Chapter 1404: Paradise Lost (15)

Ooooooooh!!!!

The Spell-Word Stones floating in the purple-stained sky flashed wildly.

The strange characters carved into the Spell-Word Stones emitted an eerie light, and a new Spell-Word began to assemble around the Ascendant.

[Perception Domain Collapse]

[Line of Observation Deviation]

[Conceptual Domain Substitution]

[Timeline Designation: World Line Leap]

[Phenomenon Transformation Commenced]

Kiiiiiiiiing—

The purple Spell-Word erupted with an ominous radiance, carving its meaning into spacetime as if clawing at it.

The Spell-Word, containing meanings and concepts so complex that even a Transcendent could not comprehend them, alters the Ideological Domain.

And the moment it manifests as an absolute law that overturns everything within the vast, crumbling Paradise Lost:

[True Word Unleashed]

[Causality Reversal Activated]

Every cause and effect existing in Paradise Lost began to reverse.

Fwoooooooosh!!!!!!

[The above becomes below, the below becomes above]

[Creating something from nothing, existence born from nothingness]

[Destroying the world, creating the world]

[I will be victorious]

[I will be victorious]

[I will be victorious]

[I will be victorious]

“…This is no ordinary situation.”

The purple True Word densely carved itself across the entire sky of Paradise Lost.

Lennok, who had been focusing his mind while stroking the black ring, lifted his gaze.

“I need time to summon a past memory as well, but that…”

Has Jinwa, like Lennok, begun preparations to end this conflict in a single blow?

Unlike the Spell-Word of her Incarnation Body, which contained clear and specific meanings, the Spell-Word used by the Ascendant’s true body was different.

Rather than specifying a particular law or phenomenon to change, it was a declaration that felt somewhat vague and ambiguous.

The answer to the question Lennok momentarily pondered came from beside him.

“That snail, contrary to her appearance, is quite the exceptional Spell-Word caster.”

Crackle, crackle…!!

A woman with an overwhelming presence, arms crossed and body clad in pure white lightning, gazed up at the sky.

Dressed in a magnificent dragon robe and ornaments like an emperor, she exuded both elegance and a strange dignity.

“A Spell-Word is fundamentally like a hypothetical command imposed upon things. To achieve a desired outcome, it naturally requires specific and detailed instructions.”

“…”

“However, that being is designating such a vague meaning as a predetermined result in this world. Through that, she is obtaining the ‘process’ that should not originally exist.”

The Lightning Emperor’s eyes, watching the ominously glowing Spell-Word Stones, grew calm.

“A method of declaring her own victory and creating the power to achieve it from nothing. I have seen only two Spell-Word casters who have reached such a state before.”

“I see…”

[I will be victorious]. A Spell-Word like this, with no target or condition, should not function properly.

But the Spell-Word Jinwa carved has indeed become a predetermined result in Paradise Lost, existing as reality.

Because the result is already set, the cause needed to actually produce that result naturally follows.

Since ‘Jinwa’s victory’ is predetermined, the ‘power for victory’ is continuously being granted to her from within Paradise Lost.

It is a sophistry akin to wordplay, but that very sophistry is the authority the Ascendant Jinwa has acquired through a lifetime of research and refinement.

However, it was unexpected that the tyrant sleeping in the Hall of the Thunder God knew this in such detail.

“You seem to know quite a bit about Spell-Words.”

“Is that even a question? Spellcraft that uses language as a medium has, since ancient times, been the most primitive form of curse and unique ability.”

The Lightning Emperor scoffed at Lennok’s question.

“It was a spellcraft that existed as a systematic discipline in my world as well. It would be strange if I, as a ruler, had no knowledge of it.”

“…”

“A Transcendent who can alter reality with her own words and language. She is quite an interesting opponent, the first in a long while…”

The Lightning Emperor, summoned from the Hall of the Thunder God by Lennok’s will, her eyes flashing, took a step.

“A renegade who challenges a false throne is certainly a worthy opponent to cross hands with. I shall grant your request.”

“Unfortunately, I did not summon you to defeat that Ascendant.”

Lennok lifted his gaze from beside the Lightning Emperor.

“No matter how I look at it, this situation and the Ascendant’s response are excessive. Her reaction is strangely extreme compared to the provocation I offered.”

“Hmm.”

“Revealing her true body in this situation seems far too costly for the Ascendant. Especially since she’s rampaging to the point of destroying Paradise Lost herself…”

The battle Lennok fought with Jinwa’s Incarnation Body seemed intense, but it was closer to a reconnaissance skirmish where neither revealed their Domain or Root Mindscape.

