Chapter 1326: Engineered Transcendence (4)
Hwwwwooong…!!
Arthur’s body, suspended in a transparent glass tank, glowed faintly.
His arms and legs were bound, eyes closed, and a respirator was attached to his mouth as he lay in a deep slumber.
His scarred body twitched occasionally, but his presence was clearly human.
The Reconnaissance Agency’s Mothership flew through the Central Front, having departed the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors. Inside a secluded chamber within the colossal crystal-shaped floating vessel.
Lennok and Kalien observed Arthur’s body, restrained and preserved within the tank.
“He’s stabilized quite quickly. Soon, his physical body will enter a complete state of suspended animation.”
“……”
“Once his brain activity is completely suppressed, we can formally begin the work.”
Kalien, who had been staring up at Arthur with an expressionless face, pulled out a tablet from her pocket and spoke while operating it.
“Within a month, I will extract the Yaksha’s soul from this body and hand it over to you. I’ll contact you through Aileen, so please visit the Mothership when you have time.”
“That’s faster than I expected.”
Even if his body was taken by the Yaksha so easily, Arthur Mason was an 8-level superhuman with incredible physical abilities.
His inherent combat prowess, as well as his mental strength and Mind Imprint, must be warped in a way that transcends common ranks for a Transcendent.
It wouldn’t be easy to even touch him with ordinary techniques or spellcraft, yet they claimed they could extract the Yaksha’s soul from his body in just one month.
Considering that even Lennok would have to be careful to extract the Yaksha’s soul while ‘keeping Arthur Mason alive,’ it was a remarkable display of technological prowess.
Lennok’s expressionless gaze turned towards the colossal crystal-shaped flying vessel he was currently aboard.
“You don’t seem to be using any special equipment. Can you separate the body and soul using the Mothership’s built-in functions?”
“We do utilize the Mothership’s functions, but the Reconnaissance Agency also has an exceptionally skilled Shaman. Her ability can forcibly induce astral projection even in an 8-level Transcendent.”
Kalien explained.
“However, you must prepare a vessel in advance to receive the Yaksha’s soul. He is an evil spirit bound by a deal with the Alliance Leader, so if he’s not contained in a special vessel, he will soon escape your control.”
“I have a method in mind. I’ll handle that part myself.”
Lennok had already decided where to store the Yaksha’s soul from the moment he resolved to take custody of him.
Having once served as a navigator of the Sun Ship Megiddo long ago, a suitable place for him was surely predetermined.
The alien evil spirit had relentlessly caused trouble within the Mausoleum until he pledged to serve Lennok as a god.
Naturally, even after obtaining the Yaksha’s soul, Lennok had no intention of granting him a proper body.
“Understood.”
An organization like The Agency might know what kind of being the Order Alliance’s Yaksha was.
But Kalien, without offering any further warnings about the Yaksha, simply accepted Lennok’s answer and continued walking.
“Let’s go. I will explain the Three Grand Dukes you’re curious about.”
Whoooosh!!!!!
The two walked side-by-side down the Mothership’s corridor, which traversed the rugged wilderness of the Central Front.
Beyond the window, an infinitely vast plain stretched out. A battlefield where pillars of fire erupted and explosions echoed.
Even at this moment, with the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors now breached, various organizations and factions clashed throughout the Central Front.
No, perhaps it was precisely because the Demonic Realm had been breached that such chaos and conflicts intensified.
“Currently, The Agency’s Mothership is traversing the boundary between the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors and the Sixfold Demonic Mirror of Return, moving towards the deep interior.”
Noticing Lennok’s gaze, Kalien spoke.
“Immediately after the Demonic Realm’s conquest became known, a great many factions and interest groups converged. At this point, it’s safer to bypass the front line’s interior rather than risk moving through the outer regions.”
“So you weren’t moving to explain the fate of the Three Grand Dukes.”
“It’s possible to provide information about the Three Grand Dukes and guide you to a safe location simultaneously.”
Kalien walked down the vast, empty corridor with an expressionless face.
“The Agency’s Mothership was originally the flagship of [The Grand Duke of Artifice], one of the Three Grand Dukes. The Celleon Core Stone used as its engine has the ability to remember and reproduce energy flows regardless of the timeline—”
Clunk…!!!
