Chapter 1312: The Grand General’s Mausoleum (10)

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!

Three Transcendent beings confronted each other in the center of the vast burial chamber where the Grand General’s body was interred.

The Grand Spell Master cloaked in smoke made from burning souls. The Seventh Apostle, her Satellite Crusher stained with thousands of lives.

And at the center, Lennok, with eight suns blazing behind his back, extending both hands.

“Crimson Star System…!!”

The Yeonri Spell Master’s flat voice twisted chillingly for the first time.

Any spellcaster of the Alliance would surely know what happened at the First Gate.

The spellcaster’s eyes, fixed on the eight burning suns, seemed to rot from within.

“Is that the Solar Apex, the one who killed Chapman? It wasn’t unusable after all—”

“Kya ha ha ha! Is that the peak of amplification you’re talking about?”

The Seventh Apostle, with her Satellite Crusher slung over her shoulder, slowly lowered her stance, her eyes gleaming.

“You didn’t use that when you killed our sister Amrita. Is this discrimination or what?”

“This time, I’ll share it fairly with both of you, so don’t worry.”

Lennok smiled coldly, drawing up his magic.

“Thanks to the Cult and the Alliance, I’ve had a relatively easy journey here, so I should definitely repay that favor.”

Whoosh!!!!

Lennok, carrying the eight suns, stepped forward and raised his hands.

“I’ll turn you to ash before you can even feel the pain.”

“Kya ha ha ha! Did you read some superstition about killing vampires? Too bad, it’s useless now.”

Lariata burst into laughter, grinning as she shifted her gaze, her Satellite Crusher still on her shoulder.

The Seventh Apostle’s eyes, staring at the Grand General’s body covered in black hands, instantly turned cold.

“With the Communion Ritual underway, the Grand General won’t awaken. If he doesn’t rise, we can use our abilities freely. Did you think you were the only one holding back?”

“Your thought process is severely warped. You’re more wary of the Grand General awakening than the Outer God descending?”

“Isn’t that obvious? He was a butcher who even caught the Emperor’s eye and rose to the position of Grand General.”

The Seventh Apostle stuck out her tongue, giggled grotesquely, and stretched her bat wings taut.

“He’s a Transcendent who, even in death, dominates these Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors. Unlike our Outer God, who can’t use their full power freely right now, if he awakens, he’ll stomp us all like insects!”

“…”

The Grand General of Brilliance was a Transcendent who sustained this hell by letting his blood flow throughout the Demonic Realm.

Even in death, he was a powerful monster capable of twisting space by wrapping his will-thought around the entire Mausoleum.

Unlike the Outer God, who descends after receiving offerings, he was a slaughterer who could rampage without any cost or restrictions.

Is that why the Apostle and the Spell Master moved the moment the Communion Ritual began, confirming the Grand General would not awaken?

“So, let’s settle this here before everything is ruined.”

The Yeonri Spell Master’s dim gaze flickered through his ash-grey hair.

“Before either the Outer God or the Grand General awakens, the Order Alliance will reclaim the Empire’s legacy.”

Play…?

At that moment, the black hand flickering behind Lennok inclined its head faintly.

As if sensing the flow of this moment, even without hearing Lennok’s words or being aware of his presence.

It glanced without interest at the scene below the altar, like one looking at crawling insects beneath their feet.

Insects, play…?

Fight, you…?

Defy, you…?

The voice, which had been blankly observing the Spell Master and Apostle unleashing killing intent toward Lennok, wavered aimlessly.

The sticky, wavering black hand slowly clenched into a fist before Lennok’s eyes.

Crunch.

Kill…?

As countless blood vessels instantly engorged on the back of the black hand, the Outer God asked.

Should I kill…?

“…”

Lennok did not reply.

The mere fact that he remained unharmed after hearing the Outer God’s voice was proof that Lennok had reached a different level than before.

But this was not the moment to accept the Outer God’s words, or to grant its plea or request.

Tell, me…

Just one request, that’s all…

Then, no price… needed…

Unlike the Seventh Apostle’s claim that the Outer God required a price to use its power, the black hand intended to kill the Spell Master and the Apostle without any compensation.

