Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 292
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 292
62. Crossing the Line (2)
My reaction to Selin's report was not an expression of anger or a sense of crisis, but of interest.
The reason was that I had momentarily forgotten I had ordered an investigation into the bombing terrorism.
It couldn't be helped, given that I had been out of my mind thanks to Arcia's childbirth and Kalisia's childcare.
So when I heard Selin's report, I thought, 'Right, that was a thing, wasn't it?' as the memory came back to me, and only then did I show interest.
"We are currently focusing on searching the surroundings. My guess is they're hiding in an underground bunker. The problem is that the number of bunkers built by the government and civilians within Baghdad is considerable."
Having arrived in Baghdad, Iraq, I nodded at Selin's follow-up report before soon raising a question.
Because I could easily spot Blue Moon agents busily moving about here and there.
The number of agents deployed was considerable as well, and with people like them moving about so busily, it felt as though they were advertising that they were conducting an investigation here.
"Aren't you searching too conspicuously?"
"We're deliberately giving off signs. When we first visited, the culprit wasn't certain yet."
"Ah, so you did that to see the opponent's reaction? If those bastards make a fuss and move about busily, then the culprit is as good as confirmed."
"That's right."
Not bad.
It's just that she's overshadowed by people who are so outstanding, but Selin was quite good at handling things.
I looked at the spot stained with a dark red liquid, as though paint had been spread across the floor.
'Well, if someone would commit suicide with an explosion ending, there's no room for doubt.'
I immediately used revival magic.
To bring a dead person back with revival magic, you need either the place where the person died or a part of their body.
In that sense, this place, with blood and entrails plastered all over the ground, satisfied both conditions, so the revival took place very quickly.
"Huh? I was definitely?"
Most people show a similar reaction when they are revived after dying.
I smirked and grabbed the bastard's face with my hand, lifting him up.
Torture? Recruitment?
There's no need for such things now.
I can just look inside his head.
"Keuk! Y-you are?"
"Just shut up for a bit."
I put strength into the hand gripping the opponent's face.
Although he was originally a Mage, since becoming one of the god race his physical abilities had left the human range behind, so even with just a little force, the bastard writhed in pain.
"Guk!"
"So that's how it is."
As I gathered information directly from Mustafa's head, I curled up the corners of my mouth with an expression mixing bewilderment and admiration.
"Enki, or should I say Ea? He's a bastard who knows how to scheme in many ways."
"Is there a problem?"
I threw the bastard named Mustafa to Selin and answered.
"Yeah, the moment the bomb implanted in this man exploded, measures were put in place so that memories related to Ea would be wiped away too."
"Hah..."
"No wonder he's the god of wisdom. Does this mean he had revival in mind?"
Selin lightly caught Mustafa, whom I had thrown.
"Restrain him for now. He still seems useful."
"Yes, understood."
"I'll head straight to Ea's base. You can withdraw the agents now."
"But acquiring information through memories yielded nothing, so..."
"If we scrape together the remaining memories, we can infer at least the main base."
"Ah, understood. Then we will withdraw."
The key information related to Ea had been wiped, but that didn't mean there were no clues.
Then Selin bowed to me and stepped away, gripping the scruff of the struggling Mustafa's neck.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
I held out my hand to Arcia, who was with me as always.
She smiled and placed her hand over mine, and based on Mustafa's memories, I inferred the enemies' main base and calculated its coordinates.
The calculation, almost instantaneous, ended, and along with the floating sensation unique to spatial teleportation, the surrounding scenery changed.
From the middle of the city center to a park lush with greenery.
"As Selin guessed, they were hiding in an underground bunker."
"So that's why it wasn't easily detected."
Arcia and I talked while looking at the ground of the park we had arrived in.
A fairly large bunker was buried underground.
Using light penetration magic, we delved into the ground and managed to enter the damp, chilly interior of the bunker, which was permeated with a musty smell.
The air in a sealed space does not circulate and stays trapped there.
The same goes for the energy of special abilities.
If one deliberately conceals their energy and hides within a space surrounded by iron plates and thick concrete, even I would have no choice but to struggle to easily detect the being who caused this incident.
"You went to great lengths in many ways."
[Of course.]
While looking around the inside of the bunker like that, an unfamiliar voice came from a speaker installed on the wall.
"Is that you, Ea?"
[Correct.]
What a funny fellow.
I twisted the corner of my mouth at Ea's playful response.
"What's the reason you went out of your way to speak to me when you're a fugitive?
I've already confirmed that no human presence can be felt inside the bunker.
That means, in other words, they've already fled.
At my question, Ea erased the playfulness and answered gravely.
[I have no intention of opposing you. Can't we get along amicably?]
I let out a hollow laugh.
Most of Mustafa's memories had been wiped away by Ea's measures.
But there was something I could clearly sense, including the terrorism plan.
That was none other than the hostility toward me.
