Chapter 1208: The Price (9)
Her appearance was ordinary, gentle, and utterly unremarkable from the outside.
Even to Lennok’s eyes, her demeanor revealed no particular anomaly, just a bland impression.
Yet, the moment the woman appeared, the generals of the Legion froze as if turned to stone.
Mirva stared at her with an expression of disbelief, and Atiya grit her teeth, her face hardened.
“Zero Seat Ophelia.”
Deimus, his complexion uncharacteristically pale, muttered from atop his tank.
“Why is the leader of the Warband here, now—”
Kiiiing…!!
There was no reply.
A sharp resonance that burrowed into his brain, and simultaneously, something flowed into his mind.
A will that struck down, ignoring all distinction of vocalization, telepathy, medium, environment, or location.
The moment it pierced through the sturdy consciousness and mental barriers of the soldiers and officers gathered here, establishing a ‘connection’.
“Ugh…”
Thump! Thump!
The soldiers who had formed a perimeter around Lennok rolled their eyes back and collapsed on the spot.
The driver, who had been in the cockpit, slumped his head onto the gun barrel, and even the commanding officers staggered before passing out.
Like a wave rippling outwards from the woman, countless individuals convulsed and lost consciousness on the spot.
An eerie, almost chilling silence took their place.
“Keuk…”
“Haa, haa…!!”
“This is…”
Officers and soldiers who had not yet lost consciousness gasped for breath, their faces pale.
They collapsed without any warning, as if their power had been forcibly shut off.
It was a chilling sight, as if their consciousness had been forcibly overloaded and powered down.
Overwhelming power that completely incapacitated a portion of Deadrise’s Legion just by emitting will-thought.
The moment they realized that this was the manifestation of a transcendent, unimaginable Innate Ability.
[Ah, ah. Evan. Martinez.]
Someone’s gentle will-thought flowed into Lennok’s senses.
The woman before him, smiling, slowly patted her neck as she looked at Lennok.
[I apologize. It’s been a while since I last did this. The connection took a little longer than expected.]
“…”
[I’m speaking by connecting through the soldiers’ minds, so please bear with me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to communicate with you like this.]
Chiiiiiijik…!!!
Each time she transmitted her will, broken mosaics intermingled, spewing intense static.
It was as if the channel through which the woman and Lennok were communicating was different, causing errors in the will-thought conversion process.
But the woman paid no mind to the reactions around her or what she had done, slowly continuing her walk.
[The weather is lovely. The air is also quite fresh.]
“…”
[It’s been a while since I’ve been out, and unlike being inside, I’m quite enjoying myself.]
A low, gentle will-thought resonated through Lennok’s mind.
Her voice, conveyed directly through his senses, not through language or sound.
An overwhelming will-thought that, simply by being transmitted, robbed the consciousness of the Legion surrounding them.
A transcendence reaching an abnormal level, instinctively recognizable the moment one faced it.
“I see.”
Lennok asked with an impassive face.
“You are… the past acquaintance Grisha spoke of, then.”
The Connector, said to be the strongest psychic in continental history.
The leader who united the Ability Awakening Warband and grew it into a massive power in the Central Front.
The guide who took in and led lost Innate Ability Users, teaching them how to live.
Ophelia Ionix Zaedark.
[I received reports about you from the Collective Mind Net.]
The Zero Seat smiled, looking at Lennok.
[Zabelin left a very high evaluation of you.]
“…”
[Considering the matter of the Bewitching Star, I thought we might meet, but an unexpected opportunity arose.]
Eredis Zabelin, the Second Seat of the Ability Awakening Warband, whom he had met at the First Gate.
Had she, a renowned expert in the Central Front, reported the matter of Cheonbeon to the Zero Seat?
Certainly, there had been various issues during the handover of the spell-armament Bewitching Star, so he had expected a report would have been filed…
[Actually, today I’m merely here to observe the Revived for another matter. There’s no particular reason for me to intervene, but…]
The Zero Seat’s gaze momentarily shifted to Grisha, who stood behind Lennok.