Passing through a corridor made of opaque crystals, they entered a door located at the very rear of the Mothership.
As the sturdy chains of the lock were undone and the door opened, a stale air flowed out.
Watching this, Kalien spoke in her characteristic monotone.
“It possesses the function to preserve even past memories and phenomena in an optimized form.”
“So The Agency’s Mothership can act as a recording device, preserving memories from the past.”
Within the dark, colossal cavernous walls, grotesque murals of unknown origin were densely carved.
The murals on the walls, aside from lacking color, were so elaborate that they appeared almost perfectly lifelike.
Had such an ominous-feeling space been hidden within this mysterious crystal-shaped floating vessel?
As Lennok looked around, Kalien moved, walking among the murals.
“Ars Nova was the most prosperous city-state in continental history. It’s said that by seizing the fertile plains of the center and waging war, it grew from a city into an Empire.”
“……”
“Talented individuals from across the continent joined the Empire, and over a long period, the Imperial Palace thoroughly selected and processed these accumulated talents.”
Kalien stopped before a certain mural and spoke.
“Blessed nobles born with the True Blood of Long-lived Beings. Three lineages standing at the apex of this hereditary bloodline. The central city revered them as the Three Grand Dukes in a way distinct from how they revered Ascendants.”
“……”
“That is, until they accepted the power of the Outer Sea at the Emperor’s command and became beings akin to Demigods.”
Boom!!
Above the mural, three distinct emblems glowed faintly.
A grotesque emblem with two hands spread like wings.
An authoritative emblem with a crown superimposed on a staff.
A twisted emblem with the shape of [?] inverted.
“All Three Grand Dukes were, for generations, transcendent Grand Sorcerers who inherited uniquely powerful Bloodline Abilities among the nobility, and Transcendent themselves. In the fields of spellcraft and innate abilities, they possessed knowledge superior even to the Empire’s Grand Generals.”
“……”
“At the Imperial Palace’s command, they relentlessly experimented with the possibilities of the Outer Sea against their own Empire, contributing to the corruption of the entire Central Front until its demise.”
Kalien extended her hand, pointing to the emblem with hands spread like wings.
“Among them, the corruption of the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors is presumed to be the act of the Third Grand Duke, [The Grand Duke of Grasping]. He was a Grand Sorcerer who wielded the most intricate Manipulation Spellcraft on the entire continent, and as such a being, his family adopted the human ‘hand’ as its symbol.”
“……Hand, you say.”
“You might already have some idea.”
Lennok knew.
The very center of the burial chamber where the Grand General’s corpse was interred. Thousands of human wrists stuck into the wall above the tomb.
Lennok remembered those grotesquely wriggling hands that ceaselessly caressed the Grand General.
Were those countless hands, which he had thought were the result of human sacrifice, actually the very symbol of one of the Three Grand Dukes?
And had the Outer God with black hands, who manifested there, been drawn to that place by the causality of the Three Grand Dukes?
“Transcendent talent, selected and passed down through hundreds of years. Bloodline Abilities strengthened through generations. And the vast wisdom that allowed them to assist the Emperor in ruling the central city.”
Kalien asked in her monotone voice.
“Can you imagine what kind of beings they became after accepting the power of the Outer Sea and corrupting themselves, reaching an attainment different from that of Ascendants?”
“……”
Lennok did not answer.
Because the answer to that question already existed beyond the mural Kalien was gazing at.
Crrrack, crrrack, crrrack…!!!
A mural of an old man sitting with his eyes closed upon a massive altar, looking down at the crowds.
Behind the old man, who sat with a straight back and an upright head, a colossal hand spread out like a wing.
It was the appearance of someone who, having made the hand that wielded Manipulation Spellcraft their symbol, had gone so far as to create an entirely new bodily organ.
However, the Grand Duke depicted in that mural appeared not grand or majestic, but utterly grotesque.
“This memory within the Mothership is presumed to be a record of the Grand Duke’s appearance in the late Imperial era.”
Kalien said with an expressionless face.
“It can be considered a rare historical document, preserving their initial forms when they first accepted and utilized the power of the Outer Sea.”
