Chapter 1224: Adamant Thunder Annihilation Campaign (15)
In the heart of the front line, which had surrounded Vulcan’s outer districts, a black steel mobile fortress wildly accelerated.
Each time the massive hull slid and accelerated, tanks and armored vehicles were crushed by the impact.
Self-propelled artillery shook, losing aim, while rocket launchers and supply vehicles lost balance and toppled.
The flagship’s new model advanced indiscriminately, sweeping aside machine soldiers crippled by EMPs.
Kwaa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!!!!
[What in the world are those madmen doing?!]
[Pandemonium has hijacked the 7th Legion’s mobile fortress!!]
[They’re breaking the front line and trying to move independently!!]
[Intercept them!! Shell the fortress and blow up its engine!!]
The main forces of each legion, swept up by the flagship manipulated by The Doctor, turned their cannon barrels from all directions.
Aiming for the flagship’s engine, which was tearing through the middle of the front line and breaking formations, they loaded and fired.
Kwa-gwa-gwang!!!
But the bombardment fired by the legion’s tactical weapons failed to directly hit the mobile fortress of the Demonic Conflux.
The moment the man with a steel-like countenance, who had ascended to the deck, raised his Will-thought, a gigantic iron-plated tail surged from beneath the flagship, intercepting all the shells.
Peo-beo-beo-beong!!!
[……!!!]
The shells exploded, unleashing dazzling blazing flames, but the tail, clad in iron-plated scales, only suffered minor scorching.
The black-haired man standing on the deck merely frowned slightly, a look of displeasure on his face.
“Iron Chain Dragon King.”
“Since I’ve stepped into this place called the Demonic Conflux, I’ll cooperate as much as needed.”
The Iron Chain Dragon King, turning a dispassionate gaze to Lennok, flicked his hand and said.
“If you wish to sow chaos on this battlefield, I will assist you.”
[Grrrgh……!!]
Just as the enraged commanders were about to order their legions to concentrate their offensive, a dark blue lightning bolt struck directly at the battlefield near the main forces.
A golden flying object elegantly rotating in the sky wielded dark blue lightning against everything approaching it.
The remaining less-than-half of the legion’s main forces, along with the Magic Towers, Ability Awakening Warband, druids, and cult superhumans participating in the Annihilation Campaign, began to be torn apart.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!!!!
[Aaaaargh!!!]
[We, we can’t turn the cannon barrels!!]
[If our field of fire weakens, lightning strikes!!]
[These goddamn criminals……!!!]
If they tried to hold back the flagship of the Demonic Conflux, the legion’s forces with their broken front line were swept away by Adamant Thunder’s lightning.
If they endured to create distance from Adamant Thunder, the flagship of the Demonic Conflux would tear through and collapse the front line from behind.
Even a well-trained army would inevitably fall into chaos in a life-or-death dilemma.
Lennok watched from the deck as the Annihilation Campaign, designed by Deimus, plunged into irreversible chaos.
“Your piloting skills aren’t bad, considering.”
[That’s because large-scale objects like this move more in the realm of calculation and prediction than pure instinct.]
As if answering Lennok, The Doctor’s leisurely voice echoed through the speakers on the deck.
[Since it’s so large and heavy, once it starts moving, it’s hard to change direction easily.]
“Sorry, but this isn’t exactly the time for a leisurely chat, is it?”
Too-ta-ta-ta-tang!!!
Ermont, who had been crouched on one side of the deck, dodging a hail of bullets raining down on his head, shouted.
“The barrage heading our way is just getting heavier! What are we going to do about this?!”
[The increasing barrage isn’t the problem, Ermont. Rather, you should be worried about something else.]
“Something else?”
“By now, the supreme commanders of each faction will have understood the situation.”
Lennok answered for The Doctor.
“The moment they realize we’re sowing chaos on the front line, the battlefield’s asymmetric forces will begin to move.”
“……Wait. Asymmetric forces, you don’t mean—”
At that moment, Ezekiel, who had been standing motionlessly on the deck, moved for the first time.
“Move.”
Ezekiel, moving through the rain of bullets, walked past Ermont and raised his hand. At that very moment.
A silver-white slash, falling from the sky, struck down towards the mobile fortress’s deck at incredible speed.
