Laharl

Ishgar's Magic Council.

A special organization that maintained order in the magical world of the Ishgar Continent, it had investigative teams and violent action units that carried out arrests. Its branches reached into every country and operated beyond the supervision of local governments.

This colossal force, which spanned the entire continent, was governed by a decision-making body made up of one chairman and nine councilors. It also controlled "Etherion," a "super-destructive strategic magical weapon" capable of annihilating a country in an instant.

Several hundred years had passed since the Council last used Etherion. Because of its immense destructive power, the Council's leadership had decided not to activate it lightly, keeping it as a deterrent and a last resort.

As the upper echelons of power, the councilors only needed to deal with major decisions. The Council's middle management handled implementation and minor matters themselves.

Laharl was one such busy middle-ranking leader.

As the captain of the violent action unit responsible for "punishing rule-breaking guilds" and "hunting down dark guilds," Laharl slept only four hours a day. He spent all the rest of his time buried in work.

Today, the exhausted Laharl received a report from the Lupinus branch:

Joel, a director of the Black Bird Consortium, had turned himself in to the Council. He claimed that he had been coerced by the Dark Priest "Puppeteer Kura" and forced to provide the Dark Magic Cult with a large amount of money, as well as to commit major commercial fraud on several occasions.

A consortium by itself was nothing special. But this report involved a blood-soaked Dark Priest and the notorious Dark Magic Cult behind him, making it worth taking seriously.

Laharl had no choice but to give up what little rest he had, steel himself, and travel through the night to Lupinus to deal with the matter in person.

The action unit was well equipped. By the time the force led by Laharl arrived in the southern outskirts of Lupinus City, it was only eleven at night.

The head of the Council's local branch and the city mayor had already been waiting outside the Black Bird headquarters.

"Captain, I didn't expect you to come in person."

The branch chief looked at his superior in surprise, but quickly understood. Laharl had always had an excellent reputation among the Council's middle and lower ranks. He was the very picture of diligence and dedication, and he cared deeply about his subordinates.

There were only eight councilors at present. Both inside and outside the Council, people believed Laharl had a strong chance of filling the last vacant seat this year.

Laharl had no mind to exchange pleasantries with his subordinates. He was focused entirely on work. "Where is the Puppeteer?"

At those words, the mayor remembered a horrifying scene and immediately ran off to the side, retching in disgust.

The branch chief's expression was none too pleasant either.

This gave Laharl a bad feeling. Whenever a Dark Priest appeared, it inevitably led to a massacre, a blood sacrifice to the "Black Wizard" they worshiped.

Thinking of the self-incrimination report, he wondered if that consortium's director had...

The branch chief could tell at a glance that Laharl had jumped to the wrong conclusion. He had thought the same thing when he received Joel's call to turn himself in.

"Captain, please don't misunderstand. Puppeteer Kura certainly left us with a huge mess, but it's not what you're imagining."

With an expression that said it was hard to explain, the branch chief invited Laharl to take a look for himself.

The action unit hurried along the road between the black buildings and stopped in front of an oval-shaped tower.

Broken chunks of flesh mixed with copious amounts of blood were splattered across the ground and the surfaces of nearby buildings.

Even the action unit, which had spent years hunting dark guilds, had never seen such a gruesome scene. A few members with weaker stomachs hurried out of the hellish site and vomited against a wall.

The branch chief was used to it. If his stomach weren't already completely empty, he would have gone to throw up with them.

"Captain, all the remains scattered here... belong to one of the Dark Priests, Puppeteer Kura."

"According to the Mage who defeated him, Kura was struck by his magic while trying to escape in the form of threads. Puppet Control Thread failed, and Kura's body, transformed into threads, was shattered on the spot."

Laharl nodded. After a brief mental assessment, he accepted the explanation.

The Council had naturally placed a bounty on a dangerous and evil Mage like Kura. During one raid, Kura had transformed into threads and easily escaped a tight encirclement, ruining what had been their best chance to capture him.

Who would have thought Kura would ultimately die because of the very trick he relied on to save himself?

It was a pity that he had died in such a state. There was no way to learn from him where the Dark Magic Cult's headquarters was.

Still, it was good that there had been no further casualties.

"Take me to meet the Mage who defeated Kura."

At Laharl's words, the branch chief's expression turned a little odd, but he did as asked, leading him to the luxurious office on the top floor of the oval tower.

There were only two people in the office: a shabby-looking middle-aged man, frantically flipping through documents, and a handsome young man quietly reading.

"Lord Laharl, I'm the one who wants to turn myself in! Please arrest me!" Before Laharl could even speak, Joel, who had been organizing evidence of his years of financial fraud, wailed and grabbed Laharl's leg as if he were his savior.

Knowing Laharl had no time for this, the branch chief immediately dragged Joel out of the office and shut the door behind him.

"How noisy. A grown man, and he still has no shame. Don't you agree, Mr. Laharl of the Magic Council?" Noah put down the collection of steamy photo books he had found in the office and smiled at Laharl, whose name he had just learned.

Now that only the two of them remained, Laharl got straight to the point. "Joel's claim that he was 'coerced' is false. The Black Bird Consortium was always a channel for the Dark Magic Cult to transfer funds."

"You were the one who told him to say that, weren't you? Why?"

Given his position, Laharl had a wealth of experience.

From the moment he saw Joel, experience and instinct had told him that this wasn't a case of "coercion." Joel had absolutely "willingly" made money for the Dark Magic Cult.

Noah didn't deny it. Instead, he asked how long Joel would be imprisoned for the crimes he'd confessed to, and what would happen to the money he had recently obtained through fraud.

Transferring funds to dark forces was a serious crime. Laharl replied that Joel would spend twenty years in prison. If it was later discovered that he was a member of the Dark Magic Cult, his sentence would be changed from twenty years to life imprisonment.

However, the Council had no jurisdiction over financial fraud charges. Laharl said he would urge the Kingdom of Fiore to handle them. King Doma was a fair ruler, and with the Council's support, no one would dare lay a hand on the victims' money.

Looking at Noah, Laharl said, "I still don't know your name, sir."

"Easy enough. Today, I'm called Nexus."

Noah naturally wouldn't give his real name. Who knew whether the Council could keep its mouth shut? He didn't want to bring trouble back to his guild.

"Today, huh..."

Laharl smiled meaningfully but didn't press further.

"Then, on behalf of the Magic Council, I'd like to thank Mr. Nexus for his contribution to fighting the forces of darkness."

Noah waved a hand. He had dealt with President Rena's problem at its source, and the two million Rena had originally given him to help him infiltrate the Black Bird Consortium naturally belonged to him now.

Once he returned and handed in the job, he'd get another three million. The Merchant Guild's president was a hidden tycoon, too.

After casually tossing the steamy photo book onto the table, Noah said goodbye to Laharl.

Watching the door open and then close again, Laharl murmured, "Nexus... You look a little like someone I know. I wonder what the two of you are to each other."

He turned to look at the record of Joel's crimes, but his eyes were drawn to the photo book Noah had left behind.

After glancing around to make sure no one was there, Laharl rolled it up at lightning speed and tucked it into his coat.