Chapter 1382: Variation (21)

KRA-KOOOOM!!!!

A meteor shower of blue flames rained down into the middle of a bustling thoroughfare crowded with people.

A pillar of fire, so blue it was pale, pierced vertically through the commercial district and soared high into the air.

Centered on the rotating pillar of fire, hundreds of flames fell to the ground like fragments and exploded.

The bombardment raining down on the streets instantly plunged the district into chaos.

“Aaaargh!!!”

“It’s an attack!!!”

People screamed at the massive explosions erupting one after another in the heart of the commercial district.

Goods displayed on stalls were engulfed in flames, and buildings began to crumble.

Amidst the pillars of fire shooting up from all directions, the attackers began to reveal themselves, one by one.

Though their attire and appearances varied, they all shared one thing in common: they wore black blindfolds covering their eyes.

The blindfolded destroyers swept through the bustling area, wrecking facilities and buildings in every direction.

At the center of the street, where chaos and destruction were escalating, two figures crashed down violently.

CRASH!!!

Lennok stood atop the demonic giant’s arm, while a young man retreated with a graceful movement in response.

The young man, who had introduced himself as a vassal of the Three Grand Dukes, Jain, slid between the debris.

SWOOSH!!

“I can’t deny that the Flame Flower in the sky above Gateway City is quite an eyesore,” Jain said nonchalantly as he straightened his clothes and stood up.

“We should have started by incinerating the entire commercial district with that first bombardment, but because of the Flame Flower, the spellcraft’s power was drastically reduced. There are hardly any casualties, are there?”

“……”

Along with the declaration to wipe Gateway City off the map, a meteor shower had poured from the sky.

Considering he hadn’t sensed any warning signs, it must have been a pre-arranged bombardment spellcraft or a type of Authority.

However, the flames of the meteor shower had been largely offset by the Flame Flower floating in the sky, falling with diminished power.

The heat of the Flame Flower, which was burning away the veil, had acted like a counter-fire against the meteor shower, snuffing out its firepower.

Though the entire district was engulfed in flames, most of the people gathered here were superhumans, so there were almost no casualties.

The vassal of Yeongheo seemed dissatisfied with this outcome.

“At this rate, continuing the bombardment will likely have little effect. It seems I wasted too much time talking with you, my good sir.”

“You say that as if it’s my fault you couldn’t start with mass casualties.”

“You may not know what the old Gateway City was like, sir.”

Jain spoke in a soft tone as he rose, looking down at the burning street.

“Gateway City was never a peaceful place, not even from its creation. It was a battlefield where the tides of war constantly shifted, a contested land where the master changed several times before a single quarter was over.”

“……”

Jain smiled as he watched the screaming people flee and the buildings burn and collapse all around.

“It’s been so peaceful since Cheonbeon took over this city. Doesn’t it feel like it’s finally getting back to its old self?”

“So, you plan to wipe this city completely off the map today?”

“It is regrettable, but the current state of the continent is an anomaly that even the great Grand Duke could not have predicted.”

Jain placed a hand on his hip and lifted his gaze.

“The Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors was a line that should not have been breached in this era. It was a Demonic Realm whose fall was not even considered a possibility at this point in time.”

“……”

“An unacceptable result occurred in the mausoleum where the great conqueror sleeps. A future that should not have existed was forcibly torn open by someone.”

Beyond the battlefield burning with blue flames, Jain smiled faintly.

“As a sealed fate is opened, things that were not meant to happen will begin to occur. The slumbering Answerers will stir, and the birth of new Ascendants will become more frequent.”

The moment the Demonic Realm collapsed, Ascendants across the continent began to move.

Dadam, who had visited Vulcan in person. Another Grand General he had encountered while crossing the Central Front.

The distant Transcendent beings who had existed only as background figures until now would begin to take center stage.

The vassal of the Three Grand Dukes was saying that this very moment was part of that outcome.

“Before the great ones make their move, as one who has become their vassal, I must see how far I can go, wouldn’t you agree?”

Jain asked as he took a step forward.

“If things that were not meant to happen start occurring more frequently than before, and one wishes to confirm this as much as possible, what should one do?”

“You would have to destroy the existing order and incite as much chaos as possible,” Lennok retorted coldly.

“Is that the meaning behind what you are all doing now?”

Jain smiled faintly.

“Did I seem too honest?”

The arm of the demonic giant fell like a cannonball upon the faintly smiling Jain.

KRA-KOOOOM!!!!

A crater formed with a shockwave as if struck by an artillery shell.

But Jain avoided the fist by a hair’s breadth, rotating his body smoothly.

