Infiltration: A Resounding Success

Putting aside his relationship with Rovey, he was well aware of the immense power behind the latter.

Even Goetia, Tiamat, and the other Demon God Pillars have been subdued by him. How could an old man like me possibly fight him?

Will they be imprisoned in the Temple of Time by Goetia for another few months?

He wasn't familiar with the Clock Tower.

Why should I turn against Rovey for their sake?

So don't even think about it, no way.

Besides the Jewel Magician, Barthomeloi also sought help from other masters in the Clock Tower, but without exception, every master refused to get involved in the matter.

They're not fools; everyone values their lives, and nobody wants to die.

Similarly, compared to the Clock Tower, the other two departments Atlas Institute and Wandering Sea, felt no regret for the Clock Tower at all upon hearing this news; on the contrary, they were extremely excited.

This doesn't mean they were gloating.

Rather, they saw new possibilities.

The Wandering Sea sensed the genuine aura of the Age of Gods brought by Rovey. As a group of madmen who had spent their entire lives pursuing the Age of Gods, they naturally wanted to reach out to this new glimmer of hope, like moths to a flame.

The Atlas Institute is even simpler. Even Trismegistus Hermes couldn't have predicted the Clock Tower's destruction. Doesn't that mean the World Line has been broken? Doesn't that mean future destruction can be changed?

Both organizations have their own ideals and missions, and now that they've both made their own discoveries, they're naturally extremely excited. Who has time to play around with the Clock Tower?

As for Barthomeloi's request for Atlas Institute to provide the seven great weapons as support, that's a joke.

Those seven weapons were of paramount importance.

Forget about the Clock Tower; even if the Atlas Institute were to be destroyed, they wouldn't use it. They'd only save it for the future.

So after Barthomeloi's attempts to seek help failed, he discovered that only the reclusive headmaster had taken notice of him.

However, the other party was also very honest and frank:

"Forget it, I can't beat them. Goodbye."

However, unlike the other guys who couldn't defeat him and immediately distanced themselves from him, he was, after all, the dean of the Clock Tower, and he still explained the scale of the other party's existence.

After all, as the dean of the Clock Tower, he naturally had his own methods for gathering intelligence.

He gave a brief explanation.

The other party is someone who has completed the ascension ritual and become that being's holy son, and now only one step away from becoming an absolute supreme being.

He is proficient in 108,000 magic books, has completed his own theoretical system, has inherited the legacy of the Magic King, and has the favor and blessings of multiple gods. His soul is also that of an absolute Outer God.

Climbing the Tree of Life now makes him a true master, or even a modern-day god of True Magic. Reaching the Root is probably as easy for him as drinking water.

He then added that even if you tied all those old guys together, they wouldn't stand much of a chance, let alone the fact that he had several [Evils of Humanity] under his command, who would be unstoppable if they appeared together.

With his power, not only could he destroy the Clock Tower, but destroying the Earth would be an easy task for him.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that the Ea he just used was already a great restraint on his part. If the opponent really wanted to destroy this place, they would have as many ways as they wanted.

That's right, the Clock Tower noticed that too.

The gale, while raging, had most of its force dissipated as it was directed towards the sky, reducing its true power. If left unchecked, that gale and beam of light could have pierced directly through the Clock Tower and struck the Albion Spirit Tomb, completely eradicating the Clock Tower's foundation. At that point, almost all of London would have been annihilated...

Upon receiving this information, the other Lord all gasped in shock.

They suddenly felt that things weren't so unbearable after all.

At the same time, I'm glad they were so attentive this time, otherwise we really would have had nothing left.

Barthomeloi, completely unaware of what had happened, looked extremely unpleasant.

She couldn't understand why such a thing could still exist in this era.

And what did the Clock Tower do to offend them?

Seeing that Barthomeloi was still hung up on Barthez, the headmaster of the Clock Tower tried to offer some words of comfort.

Instead of harboring resentment, you should thank the other person.

The enemy only demolished half of it; they didn't destroy the Albion Spirit Tomb or kill you all. Clearly, they just wanted to teach you a lesson this time.

