Chapter 1234: Adamant Thunder Annihilation Campaign (25)
BOOOOM!!!!
The colossal, glass-colored passage violently shuddered, then slowly came to a halt.
The incessant vibrations gradually subsided, giving way to a profound silence.
They had arrived through the gateway opened by The Doctor, into an endless, glass-colored passage.
Beyond it lay the Cradle of Lightning, where dark blue lightning endlessly surged and birthed new bolts.
Ermont, who had been running swiftly down the corridor, raised his gaze with a bewildered expression.
“Huh? Hasn’t something changed?”
“The internal mechanisms of the Labyrinth have stopped moving.”
Deimus, running behind Ermont,’s eyes chilled.
“It seems Commander Baragan succeeded in dealing with the one responsible for operating the Labyrinth.”
“The Labyrinth operator? You mean there was such a friendly guide in this Demonic Realm?”
“This Labyrinth forcibly distorts space and completely changes the surrounding coordinates and environment every time it moves. It’s merely a guess, but since it’s Adamant Thunder’s Domain, it likely employs highly complex outer-dimensional spellcraft.”
SWISH!!
Deimus said, quickly changing direction as he slid across the floor.
“As it’s a technique that directly manipulates space, it’s highly probable that operating it during combat would be an extremely difficult procedure for the guardians guarding the gateways. There must have been individuals assigned to control the Labyrinth and coordinate the battlefield somewhere.”
“Heh, you’re smart. You were even thinking about that while Felix was breaking your arm?”
“…There are a few superhumans on our side who might notice such circumstances, but Commander Baragan is probably the only one capable of forcibly breaking through the Labyrinth and finding them.”
Deimus turned without hesitation at a fork in the path, tilting his head as he ran.
“Given how things have turned out, it’s safe to assume Commander Baragan succeeded in removing one of Adamant Thunder’s arrangements. Then we shouldn’t hesitate either.”
“Are we going straight there?”
“Our destination was set the moment The Doctor pointed the way.”
Deimus’s eyes grew cold as he looked at the glowing dark blue cradle in the distance.
“We are heading directly for the core of this Domain.”
THUM-THUM-THUM-THUM!!!!
As if on cue, Deimus and Ermont simultaneously amplified their mana, accelerating their speed.
They ran so fast that the surrounding scenery blurred into lines, ignoring the corpses strewn everywhere.
The dimly visible light in the distance grew rapidly, and as their vision, narrowed by the passage, explosively expanded.
Deimus found himself standing before an immense, dark blue void that stretched endlessly.
‘It’s vast…!’
A void more expansive and enormous than any gateway they had passed through so far.
On the ceiling of the void, thousands of meters wide, complex magic circles rotated, constantly changing form in real time.
A magnificent spectacle of thousands of magic circles etched into the ceiling, interlocking like gears, altering spacetime and imbuing will.
At its center, a pillar of dark blue lightning majestically rotated, striking downwards.
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!!!!!
“That is…”
A cradle where dark blue nebulae clustered and rotated, endlessly birthing lightning bolts.
Upon seeing it, they understood instantly.
This was the core of Adamant Thunder’s Domain, located in District 49.
The place where Adamant Thunder’s Magic Tower, which had massacred the Legion, had been ‘enshrined’ until just before the annihilation campaign.
“…Ermont.”
“Yes. Looks like it, doesn’t it?”
Ermont, looking at the rotating pillar of lightning in the center with a reluctant expression, nodded.
“That’s spellcraft that reverses the concept of a lightning rod. Instead of attracting lightning with a metal body, it’s attracting a metal body with lightning.”
“Attracting a metal body means…”
“Adamant Thunder’s Magic Tower, after completing the Ascension Ritual. What more is there to say?”
“…”
WHOOOOOSH!!!!!
So, Adamant Thunder’s Magic Tower would return here, guided by that colossal lightning bolt.
Indeed, as The Doctor had predicted, this seemed to be the final resting place for Adamant Thunder after completing the Ascension Ritual.
Confirming that much, having come this far, was a significant gain.
“It’s strange, though. Usually, reversing a concept like that is closer to the style of black magic…”
Ermont tapped his chin, muttering with an uncharacteristically serious expression.
“Perhaps, if Adamant Thunder learned black magic in the meantime, there might be a way.”
“What way are you talking about?”
“If we grovel and beg to become Adamant Thunder’s disciples right now, perhaps they’d spare us?”
“…”
“You know, by offering them the accumulated black magic know-how of hundreds of years, one tip a day…”
Ermont said, a little sheepishly, at Deimus’s bewildered reaction.
“Then we could live a few more days and browse the Deepweb, couldn’t we? I absolutely have to check out that damn website after this war is over.”
