Hermit Wizard

The Curtain Rises (5)

The sound of engagement and screams rang from all directions.

“It seems to be finished to some extent over there.”

The snake nodded and answered.

“As expected, but the defense is stronger than we thought. There were so many humans in such a small space.”

After listening to the serpent’s words, the invisible man, Noel, counted inside.

How many of these battles were taking place in this country today? Just counting the range that he was aware of, there must be at least ten.

The boss didn’t want to provoke the Russian government’s vigilance by destroying secret bases scattered throughout Russian territory one after another. After spending long-time gathering information, they finally knew all the places located across the country and then chose to strike simultaneously.

Thanks to that, almost all the ‘Guardians of the Great Convention’ executives were mobilized today. The number of apprentices moving together was also huge.

In that scene, it was necessary to take the risk and mobilize the executives as much as possible to take the top priority over all the other piled-up issues.

It meant that what Russia was up to was as dangerous as the organization judged.

Noel and Double-Headed Serpent entered deep inside the secret base that was disguised as an R&D center.

-Sheessssh!

One head of the snake spoke with its tongue sticking out.

“There’s another bunch of idiots behind it.”

Where they stopped was a blind spot where the hallway was broken. The place the snake pointed to was the space beyond the wall. The other side of the head was already aiming before it finished talking. It opened its mouth wide and took a direction.

A white light flashed through its mouth, and it spurted out hard!

-Bang bang!

A dazzling flash struck the wall of the building. The ground shook violently, and dust blew. Bloodied soldiers lay scattered behind the rubble of the collapsed building.

“Aeeeeghh!”

“Kaaaaarghh!”

The screams of the soldiers who saved their lives resonated in chaos.

While entering, more soldiers gathered than before to see how prepared they were. Luckily, not only did they save their lives, but some of the soldiers with a decent body pushed their guns at them.

“You monster! bastard!”

“Kill it!”

The muzzle breathed fire.

-Bang bang bang bang bang bang!

However, the soldiers didn’t notice. As soon as the survivors were identified, the snake’s eyes shone blue as it snuck its tongue around, then an invisible shield was created in front of the Double-Headed Serpent.

-Peepeeeeng! Peengpeeeng!

When the magic curtain bounced off all the bullets, Noel ran out, bypassing the shield.

The warrior, hiding in the air, jumped among the enemies. He saw the face of a terrified soldier. Noel’s hand cut the wind, making a sharp sound.

-Poock!

“Humph…!”

The face distorted in fear, was crushed effortlessly, and blood splattered.

Seeing him hit by something invisible, the other soldier opened his mouth as if he was trying to scream. However, before he could even scream, Noel smashed his neck with a kick and crushed his heart with a fatal punch.

The soldiers defending the base suddenly collapsed one by one as if being beaten by an invisible hammer, and the meat scraps burst out. It took less than a few seconds to deal with all the soldiers present in the vicinity.

“This was the last line of defense.”

There was a thick iron gate behind dozens of corpses. That was probably the destination.

Noel looked at the Double-Headed Serpent.

These two heads, which shared a body, hadn’t given a name to distinguish each other over the years. They referred to themselves as “Amphisbaena” when asked about either of them, and that name was only useful when they were called an individual of the body.

Thus, the Guardians of the Great Convention had come up with nicknames that distinguish these heads. Many nicknames had been given over time. However, on that day, in the 21st century, the nickname one that emitted white flash from its mouth was heard.

“Blaster, please.”

“Okay.”

The head on the side called Blaster nodded. Then it opened its mouth and began to gather strength with it.

“Khaarrrghhhhh!”

-Boom!

A ray of light that had just made humans into the bloodied mess was emitted from its mouth, and the iron door was crumpled and burst like it was made of paper. They stepped inside without hesitation, and the view of the interior came into their eyesight.

“… These crazy guys.”

The man spat out a curse word.

Today, the Guardians of the Great Convention mobilized a large number of personnel to raid these secret workplaces all over the country at once. In preparation for a runaway, Russia didn’t drive training centers in one place but distributed them throughout the country. So, it took longer to figure it out.

