Chapter 1253: Post-War Processing (6)

Lennok didn’t know much about the Vulcan Mayor.

A powerful figure who had been the city’s mayor since Kaiser was alive.

Someone who had held the mayoral position for decades yet rarely appeared in public.

A mysterious entity who maintained the top position in this giant city, steeped in corruption and decay.

‘A brief conversation during the hearing was all we had.’

At the time Lapis came to Vulcan to inherit the authority of the Lighthouse Keeper.

Lennok, in his identity as Adamant Thunder, had kidnapped Lapis and intentionally caused a confrontation with Cheonbeon.

The City Council had held a hearing and summoned Adamant Thunder due to the escalating situation caused by the intervention of the Eyes of Blue.

On his way out after the hearing, Lennok had met the Vulcan Mayor for the first time.

The very person who had contacted Lennok, speaking through the boy who carried the tablet of the Judgment Edict.

‘During the hearing, he appeared as a boy; in Kaiser’s timeline, he was a woman. I don’t know which is his true form….’

A powerful figure who, even during the Project, was aware of Kaiser’s Regression and had made deals with him on equal terms.

He knew the Mayor was no ordinary superhuman. Hadn’t Meyer’s entry into politics also been related to the Mayor?

It was clear that there were individuals who, like the Imperial Palace of Ars Nova, had used Kaiser and the Project.

Undoubtedly, the Vulcan Mayor was one of those individuals.

Kaiser Bajour’s demise. Ethan Bajour’s death. The Project’s conclusion.

If the Mayor was now beginning to move, it was surely proof that some constraint binding him, out of those three causalities, had been lifted.

At that point of judgment, there was no reason to hesitate.

However—

‘[Woah, the mortals’ gazes are a bit stinging.]’

“…This won’t do.”

Screech!!

Before he had even ridden two blocks on his bike, Lennok felt the torrent of gazes and stopped.

The moment he emerged onto the road on his massive black monster bike and came to a halt.

Immediately after, he noticed mercenaries all around him beginning to whisper as they stared at him.

Lennok averted his gaze, watching the freelancers and mercenaries who glanced at him with peculiar expressions.

“There’s nothing wrong with the perception masking spell. Yet, for there to be a reaction strong enough to notice a sense of unease….”

The perception masking spell Lennok used was so potent it could confuse not only one’s face and appearance but even their very presence.

When used with intent, it could make it so that even if someone stood right beside you, only the impression of ‘someone passed by’ would remain; their existence wouldn’t even be remembered.

The fact that he was getting this much feedback, despite casting the spell more carefully than usual considering the aftermath of the Subjugation Operation, meant that this appearance caused a significant sense of unease among people.

He still couldn’t gauge how much Adamant Thunder’s already notorious reputation had inflated since the Subjugation Operation ended.

Perhaps he should contact Jenny or Aris now to check on the situation, but…

“A monster bike… It’s a similar weight to the one that person is known to ride.”

“A large bike of that size isn’t that common near the Outer Zone, is it?”

“They’ve become much more common lately, though. That wizard is famous for riding one.”

Was the mercenaries’ unease directed more towards the bike than Lennok?

Lennok subtly drew on his mana and eavesdropped on the mercenaries’ conversation.

“Anyway, there are so many guys who can’t even hold a candle to his skill but try to imitate his appearance. I wouldn’t even mind if they had a sliver of his talent.”

“It’s better when it’s mercenaries or warriors. But when I see wizards or sorcerers riding bikes, it makes me not even want to talk to them.”

“Just leave them. They’ll come to their senses after their heads get smashed in once. It’s actually good because you can quickly filter out those who don’t even know what they’re good at.”

“Looking at the wizards in this scene, it really makes you realize how capable that guy was… I should have worked with him when he was still a freelancer.”

“I heard the welfare benefits given to mercenaries and freelancers affiliated with that Magic Tower are incredible. They supposedly easily surpass most mega-tech companies.”

“You should have said that before Adamant Thunder became Vulcan’s Demon King. What’s the point now that the Subjugation Operation is over and he’s ascended to the heavens?”

“….”

Indeed, he could feel that the perception and reactions towards Lennok had subtly changed compared to before.

This might be even more so because he hadn’t really paid attention to public opinion or reactions since the Subjugation Operation ended.

What was surprising was that Adamant Thunder’s image didn’t seem so bad among the mercenaries operating in the underworld.

However, not everyone thought so, as murmurs of complaint could also be heard among other freelancers.

“Everyone’s lost their minds. How many districts and facilities were shattered in this war? What’s so great about a mad butcher like that?”

“Didn’t you see the propaganda video of The Legion’s bombardment poured onto the Outer Zone? Adamant Thunder just did what had to be done.”