“……”
“It’s impossible to know how far they have deviated from the laws of the Material Realm now, given how distorted they already were back then.”
Lennok understood what Kalien was saying.
The Grand Duke’s appearance, who had not even hidden the grotesque wings sprouting from his back before the Empire’s demise.
Then, after such a long time, how much would the Grand Duke’s appearance have devolved beyond human form?
It wouldn’t be strange if they had shed the concepts of rank or Root Mindscape that existed for superhumans and transformed into entirely different organisms.
“After the Empire’s demise, their whereabouts vanished, and only their authorities and spellcraft remained in the Demonic Realm.”
Kalien continued walking.
“But it’s clear they acquired a grotesque power, to the extent that they willingly abandoned their original authorities and spellcraft. Even in the last cycle, powerful chaotic magic comparable to a planetary scale was detected deep within the Central Front.”
“Deep within the Central Front?”
“It’s now called the Purgatorial Demonic Realm of Fate, an untrodden area within the Central Front that no one has yet reached, and…”
Kalien stopped before the last mural and spoke.
“…long ago, it was the location of the Empire’s Council of Fate.”
“……”
Carved into the mural was a structure more ornate and majestic than any Lennok had ever seen.
A harmonious blend of mysterious decorations and structures, twisting in a beautiful counter-clockwise spiral.
At the center of that colossal spiral, a bloodshot beast’s eye was embedded, weeping tears of blood.
The mural vaguely hinted at what the Council of Fate looked like just before the Empire’s demise.
“As the one who conquered the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors, you would understand what I’m trying to say.”
Kalien, having reached the end of the cavern, turned around.
“The Demonic Realms currently covering various parts of the Central Front are not accidental wildernesses or disaster zones. They are more akin to abandoned processing sites, remnants of the Emperor and the Three Grand Dukes’ relentless experimentation with corruption.”
“……”
“When the time of Demise approaches, the heavens will open, the Outer Sea will pour forth, and Outer Gods will descend. The Demonic Realms across the Central Front will serve as ‘altars’ for the Outer Gods to descend upon first.”
“Altars, you say…”
So, because the spacetime was saturated with the power of the Outer Sea, it would also function as an altar for the Outer Gods to descend when the Demise arrived.
“Perhaps the Three Grand Dukes even considered such a role when they corrupted the Demonic Realms and left them scattered across the Central Front.”
“After realizing this fact, The Agency has been exploring the Central Front, pouring all available resources into conquering the Demonic Realms. We believe that reducing the number of altars for Outer Gods to descend upon, before the approaching Demise, would be a means to at least delay destruction.”
Kalien said with an expressionless face.
“That is why a being such as yourself holds immeasurable significance to this Reconnaissance Agency.”
“……”
“The conqueror of the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors, a transcendent wizard whose divine authority can rival the Imperial Grand Generals. In the current Central Front, no one has achieved feats comparable to yours, except for the unknown Transcendent who conquered the Sixfold Demonic Mirror of Return.”
Kalien slowly turned, looking up at Lennok with emotionless eyes.
“The achievement you made today will influence the Central Front for years to come and overturn the political landscape of the entire continent. Within this colossal current of change, it’s inevitable that monsters who have been dormant will come to the forefront.”
“……”
“Therefore, our Reconnaissance Agency intends to follow you and assist you in everything you wish to do in this central region.”
“If The Agency has been collecting information on me, you should already know.”
Lennok shook his head.
“After leaving the Eyes of Blue, I have no intention of joining any organization. It’s not a matter of trusting a specific organization or faction.”
“……”
“Just like the conquest of the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors, everything I do will begin and end irregularly and without a fixed schedule. If I were bound to something, I couldn’t be fundamentally free from such constraints.”
Lennok said, looking down at Kalien’s unchanging face.
“Because I’ve confirmed multiple times that I can only see things through if I myself am prepared.”
After leaving the Eyes of Blue, Lennok had primarily used his Cheonbeon identity for exploring dangerous areas and the unknown.
He understood that this identity, which freely wielded Jindun’s Barrier Spellcraft, was relatively easier to handle in unpredictable situations.