The Outer God’s constant whisper, that it could accomplish all this with just one ‘request’ from Lennok.

However, Lennok had not yet confirmed the meaning behind the Outer God’s reaction.

If Lennok’s request was the kind that ignored all prices.

If it was part of a privilege connected to the Pontiff’s causality, not Lennok’s.

In the worst-case scenario, Lennok’s causality could assimilate into the same form as the Pontiff’s.

So, here—

Groooowl!

Lariata, gripping her Satellite Crusher, and the Yeonri Spell Master, puffing on his pipe, exuded chilling mana as they took a step.

They circled the Grand General’s body from three directions, then accelerated with tremendous speed in a flash.

Fwaaaah!!!

Misty thorns rained down, and Blood Magic materialized above Lennok’s head, compressing space.

The Spell Master and Apostle, watching each other but attacking Lennok as if by agreement, unleashed their spellcraft.

But Lennok, aware of this, did not use any special incantations or spells.

He merely clenched his fists, with the eight suns still floating behind him and his hands spread wide.

Heat-Type Unique Magic

Property Transformation Amplification Zenith

Crimson Star System: Solar Apex

“Initiating release.”

Wooooooooosh!!!!!!

The eight suns floating behind Lennok began to rotate explosively, increasing their output.

A technique that purely boosts firepower by using the ‘Spark’ acquired as Cheonbeon as its Mana Core.

With this alone, it began to devour and incinerate the attacks of the Spell Master and Apostle rushing in from both sides.

Kwaaah!!!!

“…!!!!”

Lariata’s Blood Magic exploded, and the Spell Master’s manipulated mist was extinguished before it could even get close.

Such immense firepower forced the Yeonri Spell Master and the Seventh Apostle, who had been rapidly closing the distance while unleashing spellcraft, to instinctively twist their bodies.

Kwagagagaga!!!

Every time the eight suns orbited, the ceiling and walls of the burial chamber evaporated, annihilating everything that approached.

Lennok slowly wielded the Crimson Star System, not even looking back at the Spell Master and Apostle, who had veered in the opposite direction.

Overwhelming firepower that denied all approach, simply by rotating the Mana Core without any incantation.

“Kya ha ha ha! This crazy bastard, he’s actually using a Mana Core as a heat source!”

Lariata shrieked maniacally as she swung her Satellite Crusher with all her might towards the descending star.

The burning star rotated, coiling around the Satellite Crusher’s blade, and pressed down on the vampire along with the flames.

Kugugugu!!!

Under the encroaching heat, Lariata’s wing membranes burned, revealing dried bones.

She plunged her instantly mangled wings into the ground, then sprang forward.

As Lariata slammed her Satellite Crusher down on Lennok’s crown, the star landed on the ground.

Behind the two of them, an enormous pillar of fire shot up, vertically piercing the entire burial chamber.

Kwwaaahhh!!!

“Kuhuhuhut, so there was a reason for my heavy ass all this time…!!!!”

Lariata spat, speaking through the burning flames.

“You said it was a spell that needed warming up, but it seems you’ve been seriously charging up your firepower?!”

“Heat-type magic is straightforward, but preheating can be achieved through various tricks…”

Lennok looked into Lariata’s gleaming eyes and chuckled.

“If you know that, then try to avoid it.”

Kwaaaah!!

He deflected the axe blade, bouncing it off the ground, then stepped on the long pipe coming from behind.

Time slowed beyond accelerated consciousness, and in a flash, a rapid exchange of blows with the Spell Master.

Boom!! Udududuk!!!

Flames burst and smoke scattered, as arms tangled and clashed through the thick haze.

The Spell Master’s body scattered into smoke between the pillars throughout the burial chamber, constantly shifting his position.

Kagagagak!!!

Drrrrrrruk!!!

The Yeonri Spell Master, who repeatedly transformed into mist to deceive the senses, clashed with Lennok, who orbited his stars in place.

The Seventh Apostle, with her Satellite Crusher, raged madly, tearing through the gap between them and clashing from the opposite side.

