Chapter 1412: Paradise Lost (23)

In the ruined audience chamber of Yeongheo Palace, the presences of the Three Grand Dukes and the Ascendant faced each other.

Though one was a herald representing the will of the Three Grand Dukes, and the other was the incarnate body of an Ascendant who had manifested using Spell-Words as flesh.

Nevertheless, the fallout from them revealing their will-thoughts in this space was of a truly transcendent scale.

RUMBLE…!!!!

Merely by drawing up their magic, the entirety of Yeongheo Palace vibrated violently, its shockwaves sweeping through the world and pulsating.

An immeasurably complex tangle of Jinwa’s Spell-Words descended upon the trembling audience chamber.

[Running on two feet within this space is forbidden.]

[-The use of cardiopulmonary functions is forbidden.]

[-The operation of metabolism is forbidden.]

[-Chemical reactions beneficial to humans are forbidden.]

An immense superposition of Spell-Words, intended to prohibit any external intervention in the current spacetime, so vast that Lennok could not grasp them all at once.

Jinwa’s slaves, prepared in advance within Yeongheo Palace. Is she using humans, their bodies engraved with Spell-Words, as Spell-Word Stones to proclaim her laws?

[Artificial fluctuations and interventions on this spatial axis are forbidden.]

[Artificial regression and reversal of this timeline are forbidden.]

A series of bindings and restraints that would not permit a human to exist for even a moment, forbidding entry as a living being.

But the three-headed herald silently watched the Spell-Words descend from all sides, his arms crossed.

Even the otherworldly legion that had descended from the sky leading the herald’s carriage silently held its ground.

“Grand General. The revered ones have personally granted a vessel to send me here. You must know what this means.”

RUMBLE!!!

Standing in the audience chamber, which shook as if in an earthquake, the herald slowly began to speak.

The three heads attached to his right shoulder moved their mouths in unison, speaking in distinctly different tones.

“The contract you made is one that must be honored here.”

“Do you truly believe you can break your promise now for some trivial reason, commoner…?”

Flap—

As the herald took a step, three wings unfurled from his back, scattering feathers.

The ominously fluttering feathers instantly spread across the ceiling of the audience chamber, casting a shadow.

The Ascendant, her entire body made of Spell-Words, spat out a chilling will.

[F o r a m e r e G r a f t e r y o u a r e i n c o m p a r a b l y a r r o g a n t]

[D o y o u t h i n k y o u r s e l f m y e q u a l m e r e l y b e c a u s e y o u r e c e i v e d y o u r m a s t e r ’ s c a s t - o f f s k i n ?]

“What the Grand General says is not wrong.”

The three heads gave a slow, deliberate nod toward the Ascendant, as if bowing.

“How could a being like myself, who lives by grafting onto the flesh of others, possibly stand shoulder to shoulder with the great Grand General?”

“The Spell-Word caster who created the Continental Common Language. It is only right to pay due respect to a qualified Seeker. However…”

“There is no value in bowing one’s head to a butcher who has fallen so far that she will not even keep a simple promise.”

[W r o n g]

At the herald’s reply—part polite, part critical, part mocking—Jinwa’s Spell-Words wavered ominously.

[A g o d i s a b e i n g u n b o u n d b y a n y c o n t r a c t o r r e s t r a i n t]

[I t r e f e r s t o a t r a n s c e n d e n c e f r e e f r o m a l l c a u s a l i t y o f t h i s s e a]

“It is a pity that even a thousand words in the language of the mortal world will no longer reach you.”

The herald crossed his six arms and slowly shook his heads.

“I will see the item first. Where is the head of the Black Edict?”

RUMBLE!!!!!!

As if by silent agreement, the herald and the Ascendant covered the entire expanse of Yeongheo Palace with their will-thoughts.

The chilling sensation of the consciousnesses of Transcendent beings, equivalent to Demigods, expanding at tremendous speed and sweeping through the palace.

“Kuh…!”

“No, it’s coming…!”

In that instant, as Yeongheo Palace trembled and convulsed madly and the members in the sealing chamber froze with pale complexions—

Lennok, landing in the center of the audience chamber, quelled all the turmoil in a single moment.

[— A h ?]