[As it’s a request from a dear friend, I wanted to grant it just this once.]
“…A friend.”
Lennok knew that Grisha, having lived for a long time, possessed an unexpectedly wide network of connections.
Not just those related to the Eyes of Blue, but also various individuals across Magic Towers and factions.
Even Olivera Ron Maize maintained a somewhat ambiguous relationship with Grisha, did she not?
But he had never imagined Grisha would be close enough to call Ophelia a friend.
Even less that she, who was reluctant to mention past acquaintances, would make such a request to Ophelia for Lennok’s sake.
“Ophelia.”
Grisha spoke, her expression heavy.
She looked worn, having consumed immense mana just from her brief skirmish with Song-ha.
Grisha took a step forward, and as she formed a simple hand seal, a light bloomed in her palm.
Paaat!!
Holding the faint light, Grisha approached and extended her hand towards Ophelia.
Grisha’s eyes, as she looked at the Zero Seat, held a complex light.
“The deal from back then… I never thought I’d be the one to bring it up first.”
[Huhu, Grisha…]
Ophelia smiled, turning her gaze.
She extended her hand, enveloping Grisha’s outstretched fist, and replied.
[It’s alright. You never asked anything of me, even when I was at my weakest, did you?]
“…”
[To think the proud sorcerer who hated owing or being owed debts would ask me for a favor one day.]
Ophelia received the condensed light that Grisha passed to her and asked.
[Did the Lighthouse’s influence change you? Or was it your concern for Cheonbeon?]
“Either way, it means the same thing.”
Grisha hesitated, then quietly replied.
“I simply don’t want to see Lapis mourn.”
[…]
“If our end is near, and that reprieve is but a fleeting moment…”
Grisha looked up in silence and murmured.
“I’ve come to realize that some things are more important than my own convictions.”
[I see.]
Ophelia shook her head.
[That’s a shame. I wanted to bring you over before the ending was decided.]
“…”
[If you’re still tied to that, then even if I took you, you’d only be a mere ornament.]
“…I’m sorry.”
[It’s alright. Just seeing you like this brought back some memories, and…]
Ophelia smiled.
Her will-thought, for a moment, became clear without any stuttering.
[Because I also know that we can never return to the time we traveled together.]
“…”
Like Antares and Croken, had Grisha and Ophelia also shared similar memories?
The journeys of countless Seekers who set out to save the world. The brutal failure they faced at the end.
Memories scattered like echoes and foam, piercing their hearts and mangling their minds in fragments.
Something from the past that Lennok didn’t know, yet that had certainly existed once.
Those past connections and memories had changed and now stood here.
As if proving Ethan’s words that nothing remains unchanged.
[So, let’s conclude this transaction by accepting your request today.]
Ophelia’s gaze moved past Grisha, towards the grim-faced generals observing the scene.
[All of Deadrise’s entire Legion. You must all uphold my authority.]
“…Zero Seat.”
[Since I’ve received a request from a friend who never asked me for anything, I intend to do my best.]
She smiled, looking at the generals staring down at her from all directions.
[If you don’t comply, I’ll have no choice but to act. Is that acceptable?]
“Zero Seat Ophelia… This is a grave matter directly related to the Legion’s core principles.”
Mirva said with a stern expression.
“You, who attended this parade for this very incident, know what it means for you to step forward for this wizard, don’t you?”
[…]
“The Zero Seat’s involvement could escalate into a conflict between the Legion and the Warband. Do you intend to spill blood here?”
The opponent was the one who had confronted the Marshal directly, left him in critical condition, and blown up the Command Headquarters.
He had not only killed Lieutenant General Lenore of the 9th Legion but also destroyed military factories and had just been fighting a Captain.
The Legion, too, had no intention of letting Lennok escape no matter what, but given who had intervened in this situation, even the generals couldn’t easily act.
