Chapter 1389: Variation (28)

CRACKLING!

Ermont ran wildly, dodging the arrows pouring from the sky.

“Waaah! Are we there yet?!”

As soon as he hurriedly chanted a Gemstone Spellcraft to create a protective shield, a rain of arrows poured down on his head.

Ermont, curled up like a hedgehog and rolling on the ground, shrieked.

“No, why is it taking so long?! Aren’t you a Grand Spell Master of the Order Alliance? Shouldn’t you be able to dismantle a barrier like that in one go?!

“I am a Conjunction Spell Master, not a Barrier Spellcaster.”

The Conjunction Spell Master, carefully observing the barrier magic circle installed in front of the labyrinth’s barrier wall, replied.

“I’m not familiar with these kinds of barriers. If you’re going to complain, do it yourself.”

“T-they’re coming from over there again…!!!”

Rumble!

From beyond the colossal labyrinth, giant knights clad in heavy armor rose relentlessly.

Brandishing swords between the labyrinth walls and floor, their massive forms advanced purposefully toward Ermont and the Spell Master.

Ooooh!

As mana surged over the blades of their colossal greatswords, overlaying them like sword aura, the alloy barrier wall was cut through like tofu.

Ermont, running to evade the pouring arrows, said with an urgent expression.

“T-to warn you, I really can’t fight those. Seriously!”

“It’s almost done, so shut up.”

Click!

Manipulating mana, he completed and rotated the internal symbols of the barrier magic circle floating in the air.

At the same time, one side of the tightly sealed barrier wall opened with a roar, revealing a path.

“It’s open. Come in.”

“Wait, wait, wait!!!!”

Ermont, who had run over breathlessly, barely passed through the barrier wall just before the passage sealed itself shut.

Beyond the tightly closed wall, only the sound of the wandering giant knights fiercely pounding on the wall echoed.

Thump, Thump!

“Haa, haa…!!!”

Ermont, drenched in sweat and sprawled on the floor, looked up at the Spell Master.

“W-well, at least we made it in time…? I really thought we were going to fail this time.”

“With enough time, my intellect cannot fail. It’s only bothersome to unravel a tangled barrier within a limited time.”

“Wow, that really sounds incredibly smug. I couldn’t even imitate it on purpose.”

Avesta Chapman was an 8-level Grand Spell Master who wielded Trait-type Conjunction Spellcraft.

He was a madman obsessed with medicine and biological experiments on living humans, but it wasn’t that he had no talent for deciphering magic circles at all.

Having risen to the position of an Order Alliance Grand Spell Master, he could somehow interpret complex spell formations even without extensive foundational knowledge.

The problem was that such tangled barriers were scattered throughout this labyrinth, so numerous they were tripping hazards.

“It’s annoying enough to find a path, but I have to solve a problem every time I pass through a maze.”

The Conjunction Spell Master looked down at Ermont with an unexpressive face.

“Enough. From now on, you do it. Your descendant was so capable even after death, so why are you like this?”

“No, just because we’re from the same family doesn’t mean our innate talents are all the same, does it?”

Ermont grabbed his trembling legs and stood up.

“That friend was the last survivor of the Black Edict, which has endured for hundreds of years. In many ways, their talent was bound to be different, wasn’t it?”

“It’s true that the spellcasters of the five oldest families were famously stubborn.”

The Spell Master said, looking around the newly opened labyrinth with folded arms.

“But the spellcasters from that family I saw in the Order Alliance didn’t feel like this.”

“Ah, you mean that friend who is the successor to the Twilight Veil Bloodline? I heard they were recently nominated as a candidate for Order Alliance Grand Spell Master.”

“I don’t know much about them. They’re probably one of the candidates to replace my position.”

“……You. Meeting you now, I have to ask, what exactly do you know?”

Ermont asked with a bewildered expression.

“Even though you were once the Master of Gateway City, you didn’t even know about this underground existence. No matter how I think about it, I don’t think I’m the one who should be interrogated.”

“I don’t know. Do you think I would have had any interest in such matters?”

The Spell Master replied, turning his steps.

“I must have been conducting experiments or surgeries on humans in my Domain. I haven’t seen it directly, but it’s obvious.”

“That was your doing. Why are you talking about it as if it’s someone else’s business?”

“Because the moment my brainstem was severed, my left and right brain became completely different people.”

The Spell Master answered with an unexpressive face.

“I risked my own fate by experimenting to reach the same place as the Alliance Leader, and I accepted an unexpected outcome. This life, in a way, is closer to a coincidence I didn’t intend.”