Jjeo-eo-eo-eo-eong!!!!!
“……!!!!”
The defensive barrier that unfolded around Ezekiel’s hand and the silver-white slash collided, unleashing a tremendous shockwave.
The impact caused the mobile fortress to violently shake as if it would topple, and even the surrounding ground was completely churned up.
Koo-goo-goo-goo-goo-goo!!!!
A frantic wind raged, making the clothes of those standing on the deck flap wildly.
The cloth covering Ezekiel’s face, who had directly blocked the slash, fluttered, and just as his appearance was about to be revealed.
Ezekiel, without hesitation, withdrew the hand that had blocked the slash and gripped the cloth.
“Hey, you bastard!!!”
The moment Ermont yelled with a bewildered expression, a pure white shadow pierced through the defensive barrier and descended at astonishing speed.
Hoo-wook!!
A pure white saber, appearing effortlessly through the other members’ senses, slammed down onto the front of the mobile fortress’s deck.
The silver-white slash plunged vertically, impaling the gigantic mobile fortress to the ground and bringing it to a halt.
Kkii-iii-iii-eek!!!!!!
The mobile fortress, which had been accelerating at full speed, could not overcome the stopping power and came to a halt, tilting forward.
The black steel vessel tilted as if it would capsize, and the equipment fixed to the deck tumbled down.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!!!!
“Whoa! Agh! Whoo-hoo!!”
Ermont, shrieking bizarre sounds, dodged the cannons and shells falling from all directions.
But the other members’ gazes were fixed, as one, on the ‘something’ that had just crashed onto the front of the deck.
A bizarre yet overwhelming sight: a gigantic silver-white blade seemingly pinning down the mobile fortress’s deck.
In its center, a white-haired young man in a pure white coat stood up, gripping the saber impaled in the deck with a reverse grip.
Because the other members also knew that seemingly carefree face, smiling languidly.
“Rakshasa.” Sarin muttered with a cold expression.
“So you were here after all.”
“I’ve been here all along, Sarin.” Song-ha slowly raised his gaze and said with a smile.
“Though, it wasn’t exactly the time to be dealing with you all.”
“Then you should have just stayed quietly out of the way.”
“Can’t do that. You Pandemonium guys were the ones who broke the contract first, weren’t you?”
Chulkuk!!
Song-ha slowly slid the saber into its scabbard, turned, and spoke.
“The battlefield’s turned into a complete mess. Still, how can you hog all the fun at a time like this?”
“The contract ended long ago, the moment your command center was miserably shattered. Why are you even asking?”
Sarin chuckled and stepped forward.
“From here on out, we’ll do as we please, so move aside. As an envoy of the Crimson Star Clan, I need to meet Adamant Thunder.”
Chwa-ak!!
The moment she lightly clapped her wrists together, crimson blood surged from both of Sarin’s hands.
The leaping blood rotated at supersonic speed, transforming into the shape of short sabers the size of her forearms.
Hoo-wook……!!
Sarin, holding twin sabers in a reverse grip, leaned her body forward as if she might fall at any moment.
The moment Song-ha, walking forward without even drawing his saber, raised his magic with a smiling expression.
Three streaks of sword light exploded and crossed with incredible speed on the tilted deck.
Ka-ga-ga-ga-ga-gang!!!!
“……!!!”
Sarin’s figure, vanishing with a crimson flash, accelerated and scattered hundreds of sword flashes per second.
A piercing sound, as if machine guns rather than twin sabers were firing, hammered the air, threatening to burst eardrums.
A flurry of continuous attacks poured forth with such explosive speed that the observing members were momentarily astonished.
“What kind of swordsmanship is that……? Is she even human?”
“Vampires are demi-humans, but strictly speaking, they aren’t human.”
“Damn it, Hylaea. That’s not what I asked. What kind of response is that to a simple exclamation?”
Lennok, ignoring Ermont’s nonsense, quietly watched, his eyes gleaming behind his obsidian mask.
‘Her instantaneous acceleration and reflexes are incredible……. Is that what it’s like to reach the pinnacle of Blood Manipulation?’
Explosive acceleration, reaching maximum speed from a standstill. Reflexes so superb that she could perfectly control that acceleration and move.
