Chapter 1385: Variation (24)

“We need to hurry. Let’s move towards the Gate without delay.”

Inside the Fiery Shrine, where flames falling from the Flame Flower formed a colossal pillar of fire and manifested.

Lennok was walking down an ornate corridor located within the annex, accompanied by Hylaea.

Hylaea’s steps seemed strangely rushed, conveying an urgency as if she were being pursued by someone not present.

Perhaps she, too, knew that now was their chance, having lured Martina outside with Agneta’s help.

“I’d heard the Demon King of Vulcan was an unparalleled eccentric, but this is truly beyond anything I imagined.”

Whoosh!!

With a sharp voice, Freya landed in the corridor, grabbing hold of a Mana Thread.

Sarin, hanging upside down from the ceiling, winked, while Soryu leaned against a window, scanning the surroundings.

The superhumans naturally divided their roles and moved as soon as they gathered near the Gate.

“Tower Lord. I know you’re excited to be out and about after a long time, but you should try to rein it in.”

Freya, dusting off her clothes as she stood up, spoke with an incredulous tone.

“What do you mean, you blow up the commercial district right after leaving with Maiya? Are you like a spy sent to ruin our plans?”

“First of all, let me make it clear that I wasn’t the one who caused the commotion.”

Lennok, walking down the corridor after Hylaea, shrugged his shoulders.

“I merely acted out of necessity to protect myself. In fact, I’d appreciate it if you understood that I chose this method precisely to avoid a full-blown fight.”

“……”

At Lennok’s nonchalant words, the expressions of the members gathered in the annex turned bizarre.

“That’s not even a funny answer. For you, of all people, to say you did this because you didn’t want to fight…”

“It’s like he’s strangely coherent yet completely illogical. Is this what a true madman is like?”

“Didn’t I tell you multiple times? This guy is genuinely insane. He’s on a completely different level from other Transcendent beings.”

“If you’re just going to interpret things however you please, why bother asking me?”

As Lennok shook his head, Hylaea turned back, grabbing a locked door at the end of the corridor.

“Adamant Thunder. It’s fine if you believe yourself to be a rational being, but let’s first get a clear understanding of the current situation.”

“……”

Was it just a delusion if her tone of voice felt like she was coaxing and placating a completely insane person?

“As I said before, to find the location of Paradise Lost, we need to steal the Flame Flower’s authority. To be precise, we need to interfere with The Veil to gain the ability to search the entire Central Front.”

“……”

“The problem is that we can’t be sure how much the Guardian’s presence will hinder us in that process. Agneta is drawing attention outside, but we don’t know how long she can keep her occupied.”

Click. Hylaea, opening the locked door with a single gesture, said as she headed into a deep passage within the annex.

“If the rumors are true and the Guardian is Cheonbeon’s Guardian Spirit Beast, then in the worst-case scenario, we might have to fight her directly. What do you think?”

“You’ve already heard the full story from Maiya and the Conjunction Spell Master, haven’t you? That’s all I know too.”

“……My question was poorly phrased. I don’t want to clarify the facts; I want your judgment.”

Hylaea sighed.

“After all, you’re the one among us with the most outstanding spellcraft insight. It would be strange to forcibly deny that.”

“Interesting words.”

Lennok chuckled.

“Does that imply Pandemonium has reached its own conclusions about me?”

“With Victor currently absent, the participation of a powerful spellcaster is an extremely important matter.”

Hylaea said, her voice slightly muffled as she moved.

“All the members here are in agreement on that point. At the very least, your presence is undoubtedly a tremendous boost to our power.”

“……”

“As long as we can’t be sure how dangerous it will be to recover Myeong’s legacy from Paradise Lost, it’s also true that we need a variable beyond the risks we’re willing to take.”

Hylaea met Lennok’s gaze and said.

“Your presence will be an uncontrollable variable for us… but that will be true for Jinwa as well, not just us.”

