Round 19: Conspiracy

“Alright. Let’s be honest. The information I’ve gotten says there’s a Magic Suppression Sphere in the temple.”
“A Magic Suppression Sphere?”
“Yes. It’s a legendary item that can create an area where magic is completely suppressed. I heard it’s in the temple. If what I heard is true, and what’s in the temple are just scrolls that enhance the effects of weapons, crafted by some ancient god of forging, then I definitely wouldn’t bother with this.”
“That’s exactly what I heard too—scrolls!”
“Then obviously… we’ve both been deceived.” Moriel sighed. “It seems likely there’s nothing in the temple at all… In fact, I’m not even sure if this temple still exists.”
At those words, her heart suddenly clenched. “I don’t know… Never mind. Bloodaxe, I must say our situation is extremely serious. Quick was clearly killed by some kind of illusion spell, and it’s likely the werewolf and Kane were too. I’ve never seen such powerful illusion spells before… And since I specialize in prophecy, even ordinary illusions wouldn’t go unnoticed like this. I don’t even know how the opponent affected Quick…”
Suddenly, the soil near them erupted. A twisted mass shot up from the ground—tracing an irregular path before crashing down awkwardly.
Everyone became tense and alert, but then Moriel spotted two points of red light leaking through the cracks in that mass.
“Forty-seven?!”
Bloodaxe, Jason, swung wildly with his hammer to free Forty-seven, who was almost crushed by the serpent-like creature’s grip. After discussing briefly, they decided to re-enter the temple, which was essentially built entirely underground. They had nowhere else to go. Even if they wanted to retreat now, it would be impossible—they had lost their companion, couldn’t find their way, were under attack by illusions, and the eerie mist seemed to cover everything—who knew what else might happen?
“That thing is called a Naga.” Forty-seven caught Moriel as she looked up. Massive amounts of mist poured out from the hole in the temple roof where the Naga had flown out, swirling unpredictably.
“Over there.” Moriel waited for a moment before pointing in a certain direction.
They didn’t know how long they had walked through the maze of pillars. It was hard to imagine just how vast the temple was—seemingly stretching across the entire Great Swamp.
“Don’t you think this temple is strange?” Forty-seven and Moriel, walking at the back, whispered to each other.
“Can’t you see it with your stupid head? There’s a very powerful illusion surrounding the temple.” Although they claimed to be walking together, Moriel, worried about getting her clothes wet, was sitting on Forty-seven’s outstretched left arm—thankfully, he had secured his shoulder gears.
“I’m not talking about that. Haven’t you noticed we’re going deeper and deeper?” Forty-seven suddenly realized that magic wasn’t always reliable, just as you could never fully trust the readings of instruments.
“What? Wait—” Moriel looked around. The thing that had obscured her vision seemed to have suddenly been pierced through—the seemingly endless pillars suddenly began spinning, and the water, which had been calm beneath their feet, instantly turned into a swirling current carrying them along.

