Chapter 1409: Paradise Lost (20)

The artifact vault, located in a cavern beneath the Yeongheo Palace at the center of Paradise Lost.

In the heart of the desolate ruins, its walls torn apart, slept monsters, their entire bodies bound by Geas.

Kirik, kiririk…!!!

Each time those slumbering in the darkness exhaled slowly, the twisted chains binding their bodies shifted.

Dozens of chained limbs swayed bizarrely, revealing the form of a sphere made of human flesh.

The grotesque, hideously distorted sight felt familiar, as if seen somewhere before. It was no illusion.

“So there was a reason Jinwa from the previous timeline was so confident of victory against the entire continent…”

Lennok murmured quietly as he looked down at the monsters sleeping in the darkness of the underground vault.

“Did she already know that monsters like these were sleeping inside the Yeongheo Palace?”

[Master…]

The failed Ascendant of Ars Nova, World-Soul Aurel Silford.

A Transcendent who had tens of thousands of Geas carved into his body to forcibly reach Level 9, only to become a monster that had lost its sanity.

A Fallen One whose very essence had been inverted as the price for engraving Geas onto his soul and body, becoming a living Geas itself.

The image of it indiscriminately devouring humans to make them part of itself, rolling its body with hundreds of arms, was still vivid in his mind.

Absurdly, sleeping beneath the Yeongheo Palace were dozens of monsters created in a similar fashion to that World-Soul.

[These Transcendent bodies… they’re all bound by Spell-Words engraved by an Ascendant…]

Davi asked, having identified the violet Spell-Words carved into the chains restraining the Fallen Ones.

[Was that snail Ascendant continuously creating monsters like these?]

“No… It hasn’t been that long in real time since Jinwa moved Paradise Lost and arrived at the Yeongheo Palace. She couldn’t have mass-produced dozens of these monsters in that time.”

Lennok said, walking between the Fallen Ones with a calm expression.

“These monsters have likely been sleeping beneath the Yeongheo Palace for a long time. If Jinwa, having arrived here first, discovered them and was looking for a way to control them, then her recent actions make sense.”

The monsters sleeping here were ‘defective products’ made in the same way as World-Soul Aurel Silford.

While they might not match the original World-Soul, who had actually reached Level 9, they undoubtedly possessed power or authority comparable to his.

If Jinwa could control the monsters sleeping in the Yeongheo Palace, he could understand why she was so confident of victory against the entire continent.

And Lennok had a guess as to why Jinwa could show such confidence.

“In Armas von Anathema’s memories, Jinwa was collaborating on the experiment to ‘produce’ the World-Soul.”

Lennok spoke as he slowly walked across the bridge spanning the cavern.

“If Jinwa lent her Spell-Words to the Imperial Palace’s plan to create a Fallen One, it wouldn’t be strange for her to know the method or trick to controlling it.”

A monster like the World-Soul wasn’t created by simply carving Geas into an ordinary human body.

The existence of a Fallen One was born only after an exceptional vessel, one that could withstand having Geas embedded all over its body, finally broke under the strain.

As it was akin to a weapon of war born from an artificially failed ascension, the Geas used had to be delicately controlled.

Therefore, it was likely no coincidence that Jinwa’s Spell-Words were used in the experiment to create a Fallen One conducted in Ars Nova in the past.

As the Lightning Emperor had said, a Spell-Word was a hypothetical imperative imposed upon an object. In a sense, it was the power most similar to a Geas among all spellcraft.

“This must be why the precepts of the Spell-Word Stones weren’t all composed of powerful Spell-Words. She had to continuously use her Spell-Words to control the Fallen Ones, so she couldn’t pour all her power into Paradise Lost.”

[…]

“Since the power of an Ideological Domain doesn’t work inside the Yeongheo Palace, she couldn’t fix her Spell-Words as law and had to keep consuming them. If Jinwa, who was wounded in her fight with Myeong, is sleeping to replenish her strength for that purpose…”

Lennok, having crossed the underground cavern and stopped among the Fallen Ones, muttered.

“It seems highly likely that her Incarnation Body is hidden nearby as well.”