While this lesson may seem exceptionally harsh, even excessive, from a human perspective, it might truly be a trivial lesson from a divine perspective.

If you really piss him off, forget about the Clock Tower now.

It's not impossible for him to dismantle several countries, destroy several continents, or even blow up a planet. The most important thing in life is to know your own limitations.

For beings who can freely enter and exit the Root and reach the realm of gods, this world is perhaps just a playground for them. If they are unhappy, they can shut it down at any time, but all of them would be finished.

In any case, all he could say was...

Let alone yourself, in this world, unless you summon a being beyond the norm, even if the Moon Cell were to be resurrected, he wouldn't be able to defeat him. That's why all the grandmasters are unwilling to help you.

By this point in his explanation, the dean believed he had made himself perfectly clear.

However, he did have a question, or rather, a curiosity, in his heart.

The Dean asked earnestly, "[Barthomeloi, what heinous things did you do while I was away that would allow such a being to personally storm the Clock Tower and deliver a warning with the Ea?]"

Barthomeloi was also puzzled by this question.

She had just returned from a business trip when things turned out this way; she knew absolutely nothing else about it.

However, apart from her, all the Lord present looked at her with resentment.

They know the reason all too well.

Or rather, they were all implicated by certain people this time.

"--"

The many Lord exchanged glances, and the scene suddenly became strange.

Chapter 336 A Great Success in Infiltration

The Clock Tower, which has always been known for its high-profile and solemnity, is now in a sorry state due to an unexpected event.

Even the dean, who hadn't shown his face for almost several hundred years, was alarmed at this moment.

"Young ladies from the Department of Law, before you put an end to your unrealistic fantasies, can you explain what exactly the Clock Tower did while I was away to cause such a huge mess?"

The wise old man, who was rarely seen and was the dean of the Clock Tower, asked this question.

Unlike the other grandmasters who remained aloof and indifferent, he was, after all, in charge of the Clock Tower, so he had to pay attention to its affairs. Moreover, the current situation was far more serious than he had anticipated, which piqued his curiosity.

Although he knew that the guys in the Clock Tower were not as capable as those in the other two departments, and he had considered that they might make a mess, he never expected them to make a mess of this magnitude.

For these reclusive grandmasters, the death of a few Lord or the annihilation of a few families in the Clock Tower was a trivial matter, much like deciding what to eat for dinner. Even if the Church attacked, they wouldn't care. Only events like the Humanity Incineration or the resurrection of the Moon Cell would make them seriously consider countermeasures. But a situation like this, where a Magus from the realm of gods was provoked to the point of nuclearly bombing the Clock Tower, was something they had never seen or imagined before.

So he was genuinely curious: what had the Clock Tower done to provoke such a being?

I don't know either.

Barthomeloi was completely dumbfounded when he heard this question.

From the moment she became the acting dean of the Clock Tower, she had been working diligently to maintain order in the Western Europe Magecraft world. Although the Department of Law and the Clock Tower had indeed offended many Magus and caused much bloodshed in the process, she truly did not recall ever offending such a being.

Magus of the Gods' Realm?

When exactly did the Clock Tower offend such a being?

They're so busy searching for beings of that level, how could they possibly offend them?

Or is it that some forbidden Magus have returned from the Root specifically to seek revenge?

So, who could the other party be?

Aozaki Touko? Or... something else?

"--"

As she lowered her head in deep thought, the Lord beside her confirmed that Barthomeloi had genuinely returned and knew nothing at all; this whole affair was truly the work of idiots in their Department of Law.

Although they were eager to surround Barthomeloi and give him a good scolding, this was the Dean's office, and no one wanted Barthomeloi to be involved in this matter any further, lest they be implicated. So none of them were prepared to give him the answer, but instead told Barthomeloi to investigate on his own.

With her abilities, she'll understand everything in a few minutes, and then they'll wait for Barthomeloi to give an explanation.

As Barthomeloi kept reviewing exactly when she had offended that person, she called her subordinates to bring her the dossier, and then lowered her head to carefully read through all the remaining suspicious documents from the Clock Tower, both recent and from the past.

After eliminating some impossible options, Barthomeloi finally found the most suspicious location.

