Chapter 1419: Lord of Hell (2)
KWWAAAAANG!!!!
From beyond the accelerating flow of time, the form of The Grafter appeared, shattering the barrier wall of the Mausoleum.
And in his grasp, the blood-soaked figure of the Conjunction Spell Master, who was then dropped to the ground.
But Lennok was given no time to face the three-headed, six-armed monster whose body had been mangled.
A vast torrent of darkness erupted from beyond the [Gate], pouring down over Lennok’s head.
And it didn’t stop there. The overflowing darkness began to be absorbed into Lennok at an incredible speed.
KWWAAAAAAA-!!!!
“—!!!!”
Lennok’s presence swelled explosively, and his face turned deathly pale.
At this very moment, a reverse current of darkness was gushing out from beyond the [Gate], pouring into Lennok’s inner self.
Simultaneously, he felt his blood and mana flow twist and run uncontrollably rampant.
He swayed, unable to even utter a word.
His mind, refusing to work, could only just barely grasp the situation.
What existed within the [Gate] was the causality obtained by the Black Edict family through their research into the Heavenly Abasement Spellcraft. In other words, it was the power that had originally belonged to Lennok.
That was why, as soon as the Gate opened, the darkness that poured out was returning to its original owner, Lennok, and being rapidly absorbed.
This was no interference meant to harm or weaken him.
It was the act of reclaiming a power that was originally his, something akin to a forced growth that he couldn’t stop—
And because of that, it was grinding away at his nerves and mind, making it impossible for him to even stand properly.
“Gaaah…!! Cough!!!”
Through the black crack engraved on his arm via the ring, an endless darkness seeped into his entire body.
Ripping agony spread from his spine to the very ends of his mind, searing his consciousness.
Even so, Lennok staggered, trying desperately to stay on his feet, before his head slumped forward.
Then, he vomited a stream of blackened blood.
Splaaaaash!!!
“How utterly pathetic, crawling on the ground.”
Jinwa, who had been watching with a ghastly expression, immediately activated her Spell-Word.
“A mere human who can’t even support his own body dares to reclaim something—!!”
[Vanish]
Kiiiiiiiing-!!!
The purple lips parted, pronouncing annihilation. Struck by the darkness, Lennok gritted his teeth and summoned lightning.
Crackle…!!!!
[Slaughtering Thunder Annihilation]
With the darkness erupting from the Mausoleum’s center at his back, the Spell-Word and the lightning flash collided, splitting in a circle.
At the center of the brain-searing light, Jinwa and Lennok reached out, and as if by agreement, activated their ultimate techniques.
But the moment the Herald extended his hand, the shockwave generated by the collision of their spellcrafts vanished on the spot, and an empty void descended.
Fwoosh!!!
“…!!”
At this bizarre ability whose principles she couldn’t fathom, Jinwa turned her gaze, her face filled with killing intent.
He hadn’t directly interfered with her Spell-Word or dispelled it.
In the first place, directly meddling with the authority or spellcraft of an Ascendant was nearly impossible, even for a powerful Transcendent.
There was something among The Grafter’s abilities that could change the situation without directly interfering with the spellcraft.
It was as if he had inflated an unseen ‘margin’ like a balloon, replacing the existing spacetime of the Mausoleum—
Kwang!!!
Before her thoughts could continue, the Herald, clad in magnificent robes, crashed down into the center of the Mausoleum.
He landed in the middle of the lake at incredible speed, a shockwave erupting and pushing the Ascendant back.
“…You bastard.”
Jinwa, who had slid back through the water, glared at the Herald with a chilling expression.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Grand General. The disturbance has gone on long enough.”
Crunch!!
The Grafter spoke in a spine-chilling voice as he stepped forward, trampling the blood-soaked Conjunction Spell Master.
Both arms and fingers broken, the Conjunction Spell Master was a pitiful sight, his body torn to shreds.
The Herald, pressing down on the body with his foot, moved his two remaining heads and spoke in unison.
“The [Gate] to hell has opened, and ruin has descended upon this world. Before it is too late, I intend to return all to its proper course.”
“…”
“It took longer than expected due to the talents of this Trait-type Spellcaster, but fortunately, there is still a chance to resolve the situation.”
The Grafter’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Lennok, who was engulfed in the endless darkness.
“What exists beyond the [Gate] is the causality that the Noble One cast away long ago… To reclaim it, the Noble One must also pay a price. At the very least, while regaining that power, you will find it difficult to focus on anything else.”
