I Became the Narrow-Eyed Henchman of the Evil Boss

“Bloody hell.”

Nardanit spat out a curse. At this point, I sensed something was off.

‘Huh? Usually, when the inspection team shows up, they don’t throw curses—’

Is he trying to stall by begging?

To openly insult the inspection team like that…

‘Is he really doing something behind the scenes?’

It’s like the existence of some undeniable corruption is blatantly present.

*

Nardanit looked at L13, no, Orthes, revealing his identity.

A skilled Blasphemia agent who confidently uttered his name, citing a ridiculous excuse of being a relic from a bygone era while facing him alone.

What does that imply?

“…So you know everything. You made it here using the absurd excuse of being a relic?”

“Haha, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

The moment he revealed his identity as a Secret Inspector, everything clicked.

That guy came here knowing about the treasonous activity from the Charlotte Branch.

‘But I’m not sure how much he knows.’

If he truly knew everything, he would’ve initiated combat the moment it became a one-on-one situation.

However, just because the entire truth wasn’t revealed, it didn’t alleviate Nardanit’s crisis. The moment he accessed the database as requested, the inspector would decipher the absence of funds from the gaps in the files.

What would happen next was clear. Purge.

Nardanit expected the agent arriving here to either be incompetent, a coward, or an unfortunate soul.

In fact, it turned out none of those were true. The executioner wearing the guise of an unfortunate soul.

He could’ve persuaded or forced an incompetent person not summoned for the war or a coward who fled during it to join his side.

If it were truly a pitiful unfortunate soul, he could just make up a suitable excuse to send them back to headquarters, concealing the truth.

Even if they somehow noticed the treasonous activity, they could create a ‘misfortunate accident’ and deal with one common agent.

But that was a prepared executioner. An elite member of Blasphemia who could start combat anytime, in any situation.

Nardanit slowly, almost imperceptibly, drew up his magic power. He needed to deliver the biggest shock with the first move. For the future of his comrades.

Orthes was simply bewildered by the strange demeanor of branch leader Nardanit.

‘What’s with this? Is the branch leader hiding something?’

‘The loyalty of Blasphemia agents I’ve fought until now wasn’t that shallow, was it?’

“Now, Branch Leader. Let’s calm down and have a chat.”

“Aren’t you tired of serving those old men at the Ten Towers? How much longer do we have to live like this?”

Nardanit scoffed at the suggestion that he would spare him. How many years had he spent with Blasphemia to not know that number?

The inspector doesn’t tolerate traitors. Even if he declared total surrender now and presented the list of collaborators, he’d either receive a prompt death as a reward or be imprisoned underground in the Mage Tower, becoming a biological processing unit.

“The Tower treated us worse than dogs. Who bled fighting that monster? Blasphemia experienced total extermination over generations, yet no one compensated us.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“Shut up! You vile creature. There’s no way someone in the inspector position wouldn’t know! The sacred blasphemous monster birthed by White Light. Because of that, we!”

Nardanit vented his anger. The Ten Towers, especially the White Light Tower, wished to keep their secrets hidden from the world.

Of course, the most discreet military force the Ten Towers could use was Blasphemia. But they also have missions where the truth must be concealed.

That was the mission that came down from the White Light Tower.

Blasphemia was thrown into a mission with only the explanation that they were tasked with a vessel holding divinity.

Most frontline agents perished.

The fact that this vessel was first observed in the research room of White Light Tower was only revealed when the matter reached catastrophe. Even with the White Light, the truth couldn’t be concealed from other Ten Towers.

The Ten Towers agreed to concentrate all efforts to erase that existence.

As a result, the life signs of the vessel haven’t been observed since the grand clash until now, but in return, Blasphemia suffered an irreversible blow.

“Are you talking about the Golden Desert Operation? Many agents died.”

“Many agents died? They were all the chosen ones of Blasphemia! Was that how those old geezers expressed ruining Blasphemia’s future?”

*

I maintained my silence.

‘There shouldn’t have been that many deaths in the Golden Desert Operation…’

They merely used an accidentally approaching extra-dimensional storm to go missing.