“I’d prefer it if you’d apply that mindset to doing your best in the current operation.”
Deimus, who had been silently watching the swirling lightning mass before him, slowly turned his gaze.
“Let’s move. First, I’ll investigate this place and find a way to eliminate that Cradle of Lightning.”
“I had a similar thought, but… can that alone disrupt the Ascension Ritual?”
“Adamant Thunder is now completely insane, attempting the Ascension Ritual purely relying on instinct.”
Deimus replied, walking through the endlessly vast void.
“They’re doing something that beings who have transcended the hierarchy to reach Level 8 wouldn’t even attempt, and in the middle of a war… in any case, they’re clearly not in their right mind.”
“…”
“Regardless of how outstanding Adamant Thunder’s talent is to make that possible, the process is likely to be extremely unstable and precarious.”
“So you’re saying you’ll try to mix in some impurity that can affect the ritual? It’s not a bad idea, but…”
Ermont shrugged.
“It’s a ritual a Transcendent is attempting by sacrificing their reason. Minor interferences won’t do anything, will they? They probably wouldn’t even perceive ordinary variables or spellcraft as disruptions.”
“…”
“They’d just roughly crush any interference with power and grind it with lightning. At the very least, it would have to be on the level of sacrificing a living human. You’re not going to do that yourself, are you, Deimus?”
“If necessary, I will.”
Deimus said calmly.
“If my death can be treated as an impurity, I’m willing to do it right now. However…”
“Woah, woah, I’m kidding. There’s no way Deimus’s death would be a variable capable of disrupting Adamant Thunder.”
Ermont chuckled.
“Well, even now, you’re a grey figure with a foot in both the Demonic Conflux and the Legion. But would Adamant Thunder really care about something like that?”
“…”
Deimus didn’t bother to deny Ermont’s words, which were close to a sneer.
He was well aware that as a Legion Commander, recognized for his command abilities, he was in many ways an ambiguous superhuman.
From the perspective of raw power or spellcraft, Deimus’s existence was unlikely to be a significant variable.
In that case, he would have to fulfill his responsibilities as the commander of the annihilation campaign to the very end.
“If it’s true that Commander Baragan temporarily stopped the Labyrinth’s facility operations, then others must have started moving towards the Labyrinth’s core by now.”
Deimus said, walking through the middle of the empty, golden void.
The void was so vast that he couldn’t be sure, but the entire space seemed to be a giant sphere. Even the walls and ceiling formed gentle curves.
“Of course, the spatial distortion imposed on this Labyrinth is incredibly powerful, making it difficult even for superhumans with excellent mana sense to easily find their way…”
If The Doctor was guiding their allied forces at this moment, just as he had helped them, then the surviving forces would converge.
If they successfully thwarted the Ascension Ritual, they would engage in a final battle against Adamant Thunder, who would have failed to become an Ascendant.
If they won that battle against Adamant Thunder, the annihilation campaign would finally end.
‘It’s too early to be confident of success. But…’
A war that had begun despairingly, with most of the Legion’s forces being helplessly massacred.
Only a day had passed, but it felt as if decades had been spent in this city.
All that remained was to complete the annihilation campaign by sacrificing his own life and take responsibility for his mistakes.
“Ermont. Prepare your black magic.”
Deimus slowly opened his eyes and said.
“From now on, let’s focus on exploring the entire Domain. I’ll provide support.”
“No, wait. You should tell me what you’re looking for first, shouldn’t you?”
“Although Victor entered the gateway later than us, he must have arrived here without getting lost.”
Deimus said, pulling a gemstone from his pocket.
“If we use his Manipulation Spellcraft, we might be able to ruin the Ascension Ritual. We must find Victor first.”
Victor’s astonishing spellcraft ability, which Deimus had witnessed firsthand and still found hard to believe.
His judgment and combat sense were not just bold, but overwhelmingly superior to any physical ability user.
And the potential of his Manipulation Spellcraft, which dealt with the most abstruse and metaphysical concepts among Trait-type Spellcraft.
The Doctor’s decision to choose Victor as the key to stopping Adamant Thunder in District 49 was by no means wrong.
With the annihilation campaign having devolved to this point, Deimus was more certain of that fact than ever.
“We just need to be able to intervene in the Ascension Ritual in any way possible. If fate allows, we might even be able to ‘manipulate’ Adamant Thunder’s state immediately after failing the ritual from our end.”
“…”
“However, since that depends on Victor’s capabilities, we shouldn’t rely on it blindly. Here, we should start by creating as many alternatives as possible while waiting for allied forces to gather—”
“Deimus.”
Ermont, who was preparing reconnaissance magic, pointed behind Deimus with a blank expression.
“Victor, he’s right there?”
“…What?”