The leader of the Ability Awakening Warband, who occupied a corner of the Central Front. A Transcendent whose prestige rivaled that of the Legion’s Marshal.
Such a being was not only intervening in Legion affairs but also attempting to resolve the situation according to her own will.
The generals of the Legion, therefore, tried to avoid being swayed by the Zero Seat in this situation—
[Mirva Neosoto.]
But Ophelia looked at Mirva and offered a gentle smile.
[I don’t like repeating myself.]
“…”
Go-ooooh—!!!
Mirva’s face turned deathly pale, and a strange ringing in her ears began.
The moment Ophelia raised her will-thought, Mirva’s mental barrier and artifacts shattered.
In the rapidly intensifying air, Lennok, sensing the premonition of an Innate Ability, hardened his face.
‘An unbelievable Innate Ability. This isn’t an individual consciousness, this is…!’
Would it feel like this if tens or hundreds of thousands of human consciousnesses were wielded as a weapon, pressing down?
He had heard that she was called the continent’s strongest psychic during her active years, but the power he felt made that assessment seem insufficient.
A sense of pressure literally on a different dimension from any Innate Ability User Lennok had met before.
“Damn it…!!”
The other Legion Commanders also instinctively realized this and began to raise their mana with grim faces.
Did they sense that, having come this far, they no longer had any choice?
The moment Ophelia turned her mosaic-like eyes, and the Legion Commanders activated their systems to strengthen their mental barriers.
Song-ha drew his greatsword from his waist and struck it down before Ophelia.
KWA-AAANG!!!
A monstrous force that embedded the sheathed sword into the ground with a thunderous roar, splitting the earth.
The Legion Commanders flinched for a moment, turning their gaze to Song-ha.
“Captain…?”
“Let him go.”
Song-ha said with a smiling face.
“I think we’ve had enough fun. Isn’t it time to admit defeat?”
“…”
“We lost. This parade ends here.”
At Song-ha’s nonchalant words, as he stroked his greatsword, the other generals protested.
“Captain Song-ha, but…!!”
“The Command Headquarters has fallen, and Lieutenant General Lenore has been killed.”
“How can you possibly… when the Marshal hasn’t even regained consciousness yet?!”
[Song-ha. Your greeting is lacking.]
Ophelia waved her hand.
[Aren’t you going to greet me like before?]
“Both of us are too old for that now.”
Song-ha smiled and tilted his head.
“Me too, but you, isn’t this your first time in the field in almost ten years?”
[…]
“I have things to say, but here, I’ll follow your mediation. I got too excited and did some unnecessary things myself.”
Song-ha shrugged and gestured towards Ophelia.
“Instead, stop by the Command Headquarters and check his condition. You can do that, right?”
[Of course.]
Ophelia gave a soft smile.
[Are you truly entrusting his diagnosis to me?]
“I don’t know about anyone else, but Ethan won’t be affected by you.”
Song-ha replied casually.
“In a way, your ability will be used purely for its original purpose with him.”
[…Hehe, you keep talking about your clone.]
Ophelia’s smile, as she stared at Song-ha, momentarily turned hollow.
[You certainly seem more intelligent than before.]
“…”
[Alright. I’m interested in his condition.]
Ophelia said this as she began to walk.
[This kind of detour isn’t so bad, I suppose.]
“Everyone heard that, right?”
Song-ha, drawing his greatsword from its sheath, said softly.
“Open the way. Today, in the name of the Zero Seat, we will conclude the parade.”
“…”
Clank!!
Kugugugugung!!!!
Perhaps it was because they understood the situation was over the moment Ethan’s name was mentioned. The silence was not long.
Deimus raised his hand with an impassive face, and the surrounding weaponry began to move.
Tanks, armored vehicles, and unknown Legion combat walkers moved past the mountain range, clearing a path and making way.
A chilling, static silence, unbelievable after the intense battle they had just fought.
Soldiers supporting their unconscious comrades stepped aside, their gazes filled with killing intent towards Lennok.