“…….”

“Because of that, I can’t feel any emotion about what I did in Gateway City, or my ultimate fate. It wasn’t me; it was the ‘me’ who existed as a Grand Spell Master in Gateway City.”

“Isn’t that just because you’re a psychopath who doesn’t understand human emotions?”

Ermont grumbled, getting to his feet and following the Spell Master.

“Anyway, let’s just get out of this maze quickly. Ever since participating in the Subjugation Operation, just seeing a labyrinth like this makes me feel nauseous from trauma.”

“Speaking of which, there were rumors that Adamant Thunder’s Magic Tower, which participated in the Subjugation Operation, had a very unique structure.”

The Conjunction Spell Master turned his gaze to Ermont.

His tone was as if he was only now finding interest in Ermont, whom he had met in Gateway City.

“If you survived the Subjugation Operation, you must have met Adamant Thunder directly. Was he like this back then too?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“That man is one of the Transcendent beings who have killed the most superhumans in this era. There are many powerful Seekers, but only a handful can single-handedly crush a major central power.”

The Spell Master continued his steps.

“Therefore, I naturally thought he would be a fiendish individual obsessively fixated on killing people, but surprisingly, he prefers an astonishingly neat and refined method. His aesthetic in handling humans was even something I could learn from.”

“The saying that people only learn the bad things first must have been about people like you.”

“If I had known that Adamant Thunder was such an intellectual with a profound philosophy, I would have participated in the Subjugation Operation sooner to observe his skill up close. Looking back, there are many parts of my choice that I regret….”

Ermont stared at the Conjunction Spell Master, who was muttering as if enchanted, like he was looking at a madman.

But the Spell Master paid no attention to Ermont’s feelings and asked.

“So, even now, I want to imagine it by hearing about what happened back then from a relevant party who participated in the Subjugation Operation. What was it actually like?”

“Well, I’m not curious about what kind of philosophy you felt from Adamant Thunder… but I do heartily agree that he’s a wizard who’s even more messed up than imaginable.”

Ermont, as if he had been waiting, poured out criticisms about Lennok.

“At first glance, he seems more reasonable than a normal wizard, but at crucial moments, he feels strangely twisted. Now that I think about it, his essence hasn’t changed much, whether it was during the Subjugation Operation or now.”

“Interesting… keep babbling.”

“You know that Adamant Thunder killed tens of thousands of Deadrise’s Legion members during the Subjugation Operation, right? Do you know there were only two times that man spoke directly during the war?”

Ermont shook his head vigorously.

“Once at the beginning and once at the end of the war. Before annihilating the main Legion force, and after killing them all and even the Legion Commander. Except for those times, he just silently slaughtered everyone without a word.”

“Is he the type to restrain his words before acting? An outstanding intellectual would naturally possess excellent self-control.”

“It’s the same now. Even if he pretends to be normal, once he starts using his power, he becomes insanely violent—isn’t that part of it? I think that war was truly the peak of it.”

“If things go wrong, blood must be spilled… excellent. If one has the discernment to choose who to kill, there’s no need to restrain oneself.”

“……You completely changed your tune from earlier. Aren’t you, somehow, evaluating every aspect of Adamant Thunder far too highly?”

Ermont said, distancing himself from the Spell Master with a sour expression.

“It’s not like he has a dual personality. It’s hard for me to explain since I only ever get beaten up when I encounter him, but perhaps ‘multi-faceted’ is the right word.”

“…….”

“Rather than having particularly strange eccentricities or mental illnesses, he harbors countless complex and diverse temperaments within himself. He merely takes them out one by one as needed.”

Ermont grumbled.

“Now that I’m explaining it, I realize he’s still far stranger than Victor. He’s definitely not the type one should associate with in many ways. Once this is over, I absolutely must not get involved with him again—”

“Interesting.”

“Yes? Of course it is. A psychopath obsessed with biological experiments, like you, would naturally get along perfectly with Adamant Thunder, wouldn’t they?”

“No, I’m talking about your perspective.”

“What?”

“Perhaps because you’re a black wizard who has seized other people’s bodies for hundreds of years. Your insight into humans is sharper than I expected. For someone so utterly frivolous, you have depth.”

Suddenly, the Conjunction Spell Master was staring intently at Ermont with an unexpressive face.

“And your surprisingly plausible deductions when speaking about the unprecedented true nature of a wizard. You’re useful in unexpected areas.”

“Ahem, why are you suddenly praising me like that?”

Ermont cleared his throat and acted demurely.

