Chapter 1115: Remnants (3)

The Black Consumer Project.

It was the most dangerous secret among the Ascension Plans, and the direct cause of the Central City, Ars Nova’s, destruction.

Lennok knew that it was a journey to filter out all of the world’s failures without exception and find the remaining correct answers.

However, Lennok did not know exactly how it had proceeded and failed.

Through his conversation with Seonjong, Lennok had come to believe that it might have been a form of Regression.

Kaiser Bajour’s Regressive Magic was a power that, under specific conditions, could even reverse will-thought and time.

As the Kaiser of the past had shown in the sealed zone, when used to its extreme, it was possible to completely reverse time for an entire specific area.

What if that power could be applied not just to a specific spacetime, but to the entire world?

What if it could turn back the timeline of the entire star, returning to the past?

Lennok realized that Kaiser had been uncovering the world’s failures in such a way.

Even without being directly told the project’s secrets, he was understanding things one by one.

Everything was so intricately intertwined that the moment one thing was understood, it would creak and lead to the next.

Looking at the silent Olivera, Lennok spoke quietly.

“While bloodline abilities are often said to have a predetermined limit from birth, there isn’t no way to raise that peak.”

[………]

“Just as Seonjong’s will-thought did, it’s possible to raise the limits or scope of an ability by imposing a Geas or human sacrifice.”

Powers that rely on innate constitution or talent, such as bloodline abilities or super-abilities, are extremely affected by oaths like Geas.

A Geas of the magnitude Seonjong had imposed—a vow never to use the Space-Thought Domain again—could elevate the spellcraft’s tier.

Lennok was asking if Kaiser had not utilized his Regressive Magic in such a way.

“Did Kaiser Bajour constantly regress himself with the world as the target?”

[………Well.]

Olivera quietly raised her gaze, her back still turned.

[Quite a long time ago, it seems… it was sometimes called by that name.]

“………”

[An ability to revert everything to before its failure. Grandiosely speaking, one could say that.]

Meeting Lennok’s expressionless gaze, she spoke softly.

[However, while that may have been our means, it would not have been our essence until the very end.]

“What… what do you mean?”

[It means even you don’t fully grasp how absurdly miraculous what you’re describing is.]

Olivera said.

[As you know, Kaiser’s talent was a very unstable power. He often struggled even to control that talent limited to his own body.]

“………”

[Can you even imagine what an unrealistic price would be required to extend such a power beyond a single area, beyond a city, across the entire world?]

Crack, crack…!!

The two stood silently, facing each other with the burning flames at their backs.

The heat spreading from all directions incinerated the undergrowth at their feet, but it couldn’t even leave a scratch on their forms.

[I know. You must be thinking, ‘Wasn’t the project started to pay that “unrealistic price?”’]

Olivera said softly.

As if she knew Lennok’s thoughts without even needing to read them.

[That might not be wrong. It’s clear that Kaiser’s talent was a core means in the project, in some form or another. But…]

Her Telepathic Transmission, whispering from beyond the veil, momentarily grew faint.

[Even if one has infinite opportunities, what good is it if they lack the ability to solve the problem?]

“…Olivera.”

[That’s why, even at the cost of abandoning everything accumulated until then… we wanted the key.]

Olivera’s will-thought seemed to turn infinitely cold for a moment.

[The one and only key to move forward.]

“………”

Silence fell.

At this moment, after cremating Kaiser Bajour’s body.

Now that Olivera had acknowledged and accepted Lennok’s decision.

Lennok understood that she had given him the best answer she could.

What kind of feelings was Olivera experiencing as she explained the events to Lennok?

What allowed her to confess Kaiser’s and her own failures and declare them wrong?

It must be because she knew that Lennok was directly or indirectly involved with the project.

Because she knew that Lennok was so persistently chasing the project’s traces.

Because she knew he might even be closer to it than herself.

[However, the ability you spoke of was certainly part of the plan and a means.]

Olivera said, raising her gaze.

[For Kaiser’s reason for trying to use even his own death was also for the ‘expansion’ of Regressive Magic.]

“Expansion of Regressive Magic, you say…”

[He changed his mind and betrayed until the very end.]