In the first place, with Jinwa about to make a deal with the Three Grand Dukes at Yeongheo Palace, he had assumed she wouldn’t expend much of her strength here.

He had intended only to strike her true body to pinpoint its location, so for Jinwa to suddenly reveal it and begin rampaging felt strange.

“I need to know why Jinwa has started to rampage so hastily. Without that, I don’t think I can handle this situation.”

She is an Ascendant who has been holed up in Paradise Lost for decades, engrossed in her own research.

No matter how corrupt and broken she had become, her patience must have reached a level incomparable to that of any mortal.

That is why he could not fathom why Jinwa was rampaging to the point of completely destroying Paradise Lost.

At the very least, it was clear that Lennok had struck a nerve of hers during their recent exchange.

Now that the situation was hurtling towards catastrophe, he had to find out the reason—

But the Lightning Emperor seemed to have no intention of understanding Lennok’s words.

“So you’re saying this will all be resolved if I burn away all of that snail’s disgusting flesh, are you not?”

“…”

“You may intend to ask me to buy you time, but such a resolution is not befitting of a ruler.”

The large woman laughed fiercely, gathering her mana while clad in her magnificent dragon robe.

“A corrupt Ascendant. A truly fitting opponent to display my radiance to all creation.”

“What have you been hearing this whole time?”

Crackle, crackle…!!!!

Without waiting for a response, the Lightning Emperor steps toward the empty air.

The flashing lightning beneath her feet acts as a foothold, lifting her body high into the sky.

A magnificent sight unfolds as the thunder and lightning falling beneath the purple sky bow their heads at the tyrant’s feet.

Shimmering white lightning strikes down from all directions, brightly illuminating Paradise Lost for a single person.

Kwagwagwagwang!!!

[I N S E C T]

The Ascendant, who had been madly firing off Spell-Words and transforming Paradise Lost into a hellscape, immediately turned her attention.

Having grasped the Lightning Emperor’s essence with a single glance, Jinwa declared:

[Y o u a r e n o t a n e n t i t y b e l o n g i n g t o t h i s w o r l d ’ s l a w o f c a u s a l i t y]

“Hoh?”

[F a i l e d S e e k e r , d o n o t i n t e r f e r e w i t h a p r e d e t e r m i n e d f a t e]

The Lightning Emperor raised the corner of her lips, and the crushed remains of a Spell-Word Stone moved, revealing Jinwa’s will.

[T h i s i s n o t a n a s c e n s i o n t h a t a f a i l u r e l i k e y o u s h o u l d d a r e t o o b s t r u c t]

“It has been a long time since I sat upon the throne and wore the crown that I have heard such a derogatory term from another.”

But the Lightning Emperor merely looked at Jinwa, raising her mana with a belligerent smile.

“Much time has passed since I went to sleep in the Hall of the Thunder God and left the mortal world. To the Seekers of this age, I must seem like nothing more than a weak failure.”

Bzzzzzzzzzt!!!!!

A bolt of pure white lightning, different from Lennok’s blue thunder, was grasped in the tyrant’s hand.

“However, though I may have failed, my lightning has never known failure.”

The Lightning Emperor whispered.

“I shall now prove it to you.”

Kiiiiiiiiing—!!!!

The pure white lightning that pierced through the purple-glowing Spell-Word Stone and struck down began to rotate.

The Lightning Unraveling Spellcraft (雷解術式) of the First World, which forcibly unravels all creation using lightning as its foundation.

The spellcraft of an emperor descends, dominating all concepts in the world under the authority of the Lightning Emperor.

And with a thunderous roar that split the very sky in two, it began to clash within Paradise Lost.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!

“Kgh…!!!”

The sky flashed brilliantly for a moment, enveloped in a pure white thunderclap so bright it was blinding.

The clash of lightning and Spell-Word was so intense that Lennok had to flinch and turn his head to shield his eyes.

At its center, the Lightning Emperor, clad in white lightning, was drawing upon Lennok’s mana at an incredible speed.

“Has it been nearly a thousand years since I last engaged in mortal conflict…?!!!”

Kugwagwagwang!!!!

With a fierce laugh, the Lightning Emperor checked the mana flowing into her and clenched her fist.

“It is a shame I cannot summon my Quaking Imperial Palace (震皇宮), but this is more than enough to convey its radiance.”

Lightning Unraveling Spellcraft (雷解術式)

Advent of the Heavenly Deluge (天濫度來)

Imperial Throne’s Formation (帝位君成)

[Great Thunder-Vortex Bird (巨渦震鳥)]

Fzzzzzzzzzzz!!!

Following the Lightning Emperor’s gesture, white lightning from all directions rapidly converged and expanded.