If the collaborator assisting Ea is in that state, could the man himself really be any different?
"You should say that kind of thing face to face."
[I feel like I'd get caught if I did.]
"You know it well."
We soon reached the deepest part of the underground bunker.
That place had holes carved through the walls, the floor, and the ceiling alike, as if scooped out with a knife.
It seems they evaporated the space to conceal what kind of place it had been.
[I heard you are a being for peace.]
"That's right, but I'm also a judge who eliminates threats to the maintenance of peace."
[Does that mean I'm also subject to judgment?]
"We'll have to see the situation. Don't worry too much. I'm not a scary person who harms just anyone."
While surveying the surroundings, I confirmed that something had been caught by Myriad Mirror.
[Mithril fragment]
It was attached to the evaporated wall's rebar like a corroded piece of concrete.
Mithril in a place like this?
My interest grows even more.
I spoke to Ea, who was putting on a show of being pitiful, as a warning.
"It seems you're quite interested in Rondel's technology?"
[....]
"Think it over carefully. Being captured and turning yourself in can't help but be treated differently. And I happen to treat technicians very well."
For a mythical being who lives off their own pride, one might call them arrogant, but Ea was not like that.
It means they properly grasp the situation and combat strength on this side.
[I'm sorry, but I still have a lot I want to do for Earth. I cannot accept your proposal.]
"For Earth?"
[The peace you advocate is oppression. True peace comes only when Earth and Rondel stand in equal positions. So please, I hope you will understand my intent.]
With those words, no further reply came.
"You speak well."
The peace I advocate is oppression...
Honestly, it wasn't wrong.
The current peace was something I had created by suppressing everything with force.
That said, I have no intention of playing along with that fellow's words.
I have my own plans too, and to those plans, irregulars like Ea are nothing but obstacles.
"What should we do?"
Since the fellow has fled, the investigation must proceed again.
The problem is the fact that next time, they will hide even deeper.
It means finding Ea will become even more difficult.
However, there is no need to worry.
"Just knowing who the culprit is, that alone is a big gain."
Now that the culprit is confirmed, there are as many response methods as needed.
* * *
As soon as Ea learned that the bomb planted inside Mustafa's body had detonated, they immediately abandoned their base.
Then they moved to an emergency shelter prepared just in case.
The emergency shelter was located in Basra, a city in southern Iraq adjacent to Iran and Kuwait.
They planned to rest there for a while and wait until the next base was prepared.
The emergency shelter was located beneath the mansion of the Iraqi tycoon Alber.
Losing Mustafa was a shame, but since the person most helpful to Ea's activities was Alber, who handled the funding, they judged that not much would change from before.
"You've worked hard."
As Ea expected, Alber greeted him politely and promised generous Support.
Alber did not doubt that Ea would make him the world's greatest tycoon.
Because of that, the investments continued without hesitation and the measures were swift.
Although it was unsettling that Adrian had stepped forward personally, there was no turning back now.
Alber decided to relocate his base entirely to America.
Since he had just signed a cooperation contract with America, he judged that staying in America would be safer in many ways.
And so, as they were about to head to the next residence...
[The culprit behind the bombing terrorism at the ASEAN conference has been revealed to be Ea (Enki), the water god of Sumerian mythology.]
[I will not forgive Ea, and if there is any force that aids or supports him, I will consider them terrorists as well and carry out summary judgment.]
[I say again, Ea and the forces that support him are terrorists who threaten world peace.]
[However, if even now you realize your mistake and help capture Ea, I will grant a large reward and not question your past crimes.]
Adrian's large-scale media manipulation began.
However, that media manipulation was not for agitation but for intimidation.
In addition, as a large-scale army bearing the logo of the Peace Organization set sail from the Duchy of Lawrence, every nation on Earth, including America, was thrown into chaos.
It was intimidation compounded by a show of force.
[No matter where you hide, I will find you.]
Adrian's actions were enough to throw into confusion Alber and the figures and forces that supported Ea.
Naturally, ordinary citizens and politicians on Earth criticized Adrian.
But against Adrian, who had already established a power system tantamount to dictatorship, it had no effect whatsoever.
The large-scale army dispatched to Earth was registered not as the armies of Rondel's nations, but as belonging to the Peace Organization, an international body spanning both worlds.
Therefore, no matter how threatening Adrian's actions were, they did not violate the rules set by the two worlds.
"Th-that madman."
The one equally taken aback was Ea, the god of Sumer.
He had to express shock and bewilderment.
Before the immense power pressing down on him, wisdom and everything else were useless.
Adrian's intimidation was so effective that even America was shaken, and the massive bounty shook the forces built around Ea from within.
As a result, Ea could no longer easily choose to go to America.
"What threatens Earth is not Rondel's advanced technology. It's that man, Adrian Lawrence."
Ea, massaging his temples as if his head ached, pondered countermeasures.
But nothing came to mind easily.
For the opponent was too strong and too vast.