Suddenly, Olivera’s Telepathic Transmission grew indistinct.

[Because of that, even at this very moment, I could not fully understand Kaiser’s true intentions.]

“………”

[It’s still the same now. Because what I know isn’t entirely what you’ve found out, I can’t even be sure what is false.]

Staring at the burning Ninth Tribulation graveyard, she spoke quietly.

[Then there’s no need to mislead you with failed memories. The vampire also said nothing for that reason.]

“………”

[All she and I could exchange about the project was lingering regret.]

As Lennok remained silent, Olivera slowly turned her gaze.

As if forcibly tearing her eyes away from the burning Ninth Tribulation.

As if to burn away the lingering attachment with those flames.

[Worthless, meaningless… But.]

Olivera murmured.

[Perhaps, separate from our failures, it may have already been accomplished.]

“………”

[It’s time. Let’s return to the city we shattered and dropped.]

She said, turning to Lennok.

[I need to prepare to return to Vulcan. Come find me when you’re ready.]

“So, you’ve roughly toured the crash site of the Seventh Tribulation…”

Two days after cremating Kaiser’s remains at the epicenter of the fallen Ninth Tribulation.

Lennok had been touring the area that used to be Outer Tribulation City, while receiving treatment at the Blood-Veil Palace.

Outer Tribulation City, Kundara, shattered and broken by the impact of its fall into the Central Front border zone.

Thanks to the power of the Elder Council and the Eight Great Dragon Kings, there were almost no casualties, but the collapse of various facilities and living areas that constituted the city was inevitable.

Since it was a city Maleon had tried to protect until the very end, Lennok had intended to help where he could before leaving Kundara.

But it wasn’t long before Lennok realized that was meaningless worry.

“Perhaps because they live for hundreds of years, they adapt quickly. Or, conversely, should I say they’re insensitive to environmental changes?”

Despite having emerged from behind the veil and crashed into the center of the continent overnight, the city’s atmosphere wasn’t particularly chaotic.

No one was crying out or complaining, even with completely destroyed living quarters and streets nearby.

Only Long-lived Beings were busy transporting broken materials and parts, rebuilding the city.

“So, when can we start interacting with the Short-lived Beings of the mundane world?”

“From what I read in my texts, the cuisine of Short-lived Beings is quite stimulating.”

“I’m eager to meet the Obaekro knights of the mundane world. They say the Short-lived Beings’ grand game is as swift as their short lifespans.”

“…If you put it that way, isn’t that just trying to pick a fight?”

Maleon’s failure. The crashed, broken city. The lost answer of Outer Tribulation.

Even knowing they had lost the solution to avoid destruction, the Long-lived Beings did not grieve.

Instead, many seemed more curious or interested in the current situation.

Perhaps they didn’t have much attachment to the Outer Tribulation’s way of eternally drifting in the Outer Sea?

Or perhaps, having lived for hundreds of years, they were prepared to endure any situation?

[If they’ve lived for hundreds of years, maybe they don’t have any fear of death?]

“Davi.”

Davi peeked her head out from inside the robe Lennok wore to cover his face.

[They say it’s an age where there’s nothing to be afraid of.]

“…That’s not something you should say in a situation like this.”

[Oh, is that so?]

Even with Lennok’s gentle scolding, Davi was still excitedly wiggling inside the robe.

Since Lennok woke up in the Blood-Veil Palace, Davi had almost always been in this state.

[Hehe, heheheheh.]

“…Yes, yes.”

The incessant wagging of her tail and nuzzling made Lennok feel dizzy, but he let her be.

He knew what Davi was thinking from the conversation they had after he ascended to the Ninth Tribulation.

“Huu…”

Leaning on his staff and staggering, Lennok sat on a nearby chair in an alley.

Just walking a little caused cold sweat to stream down his body, and his entire frame trembled faintly.

Davi, sensing Lennok’s abnormal state, immediately activated the life support system of the staff to its maximum output.

Whoosh…!!

Only then did Lennok’s complexion return somewhat, and he managed a weak smile, nodding.

“Thank you.”