“Everyone, be careful! We’ve actually been circling in a vortex the whole time!” Moriel shouted, gripping Forty-Seven tightly. Amidst everyone’s screams, the large amount of water in the funnel-shaped temple quickly formed a massive vortex, sucking them toward the center…
“Damn it…” Bloodaxe, strong as ever, was also dizzy from this journey and filled with dirty water. He cursed loudly.
Rising to his feet with his axe, he looked around. The place was desolate, surrounded by mist that made it impossible to see clearly.
“Damn!” Moriel’s robe was completely soaked, but fortunately, Forty-Seven hadn’t hit her.
“Amazing,” Forty-Seven murmured, looking up.
Moriel twisted her sleeve cuffs while also looking upward.
Above their heads, a curtain of water spread like dark clouds.
“So dirty,” Moriel said, seeing half a rotting corpse floating by, and quickly lowered her head to avoid looking.
“That’s because the goddess’s power is still weak,” an old voice suddenly spoke.
“Who!” Everyone immediately grew tense.
“Billy?” Moriel exclaimed in surprise, looking at the hunched figure that seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
“Oh… Miss Moriel, you’re very clever and perceptive… I didn’t mistake you for anyone else.” Billy smiled faintly, but now he wore a gray robe with patterns that resembled mist—no trace of his drunkard appearance left. “I sensed that you saw through the illusion. Otherwise, you would likely have drifted to the Water Element Plane by now.”
“Tch!” Bloodaxe snapped angrily. “Old drunkard! I really didn’t see it! What the hell are you up to?”
“Hehe… Lord Bloodaxe.” Billy clapped his hands lightly, and a werewolf suddenly appeared from somewhere, growling threateningly at Bloodaxe.
Bloodaxe’s eyes turned red.
“Don’t look at me like that. It just thinks I’m you.” Billy’s gaze became intense and fanatical. “Illusions and lies are so wonderful… they can turn black into white, love into hate, enemies into friends, ugliness into beauty… Shouldn’t you feel honored to have come to the temple of the great God of Lies and Illusions, Lady Mist?”
“The god from ancient legends? I heard that story when I was a child. There seems to be another one too,” Copperhammer muttered.
“Lady Mist is dead!” Moriel said coldly. “As far as I know, she was killed by Darkday long ago, and he seized her divinity… What you worship now might even be some demon from the deepest layers of the Abyss!”
“Shut up!” Billy suddenly shouted, his robe emitting a faint mist. “Xeric schemed vilely against the goddess, but that doesn’t mean he can completely destroy her divine fire!”
“Oh, oh, oh.” Forty-Seven shook his head. “Competition… I like the gods of this world.”
“Enough of this pointless discussion. Whether it’s Darkday or Lady Mist, I don’t care about it,” Moriel said. “I just want to know: why did you trick us here with false information?”

“Oh… greed. Greed has deceived you,” Billy said with a smile, like a sly old fox. “But don’t worry, Lord Bloodaxe. I do indeed have the scroll of the God of Forging… And as for you, Miss Morriel, though I don’t have something as wonderful as a Banishment Ball, I wonder if you’re interested in illusions. Don’t you regret becoming a Prophet Mage at the cost of losing all your illusion magic?”
“Stop talking nonsense!” Bloodaxe roared. “Tell me what you plan first!”
“It’s simple. I need you to join the ranks of the Goddess of Faith… and through a ritual, ensure this forever.” Billy stood proudly, his hunched figure seeming to straighten out. “You’ve passed the trials of the Mist, which proves you’re worthy of being the goddess’s guardians. And even if you don’t want to, it’s impossible for you. Choosing you was the result of careful consideration… Lord Bloodaxe, do you really think you’re the strongest in Rain City? I mean no insult, but it’s the truth. Didn’t you even see through me? Of course, I suppose no one in Rain City can see through me either. But I imagine you turn a blind eye to many people there, like that Mage Mishima you’ve always looked down on… Enough about that. With your current strength, you barely meet my requirements, but I’m fully confident I can control you. Even if you fight me now, it won’t disturb the goddess’s slumber. The goddess still can’t attract too much attention… What do you say? Join me, and the scroll and wealth will be yours. Otherwise, you’ll forever wail in the Mist!”
“Believing in a failed bitch isn’t a good idea.” Before Bloodaxe could speak, a sinister voice suddenly came from behind him.
Billy’s expression changed drastically. As those words echoed in the air, the thick mist around them quickly rolled back, as if fearing something.
“Kill him!” Billy pointed, and the werewolf immediately lunged—only to fall halfway through.
A nearly foot-long silver needle was stuck in its head, piercing straight through its skull.
Copper Hammer covered his neck and stepped back from Jason, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief. He opened his mouth, his hammer clanging to the ground before he too fell.
“Jason!” Bloodaxe turned around abruptly, his eyes red.