Chapter 1285: Beyond Human (8)
Having received aid from the Ghost Travelogue discovered in Military Spirit City, Lennok had already surmised that the Demonic Realm Travelogue was no mere journal.
He had considered that it might be a significant medium in addition to its insights and information on the Demonic Realm, but he never imagined it would be a type of guide written by a Pathfinder.
‘Ethan possessed the talent of a Pathfinder.’
Lennok knew that Ethan had traveled the continent one last time before ceding his body to Kaiser, but he had never thought that even that journey was connected to Ethan’s abilities.
Could the Revived one have possessed the talent for finding paths, a gift considered among the rarest in the Central regions? In retrospect, it wasn’t so strange.
The ability to constantly remind oneself and remember coordinates and directions, demanded of a Pathfinder, had a commonality with Ethan’s Talent for Reversing Heaven, which reversed and restored physical information.
He had simply failed to realize the clear connection until it was directly told to him.
That the Bajour bloodline, whose story Lennok had brought to an end, possessed talents that would undoubtedly leave their mark on history.
Even the fact that Lennok still pondered this, long after everything had concluded.
Whoosh!!!
Lost in thought, Lennok, who had been walking over the shattered tunnel, turned his gaze.
A damp sea breeze blew over the terminal. A signal light, installed amidst the debris, blinked a red warning.
Aileen, who had been perched below the signal light, manipulating equipment, finally straightened up.
“Beacon installation is complete. We’ve received a rescue signal from a nearby city, so they’ll send people soon.”
“I see.”
“Instead of joining them, we’ll head straight to the Demonic Realm. Getting entangled with the Guido Cult problems would waste too much time. There’s also the risk of our carefully forged IDs being discovered.”
“Do conquest-oriented organizations like The Agency also use forged passports? Their financial situation must not be very good.”
“It’s not a financial issue, but the identities of The Agency members are so specialized that it’s impossible to make IDs for each one… wait, you don’t use a forged passport?”
Aileen, who had been absentmindedly answering, turned to Lennok with a slightly indignant expression, and Lennok pulled a passport from his pocket and tossed it to her.
Aileen opened the passport and stared at the photo, asking in exasperation.
“It’s not even you, it’s a completely different person’s passport. What is this?”
“I bought it on the black market.”
Lennok replied, walking past Aileen.
“It’s not hard to pass inspections using artifacts or magic.”
“…This is why wizards are such a pain.”
“Then, I shall follow your lead from now on. With the guide available, is it just a matter of getting close to the Demonic Realm somehow?”
While Aileen grumbled about him being annoying, Lennok scanned his surroundings.
“Following the direction of the collapsed tunnel would lead to land, but no matter what mode of transport we choose, we won’t get far.”
The seabed terminal was located near an unknown coast far from the Eastern Continent’s center.
The direction was correct for the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors, but traveling by land was further than anticipated.
This was unavoidable, as the terminal itself was not their original destination but a stopover for fuel replenishment.
“Actually, even if we had a working car, I’m not sure it would even run. You see the state of the tunnel, right?”
“……”
As a result of the pursuit battle during the fight with the Apostle, the tunnels everywhere had collapsed.
They were solidly frozen and crumbled, making them impossible to clear by ordinary means.
Only then did Lennok realize the gravity of the situation and fall into thought.
“I thought things would get easier once the guide was prepared, but it seems other problems remain…”
Lennok possessed abilities to deal with almost any situation, but he wasn’t entirely without weaknesses.
In particular, the issue of mobility had been one of Lennok’s long-standing concerns since his days as a freelancer.
Even now, having resolved that problem with various abilities and magic, the capability needed for ultra-long-distance travel was something Lennok had rarely equipped himself with.
Given Lennok’s tendency to operate alone, he had never felt the necessity for it, so it was natural for him to be troubled in this situation.
‘If I plan to operate in the Central regions in the future, this is a problem I need to seriously consider.’