[………]

The Cybernetic Spirit snuggled into Lennok’s embrace without a word.

Lennok gazed at Davi, lost in silent thought.

Even after using a Life Vessel, the recoil from the Elixir of Ascension was so severe that it was difficult to even move his body.

If it weren’t for the Fearsome Blood King’s help in forcibly circulating his blood, he wouldn’t have been able to move from his bed for months.

Considering it the price for newly engraving the Branching Point of Corruption into his Kaleidoscope, it was perhaps fortunate that it ended like this, but even so, he couldn’t stay in this city indefinitely.

The fact that Kundara had crashed into the Central Front was now conspicuously known across the continent.

He hadn’t received proper news yet, but it was highly likely that chaos had erupted outside.

Soon, super-large factions like the Order Alliance or the Guido Cult would likely visit Kundara to coordinate the situation.

If Lennok remained in this city until then, problems were bound to arise.

With his current physical condition, it would be difficult to move while anticipating combat, so he had to act as quickly as possible.

He might have to leave Outer Tribulation City and return to Vulcan within today or tomorrow.

Just as Lennok was thinking this, stroking Davi’s head.

[Ah, Master. Can I ask you one question?]

“What is it?”

[You know that tail you made for me last time?]

Davi said, unfurling a tail from inside the robe to show him.

The ‘eighth’ tail, surging from the fox spirit’s back, created by compressing Black Lightning.

[Shouldn’t this actually have been the seventh one?]

The spirit tilted her head and asked.

[You made it as the eighth one back then, but I don’t even have a seventh tail yet.]

“………”

Davi’s point was not wrong.

The tail created in Yorta, triggered by the Ghost Ship’s power, was the sixth.

If tails had been created normally, the newly made tail should certainly have been the seventh.

However, even after hearing Davi’s words, Lennok continued to stroke the spirit’s head.

Leaning back on a bench in the quiet street, Lennok spoke softly.

“Because the seventh stage of Self-Transformation must be completed by oneself.”

[…Huh?]

“It’s the same.”

Lennok met Davi’s gaze.

“You must create and complete the seventh tail yourself. It’s an area where even I can’t help you.”

[………]

The Cybernetic Spirit’s tails symbolized the stages Davi herself built up.

Therefore, the number of tails had to follow the principle of Self-Transformation.

The seventh was the completion of Self-Transformation and a pinnacle achieved by oneself.

It was a tail that Davi absolutely had to awaken and complete on her own.

That’s why, instead of creating the seventh tail with the power of Black Lightning, Lennok had skipped it and created the foundation for the eighth tail.

And not by directly completing the eighth tail, but by giving it a core so it could be completed at any time.

“The Black Lightning I used was a corrupted power. If you had made that the completion of your stage, problems would certainly have arisen.”

[Master…]

“But the eighth one should be fine. From then on, it will be a realm beyond completion, transcending it.”

Lennok said, stroking Davi’s head.

“When you complete the seventh, I’ve set it up so the eighth can also be naturally completed. Until then, it won’t affect your spirit power.”

He had been thinking even at the moment he drank the Elixir of Ascension and looked out at the Outer Sea.

He had remembered even at the moment he felt an unreasoning familiarity at the Branching Point of Corruption.

He hoped that this spirit, who saw and remembered every moment with Lennok, would someday become an answer.

With that anticipation, he had given her a name, and together they explored the world, sharing every experience.

Even if someday, Davi’s answer turned out to be different from Lennok’s, that too would hold meaning.

Just as Davi possessed the ability to manipulate Cybernetic Space, a talent Lennok could not achieve.

Another possibility, different from Lennok himself, yet one that Lennok could accept.

[…Hmph.]

The spirit, sensing Lennok’s thoughts, pouted.

[I’m one with Master. I don’t dream different dreams from Master.]

“Yes. That’s right.”

Lennok stroked Davi, then pulled back the robe covering his face and stood up.

“It’s time. Shall we go?”

[Where to?]

“There’s one last thing I need to do before leaving Kundara.”

Lennok calmly gazed at the vast plain in the distance.

“The dragons will be waiting.”