His movements were fluid and slippery, like a flowing wave, like wet oil. An uncannily unique motion.

“Van. I may not know of your current self, but I know about you. They say you were the butcher who killed the most superhumans in the Age of Twilight.”

FWOOM!!

Jain, having landed silently on the ground, accelerated explosively, sliding forward at incredible speed.

‘Fast…!’

By the time his magical perception caught him, Jain’s hand was already reaching for his neck. He was as graceful and nimble as if swimming through water.

Jain drew a straight sword of blue light from the air and accelerated, dodging the falling black mana bullets.

WHOOSH!!!

“Isn’t your existence, having killed tens of thousands in the Subjugation Operation, the new order that has settled upon this land?” Jain asked, now close enough for Lennok to feel his breath.

“May I have a taste of your skill?”

“For a vassal of the Three Grand Dukes, you’re certainly full of vigor,” Lennok laughed.

“If you can, then try.”

Jain’s straight sword shot out from his fluttering sleeve, aiming to pierce Lennok’s lungs sharply.

Without moving from his spot, Lennok manipulated the demonic giant to parry the sword strike.

On the upper floors of a commercial building engulfed in flames, the two clashed at incredible speed.

KLAAANG!!

Jain’s clear sword light and the demonic giant’s fists collided like cannonballs, shattering the building’s walls and floors.

Amidst the debris of pillars and ceilings crumbling like tofu, the monster and the swordsman danced madly.

Hundreds of exchanges crossed between the building’s floors, where debris flew so thick it was impossible to see.

But Jain deflected the entirety of the giant’s bombardment with a single thin straight sword.

Miniature Universe: Sea Moon.

SSSHHHKK!!!!

Jain’s body turned transparent as if melting into space, slipping past the demonic giant’s fist as if grazing it.

With an illusion of soft concentric circles spreading out, the shockwave was deflected and exploded in all directions.

Immediately after, Jain’s sword plunged into the demonic giant’s shoulder at immense speed.

“……!”

Lennok frowned, watching Jain unhesitatingly flip over the giant’s shoulder.

As a vassal of the Three Grand Dukes, not only did he wield a bizarre ability, but his pure martial prowess was also immense.

His presence was completely empty, yet his movements were so impossibly smooth that he felt like flowing water.

Was he a warrior whose natural body was incredibly flexible, and whose swordsmanship was honed to the extreme to match that talent?

The unpleasant sensation was like fighting not a human, but a jellyfish swimming in the sea.

KRA-KOOM!!!

Leaping over the demonic giant, Jain spun his body as if bouncing off it, grabbed Lennok by the collar, and slammed him downwards.

The two figures plummeted through the building’s walls and floors in an instant.

Jain, holding his sword in a reverse grip, ruthlessly thrust the blade into Lennok’s abdomen.

WHOOSH!!

“Hmm?”

A hollow sensation, as if stabbing empty smoke rather than flesh.

A strange pull, as if the sword plunged into the body was being drawn further into Lennok’s form.

Only then did Jain, realizing Lennok’s very existence had become like a black hole, ask with a dumbfounded expression.

“You’re a complete monster. What on earth is this spellcraft?”

“Not something I expected to hear from a vassal who serves a demigod.”

As Lennok said this, he seized Jain’s wrist.

“Caught you, jellyfish.”

K-BOOOOM!!!

Before he finished speaking, the demonic giant appeared from the side and struck Jain’s head.

As Jain was sent flying through a wall and into a building across the street, the giant raised its finger.

A black flash formed at its fingertip and simultaneously exploded, engulfing the entire building Jain had crashed into.

[Abyssal Consumption]

KRA-KOOOOOM!!!!!

Darkness erupted, swallowing the six-story building on the spot and returning it to nothingness.

A destruction magic that drags a designated space into darkness, compressing and crushing it to the extreme.

But the mangled corpse crushed within was not Jain’s.

Realizing it was one of the blindfolded attackers who had been rampaging throughout the commercial district, Lennok turned his gaze.

“Covering one’s eyes is a resolution not to judge for oneself. It is a vow to forget the self and empty one’s being.”

Jain spoke as he walked out onto the tiled roof of the adjacent building.

“From the moment one empties the self, there is no difference between self and other. Thus, we are all in the process of becoming a greater self.”

“A kind of substitution or death-proxy ability. You brought all these subordinates just for a situation like this?”

Jain’s Miniature Universe was, quite literally, a power that made him as transparent and slippery as a jellyfish.

Though he wasn’t certain, it was likely part of why his presence was empty and his body was so abnormally flexible.

His whole body was so transparent and slippery that he could not only pass through the boundaries of space but also seep into the bodies of others.