In the blink of an eye, it manifested as a thunder roc with a radius of several thousand meters and roared fiercely.

[Kkuooooooooo!!!!!!!]

The form of a colossal thunder bird, its entire body made of white lightning, comparable in size to the Ascendant’s massive body.

The moment the Ascendant’s will-thought distorted at the sight of its overwhelming size, which seemed to cover half of Paradise Lost’s sky in an instant.

“I will show you how I ruled the First World.”

The enormous wings of lightning, spanning thousands of meters, descended upon Jinwa’s bathtub at incredible speed.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!

“It’s begun…!!”

The form of the Lightning Emperor, who initiated combat while drawing on Lennok’s mana as if it were an ocean.

Giant wings shimmered in the sky, and lightning spears tens of meters in size rained down.

A giant god hundreds of meters tall, its body made of lightning, manifested to support the Lightning Emperor and push back the Spell-Word Stones.

Kugwagwagwagwagwa!!!!

An overwhelming martial prowess that filled the entire battlefield with her lightning the moment she began to fight.

Every spell she scattered and fired off as if breathing was of a strategic scale, encompassing a range of thousands of meters.

As the Lightning Emperor and Jinwa clashed amidst the exploding lightning, Lennok immediately made his move.

He recoiled away from the battlefield where the two were clashing, stroking the black ring on his finger.

The past self he had encountered through the mirror at the Ascension Relic.

He had to draw out the ‘memory’ that he was permitted to manifest just this once.

But as Lennok closed his eyes and concentrated, cold sweat poured down his body.

[Master…!!]

“I expected this, but the mana consumption is on an unbelievable level…”

The Lightning Emperor’s Lightning Unraveling Spellcraft is a power that forcibly unravels all creation using lightning as its foundation.

To put it bluntly, it’s a spellcraft specialized in ignoring efficiency to crush and pulverize the opponent with sheer force.

An arrogance as if every magic and spell she used existed solely to overwhelm and trample the battlefield.

Just what kind of unrealistic amount of mana did the Lightning Emperor herself possess in life to be able to fight like this?

“Hah, hah…!!”

However, Lennok ignored his rapidly depleting mana and focused his mind with his eyes closed.

He hadn’t summoned the Lightning Emperor for no reason, knowing full well how terribly inefficient it was.

An ally powerful enough to hold down the master of Paradise Lost in his stead.

A means to consume and empty all the mana existing within Lennok.

To satisfy both of these conditions at once, there was no other way but to open the Hall of the Thunder God.

Gooooooooo….!!!!

Every time the Lightning Emperor used a spell, the mana within Lennok’s body evaporated.

And each time, Lennok’s inner self continued to change, becoming ‘not Lennok’.

The process of emptying Lennok’s existence and mana here, and summoning something that was once Lennok.

I can do this.

A miracle that should never have been permitted to the current Lennok. An act of reversing heaven to summon his past self.

An ability that would vanish like a bubble after a single use. But he had never been more certain that this was the moment to use it.

Just as Lennok thought this and closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness deep within himself.

From beyond the darkly stained kaleidoscope, he felt ‘someone’ slowly turn to look this way.

[…]

Crack, cr-crack!!!!

At that moment, the surrounding spacetime began to crack and split, centered on Lennok’s hand wearing the black ring.

The sky shattered and broke like glass. An eerie scene as black lines spread out, fracturing in all directions.

Fwaaaaaah…!!!!

Darkness flowed out from the black ring, covering Lennok’s hand and staining his skin black.

Something so empty it was imperceptible began to move his body in his place.

An intense and negative emotion, rapidly rising and boiling up from deep within.

A fragment of omnipotence, long forgotten, yet feeling so incredibly familiar.

Something on a different level from the corruption he gained by drinking the Elixir of Ascension in Kundara.

The moment Lennok, his eyes half-open, slowly sank his consciousness and summoned the past memory sleeping within the ring.

[!!!!!! Y O U !!!!!!]

Jinwa, who had been clashing with the Lightning Emperor in the skies of Paradise Lost, let out a tremendous psychic scream and whipped her gaze around.

A torrent of emotion, so fierce and seething it was incomparable to anything she had shown before.

Characters mixed with bewilderment and rage were scrawled crookedly across the air at incredible speed.

Kwaaaaang!!!!

Ignoring the white lightning falling upon her bathtub, Jinwa ruthlessly turned her ‘gaze’ toward Lennok.

[!!!!! W h a t a r e y o u t r y i n g t o d o n o w !!!!!]

“Snail. Where are you looking when I stand before you!!!”

Flash!!!!