[Should I take out the sleeping organisms right now?]

“Just wake one person first. You remember the frequency I told you earlier, right?”

As Lennok spoke, he summoned a Demonic Giant and gathered darkness before his eyes.

Kiiiing—

At the same moment, Davi generated mana from within Lennok’s robes and emitted a specific frequency.

An ultralow frequency, almost inaudible to Lennok’s ears, impossible for a human body to hear in the first place.

But for a non-human Ancient Species, it was a sound so unique and somber that it could be heard even from outside the dimension.

Jjeo-eop—

In that instant, a thin line was etched into the far side of the darkness, splitting open with a sticky sound.

The body of a spider, having leaped across the Imaginary Dimension, settled inside the Yeongheo Palace as if falling upside down.

Agneta, who had landed before Lennok in a flash, slowly opened her eyes with a sleepy expression.

“They said I wouldn’t be able to cross over using ordinary methods. It was true…”

“…”

“This place. I can’t even get a coordinate lock with my senses… If I hadn’t woken up the moment I heard the sound, I would have gotten lost.”

“Agneta. We don’t have much time. I’ll briefly explain what I’ve found.”

Lennok immediately gave Agneta a brief summary of what he had discovered inside the Yeongheo Palace.

The internal structure of the Yeongheo Palace, the Fallen Ones sleeping in the underground artifact vault, and his speculation about Jinwa’s Incarnation Body.

“I’m leaving the others here. You need to wake them and send them to their designated locations. Can you do it?”

“Yes. I will.”

Agneta was a half-blood of an Ancient Species, able to freely traverse the Imaginary Dimension.

With her ability to cross space by riding Mana Threads like a spiderweb, she was so mobile that she served as the herald for the Demonic Conflux.

Her power was no match for The Fisherman’s authority, but by comparison, Agneta’s ability had almost no restrictions.

This was why she was constantly summoned for Pandemonium’s plans, despite not being a strong combatant.

“The Conjunction Spell Master told me the method, but the others might not wake up easily from their suspended state. If there’s a problem, tell me immediately. I’ll help.”

Having worked with Agneta as Victor, Lennok himself had received her help on multiple occasions.

Thus, his words were based on a slight goodwill he felt for Agneta, but—

—unexpectedly, Agneta turned her head with a sullen expression as soon as she heard him.

“I don’t need it… You’re a bad wizard.”

“What?”

“I heard about the Subjugation Operation. They said you’re the one who bullied Victor.”

“…”

“Someone who bullies a Manipulation Spellcaster… a bad person. I’m on Victor’s side.”

Agneta puffed out her cheeks with a pouty expression as she looked at Lennok.

“I can do it just fine by myself without a bad person’s help. I’ll work hard in Victor’s place.”

“…Didn’t you obediently accept my help until you woke up in the Yeongheo Palace?”

“Th-that’s… no comment…”

Lennok gave a wry smile at Agneta, who feigned ignorance when she couldn’t refute him.

He’d thought it was strange they hadn’t had a chance to talk since meeting in Gateway City, but it turned out Agneta had been avoiding him.

As an Ancient Species and a Manipulation Spellcaster herself, she had always felt a particularly strong bond with Victor, who was also a Manipulation Spellcaster.

Having heard news of the Subjugation Operation, it was only natural for her to think that Adamant Thunder and Victor were on opposing sides.

It was absurd, but the reason was so typically Agneta that he didn’t feel irritated or angry.

Since she was offering to do a job alone that Lennok would have had to help with anyway, there was no need to stop her.

“If you say you’ll do it alone, I’ll leave it to you for now. If any problems arise, sound the low frequency. I can hear it from here, so I’ll join you immediately.”

“…But low frequency is in a sound range that humans can’t hear in the first place. You can hear that?”

“Is there a problem?”

It didn’t matter, since it wasn’t Lennok who would hear it, but Davi, who would then send him a signal.

Agneta, who had been blinking silently, quietly agreed.

“Uhm… okay. I’ll contact you if there’s a problem.”

“…”

For some reason, her reaction seemed strangely less sullen than before.

