Chapter 1157: The Fate of Demise (8)
The Forbidden Armament ‘Sorrow’ bombarded the heart of the royal capital.
The immoral weapon, fueled by human suffering, swept through the streets.
Kwooaaang!!!!
A pale light pierced through the complex cityscape, annihilating everything in its path.
It forcibly imbued targets, regardless of organic or inorganic matter, with the emotions that powered it.
Filling them until their original form was lost, it swelled them, making them burst entirely and evaporate.
A tactical bombardment that swept away hundreds of structures, erasing them from the map, leaving no trace of life in between.
Pat!
The climate itself completely changed, snowing and freezing over the royal capital’s streets.
Lennok, atop a clock tower near the bustling district, gazed down at the chaotic city center.
‘Most citizens are outside the city for Freya’s concert, but…’
A considerable number of knights remaining in the royal capital couldn’t escape the Conjunction Spell Master’s bombardment.
Not only was the 9th Division of the Ten Royal Knights of Rectitude, which had surrounded Lennok and the Conjunction Spell Master, annihilated, but other knight divisions also suffered damage.
Who would have thought they’d brazenly fire a Forbidden Armament into the heart of the royal capital to break through the encirclement and incite chaos?
Like The Clown, the Conjunction Spell Master’s way of thinking and ideas far surpassed the average person’s.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!!!
Fireballs rained from the sky, and the earth shook violently as if struck by an earthquake.
Paved roads cracked in all directions, and buildings, losing their support, crumbled.
It was a bizarre sight, as if the bombardment had pierced through the frozen capital, completely evaporating the areas it swept over.
Between the crumbling, unsupported buildings, armored knights sprinted with all their might.
“Pandemonium has attacked the royal capital!!”
“The entire 9th Division of the Ten Royal Knights of Rectitude annihilated. No survivors…!!”
“All of the 8th Division. Apprehend any suspicious individuals and interrogate them!”
“They are the continent’s worst criminal organization. Report to the royal family immediately upon discovery and request reinforcements…!!”
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!!!
Armored knights raced along the walls of the royal capital’s buildings at incredible speed.
Gripping swords, axes, and spear shafts, their teeth gritted, they scanned their surroundings with murderous intent.
Lennok, who had been hiding behind the clock tower, only emerged once the streets quieted down.
Slowly clenching and unclenching his hand, Lennok casually checked his condition, then fell into thought.
‘About half my mana has recovered. If I use the Forbidden Armament, I might have two or three more uses.’
The gauntlet was a divine tool capable of directly manipulating real physical laws, but it consumed immense mana.
His mana had been greatly depleted during his escape from the castle basement, where he used it while opening the Back Door with Aron.
Although it had recovered somewhat on his way back to the capital, he was still not at full strength.
He would need to carefully choose when and where to use his spellcraft to last until the end.
‘The Conjunction Spell Master said The Clown intends to finish the Conquest Operation today. The Clown might already be inside The Gate.’
Lennok, deep in thought, quickly reached a conclusion.
‘Find The Gate, enter the sanctuary immediately, and secure the Mandala.’
The location of The Gate, situated beneath the royal capital, wasn’t immediately detectable by Lennok’s mana sensing.
However, other Pandemonium members, acting separately from Lennok, might know about The Gate.
Antares had said the members were scattered throughout the royal capital, each moving independently, so the priority was to find a nearby member and assess the situation.
Pat!!
He hooked mana threads between buildings, bouncing and leaping, accelerating over the burning streets.
Lennok’s form, cloaked entirely in a black robe, flew low over the ground.
Swaaaeek!!
He hooked mana threads between passing buildings and lampposts, pulling himself forward to increase his speed.
Traversing the central bustling district, he spun his mana sensing, searching for presences in all directions.
Dozens to hundreds. Thousands to tens of thousands.
He read and discerned every life signature moving throughout the royal capital at that very moment.
Within his rapidly expanding senses, Lennok found a familiar presence and snapped his mana threads.