Kwagagagagwang!!!!

‘I see why Chapman was defeated. The output of the Crimson Star System isn’t something you can handle head-on.’

‘I can counter with the Satellite Crusher, but the force stifles my movements. In that case—’

All eight sparks that comprised the Crimson Star System were Mana Cores with different properties and abilities.

The eight stars orbited Lennok, supplying and resonating with nearly infinite mana.

Lennok’s spellcraft, crafted with amplification secret arts, borrowing the laws of the cosmos, was an overwhelming force that had reached the zenith of heat-type magic itself.

In a direct contest of firepower, even the Seventh Apostle and the Grand Spell Master had no way to contend for long.

‘Insanely powerful, but equally heavy and slow. Not moving even after releasing the spell is because it requires that much preheating.’

‘If we’re pushed back head-on, we have no choice but to exploit its weakness. If we erode his nerves and deplete him, forcing him to reveal his abilities…!’

The Spell Master and Apostle, reaching similar conclusions almost simultaneously, rapidly circled Lennok.

Smoke and blood exploded and mixed between the mausoleum pillars, spreading a thick, bloody mist everywhere.

Boom!! Dudududu—!!!

The pillar behind Lennok shattered, and Lariata, swinging her Satellite Crusher, burst out.

A colorless mist swirled through the collapsing pillar fragments, sharply grazing his lungs.

Spellcraft rained down from a distance untouchable by the Crimson Star System, and a single, sharp attack plunged in a fleeting moment that made his nape prickle.

But Lennok remained unshaken by the torrent of distractions and indiscriminate attacks from all sides.

“Quick judgment. You changed direction as soon as you saw the Crimson Star System?”

As Lennok slowly opened and closed his eyes, a golden filament surged explosively in his vision.

“But that’s wrong too.”

[Pseudo-Authority Deployment]

[Corrupted Golden Rule Manifestation]

Boom!!!

He met the vampire’s falling slash with a wall of flames and kicked away the Spell Master’s form that was darting at his side.

He casually grasped the surging flames all around, slamming them into the vampire’s neck, and stomped the Spell Master with a burst of fire beneath his feet.

Splat!! Crackle!!!

He pierced the thick smoke sphere with a flame spear and shattered the Blood Magic circle above his head with a Thunderclap.

A barrage of explosive flames ignored and penetrated all counterattacks and defenses attempted by Lariata and the Yeonri Spell Master.

At that unbelievably unreasonable exchange rate, the complexions of the two Transcendent beings visibly changed.

‘What, I can’t block—’

‘It’s not spellcraft. No way—!!’

P-p-p-p-pow!!!

Before they could finish their thoughts, dozens of overlapping explosions erupted at close range.

The Seventh Apostle, head-first, had her face scraped off the ground, and the Spell Master, stomped by Lennok, had his arm and shoulder burst open.

Avoiding the Satellite Crusher that split the mausoleum ceiling, and the chains of smoke surging from below, Lennok generated a shockwave of flames.

The third sun, orbiting behind Lennok, explosively swelled in place, devouring everything.

Crimson Star System: Solar Apex

Third Star: Convergence

[Resonance of the Womb-Star Spring]

[Full Crimson]

“…!!!”

“Damn it—”

Kwaaaahhhhh!!!!!

The sun that had blossomed in the center of the burial chamber spun in a circle, sweeping through the entire ceiling and walls.

A single blow rendered futile the Grand Spell Master’s arrangements that constantly generated smoke to fill the chamber, and the Seventh Apostle’s suppression as she swung her Satellite Crusher and unleashed Blood Magic.

This was the first formal incantation used since activating the Crimson Star System. Its power swept the entire burial chamber with a single spell.

As they were crushed by the burning sun, just before being devoured, the understanding of the Grand Spell Master and the Seventh Apostle converged simultaneously.

“Domain deployment.”

Paaahhhhhh!!!!!!

Colorless ripples covered the burial chamber and spun, unfolding a completely different landscape in that very spot.

Domain Deployment

Connection Hierarchy Mind Imprint

[Flowing Grain Day Mist Domain]

Eight incense sticks burned precariously, flickering on a giant smoke altar.