If he wasn’t going to directly pull his Magic Tower around, he might need a means to travel between the Central regions and the continent.
No, strictly speaking, Lennok wasn’t without such means, but—
“People will arrive soon in response to the rescue signal.”
Aileen said, arms crossed, lost in thought.
“If we stay here, we’ll get caught up in troublesome investigations, so if you don’t want to become an internationally wanted criminal, let’s move.”
“Are we walking, then?”
“No. As I said, if we use the Order Alliance’s route, we can reach the Demonic Realm within a day.”
Aileen shrugged and walked ahead of Lennok.
Jumping over the broken tracks, she narrowed her eyes as if gauging direction and said.
“Originally, we would have needed more preparations, even just for entering the Demonic Realm, but with the guide, we’ll manage. The problem is that to go comfortably, we have to take a bit of a risk.”
“It’s the first time I’ve heard the words ‘comfortable’ and ‘risk’ coexist.”
“You’ll hear it often in the Demonic Realm, so get used to it. What’s your decision?”
“Let’s go.”
“This way.”
Shhhwaaa…!!
The sound of pushing through the bushes was suppressed and silenced with mana.
Even his breathing was held in, as Lennok crouched and quietly followed Aileen.
“Left. Move 25 meters, then right again.”
“……”
“Detection spellcraft found. I’ll find a detour and proceed.”
It sounded grand, but they were simply walking through endless bushes with no sense of direction.
Lennok watched her blankly as she swung her gunblade like a machete, clearing the brush, then spoke.
“It’s all well and good, but do we really have to move like this?”
“Excuse me, didn’t you agree to faithfully follow the guide’s instructions?”
Aileen turned her head and glared at Lennok.
“We need to be careful not to be caught while using the Order Alliance’s route. If a commotion breaks out, are you going to deal with it?”
“I understand the plan, but I don’t see any trace of the Order Alliance anywhere near here.”
It was good to reconfirm the value of the travelogue, but the seabed terminal was destroyed, eliminating their means of transport to the Demonic Realm.
Therefore, Lennok had accepted Aileen’s second suggestion—to use the Order Alliance’s route—and was now moving.
They had returned to land via the collapsed underwater tunnel and had been walking through the nearby forest for over 40 minutes.
It had been a long time since he had done something like this, not since he began preparing for the Subjugation Operation.
Of course, Lennok also agreed on the need for a cautious approach to the unknown Demonic Realm, but—
“The 9th Apostle we fought came to steal the miniature nuclear reactor The Legion had hidden in the seabed terminal.”
Aileen said, pushing through the bushes.
“That means… well, I did mention it once on the train before things blew up, but this area was under The Legion’s jurisdiction.”
“You don’t need to emphasize it twice; I hear you clearly.”
“If Deadrise was managing this area before their defeat in the Subjugation Operation, there should be a temporary command post used by The Legion’s leadership nearby.”
She casually ignored Lennok’s comment and glanced up.
“If there’s a command post nearby, there should also be a teleportation circle for rapid supply replenishment. We can activate that to instantly move to the Order Alliance’s outpost near the Demonic Realm.”
“…That’s a rather large leap in logic for a plan. You’re saying we take a teleportation circle left in a Legion command post and go to an Order Alliance outpost near the Demonic Realm?”
Lennok asked, frowning.
As soon as he heard the plan, he immediately sensed that several important connecting links were missing from her explanation.
“It’s strange enough to be so certain there’s a teleportation circle in the command post, but how would it lead specifically to the Order Alliance’s outpost and nowhere else?”
“I need a moment to explain that part—”
“Stop.”
At Lennok’s words from behind, Aileen froze in place.
Lennok tilted his head, watching her stand motionless, her foot still mid-step before touching the ground.
“Don’t worry, it’s not a landmine. Your reaction training for this kind of thing is excellent. Are all members of The Agency like that?”
