Chapter 1363: Variation (2)
Vulcan’s District 21. An old, nameless cathedral abandoned on the outskirts of the dilapidated district.
Two people walked through the corridor of the chapel, which had long been left untouched.
Lennok, leaning on his silver staff, led the way, while Ermont followed behind, his expression tense.
Every time Lennok’s expressionless gaze swept over the chapel, cold sweat trickled down Ermont’s face.
“……”
“……”
With each step, the silence deepened, and the tension on Ermont’s face heightened.
Just as Ermont twisted his body, as if Lennok’s silence, as he inspected the chapel without a word of guidance, was unbearable.
Lennok, who had been walking through the chapel without any direction, stopped and ran a hand over the platform where the pipe organ was installed.
Looking at the thick layer of dust clinging to his glove, Lennok asked in a cold tone.
“I see why Croken hated staying in this cathedral.”
“……”
“It’s hard to say anyone lives here. Are they not managing it at all?”
“……Ah, yes.”
Ermont swallowed hard and spoke in a strained voice.
“I also just returned from a long business trip recently. This cathedral wasn’t a building I managed in the first place. There’s, uh, a lazy nun named Hylaea in Pandemonium…”
“Aside from the chapel entrance, almost everything is covered in dust. It’s so poorly ventilated that it’s hard to breathe.”
“……”
“The wood is rotting and creaking, and all the ornaments are rusted, having lost their original color.”
“……”
“Why are you just standing there?”
Lennok motioned towards the flinching Ermont.
“Open the windows. Quickly clean this unpleasantly dirty place.”
“Goddammit… Are you really taking me for granted?”
Ermont, who had been quietly listening behind Lennok, twisted his lips.
“You, you’re not even a member of Pandemonium, so don’t order me around. If you keep talking like that, I’ll…!”
“You’ll what?”
“……I’ll have no choice but to say that I was going to clean it soon anyway.”
Ermont quickly opened the windows throughout the cathedral, grabbed a broken broom, and began sweeping the floor.
His change of attitude was so fast and brazen that it felt natural, almost not servile.
“The walls are very dirty. Sweep the dust away, then mop them.”
“Yes, yes. Understood.”
“Dust has accumulated inside the organ pipes too. There should be a brush nearby; bring it and dust them off.”
“Hoo, hoo~”
“Why are there so many broken chairs in the chapel? It looks like someone had a brawl here. It’s unsightly, so bring some glue and fix them.”
“Alright.”
“The candlesticks are discolored from rust. Find some rust remover in the supply room. After cleaning the vents, next you can—”
“Ah, seriously, enough already!!!”
Ermont, who had been sweating profusely while cleaning the chapel, threw down the mop he was holding.
Setting down the half-cleaned candlestick, Ermont turned around and shouted, panting.
“Are you, like, from a cleaning service? This is good enough, isn’t it? You’re not just messing with me—”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Lennok calmly retorted.
“Did you just realize I was messing with you?”
“……”
Ermont, who had lost his words and was gaping, finally sighed and slumped into a chair.
The black wizard, looking exhausted as if his energy had been drained during the brief cleaning of the chapel, ran a hand over his face.
“Phew… I don’t know what Croken Asylus is thinking. Is it true that monster hired you for this job?”
“It seems you’re not too keen on me being here.”
“Is that even a question? Many members within Pandemonium consider this plan very important.”
Ermont shrugged.
Having been thoroughly toyed with, Ermont seemed to have concluded that Lennok wouldn’t kill him, and his reply was more relaxed than before.
“Hylaea is setting up the entry roster, and the Doctor is designing the movement paths. That’s why the two of them are absent right now. Since the item we’re retrieving from this job is so crucial, we need to be extremely careful.”
“……”
“The original plan was always centered around Victor, so how can we not be suspicious when that crazy crocodile tries to parachute someone in from the very start, huh?”
“……”
“Well, I mean, even if Victor is a bit eccentric, arrogant, irritable, and a psychopath who mocks others all day long!”
Ermont inadvertently glanced at Lennok while badmouthing him, then cleared his throat.
“Still, he’s not a blood-crazed butcher like you. Furthermore, that guy is a true blue-blood among blue-bloods, having joined Pandemonium through Myeong’s introduction.”
“……”
“Bringing an outsider into a job where success isn’t guaranteed even with only competent people… and of all people, summoning Vulcan’s mad demon, I can only say it’s insane!”
“Aren’t you subtly mixing in insults about me while pretending to explain?”
“I’m sorry. Please spare me.”
Ermont, who had unhesitatingly knelt before Lennok and bowed his head, tilted it.
“No, but did you even understand what I just said? You don’t know much about Pandemonium, do you? You just beat us up every time we met.”
“You’re thick-skinned, stepping in without knowing the time or place. Who was it who stirred up trouble everywhere?”
Lennok said, looking down at Ermont’s face, which had changed from before.
“Besides, you have too many excuses for someone who’s living by taking over another’s body. I feel no guilt at all beating up a black wizard like you.”
