Chapter 1027: Milestone (14)
The Cult’s Sixth Apostle. Armas von Anathema, the Six Heavenly Tribulations.
A noble exiled from Ars Nova, a name carrying causality immune to the Prohibition.
And a renegade who, as an Apostle, received the power of an Outer God and coveted a physical body in reality.
The situation was brought to a close when he fell as an Apostle and was subjugated by Lennok, but the repercussions he left behind were as immense as his reputation.
The meeting between 8-level beings, which ended in disarray and had to be postponed.
Including participants who died amidst the Guido Cult’s intervention and the chaotic battle, and the struggle for the Forbidden Armament possessed by Anathema.
But who would have thought that the nobles of Ars Nova would come to Vulcan so quickly for his funeral?
[Adamant Thunder. This way.]
“Madam.”
Madam, veiled in black, guided Lennok with a relaxed gesture.
Passing through a brightly lit corridor, a dressing room filled with various clothes appeared.
[You’ll need some help before meeting the nobles of Ars Nova~]
Madam smiled broadly, lightly patting Lennok’s shoulder.
[Welcome. Of course, you’d need my advice, not Jenicia’s.]
“It’s true that your advice was helpful during the hearing.”
Lennok replied, his face expressionless, as he looked around.
“If we have to deal with nobles, it’s best to go in with at least some prior knowledge.”
[Of course, of course~]
Madam nodded, letting out a captivating laugh.
[My business motto is to take on a few outsourced jobs like this, and then steal the clients whole.]
“……”
[Oh dear, was that a business secret too sensitive to reveal here?]
Immediately after the battle between Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon, a City Council hearing was held against Adamant Thunder.
To prepare for Ars Nova’s Judgment Edict used there, Lennok had sought Madam’s advice.
Indeed, he was able to easily conclude the hearing by exploiting a loophole in the Geas that she had advised him about.
As an ancient vampire, Madam was an expert in past etiquette and rituals.
With her help, they could prepare to meet the Central Nobles.
“I just didn’t expect that we’d have to start with a dress code.”
[If the Central Nobles have come for Anathema’s funeral, then who will arrive is predetermined.]
Madam, deftly holding a shirt and suit in front of Lennok, said.
[To avoid being unnecessarily bound by their archaic laws, these seemingly minor procedures are surprisingly important.]
“……”
Did Madam already know which of the Central Nobles had come to this city?
No, that wasn’t the nuance. It wasn’t something she’d been told, but rather a response closer to ‘it’s obvious who would come’.
“You know about the nobles who survived the fall of Ars Nova.”
Lennok, having quickly drawn a conclusion, stared at Madam with a grave gaze.
“Who are the nobles who have come to this city? Another survivor bearing Anathema’s name?”
[Ah, for that part, please get an explanation from Olivera.]
Madam chuckled softly from behind her black veil.
[If a vampire like me were to carelessly chatter about Anathema’s causality, it would be a perfect topic to get hit by the backlash of the Prohibition.]
“……”
[You’ll know as soon as you meet them, no need to rush. Given their origins, they don’t bother trying to hide themselves.]
Madam said, pulling out a coat with an antique golden trim.
[In some ways, Adamant Thunder, you have quite a few similarities with them. The paradoxical nobility stemming from their inhuman aspects… I quite like those things.]
“……”
Lennok’s gaze, fixed on Madam, sank low.
“It seems you haven’t given up on that nonsense about the ‘city’s phase’ or whatever.”
During the hearing, Madam had once said that her reason for helping Lennok was to witness an unapproachable phase.
Hadn’t she said that pawns moving according to her will could never escape the limits Madam herself had set?
They’d exchanged some idle chatter about ‘kingmakers’ and such, but he’d let it be, assuming her judgment had simply chosen to side with Lennok—
[I met Cheonbeon recently. Perhaps you already know?]
“……”
[He was an excellent man, but there were too many people who’d already ‘marked’ him like the Lighthouse Keeper, so I lost interest.]
Madam gave Lennok a strange smile.
[I don’t like being tied down to anything. I’d rather have things be completely out of my grasp, if that’s the alternative.]
“You speak as if you have the right to choose.”
Lennok sneered.
“It’s quite different from before, when you holed up in your castle and never came out. Have you had a change of heart?”
In the past, even after becoming aware of Lennok’s existence, Madam had long avoided direct contact with him.
It was only after Lennok personally sought Madam out to meet Murphy that he was able to see her face.
But now, her words and actions were as proactive as if she were ready to return to the field at any moment.
No, it should be seen as a decision she had already made at the point when she allied with the Cartel and confronted Cheonbeon.
[Oh, it’s not such a grand story.]
Madam, having seemingly decided on the formal wear, turned to Lennok and replied.
