Chapter 1102: Level 9 (20)
Boom!!
The moment a beam of light, fired at incredible speed, pierced Maleon’s wrist.
As Lennok, who had been held by the collar, fell, Olivera stepped forward.
“Ugh…!!” GWOOOOOSH!!!
Olivera’s figure, her splendid robes fluttering, her Mystic Eye glowing fiercely.
Olivera looked at Maleon with a chilling gaze and spoke. [I thought you were untrustworthy, but I never imagined you would betray my expectations in such a way.]
Her gaze was directed at Seonjong’s head, dangling above Maleon’s neck.
[A severed head… Yes, as a reason to hide your true body and consume Dead Thoughts, it’s truly pitiful.]
“……”
Had she comprehended the entire situation unfolding the moment she faced Maleon’s true form?
Each of Olivera’s monologues pierced to the core of this very moment.
[A body part that doesn’t listen is no different from a tumor, not flesh.]
Olivera’s eyes, watching the Ascendant slowly turn, shone with cold light.
[I’ll cut it out.]
“So terrifying, it makes my non-existent hamstrings cramp.”
Seonjong, his head lolling, asked. “Were you also a guest who came here, targeting the corpse stored in the Tenth Coffer?”
[……]
Even if she didn’t want to, Olivera would inevitably understand the meaning of his words.
Her gaze, which had instantly swept over the interior of the Tenth Coffer, stopped at the throne.
The moment she saw the headless corpse seated on the throne, Olivera’s breathing momentarily hitched.
Olivera, who had been silently watching the scene, whispered softly. […Kaiser.]
“……”
Did she know, or had she merely expected it?
Perhaps she had even hoped for it.
Olivera rarely showed her emotions, and her objectives were unclear, so Lennok didn’t know much about her either.
He only knew that she had been present at the moment the Black Consumer Project was named.
And that she harbored considerable lingering regret over the project’s failure.
So, facing Kaiser now, how Olivera would react remained unknown.
In the worst case, it wouldn’t be strange if Olivera changed her demeanor from before.
The reason Olivera, dragging her exhausted body, had managed to follow him all the way here was-
[……]
But Olivera said nothing more.
She didn’t get angry, wasn’t agitated, didn’t waver, nor was she cynical.
Instead, the radiance of her Mystic Eye, which always expressed her emotions, merely dimmed slightly behind her veil.
The moment Lennok realized it was a faint sense of sorrow, one he had almost never seen from Olivera.
“How strange.”
The head tilted, looking at Olivera. “A powerful Mystic Eye user, yet she handles Radiant Magic instead of an innate ability. That must significantly diminish her talent in many ways.”
[……]
“Ah, I understand the feeling. Has she altered her own talent differently across timelines, like changing channels?”
Just by briefly observing Olivera, Seonjong’s Dead Thoughts seemed to have discerned what abilities she was using.
This was likely because, regardless of Seonjong not being his true self, he possessed consciousness and insight comparable to an Ascendant.
“Even considering the circuit changes based on the Mystic Eye’s characteristics, it’s not an efficient ability. Forcibly drawing upon past achievements must exert tremendous backlash on her body.”
“……”
“It’s layering past spellcraft onto a present body. The pain of grinding one’s entire body with iron filings wouldn’t be any less. If she’s sacrificing efficiency to reach a higher peak, I can understand, but-”
Seonjong’s eyes, watching Olivera, narrowed.
“That’s an Ascendant’s method. It’s not a path permitted to mere mortals. Especially not to Short-lived Beings.”
[You know far more than I thought, you wretch.]
At that moment, Olivera turned her gaze toward Seonjong.
[The very fact that you can speak such words is proof that you are not a sentient being from this era.]
“You’re not wrong. That, too, can be said to be my essence-”
[I’ve seen that twisted aura, closer to death than life, somewhere before.]
Her Mystic Eye, gleaming fiercely behind the veil, narrowed as if mocking him.
[Faud Older. It’s been a very long time since I’ve called you by that name.]
“……”
Even without an explanation, Olivera recognized her opponent.
She had noticed his twisted essence, closer to death than life.
But Seonjong did not react, even when Olivera called his name.
His reply was abruptly cut off, and Maleon merely turned, scattering a gleam from his eyes as if in response.
