Chapter 1265: Post-War Processing (18)

Rumble!!! Cranes and trucks busily moved back and forth, hauling piles of dirt. Between the steel rebar, spell-words were carved and combined, taking form.

The forms of buildings and commercial structures took shape, completing their construction in real-time.

Mega-city Vulcan’s District 49. The area, which had been turned into a wasteland by the aftermath of the Subjugation Operation, was nearly half restored within a week.

“You’ve probably already heard the news, but the Central Council, led by Senator Meyer, has begun post-war processing.”

Jenny said, walking past a hill overlooking the construction site.

“Councilman Meyer is someone within the Council who is quite favorable to you, so he’s providing a lot of conveniences, specifically for District 49.”

“I see.”

“Most residential and commercial areas have been restored. It’s probably the fastest pace among all districts. What’s left is rebuilding your Magic Tower, but…”

Jenny, who had been explaining without hesitation, trailed off slightly.

Perhaps it was because Jenny, who had also mastered the Ouroboros magic system, knew how Lennok had utilized his Magic Tower against The Legion.

A Demonic Realm that took the form of a labyrinth, mimicking the environment of the Ninth Tribulation, crushing intruders from their very souls.

It was a structure possessing output that surpassed war weapons, along with the ability to freely transform its shape and authority simultaneously.

Since she had stayed until the very end to coordinate the situation, she would have understood how uniquely designed Lennok’s Magic Tower was.

Jenny also anticipated that rebuilding the Magic Tower once again would be a difficult task.

“The Magic Tower I completed just before the war was closer to a testbed for maximizing the performance of my spellcraft.”

Lennok replied, walking beside Jenny.

“Many parts were designed to account for damage, to conduct performance tests during the Subjugation Operation. I plan to create the new Magic Tower in a different form, so you don’t need to worry too much about securing the land.”

“That’s good to hear, but…”

“I plan to add dozens more functions and forms necessary for shape transformation, but most of the attempts won’t happen on the ground anyway. In the future, it won’t interfere with District 49’s restoration process in any way.”

“Not on the ground? What kind of form are you envisioning for the Magic Tower then?”

“It’s less about having a specific form in mind, but rather… now that I’ve attained transcendence, I won’t be bound by physical laws anymore.”

Lennok, who had been looking up at the sky above District 49 where restoration work was ongoing, muttered.

“Simply by ‘storing’ Ultimate Lightning within the Tower, I should be able to easily overcome its limitations. Perhaps it would even be possible to transform the entire tower into a colossal lightning pillar.”

“…”

“Both options seem fine, so I’m conflicted… For now, should I embed a several-hundred-meter-long lightning strike in the sky above District 49 and then adjust its form?”

“Do you want to see an uproar throughout Vulcan? Sorry, but if you ask me, I have absolutely no idea what that would even feel like.”

Jenny, who had been listening to Lennok with a bewildered expression, nodded.

“Do whatever you want. Whatever form it takes, I’ll just reorganize the work processes to match the new Magic Tower’s shape.”

“It won’t become inconvenient enough to interfere with your work. You don’t need to worry.”

After that, Lennok, along with Jenny, walked through the construction site, discussing candidates for the new Magic Tower’s form.

“There are a few notable points in the official document regarding the Victory Ceremony held by the Central Council.”

Jenny said, moving her steps further down the corridor.

“The Council, led by Councilman Meyer, has definitively decided to side with you. They want to make it clear that you bear no responsibility for this war.”

“Is there anything specific I need to prepare for that process?”

“Yes. They requested our cooperation in preparing for the Victory Ceremony, and this part, in particular, seemed to require your confirmation.”

Huuuum…!!!!

They crossed through the vast golden debris that had melted everywhere.

The damaged parts of the Magic Tower lay broken from the Subjugation Operation, abandoned for several days.

The wind brushed through the ruins and debris, producing a strange resonant sound, like a musical instrument.

The two, who had looked around District 49’s construction site, returned to the ruins where the war had ended.

“To prepare for the Victory Ceremony in accordance with the Central Council’s invitation, we’ll also need to hurry.”

Jenny said that, and raised her hand towards the golden debris.

“It’s around here. I’m going in.”

Kiiiiing…!!

As mana rotated within Jenny’s body, a golden halo rotated around her wrist.

A distinctly vivid radiance descended upon reality, even compared to the halos used by her tower colleagues.

Following Jenny’s gesture, dozens of meters of golden debris began to vibrate intensely.