“Martinez.”
Song-ha, standing at the end of the line, said with a smiling face, his arms crossed.
Completely letting go of his greatsword, he scratched his disheveled white hair.
“When I first saw you, I never imagined such an ending, but this is how it turns out. Remarkable in any sense.”
“Regarding the Zero Seat’s intervention—”
“No, that’s not it. You actually know, don’t you?”
Song-ha’s eyes, hidden behind his white hair, were no longer smiling.
“You are the first person to have heard of the project’s complete failure and not paid the ‘price’. The only outsider who drank Ethan’s blood and didn’t go mad.”
“…”
“I’m not sure how such a thing is possible, or why, after receiving the Curse of Reversing Heaven… but in the end, this wasn’t the ending Ethan intended.”
Song-ha tilted his head, his face impassive.
“We created the binding of the Prohibition and trapped ourselves, protecting ourselves precisely to avoid paying a price like yours.”
“…I see.”
So, the purpose of the Prohibition within the project was related to the Curse of Reversing Heaven, transmitted through Bajour’s blood.
Lennok silently mulled over this fact, then realized he wasn’t surprised.
Yes, Lennok already knew what Song-ha was trying to say.
That Lennok had already achieved his most important and core objective in attending this parade.
That despite the conflicts and commotions that arose during the process, he had ultimately obtained a secret that might be related to himself.
He knew that he had heard all the secrets and truths of the project, yet had given nothing to Ethan.
He knew that this alone made this moment meaningful, that he had obtained a price worth enduring the Incarnation Body’s rampage.
Song-ha, too, knew this, which was why he revealed such faint lingering regrets only at the end.
“So, let’s definitely meet again someday.”
Song-ha, with his usual vacant smile, turned his head.
“Perhaps next time, Ethan will seek you out himself, not me.”
“…”
There was no time to ask a question or receive an answer about that statement.
As if the intense battle they had just fought was a lie, he lightly turned his steps.
Lennok quietly watched Song-ha’s retreating figure, holding his greatsword and shaking his head as he moved away towards the Legion.
From the opposite side of the Legion, which had cleared a path stretching to the other side of the mountain range, Ophelia approached Lennok.
[Evan Martinez. It was a pleasure. I hope we can meet again if the opportunity arises.]
“…Zero Seat.”
[I also have many questions about your unique aptitude. I’d love to discuss them, but…]
She smiled gently, waving her hand.
[Indeed, it’s probably best to postpone pleasure for now. Goodbye.]
“…”
The parade’s commotion had dramatically concluded through Ophelia’s intervention.
However, Lennok could not easily guess what meaning today’s events would hold across the continent.
Now, with the leader of the Ability Awakening Warband directly intervening in Legion affairs to mediate and conclude the situation.
It was clear that this Connector, who called Grisha a friend, was currently siding with Lennok.
But the grotesque mosaic covering Ophelia’s eyes rendered all positive conjectures hollow.
Chiiijijik…!!!
A cluster of mosaic fragments, tangled and overlapping like an insect’s compound eye, yet incredibly finely fractured and stuttering.
Their bizarre appearance, forming her pupils, seemed to indicate more clearly than anything that she was ‘not human’.
That Ophelia Ionix Zaedark had long ago shed her humanity and been reborn as something else.
If one faintly sensed that her sensibilities and values were no longer human, was it merely a delusion?
“In that case, I’ll state this now.”
Lennok, who had been silent, raised his gaze.
“If you want something from me, next time, you must come yourself. Not through such a mental contaminant.”
=…
Ophelia did not answer.
Instead, she merely gave Lennok a strangely bright smile.
Lennok, directly facing that long-ago broken and distorted sensibility, turned his steps without hesitation.
The long and chaotic parade ended in a way no one could have predicted.
The project’s secret discovered during the parade. Ethan’s true identity and the origin of his power.
What Lennok had gained and lost in exchange.
He had to organize all of it and now prepare for what came after the parade.