Chapter 1169: Fate of Demise (20)

The Sixfold Demonic Mirror of Return, located deep within the Central Front.

A prison for alien specters, where every visible horizon is surrounded by walls of lava.

The core extracted from within the Megiddo, a bio-battleship lying dead in the deepest depths of this inferno of surging heat.

KWOOOOOSH!!!!

Inside a fist-sized orb, crimson flames swirled and slowly rotated.

The fire pulsed and moved without pattern or rule, as if alive with its own will.

Thinking that the movement of the flames felt like a beating heart, Lennok opened his mouth.

“What does knowing that name mean to you?”

“…….”

“Is it because Ethan Bajour’s existence is related to the failure of a project you were involved in?”

Lennok hadn’t expected to hear the name of Ethan Bajour at this moment, while confronting the Director under the alias of Victor.

Nevertheless, Lennok implicitly understood why the Director had mentioned the name.

He knew the circumstances suggesting that the Director had once intervened in the Black Consumer Project.

So he had surmised that the Director must remember Kaiser in some way.

Now that Ethan Bajour was returning to the Legion, it wouldn’t be strange for the Director to know that fact.

It was even understandable if the Director had observed Lennok’s potential encounter with Ethan as a preordained future.

The fact that the Director mentioned it here was proof that he wasn’t trying to hide or conceal it from Lennok.

That’s why, as soon as Lennok heard the name, he immediately asked the question he most wanted answered.

The Director’s role in the project. The reason he intervened to expose the world’s failures.

What role the Director had played in the failure of the Black Consumer Project.

Lennok asked.

“Was the project’s failure… your ‘role’?”

“I do not believe Kaiser Bajour was particularly special compared to others.”

The Director spoke calmly, his voice ambiguous, devoid of discernible emotion.

“Someone with his talent, someone who shared the same dream, must have existed somewhere in the three cycles. But…”

“…But?”

“I knew from the beginning that he could never be more than a component.”

The Director raised his static-filled gaze.

“That’s why I chose to change, even knowing I would be worn down.”

“…….”

“If, amidst countless fleeting failures, he briefly arrived at the same conclusion as me…”

The Director muttered in a detached tone, gazing intently at Lennok’s mask.

“I once thought, a long time ago, that I could fulfill the role he desired.”

“…….”

The words about never being more than a component. The answer about choosing to change, even knowing he would be worn down.

Were those words, casually spoken by the Director, directed at Kaiser, or did they refer to the Director himself?

Perhaps the reason the Director intervened in Kaiser’s plan was that these two things were not so different.

If, while tracing back all the world’s failures, Kaiser had glimpsed the Director’s origin, even for a moment.

And if, in that process, Kaiser had preordained the Director’s existence as the ‘conclusion’ of the project.

Then the project’s failure, from the very beginning—

“Time’s up.”

FLASHHHHH!!!!

A miniature sun, burning and dripping, was handed to Lennok.

Despite fiercely glittering as if it could incinerate spacetime, the orb was warm enough to be held in bare hands.

It emitted energy powerful enough to raise the ambient temperature and intensify the heat, yet it was harmless to Lennok and the Director.

As Lennok felt a faint sense of unease from this phenomenon, the Director turned away without hesitation.

WHOOSH!!!!

Standing before the corpse of the bio-battleship Megiddo, which he had killed, the Director twisted his wrist and drew forth his mana.

The Director’s mana manifested without any warning or sign, existing as a result the moment it was perceived.

The will of a Transcendent, governing destiny, enveloped the bio-battleship’s corpse, resonating and echoing.

Lennok’s senses creaked and warped as he watched, his mana bristling and screaming.

Something extremely dangerous was about to happen here.

“The closer one moves towards the world’s center, the further one moves from the world’s essence—that is the contradiction.”

Standing on the Megiddo’s corpse, the Director bowed his head.

“The Sixfold Demonic Mirror of Return is the hottest hell in the entire continent, a place that holds heat that should not exist on this star.”

“…….”

“In a Demonic Realm that contains heat capable of melting not just matter and concepts, but even souls…”

Kneeling on one knee, he caressed the body with an indifferent hand and said,

“It wouldn’t be difficult to skip the necessary processes and complete the tempering.”

