Chapter 1266: Post-War Processing (19)

“Disciple!!!!!!”

A thunderous voice echoed from the far end of the vast laboratory corridor.

Azure lightning flashed consecutively through every visible space, surging wildly.

CRASH!!!

“Ugh, it’s loud…”

At the deafening roar that threatened to burst her eardrums, Evelyn, walking beside him, sharply scrunched up her face.

Evelyn, with her heightened senses and strong composure compared to others, wouldn’t be accustomed to such an assault of noise.

Covering her ears with both index fingers, she turned her crumpled face towards Lennok.

“Why is the Thorben Magic Tower Lord’s lightning just so loud, unlike yours?”

“…I never knew thunder could have a pleasing or displeasing sound. Is there a significant difference?”

For Evelyn, with her keen senses, could the very frequency of thunder sound different?

As Lennok shook his head in bewilderment, Thorben abruptly aimed his lightning at Lennok.

“Discipleeee!!”

CRACKLE!!

The lightning, wildly rampaging between the corridor and the ceiling walls, flashed azure and spun.

It descended to the ground before Lennok with incredible speed, transforming into the figure of a sturdy old man.

“Why are you so leisurely, what are you doing?! Quick, hurry, let’s go with utmost urgency this instant!!”

The white-haired old man, unsuitably stomping his feet, urged Lennok to hurry.

Lennok, smiling at the Thorben Magic Tower Lord, who was prodding him like a child, moved his steps.

“Don’t rush me. I was just about to show you.”

“No, how can I not rush you?!”

KWOOSH—

As Thorben roared with an excited expression, a fierce thunderous sound echoed through the laboratory.

The roar was so immense that it wouldn’t have been strange for a full-blown commotion to erupt if this weren’t a secret research facility hidden in the District 50s Restricted Zone.

That he, who showed no interest in anything other than magic, was behaving this way, truly showed how excited the Tower Lord was.

“It’s absurd for a wizard wielding lightning to show patience in the face of a great miracle!! When did Bonnoh ever teach you such a thing!!”

“I don’t recall learning such a temperament from you, only magic.”

“Is it here? Is it here? No, it’s here!!!”

“…”

CRASH!!!

Thorben, transformed into lightning, rampaged wildly, tearing through the vast research facility’s laboratories.

Burnt paper and experimental tools scattered everywhere like a storm, and the sounds of countless items shattering and breaking echoed.

CRASH BANG!!!

RUMBLE CRUMBLE!!!

“[…Should we just show him quickly and kick him out?]”

“It’s fine. Most of the equipment left in this research facility are consumables that have been used once and served their purpose.”

Lennok soothed Davi, who had become instantly agitated, and followed Thorben.

“I have something to ask him. Just bear with him for a bit.”

Lennok, who had met the Vulcan Mayor in District 19, was gathering information about the Imperial Palace while simultaneously managing the aftermath of the war.

He had met Ezekiel, heard about the Emperor’s demise, and, through Baragan, identified the true nature of what resided within the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors.

However, there were still a few pieces of information that needed confirmation to access the Central City.

‘A dead Grand General of the Imperial Palace… that wasn’t a clue that could be dismissed easily.”

Grand General. Lennok knew which Transcendent held that title in the Central City.

Wasn’t the fallen Ascendant, Jinwa, also once known by the epithet ‘Whispering Grand General’ in Ars Nova?

Whatever existed within the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors was undoubtedly on par with, or at least similar to, such a monster.

‘If exploring the Demonic Realm is the only way to access the Imperial Palace at this point, then I need more information about it.’

Guiding Thorben to the research facility had another purpose besides fulfilling his wishes; Evelyn’s accompaniment was also related to this.

Of course, Evelyn seemed quite displeased that her rare free time was spent entertaining the Thorben Magic Tower Lord—

KWOOSH CRACKLE!!!!

“HAHAHAHAH!!! Disciple!! You built this place perfectly for me to smash to my heart’s content!!”

“Haaah…”

“[Ughhhhhhh.]”

Evelyn sighed, unable to overcome the rampaging thunder from all directions, and Davi, likewise, covered her ears with her paws.

“Originally, this laboratory was built as a performance testing ground to experiment with runaway lightning output.”

Lennok answered, stroking Davi, who was wriggling wildly in his arms.