Her shadow, as she rummaged through the shirts hanging in the dressing room, suddenly stretched out ominously.
[I thought I had let go of a lot, but there were still things I was bound to.]
“……”
[If it’s a problem that cannot be resolved merely by ‘self-satisfaction,’ then perhaps there’s a need to change one’s attitude towards the rest of one’s life?]
The change of heart of a vampire so ancient that even Virgil consistently sought her counsel.
It’s likely related to the Seventh Apostle, Lariata Armush, who regained her senses within the Guido Cult.
What kind of relationship does she, a vampire who has lived for so long, have with other vampires?
How far back does the origin of the power and blood magic she has hidden extend?
Even Lennok couldn’t definitively discern what Madam had hidden within that shadow.
‘I had a hunch ever since she babbled about collecting the blood of 8-level beings as a hobby…’
Madam had told Lennok that she considered collecting the blood of superhumans a hobby.
Even for a vampire, could someone who hasn’t reached a high rank easily handle such blood?
[Change and get ready immediately. I’ve already arranged a sedan, so you can take that.]
Madam lightly clapped her hands, handing Lennok the full set of formal wear.
[Finally, I’ll tell you just two things to be cautious about in front of the nobles.]
The dark sky, where the sunset faded and evening approached.
A bustling skyscraper overlooking the cityscape of Vulcan.
Standing on the rooftop of the super-tall building, Lennok opened his mouth as he saw the tall woman at the edge of the terrace.
“Olivera.”
[You’re late.]
Whoosh!!
Olivera stood precariously at the edge of the building’s rooftop, as if she might fall at any moment.
Her splendid ceremonial robe was no different, but she wore a small coronet on her head.
At Olivera’s cold, anticipated rebuke, Lennok tugged at his shirt sleeve and shrugged.
“It took longer than I expected to choose the formal wear. And there was Madam’s advice.”
[Did you get an explanation from Elevra Tribiyer?]
“I only heard a few simple precautions. She said you would explain the rest yourself.”
“……”
Lennok, approaching Olivera from behind, looked at the night view spread beneath her feet and asked.
“I’d like to hear why you chose this location before we start.”
At the point when the Central Nobles arrived in Vulcan for Anathema’s funeral, he could understand the necessity of meeting them.
Regardless of Anathema’s fall as an Apostle, it was clear that the two of them were deeply involved in his death.
Having shared his remains, and concluded a deal before the meeting, Lennok and Olivera could hardly back out now.
But what Lennok was truly curious about was not why they were meeting the nobles now.
He had already resolved to bear the responsibility for Anathema’s death and the ownership of his remains from the moment he killed him.
If meeting the nobles was necessary to resolve that issue, he would do so, but the problem was the method.
Why did they have to stand in formal wear on a skyscraper, not a banquet hall, with Olivera?
If he were to infer from Madam’s casual explanation, perhaps…
“Is it because the noble who has come to Vulcan now possesses an ability to enforce rules on others?”
[Half of that is correct.]
Olivera let out a soft, cold sneer.
[But there is a far more sublime and hideous reason there.]
“……”
[The nobles of Ars Nova have long engaged in selective breeding according to their bloodlines and roles. Through this, they acquired thoroughly refined Bloodline Innate Abilities.]
Lennok also knew what kind of selective breeding she was referring to.
When Lennok inherited the Post-Heaven Eight Trigrams Formation from Anathema, he had also felt an odd sensation from the Eight Trigrams Formation.
A strange yet unsettling foreignness, as if their innate abilities had been refined and polished by arbitrarily manipulating their very genes.
Olivera was saying that such an unsettling foreignness existed not only in Anathema but in other nobles as well.
[Among them, the one who has come to Vulcan now is the undertaker responsible for the nobles’ soul pacification.]
Olivera, looking up at the night sky from the edge of the skyscraper, whispered softly.
[A monster born with a ‘Domain’ from birth.]
“……What?”
[They’re coming.]
The moment Lennok flinched at Olivera’s unexpected explanation.
Beyond the darkening evening sky, a vibrant green meadow began to appear.
Shhhwoosh!!
It effortlessly transformed the empty sky, where there was nowhere to stand, into a meadow.
“That’s…”
White gravestones stood densely lined up on the swaying grassland.
The towering form of a colossal church rose amidst the long rows of gravestones.
A powerful mental image approaching, overdrawing the entire empty space.
A Domain of immense size was unfolding from the distant sky towards them.
“……”
Only then did Lennok understand Olivera’s explanation and the current situation.
The Central Nobles hadn’t demanded that they wait on the skyscraper to meet them.
To make contact with such a vast Domain without harm, they simply had to be far from the ground from the start.
Shhhhh…!!
The meadow landscape, which had extended to the edge of the skyscraper’s rooftop, split open, revealing a path leading to the church.
