Chapter 1008: Conjunction Spell Master (9)
The first-floor lobby was filled with the corpses of Chimeras.
In the midst of a prison of scattered flesh, the forms of two spellcasters clashed.
But it wasn’t Lennok who was thrown back, spraying blood, but the Conjunction Spell Master, Avesta Chapman.
“…!!”
A fatal injury, with his entire upper body connected to his left arm exploding.
The backlash ravaged his body, affecting not only his muscles and nerves but also reaching his lungs and the vicinity of his cardiovascular system.
In excruciating pain that blurred his vision, the Spell Master gritted his teeth and struggled to maintain his balance.
‘My body isn’t moving as I wish. The backlash is stronger than I expected…!!’
The spellcraft used by the Spell Master was a killing technique that ‘conjoined’ all internal organs and viscera present in Evan Martinez’s body.
Among the person-designated applications of Conjunction Spellcraft, it was the most certain technique to cut off a life and inflict suffering.
Once a target was acquired, it would invariably activate, and if the opponent was human, there was no way to prevent the spell from taking effect.
But Lennok, astonishingly, evaded being ‘designated’ as the target of the Conjunction Spellcraft, halving its power.
Conversely, he redirected a backlash several times greater onto the Spell Master’s body, making it explode.
‘Since when? He was clearly designated just a moment ago?’
The reason the Spell Master used a person-designated spellcraft against Lennok was that he had already confirmed several times that Lennok could be targeted by the spell.
Not only had he captured him from the black market, but even in the current battle, Lennok had shown signs of injuring his right arm.
It was a counterattack he hadn’t even suspected, knowing it from experience. That’s why it returned as an even more fatal backlash.
“Cough, cough…!!”
Blood and some internal organs splattered, staining his torn surgical gown crimson.
The Spell Master’s body was grotesquely mangled, so much so that standing on two feet seemed a miracle.
Yet Lennok could not immediately move, even with the Spell Master swaying before him.
Although he evaded being the target of the Conjunction Spellcraft, he couldn’t avoid the impact the Spell Master had delivered at supersonic speed.
Though mitigated by a barrier, the blow, effectively landed directly on his solar plexus, reached Lennok’s internal organs.
“Ugh…!!”
He vomited blood and stomach acid, his trembling hands igniting a pale green healing flame.
He rubbed his abdomen with the pale green fire, infusing his damaged internal organs with regenerative power.
Lennok, his eyes barely open, frowned at the sight of the Spell Master swaying before him.
‘I couldn’t kill him in one go…’
The method he used to counterattack the Spell Master was simple.
One of Lennok’s greatest blessings and talents, Targeted Resistance.
He activated an ability he had deactivated under the identity of Evan Martinez the moment he clashed with the Spell Master.
He forcibly triggered the backlash of the Conjunction Spellcraft, redirecting it onto the Spell Master’s body.
‘Was my calculation wrong? The backlash itself should have been life-threatening.’
A spellcraft as complex as Conjunction Spellcraft, when it fails, incurs a backlash several times greater than other spellcrafts.
Moreover, since the spellcraft designated and exploded against Lennok had failed, it wouldn’t have been strange for the backlash alone to be fatal.
“Cough, uweeegh!!”
The Spell Master, who had been coughing and staggering, bent over and vomited.
Having thoroughly spewed blood and fragments of internal organs, the Spell Master raised a trembling hand, grabbed a Chimera, and used spellcraft.
Crackling!!
He conjoined the Chimera’s flesh to his upper body, readjusting it as a new physique.
Even after barely regaining his body’s form, he gasped, seemingly struggling with the after-effects.
The Spell Master, who had been hanging his head, bleeding, suddenly turned, his eyes glinting with fierce light.
“Evan, Martinez…!!”
KWA-AAAAAANG!!!
The Spell Master roughly stomped his foot, and with the impact, the Chimera corpses rose like a wave, engulfing Lennok.
Lennok, engrossed in healing his body, immediately reacted. He ignited flames on the wave, exploding them with Property Transformation.
[Scarlet Radiance]
KWA-AAAAAANG!!!
A pillar of crimson flame split the wave of Chimeras and incinerated them all.
Amidst the chaos of fire and flesh piling up and engulfing everything, the two spellcasters rose, glaring at each other.