The briefest moment when the Ascendant turned her gaze away.

But for a Transcendent of the Lightning Emperor’s caliber, that single moment was more than enough.

Breaking through the discolored purple barrier of Spell-Word, the Lightning Emperor made contact with Jinwa’s true body at incredible speed.

Clad in pure white lightning, she trampled and pressed down on Jinwa’s true body with immense weight.

[Heavenly Emperor (天帝): Electro-Stellar Transformation (電爲變星)]

[Thunder-Treading Step (踏雷步): Sun’s Construction (日築)]

Kwagwagwagwa!!!!

Each time the Lightning Emperor’s steps landed on Jinwa’s hazy body, celestial lightning pierced through Paradise Lost and rained down upon Jinwa.

Pillars of shimmering white lightning struck down, erecting pillars and constructing a ceiling as if building an emperor’s palace.

A magnificent form, as if a new palace was being built on the spot, following the Lightning Emperor’s steps.

Bzzzzzzzt!!!

“Where I walk is the imperial court. Where I sit is the place to have an audience with the emperor.”

The Lightning Emperor, who had ruthlessly unleashed her mana to trample Jinwa’s body, said as she brandished her spellcraft, trapping Jinwa within a massive palace of lightning:

“Who dares to raise their head in my presence without permission?”

[I m p u d e n t—]

With every step she took, lightning struck and pierced through its body, crushing and burning Jinwa’s squirming, snail-like true form.

The Lightning Emperor’s strike forcibly turned back the gaze of the Ascendant, who had lost her composure and become enraged at the sight of Lennok stroking the black ring.

“This way, Ascendant of the Third World. Look at me properly!!!”

[Y o u r e l i c o f t h e O l d W o r l d—]

Bzzzzzzzzzzzt!!!!!

[Isol■te]

[Def■nd]

[Blo■k]

[■■o]

An eerily white lightning erased the constructed Spell-Words from all directions, damaging their meaning.

The full power of Lightning Unraveling Spellcraft, unraveling the opponent’s authority with sheer output and force, turning it to nothing.

The spellcraft of an emperor, forcibly unraveling all spells and abilities, crushing them with power to force submission.

Kwaaaaaaaaang!!!!

However, Jinwa’s body, pierced and trampled by the Lightning Emperor’s lightning, did not collapse.

Her form, made of an indescribably vast collection of languages and characters, burned and crumbled and scattered under the lightning.

But at the same time, intact characters on the spot would reassemble in real-time to construct a new Spell-Word.

[B][l][o][■][k]

[I][s][o][l][■][a][t][e]

[P][r][o][t][e][c][t][■]

[■][■][■][■—]

Kiririririk!!!

Even when destroyed and annihilated, different characters would instantly combine to form a new Spell-Word.

[Y o u s e e m t o b e o f h i g h s t a t u s , b u t y o u d o n o t u n d e r s t a n d t h e e s s e n c e o f l a n g u a g e]

“Hmm…!!”

Jinwa ignored the Lightning Emperor, raising her mana and sneering mockingly.

[T h e p e r s i s t e n c e o f l a n g u a g e i s n o t s o m e t h i n g t h a t v a n i s h e s d u e t o e x t e r n a l c o e r c i o n]

[I t i s t h e p r o d u c t o f a c o n c e p t t h a t c h a n g e s i t s f o r m a n d s h a p e a s i f i t w e r e a l i v e]

[E v e n i f o n e i s d e s t r o y e d , a n o t h e r r e m a i n s t o c e a s e l e s s l y c r e a t e n e w m e a n i n g]

[T h i s i s t h e a n s w e r I h a v e c h o s e n , t h e p a t h t o a s c e n d t o t h e g r e a t U p p e r H e a v e n s]

“I see. You have chosen a fine principle to walk your path.”

The Lightning Emperor said.

“But for all the greatness of your answer and your achievements, your form is truly hideous.”

[…]

“A ruler must be great not only in life, but also in death, after becoming a spirit. They are beings who must be praised until the very end of their reign. But what of you now?”

Standing on Jinwa’s slimy body, the Lightning Emperor’s gaze turned cold.

“As brilliant as your achievements are, your shadow is equally deep and dark; your corruption has reached an uncontrollably profound depth. However, this must be a common despair faced by the Seekers of the Third World.”

[S u c h p a t h e t i c s y m p a t h y]

“I do not wish to condemn you. I think it is a pity. However, can you deny that you have chosen the wrong path!”

[W h a t c o u l d a b e i n g o f n o b l e b i r t h p o s s i b l y u n d e r s t a n d !]

Kuoooooooooh!!!!!

