Chapter 1216: Adamant Thunder Annihilation Campaign (7)
Whoosh!!!
On the pinnacle of a skyscraper, fierce winds raged.
Lennok stood at the very edge of the rooftop of a hundreds-of-meters-tall skyscraper.
With the distant cityscape sprawling beneath his feet, he quietly looked down at his hands.
From behind Lennok, who had been lost in thought for a long time, a familiar voice spoke.
“You certainly went wild in a spectacular fashion during the Legion Parade, didn’t you?”
“…….”
Hwoooong…!!
With a faint ripple, like a gentle breeze, Evelyn’s form materialized in mid-air.
She landed lightly on the rooftop as if weightless, stretching languidly.
“Because of what you did at the headquarters, the Eastern Front is in an uproar. The City Government’s special agency is on high alert.”
“It seems you heard the information from the Agents.”
Lennok folded his hand carefully as he asked,
“What’s the reaction elsewhere?”
“It’s grim. Of course it’s not good.”
It’s not surprising, considering he burned down the entire Legion’s headquarters on his way out.
No, from an outside perspective, Cheonbeon’s actions would naturally be incomprehensible.
After being appointed as a Legion Commander, clashing with the Marshal, killing a Legion Commander, and then escaping the headquarters.
It’s natural that he would be seen as an utterly unhinged madman, beyond comprehension.
Would Cheonbeon’s identity, which had maintained an unusually good reputation, now become similar to Adamant Thunder’s?
He hadn’t made much distinction between the two identities other than the magic he used, so he had expected this to happen eventually-
“There’s a lot of skepticism about the Legion’s decision to push through with the war. In a way, that’s good news for us.”
“……What?”
Lennok paused at the unexpected answer, and Evelyn tilted her head.
“Is there a problem?”
“Was it about the Legion, not me?”
“Well, the Legion declared the Annihilation Campaign right after the Legion Parade ended.”
Evelyn said nonchalantly.
“Rumors are rampant that Cheonbeon clashed with the Marshal because of a disagreement over the war. And that he quit his Legion Commander position as soon as he got it.”
“…….”
“Also, with the Eyes of Blue stepping in to side with you at the end, it’s clear which side they’d be more favorable to when comparing the Lighthouse Keeper and the Legion, isn’t it?”
So the reason Cheonbeon went wild at the Legion Parade was being distorted as an attempt to stop the Legion’s war?
It was unexpected, but as soon as Lennok heard Evelyn’s words, he could guess how the situation had unfolded.
Considering the reputation Cheonbeon had maintained, it wouldn’t seem like an incomprehensible reason from an outsider’s perspective.
Even more so, now that it was known the Legion was pushing forward with the Annihilation Campaign immediately after the Legion Parade.
As Lennok was lost in thought, Evelyn shook her head and said,
“It’s better explained on the Deepweb than by me, so check it out later. Someone even wrote a thesis with a full timeline explaining why you quit your Legion Commander position as soon as you got it.”
“…….”
“Because of that, many of the Agents look up to you. Some even think of you as a hero…”
Evelyn tilted her head and said,
“To be honest, from my perspective, both sides seem pretty similar, so I don’t know why there’s such a difference in perception.”
“……That’s what I’d like to ask.”
Lennok had also used Cheonbeon’s positive reputation until now, but he had no intention of being confined by others’ evaluations.
He had planned not to hesitate, even if it meant abandoning the reputation he had built, but perhaps that very aspect was perceived differently by outsiders.
Despite having gone through and experienced many things, the way others viewed or evaluated Lennok remained impossible to gauge definitively.
All Lennok could do was manipulate situations using his existing reputation or image.
Seeing Lennok deep in thought, Evelyn, who had been standing with her arms crossed, subtly changed the subject.
“Well, it’s not entirely wrong to say you tried to stop the Legion’s war, is it? Either way, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
“…….”
“So, that’s Jinwa’s Fruit?”
Evelyn walked over to Lennok and asked.
“I’ve heard rumors about it a few times, but this is my first time seeing it in person. It’s somehow much more…”
Evelyn looked at the piece of fruit in Lennok’s hand and tilted her head.
“It looks like an onion.”
“Indeed.”
The piece of fruit in Lennok’s hand slowly pulsed.
Its unique appearance was like dozens of book pages layered, then rolled into a sphere and split.
The pages forming the inside of the fruit were densely covered with incomprehensible, grotesque characters, writhing.
A tree of wisdom that grows by feeding on humans. A fragment of the fruit borne by that tree.
The final preparation needed for the Annihilation Campaign, acquired for a price at Plumber’s Orchard.
“It’s an object created by extracting language and knowledge, layering it, and shaping it into the form of a fruit.”
Lennok looked down at the fruit and said,
“It’s natural that the inside of the fruit is layered like overlapping book pages. It’s just as I saw in Paradise Lost.”
Rustle…!
Each time the piece of fruit in his hand shook, a faint, purplish mist emanated, swirling around them.
Evelyn, watching this, gasped in surprise.