His wrist, which had been pierced by Olivera’s attack, was already perfectly healed.
The astonishing regenerative ability unique to Maleon, perfected as an Ascendant and Dragon-kind.
BOOM!!
The ground shook violently as he slammed one foot forward.
Simultaneously, over a dozen stars appeared above Maleon’s head, beginning to rotate fiercely.
KWOOOOSH!!!
Starlight, more than enough to fill the Tenth Coffer with just one star, gleamed from all directions.
The moment the heat, radiating from the burning starlight, fell upon Lennok’s fallen head,
WHOOSH!!
Olivera, landing beside Lennok with a sharp flash of light, shielded him from the starlight’s heat.
Lennok, lying bloody and prostrate, turned to her with difficulty.
“…Olivera.”
[You are truly foolish beyond measure.]
Olivera said. [If things had twisted this far, you should have run without looking back a long time ago.]
“……”
[Instead of frantically running to me and begging for your life, were you struggling to handle it all by yourself?]
Ironically, Lennok detected a faint hint of a smile in her voice.
[Even that refusal to rely on others, after coming all this way, is truly just like you.]
“The situation… is not so lenient.”
Lennok gritted his teeth, supporting his upper body with one arm, and spoke.
If not for the Azure Scale Armor covering his skin, something would have ruptured long ago.
Lennok, watching blood drip from between the armor, opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Seonjong’s consciousness and Maleon’s body are complementing each other and becoming complete. If we keep fighting in the Ninth Tribulation like this, we’re sure to lose.”
[……]
“We need to regroup… or retreat. At the very least, we need time to withdraw from the Tenth Coffer and assess the damage.”
Although he had gained an advantage during the 4-second exchange using the elixir, that was only possible because Maleon was unaware of Lennok’s magic.
This was because he had forcibly broken through Maleon’s defensive line by maximizing his output with the explosive instantaneous power unique to lightning magic.
From now on, Maleon’s defenses would be even more robust, and he would exercise greater caution when facing Lennok.
Though incomplete, he was undeniably an Ascendant who had reached Level 9.
Even in normal condition, he would be difficult to face, and in this depleted state, the odds of victory were impossible to gauge.
“You can’t keep using Radiant Magic indefinitely either.”
Lennok asked. “Haven’t you already reached your limit… for quite some time now?”
[……]
He didn’t understand all of Seonjong’s words, but one thing was clear.
Olivera’s current use of Radiant Magic was by no means normal.
What immense price would be required to wield Radiant Magic again, a magic she had discarded by reducing her rank and changing her system?
Lennok realized that Olivera had prepared for an enormous risk to intervene in the battle.
[You cannot always directly choose what to abandon and what to gain.]
Olivera, who had been silent, slowly walked and spoke.
[The opportunity to choose does not always come at the right time, and sometimes, you don’t even have the right to make that choice.]
“……”
[I am the same. Choosing the Mystic Eye and abandoning magic was my choice, yet it was also not entirely my will.]
“…Olivera.”
[But you are different.]
Behind the veil, Olivera’s cold face was briefly visible.
Her complexion was deathly pale as she turned her gleaming Mystic Eye to look down at Lennok.
Proof that she was enduring an immense drain at this very moment to use Radiant Magic.
The moment Lennok instinctively opened his mouth to say something.
[Even having come this far, my decision remains unchanged.]
Olivera’s expression, looking down at Lennok, softened for a moment.
[If one of us must go forward…]
“…!!”
[Starfall]
KWOOOSH!!!!
More than a dozen falling starlights above, overlapping their trajectories and gathering strength.
The meteor shower, converging into a single point, accelerated as if piercing through the Spacetime of the Ninth Tribulation where Lennok lay fallen.
Olivera turned towards the falling light and said. [That, undoubtedly, should be you, rather than me.]
Radiant-type Unique Magic Mirage
[Radiant Brilliance Body Palace]
CRACK!!!
As she took a step, Olivera’s figure split into dozens of strands.
Magic that disperses light to create illusions, and turns those illusions into real clones.
The moment Lennok’s eyes widened at the clone spellcraft he had once studied while facing a past version of Olivera in a sealed zone.
The light of Starfall, wielded by Maleon, swept away Olivera’s clones, erasing them.
KWOOOOM!!!