Could it be that she felt a strange sense of kinship over the fact that Lennok could hear low frequencies?… No, that’s a useless thought.

Feeling a slight release of tension even in this urgent situation of infiltrating the Yeongheo Palace, Lennok shook his head and turned away.

He had no intention of just standing by and watching while Agneta explained the situation to the awakened members and moved them to various locations in the palace.

There were still many secrets left to uncover within this Yeongheo Palace.

Instantly steeling himself, Lennok heightened his Magical Perception and began walking out of the vault.

Where should he search first to get meaningful results within the limited time? The answer was already decided.

Getting into the Yeongheo Palace had been difficult, but now that he was inside and undetected, there was no need for hesitation.

Kiiiing—

He expanded his senses by raising his mana and simultaneously accelerated his consciousness.

In a fleeting moment, an afterimage of mana flashed through the inside and outside of the Yeongheo Palace at incredible speed before vanishing.

He reverse-calculated the dispersion of mana spreading out from him to quickly survey the interior of the detached palace.

‘There are many living beings moving around in the center of the detached palace… Are they slaves commanded by Jinwa?’

Around the central corridors of the Yeongheo Palace, quite a few beings were bustling about, carrying something.

Though they maintained human forms, their presence and life signs were completely detached from those of humans.

Finishing his thought, Lennok immediately raised his mana and traversed the interior of the Yeongheo Palace.

Fwoosh!!

He used the Flicker stacks he had saved up without reservation, traversing the palace interior at ultra-high speed.

The palace interior, which must have once been splendid and majestic, befitting its name as the Emperor’s detached palace, was now a desolate scene, tattered and torn apart.

Leaping over the debris-strewn and tangled corridors, he instantly approached the center of the palace.

Lennok was able to spot a splendid and vast lobby hall that appeared to be the palace’s audience chamber.

‘…So those are the ones.’

Fwhoosh!!

Dozens of people with violet skin were carrying something into the audience chamber.

Their skin wasn’t just pale or of poor complexion. It was a bizarre state, as if their bodies were necrotic from a lack of blood flow.

Strange characters engraved all over their bodies glowed with an ominous violet light, exerting an unknown influence on their surroundings.

Lennok, immediately guessing their ‘purpose’, frowned.

‘She’s engraved Spell-Words on living human bodies to use them as a kind of micro Spell-Word Stone… She wasn’t simply using them as servants.’

Inside Paradise Lost, the precepts engraved on the Spell-Word Stones were like absolute laws.

However, the interior of the Yeongheo Palace was treated as a different spacetime from her Ideological Domain, so the precepts fixed through the Spell-Word Stones did not apply.

Therefore, Jinwa had engraved Spell-Words onto the skin of living humans and positioned them throughout the Yeongheo Palace as substitutes for Spell-Word Stones.

Was this simply a measure to block or hinder intruders who might enter the palace? It didn’t seem likely.

It was more fitting to see it as preparation to welcome the guests who would soon arrive, rather than a precaution against unknown intruders.

The living human Spell-Word Stones moving inside the Yeongheo Palace were Jinwa’s preparations to receive the Three Grand Dukes.

It was proof that she, too, did not consider the Three Grand Dukes to be friendly allies or trustworthy partners.

Chijik—

[Adamant Thunder. Can you hear me?]

At that moment, Davi connected the communication from within Lennok’s robes, and Soryu’s voice came through.

[With Agneta’s help, the Spell Master and I have awakened first. If you can hear this, send a signal.]

“…”

It was a communication using a low frequency that only Agneta could hear.

Lennok nodded silently, Davi sent a reply, and Soryu responded immediately.

[Good. Ermont and Freya will wake up next. They will investigate the Fallen One you found, while the Spell Master and I will search for the mausoleum’s location.]

“…”

[The Spell Master and I will split up and begin our search. According to Agneta, it seems you’ve found the audience chamber. I’ll leave that area to you.]

“…”

[The success rate will increase significantly if the ‘experiment’ the Enforcer and the Vampire are attempting bears fruit, but that’s just insurance in case. I’ll contact you again when we have results.]