“You’re the only one here who’s had a proper conversation with that female knight. I’d appreciate a clear judgment.”

Soryu, leaning against the wall with a frozen precious sword slung over her shoulder, her eyes gleamed.

“What kind of being is that female Guardian? Do you truly believe she is Cheonbeon’s kin, guarding the Gate?”

“I’m not sure if she’s truly a Guardian Spirit Beast.”

Lennok replied calmly, organizing his thoughts about Martina.

“But in some way… she might indeed be connected to Cheonbeon.”

“……”

There’s no doubt that Martina awakened by receiving the power of Hundred-Thousand-Mile Heavenly Flower: Ninefold Lanterns.

However, Lennok couldn’t know what kind of being Martina originally was before she received the Flame Flower’s power.

Despite awakening with the Flame Flower’s power, she was a high-level Transcendent possessing unbelievably powerful swordsmanship.

That very fact suggests that Martina wasn’t originally a Guardian Spirit Beast, but rather had a different status or origin.

Lennok, too, had restrained his actions until now, not because of why Martina awakened, but because he didn’t know who she truly was.

That’s also why he was still observing the situation, even after Hylaea explained the plan to steal the Flame Flower’s authority.

As long as Martina’s existence was subordinate to the Flame Flower, she wouldn’t pose a threat to Lennok, but it would become troublesome if there was someone behind the scenes who had “buried” Martina in this city.

At the very least, he needed to find out more about Martina’s true identity.

“……So, that’s how it is.”

“This has become troublesome. Our relationship with Evan Martinez isn’t exactly good either.”

At Lennok’s answer, Hylaea and Soryu exchanged glances simultaneously.

“Who here has met Cheonbeon directly? Was there anyone else besides Maiya and Ermont?”

Evan Martinez had left significant battle records across the continent, but had rarely been involved with Pandemonium itself.

At most, his competition with Maiya over Jindun’s Cradle in the Hanghasa Labyrinth was the extent of his meaningful encounters.

Originally, most of Cheonbeon’s actions had been concentrated in the Central Front after his defeat by the mad wizard known as Adamant Thunder.

“Could we gain her cooperation through dialogue or negotiation? If we’re going to use the Flame Flower’s authority, that might be easier.”

“Would a being who calls herself the Gate’s Guardian permit that? If we reveal our intentions, we might just provoke her further.”

“It wouldn’t matter if we could overpower her… but we’ll have to adapt our approach depending on how strong the Guardian is.”

Freya asked Lennok.

“Tower Lord. What’s it like to fight the Guardian directly? Can you give us a rough idea of how strong she is?”

“To be precise, I haven’t fought her directly, but… in terms of overall combat ability, she’s strong enough to make the name Guardian Spirit Beast seem understated.”

Lennok replied.

“This entire Gateway City is her battlefield. She continuously draws power from the Flame Flower in the sky, and it seems she can also impose that power on her opponents.”

“……”

“She’s an incredibly powerful knight herself, and the flames she wields have reached strategic-grade output. It would be best not to even consider facing her head-on.”

“……That’s a rather vague answer. Can you explain it more clearly?”

Sarin frowned.

“You might dismiss her as merely ‘troublesome,’ but we’re different. It’s crucial whether we absolutely shouldn’t fight the Guardian, or if we can at least gauge our chances of victory.”

“More clear explanation, huh…”

Lennok fell into thought.

An 8-level Transcendent, who had received the Flame Flower’s power, wielding martial prowess that was halfway adjacent to the realm of Authority.

Facing Martina was akin to fighting on the opponent’s home ground, at a disadvantage in terms of elemental compatibility.

Considering her explosive flame manipulation, monstrous greatsword skills, and even the unreasonable ability to forcibly burn others’ mana—

“Martina herself won’t be stronger than all the forces gathered here combined.”

Lennok, who had been thinking with his arms crossed, said.

“However, if we fight inside Gateway City, it might be difficult to break through even if everyone here takes part.”

“……That strong?”

