Chapter 1012: Conjunction Spell Master (13)
“Haa, haa…!!”
Angel gasped for breath, running across the frozen, icy road.
The moment he carried the unconscious people out of the ruined fortress and escaped.
A fireball plummeted from the sky, striking the very spot where Angel had stood.
Kwaaaang!!
“Uwaaaak!!”
Angel screamed, sliding across the icy path. Barely escaping the blast radius, he sighed in relief and collapsed.
“Hooah, hooah!!”
“Good work, Angel.”
Bernard, covered in soot, patted Angel’s shoulder as he lay prone.
“The evacuation of the city residents is complete. There should be no casualties.”
“Puhaat!! Hahaha…!!”
Angel took a ragged breath, then burst into an absurd laugh.
“I haven’t put in this much effort for disaster relief since joining the Cartel… I guess if you live long enough, you see everything.”
“It wouldn’t have been possible in the first place if you hadn’t aligned with the other factions stationed in the city.”
Bernard’s expression was complex as he turned his gaze towards Gateway City.
“That’s how much the events unfolding within that city right now… are an emergency beyond any standard.”
“…”
At his words, Angel also fell silent, staring at the devastation that soared beyond the city.
A magnificent blaze, connecting the ground and sky, burned fiercely.
A dark crimson pillar of fire, erupting above Gateway City, pierced through the overcast sky and spun.
Kuoooooo…!!!
Countless fire petals, too numerous to count, swirled around Gateway City, raging and burning.
The fiery petals fluttered, engulfing the ground, devouring even the clouds in the sky, and incinerating them.
A rampage due to mana resonance. A sea of mana overflowing, consuming Gateway City.
A pillar of fire, a blossoming flame flower, surged from the heart of Gateway City.
Millions of fragmented petals spread out and then converged, forming a majestic pillar of flame.
A radiance and heat that forbade even prolonged staring, let alone approaching.
Would it look like this if the sun were molded and plunged into the earth?
Even if the pillars of hell were pulled out to incinerate heaven and earth, it wouldn’t be this precarious.
The one-on-one showdown between Conjunction Spell Master Avesta Chapman and Cheonbeon Evan Martinez.
Everyone now knew whose victory had concluded the battle between the two spellcasters, fought across the entirety of Gateway City.
“I had a hunch when Sixth Seat Ballak O’Edon ended up like that, but this… I can’t believe it even seeing it.”
Bernard, turning to Angel with a wry expression, asked,
“You mean that even after such a monster ran wild in Vulcan, the city still operates normally?”
“…Indeed.”
Just by observing the scene from thousands of meters away, one could grasp the level Evan Martinez’s power had reached.
A talent even Bernard, who had witnessed many miracles and mysteries of the world as an explorer, was seeing for the first time.
That’s why Bernard couldn’t believe that such a wizard, even at full power, had been defeated.
“In terms of magic scale and magnitude alone, he seems to be among the top few spellcasters I’ve seen in my entire life.”
“…”
“You’re saying Vulcan’s Adamant Thunder faced and defeated such a wizard once…”
Bernard mumbled, his voice full of disbelief.
“There was a reason the Cartel bowed its head so meekly. What kind of monster lives in that city, anyway?”
“We didn’t exactly bow our heads…”
Angel retorted, sounding wronged, then followed Bernard’s gaze.
“But the power of Cheonbeon I faced before wasn’t this extreme. Especially the Domain he used…”
A vast sea of faint petals, covering and scattering across the city sky.
It shone beautifully like cherry blossoms, yet incinerated everything it touched to ash.
Angel stared silently at the flame flower blooming in the heart of the city, then muttered blankly,
“His mana has increased since then. That’s why the size of the Domain has proportionally grown larger.”
“…”
“I can’t understand it either. After being defeated by Van, perhaps his original power grew even stronger…”
The showdown between Cheonbeon and Adamant Thunder had shaken the entire mega-city.
But despite Angel’s worries, Cheonbeon had not lost any of his power even after his defeat by Adamant Thunder.
The imagery of his Domain, which was far stronger and more dangerous than on that day he desperately fought to save the Lighthouse Keeper.
Trampling and burning everything on the battlefield, yet never hiding himself for even a moment.
He was exactly as Angel remembered him then.