“…”
The Grafter knew that as soon as the [Gate] opened, the power within would flow back and begin to be absorbed by Lennok.
He also knew that this process of forcibly reclaiming his lost power would, in this moment, render Lennok defenseless.
Unwanted growth is a process of unforeseen change and metamorphosis.
No matter how exceptional a Transcendent, they cannot prevent being relatively vulnerable during a moment of awakening or enlightenment.
That was why, as soon as The Grafter realized the [Gate] had opened, he had come straight to the Mausoleum to bring all this to an end.
“The Heavenly Abasement Spellcraft was, by its very existence, the Imperial Palace’s mistake and a fatal failure. The number of Imperial meritorious subjects who lost their lives due to that spellcraft is beyond count.”
Thud!!
The Herald stepped forward without hesitation and spoke.
“The revered ones, feeling the weight of responsibility, have decided to reclaim that power. The authority and qualification to rectify the Empire’s error have been granted to me.”
“…You bastard.”
“From this point on, I, as an executor of the Imperial Palace, will fulfill my given mission and reclaim the sin that plunged the Empire into misery. I ask that the Grand General withdraw her Spell-Word.”
The two heads turned simultaneously to look at Lennok, shrouded in darkness, and Jinwa.
A distorted gaze, like strangely overlapping compound eyes, gleamed bizarrely from all directions.
“For the sake of my old acquaintance with the Whispering Grand General, I do not wish to be disrespectful to your face.”
“You are busy wagging your tongue, pretending to be polite. Did you think you could intimidate me into fear with such words?”
Jinwa unleashed a blade-like killing intent and turned to face the Herald without hesitation.
“Since when has a vermin who professes to be a slave to fate been able to hold its head so stiffly before me… I will teach you your place here today.”
“Grand General. I ask you to make a wise decision.”
KWWAAAAANG!!!
No sooner had he finished speaking than the walls and ceiling of the Yeongheo Palace collapsed, and dozens of superhumans stormed in.
The Dragon Riders with the heads of cephalopods, and the Titan Legion, their bodies transformed into glistening, grotesque tentacles.
The commanders leading the two legions, mutated by Yeongheo’s blessing, strode in from either side.
Clank!!
Ruuuumble…!!!
The knight-commander, clad in silver armor with the head of a ghost-pale octopus.
The Titan Legion Commander, wielding a house-sized double-bladed axe, with tentacles sprouting like a beard.
As if to assist the Herald, they strode in from both sides and threw down something they were carrying.
Splash!!
The unconscious Ermont was tossed limply into the water.
He seemed unable to even regain his senses, likely due to excessive blood loss during the legacy extraction process.
“We are on our way back from capturing the insect that was running amok in His Majesty’s detached palace, forgetting its place.”
The Herald said, looking down at Jinwa with his compound eyes.
“The spider with the blood of the Ancient Species seems to have fled, but the forces I brought have all gathered on site. The other insects will not be able to get far.”
“…”
“The ones above are watching. We will deal with this matter first, then discuss it with the Grand General again.”
“I don’t know… who decided you could do that.”
Splash!!
Stepping into the water, Lennok said as he struggled to his feet.
Forcefully swallowing the darkness, his complexion deathly pale as if he could collapse at any moment, Lennok looked up at The Grafter.
“This isn’t something you can handle as you please… It is a concept that never belonged to anyone in the first place.”
“Noble One. Forgive my words, but that is not so,” the Herald said.
“Everything that existed in Ars Nova belonged to only one person: His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor. This is a sin that the Cabinet must reclaim and collect.”
“…”
“Here, representing the will of the revered Grand Dukes, I will personally put to rest the Empire’s long-standing mistake.”
“No… it is merely proof that the Emperor executed the lineage of the Black Edict with his own hands.”
His eyes, stained black, flashed as he raised his mana. Lennok looked up at the Herald.
“I’ve thought about it for a long time, but now I know for sure. The Emperor was no sage or Seeker.”
“…”
“If he annihilated the Black Edict family and cursed them for studying the Heavenly Abasement Spellcraft… I don’t think I can agree with such an act.”
“…Long ago, there were a few more exchanges similar to this one.”
The silent Herald slowly turned towards Lennok.
“Despite being warned several times, you ultimately did not heed my words, Noble One. You insisted on opening the [Gate] and have summoned a causality you cannot handle in your current state.”
“…”
“It is a ‘karma’ that has been twisted and distorted beyond the Gate for over several decades. Is it not a foregone conclusion that you now struggle to accept it so easily?”
KWOOOOOOOOH!!!!