“Huh? You mean you know who I am? Earlier, you thought I was Daymus.”
“Then did you think I wouldn’t know after hearing that utterly frivolous way of speaking?”
Lennok shook his head, looking at Ermont, who had wide eyes.
“I know you’ve taken over that commander’s body and are active. You stayed in that war for quite a long time too.”
“No, it’s stranger that you remember the Subjugation War. I thought you had completely lost your mind back then!”
“If I had, there’s no way I would have won against my enemy in that war.”
Lennok sneered, crossing his arms.
“It was only natural for things to turn out that way the moment you bastards stole the gauntlet from the Anathema Temple. I don’t know what kind of good treatment you expected after siding with the legion.”
“Excuse me, but it wasn’t us who took that gauntlet, it was Victor alone who gobbled it up! Dammit, if he had just used it spectacularly even once, it wouldn’t be so unfair…”
Ermont, who had been grumbling incessantly, glanced at Lennok’s eyes while still kneeling.
“No, but if you remember the Subjugation War, it makes even less sense. From your perspective, aren’t we just enemies, nothing more, nothing less? But you accepted Croken’s offer to help us?”
“……”
“That’s something the madman Adamant Thunder I know would never do. Oh, or perhaps you’ve completely lost your mind and reached the point of mistaking enemies for benefactors—”
“Stop spouting nonsense and let’s get to the point. I know this is about Myeong.”
“……”
Lennok extended his hand in front of Ermont, who finally fell silent.
“You might not know this, but I’ve met Myeong a few times in this city. I’ve even unintentionally received help from him.”
“……So, this is about repaying a personal debt? Are you going to confess in the chapel?”
“Hardly.”
Lennok chuckled.
“But if the Pandemonium’s plan is to retrieve Myeong’s legacy, then that’s a different story.”
Clatter!
At that moment, black chains surged from all directions, enveloped in the chapel’s darkness, surrounding them.
As Ermont flinched in surprise, a demonic giant stretched out its hand from the darkness.
Soon, its colossal body instantly materialized in the center of the chapel, appearing behind Lennok.
GROOOOOWL!
“The rightful successor to Myeong’s legacy would have been determined from the beginning.”
“……This is impossible.”
The contradictory sight of a demon appearing in the middle of a sacred chapel.
But Ermont’s expression, as he looked up at the giant, was stiff for the first time.
“This is that one, the one with the Flawless Contract…! You had Myeong’s familiar?!”
“I took it from a transcendent of the City Government’s special agency. I’ve had it ever since.”
Lennok, with his arms crossed, gestured to the demonic giant floating behind him.
“Well? Is this reason enough for me to participate in your plan?”
“……”
Ermont couldn’t answer, staring blankly up at the demonic giant.
[……]
WHOSH!
A sinister figure floating behind Lennok, its muscular forearms bound by black chains, hanging limp.
Even after meeting Ermont’s gaze, the demonic giant silently guarded Lennok’s back.
Ermont, staring blankly at the demonic giant, which showed no reaction, reached out a hand.
“Hmph.”
The moment Ermont lightly tugged one of the black chains hanging from the demonic giant’s massive body.
The demonic giant furiously swung its forearm, striking Ermont at tremendous speed and sending him flying.
CRASH!
Chairs that had been diligently cleaned and glued together scattered and shattered.
Lennok, seeing Ermont embedded in the wall without even resisting, asked in surprise.
“Do you want to commit suicide or something?”
“Ugh! Cough, cough!!”
Ermont, vomiting a pool of blood and retching, said resentfully.
“No, no… It’s supposed to be the Heuryul family’s familiar, shouldn’t I be able to control it too…?”
“……”
“I’m of the same bloodline, practically an ancestor… why only me…?”
“The contract for this summoned creature passed to me a long time ago. Approaching it like that won’t get you anywhere.”
Lennok shook his head.
“Stop doing stupid things and explain this plan. You definitely have a role in this city, don’t you?”
“……That’s just talk, I know almost nothing about the situation on the Eastern Continent. Hylaea just dumped the work on me.”
Ermont, spurting blood, struggled to stand and leaned wearily against a chapel chair.
“Anyway, until a few days ago, I was caught by Croken and taken near the Central Front, so I haven’t slept… snore.”
“You still haven’t come to your senses.”
“KYAAAHHH?!!”
As Lennok sent a jolt of electricity to the crown of Ermont’s head, who was pretending to sleep, the black wizard jumped up like a frog.
Ermont’s body flickered, covered in pale blue lightning, then fell with a thud, charred like burnt meat, with the smell of grilling flesh.
“If you pull another stunt like that, I’ll directly embed lightning into your skull.”
“H-heh… heh…”
“Or perhaps this method works better for a black wizard?”
WHOSH!
As Lennok extended his hand, the darkness of the chapel gathered into his palm, forming a black sphere.
He slowly clenched and unclenched his hand, and the compressed darkness transformed into a black droplet.