“Absurd.”
The Spell Master, staring at Lennok, spoke in a low voice.
“You mean that being hit by the Chimera’s all-out attack was just to induce my judgment in that direction?”
“If I hadn’t appeared to be… doing my best, you surely would have been suspicious.”
He rubbed the pale green flame, then tossed it into his throat, swallowing it whole.
The embers flowing down his esophagus stirred his insides, heating his body.
Feeling his churning stomach settle somewhat, Lennok replied.
“I had to show signs of falling for your tricks for you to be convinced and use your spellcraft on me. I considered it impossible to avoid all your spellcraft from the start…”
“…”
“Rather than that, I merely sought to decide when and how I would be hit by the Conjunction Spellcraft.”
“Yes, you mean you can arbitrarily evade being the target of my spellcraft…”
The Spell Master caught his breath, raising a trembling hand.
He hadn’t fully recovered from the aftermath of the backlash, but his outward appearance was already perfectly restored.
From the moment he couldn’t be killed in a single blow, it meant that physical recovery was not an impossible feat for the Spell Master.
Lennok wiped the blood from his lips, lost in thought as he watched the Spell Master walk sideways.
‘It would have been better if I had finished him the moment he didn’t notice the existence of Targeted Resistance…’
The backlash of the Conjunction Spellcraft was only possible because Lennok was designated as the target for the spell.
But if the Spell Master used the spellcraft without targeting Lennok, Lennok also couldn’t avoid the blow.
For example, if he distorted space by conjoining it instead of directly targeting Lennok, Lennok’s body would easily be torn apart.
It was hard to imagine that the Conjunction Spell Master, an 8-level Trait-type spellcaster, couldn’t actually perform such spatial conjoining.
Regardless of having deactivated Targeted Resistance under the identity of Cheonbeon, such a method could only be used once.
Therefore, it would have been ideal if he could have killed the Spell Master in that single opportunity, but—
“I concede. You are a truly ruthless spellcaster, capable of hiding such an anomalous ability until the very end.”
The Spell Master said, gazing at Lennok with a chilling stare.
“Whether it’s an item or a blessing, it can’t be a power you can use at any time. If it were, there would have been no reason to induce target designation in the first place.”
“…”
“If you intended to induce the moment of impact and kill me with a single backlash… I merely have to use my spellcraft without directly designating you as the target.”
The Spell Master, whose right hand was now normal, raised it and slowly began to form a hand seal with one hand.
The Conjunction Spell Master, with his index and middle fingers raised, whispered.
“From now on, I will show you my ‘masterpiece’.”
“What you call a masterpiece appears to me as nothing more than crude Chimeras.”
Lennok replied expressionlessly.
“If the awakening of talent you speak of amounts to mere forms like those, I see no reason to continue watching.”
“The Chimeras deployed in the first-floor lobby are consumables created for transporting materials. The talent present in them is nothing more than a base survival instinct.”
The Spell Master said.
“The Conjunction Spellcraft I use on living beings holds greater potential… the power to bring even the inherent talents of living creatures under the influence of the spell.”
KIIII-ING!!
At that moment, the snake-shaped Chimera the Spell Master was standing on emitted intense magical power.
The moment Lennok realized its direction was not toward himself, the Chimera twisted its body and activated magic.
“Come.”
Conjunction Spellcraft
Water-Attribute Unique Magic
[Summoning Flowing Azure]
[White Striking Rain]
SHWAAAAAA-AAAAA!!!!
Rain began to fall in the first-floor lobby of the vast Life Domain.
The falling streams of water poured onto the flames burning the exterior walls of the Operating Theater, slowly suppressing their heat.
It couldn’t immediately extinguish the flames Lennok had erupted, but it rapidly brought them to a lull.
“…Could it be.”
Beyond the raindrops flowing down his cheek, Lennok’s face hardened.
Water-attribute unique magic, which a Trait-type spellcaster like the Conjunction Spell Master shouldn’t be able to use.
“To bring the Chimera’s talent under the influence of Conjunction Spellcraft…!!”
“The forced activation of spellcraft and anomalous abilities possessed by the humans who became the material.”
The Spell Master said, spreading his hand, letting the rain fall on him entirely.
“It’s a consumable ability, limited to a single use, and the Chimera used must always be sacrificed. But don’t you think this is meaningful enough for my research?”