The spacetime of the Tenth Coffer shook and trembled like mad.
The starlight surged, incinerating everything around it and even melting the inner walls of the Ninth Tribulation.
An intense heat, strong enough that even a space station made from the remains of Long-lived Beings couldn’t withstand it.
But Olivera did not retreat even from the bombardment of starlight falling from the sky.
Intense light sources erupted from the disappearing clones, swept away by the waves of Starfall.
Gathering that light, she formed a bridge, transcended Primitive Magic, and descended behind Maleon.
FLASH!!
Lennok, lying bloody and fallen beneath her feet, was with her.
“…Cough!!”
Lennok, flung to the ground by the impact, painfully coughed.
If he hadn’t released Targeted Resistance in time, he would have been unable to receive the spell’s effects and turned to dust.
But Olivera ignored Lennok’s reaction and immediately stretched out her hand toward Maleon.
KIIIING!!!
Waves of gleaming light surrounded Olivera from all directions, rotating as if dancing.
The moment she tapped the lumps of light with her hand, the waves of radiance began to change colors, shining brilliantly.
Radiant-type Unique Magic Star-Net Divine Radiance
[Pleiades West Light]
FLASH!!
Clusters of light, connected like constellations in the night sky, sequentially accelerated, and Maleon immediately turned and spread his hands.
The moment the will-thoughts of the two Grand Spell Masters almost simultaneously intersected diagonally and collided.
Olivera’s spellcraft collided with the falling stars from the sky, unleashing an enormous shockwave.
KWOOOSHHH!!!!!
Maleon’s Star-Linking Eight Extremes Style, which creates and drops ‘stars’ with his unique magic power.
Olivera’s Radiant Magic, which bends the properties of light to its extreme to perform.
The spellcraft of Transcendents, each commanding different lights, clashed at a speed of hundreds of times per second.
Clusters of light, dyed in brilliant full color and then vanishing, and waves of starlight, chaotically mingled.
Everything before his eyes turned stark white, then became light intense enough to burn out his optic nerves.
With the scorching heat engulfing his entire body, all sounds vanished momentarily.
KWOOOOOM!!!!
“Kugh…!!!”
Lennok, unable to withstand the collision, was flung against the inner wall and tumbled.
But Lennok, despite the pain of his arm twisting, raised a trembling hand and reached into his pocket.
At first glance, it appeared to be an equal spellcraft duel, but it was ultimately just a delay, postponing the conclusion.
He didn’t doubt Olivera’s skill, but it was unknown how long her body could endure, forcibly using Radiant Magic.
Now, while she was stalling Maleon, he had to somehow recover his magic power and rejoin the fight.
As Lennok thought so, he hesitated for a moment before grasping a tiny potion bottle.
Olivera’s figure descended before Maleon, traversing the waves of starlight.
PUPUPUPUM!!!
Olivera’s body continually burst apart from the starlight Maleon grasped and detonated.
But her clones filled the empty spaces, gradually increasing their numbers.
The moment nearly a hundred clones formed hand seals and stretched out their hands toward the rampaging Ascendant.
The surging light from all directions began to converge into a massive hemispherical form, pressing down on Maleon.
FAAAASH!!!
Radiant-type Unique Magic Great Light-Dispelling Supreme Seal
Countless lines of light connected between Olivera’s clones, making all clones the focal points for barrier construction.
The acme of Radiant Magic, stacking hundreds of barrier focal points to simultaneously imprison different spacetimes.
[Manifesting Wheel, Constructing Sacred]
“OOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!”
As Maleon roared with a rough voice, his body was engulfed and erased by countless lines of light.
CRACK!!!
A bizarre resonant sound, as if spacetime was being forcibly stitched together and sealed.
Simultaneously, Maleon’s roar abruptly ceased, and a strange silence descended upon the Spacetime of the Ninth Tribulation.
Only then did Olivera, withdrawing her Radiant Brilliance Body Palace, slowly descend to the ground.
“Manifesting Wheel, Constructing Sacred…”
Lennok, who had been staring blankly at the scene from behind, muttered.
“Did she… seal Maleon Gnosis?”
[It is nothing more than a temporary measure; it will not last long.]