The thick mist that spread everywhere formed a vast barrier, enveloping spacetime.

The Seventh Apostle, holding the Satellite Crusher upside down, brought the axe blade to her own neck and muttered.

“…Domain deployment.”

Slice!!

As her carotid artery was severed, Lariata’s neck erupted in a fountain of blood.

The essence of Lariata, who had explosively increased her blood volume, was on the verge of dying, transforming from an Apostle to something closer to a True Blood vampire.

Domain Deployment

Sacrifice Hierarchy Mind Imprint

[Evil Blood Frenzy Domain]

Dark red liquid dripped like tears, forming a vast pool of blood beneath her feet.

From behind Lariata emerged a colossal, pale-faced woman in elaborate robes with unbound hair, weeping tears of blood.

Aaahhhhh…

As the woman opened her mouth, blood tears continuously streamed from her eyes, dyeing the spacetime of the Domain a vivid crimson.

The Yeonri Spell Master’s Domain, Flowing Grain Day Mist Domain. Lariata Armush’s Domain, Evil Blood Frenzy Domain.

The moment the two Transcendent beings simultaneously deployed their Domains, revealing abilities they couldn’t properly use in their previous battle.

“You weren’t so foolish as to learn nothing from your last mistake.”

Lennok, standing on the boundary line where the two Domains overlapped, raised his gaze.

“So you’ve adjusted to use your Domain’s unique abilities. You haven’t agreed to this, but your thought processes are quite similar.”

“Evan Martinez.”

The Yeonri Spell Master’s eyes, enveloped in the mist overflowing everywhere, gleamed coldly.

Lennok’s unfathomable level of power, displayed just before the Domain deployment.

The Spell Master, who had been searching for the Pseudo-Authority, instantly sensed where that utterly unreasonable ability originated.

“You… you obtained the Pseudo-Authority. You were the one who took the Authority the Grand General was guarding.”

“…”

“Since when? No… it’s meaningless to ask such things.”

The Spell Master said, lowering his head deeply.

“I will reclaim the miracle that rightfully belongs to the Alliance right here.”

The Yeonri Spell Master’s Domain, Flowing Grain Day Mist Domain, had the power to gather flowing things and transform them into mist under its control.

While Flowing Grain Day Mist Domain was deployed, the Yeonri Spell Master could manipulate anything in a fluid state by transforming it into smoke and clouds.

Blood and oil, mana and will-thought. Even attacks and spellcraft aimed at him.

Anything that existed as a flowing concept could be wrapped around.

Whoooooosh!!!!

The mist all around, the pool of blood beneath his feet, and the mana of the Spell Master and Apostle, scattered and uncontrolled from the previous clash.

All of it, without any process, transformed into mist, densely filling the spacetime within the Domain.

Incense Burning Divine Descent

Candle-Carving Intent Obscurity

Chiiiiiiiik!!!!

Inside the Domain, incense sticks burned, continuously emitting thick mist.

As the incense sticks shortened, the Spell Master’s presence, enveloped in mist, scattered and became so faint that it was impossible to find any trace.

A divine skill that temporarily erased his own existence from the world by scattering not only his body and will-thought but even his soul into smoke.

[Soul Smoke]

Kwaaaang!!!!

A traceless blow, directly hitting Lennok’s shoulder, exploded, scattering violent flames.

The Yeonri Spell Master’s invisible offensive directly striking Lennok within the Domain, ignoring the stars of the Crimson Star System.

P-p-p-p-pow!!!!

The materialized mist exploded upon contact with Lennok’s body, tearing through his barrier and skin.

An ultimate, traceless spellcraft that required him to ignite flames upon impact to twist the attack direction and change its trajectory to react.

Towards Lennok, who was countering the attacks of the non-existent Spell Master, Lariata slowly raised her gaze.

Her neck, nearly severed in half, dangled, continuously gushing blood.

“Ah, ha… I didn’t want to use this. It really feels disgusting every time I commit suicide.”

Splish!

A woman several times larger than Lariata, weeping tears of blood, slowly crawled forward.