As the other members fell into deep thought with serious expressions at the unexpectedly high evaluation, Lennok suddenly spoke as if something had just occurred to him.

“Ah, of course, I excluded myself when saying that.”

“……”

The members looked at Lennok with chilling gazes, but he paid them no mind, lost in thought.

“If I take the risk of drawing Jinwa’s attention and use lightning magic, I could certainly break through. But I can’t say it would take no time at all. It’s quite an interesting point for me…”

“Hey, can you hear me?”

“How long would it take to pierce the Flame Flower’s power with my lightning? While the output is different, the ultimate destination itself is at a similar level, so it might not be easily broken through. Indeed, this kind of thing is difficult to know without experimenting directly…”

“Van!!”

At that moment, Lennok abruptly snapped out of his reverie at the sound of his name.

The members of Pandemonium, gathered in the reception room, were staring at Lennok with bewildered expressions.

“My apologies. Where were we?”

“……”

“Heheheh… See? Didn’t I tell you? It’s not my fault I brought Adamant Thunder here.”

Ermont, still bound by ropes and dragged along like a slug, lay prostrate on the floor, chuckling sinisterly.

“Do you understand now how strangely eccentric this person is? Do you know how many bizarre things happened on the way here?!”

“……”

“This is all Adamant Thunder’s fault for going around senselessly killing people and piling up karma. I’m being unfairly blamed!”

“Hey, I told you to shut up!”

“As for me, hearing that actually reassures me that participating in this plan was a good idea.”

While Freya stepped on Ermont’s face, the Conjunction Spell Master nodded with a satisfied expression.

“That move, crushing the strange jellyfish’s heart… it was a technique so beautiful it left me speechless. It felt as if I had recovered half of my lost brain.”

“Ugh…”

“Damn it, even his metaphors…”

Ignoring the horrified reactions from all sides, the Spell Master smiled chillingly.

The black magic Lennok had used to burst Jain’s heart seemed to perfectly suit the Conjunction Spell Master’s taste.

“Indeed, my judgment wasn’t wrong. Let’s work well together until the end of this matter.”

“So, when is that Guardian Spirit Beast returning?”

Soryu turned her gaze, her expression cold.

“It’s absurd enough for a human to claim to be a Guardian Spirit Beast, but shouldn’t we finish this quickly before that crazy woman returns?”

They were in a situation where they had to touch The Veil, which hung over the entire Gateway City, to find the location of the moving Paradise Lost.

However, to touch The Veil, they first had to interact with the Flame Flower, which currently served as the Gate’s replacement in this city.

If there had been no administrator for the Flame Flower, they could have openly moved around and tried various things, but currently, an 8-level Transcendent claiming to be Cheonbeon’s Guardian Spirit Beast was holding fast in Gateway City.

Ultimately, no matter which way the discussion went, it was impossible to proceed with the plan while excluding Martina’s presence.

“I don’t even know if that woman is truly a Guardian Spirit Beast to begin with. Is it even possible for a human to become one?”

“If approached through occult medicine, it’s not entirely impossible.”

The Conjunction Spell Master replied, arms crossed, to Freya’s blunt question.

“A human soul is like a highly rare catalyst. It’s entirely possible for the catalyst itself to undergo transmutation.”

“That’s a difficult concept. Are you saying a soul was transmuted into something like a spirit body or a spirit beast?”

“It’s not something that can be done intentionally. Usually, they just fall into being vengeful spirits or earth-bound spirits. There are no cases where their intellect remains intact like that.”

The Spell Master fiddled with his hands as he spoke.

“Moreover, that woman possesses a physical body, and at that point, it’s virtually the realm of resurrection, which is outside my field. I suspect her existence was somehow subjugated to Cheonbeon’s domain.”

“What? So it’s all just speculation. You’ve done so many human experiments and surgeries, yet you don’t know this?”

“I apologize for my lack of experience. Would you mind if I dissected you to supplement my deficient case studies?”