“Well, it’s a bit late to say it now, but you’re not bad for a hopelessly twisted psychopath either. In fact, I think it’s amazing that you can communicate with only half a brain—”

“I wasn’t saying it to hear praise based on your crude medical knowledge.”

The Spell Master said, ignoring Ermont’s scrunched-up expression.

“However, if Adamant Thunder is indeed a being embodying the multi-faceted nature you described, I merely thought I could vaguely guess why the Alliance Leader desires him.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“That’s not something you need to know.”

As the Spell Master turned and walked into the maze, Ermont grumbled and followed behind him.

“Hey, don’t be like that, let’s share some knowledge. Are you saying you’ll only listen to what you want to hear and pretend not to know the rest?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember well.”

“Again, you pretend not to know everything at times like this. Let’s not be so cold when we’re both prolonging our lives by taking over other people’s bodies.”

“It’s disgusting, don’t group me with you.”

“Don’t be so unyielding. Adamant Thunder at least pretends to be accommodating in situations like this.”

As Ermont subtly tried to act friendly, the Conjunction Spell Master sharply rebuffed him, continuing through the maze.

Then, from the darkness far ahead, an incredibly powerful, brilliant blue lightning flashed.

“Whoa?!”

“I know where to go in this labyrinth.”

Ignoring Ermont, who had jumped in place, the Spell Master looked up.

“As you said, Adamant Thunder doesn’t seem to have any intention of holding back.”

Inside the colossal labyrinth beneath Gateway City.

Lennok, accompanied by Freya and Agneta, soon arrived before the Black Coffin enshrined at the end of the labyrinth.

The black coffin, left intact at the end of the ruins Lennok had shattered with lightning.

Freya wore a complex expression, as it was evidence that Lennok had exquisitely controlled the output even while unleashing thunderbolts.

But instead of approaching the Black Coffin immediately, Lennok began dismantling all the barriers of the altar and facilities surrounding the coffin.

“A Kundara-style interpretation of a multi-composite barrier magic circle. I know the solution. I’ll handle it.”

“…….”

“The altar’s pattern. It’s a pattern I remember. At first glance, it seems like the combination of patterns needs attention, but the color scheme is actually the key.”

“…….”

“A Cipher Spellcraft based on dimensional functions? The solution is complex, but the structure is stable. It’s something that can be smashed with force.”

“……Tower Lord, how do you know so much?”

Freya asked in a sour voice, watching Lennok forcefully destroy the Cipher Spellcraft.

“You’ve been doing everything yourself. At this rate, we won’t be needed at all.”

Less than 20 minutes had passed since they entered the labyrinth.

Not only had Lennok torn through the labyrinth in one go and found the Black Coffin, but he was also dismantling all the surrounding barriers and ciphers.

Even without properly reverse-calculating and solving all the barriers, simply touching them with the electricity around his fingertips would destroy or crush the barriers.

A strange sight, as if the entire facility was being paralyzed, like an EMP had hit all its systems.

“If this Black Coffin was indeed left by Myeong, it needs to be handled with more care.”

Fzzzt…!!

Lennok said, lightly clenching his hand to extinguish the thunder and lightning.

“This is part of Myeong’s legacy, and it’s a catalyst strongly connected to Paradise Lost itself. If used well, we might be able to use it to cross directly into the deepest part of Paradise Lost.”

“That’s…”

“If Myeong was defeated by Jinwa in Paradise Lost, it’s highly probable that it was decided only after he reached the deepest part of Paradise Lost. If this Black Coffin could be a medium to reveal the most dangerous secrets of Paradise Lost…”

Lennok carefully moved his hand, dismantling the barrier around the Black Coffin to prevent the mana flow from changing, and said.

“There’s no harm in handling the Black Coffin carefully. Fortunately, due to Myeong’s power left here, it seems there won’t be a big problem even if I use lightning magic now.”

“…….”

With the darkness extending from the Black Coffin momentarily concealing Lennok’s lightning from reaching outside the labyrinth, he wouldn’t have to worry about the Outer Gods or Ascendants detecting his power even if he unleashed thunderbolts here.

“……Somehow, I’m only now realizing that the Tower Lord is participating in the plan.”

Freya said, looking at Lennok with a peculiar expression.

“You just stood by and watched, except when beating us up. You were this helpful?”

“I was merely observing because there were those who disliked my participation. I said I would wait until a proper agreement was reached.”

“What are you talking about? You were going to interfere arbitrarily anyway.”

Freya tossed her hair back.

“Anyway, Tower Lord, you’re a high-ranking individual, so you don’t even intend to join Pandemonium. Don’t pretend to be considerate of us unnecessarily.”