The power to sacrifice Chimeras and forcibly activate the abilities possessed by the superhumans who became their materials.
This must be possible because the Conjunction Spell Master forcibly ‘conjoins’ others’ spellcraft or abilities to himself, forcing their activation.
Rather than controlling the spellcraft itself, he forcibly induces its activation, causing it to manifest.
A grotesque and bizarre idea, turning living creatures into the power button for spellcraft.
And it was unlikely that the ‘masterpiece’ the Conjunction Spell Master spoke of would end with just this one Chimera.
“You understand, more or less, don’t you?”
THWACK!!!
At that moment, a toad-shaped Chimera burst out from the first-floor lobby ceiling, opening its mouth wide.
The Spell Master raised his hand, a bloody smile gracing his lips.
“Round two begins.”
“…!!!”
Conjunction Spellcraft
Gravity-Attribute Innate Ability
[Reverse Gravity]
BWAAAAAAAAANG!!!
Lennok and the Spell Master, along with the Chimera corpses strewn across the first-floor lobby, shot up into the air.
In the first-floor lobby where gravity was reversed, they moved upward as if falling towards the upper levels of the Life Domain.
KWA-AAAAAANG!!
Breaking through the first-floor lobby ceiling, the moment they landed as if plummeting onto a long, fleshy corridor.
[Black Magic: Saeyon’s Thorn Sphere]
[Cross Society Orthodox Spellcraft: Irregular Manifestation]
A massive thorn sphere rotated, oozing black magic, and the light of a cross blocked the opposite end of the corridor, vibrating.
As Lennok stiffened his lips, realizing the identity of a somewhat familiar sense of déjà vu.
“Where are you looking?”
The Spell Master, gripping a fleshy hammer, dropped onto Lennok’s head, drawing up his magic.
Clang!!
The fleshy hammer, unable to overcome the Stopping Wheel Barrier, was crushed instantly.
Blood exploded from the hammer, becoming an intensely acidic solution that poured down from above.
[Blood Manipulation: Acidic Imbuement]
HISS!!
Shaking off the acidic solution that had drenched him from the head down, Lennok rotated his body.
[Flame-Wheel Rotation]
[Jurasal]
He summoned a wheel of flame, clashing it against the thorn sphere, and accelerated through the fleshy corridor.
BOOOOOOM!!!
Lennok and the Spell Master’s figures began to move almost simultaneously atop the cloud of flames.
Scores of earthworms coiled around Lennok’s legs through the crossroads, and ghouls drooled, biting at his head.
[KUE-EEEEEE…!!]
His breath cut off, he instantly perished. Immediately after, Conjunction Spellcraft activated, unleashing the embedded spellcraft within the Chimera.
[God-Slayer]
[Grasping Strike]
[Kin-Shattering]
KAGAGAGAGAK!!!
He threw himself to avoid the shock magic and slashes that lacerated and poked the entire operating room corridor.
[Life and death are one. Sweet lullabies. Die. Please die. Kill. Please kill.]
As a goddess statue appearing in the corridor sang, shedding tears of blood, musical spellcraft activated.
It boosted the Chimeras’ physical abilities, focusing their aggression entirely on Lennok.
[Changyeom]
CHIII-IIIK!!
He tore open the jaw of a charging Chimera with one hand and thrust a flame spear, summoned with Alternative Incantation, into its throat.
Lennok, launching himself by stepping on the tilted spear shaft, clenched his teeth as he fended off the Spell Master’s hand, which had shot out from the operating room wall.
‘There’s no end…!!’
The forced activation of spellcraft, using Chimeras as consumables.
The power of each spellcraft, triggered by suicide, was considerable, and their types were also diverse.
Lennok had confirmed over 14 types of spellcraft attributes immediately after re-engaging the Spell Master.
Even if they were consumable abilities used once and discarded, if such a reserve had been accumulated, it was no constraint at all.
“Cough!!”
Amidst the wildly charging Chimeras, the Spell Master coughed up blood, his head bowed low.
Separate from pressuring Lennok, he too was still suffering from the backlash of the spellcraft.
It would be difficult to inflict cumulative damage on the Spell Master if not now.
[Explosive Flame Orb]
CRUNCH!!
