Chapter 1060: Shadow of the Star (6)
The Order Alliance’s plan was for the Alliance Leader himself to confront the Second Apostle while rebuilding the Great Connection.
However, to do so, Celestial Spellcraft was required, an ability that could temporarily rewrite the laws of physics.
The Alliance Leader had stated that to obtain the Celestial Spellcraft, he intended to kill its wielder and extract it.
“The Alliance Leader knew from the beginning that I was heading to Kundara.”
Lennok said.
“And a Transcendent of his caliber couldn’t possibly be ignorant of the methods required to reach Kundara.”
“……”
“Twisting the Veil with Celestial Spellcraft, and heading to the Outer Tribulation City hidden beyond it. If the Alliance Leader knew that…”
In the dark room, Lennok’s eyes gleamed coldly.
“Then the Harvester Spell Master was merely a watchdog sent to confirm if I possessed Celestial Spellcraft.”
The Alliance Leader had apologized for summoning Lennok to the Glass Garden and claimed he would send the Harvester Spell Master to assist him on his way to Kundara.
But Lennok had already guessed that the Alliance Leader’s true intentions were not so benign.
He had only provided an excuse to send a monitor, to confirm if Lennok possessed the means to twist the Veil, or if he held Celestial Spellcraft.
“At the moment I began heading to Kundara, he grew suspicious of Celestial Spellcraft’s existence and contacted me.”
Lennok, raising his gaze, continued.
“Yet, he first brought up the Second Apostle to divert my attention, only attempting to probe me at the very last moment.”
“……”
Had that entire conversation been planned from the moment he first met the Alliance Leader?
Lennok believed it highly probable.
From the Alliance’s plan, beginning with the shocking proposal to bring down the Second Apostle, all the way to the mention of Celestial Spellcraft.
Even the ulterior motive behind bringing up Celestial Spellcraft just before parting, to gauge Lennok’s reaction.
In hindsight, every moment seemed meticulously and precisely designed, woven together like a tight tapestry.
Lennok was certain that even the Harvester Spell Master’s existence, mentioned in passing, had been pre-arranged.
“There are three confirmed facts, then, from the moment the Alliance Leader actually sent the Harvester Spell Master to you,” Olivera said, raising a finger.
“First. The Order Alliance suspects you possess Celestial Spellcraft, but they aren’t certain.”
“……”
“If they were certain of Celestial Spellcraft’s existence, they wouldn’t have sent just one Spell Master. They would have dispatched more personnel to definitively extract the spellcraft.”
“What’s the second?”
“The Harvester Spell Master knows what Celestial Spellcraft is and possesses the discernment to clearly identify it.”
Olivera folded a finger.
“He was likely dispatched as a monitor because he can definitively ascertain if Celestial Spellcraft has been used the moment the Veil opens.”
“……”
“Furthermore, it’s highly probable he possesses the means or abilities to escape if things go awry. Perhaps even both.”
The very fact that the Harvester Spell Master was dispatched alone for this mission implied he possessed the ability to sense Celestial Spellcraft.
Olivera was asserting that this fact alone was reason to be wary of the Harvester Spell Master.
“If that’s the case, then it seems difficult to refuse the Harvester Spell Master’s joining…”
Lennok fell into thought.
“The Alliance Leader didn’t even hide his suspicion that I possess Celestial Spellcraft. Rather, he openly implied it, trying to pressure me.”
“……”
“If I refuse his accompaniment at this point, he’ll likely use that as grounds to intervene even more aggressively.”
Instead of guiding him to Kundara as planned, it wouldn’t be strange at all if he tried to obstruct and restrain Lennok’s journey.
“And because of that very fact, the third point becomes all the more crucial for us.”
“The third point?”
The three confirmed facts Olivera had mentioned earlier.
As Lennok turned his gaze, she leisurely stroked her chin behind her veil and spoke.
“The fact that the Harvester Spell Master is highly likely to be genuinely helpful to us on the path to Kundara.”
“That… indeed.”
Lennok, understanding her intent at once, swiftly raised his gaze.
