Chapter 1095: Level 9 (13)

“Disguise, huh…”

Olivera’s words, pointing out Maleon’s clumsy disguise and asserting that he couldn’t be trusted.

But Lennok didn’t forcibly deny her words or dismiss them as nonsense.

“I understand what you’re saying. It’s certainly a reason to consider.”

Olivera Ron Maize was a Transcendent with exceptional intellect and judgment, even among Level 8 Grand Spell Masters.

Aside from her cruel and arrogant nature, she was one of the most capable individuals Lennok knew.

Lennok had always respected her judgment and actions since their first meeting.

Now, there was almost no chance Olivera would spout nonsense simply because she disliked Maleon.

Especially the sense of incongruity she mentioned regarding the disguise was definitely a topic worth pondering.

Why had Maleon not once shed his disguise since meeting Lennok?

Even as Kundara’s Long-lived Beings freely transformed into their true forms, Maleon alone had maintained the appearance he first showed.

It could simply be that his disguised form was more comfortable, but what if he hadn’t dropped the disguise even during the Promotion Ritual?

What if, even at the moment he was reconstructing himself to become an Ascendant, he was hiding his true form and maintaining the disguise?

Lennok also admitted that, as Olivera said, it wasn’t a sense of incongruity to be easily dismissed.

“Is there a possibility that he can’t return to his true form for some reason, or that this very appearance is his true form?”

[Since he successfully completed the Promotion Ritual, the time for such hypotheses has passed.]

Olivera replied immediately.

Was it because, even while cooperating with Maleon, Lennok had immediately lent an ear to Olivera’s words?

Her sharp intensity had softened slightly.

[At the moment of his self-reconstruction, that was the form he most desired. Deep inside Maleon, the disguise is firmly believed to be his true self, more so than his original form.]

“……”

[For a flaw in that seemingly perfect Gemstone Dragon, isn’t it far more insidious than one might expect?]

“…Do you always have to phrase things like that?”

Lennok let Olivera’s cold sneer pass through one ear, lost in thought.

“But it’s not wrong. Maleon’s actions go beyond simply preferring a disguise.”

An intense obsession, enough to maintain a disguise until the moment he reached Level 9 and was reborn as a new Ascendant.

There was no doubt that this was an expression of emotions and motives Lennok had never seen from Maleon before.

As Olivera said, it was clear that Maleon had a secret he wished to hide.

“He didn’t even mention his disguise to the Long-lived Beings who follow him. There’s no doubt that this secret is a very sensitive issue for Maleon.”

Lennok said, looking around.

“But if I press him on this now, our relationship with Maleon could sour even before we reach the Tenth Coffer.”

[You intend to leave him be and observe, I see.]

Olivera whispered with a strange Telepathic Transmission.

[By the time we reach the Ninth Tribulation, neither of us will have any energy left. Shouldn’t we ascertain Maleon’s true intentions now?]

“…Stop trying to test me like that.”

Lennok let out a small sigh.

“Originally, you told me this to prevent me from acting rashly.”

[……]

“Weren’t you trying to discuss future actions, so I wouldn’t notice Maleon’s disguise later and antagonize him?”

Olivera knew that Lennok didn’t fully trust others to begin with.

She must have surmised that any sense of incongruity regarding Maleon could immediately turn into a reason to reject him.

If Lennok were to notice the incongruity of Maleon’s disguise on his own and try to antagonize him, their plan would get complicated.

To avoid such an outcome, Olivera had tried to inform him of this fact beforehand, in Maleon’s absence.

The very act of fishing for his answer, as she was doing now, must have been to gauge how Lennok would react to this information.

“I have no intention of clashing with Maleon before we reach the Tenth Coffer, so don’t worry.”

But Lennok, too, had read her true intentions for acting this way.

“Until we reach Kaiser’s body, we must cooperate with the Ascendant as much as possible.”

[I haven’t worried at all.]

“From the start, Maleon’s secret doesn’t directly lead to the conclusion that he’s a traitor. He’s sacrificed quite a bit to get us this far.”

Lennok, having stood up, said.

“Of course, that doesn’t rule out the possibility of Maleon having other intentions, but it’s not an issue we can conclude right now.”

Maleon had sustained considerable injuries, breaking through trials bare-handed to enter the Ninth Tribulation with Lennok.