Every time her pale hands touched the pool of blood, a chilling ripple pulsed and spread.

Soon, the entire Domain deployed by the Seventh Apostle began to throb like a single heart.

Thump, thump…!!

Lariata Armush’s Domain, Evil Blood Frenzy Domain, was a Root Mindscape that had been corrupted when she fell from a True Blood vampire to a Seventh Apostle.

It was a Domain that could only be deployed after Lariata committed suicide once, bringing her closer to a True Blood vampire than an Apostle.

Unlike normal Domains, due to its corrupted nature, its true power was not exerted immediately after deployment, but just before it ended.

During the deployment of Evil Blood Frenzy Domain, all damage inflicted upon Lariata was transferred to the summoned woman within the Domain, the Blood Princess—

And just before the Domain ended, the damage received by the Blood Princess was forcibly inflicted upon everyone, including the caster herself, throughout the entire spacetime of the Domain.

A confirmed area attack that forced sacrifice upon all beings who set foot within the Domain, including the Seventh Apostle herself.

Since it even included Lariata’s own suicide required for Domain deployment, the attack possessed the property of instant death.

“Kya ha ha ha ha! Then let’s kill each other to the very end…!!!”

Kwaaaang!!!!

Lariata, gripping her Satellite Crusher, recklessly plunged into the Crimson Star System enveloping Lennok.

The vampire’s body was engulfed in flames from the burning Mana Core, yet she advanced without losing strength or faltering.

The kneeling Blood Princess’s body burned, overflowing with blood tears, and she gathered the blood flowing beneath her feet to cast Blood Magic.

A vast tide of blood surged, sweeping away and clutching everything, turning it into a handful of crimson liquid.

Blood Style, 8th Order

[Myriad Blood Sea]

Kwagagagagaga!!!!!

Amidst the overflowing sea of blood, the Yeonri Spell Master’s offensive struck dozens of times in a flash.

Lariata’s frenzied laughter as she withstood the Crimson Star System’s firepower head-on and broke through with her Satellite Crusher.

The Spell Master and Apostle, staring at Lennok’s expressionless face, moved with almost identical thoughts.

‘Outside the Domain, the Grand General is performing the Communion Ritual. This time, he can’t use Conjunction Spellcraft.’

‘If we let our Domains rampage, the Communion Ritual will definitely be disrupted. Try it if you want to die!!!’

It wasn’t a clash of magic or spellcraft, but a fluctuation of Domains clashing and Root Mindscapes going berserk; the Communion Ritual would definitely be affected.

The Communion Ritual itself might shatter and explode, or the Grand General might awaken and try to kill everything that had invaded the Demonic Realm.

The Spell Master and Apostle, with their extra lives, might endure for a while, but would that incredibly strong wizard also have more chances?

‘Without Conjunction Spellcraft, you’ll have to deploy your Domain too. How long can you hold out…!!’

‘Choose!!! If you don’t use your Domain, we’ll kill you!!!’

The will-thought and spiritual energy of the Seventh Apostle and the Grand Spell Master, pouring insane attacks towards Lennok, surged to their limits, momentarily reaching transcendence.

The Yeonri Spell Master’s will-thought, which had gone beyond the world’s perception, became a traceless, thoughtless, formless strike that pierced the heart.

And the Seventh Apostle Lariata’s Satellite Crusher, having broken through the Crimson Star System, descended as a death sentence amidst the Blood Princess’s scream.

Yeonri-Type Esotericism

[Soundless Thought]

Blood Style, 0th Order

[Blood Shade]

“Diiiiiieeeeee!!!!”

“No. I won’t hesitate.”

The eight stars converged into a single point in Lennok’s hand, deflecting all incoming attacks from every direction.

Kwaaaahhhhh!!!!

The eight Mana Cores forming the Crimson Star System spiraled and converged into a single point, compressing into a grotesque form.

Immediately after, an immense gravitational force erupted, distorting spacetime and sweeping away the ultimate techniques of the Spell Master and Apostle.

“…!!!”

“There’s no need to analyze or understand your Domains’ abilities any further.”