WHOOSH!!!

The next moment, a transparent glass orb, emanating a chilling cold, was in the Director’s hand.

It was a compressed artifact containing the remains of the dead Outer God, the Cold Comet, stolen by the Clown from the sanctuary of Kabahim’s royal capital.

As the Director held the remnants that had wandered and swum the Outer Sea as a frozen comet, and turned his gaze, he ruthlessly embedded the god’s remains into the spot where the bio-battleship Megiddo’s core had been.

CRACKKKKK!!!!

The burning corpse of Megiddo instantly embraced a cold chill and froze solid.

The thousands of meters-long bio-battleship absorbed the cold, condensed, and shrank in place.

CREAKKKK…!!!

Without any prelude, spacetime began to warp and distort around the Director before Lennok’s eyes.

A powerful sense of incongruity, as if the volcanic hellscape before him was being wrenched and isolated.

All processes of embedding the icy crystal into Megiddo’s superheated corpse were twisted and crushed, leaving only the result.

Just as the Director had lent his power in the final battle with Anathema long ago.

The Acquired Authority that twisted cause and effect, leaving behind only desired contradictions.

Adjusting destiny.

WHOOSH!!

Before he knew it, no one remained around them except Lennok and the Director.

Even Agneta and Antares, who had escaped into the Imaginary Dimension, were twisted and pushed away.

But Lennok paid no mind to this, looking up at the Megiddo’s corpse, which was losing its form and twisting.

The thousands of meters-long bio-battleship, contracting with cold, transforming into a giant ‘Blackened Pillar’.

The fact that Lennok had already seen a similar form once in the Well.

BOOOM!!!!

“He was… planning to make a bullet.”

Lennok muttered unconsciously.

“Using the entire Demonic Realm as a workshop, he intended to temper the Outer Sea Entity’s corpse with the cold from the dead god’s remains?”

“…….”

“If you intend to collect and process a being that transcends causality to use it, that is a manifestation of your talent—”

No, there was no need to explain the method or means to the Director himself.

He had seen everything beyond Machina’s Ascension Gate, how the Director had killed an Outer God and ascended.

Lennok only realized that everything the Director had done in this Demonic Realm was to prepare some means.

The result of processing the very concept of death, which transcended causality, into a bullet.

Lennok, having considered that far, fell silent for a moment before forcing himself to look up.

Surely, all events that began with the Conquest Operation would end here.

But the same was true for the Director.

At a time when it was unknown when the Director would manifest in the world again and reveal his will.

If meaning was to be attached to what might be their last moment, there was only one question for him.

Twisting causality to create contradictions, turning the remains of a Transcendent into a ‘bullet’ – the answer he sought was…

“If you kill all the gods of that sea… can you really stop the Demise?”

“…….”

“Do you truly believe you can achieve your fervent wish in such a way before the end arrives?”

Suddenly, the world twisting around the Director stopped.

His lungs felt as if they were burning, despite the magical protection. His airway tingled and dried up.

But Lennok, looking at his back, difficultly regulated his breathing.

In the heart of the blazing hell, the Director turned his head.

“From the day I shot down a god until now.”

The Director slowly approached Lennok and said,

“Even if everything else changes, one fact remains unchanged.”

“…….”

“I have already chosen and borne the cost. What I desire will not change until the very end of the world.”

“…You…”

“Because all other sentiments and possibilities were left behind in the Second World.”

For the first time, the Director seemed to smile before Lennok’s eyes.

“You would understand, wouldn’t you? That’s why I’m answering you.”

“…….”

Lennok knew what the Director was trying to say.

If Lennok had been born in the Second World, witnessed its destruction, and survived by ascending alone.

If he had been born in the First World, undergone two ascensions, and remained in the Third.

Would Lennok have been able to remain unchanged, as blindly as the Director? Would he have avoided breaking down like the Pontiff?

How Lennok would have acted. What conclusion Lennok himself would have reached.

He had thought about it and agonized over it countless times, so he couldn’t help but empathize.

That’s why he asked a question he couldn’t expect an answer to, and received one.

