Chapter 1360: Designed Transcendence (37)

After the banquet concluding the Ascension Ritual, the chaotic megacity gradually began to regain stability.

This was because the presence of key City Council figures, as well as the Order Alliance and the Guido Cult, became known, revealing that Adamant Thunder was well, regardless of the ritual’s success or failure.

As if waiting for that news to spread, the item exchange, which had been suspended for nearly a week, reopened, and the anxiety miraculously vanished.

The bustling downtown of District 49 at noon, as always, was packed with people coming and going, leaving no room to stand.

Lennok stood in the spacious conference room on the top floor of a skyscraper, gazing at the cityscape below.

“Where is Croken now?”

“He dumped the black wizard he brought with him in a nearby junkyard and then vanished.”

Jenny, standing beside him, answered immediately.

Her voice was unenthusiastic as she checked the status updates on her tablet.

“We immediately put a tail on him, but there’s no trace of where he went. Evelyn herself went out, but all she could do was follow his remnants.”

“……”

It wasn’t strange.

From the start, sensing Croken’s presence had been difficult even with Lennok’s own senses.

This was partly because the monster was a physical superhuman skilled at hiding his presence.

But also because, fundamentally, his presence was inherently different from that of other living beings.

If Croken was aware of this, he could easily ignore ordinary shadowing or tracking.

“According to Evelyn’s report, he seems to have wandered around a few outer districts drinking heavily before leaving.”

Jenny muttered, looking exasperated.

“I heard that was his hobby back when he was a mercenary, but I never imagined he’d still be doing it now…”

“A monster of that caliber wouldn’t move easily without an opportunity like this. Considering Antares, I can understand.”

It was a banquet created to conclude the chaotic ritual, which had taken Lennok’s Ascension Ritual as its cause.

It was a suitable pretext for a superhuman like Antares, bound by foresight, or a stagnant monster like Croken, to make a move.

That’s why Lennok could guess why Antares, despite warning about Croken’s appearance, hadn’t actually come to meet him.

“It seems Antares has a reason not to meet Croken directly. It might be related to the pilgrimage he experienced during his mercenary days.”

“If I had known such a headache would arise, I would’ve chosen a different method. I never imagined transcendents would use this occasion as a pretext…”

“No. It was excellent. Don’t worry, it’s not your fault.”

Lennok leaned against the conference room window, smiling.

“If Croken had truly intended to kill me, he wouldn’t have bothered attending the banquet. The mere fact that he showed up like that is proof he’s still exercising patience.”

“That’s…”

“He wants something from me. He won’t touch me first until his criteria are met.”

Lennok’s eyes, gazing out the window, deepened.

“It seems he’s already reached a precarious level… but at least he won’t move until my condition is fully restored.”

“No, Croken is a member of Pandemonium. They’re not an organization you can trust to begin with.”

Jenny shook her head, looking incredulous.

“And yet he suddenly came and demanded cooperation… What exactly is this plan, anyway?”

“Well…”

Lennok slumped into a chair, his gaze profoundly deep.

“I’ll have to find out the reason now.”

Croken’s boorish behavior, forcing Lennok to participate in his plan at the banquet.

Looking back at yesterday’s commotion, Croken probably didn’t specifically target one of Lennok’s identities.

Considering the Well of the Codex and Yorta incidents, it was certain that Croken knew Victor’s true identity.

However, it was highly likely that the monster didn’t even have the concept of distinguishing between Adamant Thunder and Victor in the first place.

It was probably just, “I had something to say to Victor, but it’s annoying and bothersome, so I’ll just tell Adamant Thunder.” That might have been the extent of Croken’s sentiment.

Lennok didn’t expect any consideration from a monster with no filter on his words or actions.

As long as the premise of recovering Myeong’s legacy was involved, Lennok had no reason to hesitate to participate.

The problem, however, wasn’t that—

“What is Croken Asylus’s deepest desire?”

“Huh?”

“Croken possesses an extremely aggressive nature, but he isn’t fundamentally obsessed with conflict alone. Despite having such power, he rarely goes all the way.”

“……”

“He enjoys fighting but doesn’t obsess over it. He’ll kill anyone if necessary, but he doesn’t go out of his way to be cruel. Yet, he waits for me.”

It’s easy to misunderstand him as the embodiment of living violence due to his very existence, but Croken is not a transcendent who cannot control himself.

His power is simply so immense that, from an observer’s perspective, everything Croken does appears as if he’s unbridled.

Even when he seemed to be running wild, he always pulled back at the last moment, trying to keep Lennok alive.

While more skilled in slaughter and conflict than anyone, there was a certain sense of direction in his actions.

He embodies chaos, unpredictable in his every move, yet possesses a transcendence that seems to control even that chaos.

That’s why so many transcendents and warriors respect, and in a way, admire that eccentric monster.