Ki-eek!!
“…Found them.”
A cold, sharp presence, like ice, emanated from about 5 km away—Soryu.
Just a few blocks from here, she would be visible to the naked eye.
The only notable point was that there were several other presences similar to Soryu’s.
Instantly changing direction, Lennok arrived where Soryu was and immediately understood why.
Kwaaang!!
Countless ice shards erupted as if exploding amidst the burning streets.
Soryu’s form was propelled straight backward between the surging ice pillars.
Chwa-aak!!
Sliding across the frozen road, Soryu exchanged blows rapidly with someone.
With every clenched and unclenched fist, a cold chill exploded, spreading a thick frost.
[Ice Lotus]
Jjeo-eong!!!
“Guh…!”
A colossal ice flower bloomed in place, sweeping Soryu away and sending her tumbling.
Frost touched Soryu’s emotionless face. Her gaze coldly fixed on the core of the exploded ice flower.
“You haven’t changed at all since being exiled from the royal capital.”
Koong!!
From the core of the colossal ice flower emerged a young man with an aura similar to Soryu’s.
As the arrogant-looking young man walked out, a pristine white cold rotated around him.
“Not only do you wield your Bloodline Ability arbitrarily, but you’re still utterly lowly and unsightly.”
“If you count the royals and knights exiled from Kabahim, there’s no end to them.”
Soryu stood up, her expression frigid.
“Or do you suddenly wish to be treated as an elder brother now?”
“Fraternal affection in this royal family is always like this. Didn’t father himself cut off our uncle’s arm?”
The young man chuckled and took a step.
“But I think I’d feel satisfied if I cut off not my younger brother’s arm, but his head.”
Hwa-aak!!
As Soryu and the young man raised their hands, immense cold gathered within them.
A powerful Bloodline Ability that instantly plummeted the street’s temperature, dragging it below freezing in moments.
The moment the cold, freezing the air solid, took shape and was about to collide with each other.
Lennok, appearing from thin air, landed in front of Soryu.
“Where are the others?”
“…!!!”
Soryu’s eyes widened, and she redirected the ability she was about to unleash, causing crisscrossing ice shards to explode in the air.
Kwaa-aang!!!!
A wave of pristine white ice surged onto the road, sweeping away abandoned cars and traffic lights.
An intense manifestation of ability, completely covering and demolishing half the street, freezing and shattering it.
But Lennok remained standing there, looking back at Soryu.
“What are you doing here?”
“…Victor?”
A colossal shield unfurled behind Lennok, blocking all the pouring ice shards.
Soryu, staring at Lennok with a bewildered expression, quickly collected herself and spoke.
“You’ve dropped your camouflage magic… Have you stopped being treated as a VIP in the royal palace?”
“Not only have I stopped, but I’ve become a public enemy and am being hunted.”
“What?”
“Never mind the explanation. Where are the others?”
“…They’re scattered across the royal capital, moving independently.”
“So they were acting separately to find the location of The Gate.”
“No, rather than that…”
For a moment, Soryu’s expression became uncharacteristically vague.
“My members and I joined this operation for personal reasons. So, while looking for The Gate, they were also doing their own things.”
“…”
So, in the midst of all this, they were prioritizing their personal agendas in the Kabahim royal capital over the Conquest Operation itself?
Then again, considering what the Conjunction Spell Master had been up to, it wasn’t particularly surprising.
He knew Pandemonium completely lacked cohesion as an organization, but it had been a long time since he’d truly felt it anew.
[Lending the Master’s power to these organisms will spoil them.]
“Still, it’s not entirely without results.”
While Davi grumbled in his arms, Soryu added, as if making excuses.
“High-ranking knights and royals are gathered near the royal palace and city hall. I was investigating that area, but then—”
“You are the impudent kinsman who dared to ruin His Majesty’s grand scheme.”
Kwaang!!
The young man, standing atop a surging ice pillar, looked down at Lennok with a frigid expression.