“Most of the equipment here was brought in with the assumption of breakage, but that doesn’t mean you can destroy everything. We need minimal facilities to stably maintain the power you want to see.”

“Oh, so you mean this research facility is now free for Bonnoh to smash with his lightning?”

“What exactly have you understood of what I’ve said so far?”

“[OOOOOH!!!]”

FLASH!!

Thorben’s form, entirely transformed into lightning, filled the corridor as a colossal Lightning God.

The lightning giant, revealing its muscular upper body, looked down at Lennok and burst into hearty laughter.

“[To cling to the assets of this world, whose purpose is fulfilled, even after gaining the causality of lightning, you still haven’t let go of your lingering attachments!!]”

“I don’t want to hear such things from an asset owner who runs the continent’s largest war business.”

“[HAHAHAHAH!!!]”

CRASH!!!!

Thorben’s Lightning God Body, not even waiting for a reply, joyfully sped off far ahead.

Evelyn, watching him with her hands over her ears, shook her head as if disgusted.

“I knew he was crazy, but he’s even stranger than what I saw at the Magic Tower. Is he always like that when he’s with you?”

“Not every time, but it’s frequent.”

Lennok gave a wry smile and nodded.

Lennok said, gazing at the lightning spreading into the empty depths of the laboratory.

“He’s a person overly honest with his emotions. That’s why he’s still staying in my Magic Tower.”

“…”

“If he hadn’t felt compassion for my Guardian Spirit Beast, he wouldn’t have remained in Vulcan for so long.”

The Thorben Magic Tower was a collective of War-Mages running the continent’s largest war enterprise.

Naturally, Akendrias El Thorben, the leader of that Magic Tower, had an enormous amount of work to handle.

Nevertheless, the Tower Lord remaining here, putting aside all his duties, was entirely the result of an impromptu decision.

If he, who had become a Shikigami of the Guardian Spirit Beast, hadn’t stayed in the Magic Tower out of consideration for the beast, Lennok too would have faced difficulties.

Many of the times Thorben had helped Lennok in Vulcan were likewise.

“If he hadn’t lent his strength during the Subjugation Operation, this war couldn’t have been concluded so quickly.”

Lennok followed behind Thorben, moving his steps.

“For this matter, I owe you and the Tower Lord, among others. I hope you’ll understand with a generous heart.”

“What? I can’t hear you well.”

“…If that’s the case, why did you ask in the first place?”

Lennok shook his head, looking at Evelyn, who repeated her question with her hands over her ears, and moved on.

Evelyn, awkwardly removing her hands, walked behind Lennok, gazing up at the wildly rampaging lightning.

“I know he’s a great wizard, but no matter how I look at it, he’s not someone you bring to such an important research facility. Can you even have a serious conversation with that man in the first place?”

“Even if he’s a bit crazy, he’s more passionate about the magic he wields than anyone else.”

Lennok smiled.

“I’ve met many spellcasters, but it’s rare to find a Seeker who holds such strong pride in their own magic. Rather, I believe there’s more to learn from his mindset than from magical tricks or techniques.”

“…Hmm. This is the first time I’ve heard you evaluate another wizard like that.”

“He’s a madman who will do anything, regardless of the circumstances, if it means passing on magic. I also received a few things from the Tower Lord in that process.”

Lennok slowly raised his gaze and spoke.

“Therefore… I, too, have a duty to show him what I have obtained.”

“That’s…”

At that moment, Evelyn suddenly realized the surroundings had grown quiet and sharply turned her gaze.

The echoing thunder suddenly ceased, replaced by an uncanny sense of quietude, as if a strangely serene silence had filled spacetime.

“Move.”

Lennok passed Evelyn and stepped forward.

“It’s just ahead. He’ll be waiting.”

“…”

Evelyn was about to say something, but then closed her mouth and followed behind Lennok.

At the end of the empty research facility corridor lay the vast, shared landscape of a massive laboratory.

Before it, the Thorben Magic Tower Lord stood alone, his entire body bathed in azure light.

WHOOSH!!!

He stood there, silently witnessing the scene before him, even the lightning and thunder he had constantly unleashed now subdued.

The excitement he had shown without reserve until now had, like a lie, settled into an uncanny quietude, even his Will-thought and presence endlessly calm.

However, Evelyn, turning her gaze to follow Thorben’s, could only gape at the sight before him.

In the very center of the vast laboratory stood a massive, streamlined glass tube.