Considering that superhumans with such speed usually can’t fully control their own velocity, this was quite exceptional.
As soon as Lennok witnessed Sarin’s combat, he understood that her abilities were based on the vampires’ unique Blood Manipulation.
‘She increases her speed with Blood Acceleration and enhances her reflexes to cope with the movements. This is what a martial arts-specialized vampire feels like.’
The only high-ranking vampires Lennok had seen so far were Transcendent beings like Madam or the Blood Emperor, whose innate abilities weren’t specialized for close-quarters combat.
Therefore, Sarin’s style, brandishing twin sabers and rampaging with Song-ha as her opponent, was quite alien.
The way she handled Blood Manipulation was intriguing, but even more astonishing was her artistry in wielding twin sabers perfectly at that speed.
Twin sabers, among all armaments, are weapons of nearly extreme difficulty, said to be wieldable only by superhumans with a special innate talent.
Because to go beyond merely wielding two swords and to make it a strength in superhuman combat is impossible without possessing a somewhat twisted nature.
After all, among the superhumans Lennok knew who wielded twin sabers, wasn’t there only Weian, who possessed an Empathic Ability comparable to his own?
A talent so rare it was treated as virtually a Trait-type ability by superhumans who wielded weapons.
It must have been possible because Sarin Tribiyer herself, as a True Ancestor Vampire, had trained in martial arts for a long time.
A highly unusual technician even among high-level superhumans. A specialist in one-on-one combat, thoroughly optimized for killing.
Thinking that far, Lennok realized why Sarin Tribiyer had been recruited into Pandemonium.
‘So she was a new member recruited to replace Maiya Lonsdale. Does that mean the other members as well……?’
Ka-aaaaang!!!
On the tilted deck, Song-ha and Sarin’s figures flashed and scattered at incredible speed.
As Sarin leaped over Song-ha’s slightly crouched head, both simultaneously swung their swords.
Hundreds of sword flashes exploded between the two swordsmen, who seemed to stand with the sky and ground reversed.
Ta-da-da-da-da-da-dang!!!!
A fierce impact sound, as if bullets, not swords, were being fired.
Sarin’s crimson eyes gleamed within the scattered sword flashes, crossing paths with Song-ha’s broadly smiling face.
“Hah……!!”
The moment the sneering Sarin raised her magic and swung her twin sabers, the saber’s sword light at Song-ha’s fingertips flickered as if exploding.
A powerful shockwave burst forth, pushing her figure straight back towards the opposite side of the deck.
Pa-aaaang!!!!
Immediately after, the tilted deck, having lost its balance, recovered, and the mobile fortress landed on the ground with a heavy thud.
Koo-woo-woo-woong!!!!
A super-high-speed sword dance that began and ended in the fleeting moment the tilted deck regained its balance.
Sarin, scattering an eerie crimson gaze, and Song-ha, idly toying with his saber with a nonchalant smile.
Ermont, who had been watching the battle from the side, gaped.
Because he belatedly realized that Song-ha had parried all of Sarin’s dazzling, almost grotesque sword dance while remaining in place.
Proof that he had countered the vampire’s super-high-speed sword dance, amplified by Blood Manipulation, with a purely human body.
“What kind of monster is this……. Is that person a vampire or something too?”
“No, that one is definitely human.”
Hylaea said with a pale face.
“He’s just a human who was said to have reached an untrodden realm in swordsmanship……. Though that was decades ago.”
=Everyone.
Woo-oong!!
At that moment, Sarin’s voice quietly echoed in the other members’ minds.
Sarin, spinning her twin sabers, conveyed her will without even turning around.
=I’ll hold this one down. I’ll leave the next part to you.
“……Can you do it?”
=If no one holds him here, this flagship will be destroyed in an instant. He probably intervened with the intention of smashing the flagship from the start.
Chulkuk!
Sarin, gripping her twin sabers in a reverse grip and raising her magic, replied.
=I’ll buy as much time as possible. Please do what you need to do in the meantime.
“……”
Their opponent was a Transcendent powerful enough to single-handedly infiltrate Pandemonium’s flagship and hinder their movements.
Literally, he was an asymmetric force in this battlefield, one of less than five.
A cautious message: instead of seeking victory against such a swordsman, she would simply endure to buy time.