As if worn-out parts were forcibly operating, they rotated, collided, and scraped against each other, violently creating space.

Each time, the ground shook violently, unleashing ceaseless, heavy roars.

Ruuuuuuumble!!!!

As the debris collided and pushed away from each other, the sight of an underground cavity was revealed within.

While Lennok watched the scene, Jenny lowered her hand and nodded.

“Let’s go in. I’ll explain as we go.”

“…”

Lennok, looking at the tangled vines and tree roots within the cavity, followed Jenny.

The spaces were isolated with tower debris and confined, creating a scene like a prison.

Less than ten injured individuals were confined to separate rooms, their entire bodies bound.

Thuuuump!!!

The deputy commander of the Ghost Squadron Gespenst, bound by chains alongside broken Iron-Plated Wings.

A high-ranking priest of the Guido Cult, with his lower body crushed, barely clinging to life.

The commander of the Mechanized Legion, maintaining consciousness using life-extension protocols.

A scene of The Legion’s survivors, who miraculously survived the war, confined within the fallen Magic Tower debris used as a prison.

“Did you stack the tower’s debris and turn it into a prison for holding prisoners?”

“After the war ended, we recovered the prisoners, completed emergency treatment, and confined them here.”

Jenny said, walking through the corridors made of stacked debris.

“Although it was almost completely destroyed, the materials used in your Magic Tower were incredibly strong, so it felt like a waste to just abandon them.”

Jenny, who has mastered the Ouroboros magic system, is the only administrator capable of operating the Magic Tower in Lennok’s stead.

Although it was broken and collapsed, manipulating the tower’s debris to form a specific shape wouldn’t have been difficult.

Jenny seemed to have judged the prison built from Lennok’s Magic Tower debris to be more reliable for confining them than any other detention facility.

“Since this is an isolation space using your Magic Tower’s debris as a prison, escape is impossible by ordinary means.”

“…”

“The Funeral Ship to the Sea of Return is nearby, so even if someone somehow manages to escape, they’ll immediately be detected by the Undertaker.”

So the Undertaker, who had come to Vulcan with Jutiya Heiberk, was in charge of monitoring the prisoners?

She hadn’t expected their assistance since they hadn’t participated in the Subjugation Operation, but it seemed they were helping with the post-war processing.

“However, the prisoners confined here are such dangerous Transcendent beings that we had prohibited others from entering…”

Thud!!

At that moment, tangled vines intertwined with the golden debris raged ferociously, emitting an eerie sorcerous power.

Vines and roots, imbued with sorcerous power that Lennok knew well, gripped the debris and violently shook the cavity.

The presence of a sorcerer, scattering menacing will-thought as if aware of Lennok’s arrival.

But that sorcerous power and will-thought failed to reach even Jenny, let alone Lennok, and quickly faded away.

Jenny, who was watching the scene, shrugged and said.

“Since Van is here, there won’t be any problems. Shall we go see the one who’s awake first, then?”

“Let’s.”

Lennok said that, and turned his gaze.

Past the isolation cells where unconscious prisoners were confined, to a solitary cell, closed off by piled debris.

“H-hey.”

The burly woman, restrained in a chair, looked up at Lennok with difficulty.

The woman, whose entire upper left body was ripped away, twitched her shoulder, then raised her right hand in a mock salute.

Seeing Lennok’s expressionless face, she spoke first.

“Long time no see, Ascendant…”

“…”

Deadrise’s 6th Legion Commander, Atiya Elixson.

A physical superhuman who, in the battle against the Incarnation Body, lost her entire upper left body and was paralyzed on one side.

“How’s your body holding up?”

“Well…? Hearing that from the person who shattered my body is a strange feeling.”

Atiya replied slowly, and leaned back.

“That doctor you have is quite skilled, you see. Thanks to him, I’ve gotten much better.”

“…”

“The phantom limb pain is severe, but my right side moves well. Thanks to that, I think I could even beg on the streets if I had to.”

Atiya shrugged, and let out a snort of laughter, then spoke.

“Yet you, after trampling all of us alone, seem perfectly fine.”

“…”

“I’ve been thinking, and perhaps our defeat in the war was inevitable. Seeing you, that thought suddenly comes to me again.”

Following her arm as she scratched her neck with her right arm, forcing a bitter smile, thick chains rattled.

“Well, what’s the point of saying all this now? Anyway, is there anything decided about our treatment—”

Thuuuump!!!