With those words, Jinwa unleashed her Spell-Word to seize the Lightning Emperor’s body and ruthlessly turned her attention away.

Concepts of binding and restraint, stagnation and confinement, were carved into Spell-Words that ensnared the Lightning Emperor’s limbs like sharp chains.

“Oops.”

The moment the Lightning Emperor, realizing all her remaining mana was consumed, shrugged and glanced aside.

This time for sure, the Ascendant ruthlessly raised her mana toward Lennok, who stood far away with his head bowed low.

[A m e r e g h o s t o f t h e O l d W o r l d p a t h e t i c a l l y t r i e s t o h o l d m e b a c k]

[D i d y o u t h i n k I d i d n ’ t k n o w y o u w e r e p r o v o k i n g m e t o b u y t i m e]

“…”

[I h a v e n o i n t e n t i o n o f f a l l i n g f o r s u c h p i t i f u l t r i c k s a n y l o n g e r]

Kiririririririk—

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!

The Spell-Word Stones resonate. The orchard shakes.

The Spell-Word Stones resonate. The orchard collapses.

The Spell-Word Stones resonate. The orchard opens.

All the characters and Spell-Words Jinwa had ever carved into Paradise Lost rose up at once, scattered into symbols, and then reassembled.

[Die]

[Forget]

Becoming Spell-Words with extremely simple meanings, they poured down on Lennok simultaneously from millions of directions.

[Die][Kill][Forget][Killing][Forget][Kill][Be forgotten][Die][Killing][Kill][Forgot][Forget][Died][Killing][Forget][Kill][Be forgotten][Forget][Kill][Die][Killing][Forget][Die][Forgot][Kill][Die][Die][Killing][Forget][Die][Forget][Die]

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!

A single will that covered the skies of Paradise Lost.

Amidst the extreme reality alteration filled with killing intent, Jinwa unleashed her wrath.

[D E S T R O Y E R]

[!!!!!!! R E M E M B E R N O T H I N G A N D J U S T D I E !!!!!!]

It kills mass, kills particles, kills spacetime and the world.

It forgets language, forgets concepts, and even forgets memory and the past.

Without discriminating between organic and inorganic. Regardless of whether it is living or dead.

It imposes death upon the unkillable, urging extinction and forcing oblivion.

A desperate wish falling from every section and direction of the sky at once.

Two simple meanings: obstruct Lennok from summoning his past memory and kill him.

The moment the millions of unavoidable streams of Spell-Word converged on Lennok, focusing on a single point.

“…”

Crack…!!!

At Lennok’s fingertips, the empty air began to crack and split like breaking glass.

Crack, cr-crackle!!!!!

The hairline cracks carved in the air spread rapidly, extending like black threads to every corner of Paradise Lost.

As if creating a fissure in the Ideological Domain ruled by the Ascendant and prying it open, the carved black lines (黑線) spread rapidly in all directions without diminishing.

The moment the black lines originating from Lennok’s fingertips met the Ascendant’s Spell-Word, which was splitting and falling in countless numbers.

Snap!!!

The Spell-Words falling from all directions simultaneously cracked and broke apart, beginning to lose their meaning.

[D/ie/][/Kill/]/[/Kil/l/ing/][/Forgo/t/]/D/ie/ For/ge/ t/ D / i / e / kdfg/d/f/ge]

Shatter!!!!!

The moment the black lines made contact with the Spell-Word, the language lost its meaning, shattering, fracturing, and scattering.

The millions of deaths created by the Ascendant were annihilated with a single gesture, crushed and collapsed.

The death of language.

Forcing upon Jinwa’s Spell-Word with such ease the very impossibility she had scoffed at to the Lightning Emperor.

The extreme of destruction, reaching a place so distant it surpassed all the deaths the Ascendant had created in Paradise Lost.

[A h—]

[!!!!!! A h a h a h a h a h a h a h !!!!!!]

The black lines (黑線) of destruction rotated and distorted as if converging on a single point, forming a black halo.

The massive black halo floating in the skies of Paradise Lost warped bizarrely and sank into darkness.

Jinwa, still in her bathtub, perceived it and let out a chilling psychic scream.

[I t c a n n o t b e]

“…”

[H e c o u l d n ’ t h a v e r e t u r n e d , s o m e t h i n g l i k e t h a t—!!!!]

Unable to even form proper words, the Ascendant stared at the shattering sky, and beyond her gaze.

The moment an endless darkness began to stream down like tears from beyond the black halo.

‘Someone’, grasping the edge of the glass-like shattering sky with one hand, opened their eyes from within Lennok.

A black moon rose, and the universe began to weep.