Lennok, having activated the Corrupted Golden Rule, slowly opened his eyes, observing the overflowing causality.

“The final destination of the Crimson Star System, powered by a Mana Core… it’s already in my hands.”

Crimson Star System: Solar Apex

First Star: Crimson Shadow

Second Star: Star Palace

Third Star: Convergence

Fourth Star: Six Records

Fifth Star: Ghost Flame

Sixth Star: Chroma Absorption

Seventh Star: Jade Ring

Eighth Star: Tribulation’s Sky

Full power operation from First Star Crimson Shadow to Eighth Star Tribulation’s Sky.

“Initiating compression.”

Kwooooohhhhh!!!!

The eight Mana Cores merged into one within Lennok’s hand, forcibly generating a transcendent gravitational pull.

A magnificent sight of colossal stars intertwining and colliding, manifesting immense gravity as a reaction.

As Lennok, clutching this immense gravitational mass in one hand, shifted his gaze, the Yeonri Spell Master and Apostle also realized.

The Crimson Star System was an amplification secret art for wielding infinite energy using sparks as Mana Cores.

Then, the ultimate ‘power source’ that those Mana Cores could finally reach was—

“No way…!!!!”

“Merge.”

He pushed the essence of Pyrokinesis, which he had always used as Cheonbeon, to its extreme.

At the apex, it reverted to the foundational essence of heat-type magic, where beginning and end met.

In an eternal cycle, the eight stars merged into one, distorting for a fleeting moment.

The miniature Singularity Reactor created in Lennok’s hand sucked in everything, devouring spacetime itself.

Lennok’s temporary ninth attainment, achieved by using the core of an already existing Singularity Reactor as material.

Temporarily pulling forward the ninth star that a future Lennok would have to directly create through the Crimson Star System—

Heat-Type Unique Magic

Property Transformation Amplification Zenith

Crimson Star System: Solar Apex

Ninth Star: Devourer Star

“Manifest.”

A black sun rose and rotated in Lennok’s hand.

A silent apocalypse.

Neither the Soundless Thought, a traceless strike falling from beyond the world’s perception, nor the ultimate Blood Shade, where Blood Style was superimposed on the Satellite Crusher.

Neither the fluid transformation of Flowing Grain Day Mist Domain, nor the instant death judgment of Evil Blood Frenzy Domain, could withstand the black sun that appropriated the Singularity Reactor’s core; they were sucked in and annihilated.

The ultimate engine, formless, rotating in Lennok’s hand, devouring all creation and transforming it into a power source.

The dazzling light of darkness, piercing through the entire burial chamber, shattered the Domains, surged upwards, and rotated violently.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaah—!!!!!!

“Kuh…!!!!”

Such immense impact that Aileen, pale-faced and digging into the altar, was thrown back.

The human handprints covering the walls fell off in droves from the shock, and the entire burial chamber shook violently.

A colossal explosion, so powerful that one could feel the entire mausoleum facility slowly beginning to collapse.

“Haa, haa…!!!”

The heat filling the burial chamber was so intense that even breathing was difficult.

A strange phenomenon where the air density instantly thinned, as if oxygen and mana particles had all burned up and evaporated.

Aileen, who had been lying down, laboriously raised her head and saw someone walking out from beyond the dazzling darkness.

Thump, thump.

Lennok emerged slowly from the dark radiance, holding something limp in both hands.

His figure, covered in blood and walking with an expressionless face, was chillingly eerie.

“…Martinez?”

Thump.

Lennok, stopping before the stammering Aileen, dropped what he had been dragging onto the floor.

The ashes of the Grand Spell Master and the Seventh Apostle, lifeless.

As Aileen stared blankly at the two Transcendent beings’ faces, contorted in agony, Lennok cracked his neck and muttered.

“I said it would take some time to deal with them properly.”

“…”

“It took a little longer than I thought.”

Lennok walked past the speechless Aileen.

“Let’s go.”

Lennok’s gaze, fixed on the black hand flickering on the altar, deepened.

“This time, I really need to have a talk with those gods of the sea.”