The Dragon Riders and the Titan Legion raised their mana, while the Ascendant, who had been observing with her arms crossed, touched her lips.
Scattered throughout the Mausoleum were the members of Pandemonium, bloodied or lying in disarray.
Looking at Lennok standing alone in the flowing water, The Grafter spoke coldly.
“It is regrettable.”
Crackle…!!
At the same time as a sharp spark of lightning flew, the frozen time began to move.
Lennok’s form, now a streak of blue lightning, tore through the charging Dragon Riders, splattering blood.
Soon, he began to pierce and rip through armor and flesh, scattering a tremendous slaughter across the Mausoleum.
“Seize him!!”
“He is the Empire’s greatest traitor. Do not let him escape!!”
“We will finish here what His Majesty failed to do!!!!”
“Kuh…!!!”
KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KRAK!!!!!
The ornate statues decorating the Mausoleum shattered, and amidst the debris, Lennok and his pursuers clashed.
Dragging the darkness that was being absorbed into his body, Lennok vomited blood while accelerating with Flicker at an incredible speed.
The traitors chased after the wizard, breaking through the debris and slamming their Dragon’s Authority and long weapons at Lennok.
But Lennok sprinted, dodging the shockwaves that rained down like a bombardment from all sides, and instantly minced the monsters that rushed him.
Drrrrrrk!!!!
BO-BO-BO-BOOM!!!
A bolt of blue lightning, barely formed while vomiting blood, pierced the abdomen of a Dragon Rider and burst his organs.
With his head bowed low, he used Flicker to land on a Titan Legionnaire’s shoulder, and with a single gesture, pulverized its head, scattering the contents.
He broke through the tightening encirclement of the monstrous army with absurd ease, ignoring their checks and defenses to snuff out their lives.
Lennok’s form, staggering as if he would collapse at any moment, unleashed lightning flashes, slaughtering the mutated superhumans.
At the overwhelming and one-sided result, the elite soldiers of the Empire screamed in horrified disbelief.
“Impossible…!!”
“With a dying body, how can he display such martial prowess—”
“Is he truly a Demon God…?!!!”
KWAAAAAAA!!!!!
He swept through the air, killing dozens of superhumans and reaping their lives.
He shattered their sturdy armor and protective spellcraft with lightning, tearing open cracks.
With lightning, formed from a brief incantation, wreathed around his hand, he gasped for breath and slaughtered the monstrous army.
Just as he was about to retrieve the body of the fallen Conjunction Spell Master and place it behind the Jeweled Crown.
The massive body of The Grafter, who had been pushed back in the frenzied assault, collided head-on with Lennok.
KWWAAAAANG!!!!
His three remaining arms, each wreathed in a different spellcraft and martial art, clashed with Lennok’s lightning.
The intense shockwave stimulated the crack engraved on Lennok’s arm, forcing it open and making him inhale the darkness.
“Kuh…!!!”
“No matter how much time passes, that wondrous power does not fade.”
The Herald spoke in a tone that could not hide his admiration as he watched Lennok struggle to breathe.
“Right now, Noble One, you are like a chrysalis metamorphosing into a butterfly. To face the battlefield in your weakest body at your most vulnerable moment, and still be able to do this.”
“…”
“Then and now, you are too dangerous a being. As much as we felt fear and awe towards you, you were one who should not have existed in this world.”
The Grafter looked down at Lennok with cold eyes and spoke.
“That is why… His Imperial Majesty met you at the end of the world and settled everything, did he not?”
“…You talk too much nonsense.”
Lennok, who had been looking down, glanced up at the Herald with a ghastly gaze.
“Are you not confident you can win without stimulating my past memories like that?”
[Tear… It… Open]
KWAAAAAAAANG!!!!!
At that moment, a purple Spell-Word stabbed into Lennok’s side, and a tremendous radiance exploded in succession.
The Ascendant’s Spell-Word, digging into his lungs like a blade, pierced his skin and tore open the crack engraved on his body.
Lennok’s body staggered greatly from the impact that flowed through his torn blood vessels and mana circuits.
“…The Grand General is as fickle as ever, I see.”
The Grafter turned his two heads to glance at the Ascendant standing in the distance.
“I did not expect you to cooperate. Have you changed your mind already?”
“How could that be?”
Jinwa, floating the purple lips behind her back, retorted while extending a hand towards Lennok.
“I simply thought that pathetic sight of him struggling so desperately even with a dying body was more dangerous.”