At that moment, as the golden debris was pushed away as if bouncing off, Atiya’s words were abruptly cut off.

As the debris confining Atiya was cleared away, the space that had imprisoned her was revealed.

A strange silence fell, and the soldier, whose entire upper left body was torn away, struggled to stand up and walked out into the corridor.

“It’s a bit undignified to ask this now, but…”

Atiya asked with a bewildered expression.

“By any chance, am I dying here today?”

“If I intended to kill you now, I wouldn’t have kept you alive this long.”

Lennok turned his gaze.

“I received a request from Dylan. He wants to learn the mana release technique you possess.”

“Who’s Dylan?”

“Wrestler Mask.”

“Oh, right.”

Atiya, who then remembered the mercenary she had encountered in the labyrinth, let out a snort of laughter.

“He kept refusing so vehemently, I thought he wasn’t interested, but that ‘regenerator’ guy actually has good taste after all.”

“From now on, you will be tasked with teaching the tower’s mercenaries the mana release technique you possess.”

Clank!

Lennok took the mana-restricting cuffs Jenny handed him, fastened them around Atiya’s wrist, then spoke.

“For now, I’ll let you live. I’ll guarantee you the personal recuperation time needed to train the mercenaries.”

“Hah, I can’t even run far in this body anyway. What’s the meaning of that?”

“Murphy has a knack for creating life-support devices, as well as prosthetic arms and other alternative equipment.”

At Lennok’s words, Atiya’s movements ceased for a moment.

“If things go well, he might even be able to create a prosthetic arm to replace your entire upper left body.”

“Hmm. I don’t particularly have any lingering attachment to life-sustaining equipment now.”

Atiya grinned broadly and nodded.

“But, well, if you’re letting me live, there’s no reason to refuse. I’ll diligently do what I’m told.”

Jenny watched Atiya, who was following Soo-ryun, who had arrived after being contacted, and shook her head.

“A paralyzed Legion Commander. Although she’s no longer a threat…”

“Does she seem dangerous?”

“I’ve talked to her a few times, and compared to superhumans of her caliber, she has incredibly strong mental fortitude.”

Jenny crossed her arms.

“She might be bowing her head for now, but I don’t think she’s completely submissive to us.”

“It’s precisely because she’s that kind of person that she hasn’t let go of her will to live yet. And that allowed me to propose this deal.”

Lennok lowered his gaze.

“Atiya’s mana release technique could be an incredibly useful skill for the mercenaries, if they can master it. Even if it’s a talent stemming from her physical characteristics, they might be able to learn the knack of it.”

“You’re very observant. Were you paying that much attention to an enemy Transcendent during the war?”

“Personally, I expect it to be more helpful to Mila than to Dylan.”

“Mila?”

“Mila’s superpower has some similarities to Atiya’s mana release technique, so it might somewhat help her stalled growth.”

Seeing Jenny tilt her head, Lennok replied.

“I also feel that Atiya Elixson’s personality is quite similar to Mila’s. If their personalities and will-thoughts are similar, wouldn’t it be easier to learn a technique?”

“Isn’t the connection between personality and will-thought just a baseless rumor circulating among physical superhumans? I didn’t know you, Van, would believe such superstitions.”

“When it comes to helping others grow, not just myself, such psychological factors cannot be entirely ignored.”

Lennok said that, and moved his steps.

“Let’s go meet him. It seems he’s ready now too.”

“…”

The deepest part of the colossal prison built from stacked golden debris.

Among them, a narrow sealing room where debris fragments were intricately woven together to press down on a person’s entire body.

“Adamant Thunder.”

The man, who had been lying prostrate in the debris-filled sealing room, opened his mouth.

Lennok, who confirmed his face, turned his gaze with an expressionless face.

“Baragan.”

Deadrise’s third Captain, and an 8-level Grand Sorcerer.

A friend of Kaiser Bajour and a project associate, the Legion’s highest-ranking general, also a colleague of Ethan Bajour.

Baragan, his entire body bound by sharp chains, was looking up at Lennok from within the communal sealing room.

“All the main meridians in his body were severed, so detaining him wasn’t difficult in itself.”

Jenny pulled out a tablet from her pocket, and read the information on the screen.

“We suppressed his blood circulation with the Fearsome Blood King’s Blood Magic, and bound his limbs by piercing his hands and feet with chains imbued with Jutiya Heiberk’s Spell-Word.”