Even though he hadn’t answered, Soryu quickly summed up the situation on their end and cut the connection.

He, too, must have been aware that there was no time to delay in this matter.

As soon as the connection with Soryu was cut, Lennok turned his gaze back to the audience chamber.

Even at this very moment, dozens of humans with Spell-Words engraved all over their bodies were moving in and out of the audience chamber.

The slightest lapse in concentration would get him entangled in the Spell-Words on their bodies, and his presence would be revealed.

“Hoo…”

But Lennok, knowing this, took a light breath and closed his eyes.

He exhaled all the air from his lungs, emptying his presence along with it.

As he quietly held his breath, he submerged his existence, making it as close to an inanimate object as possible—

Step.

In his slowed consciousness, where time seemed to have stopped, he descended among the inorganically moving humans.

Perfectly synchronizing his presence with the bustling crowd as if he had become one with them, he entered the audience chamber.

Activating his Mystic Eye, Lennok half-opened his eyes and scanned the interior of the audience chamber at high speed.

‘Where is it?’

The audience chamber of the Yeongheo Palace was the planned location for the deal between the Three Grand Dukes and the Ascendant.

The legacy to be exchanged in the deal was likely to be placed in a location relatively close to the audience chamber.

Even so, she couldn’t just leave a legacy corroded by black magic out in the open, so it must have been sealed in some way.

Kiiiiiiing…!!!

He activated his Kaleidoscope and the Corrupted Golden Rule at full power, searching for anomalies and abnormalities within the audience chamber.

The back of the ruined audience chamber. A spot where debris, presumed to be fragments of a Spell-Word Stone, was piled up.

Through his Quasi-Authority, Lennok saw through to the existence of a [Sealing Room] hidden behind it, and his eyes flashed.

‘…Found it.’

Looking through the Corrupted Golden Rule, only the causality of that spacetime was completely severed and lost.

It felt dissonant, as if a monster with transcendent power had artificially hidden the place’s very existence using its authority.

It was almost certainly a severance of causality caused by Jinwa herself taking action to hide that place.

Having pinpointed the location, there was no need to hesitate.

With Davi’s help, Lennok corrected his coordinates and used Flicker to teleport directly into the Sealing Room.

Fwhoosh!!

The entire Sealing Room was filled with dense black magic, so dark that he couldn’t see an inch in front of him.

A stuffy, sealed chamber surrounded by layered barrier walls and Spell-Words, where not even air could pass through.

Jjeojeojeok…!!

“Kuhk…!!”

As the darkness encroached, the black crack engraved on the back of his hand spread, searing intense pain into his mind.

It felt as if the backlash from using the ring was reacting to the dense black magic in the vicinity.

But Lennok ignored the growing pain and forced himself to walk through the darkness.

It was undoubtedly right ahead.

The most important reason Lennok had participated in this plan. The legacy that Myeong, defeated in Paradise Lost, had supposedly left behind.

Passing through the darkness that billowed like fog, he finally reached the center of the Sealing Room.

At last, Lennok could see what form the legacy took.

“This is…”

It resembled a throne, dyed black by the darkness.

A form materialized by layering and stacking black magic, compressing it to the absolute limit.

The essence of a tremendously powerful dead thought, solidified as if will-thought that had surpassed its limits had materialized and gained mass.

Without hesitation, he approached the black throne at the far end of the Sealing Room.

And saw a black-haired man leaning against the throne, freezing in place.

“…Ah.”

The figure of a man, leaning weakly against the throne as if his whole body was bound to it, his head bowed.

Black blood dripped like tears from his gaunt, emaciated fingertips.

Though his face was hidden by disheveled hair, Lennok knew instantly.

Just like when he had first seen him in the underground vault of the Cigar Bang gang long ago.

Just like that day in Gateway City when he had departed for the last time to end his Gabihaeng.

That unique, seething black magic still remained.

“…Myeong.”

The black wizard, defeated in the decisive battle in Paradise Lost.

The last head of the Black Edict, who had ended his Gabihaeng and cast himself into hell.

The corpse of the Nether King was kept in the deepest part of the Sealing Room, desecrated.