Perhaps he had known from the moment he arrived at the Central Front that things would turn out this way.
Bernard glanced at Angel, who had fallen silent with a complex expression, and asked,
“You’re an ice ability user, aren’t you? Can you penetrate this blaze and approach Cheonbeon?”
“Are you insane? You want me to break through this and go to Cheonbeon?”
Angel made an incredulous face and extended a hand.
Crack!!
The ice extending from his hand couldn’t withstand the flames near the fortress and melted away.
“These are not flames that burn matter, but properties. If I try to endure it forcibly, my ability itself will be damaged.”
“…”
“Unless Cheonbeon himself opens a path, no one will be able to approach the Gateway.”
“…Huh. Can’t be helped.”
Bernard sighed softly, pulling out a terminal from his pocket.
“What are you trying to do?”
“Since the first Gateway is in this state, it means Cheonbeon himself has no intention of hiding it.”
Bernard replied indifferently, tapping on the terminal.
“Within half a day, related information will spread throughout the entire front. We need to confirm the situation and relay the information first.”
“The situation, you mean…”
“There’s only one piece of information that will spread through the Gateway starting today.”
Leaving Angel with a bitter smile, Bernard turned away and muttered,
“Evan Martinez… has defeated the Conjunction Spell Master of the Order Alliance.”
Everything before his eyes burned away into a dark crimson form.
Even the struggling masses of flesh, desperately flailing within the swirling inferno, eventually lost strength.
The Life Domain deployed by the Conjunction Spell Master began to lose its vitality, turning into a handful of ash.
The full bloom of the Celestial Flower’s Myriad-League Fragrance Domain.
The power of the Domain, amplified through the restriction of ‘preheating’, was a miracle that incinerated heaven and earth.
But the true value of this Domain lay in its semi-permanent duration, unmatched by any other Domain.
Whirrr!!
Among the imageries of the Kaleidoscope, this Domain was pulled forth under the extremely demanding condition of consuming additional time immediately after deployment.
The Celestial Flower’s Myriad-League Fragrance, deployed with a time restriction, was no longer bound by time after fully blooming.
Literally, a Domain that burns targets continuously and semi-permanently, unaffected by time.
It poured out power that ranked among Lennok’s top Domains, relentlessly, until the target was completely annihilated.
Lennok had already decided which Domain to use against the Conjunction Spell Master even before the fight ended.
Kwooogagagaga!!!!
“…Ah.”
The Conjunction Spell Master, his entire body being shredded, was buried in the center of the flame flower that incinerated heaven and earth.
Millions of fragmented petals brushed and spun, grinding and burning his body without a moment’s rest.
His body was completely incinerated by the Domain’s flames, only to regenerate through his immortality ability.
He was exposed semi-permanently to the brain-piercing agony of continuous regeneration and incineration.
Even the Conjunction Spell Master’s body, enhanced with an immortality ability, was nothing more than kindling before the endlessly burning flames of the Domain.
The very foundation of his innate abilities burned away and vanished before the superiority of the law Lennok had established.
“You…”
Kuooooo…!!!
From within the storm of countless fiery petals, a battered Lennok walked towards the Conjunction Spell Master.
Clutching his blood-soaked side, he swayed as if he would collapse at any moment, yet maintained his balance.
The moment the Conjunction Spell Master, being shredded by the endlessly burning, majestic flames, met Lennok’s blood-drenched gaze.
Paat!!
The two were suddenly standing in the middle of a majestic hall of flames.
The Conjunction Spell Master looked alternately at his own unharmed body and Lennok’s, then immediately understood the situation.
“…A Consciousness Space.”
“You’re quick to understand, as expected of a spellcaster of the same level.”
A Simulated Consciousness Space arbitrarily constructed by modifying or conjoining the consciousnesses of high-level superhumans.
“I borrowed and slightly modified the imagery of the Consciousness Space used in Blaiver Magic Tower.”
Lennok said.
“It would conserve mana to manifest by borrowing an existing form.”
“As the Tower Lord said, you truly are a renegade who inherited the will of a former Magic Tower Lord.”
The Conjunction Spell Master looked at Lennok with a calm expression.
The excitement he had shown before the Celestial Flower’s Myriad-League Fragrance fully bloomed was gone, replaced by a surprisingly composed acceptance of the outcome.