“…”

“Yet, as soon as he recovered a little, he tried to use sorcerous power again, just like a moment ago. He’s the only sorcerer in this prison capable of doing that… so we had to use a somewhat rougher method.”

As Jenny said, sharpened chain fragments pierced Baragan’s limbs and were embedded in the wall.

The entire body of the sorcerer was strung with chains, a grim sight, as if nailed into this underground cavity.

“From this point, it’s about matters related to the Victory Ceremony, so please listen for a moment.”

Jenny, tapping on her tablet, said.

“The countermeasures committee, formed for the post-war processing of the Subjugation Operation, requested the transfer of war prisoners. They specifically requested Baragan himself, if possible.”

“Are you saying I should hand over the custody of The Legion’s high command to the City Council?”

Lennok’s reply turned cold.

“Regrettably, I don’t trust the City Council that much.”

While Councilman Meyer can be trusted as someone he’s known for a long time, the Central Council he belongs to is different.

Vulcan’s power structure, deeply involved in the project and having privately exploited its results for a long time.

Now that Kaiser has disappeared, how can he be sure they won’t have other intentions?

“I agree. But the countermeasures committee isn’t demanding the transfer of prisoners without any grounds.”

Jenny said calmly.

“They said that to transfer the assets remaining throughout Vulcan under Deadrise’s name to you, they need custody of The Legion’s high command. Following administrative procedures under continental law is supposedly the fastest way to process it.”

“Does that mean they plan to settle the compensation to be handed over to me before the Victory Ceremony?”

“Exactly. Especially concerning that part…”

Jenny’s gaze, looking down at Baragan, turned cold.

“They said the life or death of the transferred prisoner doesn’t matter. As long as their face is recognizable, that’s enough, they said.”

“…”

“They probably don’t want to deliberately upset you now that the Subjugation Operation is over. I think this is a reasonable compromise to cooperate with, what do you think?”

“Kill me.”

The answer didn’t come from Lennok, but from Baragan, confined beyond the isolation cell.

On the sorcerer’s face, pale and bound by vines, a sneering smile formed.

“Just cut off my head and send it to the City Council. If you cauterize the cut with your lightning, there won’t even be a chance for recovery.”

“…”

“If those disgusting old geezers need proof that they won the war, my head would be the most definite gift.”

Jenny’s expression hardened at Baragan’s fierce words, but he paid no heed, staring at Lennok with bloodshot eyes.

Lennok looked down at Baragan with an expressionless gaze, and opened his mouth.

“Jenny. Could you step away for a moment?”

“Van.”

“I wish to speak with him alone.”

Jenny glanced uneasily at Lennok, but soon nodded and stepped back.

As Jenny disappeared beyond the debris-filled corridor, Lennok pulled out a cigarette.

“It seems Jenny is less interested in The Legion’s assets, and more that she just doesn’t want to see you anymore…”

Hiss.

As he lit it, Lennok, who had cast a mana field to block out sound, opened his mouth.

“I won’t hand over your custody to the City Council. I had no intention of killing anyone else once the war was over.”

“Hahahahaha, this completely insane bastard…”

Baragan laughed.

“After killing tens of thousands of people, can you really spout such nonsense so casually? You’re truly out of your mind.”

“Killing you now would just mean your corpse would be nothing more or less than another casualty strewn across the Outer Zone.”

Lennok retorted.

“Your value, rather, exists precisely because you are alive. The highest-ranking general of The Legion who survived the Subjugation Operation. One of the three Captains who served as Kaiser’s closest confidantes.”

“…”

“As long as you live, you will always be a living testament to this war. A symbol marking the failure of the project in this world where Kaiser has vanished.”

Instead of replying to those words, Baragan bowed his head.

His distorted expression beneath his disheveled hair suggested that he had lost the will to refute those words.

Defeated in war, having lost all will to live, the enemy commander merely clung to life.

Lennok looked down at such a Baragan, and then turned his gaze.

“Born as a member of a tribe that inherited Esoteric Sorcery, a life that existed only to be a human sacrifice.”

“What?”

Baragan, with an incredulous expression, suddenly raised his head.

“You, how did you…?”

The Regressor’s memories remaining in District 19. Memories of the moment Baragan and Kaiser first met.

At Lennok’s words, mentioning that moment which only Baragan now remembered, the sorcerer was momentarily shocked.