Not only did he personally sweep away the Long-lived Beings wandering the Ninth Tribulation’s outskirts, but he also provided Lennok with the remains of a True Blood species and a Ruyi Orb.

An Ascendant who had even sacrificed his own lifespan to gift a Ruyi Orb couldn’t be definitively labeled a traitor based on just one such secret.

[Yes, that will suffice.]

But Olivera, as if satisfied, relented.

[Sowing a seed of doubt within you is precisely enough. I ask for nothing more in this situation.]

“……”

In the first place, without Maleon’s help, entering the Ninth Tribulation would be far more difficult than it was now.

Olivera, too, wouldn’t have considered casting Maleon aside with Kaiser’s body right before them.

The moment Lennok opened his mouth to clearly state his intention regarding that fact.

Thump!

“What are you two discussing so entertainingly?”

Maleon’s booming voice echoed from down the corridor.

Maleon’s massive form, cloaked in dazzling starlight, approached from the dark corridor.

Lennok frowned, seeing Maleon drenched in sticky bodily fluids.

“What’s that now?”

“Oh, this?”

Maleon chuckled bitterly, wiping away the fluid covering his face.

“One of the Founders wandering up ahead. I knew him.”

“……”

“He possessed rather tricky abilities even in life, so I quietly paid my respects to his passing, alone.”

Saying so, Maleon unfurled his magic, casting it over Lennok and Olivera’s heads.

Primitive Magic: Star-Linking Eight Extremes Style

Three Kinds - Inner Law

Star Circulation

Whoooosh…!!

The starlight spread wide like an umbrella, beginning to absorb the Eternal Pressure pressing down on Lennok.

“That will alleviate the burden on your bodies from now on.”

Maleon, satisfied, lowered his hand and nodded.

“However, Primitive Magic cast on others is inherently not free from the caster. So, do not stray from my side.”

“Can you break through the Ninth Tribulation’s trials alone?”

“As I said, if you start interfering, the situation will only become more difficult.”

Maleon’s expression turned utterly serious.

“If they perceive the presence of an unqualified being, the Founders wandering the Ninth Tribulation will react even more violently than now.”

“……”

“Most of the Founders’ true forms possess extremely sensitive senses, so we, too, must proceed with utmost caution.”

“Now that you mention it, all the Long-lived Beings we’ve faced so far were mummified in their true forms.”

Lennok asked naturally, as if something had just occurred to him.

“Do Long-lived Beings shed their disguises and reveal their true forms by force when they die?”

“……”

Had he not expected such a question at this point?

Maleon’s answer momentarily halted, and Lennok felt Olivera’s sharp gaze from behind.

This was likely because Lennok knew Maleon would react sensitively to the keyword “disguise” and was trying to test him directly.

But Lennok, precisely because he wasn’t hastily confirming Maleon’s defection, felt he needed to verify what he could.

Even though Maleon’s actions had largely been favorable towards Lennok so far.

The ending Maleon Gnosis desired was, after all, closer to Kundara’s salvation.

This journey into the Ninth Tribulation could, at any moment, diverge from Maleon’s path.

Even when the conversation naturally led to the true forms and disguises of Long-lived Beings, there was no reason to deliberately avoid the topic.

A subtle silence flowed between the three of them for a moment.

The moment Lennok felt the tension of a taut string and tilted his head slightly.

“…To explain that, I must first describe how a Long-lived Being’s disguise is formed.”

Maleon rested his chin in thought for a moment before answering.

“Basically, after deciding on an appearance, one synchronizes sensations separately for each body part. The method of disguise also differs wildly depending on the desired form.”

“Synchronizing sensations by body part?”

“Since the physical organs of Long-lived Beings and humans don’t all align in the same category.”

Maleon raised an arm and said.

“For some, the sensation of raising a foreleg might be the sensation of lowering an arm in a human body.”

“…”

“It’s easier to think of it as happening separately for each part, rather than simultaneously for the entire body.”

Though his answer was a bit delayed, Maleon’s reply was more composed than expected.

Was Maleon himself not overly sensitive about the act of disguising, at least?

Was Olivera’s conjecture wrong, or was Maleon, as an Ascendant, simply exceptional at hiding his emotional fluctuations?

As Lennok thought about the method of disguise, Maleon nodded and turned to walk.

“If that explanation suffices, let us move. It would be best to proceed before the bulkheads close.”