Staring intently at Lennok, the Conjunction Spell Master offered a detached smile.
“This battle was nothing but miscalculations from start to finish. I couldn’t understand how you could endure until the end with a body like that…”
“…”
“It was Jindun’s Barrier Spellcraft. Did you prepare for my spellcraft even before we began?”
Instead of pouring out hatred or anger, the Conjunction Spell Master’s question rehashed the already concluded battle.
Did he understand that, with the outcome of this fight settled, no maneuver could overturn the result?
But Lennok did not bother to deny the Conjunction Spell Master’s observation.
The ten types of Great Barriers he had deployed across his entire body just before encountering the Conjunction Spell Master.
The Stopping Wheel Barrier, specialized for defense and harmony. The Filamentary Barrier, specialized for detection and vigilance. The Exclusion Barrier, specialized for expulsion and rejection.
The true ability of the Body Isolation Barrier, deployed last over the total of nine Great Barriers.
Lennok knew that the Conjunction Spell Master had perceived it.
“At the moment the barrier is deployed, it records and stores information about the body’s metabolism and physical functions, then ‘isolates’ it.”
Lennok explained.
“If physical abilities are lost, the recorded information is recalled and reproduced with mana. As long as the barrier is maintained, the body can move normally.”
“So it was an innate ability to continue fighting until death, regardless of injuries.”
“There are two drawbacks. It’s impossible to reproduce anything beyond the state recorded at that time, and reproducing bodily functions with mana consumes an immense amount of power. It wouldn’t have been sustainable without using the Crimson Star System…”
Whirrr!!
Lennok, igniting pale green flames, continued.
“Since I was fighting you, I knew I would have to directly endure your Conjunction Spellcraft at least once.”
The Trait-type Spellcraft, having reached Level 8. Superb physical combat skills capable of matching Lennok head-on.
The ability to freely command thousands of Chimeras, along with various one-time activation spellcraft systems.
Even the hyper-regeneration gained by conjoining immortality abilities, and the sense to manipulate space itself through conjunction.
Among the powerful individuals Lennok had faced, none had controlled such dangerous abilities with such perfect versatility.
It would have been a much more challenging battle if he hadn’t initiated by detonating the spellcraft’s backlash using Targeted Resistance.
That’s why Lennok hadn’t lightly dismissed the fact that he might have to directly endure the Conjunction Spell Master’s spellcraft at least once.
The reason he could continue fighting, ignoring injuries to his side, lower back, shoulders, arms, blood vessels, muscles, and internal organs.
He substituted his bodily functions with the Body Isolation Barrier’s ability until the fight ended, then repaired his body with the Healing Spark.
Upon detonating the Celestial Flower’s Myriad-League Fragrance, all spellcraft within the Domain gained a several dozen-fold amplification efficiency.
Now, he could amplify the effects of the Healing Spark to heal his wounds, even if only slightly.
“I once researched how to kill that which cannot die.”
Lennok gestured, and the hall of flames rotated, enveloping the two of them.
Whirrrr!!
“I could have faced you using the power that killed an Apostle, but if I had, the outcome probably wouldn’t have been like this.”
The branching point of the Kaleidoscope, where Lennok entered the cult and awakened as the Apostle of the Void.
If he had used the Madness-Naked Void Palace, he could have ignored the Conjunction Spell Master’s immortality ability and killed him.
But Lennok, knowing this, chose the Celestial Flower’s Myriad-League Fragrance and the method of grinding the Conjunction Spell Master head-on.
The reason he could use the Madness-Naked Void Palace in battles against Amrita or Dorye was the powerful catalyst of the Apostle Selection Ritual.
Without such support, using the Madness-Naked Void Palace would have required refining the cult-related power or authority before the battle.
Even then, he would have suffered very severe after-effects immediately after deploying the Domain.
“I had to endure the supply of Chimeras because we fought within your Life Domain, but conversely, it also limited your large-scale use of spellcraft.”
“…”
“You also realized it in the end and tried to change the battlefield’s location, but—”
“By then, your Domain’s preparations were already complete. I understand.”
The Conjunction Spell Master nodded.
Since the Conjunction Spell Master’s goal was to conjoin his Life Domain with the first Gateway, he himself couldn’t use large-scale spellcraft within his Domain.