“Are you crazy? You’re not trying to say that the wizard who massacred tens of thousands like insects actually protected Vulcan, are you?”

“No, not exactly… but in the end, we had to choose one side or the other in this war, didn’t we?”

The mercenary retorted to the freelancer’s objection.

“At least this incident made us realize that Adamant Thunder could have done such things all along but didn’t. Don’t you think?”

“No, what kind of—”

Other mercenaries who had been listening to the conversation also began to exchange their opinions among themselves.

“I understand what you’re trying to say. Adamant Thunder is certainly a very unusual case among Transcendent beings of that caliber.”

“He could have massacred tens of thousands, but he was content with just striking the skies of District 49 with lightning. Maybe he’s just mad in a perfectly appropriate way…”

“All sorts of research institutions are reportedly rushing to apply for relocation to District 49. They wouldn’t be doing that if they wanted to commit suicide, would they?”

“Actually, I heard that news and also applied for relocation….”

Vroooom!!!

The moment the traffic light changed, Lennok snapped his fingers and applied a new disguise spell.

He disguised the entire bike with a new appearance and simultaneously added a perception masking spell to eliminate any sense of unease.

Lennok, instantly shedding the public’s gazes, twisted the throttle to accelerate, tilting his head.

“I don’t know what’s happening in this city. Should I try contacting Dylan or Mila now?”

‘[Once the City Government’s central network is normalized, Deepweb access will be smoother than before, so shall we check then?]’

“Davi. I find it hard to believe you wouldn’t have tried accessing the Deepweb just because of a communication disruption like that.”

Lennok narrowed his eyes and glanced down at the Cybernetic Spirit.

“Just give me a brief summary; it’s fine. What’s the reaction to the Subjugation Operation?”

‘[Master, what do you take me for?]’

Davi puffed out her cheeks.

‘[I haven’t even accessed it all this time because I wanted to check it together when Master woke up! I’ve been trying so hard to hold back!]’

“It wasn’t that the stock market was too bullish for you to look away, was it?”

‘Ahem.’

Ignoring the spirit who cleared her throat and avoided his gaze, Lennok immediately turned the handlebars.

While they had been talking, they had traversed the central district and arrived near their destination.

From here, Lennok also needed to focus a little.

“We’ve arrived.”

Vroooooom!!!

Turning at the end of the highway, he headed towards the gate leading to the Restricted Zone.

Strict security reminiscent of a military base. Over hundreds of Defense Force soldiers guarding the gate.

A stern landscape, like a fortress, encircled by multiple layers of colossal metal barricades, tens of meters high.

Hiss, hiss—

Each time the soldiers, wearing visor-like gas masks, turned their gaze, a bizarre breathing sound echoed.

Above the gate, a giant signboard with bright red letters hung, slowly swaying.

‘[District 19]’

“….”

A restricted zone, even within Vulcan’s dozens of areas, where entry was forbidden, and the most shrouded in secrecy among them.

Madam had called District 19 Kaiser Bajour’s [Tomb], and Vice Mayor Winstone had said that the entire District 19 was warped, outside the flow of time.

Hadn’t Lennok himself, long ago, barely managed to skim the Outer Zone of District 19 even after gaining access with Lapis?

From a distance far enough not to be caught by surveillance cameras, Lennok, casting a stealth spell and concealing his presence, gazed intently at the gate.

“The City Government’s Defense Force and special units directly under the Peacekeeping Force. Even aces from the special operations agencies are here. As expected, the security is tight.”

‘[Is it alright for the Vulcan Mayor to be so vigilant, even though he invited Master?]’

“Konrad’s message was delivered through an unofficial channel. There’s a possibility that the Defense Force doesn’t even know the Mayor has moved.”

‘[Then let’s start by paralyzing all the gate’s control facilities.]’

“No, it’s been less than three days since the Subjugation Operation ended. I have no intention of fighting.”

Lennok said that and idly looked down at his hand.

Lennok lightly clenched and unclenched his hand, checking his senses, then stood up.

“Besides… there won’t be any need to.”

Whoosh!!

He released his stealth spell, stood up in plain sight, and walked towards the gate.

Before the soldiers guarding the gate could even perceive him, a brilliant blue lightning glow enveloped Lennok’s body.

Lennok’s form, transformed into a single bolt of lightning, transcended the gate at the speed of thought.

Crackle!!

What he had gained from the Subjugation Operation was a fragment of transcendence that had eluded him until now.

Even without wielding it, there were several things that became possible simply by holding it.

At this moment, proclaiming the miraculous power he had gained at the end of a great war, in the form of lightning, to reality.

He transformed his very existence into lightning, traversing space at a speed comparable to Flicker.