--Chaldea

According to the case file, during her business trip, the Clock Tower dispatched an expedition to Chaldea, intending to occupy and detain Chaldea under the guise of the Department of Law, and then dismiss the Magus and staff within Chaldea, thereby achieving the goal of control and occupation.

However, during that operation, Chaldea used an unknown curse Magecraft to kill a first-class investigator from the Department of Law, thus earning them the reputation of traitors.

The interim head of the Department of Law decided that Chaldea must be severely punished.

Refusing to cooperate and harming Department of Law personnel is undoubtedly an extremely heinous act.

Therefore, the temporary head she appointed directly dispatched dozens of Sealing Designation Executor to obtain the key to Chaldea's access from the Department of Astromancy, and devised a meticulous plan to attack Chaldea, aiming to arrest all the traitors as quickly as possible.

"--"

Barthomeloi's first thought was that it was just a routine operation.

Under normal circumstances, such a matter would be commonplace in the Clock Tower or the Department of Law. However, it is worth noting that Chaldea, as an institution that Human Order Safeguard, has a very special significance, and there are rumors about gods that appeared when the first expedition returned.

Barthomeloi isn't stupid.

Based on current analysis, the answer is undoubtedly that an institution like Chaldea attracted the attention of that Magus from the realm of gods.

The reason they angered the gods was because of the Department of Law's actions this time?!

After thinking carefully for a moment, she immediately had the answer in her heart.

"Hmph, have you finished reading, Lord Barthomeloi?"

The moment this answer appeared, the gazes of the Lord behind them became exceptionally piercing.

"Do we have an answer now, Lord Barthomeloi? Come to think of it, we really owe this whole affair to certain people..."

The democrats, who have always been at odds with Barthomeloi, were in a terrible mood this time because they were implicated in his misfortune. Seeing that the time was right, they immediately started to speak sarcastically.

"By the way, which department planned this thorough investigation of Chaldea?"

"Heh, of course it's the Department of Law. After all, besides that department, who else in the entire Clock Tower has such great power? I don't know what the Department of Law is thinking, being so obsessed with an observatory. It's just that a useless person with the Golden Mystic Eyes died, yet they made such a fuss. Now, they've got what they wanted, haven't they?"

"--"

Barthomeloi endured the disdain and sarcastic remarks of a group of Lord. At this moment, the proud Barthesmer was speechless when she learned that it was actually her subordinates who had caused all this trouble. She could only awkwardly try to contact the designated Executor of the Sealing Designation who had been sent out.

Beep beep beep--

After dozens of attempts to establish communication, her contact was finally connected.

The other party is— Hishiri Adashino, the leader of this operation team.

Seeing that the communication was finally connected, Barthomeloi's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly. However, at this moment, the ruthless and powerful Hishiri Adashino, known as the Serpent of the Department of Law, seemed to be in a somewhat unstable mood. She even spoke with a hint of sobbing and despair.

"Is it... Lord Barthomeloi?"

"It's me, over there..."

Barthomeloi was about to ask a question when he was interrupted by a voice from the other side.

"Waaaaah, they're all dead! Everyone's dead except for me and Bazett! Lord, it seems we messed with the wrong people. There really are gods there! And they just came to the Department of Law Headquarters seeking revenge, saying it was punishment, and then they just... just blew up half of the Clock Tower! They even specifically demanded that you all come here and give them an explanation, or they'd make the Clock Tower disappear completely! Waaaaah..."

Judging from the trembling voice, it was clear that Hishiri Adashino was quite frightened.

Upon hearing this, Barthomeloi sighed helplessly.

The problem did indeed lie with Chaldea...

"Hishiri Adashino, calm down first. I have a general understanding of the situation. Now, continue to report to me on the situation over there and answer my question: Who is the god who destroyed the Clock Tower?"

After thinking for a moment, Hishiri Adashino said, "It's that handsome guy who drove the investigator crazy before."

"It really was him..."

What kind of person is he?

Barthomeloi inquired.

"Very powerful, very capable in combat, he wiped out our entire team all by himself."

"Do you know what his motives and purpose are?"

"He seems to want to protect Chaldea, and is quite unhappy with our provocation..."