He ducked his head to avoid the ghoul’s teeth and incanted the Explosive Flame Orb.
When he threw the fireball into the ghoul’s belly, the Chimera’s eyes glowed red, and it exploded alive.
KWA-AAAAAANG!!
Dodging a thorny club, he formed hand seals with both hands and incanted a spell.
He slid low, folded his hands, and pointed them downwards.
[Triple Bloom - Repulsion]
“Blood-Flame Line.”
KUHWA-AAAAAK!!
Three Explosive Flame Orbs combined, containing each other’s heat and repelling.
The fan-shaped outpouring of flames swept away the swarming Chimeras.
HISS…!!
CRUMBLE-RUMBLE!!
The fleshy wall, unable to withstand the heat of the Blood-Flame Line, burned and melted away, creating a large hole in the wall.
The wind blowing from the hole created a powerful suction, pulling Lennok and the Spell Master in.
WHOOSH!!
Grasping the spasming, cracked fleshy wall in pain, Lennok and the Spell Master’s fists collided in mid-air.
In an instant, they battered and struck each other’s bones and muscles, their bodies heaving.
POW-POW-POW!!!
Matching the moment the Spell Master’s Conjunction Spellcraft activated, Lennok incanted a heat magic spell.
Ignoring the spell’s effect, he struck the Conjunction Spell Master, then attacked once more with an Alternative Incantation.
[Fire Night Heavy]
[Scorching Burn]
FLICKER-FLICKER!!
Flames transferred onto the Spell Master’s entire body.
Lennok whispered into the Spell Master’s ear as he tried to move, ignoring the incantation.
“The place where your Domain’s ‘pulse’ is strongest. It was around here.”
“…!!”
Following the striking technique that slammed him down, brilliant flames burned and swirled.
The fiery vortex rotated violently, slamming the Spell Master into the hole in the wall.
[Fire Vortex Heavenly Glide]
KWA-AAAAAANG!!!
‘It’s vast…!’
Lennok, who had jumped into the hole after the Spell Master, flinched at the sight of a much larger clearing than he had anticipated.
Skulls, presumably human bones, were piled up, and a gigantic mass of muscle pulsed on a hill.
Thump, thump!!
The intense pulsing sound, and the sight of thick blood vessels connected to the muscle mass.
This was the heart of this Life Domain, the core that remodeled humans into Chimeras using them as material.
Confirming this, Lennok immediately clasped his hands together, drawing up his magic.
“Target Designation.”
Sun. Burn. Turn. Pierce. Emit. Open.
Heat-Attribute Unique Magic
Six-fold Incantation Composite Resonance.
[Linked Flame: Six-Form Crimson]
Six types of magic were incanted simultaneously, incinerated, and transformed into light, leaving no trace of their fiery forms.
Intense crimson light concentrated at Lennok’s fingertips shot out in a straight line with tremendous heat.
The moment he drew his finger down as if bouncing off the air, it struck down towards the heart like a beam of light.
[Radiant Pierce]
CRACK-CRACK!!
A heat-attribute ultimate art that diffused heat immediately after impact, vaporizing the target without a trace.
But just before the Radiant Pierce’s light directly struck the heart, the Spell Master threw his body, blocking the heart.
He gathered Chimeras from all directions, conjoining his hands, and incanted a spell.
The Chimera’s flesh explosively spread out, transforming into a massive shield directly in front of the heart.
Conjunction Spellcraft Activated
Property Transformation: Hardening
[Linked Flesh Path]
KWA-AAAAAANG!!
The Linked Flesh Path shield, unable to withstand the heat, vanished without a trace. Simultaneously, the Spell Master’s figure was thrown back.
“Things certainly don’t go as one wishes.”
The Spell Master, precariously perched on the heart, shook his head, looking down at Lennok.
“That’s why I didn’t want to show you this.”
“That must be the decisive power that makes your Operating Theater ‘alive,’ isn’t it?”
FLARE!!
Lennok lit fire on his fingertips, engulfed himself in flames, and stepped forward.
“And it’s also why you established yourself in Gateway City.”
“Preheating isn’t just necessary for your heat magic to take effect.”
The Spell Master chuckled, dusting off his hands.
“I’m paying a very high cost to maintain this Operating Theater. So, originally, I had no intention of showing you, but… I’ve changed my mind.”
