Chapter 1241: Adamant Thunder Annihilation Campaign (32)
At the center of the debris, where golden wings lay broken and piled.
The faint form of the Sleeping Thunder God, head bowed, rested on a shattered throne. Having finished all his work and entered repose, his appearance was as peaceful as if the fierce battle had never happened.
Crackle, crackle…!!!
The black-azure lightning, which had massacred tens of thousands and incinerated countless superhumans, flickered faintly.
A dry wind blew, gently swirling around the mountains of corpses piled everywhere.
Tens, hundreds of high-ranking superhumans, who had burned their lives for Adamant Thunder and now lay lifeless.
Fragments of war armaments that had participated in the annihilation campaign, and the shattered, melted remnants of the magic tower.
Even Deimus’s figure, staggering at the center of it all, his gaze lifted blankly.
“Cough!! Deadrise… Ermont…”
Blood-soaked Sarin struggled to get to her feet, gasping for breath.
She had only been grabbed by the Incarnation Body once, yet maintaining consciousness was difficult.
Sarin, looking at the strewn remains of the Legion and superhumans around her, let out a weak laugh.
“Congratulations. We succeeded. Though you’re all dead, so you won’t see it.”
“…”
“But… what do we do now?”
Sarin stared blankly at Adamant Thunder, who sat sleeping on the throne, then tilted her head.
“The Doctor died, so there’s no one to tell us the plan.”
“We wait until Adamant Thunder regains consciousness.”
Thump!!
The Iron Chain Dragon King stood beside Sarin, his face expressionless.
“Since the ritual failed, he will awaken and regain his reason eventually. This Dragon will speak with Adamant Thunder directly.”
“Ah, I just want to escape as is…”
Sarin wiped away the blood streaming down her cheek and shrugged.
“Well, alright. Maybe it’s better to see how it ends before leaving.”
“…”
“But those people, are we just going to leave them?”
Sarin glanced sideways.
“They already look beyond saving.”
Hiiiiisss!!!!
Baragan, his limbs torn off, was dead, buried headfirst in a pile of ash.
His spilled intestines were completely burned and crushed, a corpse beyond any hope of recovery.
Both eyes were burned and melted, his tongue and vocal cords shriveled, leaving no trace.
“…”
Esteban, fallen 20 meters ahead of Baragan, was in the same state.
His spine exposed on his back, a gruesome sight with even the blood dried up.
Nerves clung between his vertebrae, burned and shriveled, revealing a grotesque form.
The bodies of two Transcendent, whose breaths had completely ceased, now mere corpses.
At this moment, the two pillars who had achieved the greatest merits in the annihilation campaign collapsed, unable to see the outcome.
“It’s fine.”
The answer came not from the Iron Chain Dragon King, but from somewhere else.
The imperial noble, his face veiled with cloth, was looking in the same direction as them.
Ezekiel, his hand concealed by his draped sleeve, spoke slowly.
“Though their methods differ, they too must have resolved to burn themselves in this war, prepared for death.”
“…”
“Wouldn’t they have brought a means to avert death, at least once, for the sake of this war?”
“A means to avert death?”
Sarin turned her gaze, an awkward expression on her face.
Being from the Crimson Star Clan, she still found conversation with an imperial noble awkward.
But Ezekiel paid no mind to Sarin’s reaction and continued.
“Considering which Transcendent the Legion serves, there’s no need to ponder what ability they borrowed.”
His veiled face remained fixed, unmoving, on Baragan, who lay dead in the distance.
“Have you forgotten what alias Bajour’s son is known by?”
“…Ah.”
Hiiiiisss!!!
At that moment, smoke began to billow from Baragan’s ruined, fallen corpse.
Between the cracked, crushed, and burned fragments of flesh, an endlessly red, vivid blood began to flow.
Simultaneously, his body began to regenerate and piece itself back together, ‘regressing’ as if time were rewinding.
CRACKLE…!!!
Crushed bones regained their form, severed nerves and muscles reattached to the bone.
Melted eyeballs regenerated along the facial muscles, regaining focus, and the cheek exposing teeth pulled together and healed.
