Chapter 1083: Level 9 (1)
Nives Orosia, a Level 8 poison master and a Long-lived Being possessing True Blood.
A brilliant spellcaster who had learned to craft her shed skin into a [gate], capable of simultaneously linking her Domain and Jurisdiction.
Yet, Pyeonram had crushed a lifetime of Nives’ achievements simply by touching her head.
Immediately after Lennok realized this fact and questioned it in disbelief.
“That’s not wrong, but it’s not the precise explanation.”
Pyeonram nodded with an impassive face.
“I just now forcibly pulled down this Long-lived Being’s hierarchy by exactly three stages.”
“……”
“Since her realm, achieved through Metamorphosis, has been diminished, it will take a long time for her to recover enough to be re-assimilated by the Curse of Metamorphosis.”
Instead of absorbing Nives to resolve the Curse of Metamorphosis, Pyeonram had merely lowered her hierarchy enough to keep her safe from the curse? Even if it was because Nives’ existence was akin to Pyeonram’s inferior counterpart, to be able to forcibly destroy another’s hierarchy…
Hadn’t Pyeonram herself just handed Lennok the Dark Scale required for her imitation?
As Lennok reflected once more on what a monstrous entity a Level 9 Ascendant truly was, Nives shrieked.
“No!! Just kill me!! This, this is…!!!!!”
“……”
It would surely take an immensely long time for Nives, having fallen to Level 5, to regain her original achievements.
Even if she were to restore her former power, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t fall prey to Pyeonram again and end up in the same state.
This was, quite literally, a fate worse than death for Nives herself.
But Pyeonram, even after reducing Nives’ hierarchy, seemed to feel no emotion about it.
Rather, as if all her tasks here were complete, she simply began to erase her presence without a trace of lingering attachment.
Whoosh!…
The Ascendant’s form, disguised as a human, rapidly faded on the spot.
Having relinquished the Dark Scale used for her imitation, she was now dissolving from this space on her own.
Pyeonram’s impassive face turned to quietly look at Lennok from within Nives’ collapsing Domain.
“Madria…”
On Pyeonram’s emotionless face, a faint flicker of hesitation momentarily passed.
A悩み, unusual for an Ascendant, as if deliberating whether to say these words to Lennok.
Hesitating, Pyeonram spoke softly.
“Madria chose to postpone and defer the conclusion until the very end.”
“……”
“She sought to grant a little more time, not for herself, but for the life of this star.”
“……Pyeonram.”
“If she remained unchanged from beginning to end, and even a mere fraction of Heavenly Sight longed for that…”
Rumble, rumble, rumble…!!!!
The fading figure of the girl slowly turned away.
And through the dense clouds and mist, the shadow of a serpent, dozens of times larger than Nives, soared up.
As the majestic, hundreds-of-meters-long shadow fell upon the earth, momentarily darkening the heavens and earth.
[I, too, shall endure this deferral until the seeds I have sown come to fruition.]
Whoosh!!
With that utterly dispassionate message, Pyeonram’s presence vanished without a trace.
“So, because she respects the conclusion of Heavenly Sight, she accepted the deferral I mentioned?”
Lennok, who had been looking up speechless at the sight, let out a hollow laugh.
“Still ridiculous. An Ascendant is…”
They gaze upon planets as if they were their own homes, manifest physical forms with mere consciousness, and overwhelm all of creation with their mere presence.
They read futures yet to come, observe outcomes, and contemplate processes.
An insurmountable transcendence, felt acutely just by facing them in reality.
Without needing to flaunt or wield it, a Level 9 Ascendant demonstrates and proves what they are.
Even if Maleon were to succeed, could he truly be reborn as such a Transcendent?
In the brief moment Lennok fell into thought, suppressing the doubt that arose in a corner of his heart,
[She merely withdrew her presence; her gaze hasn’t fully left.]
Olivera Ron Maize quietly replied beside Lennok.
[The very act of giving you that scale is proof she respects your judgment. She won’t withdraw her attention until the task is completely finished.]
“……”
[But that transcendence is still astounding. I heard she lost many memories, yet she wields such unapproachable spellcraft.]
Lennok had suspected as much the moment Olivera Ron Maize recognized the disguised Pyeonram, but did Olivera Ron Maize also know Pyeonram?
However, even in Olivera Ron Maize’s calm Telepathic Transmission, an undeniable, faint sense of awe was mixed in.
[Before she fell into her last slumber, she was a being who showed no interest whatsoever in herself or others… Does the Curse of Oblivion even change Ascendants?]