It seemed he had momentarily inserted his own existence into a subordinate’s body to nullify the damage, but it was difficult to grasp the exact principle.

Although he employed the method of a Miniature Universe, he was a superhuman whose abilities stood out for their sheer strangeness.

The Grand Duke of Yeongheo.

Fitting for a vassal who served a demigod who was literally empty, perhaps Jain’s own essence was similar to that of a jellyfish.

“Well, this is quite different from what I expected. How troublesome,” Jain said with a smile, spinning his sword once before readjusting his grip.

“I thought we could have a more proper match than this. Just how many abilities do you possess?”

“So many that I need to organize them periodically.”

“I see, so you are one born with a large capacity as a human.”

Jain clapped with a smiling face.

“Had you been born in the Age of Gold, you would surely have the makings of a Grand General. In that case, would you not consider my proposal?”

“Wasn’t that conversation already over? All this talk of gold and twilight, your use of terms I cannot relate to is no different from an Ascendant’s,” Lennok sneered.

“Are you suggesting I enter the service of the Three Grand Dukes you serve? I have no intention of becoming a demigod’s tool at this point.”

“Fortunately, I can offer you something a little better than that.”

Jain faced Lennok and smiled softly.

“How about becoming a demigod yourself? We will help you.”

“……”

“As I said before, you already know the method. You are also vaguely aware of what it means.”

Placing a hand on his chest, Jain bowed his head respectfully and spoke.

“Having crossed hands like this, I know for certain. You are not meant to be an Ascendant, but a demigod. Your unnaturally immense and twisted talent is proof of what kind of god you could eventually become.”

“……”

Lennok already knew what Jain was talking about.

He too was aware that Ascendants and demigods were not the same concept.

And that the Three Grand Dukes of the Empire had reached another realm called demigod through a corruption that transcended limits.

If Lennok had known nothing, he would have rejected this offer without a second thought.

Jain’s proposal would have seemed like nothing more than an invitation for Lennok to become corrupted and ascend to the same level as the Three Grand Dukes.

However, in the process of studying the World’s Ten Laws, Lennok had realized it was not such a simple matter.

What if it wasn’t a coincidence that the first technique he had obtained by studying the World’s Ten Laws was named [Demigod Transformation].

What if the realm the Three Grand Dukes of the Empire had reached was closer to the essence than the concept of an Ascendant.

For reasons unknown, Jain knew that Lennok was contemplating this fact.

That must be why he was making such a preposterous proposal in the middle of a fight.

The vassal’s attitude, distinguishing between the Lennok of the past and the Lennok of the present.

His bizarre words and actions, as if desiring a different possibility for the current Lennok.

However—

“I understand that with the fall of the Demonic Realm, many Transcendent beings have started to move directly.”

Lennok, who had been silently gazing up at the sky, spoke.

“I have already met a few Ascendants who have taken action. I know that those on par with Level 9 are about to step onto the stage in earnest….”

“……”

“But that doesn’t seem to be a reason for me to be contemplating a different path already.”

Lennok looked back at Jain and said.

“Even if the concept of a demigod you speak of is close to the cornerstone of becoming a god… I have no desire to become an Outer God in the first place. Unlike the Emperor.”

“……”

“In my opinion, making such a proposal at this point in time actually seems a bit rushed.”

Lennok tilted his head.

“Is the fact that you are observing Jinwa at this moment related to that?”

“…How unfortunate. To grasp the essence to that extent and still turn away from the truth.”

Jain closed his eyes.

“You seem to be a very arrogant person by nature. You believe your judgment is the absolute standard and blindly trust that only your answers are correct.”

“……”

“I believe such a person is more suited than anyone to ascend to this false throne of godhood, but….”

Jain, slowly taking a step, said,

“It is regrettable.”

SSSAAAAAK…!!

At that moment, the aura flowing from Jain’s body grew several times stronger than before.

His will-thought, which had been as soft as flowing water, sharpened as if it could cut, and coalesced ominously.

Simultaneously, the focus in Jain’s eyes vanished, and his entire pupils began to turn an eerie white.

As if everything up to now had been a mere reconnaissance, Jain’s very existence began to shimmer ominously like a jellyfish beyond space.

“Before the great truth, the secret arts of humans are like modules that can be swapped out at any time.”

With a hazy, whitish figure shimmering behind him, Jain focused his half-opened eyes and formed a hand seal.

“From now on, I will show you a part of the great truth that you do not know.”

“…That chant is.”

“Domain… deployment.”

FWOOOSH!!!!

Before Jain’s words had even fallen, Lennok read the signs, and a colorless ripple exploded outwards, beginning to cover the space.