“No, then why suddenly—”
“Ahead.”
Aileen, who had turned to Lennok about to say something, fixed her gaze only after hearing his words.
A sight imperceptible to Aileen’s senses, only faintly visible when concentrating her awareness after hearing Lennok’s words.
“That’s…”
Woong…!!
Amidst the dense bushes, dozens of tents were lined up.
Military antennas and wires were strung across the tent roofs, and scattered tanks and armored vehicles sat here and there.
Abandoned supplies were piled up in various places, and superhumans of unknown affiliation roamed around like ghosts.
It was obvious whose encampment these military tents, as if a large army had stayed and left, belonged to.
Lennok knelt beside Aileen, head lowered, and whispered.
“The Legion’s temporary command post you mentioned. It was closer than I thought.”
“…There are people who arrived at the command post before us.”
The presence of superhumans moving around the command post tents was more noticeable than expected.
These weren’t Deadrise soldiers in uniform, but individuals who were independent superhumans with considerable skill.
Many of them had unique appearances, like those covered in black armor from head to toe, or a deer-headed giant with blood-red antlers.
A burly, white-haired elderly man was puffing away on two cigars. A black swordsman sat across from him, counting money.
Even powerful spellcasters were everywhere, checking spellcraft or barriers, and focusing on personal maintenance.
Aileen’s expression instantly soured as she quickly scanned the surrounding superhumans.
“Black Knight. Kresnik. The Mercenary. Sadistic Order… Of all the groups.”
“Do you know them?”
“They’re among the more belligerent or malicious factions of the Central Front’s conquest-oriented organizations.”
Aileen replied quietly, carefully observing their faces through the bushes.
“It seems some powerful individuals stormed the command post as soon as trouble broke out at the terminal, and there are even famous superhumans mixed in whose faces I recognize.”
“……”
“Alpine’s Black Knight. The Battery of Endorose. Rymer of The Mercenary… I don’t know the man sitting in front of them, but let’s look around and find a way to infiltrate without being detected. For now—”
“No, let’s go straight in.”
Lennok gathered mana and rose from his spot, beginning to walk.
“I feel the presence of the teleportation circle you mentioned nearby. It’s close.”
“Wait, if you go straight, you’ll definitely be discovered…!”
Most spellcasters of the Order Alliance had mastered unique spellcraft or possessed distinctive talents.
And unique spellcraft typically consisted of abilities specialized for specific situations or battlefields.
According to Aileen’s experience, there were likely several spellcasters among the Order Alliance who specialized in reconnaissance.
The best course of action was to secretly infiltrate, kill the spellcaster with that ability first, and then find the teleportation circle.
At the moment Aileen unconsciously grabbed Lennok’s coat sleeve to explain this.
Hwoosh—
Aileen, realizing her presence had vanished, understood the nature of the ability and asked in disbelief.
“A-A concealment barrier…? How is it at this level?”
“It’s best to hold your breath if you can.”
Lennok walked towards the tents without looking back.
“Just hold on and follow.”
“……”
Startled, Aileen’s expression momentarily faltered, and she immediately shut her mouth.
She must have remembered that Lennok had inherited Jindun’s barrier spellcraft shortly after.
‘Cheonbeon’s identity is uniquely convenient in this regard.’
What happened in the Hanghasa Labyrinth was Lennok’s most significant achievement from working with the Eyes of Blue.
Evan Martinez, as known to the world, was the sole legitimate successor to Jindun’s barrier spellcraft.
Therefore, no matter how advanced the barrier spellcraft Lennok unleashed, no one doubted how it was possible.
Furthermore, as barrier spellcraft advanced, it could be freely applied in all fields and situations.
Just as Jindun had reigned like a god in the labyrinth, it was literally a power that could directly control all situations.
When dealing with diverse situations, Cheonbeon indeed offered more freedom compared to other identities.