“It seems the answer Croken seeks lies at the end of that inscrutable purpose.”

“…Van.”

Jenny couldn’t say anything and fell silent.

Fortunately, her hesitation wasn’t long.

Beep-

The pager buzzed, and Evelyn’s voice came through.

-Van. Croken has left Vulcan. I’ll end the pursuit here and go back to organize his movements.

“Good work. Where was the last place his trail broke off?”

-The La Haven docks. He didn’t even try to hide his departure, did he?

Evelyn said, sounding dumbfounded, over the communication network.

-He left on a top-of-the-line airship from the Western Continent. It’s a custom-built 800 billion cell vessel using an anti-gravity engine, and the owner is listed as a shell company in Endorose.

“……”

-I tried to dig into it, thinking it might be related to Pandemonium, but there were no particular gains. The corporate address is listed in the Paraginy Republic, but the situation there is a complete mess, so tracking is impossible.

“I see.”

-A major civil war recently broke out in the Republic, and it seems not only Western Continent city-states but even the Order Alliance are involved. Because of that, the Republic’s administration is crippled, and money laundering routes there are popular these days.

“…It seems you’ve subtly deviated from the topic. Haven’t you gone too far off track while chasing Croken?”

-Anyway, it seems a very skilled broker intervened and erased his tracks. Could you ask Jenny if she’s received any strange requests recently?

“Evelyn, you seem to really like tower life these days. Your jokes have improved a lot, haven’t they?”

Jenny responded, looking exasperated, but since it was half-compliment, she didn’t seem annoyed.

Lennok chuckled and placed his hand on the pager connected to Evelyn.

“Even if we chase Croken, we can’t go all the way to the Republic. Stop there and come back.”

There was little to gain by tracing the ownership of the airship he took, let alone Croken himself.

Regarding the Paraginy Republic, Lennok also didn’t know much beyond the fact that the Juicemaster came from there.

Since Croken had left Vulcan, and Evelyn couldn’t be sent to the Republic, it was right to end the pursuit here.

-…

But Evelyn didn’t answer despite hearing Lennok’s words.

“Evelyn?”

-Actually, I found one more thing.

Evelyn said after a moment of hesitation.

-I didn’t find anything special at the docks where Croken last stopped, but that old man found something at the place he visited right before that.

“He found something?”

-No, no… actually, it’s not that I found something. Rather… it’s more like a sense of discomfort about the place itself?

Evelyn, usually composed, was strangely rambling, which was uncharacteristic of her.

Not the docks Croken left from, but the place he visited just before that. His last stop in Vulcan.

“Evelyn. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. So, where was the place Croken visited before coming to the docks?”

-The cosmetics factory district in District 42. It was famous for suspicions that its construction costs were covered by city government subsidies back then.

“…That’s just typical Vulcan life. Isn’t there anything particularly special about it?”

There’s no need to mention how severe the collusion between government and corporations is in a megacity.

Separate from the Central Council, each district’s administration independently managed businesses within their area, so payoffs and bribes were frequent.

The factory district in District 42 was likely just one of many such common businesses, built and operating amidst such corruption.

“……”

But unlike Jenny, who tilted her head, Lennok fell silent as soon as he heard those words.

Because something immediately surfaced from his old memories upon hearing Evelyn’s words.

-Van, do you remember?

Evelyn asked as if she had anticipated Lennok’s reaction.

-It’s where Charlotte Company’s cosmetics factory was located. The place where you and Dillian first met Croken.

“…Right.”

The memory of that day, which he recalled every time he saw Croken Asylus.

The incarnation of power, smashing everything and walking out from beyond the burning factory.

The exact place where Dillian and he shared a cigarette after everything was over.

Jenny, too, only then remembered the request she had arranged back then and her expression hardened.

“Ah…!!!”

-It means Croken Asylus’s reason for being there wasn’t just a simple designation request.

Evelyn said.

-It seems that mad old man still has secrets we don’t know about. We’ll need to investigate Charlotte Company.

“It’s over.”

A procession of priests, backpacks on, walking orderly across the plains.

As the doll at the head of the procession muttered, silently gazing at the sky, the other priests turned their heads.

One of the priests, cautiously observing, painstakingly approached the doll and asked,

“What do you mean?”

“The gaze that had been following from Adamant Thunder’s Domain has vanished.”

The doll’s eyes, gazing at the distant megacity on the horizon beyond the plains, twisted.

“A distance of 300km… Is a watcher still following even this far? What an unbelievably transcendent ability.”

“……”

“Whether it was Adamant Thunder’s own magic or an ally’s ability, it was dangerous in many ways.”

The 8th Apostle’s doll, slowly turning, muttered.

“Unfortunately, it seems I couldn’t abduct the Corpse Spirit Sorcerer from that spot after all.”

“……”

The potential of the Corpse Spirit Sorcerer’s spell, which Lennok himself had once investigated and warned against.

