienced Mages, but their Original Magic's abilities were unpredictable.
As a result, I decided to observe how they functioned by using my Automatons as probes.
Gawain was till under repair, so I used a few of my other reliable Automatons to deal with them.
Most of the enemies were able to go down with sufficient effort since their Original Magic were of no consequence to my creations.
The only few who were challenging were the ones who had portions of Nether with them—either as stages or as darkened rocks.
I had to handle those myself, using the power of [Strength] to face off against them since Mana and Miasma—even Anti-Magic proved ineffective.
Within an hour—most likely even less—I was done cleaning up the entire building chock full of powerful Mages.
Considering the trouble they gave me, they were probably among the elites of the Netherlore Noble Household.
I killed them, of course, and stored their souls with 'The Collector', my trusty Automaton.
Once that was over and done with, I finally returned to the core of the crime—the place emanating the strongest amount of darkness that caused even me to shiver.
"It's a good thing Maria isn't here for this..." I gave a nervous chuckle as I opened the door.
Right before my eyes was the very stuff of nightmares.
"She just might freak out."