“Kaiser remembered until the very end the moment he met you in the jungle and accepted you as a comrade.”

Lennok, standing before Baragan, said with an expressionless face.

“He considered it meaningful that he could show you a world wider than the jungle.”

“…”

“If Kaiser changed your fate, which was to die as a sacrifice, then killing you now would likely be problematic…”

Lennok said that, and turned his gaze.

“Therefore, instead of killing you, I’d like to propose a trade.”

“A trade, you say?”

“Kaiser took Ethan’s body to eliminate the backlash of Regression and returned to this world.”

While Baragan hesitated at the unexpected words, Lennok calmly crossed his arms and spoke.

“While investigating the Ninth Tribulation in Kundara, I learned that his resurrection process took place in the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors. Kaiser, resurrected in Ethan’s body, probably arrived late to the military parade because of that.”

Although the project was completely over, he couldn’t move forward without tracing its causality.

The Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors, which Kaiser had chosen for his resurrection. A hell on earth bordering the Imperial Palace of The Empire on the Central Front.

If it was Baragan, who was a close friend of Kaiser, he would surely know something about the Demonic Realm.

Now that Baragan was in custody, Lennok had no intention of ignoring the opportunity to investigate him.

“What exists within the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors, that Kaiser chose it as the place for his resurrection?”

“…”

“The origin of the Demonic Realm, said to have been corrupted using each central institution of the Imperial Palace as material. I need to know what power lies dormant there.”

Silence fell.

Baragan’s expression became indescribable as he looked up at Lennok.

Looking down at the sorcerer, Lennok pulled out a Dark Scale from his pocket.

“If you won’t answer, I’ll have no choice but to embed this in your head and extract your memories.”

“…”

“Using Pyeonram’s Dark Scale, I can pierce through your mental barrier, which has mastered her Esoteric Sorcery, and search your memories. It would be a somewhat crude method, but—”

“No.”

For a moment, Baragan quietly opened his mouth.

“I’ll tell you. Because now… such things no longer matter to us.”

“…”

“You’re right, Adamant Thunder.”

Baragan, with a haggard expression, lifted his gaze and said.

“Kaiser left that way because he accepted the ending you had determined. I knew.”

“…”

“I only tried to deny it, even while knowing. But if Kaiser thought he no longer had to… bear the next burden…”

Baragan, unable to finish his words, closed his eyes.

Lennok quietly waited for him to speak next.

“The Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors…”

Baragan’s voice sank low.

“Is a hell ruled by the corpse of a deceased Grand General. There, every day, all life is killed and brought back to life… burning their deaths as fuel.”

“Finished?”

“Yes. Though the results weren’t entirely satisfactory.”

Seeing Lennok, who had emerged from the ruins after finishing his conversation with Baragan, Jenny shook her head.

“That’s surprising. I didn’t expect you to be able to make any meaningful deal with that sorcerer.”

“I didn’t expect Baragan to know all the information I wanted, either.”

Lennok said, smoking his cigarette.

“Although he was a Captain, he was a sorcerer who had been away from The Legion for a long time, so he probably didn’t know as much as Kaiser himself.”

“…”

“But I still got a meaningful keyword regarding the Central Front. If I can find a way to access the Demonic Realm with this—”

KRAAAAAASSSHHHH-!!!!

At that moment, Lennok’s words were abruptly cut off by the Thunderclap Star exploding overhead.

Exploding thunder pierced through the cloudless sky.

A lightning dragon, wreathed in blue light, roared fiercely and violently streaked across the sky.

Jenny, who had been staring blankly at the sky with her mouth agape, muttered.

“Wait a moment. I’ll check what’s going on right away.”

Jenny pulled out her phone, and immediately made a call and checked her messages.

As she rapidly typed and exchanged messages, she eventually turned back to Lennok with a bewildered expression.

“The Thorben Magic Tower Lord… apparently heard that you were on the move.”

“What?”

[Saaaiiiiiiiil!!!!!]

Amidst the scattering thunder, the roar-like voice of an old man echoed.

[Where are you?!!!! I can’t wait any longer!!]

“Surely not…”

Lennok, who understood the situation, frowned.

“Is he flying around District 49 right now, looking for me?”

“No, not just that…”

Jenny hesitated, then said.

“He’s apparently flying directly here right now?”

[Bonnoh has something to show you right away!!!!]

“…”

Silence fell.

Lennok sighed, and turned his head.

“I’ll go out and talk to him myself.”