Furthermore, at the point where the Domain was confined by the Celestial Flower’s Myriad-League Fragrance barrier, he also had to consider the damage to the Long-lived Being’s corpse.
Lennok had known this from the start, and knowing that fighting inside the Domain was disadvantageous, he had begun the engagement with the Conjunction Spell Master.
And in the end, he succeeded in blooming the Domain fully, bringing the fight to a conclusion.
Snap!!
The Conjunction Spell Master’s left shoulder, standing in the Consciousness Space, scattered and vanished.
The Conjunction Spell Master struggled to support his arm and tried to stand, but lost his balance and fell.
Thud!!
“This is…”
What did it mean that the Conjunction Spell Master’s body in the Consciousness Space was collapsing and disappearing?
The Conjunction Spell Master, realizing the implications, lowered his head with an impassive face, just as—
“The flames of the Celestial Flower’s Myriad-League Fragrance do not stop once they bloom fully.”
Lennok said, looking down at the fallen Conjunction Spell Master.
“The target for incineration was everything that existed within the barrier immediately after the Domain’s deployment. You and your Domain could never have avoided incineration in any way.”
“…”
“You are already dead. I am merely pausing the influence of the real-world outcome on this Consciousness Space.”
“…I see. Was this bonus time for me from the beginning?”
Did the Conjunction Spell Master realize it too?
He, who had struggled to stand, now lay sprawled in the Consciousness Space.
Scratching his chin, the Conjunction Spell Master said,
“If I had known this, I would have conjoined with a different host instead of Mikal Zelih. I shouldn’t have trusted the regeneration ability to endure your magic.”
“…”
“I thought a day like this might come, so I prepared many things, but in the end, I couldn’t even use half of them… It’s a pity.”
Even facing his defeat and death, the Conjunction Spell Master’s attitude was unbelievably detached.
Far from denying or rejecting Lennok’s words, he calmly accepted and analyzed the situation.
Perhaps it was fitting for a Conjunction Spell Master who had captured and modified countless humans into Chimeras throughout his life.
“If you paused this for something you’re curious about, finish it quickly then.”
Crack…!!
The Conjunction Spell Master’s right arm instantly turned to ash and scattered.
Watching his arm vanish in an instant, the Conjunction Spell Master said indifferently,
“As you said, it seems I don’t have much time.”
“…”
He knew that his form only remained in the Consciousness Space due to the will of Lennok, the Domain’s master.
And that it wouldn’t be strange if even his will disappeared at any moment.
Lennok had answered the Conjunction Spell Master’s questions rehashing the battle precisely because he, conversely, wanted answers from the Conjunction Spell Master.
“You were one of the pillars supporting the Great Connection within the Order Alliance.”
Lennok asked.
“What happens if a Grand Spell Master dies in the Alliance?”
“A suitable successor is chosen to fill the position.”
The Conjunction Spell Master replied.
“Since the spellcraft itself isn’t directly inherited, the Great Connection is adjusted around the spellcraft mastered by the new Conjunction Spell Master.”
“The adjustment process?”
“It’s complicated. It’s not something that can be explained in words. There are rituals that stimulate spirituality by weaving Spell-Words… and an aptitude for innate abilities is also required.”
Snap!!
The Conjunction Spell Master’s legs vanished.
“The final approval goes through the Alliance Leader, but he doesn’t directly intervene in the Great Connection. His role is merely to set the stage.”
“…The stage?”
“If all the spells in this world are woven and connected into one, wouldn’t a place be needed to house it?”
The Conjunction Spell Master smiled faintly.
“That is the Alliance Leader’s role. And frankly, he’s only capable of such things.”
“…”
The leader of the Order Alliance, one of the largest factions on the Central Front.
Lennok felt as if he had just heard a very important secret about the Alliance Leader.
No, would it be a misconception if he felt an even greater sense of déjà vu regarding the Alliance Leader described by the Conjunction Spell Master?
Perhaps the ‘stage’ the Alliance Leader was preparing was—
Snap!!
Before Lennok could finish his thought, the Conjunction Spell Master’s upper body vanished.
Abdomen, ribs, heart, collarbone, shoulders.
Organs, skin, and bones scattered into a handful of ash.
“This is the end, Evan Martinez.”