The soldiers guarding the gate didn’t even notice Lennok’s presence.

He had no intention of complying with the City Government’s checkpoints or procedures to enter District 19 from the start.

The Mayor, too, probably hadn’t expected Lennok to follow such procedures to get here.

The moment he crossed the gate and stepped inside, the scenery of District 19’s Outer Zone, which he had visited before, unfolded before him.

Screech, creak—

A strange sky, half blue, half dark night.

Hundreds of buildings hung upside down, as if about to fall to the ground.

A bizarre space where all kinds of architecture stood haphazardly, with no distinction between ground and sky.

Some buildings stood at right angles in mid-air, while others gently rotated beyond the clouds.

All these rising and falling forms, devoid of even direction or center, seemed to exist solely to disorient the senses.

Whooosh!!!

Beyond the upside-down landscape of the Restricted Zone, a single building stood upright on the ground.

Lennok instantly landed on its rooftop, looked up at the blackened [Gate] stretched across the sky, and stopped.

The Outer Zone of District 19, which he had entered with Lapis under the guidance of Vice Mayor Winstone.

Standing again before the [Gate] leading into the district’s interior, an eerie sense of unease settled over his entire body.

Crackle…!

“….”

A dizzying sensation, as if his body was disintegrating from radiation exposure. He had experienced a similar feeling before.

The Mana Particle Collapse Phenomenon that occurred in Restricted Zone 25. The same memory as when he met Kaiser in the past.

Crackle, crackle…!!!

Mana particles split and fragmented, forcibly linking even the matter they touched.

Matter exposed to that disintegration line slowly ruptured and gradually died.

An extreme environment that made it difficult for not only living organisms but even inorganic matter to retain its original form.

But Lennok ignored the light of the disintegrating lines pouring down from all sides and moved forward.

Crackle, crackle!!

An eerie tearing sound, as if space itself was splitting, echoed repeatedly, but it vanished without even touching Lennok’s collar.

There was an ocean-like gap between the Lennok who had met Kaiser in the past within the Restricted Zone and the Lennok of now.

Not only his own mana, but he forcibly held the surrounding mana in place with his will, preventing it from collapsing.

A stage beyond freely wielding magic and spellcraft, where one begins to indirectly touch the world’s physical laws and phenomena.

It was one of the still somewhat ambiguous ‘sensations’ Lennok had gained after the Subjugation Operation ended.

Whoosh!!!

Each slow step he took towards the [Gate], a hellish darkness enveloped his surroundings.

A dark void where not a single speck of light existed. An abyss that blocked the five senses and numbed the perception of time and distance.

But Lennok could discern the landscape unfolding around the ramp with his unique Empathic Ability.

Remains scattered haphazardly around the ramp, their entire bodies crushed or disintegrated.

A bizarre sight where organic matter like flesh and muscle was pulverized and gnawed away without a trace.

It was highly likely they were the corpses of soldiers or administrators who had guarded the Restricted Zone.

‘[Ugh….]’

Thud!

Hearing Davi’s whisper, as if feeling sick, he slowly stopped.

Though nothing was visible, he could feel a massive wall obstructing him ahead.

A conceptual boundary line, built as matter by gathering the darkness covering the Restricted Zone.

“….”

Only then did Lennok feel a strange sentiment rise within him as he looked at the wall before his eyes.

This was a type of barrier Lennok, who had researched countless mysteries and spellcrafts, had never seen before in his life.

The very essence of corruption, capable of conceptually isolating something within it, preventing escape, and potentially disrupting one’s hierarchy or Mental Image just by contact.

If it were the old Lennok, reaching this point with a sound mind would have been impossible.

Just as when he met Kaiser in the past, he might have had to devise various plans and endure countless trials and errors to withstand the Restricted Zone.

Even after that, he would have had to formulate a plan to penetrate the defenses of the Defense Force and special operations agencies to infiltrate the Restricted Zone.

Yet, the current Lennok had breached all those guards and boundaries without any preparation and arrived at the innermost depths of District 19.

To the extent that all the time and effort Lennok had put in until now felt somewhat futile.

‘[Master?]’

“…Yes.”

He knew. That it was because of those times and efforts that the current Lennok was here.

It was simply that the scene before his eyes, now that he had grasped even a little of the Branching Point of Transcendence, felt more empty than he had expected.

He merely felt a strange sensation, as if he had realized how vast and melancholic the emptiness felt by Level 9 Ascendants was.

Ending his thoughts, Lennok slowly raised his hand and cautiously traced the wall shimmering with darkness.

As if drawing the boundary line of a gate that had no entrance, he stirred his Will-thought and drew his hand across.

Hiss.

A peculiar sound, like something melting.