The frozen environment of the royal capital seemed to suit him even better, his skillful control of the surrounding cold effortless.
“I heard the royal family’s reputation is in tatters because of what you did at the old castle.”
Ku-gu-gu-gu!!!
With a single gesture, the young man created ice pillars everywhere, blocking the path and setting the stage, a sneer on his face.
“If I cut off your limbs, freeze the severed parts, and present only your head, it would greatly help my position in the line of succession.”
“The Fourth Prince Osien. He’s a direct bloodline of the royal family, born with a powerful Bloodline Ability among the princes.”
Soryu explained.
“He inherited the royal blood strongly, making him persistent and neurotic. The reason I was being pursued until now was that his ability’s strength was similar to mine.”
“Are you introducing yourselves? You seem to have similar personalities, befitting brothers.”
“…I’ll hold him here; you go to the royal palace.”
Soryu nodded, drawing up her mana.
“If you were treated as a VIP in the royal palace, finding the way should be possible. In the meantime, I’ll divert their attention—”
Swaaaeek!!!!
Before her words were finished, a long icicle was thrust down above Soryu’s head.
Frost exploded, splitting the frozen road, and abandoned vehicles detonated one after another from the impact.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!!!
Beyond the cold, where even the heat from the exploding vehicles couldn’t spread far, freezing and stopping.
Before they knew it, two unfamiliar men and women were standing behind Soryu, hands outstretched.
“Are these guys also royals, like you?”
“…Yes.”
Jjeo-jeo-jeok…!!!
Soryu, who had deflected the attack by transforming half her body into ice, gave Lennok a bitter smile.
Lennok stood unscathed, even after directly enduring the preceding barrage of abilities.
It was because she had realized once again that the Manipulation Spellcaster before her was a force beyond comparison to herself.
Hwa-aak!!
Soryu wrapped the surrounding cold around her arm like a bracer, then averted her gaze.
“I retract what I said earlier. From now on, I will act according to your judgment.”
Victor was a skilled individual, capable of facing The Clown and the cult’s highest-ranking Apostles simultaneously.
In this situation, it would be better for Soryu to determine her actions according to Victor’s judgment and movements.
But Lennok ignored Soryu’s words and looked at the royals who had surrounded them.
“I can’t sense the Conjunction Spell Master. Has he already made his escape?”
“…What?”
“I’ve found almost everyone else. Let’s move.”
Had he been observing the situation all this time just to run detections from the heart of the royal capital?
The moment Soryu turned her gaze with a stunned expression, Lennok was already standing before the Fourth Prince.
Pat!!
“How dare you—!!!”
The moment Lennok’s gloved hand covered Osien’s face, the prince lashed out with his ability as if in a seizure.
He instantly gathered the thick cold, forming it into sharp thorns and firing them at subsonic speed.
But Lennok didn’t even look at the ice thorns launched from point-blank range, swatting them all away with his gauntlet.
Tur-tur-tur-tung!!!
“Wha, what the—!!!”
Simply clenching his fist lightly, without mana, caused black ripples to erupt over the gauntlet, deflecting the ability.
Lennok swept his right hand down over Osien’s face, which had turned stark white.
The mana thread, dropped from his fingertip, spun. It burrowed beneath the skin, severing muscles, tendons, nerves, and bone entirely.
Seo-geok!!
“…!!!”
The moment Lennok’s hand swept past, Osien’s head detached from his body and floated upwards.
The other royals’ eyes widened, and Osien’s body, on the spot, transformed into ice and crumbled.
Chwa-aak!!
A nearby ice pillar lost its form and crumbled, and from within it, a new Osien appeared.
The Fourth Prince, unable to walk, sat hunched with a pale face, gasping for breath.
“Huu, huuugh…!!! What, what on earth is this…!!!”
“Not only can you turn your entire body into ice, but you can also sculpt a new body from within the ice?”
Lennok tilted his head, watching him.