WHOOSH—!!!
Above the majestic, golden plain, a shadow robe swayed slowly.
The figure was so far and small that only its outline was discernible. But it was unmistakably the Manipulation Spellcaster themselves.
Deimus, sensing this, immediately canceled his spellcraft and was about to turn towards Victor, when suddenly.
Victor used Flicker and vanished from that spot.
SWISH—!
“…Victor?”
“[Deimus!!]”
Ermont’s chilling mental transmission pierced Deimus’s mind.
“[If you release the spellcraft, you’ll be—!!!!]”
“What?”
Deimus didn’t understand what Ermont meant.
In the spot where Victor had vanished. The moment he felt a green radiance flicker at the edge of the golden plain.
Something pierced Deimus’s right shoulder, sending his body flying dozens of meters to smash into the wall.
BOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!
The searing pain arrived a beat later.
“Cough…!!!!!”
His vision turned scarlet, and all his senses burned intensely.
A shock that felt as if all his sensory organs, centered around his shoulder, were being pulled in and ground to dust.
Only then did Deimus realize that he was impaled by a black short spear, pinned to the wall of the void.
“What, what is this…!!!”
Deimus’s voice trembled as he gripped the short spear with shaking hands.
Gemstone Spellcraft and the protective barrier embedded in his military uniform. A power strong enough to penetrate his mana sense and body in an instant and send him flying.
But what was even more terrifying was that Deimus only perceived the hit after his shoulder had been pierced.
‘My right lung and internal thoracic artery… my ribs and shoulder muscles are all ruptured. I didn’t even notice this sniper attack until it hit…!’
The stealth was such that no precursor to the attack could be perceived before or after launch. The speed was so unreal that it was incomprehensible even after being hit.
The skill of a transcendent ‘sniper’ that sent shivers down his spine, leaving him utterly chilled.
The moment Deimus, realizing this, laboriously raised his gaze.
Only then could he see the archer perched on the far side of the golden void.
Long black hair reaching her shoulders. A black visor covering half her face and a suit protecting her entire body.
Holding a black greatbow larger than her body, looking down at them with green eyes devoid of emotion—
[I intended to pierce between your eyebrows in one go, but I missed when aiming for two people at once.]
“Evelyn Marcia…!!!”
[Aiming is a bit difficult in this Domain…]
CLICK!!
Evelyn, raising her mechanical-designed black greatbow equipped with various gear, muttered.
[The air pressure and wind direction are completely different from reality, so I have to recalculate every time. But I’m slowly getting used to it.]
“Cough…!!! There was a reason… I couldn’t find… Victor right away…”
Deimus, unable to suppress it, vomited a puddle of blood, his body trembling as he hung impaled on the wall, muttering.
“Hyun-gung… was directly guarding… the deepest part of the Domain…”
“Ugh…”
[You, Manipulation Spellcaster. Do you remember me?]
Ignoring Ermont, who was backing away with a pale face, Evelyn directed a cold gaze at Victor.
The Agents’ operation to disrupt Pandemonium’s mid-term settlement.
Evelyn clearly remembered the Manipulation Spellcaster she had faced last as well.
[When we met in Bailuts, I tried to take off that strange mask but failed.]
“…”
[You won’t escape this time.]
Victor did not respond to Evelyn’s words.
Instead, he descended beside Deimus, gripped the short spear that had pierced his shoulder, and simply pulled it out.
SWISH!!
“…!!!”
As the short spear was pulled from his shoulder, Deimus, who had been hanging on the wall, slid down.
Deimus, covered in blood, dropped to the floor and convulsed without even screaming.
Blood gushed out, his face turned pale, and his body trembled as if he would go into shock at any moment.
“7th Legion Commander. I’ll help you.”
A silver-haired noble, who appeared behind him, placed a hand on Deimus’s shoulder.
“You cannot die yet.”
SHIIIIZZZ!!!
Mercury surged from the noble’s hand, filling and staunching the wound on Deimus’s shoulder.
As mercury filled the hole that had pierced his shoulder and lung, Deimus’s breathing quickly stabilized.
Deimus, recognizing his helper a beat late, muttered in a voice that threatened to break.
“Th-the Ability Awakening Warband… has arrived…?”
“My mercury can replace organ function and stop bleeding, but it cannot maintain the ability for long.”
Esteban Aisen, the 5th Seat of the Ability Awakening Warband Ten Seats, stood up.
“We must end the battle as quickly as possible.”
“…That will be difficult.”
Deimus, his breathing stabilized, replied with difficulty.
“Our opponent is an archer ranked among the top five on the entire continent… if she occupies the high ground in a battlefield like this and unleashes ultra-long-range sniping, we won’t be able to endure…”
“…”
“We won’t be enough with just us. We need to retreat for now…”
“There’s no need for that.”