The fact that even if the three of them were once similar, they no longer stood in the same place.

The fact that human origin is not a nature determined at birth, but something created by what one experiences and goes through in life.

But, precisely because of that—

“…No. I will not understand.”

Lennok forcibly averted his gaze, watching the spacetime twisting before him.

“I will not understand, nor empathize, nor acknowledge it. Because the more I do, the more I will become like you. And that would be meaningless.”

“…….”

“This place… it is my first and last. I stand in a world where not a single failure is allowed. But…”

Lennok met the Director’s gaze and replied,

“I do not regret deciding my answer. This journey was to confirm it.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

The Director raised his gaze.

“I would have done the same. I, too, was once like that.”

“…….”

“But, can creation truly be such a miracle?”

CRACK!!

Before Lennok’s eyes, spacetime twisted and violently broke apart.

The world’s causes and effects warped, creating an impossible contradiction.

CREAKKKK…!!!

Causality was erased and crushed, and that distortion was used as power to create the ‘bullet’.

The corpse of the bio-battleship Megiddo, containing the remains of the Cold Comet, lost its form and collapsed within the distortion.

At the moment it took on the shape of a colossal ‘Blackened Pillar’, completely dyed black and soaring upwards.

Even Lennok’s vision turned pitch black, and all his senses receded into a distant void.

“Will you still be ‘you’ even before the Fourth, not just the Third?”

The Director’s low voice echoed from beyond the distant void.

“You will have to find that answer yourself.”

WHOOSH—

Lennok opened his eyes, hearing the sound of waves crashing in his ears.

A sandy beach under the hot sun.

Lennok sat leaning against a rock on the beach, gazing at the distant horizon.

“…….”

Ultimately, what had Lennok wanted to hear from the Director?

The Director’s existence, residing alone in the Sixfold Demonic Mirror of Return, deep within the Central Front.

The sight of him holding the Demonic Realm’s heat and the Outer God’s cold in his hands, processing alien specters into bullets.

That image of endlessly repeating trials and errors for the sake of god-slaying, while different in purpose and direction, resembled Lennok.

A mortal quest so blind it bordered on madness, almost an obsession.

Knowing so well what the Director wanted, what he intended to do.

The reason Lennok had nevertheless sought to confirm it again through the Director’s own words was, ultimately—

Hiss.

With the sound of a can opening, a cold beer can appeared beside Lennok’s face.

“I found a few left in the ship’s underground freezer.”

The Clown, holding the beer, looked down at Lennok and smiled.

“Care for a drink?”

“…I will.”

Ignoring the Clown, who sat down beside him, Lennok lifted his mask slightly and tilted the can.

The Clown clicked his tongue at the sight.

“Your concept is truly stubborn. We’ve worked together this long, isn’t it okay to show your face by now?”

“This mask was given to me by Myeong when I joined Pandemonium.”

Lennok, who had compressed the can with mana, making it smaller than a grain of sand, said,

“I can disguise my face in other ways, but this has a meaning beyond that.”

“Meaning, you mean the meaning of having the Nether King as your backer?”

“Myeong had decided where and what he would do until the very end.”

Lennok bowed his head.

“If even his bringing me into Pandemonium was part of that plan, I want to respect his will as much as possible.”

“…I didn’t realize you were so indebted to the Nether King. Did you borrow money from him or something?”

“Money, you say…”

Lennok chuckled at the Clown’s playful remark.

“I received many important things, beyond money.”

“…….”

The decisive battle between the Nether King and Jinwa, beginning in Paradise Lost.

Lennok knew that the battle of Transcendents mocking ascension had already begun.

And also which way the tide of battle, shaking the entire Central Front, would turn.

He had not definitively heard what Myeong’s goal was through the Gabihaeng.

He only surmised the reason Myeong had helped Lennok, even abandoning his journey midway.

That’s why Lennok intended to respect the will Myeong had left him, if possible.

Because there must still be a reason why Myeong wanted to keep Lennok tied to Pandemonium in this way.

At least until then, he would have to cooperate with this criminal organization, which utterly lacked any sense of organization.

“Where are the others?”

“They’re tidying up the gifts they received from the Director.”