A freedom different from Adamant Thunder, who operated from Vulcan’s Magic Tower, or the Black Art, affiliated with Pandemonium.
For Lennok at this moment, the Cheonbeon identity held even greater value precisely because it was not bound to any other affiliation or organization.
It was a fact decided from the moment he rejected the Legion Commander position at Deadrise’s parade, and it would not change.
Even bothering to explain this to Kalien was likely because he had been interacting with Aileen and hearing about The Agency.
However, Kalien showed no particular reaction to Lennok’s words.
“I am aware that you do not wish to be bound to anything after laying down your Watcher title.”
Instead, she simply exited the cavern she had been exploring with Lennok and walked back into the transparent, crystal-enclosed corridor.
“Therefore, the assistance we offer at The Agency should not take the form of binding you to us.”
“……”
“We will provide you with the frontline information we’ve obtained while conquering the Central Front. This includes our planned Demonic Realm exploration schedules and internal environmental data.”
Kalien spoke, gazing beyond the transparent outer wall of the corridor at the landscape unfolding below the Mothership.
“So that you may begin your conquest of the Demonic Realm whenever you wish, or return to the Central Front at any time. If the help this Agency can offer is limited to this extent, wouldn’t you be satisfied?”
“Quite confident, aren’t you…?”
Lennok followed Kalien, a wry smile on his face.
“You’re certain that the information The Agency provides will make me feel the need to maintain ties with you?”
“It is no coincidence that this Agency has been able to explore deeper into the Demonic Realms than other conquering factions.”
With an expressionless face, Kalien looked up, surveying the ground stretching out below.
“From before the Imperial Palace’s demise, The Agency alone possessed an asset… a Primal Vision allowed only to us who operate the Mothership.”
Kiiieeeeng—
At that moment, the landscape below rapidly blurred, and everything around them transformed into lines.
It was a phenomenon where the entire exterior of the Mothership, carrying Lennok and Kalien, was covered and colored by a specific ‘memory.’
“Now, I will show you at least a part of the secret you wished to see.”
Crrrack, crrrack, crrrack, crrrack!!!!!
The entire crystal wall of the Mothership reflected a completely different landscape than before.
Dark, collapsing mist, stained grey. Pieces of the sky cracked and fell from all directions.
From one end of the distorted vista to the other, naked human corpses were piled up, forming a corner of the horizon.
“……”
Coo-goo-goo-goo-goo!!!!
Naked corpses covered all visible ground, neatly stacked in one direction. A colossal hill-like landscape, built from the remains of thousands to tens of thousands of humans, used as kindling.
Above the mountain of corpses, twice as vast as what he had seen in the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors, colossal hands were stacked, soaring like a tower.
“……This is.”
A structure of hands piled upon hands, grotesquely blooming like a flower and slowly shimmering.
An absurdly massive structure, spanning several kilometers, stood tall beyond the horizon.
“This is the [Second Gate], which lies beyond the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors and the Sixfold Demonic Mirror of Return, and is slated for exploration within a few cycles.”
Kalien continued, leaving Lennok silent before the grotesque yet overwhelming structure of corruption.
“It is presumed to be a structure created by [The Grand Duke of Grasping], one of the Imperial Three Grand Dukes, who corrupted himself. The Gate itself is observed to be alive.”
“……”
The Reconnaissance Agency’s Mothership had returned from exploring the deepest part of the Central Front with this memory of the past.
Through it, Lennok faced the fate of one of the Three Grand Dukes, The Grand Duke of Grasping.
Something at the horizon’s edge, twitching dozens of stacked fingers, trampling human corpses like insects.
Was this colossal hand-stacked tower the Second Gate leading to the Imperial Palace?
“The Grand Duke of Grasping, a Manipulation Spellcaster, was also famous in his lifetime for his exceptional dexterity, possessing an unusually strong obsession with human ‘hands’.”
Kalien said with an expressionless face.
“In particular, he was a transcendent Manipulation Spellcaster in Ars Nova at the time, second only to the Ascendant Ban-gung, and a fanatic who worshipped Ban-gung as a god, and…”
Kalien paused, as if choosing her words.
“He was also the one directly killed by Ban-gung himself before the Empire’s fall.”