“……”
Even when she bid farewell to the young Heavenly Sight, Pyeonram had shown no reaction.
Lennok had thought it was a result of living for hundreds of years and losing her memories, but even such a Pyeonram held some kind of sentiment regarding Heavenly Sight’s conclusion.
Ultimately, thanks to that, he had managed to persuade Pyeonram and buy time to secure her cooperation.
Lennok thought so, quietly looking down at the Dark Scale in his hand.
This scale, dyed dark as ink, was proof that Lennok had gained a temporary deferral against an Ascendant.
But there was a reason Pyeonram had sought Lennok out at this point, wishing for the birth of a new Ascendant.
Until he uncovered that truth, accepting Pyeonram’s cooperation with an easy mind would be impossible.
For now, he couldn’t know anything. But even so, if there was something he had to do-
“You, you scoundrels…!!!”
“……”
The white serpent, Nives, trembled before Lennok and Olivera Ron Maize.
“G-Get me back to normal immediately…!! Immediately!!”
Lennok, who had been looking down at Nives, his eyes narrowed, as she hissed threateningly with her tongue, reached out a hand.
“Aargh!!”
Whap!
The serpent, struck on the head by a Mana Thread, was caught in Lennok’s hand with absurd ease.
Olivera Ron Maize let out a chuckle.
[You’ve become quite a sight to behold.]
“I suppose I can only express gratitude for the great Ascendant’s consideration.”
Nives Orosia, who had fallen to Level 5 by Pyeonram’s hand.
Her achievements, gained through Metamorphosis and shedding her skin, had plummeted, freeing her from the Curse of Metamorphosis.
Conversely, her innate power and combat capabilities had fallen to a mere fraction of what they once were.
For a spellcaster of Lennok or Olivera Ron Maize’s caliber, she was now literally something they could play with in one hand.
Squeeze!
Lennok gripped the trembling small serpent firmly and asked.
“We still have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”
“Ugh, aaaah…”
“Your hierarchy may have fallen, but your knowledge of poisons and their creation hasn’t disappeared, has it?”
Lennok grinned, looking at Nives in despair.
“Let’s talk more seriously about the True Blood you possess and the antidote for the Elixir of Ascension.”
[True Blood (眞血) is the sum of mysteries passed down through direct lineage from the progenitor of a species.]
Clink, clink.
Inside the manufacturing lab located in the inner corridor of Poison Mountain Nives Orosia’s Snake Blood Palace.
In a space usually used by Nives herself to research and manufacture poisons,
Lennok was conversing with Olivera Ron Maize.
[Life, by its very nature, is designed for genetic traits to mix and manifest differently across generations.]
Olivera Ron Maize said.
[However, species possessing True Blood disregard that natural order and have preserved their genetic characteristics and traits intact. This is because their True Blood is virtually the essence and identity of their species.]
“……”
[As that power strengthens with the passage of time, True Blood species are mostly comprised of Long-lived Beings who have lived for hundreds of years, and some…]
Olivera Ron Maize’s Telepathic Transmission momentarily shifted to a strange tone.
[There are even True Blood species that have been passed down not just through generations, but across worlds.]
“……”
[For that reason, True Blood itself is one of the top five catalysts and symbols in this world. To use True Blood is, quite literally, like making an oath to the origin of a species.]
“A catalyst among the top five…”
In this world, where all kinds of mysteries and miracles run rampant, it’s not easy to rank specific items or spellcraft.
Too many exceptions and counter-examples exist, even unknown to Lennok, making it difficult to determine superiority with simple numbers.
But Olivera Ron Maize unequivocally stated that the value of True Blood was among the top five catalysts in this world.
That must be because the True Blood possessed by the Long-lived Beings of Outer Tribulation City is a rare and valuable power, difficult to find a comparison for.
Nives, weeping tears of blood and vomiting in front of Lennok, clearly conveyed that fact.
“Keuhak, haaak…!!”
The white-scaled serpent coiled up, opened its mouth wide, and bit a glass cup.
Each time, a bluish liquid oozed from the serpent’s fangs, trickling down the side of the cup.
“So you’ve mixed your True Blood into your venom glands and stored it there?”
Lennok, watching from the side, asked with an intrigued expression.
“That’s why you didn’t want to show me the poison you directly manufactured earlier.”
“Cough!! Is that, enough… human…”
Nives, having extracted her True Blood from her venom glands, looked much more emaciated than before.
“As you said, I have extracted my True Blood, which is more precious than my life. Is this not enough?”