Maleon, walking with firm steps and conjuring starlight in his hands, said.

“As I said, this will be no easy journey from now on.”

“……”

He followed Maleon, moving through the dark corridor.

[Erosion Rate 56%]

Squish…!!

With each step further into the corridor, sticky bodily fluids pooled on the floor, clinging to them.

While he could remove it with a light application of mana, the sheer volume of the fluid was unusual.

Only after walking a considerable distance behind Maleon could Lennok identify the source of the fluid.

Crrraaaash!!

A colossal centipede, dozens of meters in length, lay slumped beneath a half-destroyed bulkhead.

Still-warm bodily fluids oozed and bubbled between its repulsive legs.

Hiss…!!!

Though it had long been mummified, the fluid itself possessed a virulent toxicity, as if alive.

Only then did Lennok, realizing what Maleon had done, adopt a dumbfounded expression.

Had he single-handedly killed this massive centipede and then returned to guide them?

“Even before Kundara was founded, there was no one who could rival him in poison spellcraft.”

Maleon said, passing the centipede’s corpse.

“The bodily fluid itself contained potent toxins, and it would repeatedly vaporize through its organs, so I preemptively extracted his poison sacs.”

“…It’s quite similar to Nives Orosia’s.”

“Oh, how did you know?”

Maleon laughed at Lennok’s words.

“He was also Nives’s master.”

“……”

At his words, Lennok turned his gaze to Olivera, but she showed no reaction whatsoever.

“Let’s continue. From here on, you must be careful with your movements.”

They passed the sector where the dead centipede had wandered, then crossed a half-destroyed bulkhead.

[Erosion Rate 73%]

A chilling air was felt the moment they crossed the bulkhead.

Gradually, breathing became difficult, and even opening one’s eyes became a struggle.

An irresistible pressure seemed to crush not just the body, but also will-thought, mental image, and soul.

The transparent glass floor beneath their feet had already frozen solid.

Grooooooowl!!

A blindingly white, long-necked beast with blurry, unfocused eyes wandered the corridor.

Each time its fins gently swayed past, the floor froze solid.

“Wait, that’s…”

It wasn’t simply projecting ice-elemental attributes into the surrounding space.

The very act of freezing the surroundings and scattering cold air was a direct, unfiltered projection of its own Root Mindscape.

“A Domain?”

“To be precise, it’s called an Invasion Domain.”

Maleon said.

“It’s a method not of superimposing the Root Mindscape onto reality, but of allowing a part of the mental image to invade reality.”

[That’s a method ancient spellcasters used centuries ago.]

Olivera immediately recognized the method and replied.

[I heard it was impractical, and now the technique itself is almost lost.]

“That’s right. As a method of deploying a Domain, it’s very much an old-fashioned technique.”

Maleon nodded.

“The reason they use Invasion Domains is that, hundreds of years ago, when they first mastered Domains, this was the prevalent method.”

“……”

Invasion Domain, huh.

Only then did Lennok remember where he had heard that term before.

Back when he infiltrated the Hanghasa Labyrinth under the guise of Evan.

He had seen Ermont, the ancient black wizard, use an Invasion Domain in the cradle where Jindun slept.

Hadn’t Ermont also deployed an Invasion Domain then, and ironically called it an old-fashioned method?

The concept he had noted and dismissed at the time, he never expected to hear it again, against Long-lived Beings, now.

Of course, just as Ermont was a figure from centuries ago, Kundara’s Founders must have lived for just as long, so it wasn’t strange, but—

That wasn’t the only thing that caught Lennok’s eye.

“Olivera.”

[It seems you’ve noticed it too.]

Unlike before, Olivera smiled as she replied.

[Indeed, it would be strange to have forgotten after seeing that dull exterior.]

“…Claris Richellen. Right?”

A blindingly white, long-necked, finned Long-lived Being, using an ice-elemental Invasion Domain.

Among the Long-lived Beings Lennok knew, wasn’t there one with precisely the same physical characteristics as that?

The Long-lived Being who had cooperated in twisting the veil, and the Saint Wizard of Sinclair Magic Tower, who was Aris Richellen’s master.

That Long-lived Being was of the same species as Claris Richellen.

[It is called a Cloud Kirin.]

Olivera explained.

[It’s one of the ancient Long-lived Beings that forms a pair with the Blood Kirin, and now only a few remain, almost to the point of extinction.]