This was why Lennok chose the identity of Cheonbeon first when exploring or breaking through unknown territories.
‘For conquest-oriented organizations exploring the Demonic Realm, barrier spellcraft must be an important factor in why they desire Cheonbeon. If so—’
Demonstrating it clearly here wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Stomp, stomp…!!
With Aileen holding his coat sleeve, Lennok unhesitatingly stepped towards the command post tents.
As their presence and sound were silenced, cold whispers from superhumans all around could be heard.
Powerful high-level superhumans, as if by agreement, were all looking towards the direction where the seabed terminal had surfaced.
Their eyes were cold, somber, and sunken. Their will-thoughts, turbid and inorganic, suggested countless lives taken.
“Something definitely happened at the seabed terminal. Albus, are you going to check it out?”
“The fighting might not be over… If we move now, we’ll get needlessly entangled.”
“It’s a monster with an enormous amount of mana, enough to freeze the Sea of Understanding. It’s dangerous until we know its objective.”
“A very powerful ice-elemental Transcendent intervened. It might be better to leak the information to the Central Front.”
Heavy mana and will-thoughts flashed everywhere, and with each flash, the figures of superhumans sharpened and then faded.
They strapped on artifacts, fiddled with weapons and armaments, and cast successive enhancement spellcraft and blessings.
Hwoosh!!
They walked through the center of the encampment at a dangerously close distance, where superhumans’ gazes and clothes might brush them.
The tension was so palpable that even Aileen, walking behind Lennok, flinched at the proximity.
At that moment, the white-haired elderly man, who had been staring at a tablet for some time, suddenly turned his head.
‘…!’
The sharp-faced black swordsman sitting across from him reacted.
“Platon. What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing.”
The elderly man, called Platon, replied with a beast-like grin.
“It felt like something just passed by, but I must have been mistaken.”
“You said you were returning to The Mercenary after a long time, but you can’t concentrate. Was your excursion in Vulcan that enjoyable?”
“Hmm, I wonder?”
Platon stroked his chin, his gaze fixed on where Lennok and Aileen stood, and said.
“Running a mercenary company was fun, but I didn’t get to enjoy it to the very end. So I’m still a little unsatisfied.”
“……”
“I wish there was someone who could resolve this uncomfortable feeling… Well, never mind.”
Platon chuckled and turned his head.
“Finding people with only this ambiguous presence has become boring after doing it for so long.”
He knew, but he didn’t know.
He was perceptive enough to intuitively sense someone was hidden, but not enough to see through Lennok’s true identity.
But Lennok, hearing the name Platon, unconsciously paused for a moment.
He felt as if he had definitely heard that name many times a long time ago—
Hwoosh!!
Seeing Aileen’s face turn pale as she held her breath, Lennok halted his thoughts and moved.
Lennok glanced at the largest tent, located at the very end of the command post.
‘It’s inside. It seems to be the teleportation circle.’
‘Are you sure? One mistake and we’ll be exposed—’
‘We’ll see for ourselves.’
Lennok whispered, ushering Aileen into the tent.
Hwoosh!!
The tent fabric swayed as if a gentle breeze had passed, and Lennok and Aileen stepped inside.
The empty tent was filled with all sorts of catalysts and artifacts of unknown origin.
In the center of the tent, large enough for ten people, a blue slate radiated light.
Wooooooong…!!!
“After checking, there are no stronger spacetime distortion points in the command post. It must be the teleportation circle.”
Lennok, having covered the entrance with the tent fabric, finally glanced at the magic circle.
“The symbols and characters used are few, yet it’s unusually well-stabilized. Is there someone among the Central superhumans who has mastered this level of barrier spellcraft?”
“No. This is not something made by a mortal spellcaster.”
Aileen knelt and ran a hand over the slate, shaking her head.
“It’s a part of an artifact found in the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors, specifically, a [Solar Calendar] made of 18 fragments.”
“…A Solar Calendar?”