But Song-ha, though aware that Sarin and Hylaea were conversing, showed no interest.
Instead, he merely turned his gaze towards the masked spellcaster standing behind the two, arms crossed.
“Manipulation Spellcaster. Long time no see?”
Song-ha grinned at Lennok.
“I think this is the first time since Yorta. You remember me, right?”
“We’re not exactly on greeting terms, are we?”
“Ah, I suppose not.”
Song-ha smiled broadly at Lennok’s sneer.
“You really screwed me over back then. Even with this bad memory, I remember it vividly.”
“……”
“If I had my way, I’d want to get revenge for that Incarnation Body incident back then……. But right now, there’s something more pressing.”
Song-ha swept his disheveled white hair back and sharply turned his gaze.
Looking at Ezekiel, who was standing quietly on the deck, Song-ha asked.
“You there, what kind of guy are you? Not only did you block my slash head-on earlier, but your presence itself isn’t human.”
“……”
“While traveling the continent with Ethan, I once met a being similar to you.”
Seu-reu-reung……!!!
The moment he gripped the saber’s hilt in a reverse grip and revealed its sleek blade, sharp killing intent exploded.
Song-ha, his smile gone, looked at Ezekiel and asked.
“You, are you from the Imperial Palace of the Empire?”
Instantly, the air on the deck froze solid.
Because Song-ha had unhesitatingly uttered the words the members had suspected but not dared to voice.
But Ezekiel, conversely, exhaled softly as if such a question felt unfamiliar to him.
“……The Empire.”
He slowly raised his gaze, muttering quietly from behind the cloth that covered his face.
“Decades have passed since the fate of Ars Nova ended, yet it’s still called by that name.”
“What are you talking about?”
“If one can only survive by clinging to the regrets of the past, then perhaps that is proof that the Emperor was ultimately right.”
For a moment, a faint hint of a smile seemed to mix in Ezekiel’s voice.
“A trivial matter.”
“……”
Unconcealed cynicism. Yet, that emotion seemed closer to self-mockery than contempt or disdain.
Even that unique arrogant yet imposing regal bearing was exactly alike to Olivera’s.
The moment Lennok realized that fact and glanced away, Song-ha shrugged.
“Ah, right.”
Chulkuk!!
Did he feel the same thing the moment he heard Ezekiel’s words? For the first time, Song-ha gripped the hilt of his saber firmly.
“You’re Imperial royalty, alright. Shall I cut you down?”
“As one who stands above, I have no intention of avoiding the punishment I deserve, but…”
Ezekiel turned his gaze with a nonchalant voice.
“Don’t you already have a prior guest?”
“What?”
Kee-iii-ing……!!!
Instantly, the world’s time felt as if it was endlessly slowing down around Ezekiel.
In that impossibly slowed time, the Eight Trigrams Formation resonated, and Lennok reached nearly the same timeline.
A miraculous technique, allowed only to Transcendent beings who had reached a specific realm, to infinitely split one’s consciousness and fill it with time.
The moment Lennok perceived it and simultaneously raised his magic, Sarin, gripping her twin sabers, vanished.
“Now……!!”
Ssya-ae-aek!!
Sarin’s figure, accelerating with a crimson glow, landed before Song-ha at tremendous speed, then spun as if rebounding.
Crimson magic rotated and surged up the blade held in a reverse grip, unleashing a gigantic crimson slash.
Kwa-aaaang!!!
Sword light exploded on one side of the mobile fortress’s deck.
Once again, Sarin and Song-ha’s swordplay flashed everywhere, and the hull began to shake violently.
The flagship, which had been wildly oscillating, quickly regained its balance this time and began to accelerate forward.
Kwar-reu-reu-reung!!!!
“Hahaha!! You guys are really interesting.”
Song-ha, only then noticing the unfolding situation, burst into laughter.
“You’re going to keep raising hell while keeping me trapped on this flagship? Are you seriously in your right mind?”
“We’re not exactly here with the goal of killing you.”
Sarin winked amidst the scattering sword light.
“And I’m not the only one here. There’s a new ally with me too.”
“What?”
Koo-goo-goo-goo!!!
At that moment, a gigantic iron-plated tail surged from beneath the deck and rotated behind Song-ha.