Olivera said with a cold voice. [As you also know, Manifesting Wheel, Constructing Sacred is a spellcraft that mimics the Supreme Seal of the Immortals. Anyone seeing its spellcraft structure for the first time is bound to be caught.]
“I know the power of Manifesting Wheel, Constructing Sacred. It shouldn’t be a spellcraft that ends as a temporary measure…?”
[But the opponent is an Ascendant. What resides within him are the ancient Dead Thoughts of Seonjong. Once the structure is understood, breaking it by force will not be difficult.]
Olivera, turning her gaze toward Lennok, quietly whispered. [So, remember Maleon’s appearance well now.]
“…What?”
[Maleon Gnosis is Dragon-kind born under the blessing of silver. Naturally, his abilities and talents follow his birthright.]
Olivera explained.
[Silver is the most conductive material among all metals, so his specialized spellcraft for caloric conversion is clearly a talent based on that.]
“……”
[The next time you face him, you must keep this in mind and find a method.]
“Next time, what do you mean-”
Lennok’s words could not continue further.
Because Olivera immediately walked past Lennok and moved on.
The moment Lennok realized she was heading toward Kaiser’s throne, which had remained entirely untouched in this battlefield until now.
Olivera, approaching the throne, lifted the veil covering her face.
The moment her brilliantly shining Seven Debts Jewels Mystic Eye looked directly at Kaiser’s corpse, which was being supplied with True Blood.
[Seven-Hued Laws: Mystic Eye Conjunction]
[Immutable Edict: Causal Fixation]
[True Stillness]
CRACK!!!
With a resonant sound, as if spacetime was freezing, everything stopped in place simultaneously.
Both the tube flowing down the throne and the True Blood being supplied through it.
Even the remains of Kaiser Bajour, emitting a powerful aura despite being decapitated.
Were ‘fixed’ in place, as if frozen.
Lennok, with a surprised expression, turned his gaze.
“Her Mystic Eye…!!”
[I just used my Mystic Eye to ‘fix’ the corpse’s causality.]
Olivera, slowly lowering her veil with a faintly trembling hand, said.
[Since I’ve stopped the changes in causality, it will be impossible to tamper with the corpse in any way for a while.]
“……”
[Since an anomaly has occurred with Kaiser’s corpse, the Blood Contract will activate and expel any ‘being not possessing True Blood’.]
Olivera said this, then turned her gaze toward Lennok.
[Then you, at least, should be able to safely escape the Ninth Tribulation.]
“…No way.”
Only then did Lennok, realizing Olivera’s intention, his face hardening.
He understood why Olivera had been able to exchange spellcraft with Maleon on equal terms, even for a brief moment.
And what she had ultimately been aiming for through that process.
Those expelled from the Ninth Tribulation by the Blood Contract were beings not possessing True Blood.
In that case, Olivera had already-
[You are right, Adamant Thunder. At this point, it is impossible for the two of us to defeat that Ascendant.]
“……”
[If we had at least started the engagement in normal condition, it would have been a different story, but there’s no need to discuss such meaningless assumptions for long.]
“Olivera…!!”
[So, you go down from the Ninth Tribulation and bring a way to resolve this situation.]
Olivera smiled.
[I will hold off the corrupted Ascendant.]
“No. It’s impossible.”
Lennok gritted his teeth and replied.
“Maleon is insane right now. If you try to hold on, your Mystic Eye, your life, it will all just vanish in vain!!”
The Seven Debts Jewels Mystic Eye was an innate ability, powerful in performance but inflicting immense backlash on the body.
She had struggled just using it briefly during the Promotion Ritual; there was no way she could use the Mystic Eye for long.
Furthermore, holding off Maleon while maintaining the Mystic Eye’s abilities was something that couldn’t even be conceived of in the first place-
KWOOOM!!!
At that moment, the barrier created by Manifesting Wheel, Constructing Sacred shook violently, as if about to explode.
The Ascendant trapped within the barrier had already discerned its structure and begun to break it by force.
[I told you once, before we ascended to the Ninth Tribulation.]
Olivera, watching the scene, said. [If only one of us could go, it should be you, rather than me. This time is no different.]
“OLIVERA!!!!”
KWOOOM!!!
The barrier shattered, and from within, the blood-soaked, gigantic body of the Dragon-kind walked out.