“To confirm the presence of Celestial Spellcraft, he’ll actively guide us all the way to Kundara’s vicinity, no matter what?”
“He must genuinely possess such abilities and knowledge, which is why the Alliance Leader personally dispatched him,” Olivera replied, leaning back on the bed.
“He’s likely visited Kundara several times or is acquainted with the city’s Long-lived Beings. If we use him well, we might be able to access the Outer Tribulation City much more easily.”
“……”
“However, he will inevitably try to lure you into a situation or environment where you must use Celestial Spellcraft.”
Beyond the veil, Olivera’s Mystic Eye flashed sharply.
“If we need to make a decisive move against the Order Alliance Leader, that will be the moment.”
“……”
Whatever his true intentions, the Alliance Leader had assigned the Harvester Spell Master to Lennok’s side under the pretext of him being a guide.
It would be impossible unless the Harvester Spell Master himself genuinely possessed the ability and knowledge to guide them to the Outer Tribulation City.
Olivera was saying that they should exploit this fact to the fullest.
“If a conclusion has been reached, let’s briefly outline what needs to be done,” Olivera said.
“First, we travel under that Spell Master’s guidance. He will lead us to the optimal spot for using Celestial Spellcraft.”
“Are you saying that when the time comes, we’ll shake off the Harvester Spell Master and use Celestial Spellcraft to enter Kundara?”
“Shake him off? That’s not like you, is it?” Olivera sneered at Lennok’s words.
“He’s a thief coveting the treasures borrowed from the Trampling Heaven’s Archives. Even plucking out his presumptuous eyes and ears wouldn’t be enough.”
“……”
“The Order Alliance’s Harvester Spell Master will die in an unfortunate accident on his way to Kundara.”
Beyond the veil, her jewel eyes gleamed with an icy coldness.
“For that is the only future I have confirmed for him with this Mystic Eye.”
Crackle, crackle…!!
The young man in the blue mask bowed his head over the workbench, moving his hands carefully.
Each time the transparent leaf bent and was inserted into the small pendant, a majestic wave of mana surged.
Behind Karnis, who was engrossed in his work, lightning crackling at his fingertips, Lennok was massaging his neck with a tired expression when—
“Adamant Thunder.”
Karnis raised his head and held out the pendant to Lennok.
“Is it done?”
“I’ve succeeded in coating the World Tree’s Leaf with mana for preservation.”
The pendant was a processed World Tree’s Leaf, crafted into the form of a necklace.
As Lennok took the pendant and put it around his neck, Karnis adjusted his blue mask and spoke.
“I compressed the life force of the leaf into a necklace. You should be able to fully enjoy its effects while wearing it.”
Karnis, a high-rank wizard of the Thorben Magic Tower, was an ability user capable of processing the lightning he extracted into spell-armaments.
That was why Lennok had asked Karnis to process the World Tree’s Leaf into an artifact, to prevent it from withering.
“Thank you for your cooperation. It was helpful.”
“It’s nothing to be thankful for.”
As Lennok expressed his honest gratitude, Karnis shook his head.
“I merely refined the life force contained within the leaf; I didn’t directly alter its inherent properties.”
“Was there a problem with the leaf?”
“Rather than a specific problem… it’s due to the nature of the World Tree.”
Karnis glanced at the pendant through his mask.
“The life force contained in that leaf is utterly incredible. It’s not alive, but it’s practically equivalent to it.”
“……”
“Compressing its life force is one thing, but altering its properties is a task with a difficulty akin to crafting a Forbidden Armament.”
If Jutiya’s words were true, the World Tree’s Leaf had been offered as tribute to the Central Nobles decades ago.
To think such potent life force remained within the leaf itself, even after so much time had passed since it detached from the main World Tree.
Feeling the cool touch of the pendant against his skin, Lennok turned, and Karnis asked,
“Are you heading straight to the Outer Tribulation City?”
“Yes. There’s no need to hesitate now that the Veil is before us.”
The very reason he had traveled to the Western Continent on the War-Mage Tower was to twist the Veil located on the Western Front and proceed to Kundara.