The tail, curved like a club, lashed the spot where Song-ha had been, unleashing a heavy shockwave.
Peo-eo-eo-eong!!!
An intensely powerful roar, deafening as if splitting and crushing the very air.
Song-ha, abandoning even his engagement with Sarin and evading instantly, turned his gaze with a surprised expression.
At the very stern of the deck stood the black-haired man with a solid, steel-like countenance, gazing towards them with an emotionless face.
Because he realized that this man, whose presence was as unfathomable as Ezekiel’s, was the owner of the iron-plated tail.
Not manipulating objects or spellcraft, but purely existing in two spaces simultaneously using ‘Mimesis’—
“I see. Many esteemed guests have arrived for this Annihilation Campaign, from all over.”
Song-ha, lowering his stance slightly and placing his hand on his saber, said with a smiling face.
“In that case, as the one who prepared the stage, I should properly entertain them.”
“……”
The Iron Chain Dragon King did not respond to Song-ha’s words.
He simply gazed at the golden flying object in the sky with a contemplative air, then turned his gaze sideways.
Shoo-woo-woong!!!
[6th Legion’s subordinate Reaper Squad. Initiating entry into the 7th Legion’s flagship, currently occupied by the Demonic Conflux.]
Members of the legion’s special forces, riding heavy armored vehicles, approached the mobile fortress.
[Ability Awakening Warband’s 5th Seat Annihilation Squad. Commencing engagement with Pandemonium.]
The Ability Awakening Warband’s Annihilation Squad, wearing unique visors, rapidly descended onto the deck without a trace.
[Magic Tower’s Divine Punishment Unit. From now on, we will focus on blocking the flagship’s course and slowing it down.]
A flame giant, born from the flames, roared, blocking the flagship’s path and raising its hand.
Koo-goo-goo-goo!!!
The heart of the battlefield, where chaos steadily escalated in real-time with Pandemonium’s withdrawal.
A situation where powerful superhuman forces from all directions rapidly caught up to and infiltrated the flagship.
At the stern of the endlessly accelerating and shaking flagship, three individuals simultaneously raised their magic.
Sarin, holding her twin sabers, bit her hand, drawing blood, and simultaneously chanted Blood Magic.
The Iron Chain Dragon King moved his iron-plated tail, pressing it close against the speeding mobile fortress.
Ezekiel, having stepped back, watched the situation, arms crossed, as if poised to intervene.
Facing three Transcendent beings, each wielding different unique abilities, Song-ha grinned and gripped his saber. At that moment.
“……Huh?”
Song-ha’s expression turned blank as he saw the shadow cast overhead.
Kwa-aaaang!!!!
“Doctor!!”
At the same time. Hylaea, rushing out of the shaking fortress corridor, frantically arrived at the control room.
Looking at The Doctor, who was manipulating the control panel, Hylaea said with a pale face.
“This isn’t the time to be operating the mobile fortress. The legion’s side……!!”
“I know. Song-ha intervened.”
The Doctor said without even looking back at Hylaea.
“If their captains have started moving, it means the legion’s side has become desperate. It’s not a bad thing, as it means our plan is working effectively.”
“Doctor. To say that, this war seems to have gone too far……”
One of the puppets sitting in the control room spoke, its jaw rattling.
Chebien burst into laughter with his uniquely utterly gloomy voice.
“Nearly 70% of the legion’s forces were annihilated in the previous battle. At this point, no matter how the Annihilation Campaign ends, it will be a loss for the legion……”
“……”
“There was enough damage to require a complete restructuring of more than four legions, do you think the legion’s side is calmly assessing the situation……?”
A situation where, simultaneously with the start of the Annihilation Campaign, half of their main forces were lost, and even their remaining power was rapidly being depleted.
Even at this moment, the legion’s forces, pushed by the Demonic Conflux, were being forcibly torn apart by black-blue lightning.
At this point, if a captain moved directly, it would mean they were practically resolved to eliminate Pandemonium.
But even knowing that, no agitation or fear was discernible in The Doctor’s expression.
“We called in the new members for the Annihilation Campaign precisely to prepare for such a situation. They should be able to at least buy time against Song-ha.”
“That’s—”
“More importantly, my reason for sowing chaos on this battlefield wasn’t just that.”