“Uh-”
A shriek poured from Baragan’s throat as his vocal cord muscles regenerated.
“Ah, Aaaargh…!!!!”
The scream he couldn’t unleash earlier now escaped his throat, a beat too late.
“Kuh, Hahahahaha…!!!!”
He buried his head, spewing blood and brain matter, his shoulders convulsing madly.
An utterly grotesque cry that almost sounded like laughter.
CRACK!!
Blood tears streamed down Baragan’s face as he slowly raised his head, propping himself up with his right arm, where the bone was exposed.
“Ethan… Ethan…!!!!”
“…”
“You were wrong. You, this time… were wrong…”
Baragan’s eyes, as he staggered to his feet, were still vacant, as if his mind was gone.
“This, was not… an opponent, that could be killed… Goddammit!!!!”
Sarin, watching him, murmured quietly as if in awe.
“The Revived…”
“It’s the blood of The Revived, who uniquely returned from death in the Third World.” Ezekiel said it indifferently.
“It wouldn’t be strange if a new religion formed around him; there’s no need to explain the power his blood holds.”
“…”
Baragan had already consumed Ethan’s blood before participating in the annihilation campaign.
It was also thanks to that he was able to single-handedly break through the labyrinth of District 49 and find Jenny.
The blood of Ethan, flowing within him, had granted Baragan a miracle even after his breath ceased.
“However, while the body has been revived, his mind has not been fully recovered.”
Ezekiel tilted his head, watching Baragan wander like a zombie, staggering in his half-naked state.
“This must be because The Revived himself considers body and mind separate realms. Interesting.”
“…”
“Perhaps The Revived, even having returned to this world, may not have brought his mind back fully. Who knows?”
“That…”
Leaving Sarin, who was speechless, Ezekiel crossed his arms.
“The unique abilities dwelling in the human heart… there’s always a certain allure in peering into the darkness within them. Even after the Empire fell, I still cannot cease my travels.”
“…”
Sarin, her gaze vacant, looked back at the expressionless Iron Chain Dragon King standing beside her.
“The pastimes of an imperial noble are of no interest to me.”
Feeling the vampire’s gaze, the Dragon King spoke without even twitching an eyebrow.
“As long as you don’t impose that depraved taste on Adamant Thunder, it matters little to me.”
“Insolent words, Dragon-kind.” Ezekiel said calmly.
“Have you still not come to your senses, even after Kundara fell?”
“It’s only regrettable that you failed to learn from Ars Nova’s mistakes.”
“…”
Neither the Iron Chain Dragon King nor Ezekiel turned their heads toward each other.
Instead, a heavy, chilling Will-thought arose simultaneously from both, beginning to clash in the air.
RUMBLEEEEE!!!!
“Ha, what in the world are they doing…”
Sarin sneered, stepping back and dusting off her hands.
“Perfect. There’s no Doctor to mediate, so why don’t you two fight it out here?”
“…”
“There seems to be no need. The Revived’s power is growing stronger.”
Ezekiel replied instead of the silent Dragon King.
“This war has reached its conclusion.”
“Ughh, Haaahhh…!!!”
Baragan, who had been blankly wandering the battlefield with grotesque groans, stopped in front of the fallen Song-ha.
A gruesome sight, his heart crushed by the Incarnation Body, blood-soaked, head thrown back as he lay fallen.
Yet, despite this, Song-ha was barely maintaining a faint breath, as if it could cease at any moment.
The sight of him slowly dying with a pierced heart, paradoxically, proved how exceptional a superhuman he was.
“You, fool…”
Baragan’s eyes, watching Song-ha, regained their focus, and his skin-tight lips parted.
“Get, up… What, are… you doing…”
“…Baragan.”
Song-ha spoke in a voice so faint it seemed about to break.
“You… succeeded.”
“…Yes.” Baragan replied.
His eyes had somehow become clear.
“We… survived. Adamant Thunder used all his power and fell asleep.”
“…”
“Soon, he will lose even the strength to maintain his body and vanish. The annihilation campaign is over.”
“…I see… That’s good…”
Song-ha coughed lightly and smiled.