Immediately after, a crack opened before Lennok’s eyes, taking the form of the [Gate].

Lennok had, without realizing, passed through District 19 and entered beyond its boundary line.

“….”

A vast, pristine white corridor bathed in light so bright it stung his eyes.

The pungent smell of antiseptic pricked his nose. Not a single speck of dust was visible on the impeccably cleaned floor.

A suffocating, oppressive feeling, as if the entire space had been sterilized and preserved.

The interior of the Restricted Zone, reached after passing through absolute darkness.

A white, pristine corridor, completely opposite to the passages he had traversed so far.

‘[Oh.]’

Davi, peeking her head out from Lennok’s arms, spoke.

‘[This place is quite… unsettling.]’

“Indeed.”

Lennok said that and continued walking.

“Because we’ve been here once before.”

‘[Master and I have been here before?]’

Davi asked, puzzled.

‘[That can’t be… I always leave coordinates for places Master and I have traveled together. If we’d been somewhere like this, there’s no way I wouldn’t remember it!]’

“If it happened in this timeline, yes.”

‘[Huh?]’

“We didn’t visit this place in the real timeline.”

Lennok said that, glancing away.

“Our visit here happened during Kaiser Bajour’s final iteration.”

‘[…Could it be.]’

The scene of a vast research lab unfolded beyond the corridor’s glass window.

The burning research lab he had witnessed with his own eyes just a few days ago was, impossibly, neatly organized.

“The place where the Black Consumer Project finally failed.”

Lennok narrowed his eyes, looking at the laboratory scene spread out beyond the window.

“The ‘interior’ of District 19 referred to the place where Kaiser Bajour died.”

The image of Ethan holding a blood-stained sword and Kaiser standing defenselessly before him was still vivid in his mind.

Kaiser Bajour’s final Regression, which had continued for tens of thousands of times.

Lennok had arrived at the very place where Ethan and Kaiser’s fates had been reversed.

The reason Madam had referred to District 19 as Kaiser Bajour’s ‘tomb’.

The moment Lennok realized this and unhesitatingly stepped into the research lab.

“I thought it might be you.”

At the youthful voice that came from beside him, Lennok abruptly stopped.

Ignoring Lennok’s reaction, the voice quietly declared.

“Ever since I saw you at the hearing, I’ve thought I would be waiting for you here someday.”

“…You.”

“Congratulations, Van.”

A blond-haired boy with a youthful face stood on the opposite side of the corridor, smiling at Lennok.

“Because in all the timelines of this world… you are the only one who truly brought Kaiser Bajour’s story to an end.”

“….”

The face of the boy he had encountered once before in the hearing room.

The casual manner in which he spoke, mentioning Kaiser and the Project.

That’s why Lennok, the moment he met him, understood.

The most powerful figure in Vulcan, who had promised a private meeting in District 19.

The Vulcan Mayor was waiting for Lennok here.

“Were you waiting here even before the Project ended?”

“I’d like to apologize for calling you to a place like this first.”

The boy slowly turned and said.

“Originally, meeting you was supposed to be a favor regarding the Post-War Processing of the Subjugation Operation.”

“….”

“The advantages you should enjoy in the reconstruction process of District 49. The transfer of authority equivalent to an autonomous region, and other rights due to a victor in the Subjugation Operation.”

The boy, walking past Lennok without hesitation, continued.

“However, even for that, there’s something that needs to be resolved here first, which is why I called you. The Project is over, but there are still parts that need proper handling.”

“Handling….”

“A kind of insurance Kaiser left in District 19. The Rule of Failure, which he forcibly bound using the power of the Imperial Palace.”

The boy smiled faintly.

“Because only after adjusting [The Prohibition] can I fully exercise my mayoral authority.”

“….”

“So, for now, I’ve brought the ‘guide’ needed for that task. Shall we go together?”

“…A guide?”

Wasn’t this meeting today arranged for a private audience with the Vulcan Mayor?

Indeed, the Mayor’s purpose for calling Lennok was completely different from what Lennok had expected.

However, despite all this, Lennok couldn’t fully focus his attention on the Mayor standing before him.

A figure slowly emerging from beyond the transparent corridor stretching behind the boy.

For the face that appeared in the light belonged to someone Lennok knew all too well.

Someone who had been by Lennok’s side before the Subjugation Operation began, yet hadn’t appeared during the war itself.

Yet, he was undoubtedly the advisor who had once stood closest to Kaiser.

That’s why he couldn’t help but ask that first and foremost.

“…I didn’t expect to find you in a place like this.”

Lennok turned around and watched the old man with a wry smile.

“Jordan. What are you doing here?”

“Van.”

Jordan closed his eyes.

“I was waiting for you.”