The Clown shrugged.

“If you met the Director, you’d know what he gave them, wouldn’t you?”

“From what I understand, the way he grants wishes differs greatly from person to person.”

Indeed, the Director’s method of granting wishes was based on the remnants of transcendent authority.

He brought forward the inevitable future of an individual, delivering only the result in advance.

That was nothing short of a miracle, delivering the fruits or achievements that members would gain in the future, at this very moment.

The other members surely understood how absurd it was to be able to pull something across time lines or branching points.

Having thought that far, Lennok immediately turned his gaze to the Clown.

“You, on the other hand, seem quite idle for someone who says that. What did you get?”

“Oh, me?”

The Clown grinned.

“I didn’t receive any tangible objects or knowledge, so there was no need to tidy up. Well, it’s nothing special to brag about.”

“Don’t beat around the bush.”

“I received luck.”

“…Luck?”

“The luck that my future self is destined to fully enjoy. More precisely, a ‘fortune’ related to my origin, perhaps?”

The Clown leaned back against the rock beside Lennok and spoke leisurely.

“I was talking to Victor about it the other day, and something came to mind, so I asked the Director, and surprisingly, he agreed.”

“…….”

It was a somewhat abrupt answer, but Lennok immediately understood why the Clown had brought forth luck in advance.

Clowm’s Domain was a roulette wheel activated by Geas, which was luck itself.

Depending on the conditions, it was possible to grasp results that surpassed Level 8.

Although he had only seen a Level 4 Domain so far, the fact that the Clown had pulled future luck meant, probably, something beyond that—

“After the Conquest Operation ends, things will probably get even busier than now.”

The Clown said, standing up with a stretch.

“Once the war between the Cult and the Alliance concludes, the Central Front Conquest will officially begin. To not miss out on such an interesting event, I need to prepare in advance, right?”

“Did you discuss future plans with the Director?”

“Rather than discussing… the general direction was already set, so there was nothing to debate.”

The Clown shrugged.

“There are things that can only be done once the gateways and Demonic Realms of the Central Front are breached. The Cult and the Alliance would be the same.”

“…….”

“Even if we weren’t here, things would probably proceed on their own. After all, that’s one reason Croken is outside the continent…”

Could the Fisherman’s absence also be related to that?

What was that monstrous war mercenary doing outside the continent, so suddenly?

As Lennok was lost in thought, the Clown yawned and stretched with a languid air.

“Anyway, the Conquest Operation ends here. We plan to depart as soon as the ship’s repairs are done, but you’re welcome to go back first if you wish.”

“…….”

“You’ve worked hard on this one. It was certainly interesting with all the problems that popped up, but it wouldn’t have gone this smoothly without Victor.”

The Clown grinned, looking at Lennok.

“Indeed, a skilled Manipulation Spellcaster, no matter how bad his personality, is someone you want on your side. Don’t you agree?”

“It’s the same logic as not wanting an Illusionist as an enemy, even if they betray you. You did well, too.”

Lennok sneered and turned to leave.

“I’m going. Don’t contact me about Pandemonium matters for a while.”

From Torquepaz to Kabahim’s royal capital, crossing the sea, passing through the Demonic Realm, and returning to this island.

Many things had happened, but Lennok’s gains were not insignificant.

If Lennok could fully master the power he had acquired, there would be even more he could do under the alias of Victor.

At that time, moving on the Central Front in Pandemonium’s name might even become a viable option.

Of course, the place to confirm that would have to be Lennok’s laboratory in Vulcan, not this island.

“Oh, and I should probably tell you this in advance.”

“What?”

“According to Hylaea, it seems our friend Deimus has contacted us.”

The Clown smiled, subtly shifting his gaze.

“Some members are planning to attend the Legion Parade on the Central Front, and the rumors circulating are quite ominous.”

“…….”

“According to Deimus, they plan to formally organize the ‘Subjugation Operation’ at the parade, along with the Marshal’s return.”

The Clown grinned, looking at the silent Lennok.

“The Adamant Thunder Annihilation Campaign, huh. It seems it won’t be long until something very interesting happens in Vulcan, don’t you think?”