“…”
“It was an enjoyable, albeit short, time. Your talent was astonishing, but I realized that the answer you envision goes beyond that.”
The Conjunction Spell Master, with only half his face remaining, tilted his head towards Lennok and smiled.
“Magic that dismantles the incomprehensible, and a Domain that binds time as a restriction… either of these is nothing short of a manifestation of the impossible for spellcasters like us. You have already obtained two such miracles.”
“…”
“But what’s even more surprising is that you, possessing such miracles, were defeated by Adamant Thunder.”
Even as his entire face scattered and disappeared, the Conjunction Spell Master smiled.
“I’m so curious about the defeat you experienced in Vulcan, and the existence of Adamant Thunder. I hope the Conjunction Spell Master who replaces me can also learn about you…”
“…Conjunction Spell Master. Enough with the lies.”
Lennok couldn’t hold back and stomped on the Conjunction Spell Master’s half-remaining head.
Crush!!
Lennok looked down with an impassive face at the Conjunction Spell Master, who was still smiling even with his face stomped.
“You were fighting using only the left hemisphere of your brain from the beginning. Did you think I would forget the existence of the other half?”
“…”
“Your right brain, which you extracted in advance. You wouldn’t have discarded or disposed of it. You must have hidden it somewhere, planning to use it as a catalyst for revival.”
At the point Lennok kicked the Conjunction Spell Master’s head, the right brain was no longer present in his head.
He must have taken precautions in advance to conjoin Mikal Zelih’s right brain with his own left brain.
But the Conjunction Spell Master would not have discarded his own extracted right brain with his own hands.
And Lennok knew that if half of the Conjunction Spell Master’s brain was alive, he could surely be revived somewhere.
However, the Conjunction Spell Master slowly shook his head at Lennok’s observation.
“Evan Martinez. You don’t know how complex an organ the human brain is.”
“What did you say?”
“The moment the right brain is extracted and its connection severed, the information experienced by the left brain is not transmitted to the right brain. This is because the corpus callosum itself, which transmits information, is cut.”
The Conjunction Spell Master stated.
“Our battle today won’t be passed on to another me… ‘I’ will die completely in this place.”
“…”
“Of course, this is an explanation based on neuroscience and brain medicine, but if we delve into Arcane Medicine, there will be differences in the concept of consciousness—”
The Conjunction Spell Master met Lennok’s gaze and gave a transparent smile.
“Shall I leave the pleasure of that part to the me who survives?”
“…Avesta Chapman.”
“Whether he tries to kill you, or holds goodwill. What he might remember when he sees you. I’m so curious, but…”
The Conjunction Spell Master’s head completely scattered and vanished.
Only his voice echoed silently, like a phantom.
“It’s no fun to solve all problems before dying.”
“…”
“It’s not bad to carry one such delusion to the very end. Don’t you think?”
Lennok closed his eyes silently, without answering the Conjunction Spell Master’s question.
The moment he opened his eyes again, the Consciousness Space where the two had been disappeared.
Only the Conjunction Spell Master’s remains, vanishing in the storm of flame flowers, lay before him.
Kwooogagagagaga!!!!!
The Conjunction Spell Master’s body, incinerated down to the particle level, finally lost its regenerative ability and turned into a pile of ash.
Skin, muscles, nerves, and skeleton. Even his mind and soul were incinerated.
Paahhh!!!
His remains scattered into fragments with the petals flying in all directions.
A rain of dazzling petals began to fall over the dark sky of Gateway City.
Above the city. The flames covering the entire veil shimmered like a heat haze, casting a curtain of fire.
Dividing the ground and sky, the blaze shone like warm sunlight, melting everything away.
“…”
Was the end the Conjunction Spell Master accepted in his final moments truly the complete death he spoke of?
Even after falling at the Gateway, failing to achieve his goals, he remained detached to the very end.
Whether it was the relief of having found his own answer, or a hidden lingering regret, it didn’t matter.
From the moment he recognized the existence of the right brain, Lennok had also been manipulating the situation to prevent his own information from being leaked.
Lennok silently looked at the spot where the Conjunction Spell Master had vanished, then stumbled and turned away.
Separate from the Conjunction Spell Master, his Life Domain still retained its original form.
Now that he had won the showdown against the Conjunction Spell Master, there was still a reward to collect from within it.