Blaster spoke unpleasantly.

“… It’s so vicious. It’s a scene you can’t see with your eyes open.”

The invisible man frowned unwittingly. He wasn’t as good as the snake right next to him, but he was confident he was lived quite a while. However, no matter how much he watched this scene, he didn’t get used to it.

What unfolded before his eyes was a site for quenching to give maximum pain without inflicting a threat to life. The targets being subjected were those who had already received basic training as wizards. Among them were the personnel selected by the

Flicker, who shared the body with the Blaster, was another snakehead who spat out swearing.

“Wow! Oh, shit, I can’t see it. Why do humans continue to do that after thousands of years? They’d rather eat it! They’re not even going to eat it. What the hell is that?”

“What do you mean? You were ‘born’ a few decades ago, not thousands of years ago? It sounds as if you’ve seen humans for that long, so it’s ridiculous.”

“Sigh! Yes, you rotten bastard. Thanks to you, this side of the head was torn off 40 years ago. Thank you for reminding me, but my memories of my past life are almost all in my soul.”

Noel frowned as he watched the snakeheads fighting again.

“All of you are a problem, but fighting each other until this moment is the biggest problem. Shut up!”

The man looked around inside. There was an operating table in a row of people confined naked on top of it.

It smelled of blood and grime, like a surgery room which wasn’t cleaned – ever.

Some had electrodes plugged into all mucous membranes and holes in their body, others had long cuts from the neck to the genitals, and the organs inside were clearly visible, while others had their heads and brains opened and pierced through with something sharp.

The man watching the scene asked the Double-Headed Serpent.

“… What do you think? Is it what Eugene said?”

Flicker replied with its tongue hanging out.

“… Right. They just don’t react. All of them are clearly conscious. Even if they can’t move, their body and senses are alive. It’s magic.”

The man frowned invisibly.

It was like awakening during some kind of anesthesia. They couldn’t even lift a single finger despite feeling the extreme pain that violated their body.

Reflective reactions such as screams and scuffles would have a mild pain-dispersing effect, but unfortunately, those who were there weren’t allowed to do so. Humans couldn’t make even a tiny sound even though their flesh was shredded and torn alive. There was deep despair in the sight that couldn’t express one’s pain in any way.

“According to Eugene’s guess. It’s not just about causing physical pain!”

Noel agreed with Blaster.

“… Right. Its purpose is to make them fall into bottomless despair. But it’s weird. They’d go crazy in less than a day if they were treated like this.”

The man looked around him for a moment, and he said as if he was sure of something.

“I see. They can always recover.”

Blaster asked back.

“What do you mean?”

“All the humans caught here are wizards, and even from the government standpoint, if they die or go crazy, it will be their loss. Given that, the torture going on here is too intense. Let’s say they’re splitting up his stomach. If they put an awl in his brain like that, he won’t be able to recover with human technology.”

Another scene that convinced the man was a wizard who had his toes burning on a torch. He seemed to be in his early twenties. The blond young man, whose body was fixed on the operating table, felt extreme pain as if his brain was melting, but without even a slight convulsion, with an expressionless face, only tears dripped from his eyes.

Rather, if the leg was cut cleanly, it could be reattached, but it couldn’t be revived ever with human technology if it was burned that way.

Yes, with human technology.

“They’re not abandoning the wizards here. Paradoxically, they’re doing that for later use. However, it is difficult to electrify with permanent obstacles left in the body. Then, in the end, whether they have become a body or a spirit, they can ‘recover’ it.”

Neither that level of medicine nor that level of magic was present in humans on Earth.

Flicker stretched its tongue and pointed in one direction with the tip of its tongue. Noel looked at it, and he measured the direction and distance and jumped off in no time.

An invisible blow hit the shadows in the corner of the lab.

-Boom!

The concrete floor was dented, and a bizarre creature cried out in a shady corner where no one had looked before.

-Kweeeeeeeeeck

There was a hole in the shoulder of the alien that revealed its hidden appearance. Noel slowly lifted it, piercing its body with his transparent arm.