“Still, it’s a relief… to be able… to see… the end… before I go…”
“What are you talking about?”
Baragan looked down at Song-ha with an almost burning gaze.
“You used Ethan’s blood too. What are you doing?”
“…”
Song-ha did not answer.
Sensing something in that silence, Baragan’s expression twisted fiercely.
“Song-ha!!”
“I… can’t…”
Song-ha laughed like a fool.
“At the Legion Parade… I used it up… to fight… Cheonbeon…”
“…What?”
Ethan Bajour himself had only ‘revived’ once using his own ability.
Naturally, those who drank his blood also had only one chance to experience the same miracle.
Song-ha had drunk Ethan’s blood at the Legion Parade to integrate his clone, but that too was a miracle using the Talent for Reversing Heaven.
From the start, there had been no second chance for Song-ha.
“Ethan… the last…”
Song-ha said, gasping for breath.
“That this is the end… I knew… from the start…”
“Don’t give me that bullshit!!!”
CRASH!!!
Baragan, grabbing Song-ha by the collar, yelled and unleashed his Sorcerous Power.
Baragan screamed, frantically casting healing sorcery on Song-ha’s body.
“Get up! Get up, damn it!!!”
“…”
Song-ha did not answer. He merely closed his eyes, his faint breathing now ceased.
“…Reminds me… of old times…”
Song-ha, limp in Baragan’s hands, whispered.
“All of us… in Larabelli… It was fun…”
“Shut up!!!”
Baragan lifted Song-ha, gritted his teeth, and turned, unleashing his Sorcerous Power.
“Don’t say anything. Just keep breathing like before!!”
“…”
“I am a Grand Sorcerer, heir to Esoteric Sorcery. Do you think I can’t save a fool like you?”
He walked without hesitation through the corpse-strewn battlefield, towards the golden throne visible in the distance.
The broken throne, rising from the center of the shattered ruins.
The presence of Adamant Thunder, leaning back on it, quietly asleep.
THUD!!
Baragan laid Song-ha down in front of it, then turned back, his eyes bloodshot.
“Pandemonium. Cooperate.”
“What kind of cooperation are you talking about?”
“I will use the remaining power within Adamant Thunder to save this fool.”
“…”
Baragan glared at the sleeping Adamant Thunder and spat.
“He lost his will and fell asleep, but he still maintains his physical body… With this much, I can use my sorcery to convert Adamant Thunder’s power into life force.”
“…”
“The annihilation campaign is over. So, I will use his remains first.”
Baragan, not waiting for a reply, turned and immediately unleashed his Sorcerous Power.
“Vampire. Use Adamant Thunder’s magic to create blood. Long-lived Being, can you offer a part of your flesh to replace Song-ha’s organs?”
“…”
“With even the ‘privilege’ of an Imperial noble, saving one person shouldn’t be difficult. This fool must not die here-”
“I refuse.”
At the reply from behind him, Baragan froze.
The sorcerer slowly turned, glaring at the Iron Chain Dragon King with a rigid expression.
“…What did you just say?”
“Adamant Thunder is the city’s benefactor, who granted new life to Kundara’s Long-lived Beings.” The Iron Chain Dragon King said, arms crossed, his face devoid of emotion.
“Countless of our kind had their lives saved when he won the decisive battle against Silver Star. This Dragon, too, unintentionally received a blessing.”
“…”
“This Dragon joined this decisive battle today to prevent Adamant Thunder from losing the annihilation campaign and dying completely.”
The emotionless Dragon King’s gaze, looking at Adamant Thunder sleeping on the shattered throne, softened for a moment.
“With him having held onto his life, there can be no better outcome than this.”
“Long-lived Being. You were never on our side from the start-”
“So, let me make it clear right here.”
RUMBLEEEEE…!!!
As the Iron Chain Dragon King unleashed his magic, the ground slowly trembled.
The Dragon-kind’s gaze, cold and resolute as steel, fixed directly on Baragan.
“Sorcerer. This Dragon will not heed your wishes.”
“…”
“Ah~ Then I’ll pass too. I’m interested in Adamant Thunder’s blood, not in saving other humans.”