Inside the glass tube, with its beautiful curves like a gigantic whale swimming through the sky, something lay asleep with its eyes closed.

“[Sniffle.]”

The image of a baby dragon, eyes closed, sucking its paw like a pacifier and sleep-talking.

The Guardian Spirit Beast, with its bulging belly twitching and snot bubbles forming at its nose, deeply asleep.

The baby dragon, which had not shown itself anywhere in the Magic Tower or its domain throughout the Subjugation Operation.

But Thorben, even facing the Guardian Spirit Beast after such a long time, could not utter a single word before it.

CRACKLE, CRACKLE…!!!

The chubby baby dragon, in a deep sleep, tightly hugged a dark azure lightning flame like a pillow.

Within the Guardian Spirit Beast’s embrace, a fragment of black-azure lightning slowly whirled, rotating sluggishly.

Transcending even the forms of the baby dragon and the glass tube, the spacetime of the research facility and Vulcan.

Prioritizing all, shining like a star—

“Ah…”

Thud.

Thorben, staring blankly at it, forgot even to draw up his mana and fell to his knees on the spot.

Even without being told anything, the moment he faced it, the Tower Lord knew.

Because he was a wizard who inherited the causality of lightning, because he was a Seeker who pursued its meaning his entire life, he could understand.

The key that Akendrias El Thorben had searched for his entire life.

A miracle that precedes all causality, capable of going beyond the world’s end.

“So it was there…”

The old man’s eyes, filled with emotion, trembled, and words formed unwittingly.

His hands, slumped to the ground, trembled uncontrollably with emotion.

“It truly existed…”

“…”

A faint whisper, completely unlike his booming and hearty tone, as if it could extinguish at any moment.

But Thorben’s voice was deeply steeped in regret, whose end could not be known.

“The Ultimate Lightning (極雷)… it wasn’t just a vain illusion of the sages… For me, just that alone…”

Ultimate Lightning Magic (極雷魔法).

A miracle that only Transcendent beings, who carved the causality of lightning into their lives, dreamed of as they faded away.

The lightning of Prescience, existing prior to all causality, surpassing any ideology or affinity.

Thorben was also aware of the Lightning of Transcendence that Lennok had obtained through the Subjugation Operation.

He knew what an absurd miracle it was, a concept that couldn’t exist at this moment, which was why he had sought to confirm it with his own eyes.

Indeed, it was precisely because of this that Akendrias understood everything the moment he saw the Ultimate Lightning and bowed before it.

“…Van. This is…”

A scene both bizarre and somehow sublime, with the Guardian Spirit Beast embracing a fragment of the Ultimate Lightning in a deep sleep.

Was the Spirit Beast’s absence throughout the Subjugation Operation itself an arrangement for this very moment?

Even Evelyn, momentarily speechless at the unexpected sight, hesitated, while Lennok moved forward.

“The Ultimate Lightning is an enlightenment that reverses the process of understanding.”

Lennok, approaching Thorben from behind as he knelt, spoke.

“It refers to the Prescience (先覺) that does not exist, yet must exist.”

“…”

“Tower Lord. Because you conveyed its meaning to me, I was able to understand its concept relatively quickly.”

Lennok said, watching the dark azure lightning swirling beyond the test tube.

“That’s why I was able to forge it into a complete form, timed with Kaiser’s return.”

“…Disciple.”

“For every journey to transcendence isn’t an independent existence, but is intertwined within a complex web of causality, like a tangled thread.”

Lennok moved forward.

“Everything was decided before the Subjugation Operation began. All the experiences I went through were part of the process leading to this.”

“…”

“Learning Lightning Magic, acquiring the Domain, the enlightenment you conveyed… even all the failures I endured.”

Lennok stretched out his hand towards the sleeping Guardian Spirit Beast and murmured.

“I’m still reflecting on all of it, to leave behind this meaning.”

Not all the processes for obtaining Ultimate Lightning Magic were designed and accomplished during the Subjugation Operation.

If he hadn’t heard about the concept of Ultimate Lightning Magic from the Thorben Magic Tower Lord and researched it.

If he hadn’t received the Branching Point of Ban-gung and used rampaging Lightning Magic as a means of transcendence.

If he hadn’t realized a way to control the Ultimate Lightning using an Incarnation Body and truly obtained the Branching Point of Transcendence.