“But in the end, it’s trivial compared to Aron. Did that man raise his children to only this extent?”
“You, you fiend…!!”
Lennok, his eyes narrowed behind his mask, sneered.
“You’re not worth keeping alive.”
Kwa-jik!!
Before Osien could even reply, Lennok’s gauntlet clamped onto his head.
The speed was so immense it was as if he had transcended space, allowing no reaction whatsoever.
As his wrist twisted, black ripples erupted from behind Osien’s head.
Paa-aang!!!
Space warped with the black ripples, and Osien’s body convulsed before slumping lifelessly.
Black blood streamed from the eyes and nose of Osien, who had collapsed without even a scream.
“You fiend!!”
“How dare you lay hands on a royal’s body!!!”
The other royals, horrified by the utterly gruesome corpse, unleashed their abilities with full force.
A chilling cold exploded, mercilessly striking the spot where Lennok stood.
Paa-aang!!!!
Waves of ice and freezing pillars surged one after another, smashing the ground and tearing apart bedrock.
An intense temperature manipulation that contracted the air sharply, then halted and froze it.
But Lennok didn’t avoid the pouring ice shards; instead, he pulled the mana thread wrapped around his wrist.
With just that, buildings on all sides were severed into dozens of pieces, collapsing over the royals’ heads.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!!!
“Wha, what is this…!!”
“Ah, I can’t see…!! My senses!!!”
Mana thread fragments scattered between the crumbling buildings, disrupting their senses like flares.
The royals, disoriented and unable to even find their bearings, randomly unleashed cold energy.
“Do they not even know how to counter Manipulation Spellcraft?”
But Lennok didn’t bother approaching the thrashing royals; he simply raised his hand.
“I wanted to check the manifestation level of their Bloodline Ability, but there’s nothing more to extract.”
Twisting his index and middle fingers as if playing cat’s cradle, the moment he pulled and untied the knot of mana threads between his fingers.
Dozens of mana threads, launched from between the buildings, pierced into the bodies of the two royals at tremendous speed.
Pa-ba-ba-bak!!!
“Agh!”
“Guh…!”
With a simultaneous scream, the bodies of the two men and women were impaled by mana threads and brought to a halt.
The launched mana threads spun, burrowing into their flesh and muscles, piercing through their limbs and holding them upright.
The royals hung, bloody and strung up by threads between building debris.
Leaving the corpses of the deceased royals behind, Lennok moved on.
“Let’s go to the city hall. The Puppet Master is there.”
“…”
“That guy would have gathered information from all over the royal capital using puppets, so he’ll know something.”
“…They are individuals trained from birth to handle weapons and abilities.”
Soryu silently gazed at the dead royals.
“I knew they wouldn’t live long, but to be toyed with and killed like this… Manipulation Spellcraft truly is a bizarre power.”
“Are your reflections finished?”
“…”
Soryu, being of Kabahim’s royal lineage, would have known how exceptional these superhumans were.
Yet, perhaps the royals dying so meaninglessly was somewhat shocking to her.
“…Let’s go. City hall is this way.”
Quickly composing herself, Soryu led the way, guiding Lennok toward the city hall.
A wide plaza with a colossal clock tower. A spacious city hall constructed with grand arches.
At the entrance of the city hall, bodies lay piled up, bleeding and fallen.
Jjeo-eong!!
A knight, who had spotted Lennok and drawn his sword, was seized by a mana thread and flung, then frozen solid by Soryu’s ability.
Wielding the knight, now frozen solid, like a mace, he smashed open the city hall doors.
Kwaang!!
Bodies, blood-soaked and sprawled, belonging to royals, knights, civilians, and civil servants alike.
Soryu, leading the way, frowned at the blood-soaked corridors and lobby.
“Chebien. Was he looking for bodies to turn into puppets? His methods are more excessive than necessary.”
“There’s one more.”
“…What?”
“The bodies killed by the Puppet Master are mixed with those killed by someone else.”
Pi-ing!!