“Are you okay?”
“Probably. It won’t directly harm the human body.”
Lennok fiddled with the piece of fruit and nodded.
“Because a [Spell-Word] is a power that operates through written characters and language. It’s a power that acts through sight and hearing, so merely smelling it should be fine.”
“I don’t think an Ascendant’s authority would operate by picking and choosing which sensory organs to affect…”
“Of course, if the Ascendant herself were here, it would be meaningless, but this is a byproduct that grew in her Paradise Lost.”
Lennok, holding up the piece of fruit in one hand, murmured,
“It shouldn’t be a problem just to smell it, not directly ingest or read it… though I can’t be perfectly sure.”
“…….”
Instead of answering, Evelyn pretended to take a step back.
Lennok, holding the piece of fruit with a wry smile, turned around and said,
“All necessary preparations are complete. All that’s left is to definitively set the time and place.”
“Are we starting now?”
“Yes.”
Lennok replied, drawing forth his mana.
“That’s also the reason I called you here one last time.”
Pazzzzzzing…!!!!!
As he drew up his mana and lightly swept his hand downwards, a golden burst of lightning exploded.
It instantly enveloped the skyscraper rooftop where Lennok and Evelyn stood, spinning wildly.
Kwooong!!
The moment the lightning vanished, the two found themselves in the middle of a hollow chamber where a colossal golden throne had emerged.
The engine room located in the heart of Lennok’s new Magic Tower.
Upon the golden throne at its center, dark blue lightning flickered ominously, gleaming.
A mass of lightning that had completely lost its human form. Something that had gone out of control, burdened by Level 9 lightning and the Curse of Reversing Heaven.
‘It,’ existing upon the throne, slowly swayed, looking down at Lennok.
[…….]
Each time Lennok looked into it, it too looked deeply into Lennok.
The rampage that began in Kundara. After losing control in Kabahim, it became irreversible upon drinking Ethan Bajour’s blood at the Legion Parade.
Now, Lennok’s lightning Incarnation Body, no longer obeying even his own will or intention, was housed within the core of the tower.
“…….”
Whoosh!!
As Evelyn gazed at it with a complex expression, Lennok used Flicker to descend before the throne.
Lennok, silently looking at the piece of fruit in his hand, slowly extended it towards the Incarnation Body.
The moment he brought the fruit to the mouth-like area of the Incarnation Body, which had lost its human form, the fruit was engulfed in lightning and vanished.
Crunch!!
A strange sound, like biting into fruit, or like the pages forming the fruit burning away.
Immediately after, the Incarnation Body, engulfed in dark blue lightning, convulsed, beginning to fill the tower’s hollow chamber with an immense amount of Lightning Power.
CRAAAACKLE!!!!
Blue lightning, riding the golden throne, surged with incredible speed throughout the entire Magic Tower.
The explosive energy from the Incarnation Body instantly charged the empty internal facilities and connection points of the tower.
Power overflowed and pulsed everywhere. It glittered brilliantly, beginning to operate from all directions and drawing forth a magnificent resonating hum.
BWWOOOOOOOM!!!!!
Exploding Thunderclap Star. Flashing blue lightning. Consciousness and Will-thought, separating as it rampaged to its limits.
Lennok, standing before the floating throne, turned to Evelyn.
“You know why I brought you here before the Annihilation Campaign began, don’t you?”
“…….”
“I intend to use the Incarnation Body as the tower’s power source and as an armament for the Annihilation Campaign.”
Evelyn Marcia was the only person who knew both the Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon identities.
…Perhaps one of only two.
As one of the few acquaintances he’d known since his freelancer days, she had a vague awareness of Lennok’s secrets, yet Evelyn didn’t fully comprehend all of Lennok’s methods.
She had merely conceded that all of it was a process for Lennok’s ascension.
Nevertheless, if there was a reason Lennok brought Evelyn here at the end, it was because she was virtually the only person who truly understood Lennok’s ‘Incarnation Body.’
She was the one who knew Lennok had mastered Incarnation Spellcraft and was using it to maintain multiple identities.
She was the one who shared the problem of Lennok’s Incarnation Body and already understood how to use it.
“An Incarnation Body that directly projects lightning beyond my own tier. In a sense, it’s less me and more an incarnation of lightning itself.”
“…….”
“Though it can’t wield magic better than me, it might be comparable in handling lightning. Therefore…”
Lennok, standing before the throne flashing with golden lightning, said,
“It will be sufficient to entrust it with the role of ‘Adamant Thunder’ to confront the Legion at the start of this Annihilation Campaign.”
“That’s…”
Evelyn must have understood what Lennok intended to do with the Incarnation Body.
Lennok wasn’t merely going to use the rampaging Incarnation Body as a power source for the tower.
He intended to make the Incarnation Body his ‘Adamant Thunder’ and clash it with the Legion, thoroughly exhausting both sides.
Through this, he sought to simultaneously gain control over a power that was originally beyond his grasp, and over the battlefield itself.