Those adrift beyond the barrier of the extra-dimension typically return to reality after some time.

The embedded magic in life protects them from the extra-dimensional space and draws them back to their original dimension like a magnet.

There are naturally cases of panic disorders or memory loss as side effects when returning from the extra-dimensional realm. But generally, the stronger the innate magic, the less likelihood of severe side effects during return.

Therefore, the clear fury displayed by the branch leader was quite unexpected for me. The fact that Blasphemia had weakened to this extent was unforeseen.

I needed to know how a traitor emerged in Blasphemia. Understanding the situation within Blasphemia and the Ten Towers would make destroying the Ten Commandments of the White Light Tower much easier.

At this moment, the best way to extract information was to…

“Hmph, do the returned ones speak like that? You don’t think they’re the same beings as before, do you?”

Pure nonsense.

I started throwing out ‘seemingly knowledgeable remarks.’

‘The returned ones’ referred to the Eroders who had been trapped deep in the extra-dimensional realm, tainting their very souls.

It was also among the least likely possibilities for a being provoking the betrayal of Blasphemia.

‘If those mages were at that level, they would have guarded their bodies before falling deep.’

Magic doesn’t just bring them to the world; it would be absurd for them to drift that far.

If I tossed out such an overtly wrong answer, they’d likely laugh at my ignorance. From that conversation, I could gather clues—

“There’s no way you knew that and yet didn’t cast magic? How arrogant.”

Wait, is this really true?

*

Nardanit simmered with calm rage. The fact that we were having this conversation while he grasped all the facts seemed to be a mockery of us.

“The returned comrades told us. To strip away the hypocrisy and deception of the Ten Towers and establish a new order.”

“That’s absurd. Are you serious? They should know well that the Eroders are not the same beings as before.”

“No. Who was it that preached the dangers of the extra-dimension? Wasn’t it those old men from the Ten Towers? We’ve been deceived all this time! By the foolish acts of those old geezers that obscured the truth!”

Orthes felt a deep shock. Could it be that among the individuals he battled in the desert, someone returned as an Eroder?

And not just randomly going insane and dying, but moving systematically to topple the Ten Towers? Recruiting and seducing the untainted humans?

Nardanit noticed Orthes’s confusion.

Even though he still wore a smiling face, he couldn’t read his emotions, but it was certain that for some reason, the Secret Inspector hesitated.

He immediately drew up magic power and constructed spells.

The cables in the engine room clung to his body. The magic power directly supplied from the Mage Tower Core aided the execution of great magic.

His hair moved, sketching intricate shapes. The magic power circulated through the hair forming metaphysical symbols that birthed destructive magic.

The authority of the branch leader activated. The limiter on the Mage Tower’s core released, synchronizing with Nardanit. The magic he prepared extended over a much larger area within the Mage Engine Train.

Nardanit’s best move laid in wait.

To uncover the truth of his comrades, he aimed to blow up this train, himself, and Inspector Orthes altogether.

He saw the Secret Inspector grasping the High-Frequency Blade. What a pathetic resistance.

Even if he took off his own head, it would be too late. He might block his magic, but he couldn’t cancel the command input into the core.

Crack!

However, the blade of the High-Frequency Blade didn’t head toward Nardanit’s neck. It plunged into the floor of the train.

‘What the hell?’

The blade thrust in by Orthes penetrated deep into the pipeline where the Mage Core circulated its power. But attacking there now wouldn’t change anything.

Orthes, having embedded the High-Frequency Blade, was inserting a magic imprint drive into the handle.

Only then did Nardanit understand what Orthes was attempting.

“Magic interference? Ha!”

When casting magic, executing a similar-tier spell at the exact same timing to disrupt the structure of the original spell.

However, it was impossible.

The effectiveness of magic interference increases with exact timing, and the larger the amount of magic of the spell being interfered with, the lower the effect.

To interfere with a spell strong enough to obliterate the entire train, one would need to cast magic without a single error.

Nardanit entered the countdown to the explosion.

‘Three, two, one.’

At that last moment…

Orthes opened his eyes.

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