“…”

Thud.

The faint sound of a footstep echoed through the space.

The power of the two Demigods, who had been locked in a war of nerves over the legacy, vanished from the audience chamber as if by magic.

There was a sense of dissonance, as if they had instinctively withdrawn their authority the moment they perceived Lennok’s presence.

[Y o u a r e]

“…How.”

The Ascendant flinched, her shoulders trembling as she whipped her gaze around, and the herald’s three heads simultaneously went blank.

The otherworldly legion, arrayed in orderly ranks behind the herald, gripped their weapons and turned toward Lennok.

Clank!

Chrrk!

The presence of a human in an audience chamber that no outsider should have been able to breach.

Just as the otherworldly legion began to move to eliminate the intruder despite the unexpected situation—

“Wait.”

Raising a hand, the herald simultaneously halted all the monsters that had been surrounding Lennok.

It was a bizarre sight, as if they had frozen in place the very instant they had aimed their weapons at Lennok and tried to close the distance.

But even then, the herald could not take his eyes off Lennok’s face, staring down at him blankly.

The three heads on his right shoulder stiffened, gazing at Lennok with the exact same expression in the profound silence.

“…”

[I m p o s s i b l e]

Jinwa, who had manifested in the audience chamber, stared at Lennok with a face frozen cold.

The contempt for an insect. Beyond intense curiosity and interest, it had reached a state of unconcealable astonishment.

Lennok’s existence, completely unaffected by the Spell-Words pouring into Yeongheo Palace at this very moment.

Even though she had turned back the time of Paradise Lost once, she understood who Lennok was the moment she saw him.

“…Unbelievable.”

The herald, who stood opposite Jinwa with his arms crossed, muttered softly.

The three heads, which had been speaking in their own distinct voices, now uttered the same words in unison, as if by agreement.

It was as if, in Lennok’s presence, the three heads could not even afford the luxury of thinking different thoughts.

For Transcendent beings, outward appearances and the shape of the flesh were meaningless.

Therefore, the moment they faced Lennok, they understood what kind of ‘privilege’ he possessed.

At the same time, through their transcendent intuition, they sensed and realized who Lennok was.

And so—

“How… how are you here?”

Thud!

The herald, turning with a blank expression, knelt before Lennok with perfect naturalness.

His three heads bowed low, his six arms touched the floor of the audience chamber, and his three wings folded inward.

As if it were the most natural thing to do upon seeing him, the herald asked with the utmost courtesy.

“Is it truly… you? Are you the one I remember?”

“…”

A suffocating silence.

The Ascendant, frozen at the sight of Lennok. The herald, kneeling before him in deference.

But Lennok, standing at the center of the instantly changed audience chamber, calmly gathered his thoughts.

I have to be careful.

He had known things might turn out this way the moment he revealed himself in the audience chamber.

Ever since he had come to understand his past self in Kabahim, the phantoms of the central powers had often seen ‘him’ reflected in Lennok.

The fact that Transcendent beings who had not recognized him before were now beginning to see that person in him was surely related to his own transformation.

It might have been proof that he was growing closer to that person even now, but there was no time to dwell on it.

This was a moment when the transcendent Demigods saw someone else in him but could not clearly confirm his identity.

He knew how dangerous it was to exploit that gap in their perception to forcibly buy time.

I have to buy enough time for Pandemonium to extract the contents of the legacy. From now on, they’ll have to handle things on their own.

The recovery of the legacy was the core of this plan, one that Pandemonium had been preparing and designing for a long time.

Most of the members participating in the plan possessed extremely rare talents and aptitudes that even he lacked, so he had to entrust this part to them.

From the moment the trade for the legacy began earlier than scheduled, it was inevitable that the plan would deviate from its expected course.

Even if I wanted to use the ring’s power again, I’d need time… This is the next best option.

The ring’s power itself had returned with the regression, but the backlash from summoning past memories was still eating away at his arm.

In the worst-case scenario, he would have to stall for as much time as possible, if only to use the ring again.

Having reached a conclusion, Lennok moved immediately.

Thud.

“…”

As he took a single step forward, all eyes in the chamber fixed upon him.

The figure of the wizard moved alone through the suffocating silence, without a single word.