Maleon’s figure, gleaming with eye-light amidst the acrid smoke, as if cooked by the countless waves of light.
Watching Maleon slowly approach, Olivera stretched out her hand toward Lennok.
[You are right. Perhaps it should have been you from the very beginning.]
“…!!!”
[So do not misunderstand.]
Drip.
The blood that had fallen below the throne, not ‘fixed’ by the Mystic Eye, formed a complex Blood Magic Circle around Lennok.
Lennok, realizing it was a Blood Magic ability, tried to stand up immediately, but.
Thwack…!
Olivera firmly pushed Lennok’s shoulder, making him fall.
The moment Lennok’s body, having no strength left, collapsed, the Blood Magic Circle activated.
[This is not a sacrifice or a whim, but a conclusion reached after long and careful consideration.]
Olivera whispered with a smile.
[It is my own way of putting an end to the failure of the Black Consumer Project.]
CHWAAAK!!!
Maleon, who had come right up to them, and Olivera, with her back to him, were obscured by a blinding radiance.
At the same time, Lennok’s body floated up, as if descending at an impossibly low altitude.
KWOOOSHHH!!!!!
-!!!
A sickening sensation, as if all his internal organs were losing their place, floating and mixing. All he could do was close his eyes and endure the shaking impact.
Faintly, he felt a hellish heat from outside, and the wind screamed, tearing at his eardrums.
Was this what it felt like to ride a meteor falling from outer space?
Instinctively recalling that sensation, the moment he bit his lip to maintain consciousness.
THUD!!
As hot blood poured out, Lennok’s body fell onto old pavement.
“…!!”
He slammed shoulder-first and rolled several times before stopping.
Dull pain resonated throughout his body, but he felt no strength to open his mouth.
Struggling, he pushed his eyelids open, and a familiar alleyway came into view.
Descending through Blood Magic from the Spacetime of the Ninth Tribulation, located beyond the Outer Sea.
Had he returned to Outer Tribulation City, Kundara, existing on the other side of the Veil?
“Haa, haa…!!”
If he closed his eyes while fallen, he felt he would pass out immediately.
Lennok, breathing roughly, gritted his teeth and leaned his back against a wall.
With trembling hands, he took out a cigarette, lit it, inhaled the smoke deep into his lungs, and exhaled.
With the cigarette burned down to its filter, the moment he lifted his gaze to the sky.
“…That.”
RUMBLE!!!!
The mists filling Kundara’s sky were moving at incredible speed.
The Universe of Mist surrounding Outer Tribulation City, Kundara.
Those countless mists were rushing past Kundara at tremendous speed.
The moment Lennok stared blankly at the incomprehensible scene, looking up at the sky.
“Kundara has broken free from the other side of the Veil and started moving!!!”
Loud shouts echoed from far down the alley.
“Something has happened to Lord Maleon Gnosis. The Outer Tribulation Plan is halted!! Halted!!!”
“At this rate, Kundara will crash in the middle of the Central Front. We have to stop it!!!”
“All Long-lived Beings who can move, proceed to the air raid shelters!!”
“All Eight Great Dragon Kings have moved. Find the Short-lived Being named Adamant Thunder. He must be hunted down immediately!!!”
“……”
Kundara is breaking free from the other side of the Veil and falling into the Central Front.
The Eight Great Dragon Kings are moving to hunt down Lennok.
The moment Lennok, with a hardened expression, heard those voices and held his breath.
A quiet girl’s voice echoed in his ear.
“So it has come to this.”
“…!!!”
On an old wall, a black-haired girl sat perched, looking at Lennok.
The vampire, her blood-red eyes gleaming, stared at Lennok and spoke.
“I thought if Maleon had become an Ascendant, the worst might have been avoided.”
“…Fearsome Blood King.”
The girl did not reply and jumped down from the wall.
Warning sirens and shouts grew closer from all directions. The ferocious presences of Long-lived Beings rampaging to find Lennok.
But the Fearsome Blood King, even amidst all this, calmly straightened her clothes and asked.
“You know, this is already our third meeting, don’t you?”
“……”
“And like this world, this one should be the last.”
CHWAAK!!
Opening a door to her palace from a pool of blood, she gestured.
“Follow me. If you intend to write the ending of this Outer Tribulation City with your own hands.”