“Among The Empire’s legacy buried in the Demonic Realm, there are items that utilize powers or spellcraft of such high dimension that modern technology cannot replicate them.”
Aileen said, then gripped her gunblade and brought it to her wrist.
“That’s why even someone of my ruined noble lineage is useful in a place like this.”
The True Blood of a noble flowed down her wrist and dripped onto the blue-glowing slate.
The moment a drop of blood fell, the entire slate was stained crimson and began to glow faintly.
The spacetime before Aileen’s eyes distorted and slowly began to warp.
Creeaak…!!
“……”
If one were to smear paint on empty air without a canvas, would it feel like this?
It was the most precise and stable form of spatial distortion Lennok had ever seen. Proof that the distortion point before them was created with The Empire’s technology.
Only then did Lennok understand why Aileen knew there was a teleportation circle here, and why she was so certain it would lead to the Order Alliance’s outpost.
Because she already held in her hands both the method to activate the teleportation circle and the way to set its destination and direction.
“I’ll tell you something before we use the teleportation circle.”
Aileen said, rising with a slightly hardened expression.
“My abilities allow me to slightly alter the arrival coordinates, but it won’t deviate significantly from the destination, the Order Alliance outpost. This isn’t a general spatial transfer device; it works by using the gravitational pull between the fragments of the Solar Calendar.”
“Is this an extension of the risks you mentioned earlier?”
“Until now, we’ve been subtly changing the arrival coordinates to use the teleportation circle without being detected by the Order Alliance, but this time, the situation is different.”
Aileen nodded, looking at Lennok.
“In case we’re detected by the Order Alliance, let’s set a rendezvous point beforehand. If things go wrong, we’ll split up and meet inside the Demonic Realm.”
“……”
“I’ve marked the coordinates I know in the travelogue you have, so if by any chance something goes wrong—”
“I understand what you’re saying, so let’s move.”
Lennok said, glancing over.
“It seems they’ve noticed us outside the tent.”
Perhaps it was impossible to perfectly conceal the activation presence of the teleportation circle once the concealment barrier was released.
He could feel the awareness of the superhumans, previously fixed on the terminal’s direction, rapidly shifting towards them.
Aileen also immediately understood Lennok’s words, her expression changing drastically.
“H-hurry!”
She plunged into the distortion point without hesitation, and Lennok moved immediately as well.
He briefly released his Targeted Resistance and stepped into the teleportation circle.
Space twisted and distorted, as if tearing his entire body apart, bending spacetime coordinates and instantly leaping across an immense distance.
Clatter, bang!!!
“Ugh…!!”
Lennok and Aileen tumbled out of the distortion point and rolled into a warehouse filled with supplies.
Lennok lay amidst the pile of goods, staring blankly.
“Where is this?”
“It’s the Order Alliance’s outpost food storage, located near the Demonic Realm.”
Aileen scrambled up, grabbing her gunblade, and extended a hand to Lennok.
Her expression was much more urgent than before crossing the teleportation circle.
“There are hardly any of the mana patterns I remember around the outpost. We need to move as quickly as possible…!!”
“……”
Did she instinctively sense trouble as soon as they crossed the teleportation circle, a ranger’s unique intuition?
Aileen herself had prepared countermeasures for such a situation, so they should just follow that plan.
But Lennok, even knowing this, looked at Aileen’s outstretched hand and didn’t move.
“Martinez, quickly…!”
Fwosh!!
At that moment, Aileen suddenly realized someone was standing at the warehouse entrance, where no one had been, and spun around.
The man leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed, staring at them.
“Oh.”
The man, exuding cold, heavy mana from his entire body, met Lennok’s gaze and smiled.
“You’re much more easygoing than the rumors say. You’re still so composed in this situation?”
“I had a feeling something was off ever since we came through the magic circle.”
Lennok looked up at the man and straightened himself.