[M a g i c i a n]

Jinwa said, staring intently at Lennok’s profile.

[A m o n g t h e i n s e c t s t h e r e a r e t h o s e w h o r e m e m b e r y o u r f a c e]

Jinwa stood motionless in the middle of the audience chamber, absorbing the Dead Thoughts and memories existing within Paradise Lost without so much as a gesture.

The countless humans devoured by the corrupted garden of language. The new knowledge they had offered up as nutrients for the orchard.

All the information recorded in language and script about Lennok’s past deeds as Adamant Thunder.

Kwoooosh!

A breathtakingly dry and arid silence.

Intense gazes filled with astonishment and disbelief poured toward Lennok from all sides.

In a fleeting moment, having read through the entirety of those vast records, Jinwa’s gaze turned chilling.

[S o i t w a s y o u]

“…”

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

She’s fast.

He knew Jinwa would not be shaken more than necessary, but to think she had already grasped a fragment of the truth.

The time reversal of all of Paradise Lost, an event the Ascendant herself had been aware of but whose cause she could not determine.

Jinwa realized the moment she saw him that this causality existed because of none other than Lennok.

And, having realized that—

Throb.

A vein bulged on the back of Jinwa’s pale hand.

With a chillingly sunken expression, she took a step toward Lennok and spoke.

[Y o u w i l l c o n f e s s t r u t h f u l l y w h a t y o u h a v e d o n e]

“Grand General. I am afraid I cannot agree with those words.”

At that moment, the three-headed herald of the Three Grand Dukes spoke.

He who had been kneeling and bowing to Lennok raised his gaze.

The three heads spoke as if they had become one, with a single voice and a single will.

“A noble personage who should not have been here has made his presence known. I must hear his story.”

[S h u t u p]

Jinwa’s Spell-Words distorted into something unspeakably chilling.

[I n m y g a r d e n w h a t g i v e s y o u t h e r i g h t t o m a k e d e c i s i o n s]

“If we are to speak of contributions to the Imperial Palace of the Ars Nova Empire, he is a being who deserves more respect than anyone here.”

Saying that, the herald stared intently at Lennok with all six of his eyes.

“He is the coordinator of all authority in the Imperial Palace, one who was meant to reach the same place as His Majesty the Emperor. You, Grand General, have never once stood on the same ground as him.”

[Y o u]

“Even if he has returned in the form of this lowly insect, he is still deserving of proper respect.”

Kwagwagwa…!

Violet Spell-Words rose like a tidal wave, covering the audience chamber and shimmering ominously.

[D o y o u d a r e d e f y m y j u d g m e n t h e r e ?]

“The proper etiquette for great vassals and former officials is a law established by His Majesty the Emperor himself.”

The herald spread his three wings and tilted his necks at a bizarre angle.

“If that is the law of the Imperial Palace, then you, Grand General, must also abide by it.”

RUMBLE!!!!!

The herald and the Ascendant drew up their magic, on the verge of clashing at any moment.

But Lennok, facing this unexpected situation, remained silent instead of acting rashly.

“…”

The herald’s attitude had changed the moment he encountered Lennok, and now the two Demigods’ opinions were clashing.

It was unusual, considering that the herald and the Ascendant had been, at least nominally, proceeding with the trade despite their war of nerves.

If he used this situation well, he could create more time for the legacy to be extracted in the sealing chamber.

Since Lennok had released the seal on the legacy, extracting its contents shouldn’t be impossible.

But—

“Noble One.”

The question the herald posed to Lennok had a peculiar quality that made it impossible to simply observe the situation any longer.

“As one who represents the will of the Three Grand Dukes, I dare to ask. Have you come to punish us?”

“…”

The three heads opened their mouths simultaneously, looking at Lennok and conveying an ineffably complex will-thought.

Even while confronting the Ascendant and raising his magic, his consciousness seemed determined never to let go of Lennok.

“Just as you did with the Imperial Palace, have you returned to hold us accountable as well?”

“…”

The herald saw someone else overlapping with Lennok, as if he were asking that person the question directly.

At the same time, he could feel the Ascendant twisting her Spell-Words to look down at him over her shoulder.

It was proof that the herald’s question held a grave meaning for the two Demigods who had once been loyal to the Empire.