The Corpse Spirits created by the Corpse Spirit Sorcerer, despite being dead bodies, could be used as sacrifices for human offerings.

For the cult, it was a value close to an asymmetric force, allowing them to effectively use forbidden spells without limit.

While staying at the banquet, they had sought an opportunity, but even while watching the Corpse Spirit Sorcerer observing the Dark Elf right in front of them.

Ultimately, the 8th Apostle could not act rashly in front of Adamant Thunder.

It wasn’t Camlodal himself who had descended, but merely a doll created by borrowing a human body.

Furthermore, with the young Priestess by its side at that moment, it could not take reckless action.

“Given the circumstances, Adamant Thunder seemed to have an acquaintance with the Corpse Spirit Sorcerer. A wizard of his caliber might have already known what that delusional extreme spell meant to the cult.”

“……”

“The only regret is that the Order Alliance acted at a similar time as our main cult. What a bothersome yet formidable adversary. There are still many capable sorcerers remaining within the Order Alliance.”

“But the Order Alliance is by no means a tightly integrated organization either, is it?”

At that moment, an elderly woman, walking supported by priests, weakly opened her mouth.

“Even our own cult, which follows the Pantheon’s doctrines, constantly forms and breaks apart over the High Priestess’s whereabouts, doesn’t it?”

“…Bishop Tilen.”

The doll turned its gaze with an expressionless face.

“It seems you’ve woken up. How is your body?”

“……”

After being struck by Adamant Thunder’s Mystic Eye at the banquet in District 49, Bishop Tilen hadn’t woken up for over a day.

Even after regaining consciousness, she couldn’t walk properly and could only stand with the priests’ support.

It wasn’t an injury that would leave a fatal disability, but the aftereffects continued for several days.

However, what troubled the Bishop most was not physical pain.

“…I had a dream.”

The Bishop, staring blankly at the sky, muttered.

“I was flying through space on a golden ship, illuminating the entire world.”

“Bishop.”

“I knew it was an impossible dream… yet, for a moment, I was captivated.”

The Bishop, with a gaunt expression, turned her gaze to the sleeping Priestess carried on a priest’s back.

“I… I think I understand why the High Priestess reflected that person onto him.”

“……”

Most bishops of the Pantheon start as military chaplains and serve the cult for life.

Naturally, their faith is incredibly profound, making them highly resistant to mental attacks.

Yet, Adamant Thunder’s Mystic Eye pierced through that faith with such ease, leaving a profound impact on her inner self.

“Bishop…”

An acknowledgment of an unbeliever that they never thought they’d hear from a Bishop who had devoted her entire life to faith.

At that dangerous statement, which could superficially be seen as heresy, the other priests were speechless.

Camlodal’s doll looked at the Bishop, then casually turned its gaze away.

“The gods of the sea harbored great dreams, but not all of them were great beings. The reverse is also true.”

“……”

“The lowly creatures of the earth are insignificant beings, but not all of them harbor insignificant dreams. Among them, there must be one whose deepest desire you would acknowledge.”

Bishop Tilen couldn’t answer rashly, as if she had been hit square in the heart by those words.

But the doll did not particularly interrogate or question the Bishop.

Because not all adversaries throughout the cult’s long history had been insignificant.

The doll said.

“But remember, among all those deepest desires, only that person’s dream is salvation.”

“…I will remember.”

“We serve the Pantheon, yet we follow the will of that beloved one. Do not forget your priorities.”

Koooh-oh-oh-oh!!!!!

Every time the 8th Apostle’s doll recited the doctrine, the endless sky above the plains shimmered pure white.

Pale holy light, descending from beyond the sky, took the form of a massive airship and came down towards the priests.

“The day the Lead Apostle arranged is approaching.”

Watching the white wings unfold and embrace the devotees on the ground, the doll slowly turned its steps.

“We will finally triumph in the Second Holy War and reclaim that person who was taken from us.”

Lennok was walking through a vast, endless forest.

A hazy scene, swaying with the gentle breeze. A world whose breadth he couldn’t gauge even by extending his senses.

“……”

This was his third visit, yet he felt his heart subtly waver whenever he came here.

Was it because he knew this wasn’t a naturally existing space, but a place created from an individual’s mind?

Or was it because he recognized this as another point of attainment he had pursued?

Perhaps coming here only after everything was over was itself a way to clear his mind.

He didn’t know. Lennok himself hadn’t had many experiences like this in the first place.

Enlightenment had always existed within Lennok himself.

He had rarely yearned for or desired anything from others.

He hadn’t made that approach a life principle, yet he had found answers without relying on others.

However, despite having already received a warning from the Director once, the reason Lennok stood here was—

“……”

“You’ve arrived on time.”

The Ascendant standing at the center of the quiet forest opened his eyes.

“Then, I will now begin the training to teach you the Thought World.”