The only question remaining was where on the Veil he would use Celestial Spellcraft to reach the Outer Tribulation City hidden beyond its reverse side.
From there, he would need to be guided by the Harvester Spell Master to determine the appropriate location and timing.
At Lennok’s reply, Karnis nodded.
“I see. You’ve come a long way, but I hope you don’t forget what I told you.”
“You mean the Eight Great Dragon King, your father?”
“No matter where on the Veil you approach Kundara from, you’re bound to encounter him at some point.”
Karnis nodded.
“‘Dragon’ in Kundara doesn’t merely refer to a species. Be wary of his Deep Sea Domain.”
“……”
A Dragon King guarding Kundara’s waters.
His epithet alone suggested immense personal power, but Lennok wasn’t moving to kill Long-lived Beings.
Since there were facts he needed to uncover in the Outer Tribulation City, hidden from destruction, he would have to avoid conflict until he entered the city.
“From now on, this War-Mage Tower will patrol the Western and Northern Continents, resolving urgent civil wars,” Karnis said in a calm voice, observing Lennok lost in thought.
“By then, I believe the Magic Tower Lord’s situation will also be resolved.”
“……”
“So, I hope you remain alive until the day you meet the Magic Tower Lord again.”
Karnis looked at Lennok and slightly lifted the blue mask on his face, as if in a greeting.
“It seems he has already internally designated the next Magic Tower Lord of Thorben.”
Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!
Leaving Karnis’s personal laboratory, Lennok immediately headed toward the War-Mage Tower’s deck.
Lyraiel and her subordinate wizards, who were waiting on the deck, saw Lennok and approached him.
“Van. Our Magic Tower is ready.”
Lyraiel, who approached him across the freshly repaired deck, pointed one hand toward the ground.
“We’ve got the Harvester Spell Master secured, so let’s go together. Ayuhtaya will be waiting.”
“I heard the War-Mage Tower still has business on the Western Continent.”
Lennok asked, descending below the deck with Lyraiel.
“Do you intend to continue patrolling the Western Continent beyond the Veil like this?”
“As Karnis may have already told you.”
Lyraiel replied in a calm tone.
“After we’ve concluded our necessary operations, we plan to repair the engine section and recharge our power at the ‘Extreme Point’ located on the Northern Continent.”
“……”
“Thanks to Van replenishing our mana when he summoned the War-Mage Tower, we’ve gained a bit of leeway.”
Lyraiel smiled, looking at the massive battleship floating in the air.
“It seems we won’t have to keep the Tower’s high-ranking wizards confined to the engine room for a while.”
If it hadn’t been for Lennok’s request in the first place, the War-Mage Tower wouldn’t have needed to force its way through the Western Front’s airspace.
“If you do intend to accompany the Harvester Spell Master, please be cautious.”
Lyraiel said, looking at the Harvester Spell Master who stood far off among the Tower’s wizards.
“From what I’ve heard, rumors are circulating within the Alliance that he has received some ‘authority’ from the Alliance Leader.”
“Authority?”
“It seems to be something that transcends mere spellcraft augmentation, capable of influencing even other Spell Masters.”
“……”
Lennok’s eyes deepened as he mulled over Lyraiel’s words.
Information heard by the commander of a War-Mage Tower that roamed the entire continent wouldn’t be baseless rumor.
Considering Olivera’s mention that the Harvester Spell Master was involved in maintaining internal balance within the Alliance—
“Does that mean he might be in charge of internal auditing for the Alliance?”
“At the very least, he undoubtedly possesses authority equivalent to that.”
Lyraiel’s gaze, fixed on the Harvester Spell Master, turned cold.
“Having dealt with the Order Alliance several times, I’ve observed that other Spell Masters tend to be more wary of the Harvester Spell Master.”
“……”
“Though I don’t know the specifics, the authority he received from the Alliance Leader is no ordinary thing.”
The moment Lyraiel finished speaking and stepped toward the Harvester Spell Master, the War-Mages who had surrounded him simultaneously retreated, breaking their formation.