At that point, Lennok realized he could no longer hold his tongue or remain silent.

He had wanted the monsters to hesitate in taking rash actions, interpreting the situation by their own standards while he remained silent.

But the Demigods before him had grasped his essence in that brief moment and were now asking why he had appeared.

He couldn’t just make something up rashly.

If he made the slightest mistake, they would realize that he was both the same as and different from the ‘him’ of the past.

“…”

What should he say? What words could guide this situation in the direction he wanted?

He remembered the conversation he had with the Jinwa of the previous timeline in the Cradle. The time he used the ring to recall past memories.

The answer had been there from the beginning.

“Again.”

[…]

In the suffocating silence, Lennok spoke.

“I intend to begin again.”

“…”

Hearing those words, the two monsters froze as if time had stopped.

But Lennok paid them no mind and answered slowly, as if tracing a memory.

“Perhaps… by now, you understand.”

A series of messages delivered by his past self, awakened from memory, without even a proper subject.

Lennok did not understand the full meaning contained within, but it was meaningful nonetheless.

He knew that the message left by the one who had awakened after so long was not meant solely for him.

And so—

“…”

[…]

How did the two beings, once loyal to the Empire, receive the answer given by the silent Lennok?

The herald of the Three Grand Dukes and the Ascendant looked at him and said nothing more.

Instead, they simply began to withdraw the sharp will-thoughts they had been directing at each other just moments before.

[G o o d]

How had she interpreted the answer Lennok gave?

Jinwa, who had calmed her presence with unbelievable quietness, spoke.

[T h e r e i s n o n e e d t o m a k e a s c e n e i n f r o n t o f t h e D e s t r o y e r]

“…”

Jinwa’s reaction had changed from the previous timeline.

Unlike before, when she had immediately brought out her true body and rampaged, she was now surprisingly calm.

Had he entered a different branching point through a judgment made using the knowledge gained from his regression?

[N o w t h a t h e h a s r e t u r n e d I s u p p o s e w e c a n n o t p r o c e e d w i t h t h e t r a d e a s i s]

Slowly turning to the herald, Jinwa spoke.

[L e t u s r e a d j u s t t h e t e r m s o f t h e d e a l f o r t h e i t e m l e f t b y t h e b l a c k w i z a r d]

“…Readjust.”

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

Jinwa’s eyes flashed chillingly.

[T h e T h r e e G r a n d D u k e s s h o u l d n o t b e g r e e d y a n y m o r e]

“…”

The Ascendant pressed with a menacing telepathic message, and the herald remained silent.

Lennok looked up at the two monsters with a blank face, gauging the time.

With both Transcendent beings having acknowledged ‘his’ existence through Lennok’s answer, the situation was flowing toward a postponement of the trade by mutual agreement.

If things continued to go well, they might be able to safely retrieve the legacy and escape Paradise Lost.

The boy’s act of sacrificing his own existence to rewind the time of Paradise Lost once had not been in vain.

Just as Lennok, thinking this, calmly gathered his magic and prepared to move—

“I understand.”

The herald of the Three Grand Dukes spoke in a polite tone.

“If you wish to adjust the terms without violating the existing contract, then I have no way of stopping the Grand General’s will.”

[…]

“However, I too have come here at the call of the revered ones. I do not think I can grant your request without some condition.”

[W h a t d o y o u w a n t]

“Since the noble personage from the Imperial Palace has graced us with his presence, should not the right to decide this trade also belong to him?”

Kwaaaaang!

The moment the herald pointed to the tightly shut sealing chamber at the back of the audience hall and snapped his fingers—

The door to the sealing chamber shattered, and something shrouded in deep darkness was dragged out into the audience chamber.

Goooooh!

Beyond the empty sealing chamber, where no other members could be seen.

The figure of Myeong, his head bowed, sitting on a throne of endless darkness.

The ‘legacy’, submerged and steeped in dense black magic, was approaching the audience chamber.

“Just as you did in the Empire, would you, Noble One, coordinate the terms and distribution of this trade?”

The herald said.

“In return, I will cede the ‘Hell’ of the Gabihaeng, which the head of the Black Edict shouldered, to you.”