Domain deployment. It wouldn’t be strange for a powerful spellcaster to know how to use it, but his opponent was a swordsman who had been using a Miniature Universe just moments before.

What did it mean for Jain to attempt to use Domain deployment right before Lennok’s eyes?

A being capable of using both a Domain and a Miniature Universe, something even Lennok, who had faced all sorts of monsters, had rarely seen.

A strange man who called himself a vassal of a Grand Duke. Befitting an apostate who served a corrupted demigod, did he possess a specialty that easily surpassed ordinary forbidden arts?

“I know you have something hidden, but I’ll finish this here.”

Lennok reached out his hand as he watched Jain, who looked ready to shed his human guise and reveal his true form at any moment.

“I see no reason to watch any longer.”

Jain was not a Transcendent stronger than Lennok in a direct power struggle, but he possessed an ability specialized in nullifying or deflecting damage.

His entire body was so flexible and slippery that he could pass through space, and his very existence was empty, making it feel like attacks simply wouldn’t land properly.

If it was difficult to settle the matter by simply overwhelming the engagement, then there was no need to hesitate in using a major technique here.

RUUUUMBLE!!!!

The demonic giant, its muscular arm planted on the ground, slowly rose from behind Lennok.

As if mimicking Lennok’s gestures, the demonic giant slowly began to form hand seals in the air.

As if the fierce physical battle had been a lie, Lennok and Jain simultaneously formed hand seals and began their incantations.

In the instant that the wills of the two, who had assembled their will-thoughts to alter reality in a fraction of a second, were about to descend upon the battlefield—

A majestic voice, accompanied by a tremendous blast of fire, rained down violently upon Lennok and Jain.

“Both of you, that is enough.”

“……!!!!”

KRR-R-R-R-R-RUMBLE!!!!!!

Despite the complete lack of any prior signs, the firepower was so overwhelming that both fighters flinched almost simultaneously.

Jain’s focus snapped back in an instant as he flicked his fingers, and the demonic giant shielded Lennok with one arm.

The immense flame was enough to completely cover and surge over the entire street of the commercial district where the two had been fighting.

Immediately after, someone plummeted from the far reaches of Gateway City’s sky at an incredible speed and landed on the ground.

KRA-KOOOOOM!!!!

The ground shook, and for a moment, it felt like the entire city was rippling with the illusion of the heavy impact.

But Lennok’s expression hardened as he saw the person who had landed at the center of the battlefield.

“…What is that?”

A woman with red hair flowing like a burning flame.

Clad in full-body armor tinged with red, her figure at first glance felt as massive as a heavy tank.

The sight of a female knight, wreathed in hot flames, glaring fiercely at both Lennok and Jain.

“To think you’d cause such a commotion while I was away for a moment.”

“……”

“Both of you, halt your mana and retract your spellcraft. I will not tolerate any more rampaging in Gateway City.”

Was she one of the superhumans who had intervened to mediate this chaotic situation?

But Lennok focused more on the presence emanating from the female knight than her actions.

‘Incredible firepower. For a Transcendent like this to be staying in Gateway City…’

She was openly suppressing the entire surrounding space with her flames, yet not a single gap could be felt.

A contradiction where, despite standing between Lennok and Jain and facing them both, there was no opening to exploit.

Not only was her innate ability strong, but she was a warrior who had been thoroughly trained over a long period. She must be an incredibly powerful Transcendent.

In that case, could it be that this woman was the ‘Guardian’ Soryu had mentioned?

Jain seemed to have sensed it as well, tilting his head with a curious expression.

“I don’t know who you are, but you speak as if you have the right to punish us. Are you perhaps a member of the patrol?”

“I am not a member of the patrol. However, it is certain that I am a being entrusted with the mission to protect this city.”

The female knight cut Jain off and took a step forward.

“I will apprehend you on the charge of attacking Gateway City. Lay down your weapon and kneel. Or will you choose to be burned to death by my hand?”

“Well now. It seems to me that the one who actually set fire to Gateway City was you, not us.”

Jain lowered his stance with a faint smile and asked.

“I heard there was a powerful guardian protecting this city. Could it be that you are the person from the rumors?”

“I am not a person.”

“Pardon?”

Jain tilted his head at the incomprehensible answer, but the shock did not end there.

The next words that came from the woman’s mouth were of a kind Lennok could never have imagined.

“I am the Guardian Spirit Beast of Evan Martinez, born in Gateway City.”

The woman, holding the blazing flames like a greatsword, declared.

“I am a being who bears the mission to protect this gate in Cheonbeon’s stead.”

“…What?”