Leaving Evelyn, who had trailed off, Lennok, having completed his ‘preparations,’ slowly turned around.
“So, before everything begins, there’s one thing I’d like to ask of you.”
“…….”
“Because you’re the only one who truly understands my incarnation. You’re the only one I can ask this of.”
“……I still don’t quite understand.”
Evelyn asked, her expression complex.
“Incarnation Spellcraft. Is it really okay to use it like this?”
“In a way, it’s similar to why I prepared Jinwa’s Fruit.”
Lennok raised his gaze.
“I’m not moving with absolute certainty about everything. But there’s a Branching Point I can’t reach without this method.”
“…….”
“The problem that exists within me. The war I can’t control. I must resolve everything happening inside and outside Vulcan with this war and move forward.”
Lennok looked down at the black ring on his index finger and said,
“This is the process for that.”
To resolve the rampaging Level 9 lightning magic that had reached its limit.
To confront Deadrise’s Annihilation Campaign advancing from outside Vulcan.
To accomplish all of that flawlessly, and to find the answer without relying on others.
This was the method Lennok chose, and the conclusion Lennok chose for his Incarnation Body.
Whatever the outcome, Lennok would have to bear and accept it himself.
KWA-RURURURUNG…!!!!
Beyond the endless horizon, the sky darkened, and storm clouds gathered.
No, they weren’t storm clouds.
An immense number of flying vehicles, enough to completely cover one end of the sky in black.
At their center, the form of a colossal aerial fortress, shimmering, engulfed in shadows.
Though they were coming from beyond where the naked eye could see, beyond what the five senses could grasp, it was known.
The Legion was approaching.
“It’s time.”
Lennok turned his gaze.
“This might be the most dangerous task. Can I entrust it to you?”
“……Can you really say that without even explaining what you’re asking?”
“There’s no need.”
Lennok smiled, looking at Evelyn, whose expression had turned testy.
“Because you’d know what I’m going to ask.”
“…….”
Indeed, Evelyn didn’t ask again what Lennok was going to ask.
She didn’t even bother to confirm what she needed to do.
She knew, from the start, that the reason Lennok had called her was to ask her to do what she did best.
She had known all along that it was to tell her what target her arrow should strike.
“Alright. I’ll do it.”
Evelyn sighed softly and said,
“I ‘did’ it once before, so I’m sure I can manage somehow. No, you had this all planned out since then, didn’t you?”
“Thank you.”
“Instead, you absolutely have to succeed.”
Evelyn glared at Lennok and asked,
“If, by any chance, something happens to you, I won’t cooperate in such matters ever again. You know that, right?”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Lennok replied softly, smiling.
“Because this time, there won’t even be time to toy with the outcome like that.”
He wouldn’t be able to adjust the situation by moving two identities simultaneously, as he did when dealing with Lapis.
In this situation, with the Incarnation Body rampaging out of control, Lennok had no way to manipulate two identities simultaneously.
But even so, the fundamental reason Lennok was now setting up the Incarnation Body as Adamant Thunder.
To reclaim the rampaging lightning, recover control of the Incarnation Body, and ultimately conclude this Annihilation Campaign with a perfect victory—
Adjustment.
CRAAAACKLE!!!!
Amidst the overflowing lightning, Lennok’s and Evelyn’s bodies slowly became obscured.
In that instant, as the distant sea of lightning turned the view stark white, and Evelyn’s presence completely vanished.
A cold obsidian mask settled over Lennok’s face, and the scene before his eyes completely transformed.
Whoosh!!
A thick shadow robe swayed, blending into the shadows, and rippled with his steps.
A vast, hollow chamber shrouded in darkness. A stillness so calm and quiet it felt unnatural.
Before it, someone stood, gazing at Lennok with an expressionless face.
“Victor. You’re late.”
“…….”
“Everyone’s waiting, so come in.”
A face he had never seen before, yet a deep, familiar voice.
The moment Lennok identified the other’s true identity, ‘The Doctor’ spoke.
“Before joining the Legion, let’s finalize the members on this side who will participate in the Annihilation Campaign.”
“…….”
Lennok did not reply, merely gazing silently at The Doctor’s back.
Only then, as if sensing something amiss with Lennok, The Doctor glanced back.
“Is there a problem?”
“……No.”
Lennok, instantly changing his voice, pulled down his mask and stepped forward.
“The preparations are complete. Let’s begin immediately.”
Even while deploying the Incarnation Body to the Annihilation Campaign, Lennok had no intention of leaving everything solely to the rampaging Incarnation Body.
For his ultimate goal, at certain Branching Points, Lennok himself would ultimately have to move as Adamant Thunder.
But while ‘Adamant Thunder’ confronted the Legion in the Annihilation Campaign, Lennok also had no intention of simply sitting back and observing the situation.
The only way Lennok could hold all the information and orchestrate the situation in a massive war that would determine the fate of the Eastern Continent.
The single means by which Lennok could intervene at the start of the Annihilation Campaign, siding with the Legion.
Where to observe the beginning of this Annihilation Campaign had been decided from the very start.