If he hadn’t clearly defined what he desired, everything Lennok had obtained would not have existed here.

Because his desires are clear, he can remain unshaken even on a boundless journey.

Even if he momentarily deviates from the orbit and strays from the path, he can always return to his original place.

Because he considered even unexpected incidents or failures as part of the process toward the next step, he always tried to leave opportunities open.

Because, despite facing difficulties multiple times before the Subjugation Operation began, he conserved his strength and looked toward the future.

Because he poured all the Will-thought and Mental Images he had reserved into this war, Lennok was finally able to grasp Ultimate Lightning Magic in his final showdown with Kaiser.

The lightning of Prescience, existing prior to all causality.

Its true meaning was—

“…I have no regrets.”

The Thorben Magic Tower Lord closed his eyes.

Kneeling, he bowed his head, his hands respectfully clasped as if in prayer.

“The miracle I sought to achieve, even by making myself a tool, is before my eyes. Now that I know the answer I longed for exists, what more could I wish for?”

“…”

“Disciple. Only the Ultimate Lightning you have obtained is the key to transcending all the world’s shackles. It will be the sole faith that can reach the gods of that sea.”

Thorben said, his eyes still closed.

“Now, Bonnoh can finally lay down his long mission, and bestow upon you all of Thorben’s name and rights—”

THUD!!

At that moment, Lennok extended the staff he was holding, blocking Thorben’s mouth.

Thorben, his mouth clamped shut by the staff handle against his chin, finally opened his eyes with a dumbfounded expression.

“S-shzzzzzl?”

“You seem to be mistaken about something.”

Lennok said with an expressionless face, still extending his staff.

“I didn’t show you the Ultimate Lightning because I wanted to inherit the duties you bear. I have no interest in such bothersome missions.”

“…”

“Regrettably, you’ll have to bear the name of Thorben for the rest of your life. I’m quite satisfied with my own name as it is.”

“…Hmph. How many names are as strong and impressive as Thorben’s, you say?”

Akendrias finally removed the staff pressing against his chin and grumbled.

“There are so many honors and benefits one can enjoy just by taking the name of Thorben. It’s not for nothing that Bonnoh joined the Magic Tower—”

“Let’s return to the main point. I didn’t show you the Ultimate Lightning solely to repay your teachings.”

Lennok retrieved his staff and said.

“I need your help in researching the Ultimate Lightning. I’ll compensate you thoroughly for this, so I ask for your cooperation.”

“Help? Disciple, you seem to be mistaken about something.”

Thorben scratched his head.

“At the point you obtained Ultimate Lightning Magic, you are already a great wizard incomparable to Bonnoh. A river of enlightenment far greater than the power gap between us must lie there.”

“…”

“Now, it feels more like Bonnoh should be asking you for teachings; I was even contemplating becoming your disciple. In the field of wielding lightning, what more could Bonnoh possibly do to help you?”

“Because enlightenment isn’t just about knowledge.”

Lennok replied.

“Akendrias El Thorben. There are aspects where your knowledge and insight, having lived as a noble of Ars Nova, are needed.”

“Hmm… I’ll tell you in advance, it might be better not to expect too much from Bonnoh regarding the Central knowledge…”

“I know. It’ll be faster to show you than to explain a hundred times.”

Lennok smiled, looking at Thorben, who had cowered with a diffident expression.

“Let’s do it the way we always do. That should be fine, right?”

“The way we always… do it, you mean?”

“Why ask when you already know?”

WHOOOOSH—!!

The moment Lennok said that and extended his hand, the entire research facility where the three stood shook violently.

A powerful tremor and resonance emanated from the glass tube where the Guardian Spirit Beast slept, and the moment Evelyn and Thorben simultaneously turned their gazes with surprised expressions.

The Ultimate Lightning (極雷) contained within the glass tube was caught in Lennok’s hand as if sucked in, transcending spacetime.

KWOOOOSH!!!!

A powerful surge exploded, an echo that seemed to shake the soul.

A fragment of dark azure lightning, held within Lennok’s hand, slowly rotated.

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t properly fought since the Subjugation Operation ended.”

“…Disciple.”

“Let’s have a match, Akendrias.”

KUOOOH!!!

CRACKLE, CRACKLE…!!

Lennok, unleashing black-azure lightning and spreading it like wings, turned towards Thorben and smiled.

“I’ll show you directly… how the Ultimate Lightning truly operates.”