“…”
“The backlash you inflicted on me was much more severe than I expected. At this rate, it will be difficult to maintain this heartbeat at a normal rate.”
“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”
Lennok drew up his magic, looking coldly at the heart.
“Are you explaining this to me, asking me to burn it down right now?”
“My Domain is alive, but it lacks a few crucial elements to function as a living creature.”
The Spell Master chuckled, placing a hand on the heart he was standing on.
On the mountain of countless skulls, the grotesque form of the heart pulsed, emitting a reddish glow.
“A skeleton to support the body, magic power to prevent cellular decay, and a soul that must reside in a living being. These are all concepts I cannot bestow upon my Domain by myself.”
“…”
“A living creature lacking these three elements is not a living being, but merely a biological machine that reacts to stimuli. Do you understand what this means?”
The three elements necessary for life. Could there be an environment in this city that could fill such deficiencies?
Lennok, having thought that far, stopped speaking, realizing the answer was already evident.
He now understood why the Spell Master had settled in this Gateway City.
And what he intended to graft onto this Life Domain.
“…Could it be, the corpse of a Long-lived Being…!!!”
“It seems you understand.”
The moment the Spell Master’s five fingers dug into the surface of the gigantic heart and scraped it.
“What I am resurrecting as a living being is the Gateway of the Veil itself.”
Conjunction Spellcraft Activated
Life Domain Linkage
[Muscle Conjoining]
[Skeletal Conjoining]
[Nerve Conjoining]
[Magic Conjoining]
CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACKLE!!!
The Life Domain, the Operating Theater, which enveloped the corpse of the Long-lived Being, collapsed on the spot.
The flowing muscles and flesh cascaded down, beginning to ‘conjoin’ between the Long-lived Being’s spine and skull beneath it.
Flesh and muscles adhered to the ancient bones, forming a membrane and connecting nerves.
The moment the flesh attached to the Long-lived Being’s bones, the magic contained within the bones circulated into the muscles, adding strength.
The corpse of the Long-lived Being, with muscles adhering to its bones, rose above Gateway City, letting out a ferocious roar.
KWA-AAAAAANG!!!!!
[OOOOOH-OOOOOH!!!!!]
Thump!! Thump!! Thump!!
With a tremor that shook heaven and earth, the ground beneath Lennok’s feet violently swayed.
The mountain of bones piled beneath him crumbled, and a wave of bones surged.
CRUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!!
Lennok, balancing himself within the violently shaking massive room, spoke.
“From the start, you weren’t uninterested in the Gateway.”
“…”
“Rather, you intended to bring the Gateway completely under your control.”
Lennok’s eyes, visible through his sweat-soaked hair, gleamed intensely.
“Conjunction Spell Master. You intended to resurrect the First Gateway itself and make it your own Life Domain?”
The trait-type installed Life Domain, the Operating Theater, that Avesta Chapman had constructed in Gateway City.
The purpose of the Domain, which was a living operating room, was not to operate on patients.
It was to combine the Life Domain, composed only of flesh and muscles, with the corpse of a Long-lived Being to resurrect it.
The Conjunction Spell Master literally intended to combine the First Gateway of the Central Front with his Life Domain, bringing it under perfect control.
“In magi-medicine, it’s not clear when one diagnoses and determines the death of a living creature.”
The Spell Master replied, his face pale, as he descended before Lennok.
His outward appearance was normal, but it was evidence that he had not yet recovered from the backlash of the spellcraft.
“Simple reasons like not breathing or a stopped pulse cannot be the basis for judgment. What’s important is the overall harmony.”
“Harmony?”
“Bones and muscles, flesh and skeleton, nerves and magic power… Once assembled, the completeness of the parts does not significantly affect the operation of the individual.”
“…”
“The materials I prepared to resurrect this may be crude compared to the power it possessed in life. But as a result, I succeeded in preparing the minimum necessities for this Long-lived Being to ‘function’ again…”
Flash!!
The Spell Master said, viscous black magic swirling in both his hands.
“I used my spellcraft to conjoin it, ignoring any rejection.”
It was something only an 8-level Trait-type spellcaster, the Conjunction Spell Master, with a living Domain, could attempt.
A connection point that even Lennok hadn’t easily inferred, despite seeing the corpses of magical beasts draped across Gateway City and the living Life Domain.