Lennok shot a mana thread at a still-living knight, severing his windpipe, then flipped over another nearby corpse.
“The arteries were severed by strikes to the skin. This shows traces of extremely high-level martial arts.”
“…”
“However, I feel like I’ve seen this kind of sensation somewhere before…”
Lennok, tilting his head, naturally took the lead, with Soryu following behind.
Deeper into the city hall, the smell of blood intensified, and the damage to the sprawled bodies became more severe.
Passing bodies that seemed to be torn to shreds or clawed, as if from a fit of rage, they headed for the innermost mayor’s office.
The moment Soryu ducked her head, blades shot out from both sides of the corridor walls.
Kwaaang!!
Dozens of sword flashes surged, carving out the spot where Lennok and Soryu stood.
Simultaneously, both walls of the corridor shattered, and high-ranking knights emerged, their expressions sharp with murderous intent.
“Manipulation Spellcaster…!!”
“It was you. You did this…!!”
Muttering incomprehensible words, they surrounded the mayor’s office, eyes bloodshot, and leveled their swords.
“So it was an encirclement.”
At the bone-chilling murderous intent, Soryu’s expression hardened, and she drew up her mana.
Soryu, cloaked in cold and gripping a blade of ice she had sculpted, glanced back at Lennok.
“I’ll take one side. Can I leave opening the path to you?”
“Indeed.”
Lennok replied, turning his gaze.
“It seems our inability to find The Gate’s location here wasn’t a coincidence.”
“…What?”
“The bodies gathered in this city hall. They were being used even after death, as sacrifices for human offerings.”
Lennok, casting a quick glance upwards, muttered.
“They used forbidden magic in a hurry to erase the presence or location of The Gate. And probably the reason is—”
It’s because there’s another entity searching for The Gate, besides Lennok.
“Surely…!!”
The moment Soryu, understanding the unspoken meaning, turned her gaze with a stiff expression.
Chwa-ak!!
With a chilling slicing sound, the body of the knight who had aimed his sword at Lennok split cleanly in half.
It was a grotesque sight, split from crown to abdomen, spilling entrails and blood on the spot.
Cheol-peok!!
“Oh, my.”
Behind the instantly deceased knight’s corpse, an old man in a fedora was smiling.
“Come to think of it, didn’t we meet in a place like this last time too?”
An elegant figure in a fedora and suit, exuding an antique charm.
The sword in his hand was blood-soaked, covered in clinging bits of flesh, a truly gruesome sight.
The old man, who had beheaded the knight, smiled kindly and turned his head toward Lennok.
“I seem to keep showing you unsightly things. My apologies.”
“…This man is.”
“The Fifth Apostle.”
Ignoring the stiff Soryu, Lennok asked in a cold voice.
“What are you doing here?”
The Guido Cult’s ultimate force. The Fifth Apostle Eldrich.
The highest-ranking Incarnation Body he had faced in Torquepaz, an 8-level physical ability user who was also a former commander of Kabahim’s knight division.
Had the cult, which had been defeated by Lennok and The Clown, re-entered the royal capital at this point?
Indeed, there would be no better time for the cult to move than now, with the royal capital in chaos.
“Hmm, well. I’m not sure how much meaning is left in that plan now that Camlodal has been defeated.”
But Eldrich, caressing his fedora, leisurely turned his steps.
“Having returned to the royal capital after a long time, I was strolling through familiar places, both to refresh old memories and…”
Completely ignoring the knights surrounding them, the old man, facing Lennok, smiled.
“For a brief moment, like now, cooperating with you might not be a bad idea.”
“What do you mean?”
“By now, His Majesty would be deep inside The Gate, adjusting the sanctuary’s power.”
The old man caressed his fedora, subtly obscuring his expression.
“However, as a knight, it would be disrespectful not to visit my former liege, having returned to the royal capital.”
“…”
“Since I’ve returned to the royal capital, I intend to visit His Majesty after a long time. Do you wish to join me?”