The Harvester Spell Master remained alone on the desolate battlefield, leisurely stretching, while dozens of wizards were positioned on the opposite side.
“Lyraiel Thorben. It’s been a while.”
The Harvester Spell Master, seeing Lyraiel, waved with a smile.
“To see you appear in person like this, it seems the matters on the Western Front have been more or less resolved.”
“And you, I heard, have been focusing on external activities outside the Central Front.”
“There were some urgent matters to handle with the old city-states.”
At Lyraiel’s cold retort, the Harvester Spell Master gave a sly smile.
“No matter how important the Central matters are, one cannot simply ignore the big shots involved in the ascension ritual.”
“……”
“If your business here is concluded, would you mind leaving?”
The Harvester Spell Master said leisurely, his hands clasped behind his back.
“Even I am not so reckless as to handle the Alliance’s critical affairs with a War-Mage Tower right in front of me.”
“I was about to, but there’s one last warning before we depart.”
“A warning?”
“The current War-Mage Tower Lord is very fond of a wizard named Adamant Thunder.”
Lyraiel said with a smiling expression.
“Should anything happen to him, the Tower Lord will undoubtedly investigate the circumstances personally.”
“…Oh, really.”
The corners of the Harvester Spell Master’s mouth stretched into a wide, ghostly grin.
“Are you threatening the Alliance right now?”
“I’m glad you understood correctly.”
While the Spell Master was left speechless by her blunt reply, Lyraiel’s gaze turned cold.
“Wouldn’t it be unwise to needlessly increase your enemies during such a critical time, fighting a war against the Cult?”
“……”
Lyraiel’s stern words and actions, which made the Harvester Spell Master, who had consistently maintained his composure, fall silent.
The Harvester Spell Master shook his head with a bewildered expression, and Lennok, listening, gave a bitter smile.
To bring up something that hadn’t even happened and pressure the Order Alliance with it—even after directly experiencing the War-Mage Tower’s belligerence, Lennok still couldn’t get used to it.
Yet, it was also true that having such a Magic Tower on Lennok’s side, even for a short while, was undeniably helpful.
“As a result of this War-Mage Tower observing the Alliance thus far, it seems they often make choices that are consumed by the entity known as the Great Connection.”
“……”
“I hope you make choices you won’t regret. That is all I have to say.”
Lyraiel, having completely ignored the Harvester Spell Master, finally turned to Lennok and bowed slightly.
“Van. We will take our leave now. Please take care until we meet again.”
“……Right.”
Although they had encountered each other through the meeting with the Thorben Magic Tower Lord, Lennok had accompanied them for longer than he expected.
It was also true that during his journey from Vulcan to the Western Continent, he had borrowed various of their abilities and assets.
Their paths diverged now, but since they had concluded an agreement with Vulcan, they would surely meet again someday.
“Regarding the Tower Lord’s matter, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. As I said before, my great-grandfather is someone who never touches anything he doesn’t want to do.”
Lyraiel shook her head with a smile.
“His is a life etched with the causality of lightning. Just as my great-grandfather does what he desires, we merely do what we desire.”
“……”
“So, I hope Van also continues to do what he desires until the very end.”
Lyraiel slowly raised her head, meeting Lennok’s gaze.
“Because that is the way of life I learned from my great-grandfather.”
Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble!!!
The War-Mage Tower, surging and scattering eerie Lightning Radiance, slowly ascended, showering flames from its propulsion devices.
The colossal steel fortress turned, unleashed bolts of lightning, and accelerated along the Western Front’s Veil.
Soon, it rapidly picked up speed, vanishing beyond the distant horizon, leaving only thunder in its wake.
CRACKLE!!!
The Harvester Spell Master, listening to the thunder with a frown, shrugged his shoulders.
“This is why I didn’t want to get entangled with the War-Mage Tower. What a bother.”
“……”
“They act as if they have nothing to lose, yet they’re surprisingly cautious spellcasters, making them difficult to deal with every time.”
The Harvester Spell Master said, then asked Lennok, who was looking up at the sky with his arms crossed,
“Then, from now on, may I take charge of guiding you to Kundara, following the Alliance Leader’s directive?”