“Hmm…”
“Now that I’m here, I think I have a rough idea of how you intend to ‘deal with’ that wizard.”
Jinwa sneered as she raised her mana and chanted her Spell-Word.
“I will play along until the moment he is suppressed.”
“I knew the Grand General would understand.”
Flash!!!!
There was no reply.
The purple Spell-Word fell like rain, and The Grafter’s authority grazed past Lennok’s body.
Lennok gathered and unleashed blue lightning, countering the pressure from the Ascendant and The Grafter on both sides.
[Reaction within this space is forbidden]
[The coefficient of friction in this space is reduced to 0]
[Field distortion in this space is forbidden]
DA-DA-DA-DA-DANG!!!!
He crushed and burned away the Spell-Words that hindered and blocked his movements with lightning.
He countered The Grafter’s authority that tried to grab his body and tear it apart, flesh and all, by sacrificing his shields.
In the dizzying supersonic exchange, every time darkness settled on Lennok’s shoulder, his complexion grew paler.
Piercing through a fleeting gap, the Herald kicked Lennok in the stomach and slammed his body down beneath the Jeweled Crown at an incredible speed.
KWAAAAAAAANG!!!!
“…!!”
“The Noble One’s words are correct. Even if you have lost your memories and grown weak, how could a mere defier of fate like myself face the great god-slayer?”
The Herald said coldly as he looked at the staggering Lennok.
“However, while I may not be able to kill you here, I can seal you so that you do not awaken until the very end.”
“…That is.”
“As the representative of the Ars Nova Imperial Palace Cabinet, I hereby recreate the decree issued by His Imperial Majesty.”
KWAAAAAAA!!!!
The Grafter brought his three hands together in a prayer-like gesture, drawing a small triangle-like hand seal in the air.
Simultaneously, the [Gate] that had opened around the Jeweled Crown expanded further, revealing an endless darkness beyond it.
The darkness overflowed from all directions, surging at Lennok’s feet, roiling as if to swallow him whole.
“In the hell that His Imperial Majesty bestowed upon the clan of the Black Edict, I shall seal you for all eternity.”
The Grafter looked at Lennok and spoke with a chilling expression.
“Please, do not crawl out from that place until the end of all things, and rest in eternal peace.”
KWOOOOOOOOH!!!!!!
The thick, clotted darkness fell like tears, revealing the landscape beyond.
One of the five oldest families.
The hell of the Gabihaeng, where the lineage of the Black Edict was executed for treason, losing their bodies and falling.
Was he planning to trap and seal Lennok in the other dimension that existed beyond the [Gate], preventing him from returning to reality?
But Lennok remained unfazed, even as he watched the darkness that instantly rushed to his feet and began to swallow his body.
Instead, he simply looked down with sunken eyes at the gate of hell wide open beneath him.
“…”
It wasn’t because he feared the other dimension beyond the [Gate] that The Grafter was trying to push him into, or the hell of the Gabihaeng that existed there.
With Feigenbaum’s Eye, the Mandala ring, the Deceitful Morning Star, and a few other means at his disposal, he was confident he could return alive even from outside the Outer Sea.
What Lennok was pondering was whether heading to the hell beyond the [Gate] at this moment would resolve the current crisis.
Members of Pandemonium were still inside Yeongheo Palace, and he hadn’t reached a clear conclusion about Myeong’s purpose.
If Lennok headed beyond the [Gate] at this point, he would have no way to stop whatever schemes the Ascendant and The Grafter might cook up.
But if he remained here and held his ground, he would be forcibly swept away by the power surging back from beyond the [Gate].
In the end, should he use the ring once more to call upon his past memories?
But if, as The Grafter said, the Three Grand Dukes were watching at this very moment, using the ring here would likely be dangerous.
And the moment he summoned his past memories again, the backlash engraved on his body would surely shatter his body and soul to an irreversible degree.
Ruuuumble…!!!
Even now, the darkness was rising from beneath Lennok’s feet.
The scenery of hell, revealing itself as the [Gate] opened.
Just as Lennok was contemplating dozens of methods and alternatives while staring into the darkness.
“It’s so damn loud.”
A voice that should not have been heard here, spoke.
“…Huh?”
At that moment, as if facing the impossible, Lennok’s eyes shot wide open for the first time.
In the instant that Lennok, Maiya, and everyone else looked into the vast darkness stretching beyond the [Gate].
A desperate crossroad where everything seemed to stop, as if time itself had frozen.
A crocodile giant clad in ink-black scales shot up from beyond the [Gate] to hell as if it were surfacing.
KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!