“Huh, goddammit… Are you really human?”
Ermont, sprawled on the chapel floor, looked at the black droplet in Lennok’s hand with a dumbfounded expression.
“That’s a spell that only chosen descendants of the Heuryul family can use, even among their black magic. How could an outsider like you…?”
“I learned the trick long ago, watching Myeong use it.”
“……What?”
“Enough. Tell me about the plan.”
Lennok, who had crushed the black magic into nothingness with a flick of his hand, leaned back in a chair across the aisle and crossed his arms.
“All I know is that we need to pass through Paradise Lost to retrieve Myeong’s legacy. I know almost nothing about the details of the plan.”
“I’m sorry, but if you know that, it seems you already know everything, doesn’t it? Why is that crazy old man so loose-lipped?”
“It’s only natural to have to go through Paradise Lost since Myeong was defeated by Jinwa. The problem is how much we need to consider the corrupted Ascendant in that process.”
Lennok’s expression turned cold.
“If Jinwa has indeed fallen as rumored, he wouldn’t have left Myeong’s remains alone. He would have brutally desecrated them out of spite, or tried to use them in some way.”
“……”
“Either way, there’s a high possibility it will be a dangerous plan requiring us to go deep into Paradise Lost. Do you have any prepared countermeasures or alternatives for this?”
“……The rumor that you were once a great freelancer must be true, then?”
Ermont tilted his head, slightly surprised.
“You’re thinking that far ahead without even knowing the full details of the plan? I thought you were just a demon with brute strength, but you’re surprisingly calculating. Or rather, a type that calculates how to kill people?”
“You can’t stop spouting nonsense, so it seems you haven’t been beaten enough.”
Seeing the mana swirling at Lennok’s fingertips, Ermont shrieked and waved his hands.
“No, no! The… the possibility of a deep penetration operation into Paradise Lost is low. We’re not even considering directly confronting Jinwa!”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, this is something even I need supplementary explanations from Hylaea about…”
Ermont, sweating profusely, spoke with a rare look of apprehension.
From the perspective of a black wizard, Lennok, who wielded the same black magic, seemed to be quite a burden.
“It seems Myeong’s legacy isn’t inside Paradise Lost. I don’t know why, but it seems certain that ‘it’ doesn’t exist within Jinwa’s territory.”
“……”
“Hylaea is investigating the exact reason, and that’s why we can’t move right away. We’re planning to depart from Vulcan in three days at the earliest.”
“Three days, huh…”
Lennok had only come to meet Ermont and hear about the plan today, and he wasn’t ready to depart immediately anyway, so it didn’t matter.
A time that was neither fast nor slow.
“Either way, it means we have to approach Paradise Lost. Where’s the gathering point?”
“Among the cities closest to Paradise Lost on the Central Front, isn’t there a designated one?”
Ermont shrugged.
“Coincidentally, there’s a major city that has seen an explosive increase in population recently. After its internal issues were resolved, it rapidly expanded in size, developing to the scale of a city-state.”
“First I’ve heard of it. A major city that has grown rapidly recently?”
“Ah, yes. The entire city is like a conduit connecting the inside and outside of the Central Front, so people and money are bound to flock there immensely. Especially after the city’s owner changed to Cheon-beon— Gulp.”
Ermont, seeing Lennok’s expressionless face, closed his mouth as if he’d made a mistake, then chuckled.
“……Uh, I didn’t say anything wrong, did I? Anyway, it’s true that Cheon-beon controls that place, isn’t it?”
“……”
“Well, I know you’re annoyed with Cheon-beon because of the Lighthouse business, but that guy is just as stubborn as you—”
“Shut up.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I see. A city under Cheon-beon’s control, huh…”
While Ermont quietly shut up, Lennok fell into thought.
“The gathering point for this plan was the Gate City where the first gate is located.”
A city that had recently grown to the size of a major metropolis in the Central Front border region, serving as a ground-level port connecting the inside and outside of the front.
A city under the control of Cheon-beon Evan Martinez. Could there possibly be two such cities on the continent?
The Gate City where Lennok had defeated the Conjunction Sorcerer was, in fact, the gathering point for this plan.
“Uh, if Cheon-beon’s involvement is a problem, should we change the gathering point?”
Ermont asked, watching Lennok, who was deep in thought.
“We still have time, so it should be fine if I tell Hylaea. If it bothers you too much…”
“No. There’s no need for that.”
Lennok had visited it once before, and it was nominally under Cheon-beon’s control.
There was no reason for Lennok to change the gathering point.
“On the contrary, Gate City would be best. Don’t change it to anywhere else.”
“……”
However, Ermont seemed to have completely misunderstood Lennok’s answer.
Ermont muttered in a very small voice, looking at Lennok with suspicious eyes.
“This bastard, he’s not seriously trying to pick a fight with Cheon-beon by joining, is he…?”
“What did you say?”
“……Nothing. It’s just that I suddenly miss Victor a little.”