“What about that woman?”
Olivera, who had been standing next to Lennok in a splendid robe, turned her gaze.
“Surely you don’t intend to leave that Corpse Ghost here either.”
“Ah, no…”
The Corpse Ghost Spell Master, with a pale complexion, protested with an wronged expression.
“I, I have no b-business in Kundara, so why…?”
“You’re not wrong.”
The Harvester Spell Master, ignoring the Corpse Ghost Spell Master’s words, nodded with an expression of understanding.
“I don’t mean to disparage, but if we leave her here, she’ll be a corpse somewhere within two days. Oh, was she already a corpse?”
“You, you’ve been disparaging me from the start…”
“Enough with the trivial banter, let’s discuss what needs to be done.”
Lennok opened his mouth, looking at the Corpse Ghost Spell Master who was trembling with an expression filled with shock and indignation.
“If you’re taking on the guidance to Kundara, then you must have a plan. Can we hear your explanation on how to reach the Outer Tribulation City from here?”
“You already know that the Outer Tribulation City, Kundara, is currently hidden on the reverse side of the Veil.”
The Harvester Spell Master nodded readily.
“That is a workaround contrived by the Long-lived Beings to escape the approaching destruction, an act of standing ‘outside the Tribulation’ (外劫)… literally a city that has reached ‘Outer Tribulation.’”
“……”
“Therefore, to reach Kundara, one must lift the reverse side of the Veil and arrive at its boundary line.”
The border region of the Western Continent’s Central Front.
The Harvester Spell Master said, raising a hand toward the Veil that the Headro Warlords had occupied.
“One must lift the Shadow of the Star, which exists between the Veil’s exterior and interior, and proceed inward.”
“……”
Having heard the explanation up to that point, Lennok silently exchanged glances with Olivera.
If his intention was to test whether Lennok possessed Celestial Spellcraft, there would be no reason to explain the method in such detail.
Rather, he would have thrown out vague remarks, trying to probe how Lennok intended to reach Kundara.
However, the Harvester Spell Master’s demeanor, as he explained how to lift the Veil’s reverse side, showed no hesitation at all.
“If we need to lift the Shadow of the Star, what methods are there?”
“It’s simple.”
The Harvester Spell Master smiled.
“We just need to ‘sever’ the Veil itself, forcibly revealing its reverse side.”
“……What?”
“The Harvester Spellcraft (刈荷術式) I use is, as its name suggests, the power to sever the burdens one carries.”
Saying so, the Harvester Spell Master began to rapidly draw upon his mana.
“Wielding an unseen blade, one can also sever the unseen.”
The Spell Master, who had shown no premonition when using Severing Spellcraft, for the first time drew upon his mana and began an incantation.
The moment Lennok realized it was targeting the Veil before them, his expression hardened.
The Harvester Spell Master pulled his hand down through the air, as if grasping an invisible sword.
SWISH!
With an eerie severing sound, the Veil that shimmered before the Harvester Spell Master’s eyes was cut vertically.
A distinct sense of incongruity, like a translucent curtain torn vertically to reveal a gap within.
“Come closer.”
The Harvester Spell Master beckoned to Lennok.
“I’ve opened the path here.”
“……”
Following the Spell Master’s gesture, Lennok looked into the torn Veil and fell silent.
Through the rift in the transparent veil, a narrow path shrouded in white mist could be glimpsed.
The border region of the Western Continent’s Central Front, where a contaminated forest lay.
But the moment they “severed” the Veil and looked inside its boundary, an entirely different scenery unfolded.
A profound landscape, as if it had existed for an immeasurable amount of time, seemingly embodying a paradise of immortals.
As Lennok, speechless, gazed at the misty path hidden beyond the Veil’s reverse side.
“The reverse side of the Veil surrounding Ars Nova. The city of the Long-lived Beings, hidden behind the Shadow of the Star.”
The Harvester Spell Master gave a peculiar smile.
“It is the entrance to the space-time where the Outer Tribulation City is hidden.”