Sarin waved her hand, a tired look on her face, and stepped back slightly.
A cold sneer formed on the vampire’s lips as she looked up at Baragan.
“More importantly, to come all this way and only try to save your friend… isn’t that a bit unseemly?”
“You bastards.”
“What a refreshing feeling.”
Before Baragan, who had transformed into a fiend, could even turn around, Ezekiel looked at his own hand and spoke.
“To think a mortal who would dare to command me still remains in this world.”
“…”
“But I’ve witnessed many rare spectacles today, so I shall overlook it.”
The imperial noble, who had been curiously looking down at his injured hand through his veiled sleeve, turned his gaze.
“Consider yourself fortunate that I’m not in the mood to cut off your head and hang it in the marketplace.”
“Ha!! Fine. It doesn’t matter…!!!!”
They had only cooperated briefly for the common goal of the annihilation campaign; Pandemonium was never an ally from the start.
He wanted to tear them to pieces right then and there, but there was a more urgent matter at hand.
“I can do it alone. As much as it takes…!!!”
While the abilities of Pandemonium’s members were incredibly useful, making their assistance certain,
even without their help, Baragan still had plenty of sorcery he could attempt.
As an 8-level Grand Sorcerer, he could indirectly wield all types of sorcery using totems.
SCHLICK!
With Song-ha lying unconscious before Adamant Thunder, he bit his thumb and drew blood.
Baragan swiftly drew a blood sorcery circle around Song-ha, then closed his eyes and made a Hand Sign.
“Conversion Sorcery activation. Life force conversion process initiated.”
KIIIIIIIING!!!!!
The blood flowing through the sorcery circle began to glow, connecting in lines over Song-ha’s chest.
The entire magic circle transformed into a conduit supplying life force, connecting to Song-ha’s body.
“Dragon King. Are you alright with this?”
Sarin, watching the scene, turned her gaze.
“He’s Kundara’s benefactor, isn’t he? Shouldn’t you at least protect his corpse?”
“He is not a corpse.”
“Eh?”
“If Adamant Thunder had died in this decisive battle, Silver Star’s wrath would literally have echoed across the entire world…”
The Iron Chain Dragon King looked up at Adamant Thunder with profound eyes.
“Then, even his slumber at this moment must be a contingency for the future. There is no need to intervene.”
“Old man. Sorry, but can you speak in a way I can understand?”
As the vampire tilted her head, Baragan approached Adamant Thunder.
The existence of the Transcendent, sitting on the shattered throne, weakly emitting dark blue lightning.
Asleep, seeming as if he could vanish at any moment, yet still the essence of power, leaving his physical body in reality.
“I will succeed. Without fail…!!!!”
If he could just extract Adamant Thunder’s power, convert it into life force, and infuse it, he could somehow save Song-ha.
Since he was in a state infinitely close to the essence of power, he could certainly be a target for life force Conversion Sorcery.
Save Song-ha here, completely annihilate Adamant Thunder, then reclaim Vulcan.
That would be the perfect victory and conclusion to this annihilation campaign.
The moment Baragan reached out to Adamant Thunder, attempting to draw his essence into the sorcery without hesitation.
“No.”
A calm voice echoed from behind Baragan.
“I cannot allow that.”
“…”
For a moment, Baragan couldn’t comprehend what he had heard.
He merely turned his creaking gaze, forgetting even the current situation.
WHOOOOSH!!!
His heavy black coat swayed in the wind, slowly revealing a face.
A black-haired young man with a cold demeanor stood behind Baragan.
“…You.”
A calm, chilling presence, unlike the battered others.
The inexplicable demonic nature faintly felt beyond his expressionless face.
A face Baragan, who fought on the front lines of the annihilation campaign, had never seen before.
Yet, Baragan instinctively knew the moment he faced him with his unique spiritual presence.
This man shouldn’t be here right now.
This wizard, couldn’t possibly be here-
“Because I need to take the fruits of this war.” Lennok smiled, looking at Baragan, who was frozen in place.
“If you can move, would you please step aside?”