“On the other hand, I didn’t think a Ranger would betray us after coming all this way. There were many better opportunities before now.”
“……”
“So, if we were detected, I thought the problem wasn’t with us, but with the Order Alliance… I was just looking around.”
“Good. It’s been a while since someone I can talk to came to the Demonic Realm. My name is Iron Spirit Spell Master.”
The man burst into laughter at Lennok’s words, then grinned and said.
“Why don’t we, as fellow Apostle-Slayers, have a little chat?”
The Order Alliance outpost built near the jungle adjacent to the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors.
Upon entering the very heart of that outpost, they were immediately confronted by an Apostle-Slayer.
‘It seems the number of Apostle-Slayers is gradually increasing during the war with the Guido Cult.’
After their defeat in the holy war and the retreat of the Apostles, the Guido Cult had long refrained from activity across the continent.
During that time, only about three or four individuals, including Cheonbeon and the Conjunction Spell Master, were known as Apostle-Slayers across the continent.
Yet, if the man before him was an Apostle-Slayer of the Order Alliance, it was right to assume he was a superhuman who had newly slain an Apostle without Lennok’s knowledge.
Groooowl…!!!
Though no spellcraft was used, his presence was not just chilling, but almost hollow.
An aura so otherworldly that if Lennok hadn’t known he belonged to the Order Alliance, he might have thought him an Apostle.
Was this the kind of aura other Apostle-Slayers, not Lennok or the Conjunction Spell Master, radiated?
He must undoubtedly be one of the highly esteemed Spell Masters within the Order Alliance.
“Hmm? Your reaction is much weaker than I expected.”
However, the Spell Master tilted his head, looking puzzled at Lennok’s indifferent response.
The Spell Master held up the insignia tied to his wrist, making sure Lennok could see it, and said.
“Surely you’re not an Apostle-Slayer who doesn’t recognize this insignia? That’s quite surprising.”
Click!!
As the Spell Master approached, Aileen immediately tightened her grip on her blade.
She cocked the firing mechanism and placed her finger on the trigger, causing the Spell Master to halt in his tracks.
“The Holy Gunblade Wielder of The Agency. I’ve heard of you.”
The Spell Master said leisurely, looking at the gun pointed at him.
“Someone from a high noble lineage, handling special equipment provided only to The Empire’s [Alpha Rangers], I believe. There was some talk about your background even within the Order Alliance.”
“……”
“Indeed, there are many interesting individuals among the conquest-oriented organizations. Though, they must be out of their minds to volunteer for the Central Front conquest at the risk of their lives.”
“Slowly move away from the entrance.”
Aileen said, her expression cold, as she aimed at the man and slowly moved to Lennok’s side.
“If you try anything funny, I’ll shoot immediately.”
“I’m curious about the power of Ultima Sword Art, but you’re not who I want to ask about.”
The man glanced over.
“Evan Martinez. The fact that you’re here means you’re interested in the Demonic Realm, doesn’t it? And you probably have a rough idea of what’s inside.”
“……”
“Let’s get straight to the point. If you want to enter the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors, cooperate with the Order Alliance.”
The man tilted his head, shaking the insignia on his wrist.
“We need your power as an Apostle-Slayer to gain an advantage in the war against the Guido Cult. If you accept our proposal, the Order Alliance will personally guide you to the heart of the Demonic Realm.”
“The war with the Guido Cult, you say…”
Lennok remembered the words he had heard from the former 9th Apostle at the seabed terminal and asked.
“Are the Order Alliance and the Guido Cult preparing for their final battle near the Demonic Realm?”
“No. The war has already begun. The real battlefield isn’t outside the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors, but inside.”
The Spell Master said.
“The Order Alliance and the Guido Cult clashed throughout the Demonic Realm, and currently, the Guido Cult’s 7th Apostle and the Order Alliance’s Grand Spell Master are in combat. The long-standing war will reach its conclusion there.”
“…What?”