“Let’s stick to the original plan. I’ll find the location of Paradise Lost as quickly as possible before the Guardian returns.”

While the Spell Master and Freya, one impassive but subtly annoyed, the other clearly agitated, engaged in a war of nerves, Hylaea reached a conclusion.

“As soon as we find Paradise Lost, we’ll use the Gate to cross over to the Central Front. If she truly is the Gate’s Guardian Spirit Beast, as Adamant Thunder said, she won’t be able to pursue us far.”

“Um, excuse me, but haven’t we not even reached the Flame Flower yet? Isn’t it already too late?”

“It’ll only take a moment, so it’s fine. And—”

Hylaea, opening the door at the very end of the passage without hesitation, said.

“We’re already here.”

WHOOSH!!!

As the door at the end of the passage opened, an intense blast of heat immediately swept over the group’s faces.

An otherworldly heat, as if they were standing directly before a scorching sun about to explode.

Even the other members, who had prepared themselves, momentarily winced and lowered their heads.

“Kugh…!!”

KWOOOHHH!!!

A majestic sight as eight petals continuously rippled, incinerating the skies above Gateway City.

They were directly witnessing the Flame Flower, a symbol of Evan Martinez, semi-permanently burning The Veil.

“This is…”

“The moment we steal the Flame Flower’s authority, I’ll pinpoint Paradise Lost’s location. Everyone, get ready.”

Leaving those speechless from the overwhelming light filling their vision behind, Hylaea moved.

Holding a fragment of The Veil that emitted a mysterious, stardust-like glow, she drew forth her mana and began to walk.

Lennok, who had been standing as if naturally protecting Hylaea amidst the scorching wind, asked with his arms crossed.

“So, how do you plan to steal the Flame Flower’s authority? Is there a way to do this without the Guardian Spirit Beast noticing?”

“Though I said ‘steal authority,’ I don’t actually believe we can truly steal Cheonbeon’s Flame Flower.”

Hylaea stretched out her hand and replied.

“Borrowing its power for a moment will be enough. So, instead of directly stealing the Flame Flower, we’ll use fragments of The Veil to forcibly make the Flame Flower grow.”

“……Forcibly make it grow?”

“Evan Martinez’s Flame Flower is currently burning, using The Veil hanging over Gateway City as fuel. If we adjust The Veil to feed the Flame Flower more ‘kindling,’ we can push its power to the extreme.”

At Lennok’s question, Hylaea’s expression became calm.

“The moment we forcibly make the Flame Flower bloom fully, there will definitely be a brief window when its explosively increased output momentarily slips out of control. We’ll seize that opening.”

“I see…”

So, instead of weakening the Flame Flower’s power, they plan to forcibly make it grow to cause its existing control authority to glitch out.

Hylaea, with her Talent for Duality, could then capture and briefly utilize that displaced authority during the process.

Since this involves making the Flame Flower grow stronger rather than tampering with it, the chances of a Guardian Spirit Beast suspecting anything during the process are low.

Even if Martina notices the anomaly, by then they would have already achieved their objective.

From Lennok’s perspective, hearing the plan for the first time, it felt like a surprisingly practical and meaningful idea. He was reminded anew that Hylaea was quite a capable administrator.

Indeed, the mere fact that Hylaea could accomplish something Lennok himself would need to use Celestial Spellcraft for made him realize the true value of her talent.

FWOOOSH!!!!

The Veil, shimmering like a transparent shroud, trembled, and the Flame Flower’s blaze grew fiercer.

A spectacle of semi-permanently burning flames consuming their fuel, explosively increasing their output and intensifying the heat.

“Hwooh…!!”

“What kind of heat…!!!”

“Hoo-ahp, hoo-ahp…!!!”

The Flame Flower’s radiance turned a deeper crimson, rapidly increasing in density.

As the members standing before it struggled to breathe, bowing their heads with difficulty.

Lennok, watching the Flame Flower’s form increase its output in real-time, saw a peculiar light in his eyes.