At that moment, Victor said with a sneer in his modulated voice.
He had been quietly looking at the blood-soaked black short spear, then slowly turned his gaze.
A sinister light flickered beyond his obsidian mask, staring intently at the other side of the Labyrinth.
“The Doctor handled things better than I expected.”
“What, did you say…?”
Ignoring Deimus’s stammering words, Victor sneered.
“At this rate, there’s no need to drag this out any longer.”
BOOOM!!!!
At that moment, powerful presences flashed from all directions of the vast void, rapidly approaching its center.
As if someone had guided them, these presences swiftly traversed all sides of the passage, approaching in a straight line.
KRAAAANG!!!!
[OOOOOOO!!!!]
A winged serpent roared wildly, smashing through the Labyrinth wall and appearing.
Its scales were falling off, and its skeletal structure was collapsing, creating a wretched, creaking sight.
But the magical power emanating from its body, like the convulsions of a dying creature, was truly ominous.
It was the sole presence of Quetzalcoatl, arriving alone, having broken through the Labyrinth without its master, the Grand Sorcerer.
KRAAAANG!!!
“Deimus. You’re still alive!!”
“Lieutenant General. We were guided by Doctor Artemeyer. From now on, we will join forces with you.”
“Code Weiss, Alter, Shepherd, Bane. Annihilation Squads under the command of headquarters, assembled.”
“Blaiver Magic Tower Annihilation Squad. We have arrived on the battlefield for the final battle…!!”
Legion Commanders, having clashed with or broken through the guardians of the gateways, arrived at the Labyrinth’s core.
The most elite unit leaders of the Legion who had survived each gateway, along with the Flame Pillars of the Blaiver Magic Tower leading their Annihilation Squads, burst into the fray.
WHOOOOSH…!!
“Lord Aisen. Squad 5 has joined. In the name of the Great Zero Seat.”
“Parallel processing error. Emergency combat system activated. Afterburner engaged.”
High-level psychics led by the 9th Seat of the Ability Awakening Warband Ten Seats, and modified constructs commanded by the Mechanized Legion’s Sergeant, wielded their unique abilities and spewed propellant, entering at high speed.
“Ah, how can such a profane Transcendent exist in reality…”
“It is a nest of heretics, contrary to our doctrine…”
“For the coming holy war, I willingly burn this body in hell.”
Crusading Knights and Military Chaplains, led by a Cardinal dispatched from the Cult Pantheon, offered prayers from all directions, beginning to venerate the Outer God.
BOOMBOOMBOOM!!!
The empty, dark blue void was instantly filled with diverse presences and mana, swiftly establishing battle lines.
Among the superhumans who had entered District 49, approximately 40% survived to reach this location.
The casualties included numerous Level 7 superhumans, including Legion Commanders, Flame Pillars, and unit leaders from the Ability Awakening Warband.
Nevertheless, a portion of the allied forces had ultimately survived and succeeded in reaching the Labyrinth’s core.
[Yes. I knew it would come to this.]
But Evelyn remained unfazed, even seeing the gathered forces of the annihilation campaign converging from all directions.
With an expression so calm it was indifferent, she simply looked at the hundreds of superhumans moving to encircle her.
[Because this was the scenario Van wanted all along.]
“What are you… talking about?”
[What am I talking about, Deadrise?]
Evelyn said, slowly raising the greatbow she held above her head.
She spread the greatbow, larger than her own body, upwards and pulled the string without hesitation.
TWANG!!!
Black-green mana surged from Evelyn’s hand, vertically soaring towards the vast ceiling of the void.
A graceful sight, like a lone green ray of light elegantly ascending from the center of the dark blue void.
The moment her will-imbued arrow shot upwards at incredible speed and began to rotate towards the sky.
CRANKLE—
The thousands of magic circles etched into the void’s ceiling rotated in unison, interlocking like gears, following the arrow’s movement.
Like a complex machine, they pushed each other upwards, altering concepts and reorganizing spacetime.
The immense Domain’s sky opened wide, revealing colossal golden wings above it.
KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA!!!!!!!!!
The true form of the insane Transcendent, adorned with nine wings.
A Cocoon, as dignified and elegant as an angel delivering death, yet infinitely grotesque and distorted.
Every time it writhed violently, as if on the verge of complete metamorphosis, dark blue lightning converged and shimmered from all sides.
As everyone stared up at it speechless, Evelyn smiled.
[Determining the timing… was never your role in the first place.]
“…”
CLICK!!!
Evelyn nocked an arrow to her greatbow, looking down coldly at the ‘targets’ staring up at her from all directions of the void.
[Then, shall we start by cutting the number in half?]