Outer Tribulation City, Kundara. Hall of the Eighth Tribulation.

Once located at the highest point of Kundara, a spacetime that reflected the Universe of Mist.

Now, it was a plain where its wreckage lay scattered, having crashed and shattered near the border zone.

The Founders’ statues were half-destroyed and toppled, with pillars and inner walls collapsed, debris piled like mountains.

Lennok sat on the side of such a dusty corridor, leaning on his staff and examining his hand.

Crack, crack…!!!

Each time he lightly rubbed his thumb and index finger, a brilliant blue lightning burst forth between his fingers.

The lingering afterimage of lightning, wrapped around Lennok’s hand, holding a deep light and constantly changing form.

Attribute Magic that had never once deviated from Lennok’s will since he learned his unique magic.

But Lennok’s expression, as he looked at the lightning, was more deeply somber than ever.

“………”

Although there was no visible difference to the naked eye, and only a faint sense of discomfort to Lennok’s senses.

Nevertheless, he could tell that an undeniable anomaly existed.

He could feel it because it was lightning magic he had always handled directly with his own hands.

Fizzy!!!

In the center of the blue, deep lightning.

The causality of lightning that had never escaped Lennok’s control.

At its very core, a faint hint of ‘blackened’ lightning seemed to be mixed in.

The power of a possibility Lennok had not chosen, running rampant beyond his control.

The Black Lightning he had completely let go of after the decisive battle with Seonjong, still remained within Lennok.

At the moment Lennok felt this, and caressed the flickering lightning with his fingertips.

Whoosh!!!

Very large shadows began to fall over Lennok’s head all at once.

Six colossal Dragon-kind floating in the evening sky.

The Dragon Kings, each enveloped in mana of different colors and textures, glowing as they swam through the sky and approached.

A mighty presence encompassing the crimson horizon, dyeing the sky above the hall from beyond.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!!

The sky violently trembled, and its vibrations shook the very ground.

As Lennok raised his gaze, a hot wind swept through the ruined hall.

And from eight directions around the crashed Hall of the Eighth Tribulation, columns of light of various colors began to erupt as if exploding.

Flash!!!

As if responding to the Dragon Kings approaching the Hall of the Eighth Tribulation, columns of light surged from all over the hall.

The moment the columns of light, erupting from all directions, tilted and crossed over Lennok’s head.

The six Dragon Kings landed around the hall, with Lennok beneath the dazzling light source.

Thump!!!

A commanding presence, each emitting an intense aura and will-thought, heavily pressing down on the surroundings.

But unlike last time, there was no longer any wariness or fear in the dragons’ eyes as they looked at Lennok.

A heavy Telepathic Transmission echoed among the dragons, resonating with profound mana.

[The time has come. Has everyone gathered?]

“I heard you were busy with Kundara’s reconstruction, but quite a few have descended.”

Lennok asked, looking around.

“I was told this was a meeting to report and organize Kundara’s current status, so why choose this location as the meeting place?”

[Because this Hall of the Eighth Tribulation is where most of Kundara’s functions and authority remain.]

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!!

A dragon, whose entire body was covered in scales as hard as chains, landed, having crossed the vast plain.

Iron Chain Dragon King spoke in a weighty voice.

[This place, where the statues and sanctuaries made from the body parts of the Founders are located, would be a suitable place to convey the rightful price to you.]

“Price?”

[Even if the beginning was flawed, you stopped Maleon Gnosis and prevented the disaster of the city drifting out into the Outer Sea.]

Iron Chain Dragon King, looking down at Lennok from beneath heavy armor, said.

[Therefore, your contribution to Kundara’s continued existence holds immeasurable value.]

“………”

Whoosh…!!!

At that moment, the statues of the Founders, broken or toppled in various parts of the hall, began to glow brilliantly.

As Lennok turned to look at the statues glowing as if responding to the life force of the six Dragon Kings who had landed in the hall.

Iron Chain Dragon King unleashed a profound Telepathic Transmission, gazing at Lennok.

[By the authority of the Eight Great Dragon Kings and the Elder Council, we shall now convey a part of Kundara to you as the price for the feat you have accomplished.]