The alien opened its three mouths and screamed constantly. At the same time, it attempted to communicate telepathically.

=Stop! =

“Huh?”

Noel didn’t care and gave strength to the arms that pierced the body of the alien. The muscles swelled and the holes enlarged. Beyond the concept of simple blood, fluorescent liquids of together, it was a race that carried out biological activity through several kinds of circulating fluids.

Liquids flowed down over the flesh of the alien and the transparent skin of Noel. Now, Noel’s body looked like a CG dummy describing the nervous system in a medical documentary.

-Kweeeeeeeeeck

The alien screamed and then threw up telepathy again.

=Stop! Your actions are now interpreted as a violation of the mutual cooperation agreement concluded between the Earth dimension ‘Russian Federation’ and the Kalyshkhum-Deaum Dimension ‘Yamgireum Apostolic State.’ And you notified us that this ‘training center’ may be subject to Russian public authorities’ punishment! =

It rolled the meaning of telepathy, which was transmitted roughly and quickly, in its mind, and in the end, Flicker asked as if it couldn’t understand.

“What bullshit are you talking about?”

Noel answered its question without lowering the arms that raised the alien.

“It is said we’re all over with the Russian government to make and run this mess.”

=Y-Yes! =

Whether it was judged to be a conversation partner, the urgency and a little bit of hope were mixed in the alien race’s telepathy.

=According to the agreement, the Russian government is required to punish humans at the global level who have committed any hostilities against this ‘training center.’ In particular, it is strictly forbidden to do any harm to saints like us! According to the agreement, you will be punished more than allowed by Russian domestic law, so please withdraw immediately before increasing any more sins! =

Noel, who was enjoying the telepathy, responded.

“… Hmm, what about this? We are not citizens of this country…”

The alien race shot it as if it had expected it.

=Whoever you may be, the Russian Federation will bring harsh retaliation! =

It continued to say whether it concluded that Noel, who didn’t show up, and Amphisbaena, who didn’t appear to be an ordinary Earth creature, were from a different dimension.

=I don’t know which country on Earth you are connected to, but according to the agreement we made, the Russian Federation will punish no matter who it is…=

“… Hey.”

Noel, who was listening, calmly blocked the telepathy of the alien race. Then he spat out his words coldly.

“That agreement, is it fair?”

=W-What do you mean?!=

“Is the Russian government properly aware? The purpose of this experiment.”

Noel looked around. Human wizards were suffering from irresistible pain.

=… This is something the Russian Federation government has already agreed on! Reinforcing mental power through extreme pain is a vision that comes down to our Yamgireum Apostolic State! =

“By giving pain and destroying the body right before death, then recovering it, and rebuilding the mind when going crazy?”

=This is the way to develop quality wizards faster than any other country on Earth, and there are already successful cases…=

Noel once again cut off the thought of the alien, and he spoke to the alien race in a colder voice.

“Have you just explained that? About this filthy thing of trying to ‘cross the wall’ by stimulating the soul with pain?”

=…=

The alien stopped screaming like it had forgotten the pain. It opened its three mouths at that moment because of the horror, and it spat out a confusing thought.

=Uh… how could you?!=

“If you had been quietly building schools, sending instructors, and raising wizards in a normal way just like other alien races in other countries, we would not have flocked together like this. Why are you bothering me by doing this useless thing? Do you know how much work has been pushed by other countries for cleaning up Russia now?”

The alien trembled as if it was unbelievable.

=That… that’s…=

At that time, apprentices rushed into the laboratory; they had cleaned up all the secret base’s external forces.

Flicker turned its head towards them and instructed.

“There is only one alien that was hiding here. Start collecting!”

The apprentices took the wizards from all over the lab. They moved them outside, following the executive’s instructions, and even when it saw it, the alien didn’t dare resist and was shivering.

Looking down at it, Noel said quietly.

“The really annoying part of you guys… this method is dirty, but it’s not another method that makes any difference at all. Other than those temporary reinforcements that the Russian government manipulated as a success… There may be people who cross the wall, although the odds are really, really low… After all, our boss is a man who thinks that the risk is either 0 or 100 only.”