‘The Flame Flower’s form… it’s actually changing slightly. Is it due to the Talent for Duality?’

The Flame Flower above Gateway City was the residual outcome left behind as evidence of Lennok having killed the Conjunction Spell Master.

It wasn’t something Lennok actively maintained by expending power, but rather a trace or concept that sustained itself.

While it was power he could reclaim at any time, having been separated from Lennok for so long, it was susceptible to the influence of others’ abilities.

However, the Flame Flower’s form, which had shown no particular external changes until now, was reacting to Hylaea’s ability and transforming.

He had thought he’d already confirmed its limits through Ninefold Lanterns, but this sensation was different from what Lennok knew.

Could it be that another ‘Other Side’ existed within the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Heavenly Flower, one Lennok was unaware of?

“……”

Having thought that far, Lennok realized it wasn’t an entirely illogical possibility and concentrated.

If, through Hylaea’s Talent for Duality, he was currently looking into the Flame Flower’s ‘Other Side’ in this very moment.

CRACKLE, CRACKLE…!!!

The trembling petals of the Flame Flower began to dye purple from their roots, shimmering like feathers.

It was as if the entire colossal petal was slowly swaying and transforming like a ‘purple wing.’

Shadow flames blooming from the Flame Flower’s Other Side.

At this point, if Lennok directly touched it, he wouldn’t be able to confirm that ultimate destination.

If someone manipulated the Flame Flower on Lennok’s behalf, he could properly investigate it.

Just as Lennok thought that far and instinctively turned his gaze.

“It harbors flames beautiful enough to blind one. I agree.”

“……!!”

Hylaea’s body stiffened at the voice of ‘someone’ from beside her.

A woman’s voice, different from any of the members gathered there, rigid yet resolute.

A red-haired female knight, with hair like burning flames, stood with her arms crossed, gazing up at the Flame Flower with them.

“From the moment I first saw this Flame Flower, I thought so. That preserving it was my mission and role. That the flames flowing from this flower were like my very blood.”

“……”

“At some point, I naturally came to realize that I was created to borrow the power of this Flame Flower.”

“……You.”

“Therefore, no matter what, I cannot allow you to defile Martinez’s will. My apologies.”

Martina, seeing the members standing on the rooftop of the Fiery Shrine, drew forth her mana with a resolute expression.

“I trust you made your resolve the moment you set foot here uninvited.”

KWOOOHHH…!!!

The surrounding atmosphere rapidly heated up, raising the temperature.

At Martina’s powerful aura, which could change the ambient temperature with mere will, several members’ expressions stiffened.

This was because they immediately realized that the female knight before them was no ordinary formidable opponent, just as Lennok had said.

Amidst the raging heatwave, the members’ will-thoughts rapidly crossed paths, sizing up the situation.

‘This is no ordinary monster. What are we going to do?’

‘You guys decide. We knew we might have to fight.’

‘I didn’t expect it to be this intense. Can’t we just go home?’

‘Shut your mouth?!’

“You’re all quite busy chattering amongst yourselves.”

Martina, observing them, took a step forward with faint anger.

“Even if I can’t hear you, I can see everything. Do my words not register as words to you?”

“……”

“If you have no intention of even exchanging words, then I have no choice but to act without further ado.”

FWOOOSH!!!

Flames ignited from the female knight’s fingertips, swirling to form a colossal greatsword.

The greatsword’s blade, heated to a lava-like intensity, cleaved through the air, bathing everything in hellish heat.

“She’s coming…!!”

“This is in front of Martinez’s Flame Flower. Think of it as fighting the real Cheonbeon!!!”

“Ah, seriously. I really didn’t want to face her like this again!!!”

At that very moment, as several members simultaneously prepared for combat.

“Domain: activate.”

Martina unleashed an incantation no one had expected from the very beginning.

“Full Bloom. Hundred-Thousand-Mile Heavenly Flower.”