In that short time, Nives seemed to have lost all will to live.
It was not surprising, having tried to reclaim the Elixir of Ascension only to have her hierarchy plummet and her True Blood taken instead.
But Lennok shook his head, even after hearing Nives’ words.
“No, there’s still one more thing.”
“What?”
“The antidote that can neutralize the Elixir of Ascension. Didn’t you promise to make it yourself?”
Lennok said, pulling out a purple vial.
“Things have changed a lot since then, but we still have to do what needs to be done, right?”
“You, you scoundrel…”
Lennok’s answer, which caused Nives, who seemed to have no more strength to be angry, to have a fit.
Olivera Ron Maize looked at Lennok from the side with a dumbfounded expression.
[How absurd. You’ve become quite adept at extracting even the marrow from your enemies.]
“A drop in hierarchy won’t make her forget how to manufacture poisons or antidotes.”
Lennok retorted.
“She used the Elixir of Ascension as bait to manipulate me, and tried to kill me as soon as her intentions were exposed. If not for Pyeonram, she would have turned me into a handful of poison.”
[And you weren’t planning on just taking it lying down, were you?]
“Moreover, until I brought it up, she kept completely silent about the antidote, pretending not to know. She never intended to honor the deal from the start.”
Lennok said with a laugh at Olivera Ron Maize’s indifferent reply.
“No matter how I think about it, there seems to be no reason to show unnecessary mercy at this point.”
[Hmph, it doesn’t matter to me, but…]
Olivera Ron Maize watched Nives convulsing, vomiting True Blood again, and manufacturing the antidote, then asked.
[Then what do you plan to do with Nives Orosia? Do you intend to kill her here?]
“Well. According to the deal I made with the Fearsome Blood King, I should have, quite literally, slit her throat here and now…”
Lennok chuckled, looking at Nives’ startled back.
“But it seems a bit off to immediately kill someone whose life Pyeonram herself spared, doesn’t it?”
“……”
Though she tried not to show it, a sense of relief was detectable from Nives, who was manufacturing the antidote.
Nives’ Will-thought, which she would ordinarily have perfectly concealed, was now completely readable by Lennok due to her lowered hierarchy.
However, Lennok genuinely had no intention of killing Nives immediately.
Not only was she currently manufacturing a True Blood antidote comparable to the Elixir of Ascension, but also because he believed there was room to utilize her authority and status in other ways.
Nives Orosia was one of the five Supreme Committee Members of the Elder Council of the Eighth Tribulation.
Naturally, her influence over Kundara would be truly immense.
If he utilized this well, he might be able to significantly shorten the time and process to reach the Ninth Tribulation.
In that process, Nives’ knowledge of poisons and the existence of her Snake Blood Palace would also naturally fall into Lennok’s hands.
Furthermore, with Nives’ own hierarchy having dropped by three stages, there was no need to shoulder any particular risk in that process.
[That’s an uncharacteristic judgment from you.]
But Olivera Ron Maize glanced away as if Lennok’s answer was unexpected.
Clad in her elaborate ritual garment and veil, her Mystic Eye shone sharply.
[She is a Long-lived Being who has lived for hundreds of years. Even with her hierarchy currently lowered, there’s no telling when she might recover it through some strange sorcery.]
“……”
[In terms of leaving no loose ends, this serpent’s existence would be a variable that absolutely should not be left alive.]
“Of course, I don’t intend to just let Nives Orosia go without any measures.”
Lennok said, pulling a rough piece of paper from his pocket.
“I hadn’t planned or prepared for this, but there’s an artifact that can be perfectly used in this situation.”
[Long-lived Being Summoning Contract…?]
Olivera Ron Maize, who read the inscription on the paper, this time truly stared at Lennok as if he were insane.
[How absurd. Do you intend to put a summoning contract on this old viper and put a leash on her?]
“No, I won’t be taking Nives Orosia as my summon.”
Lennok grinned, looking at Olivera Ron Maize.
“That’s your job.”
[What?]
“This summoning contract was made in a workshop in Kundara, and with the other party’s consent, the contract can be maintained even outside Outer Tribulation City.”
Lennok said, handing the contract to Olivera Ron Maize.
“In other words, you can make Nives Orosia serve as a summon even outside Outer Tribulation City.”
“……”
“I thought it was a perfect gift, tailored to your tastes.”
Lennok smiled, seeing Olivera Ron Maize, whose sharp demeanor had somehow subsided.
“Making an acquaintance who has now become an enemy serve as a summon – wasn’t that the perfect trophy for a schemer like you?”