“……”

[I heard they once held authority and prestige comparable to Dragon-kind, but seeing them as mummies like this, it’s truly…]

Olivera’s Mystic Eye, staring blankly at the wandering Cloud Kirin, narrowed.

[It’s just unsightly. Seeing it makes me feel disgusted.]

“But the innate talents and blessings they possess aren’t entirely unsightly.”

Maleon said so, raising his gaze.

He didn’t deny that the mummified Long-lived Beings looked unsightly.

“Among Kundara’s Founders, there was no one who hadn’t mastered arts like the Invasion Domain.”

“……”

“From now on, all of the Ninth Tribulation’s spacetime will be completely covered by Invasion Domains.”

Shhhhiiiiing!!

Behind the wandering Cloud Kirin, a Dragon-kind entity covered in hard scales appeared.

Beneath its feet, hard protrusions swirled, grinding the floor, sparking and emitting an irritating sound.

Scaled Dragon Clan. The Dragon-kind whose scales were used for the Black-Chained Dragon Scale Armor Lennok acquired, now wandered the same sector as a mummy.

Behind it, a dinosaur with plant-like wings; beyond that, a gigantic water buffalo with a ring around its head.

More than seven supreme Long-lived Beings, each trailing their own Invasion Domain, wandered all corners of the corridor.

“This is insane…”

An honest exclamation escaped Lennok’s lips as he witnessed the absurd sight.

“Not only are all the deceased Long-lived Beings mummified, but they’re still deploying Domains even in death?”

[……]

At the very least, they were on par with Angron. At their peak, they were Transcendent-level beings, comparable to Alohan or Nives.

Such monsters, even after death, dragging along Invasion Domains as if breathing, retaining their power from life—it was suffocating just to see.

But Maleon showed no surprise, even looking at the cluster of monster Domains wandering in the distance.

He merely clasped his thick hands together, like pot lids, and began to draw forth his mana.

Kiyuuuung…!!

A dazzling, silvery radiance leaked from between Maleon’s tightly clasped fingers.

A fierce resonant hum, as if starlight was being continuously generated and circulated within his clasped hands.

“We shall begin, Van.”

Maleon, turning to Lennok with a solemn gaze, spoke in a serious tone.

“Do not forget. Do not stray from my side, and refrain from using spellcraft in any situation.”

“……”

“Then I will lead you to the end of the Ninth Tribulation, as promised.”

“Maleon, even if this is according to plan—”

If Maleon had been in perfect condition, Lennok wouldn’t have agonized this much.

But having reached this point, Maleon was, by no stretch of the imagination, in good shape.

He had just finished the Promotion Ritual, draining his entire body’s energy and reserves to the very bottom.

Breaking through the Ninth Tribulation bare-handed had left him injured, and creating the Ruyi Orb had massively drawn upon his lifespan.

Lennok didn’t know if even a Level 9 Ascendant could endure all these adverse conditions.

Not all Ascendants were invincible, formidable monsters.

They were also merely one of many living species, susceptible to being chipped away, to wearing down and disappearing.

Furthermore, it was still unknown whether Maleon had truly reached a level comparable to previous Ascendants.

All sorts of negative assumptions and conjectures instantly flooded Lennok’s mind.

Before Lennok could utter them, Maleon spoke softly.

“I know you doubt me.”

“…What?”

An answer he had absolutely not expected to hear from him at this point.

But Maleon, seeing Lennok frozen stiff, smiled without surprise.

“It’s not strange. In fact, I consider it natural. Having risked your lives to come this far, how could you not be cautious?”

“……”

“You may doubt and distrust me all you wish. But that will not change our promise.”

With those words, Maleon took a step forward.

Kwoooooom!!!

An overwhelming, almost crushing sense of gravity, sweeping away all the negative assumptions he had entertained until now.

The entire spacetime of the Ninth Tribulation seemed to tilt towards Maleon, drawn by the concentration of his overflowing presence.

The unthinking currents of momentum and power flowing around them suddenly turned towards a single Ascendant.

Aaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!

The mummies wandering the Ninth Tribulation’s spacetime drew forth their magic with silent screams.

“Until we reach the end of the Ninth Tribulation, as promised, I will not betray you.”

Clang!!

Maleon, flexing his forearms, slowly extended his hand forward and said.

“From this moment, I will prove it.”