Only then did Olivera, stepping from the edge of the terrace towards the meadow, open her mouth.
[Let’s move.]
“……”
[They will be waiting.]
Following Olivera, who walked slowly across the meadow, Lennok took slow steps and asked.
“I’d like an explanation about being born with a Domain. Does that mean their Root Mindscape was determined even before birth?”
A Domain is the power to alter reality by projecting the spellcaster’s Root Mindscape into space.
A Root Mindscape is a miracle created by combining the spellcaster’s origins and life.
A miracle that cannot be decided by the spellcaster’s will, as it is evidence of the time and life they have lived.
To be born with such a Domain, does that not mean that their Root Mindscape was predestined even before their birth?
[Because he was a noble, entrusted with the role of an undertaker from before his birth.]
Olivera replied, walking between the gravestones lining the path to the church.
[Therefore, he himself is a Domain and a cemetery, and every place he moves and resides becomes his Domain.]
“……”
[Balancing curses and blessings… it is the fate of those who even played with their innate bloodline and nobility.]
Click!!
Standing before the grand, colossal church, a cold smile seemed to briefly play on Olivera’s lips.
[There were those who mimicked it, like Kabahim, but they only failed and bore an ugly curse. In the end, all that remains now is—]
Creeeaaak…!!
At that moment, the church’s massive wooden doors swung open, revealing the vast scenery of the chapel before Lennok’s eyes.
Hundreds of choristers, their eyes blindfolded, sang softly.
A gigantic, empty golden coffin lay diagonally in the middle of the chapel.
Silver candelabras radiating light from all sides, and colorful stained-glass windows coloring the panes.
[-Only the empty sentiment that our failures hold no meaning for them.]
“……”
At the far end of the vast chapel, a man stood with his back turned.
Over two meters tall, with a gaunt, emaciated appearance that seemed to show every bone.
Just by encountering his alien appearance, which didn’t feel human, a strong sense of déjà vu washed over him.
Something that became real the moment he faced someone born fundamentally different, who had lived a different life.
Was this the proof of the Central Nobles that Madam spoke of, who didn’t bother to hide themselves?
The man, whose face was not just gaunt but ascetic, looked down at the Holy Book in his hand and said.
“The Mirror of the Seven Debts Jewels has arrived.”
“……”
“Is this the first time we’ve met since Travesh’s funeral?”
A calm tone of voice, devoid of any will or power.
No trace of emotion could be felt in his expression or gestures.
A message delivered here felt as impersonal as if he had come to handle official business.
While Olivera remained silent, Lennok extended his mana perception around the church.
‘Three presences felt.’
Two that blazed without any attempt to hide themselves, and one so faint he might not even have known it was there.
Were these the Central Nobles who had personally come to Vulcan to hold Anathema’s funeral?
The moment Lennok recalled the answer he had prepared in advance regarding what to say about the events with Anathema.
“I’d like to begin the soul pacification immediately, but there’s something to be done before sounding the horn of commencement.”
The tall, thin man, presumed to be the undertaker, turned his ascetic face.
“It is a request from Akendrias El Thorben.”
“……El Thorben?”
The moment Lennok’s expression involuntarily stiffened at the words he had not anticipated at all.
“Ah, I’ve finally found you.”
A deep, resonant male voice echoed softly from above the chapel.
A tone that, though not raised, was as booming as thunder and as flashing as lightning.
A presence that flashed like lightning, incredibly intense yet familiar—
‘Familiar?’
Crackle!
Lennok, suddenly raising his head, saw an elderly man with sharp features smiling before him.
“You are indeed the master of Apex Thunder I’ve been searching for.”
An antique appearance, with white hair carelessly swept back.
Too grand for an old man, yet showing the passage of time for a middle-aged one.
That paradoxical and explosive vitality seemed to envelop the old man before them like a thunderbolt.
“After crossing the horizon of thought, I wonder how long it took ‘this old man’ to grasp the direction of the lightning he perceived.”
Crackle, crackle…!!
Intense Lightning Radiance flashed around the old man’s body.
No, his entire body seemed to scatter as a single bolt of lightning.
“You’ve waited long enough, so we should start immediately, shouldn’t we?”
The ultimate technique of ‘Lightning Transformation,’ which Lennok had never attempted, nor even dared to conceive of attempting.
Yet, the master of this magic system felt incredibly familiar—
Kiiiiiing…!!!
“Show ‘this old man’ the resounding echo of thunder that you witnessed, clearly and grandly.”
“Surely, Thorben’s…!!”
No time was given for any words.
The moment the old man took a step forward, an immeasurable, colossal will-thought pressed down on Lennok.
A colossal Lightning Dragon soared above the Hall of Promises, dyeing the night sky a vivid blue.
KABOOOOOM!!!