The Doctor adjusted his glasses and looked up at the sky.
“Adamant Thunder, who has repeatedly committed excessive slaughter on this battlefield, is aiming for a ‘final’ goal……. I intended to artificially hasten that.”
“……What?”
Beon-jjeok!!
At that moment, the lightning on the battlefield began to rotate in unison, centered around Adamant Thunder’s Magic Tower, which floated in the sky.
From the vast plains encompassing Vulcan’s outer districts, to the center of the ruins that were once an urban area.
All the lightning bolts that had been fired, regardless of sky or ground, began to be gathered, absorbed, and compressed.
Koo-goo-goo-goo-goo!!!!!
The ‘premonition’ of Mass Spellcraft that The Doctor had mentioned in relation to Adamant Thunder.
Immediately after, the other members, intuiting this, looked up at the sky with stiff expressions.
The brilliantly gleaming golden flying object began to change its form in place.
Char-reu-reu-reu-reuk!!!!!
The fighter jet-like flying object rotated gracefully, and hundreds of thousands of components simultaneously began to disassemble.
Soon, it became nine gigantic golden wings, spreading wide across the battlefield’s sky.
“That’s……!!”
“Wings…… perhaps?”
“Its form is different from the airfoil of the flying object shown before. It’s like……”
It resembles the materialized wings of an angel.
The moment someone was about to say that, the golden wings spread across the sky simultaneously moved, beginning to curve into a circle.
Kwa-aaaang!!!!
The majestic nine-meter-long wings overlapped and intertwined, compressing their form and transforming into a shape that embraced something.
Embracing the being known as Adamant Thunder with golden wings, it instantly suppressed its presence and even withdrew the lightning.
The moment the members realized that its appearance resembled a [Cocoon].
“Once as a sphere immediately after the Annihilation Campaign began. Once more, changing from a sphere to a flying object.”
The Doctor glanced at his wristwatch and replied.
“If you calculate the delay needed to transform the Magic Tower’s form using Mass Spellcraft, that will probably be the third and final form of Adamant Thunder’s Magic Tower.”
“……The third and final form.”
“That form, encased in gigantic wings, is Adamant Thunder’s final trump card prepared for the Annihilation Campaign?”
“Currently, Adamant Thunder is merged with his Magic Tower, completely insane, slaughtering the adversaries of the Annihilation Campaign.”
The Doctor turned his gaze.
“But would a Transcendent with such talent completely abandon his sanity just to successfully carry out this war?”
“……”
“He’s not just moving to slaughter the legions. His displayed power was excessively immense and cruel, far beyond what was necessary. Seeing that form, it’s clear.”
Go-oooo-oh!!!
Looking at the gigantic Cocoon with nine wings, floating in the sky, The Doctor muttered.
“If even that form, wielding lightning to kill adversaries, changing the tower’s shape to dominate the battlefield, and encased in nine wings as a Cocoon…… was merely a ‘process’ to become an Ascendant.”
“……Doctor.”
The Doctor slowly turned, looking at the frozen members.
“Doesn’t everything make sense if Adamant Thunder intended to use this war as his ‘Ascension Ritual’?”
“……”
The melee of Transcendent beings unfolding on the deck. Superhuman units infiltrating the flagship even at this very moment.
But no one could utter a single word amidst the chaos raging all around.
Adamant Thunder’s presence, transformed into a bizarre yet majestic form, silent in the sky. Followed by The Doctor’s explanation and question.
Because everyone understood that all of these things naturally fit together, pointing to a single conclusion.
The Doctor, leaving the silent members behind, gripped the controls.
“Let’s move. Since Adamant Thunder has begun his preparations, we need to hurry to arrive on time.”
“Arrive? Where are you going, leaving that behind……”
“There.”
The Doctor raised his hand, pointing in the opposite direction of the horizon.
Those who naturally followed The Doctor’s gaze fell silent, seeing the zone covered in a thick, black-blue nebula.
“Wait a minute.”
“You don’t mean……”
“There’s only one method that can be attempted, and only at this point, when Adamant Thunder has entered his Ascension Ritual.”
The Doctor said.
“From now on, we will ignore Adamant Thunder’s Magic Tower and directly enter District 49.”