Thus, there was a question that needed to be asked.
“Why… are you doing this?”
“Because the First Gateway is a ‘dead’ Gateway, made from the corpse of a Long-lived Being.”
“That the Gateway is dead, I already heard— “
“Conversely, the Second Gateway is still ‘alive’.”
“…!!”
Shocking information that left him speechless.
But the Spell Master didn’t wait for Lennok’s reply, walking past him and asking.
“Then what about the Third Gateway? And then? After overcoming all obstacles and reaching Ars Nova?”
“…”
“The closer one gets to Ars Nova, the more bizarre and incomprehensible the Gateways become, and the environment changes accordingly. Even mighty superhumans cannot endure long in [the other side] and go mad.”
The Spell Master, turning to face Lennok, said.
“Currently, the Alliance has accepted that it’s realistically impossible to advance any further into the Central Front. This is a top priority for the Alliance, separate from the war with the Cult.”
“…”
“Therefore, by giving life to the dead First Gateway, I seek to change the rules of the front itself. To break the shackles that Kundara’s ancient dragons placed at the cost of their lives.”
“All living creatures under the Veil will be affected.”
Lennok’s expression twitched.
“Even the humans living in Gateway City won’t escape the fallout. Hundreds of thousands of humans will die.”
“Oh really?”
KWA-AAAAAANG!!!
With a powerful roar, the room’s balance abruptly tilted sharply diagonally.
Simultaneously, the piles of bones beneath Lennok and the Spell Master rapidly rose along with the floor.
THWACK!!
The exterior walls of the Operating Theater swung open, revealing a clear sky above.
Lennok immediately understood what had happened.
The Life Domain, now one with the corpse of the Long-lived Being. A piece of its flank flesh had fallen away, revealing the outside scenery.
KWOO-WOOOOONG!!!
The colossal magical beast, with flesh conjoined all over its body, moved its feet over Gateway City.
A powerful shockwave exploded, crushing and erasing the city’s landscape.
“Uwaaaah!!”
“Save me, save me…!!”
Citizens screamed and fled beneath the ruined Gateway City.
The flesh adhering to the Long-lived Being’s corpse proliferated explosively, spreading throughout the city.
CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACKLE…!!!!
“I have just lifted the cell proliferation limit I had placed on my Domain.”
The Spell Master said, taking a step.
“This Operating Theater will continuously expand and proliferate, engulfing the entire city. Once it has swallowed all of Gateway City, it will begin to move.”
“…”
“It will literally become a living, moving Gateway and city, wandering the Central Front.”
Unbeknownst to them, the distance between the Spell Master and Lennok had once again closed.
The Spell Master, meeting Lennok’s gaze, calmly asked.
“Do you still wish to speak to me of human lives or anything of the sort?”
“…Indeed.”
Lennok, who had been silent, replied thus and turned his body around.
Passing by the Spell Master, he looked at the constantly moving colossal body of the Long-lived Being and the ruined landscape of Gateway City. At that moment, Lennok, observing the chaos, took a strong step forward.
PA-AAAAA-AAAAAT!!!
Simultaneously, a monochromatic ripple explosively erupted from beneath Lennok’s feet.
The ripple, spreading at an incredible speed, instantly enveloped the entire Domain, including the Operating Theater, and began to rotate.
The Spell Master, seeing this, flinched and looked up in surprise.
Lennok, gathering his hands and forming a seal, said.
“You are not the only one who possesses the technology to reshape environments.”
A tidal wave of flames exploded from beneath Lennok’s feet, spreading explosively in all directions across Gateway City.
The flames, erupting as if to incinerate the city, surged vertically, flickering like petals.
They rotated in a spiral, then wrapped around the Long-lived Being and burned intensely.
“From now on, I will personally create the battlefield.”
Domain Expansion
Origin-Rank Mind Imprint Manifestation
[Celestial Flower’s Myriad-League Fragrance]
“Impossible. The scale of the Domain…!!!”
The deployment of a Domain that swallowed the entirety of the Life Domain, which the Spell Master had prepared for months.
At the unreal scale of the Domain, the Spell Master’s expression hardened, unable to even react.
KWAAA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA!!!!
A colossal flower of flame enveloped all of Gateway City, beginning to incinerate everything in sight.