“…….”

“I know you’re more normal than I thought, but aren’t you just cooperating here because of the Nether King?”

“That’s not wrong.”

Lennok averted his gaze.

“To be precise, I have questions about what he was thinking when he left such an item.”

“What?”

“There was a moment when he could have conveyed anything he wanted to say.”

Lennok said, slowly taking a step.

“Don’t you think there must be a reason why he deliberately left it in this form?”

“…….”

That day, when he killed the Conjunction Spell Master in Gateway City under the identity of Cheonbeon.

Lennok met Myeong, who had regained consciousness in the heart of the Gabihaeng, just before everything ended.

Myeong had conveyed to Lennok the concept of Disengagement, the potential of black magic, and protection from Jinwa.

All of that remained for Lennok as profoundly important meanings.

But if so, why did Myeong leave this Black Coffin in Gateway City without saying a single word to Lennok?

Even though there was a moment when he could have directly conveyed anything he wanted to say to Lennok, the reason Myeong left this Black Coffin here without a word.

The reason Lennok was able to discover this place long after Myeong’s defeat by Jinwa.

“There is still an important secret hidden in the Nether King’s Gabihaeng that we don’t know.”

Lennok said.

“I can’t help but wonder if Myeong somehow predicted this moment and left a part of it here…”

“……That’s.”

“Adamant Thunder.”

At that moment, Hylaea, who had been far away outside the altar, approached Lennok.

She pointed to the cellphone in her hand with one hand and said calmly.

“I’ve contacted the outside and preparations are complete. As soon as we retrieve the Black Coffin, we can move directly near Paradise Lost.”

“Understood.”

“Because you destroyed most of the functions of this labyrinth, contact with the outside has begun. It’s an absurd situation.”

Hylaea said with a bitter smile and a shrug.

“I’ve also contacted the other members and told those who want to leave first to get ready. Let’s retrieve just this Black Coffin and depart immediately.”

“Your work ethic is good.”

Lennok slowly stood up and looked up.

“Coincidentally, my preparations are also complete.”

The end of the underground labyrinth, reached by forcibly destroying all the difficulties and barrier walls obstructing the maze.

On the upper layer of the old altar, covered in dust like a long-neglected ruin.

A black coffin, half-open and radiating a dark light, lay askew.

“…….”

The black coffin, almost a symbol of Myeong, the transcendent black wizard who would be remembered in continental history.

His lingering traces, clinging to the line of good until the very last moment, as he headed for Paradise Lost.

Still, every time he thought of that moment, a part of his heart felt cold and dark.

Freya, observing Lennok, stepped back, and Hylaea brought her hand to her eyes.

“At first glance, there are no special traces or anomalies… but we still shouldn’t get too close, should we?”

“The Black Coffin… is half-open. There seems to be nothing inside the coffin….”

Hylaea muttered, observing the Black Coffin through her Talent for Duality.

“Could it be that the inside of the Black Coffin was empty from the beginning…?”

“No. That’s not it.”

Lennok, gazing at it with a cold expression, slowly reached out his hand towards the coffin.

A dense array of unreadable characters was meticulously engraved in a sharp script on the coffin’s surface.

“What the Nether King truly intended to leave here from the beginning… was not an object.”

Whoosh—

As he touched the cold Black Coffin, the arm of the Demonic Giant, summoned right beside him, descended.

The moment its claw-like, muscular forearm slowly brushed over the coffin’s surface.

Lennok was able to interpret the meaning of the script, entirely different from the common continental language, through the Demonic Giant.

[Herein are the details of the contract with the Imperial Three Grand Dukes and the Grand Chancellor of the Ars Nova Imperial Palace.]

A contract with the Imperial Three Grand Dukes.

Did Myeong make some kind of contract with one of the Three Grand Dukes to achieve something?

The phrases written below contained even more unexpected information.

[One. Borrow causality from the Council of Fate to halt the Gabihaeng.]

[One. Nullify The Prohibition of the Imperial Palace and open the Gate with the authority of the Grand Chancellor.]

[One. Save and purify the participants of the Gabihaeng who fell into Hell.]

“…….”

To stop the Gabihaeng. To nullify The Prohibition. To save the participants of Hell.

But an even more shocking explanation was written below, as a final single line.

The true purpose of the message Myeong intended to leave in this Black Coffin.

Lennok’s hand froze in place as he read that last line.

[In exchange for borrowing the authority of the Three Grand Dukes, I will be defeated in the decisive battle with Jinwa.]