Chapter 1436: A New Phase (1)
An Ascendant’s vault, hidden within the Cradle of Paradise Lost.
A girl appeared before the display case holding the relic known as the Quill of Oaths and spoke to the group.
Her introduction was something one could never imagine from her appearance, which was that of a young woman who had just come of age.
“…I can’t believe it.”
Soryu muttered, his expression stiff as he gripped his frozen treasured sword.
“You claim to be one of Ars Nova’s Grand Generals…?”
The six Grand Generals loyal to the Imperial Palace of the Empire.
Beings who established immense military achievements across the continent during the Unification War, cementing their status as Grand Generals.
Every one of them a Level 9 superhuman, Transcendent beings who had sworn loyalty to the Emperor instead of pursuing their own paths.
Did this mean another Grand General, comparable to Jinwa or the Grand General of Brilliance, had appeared in Paradise Lost?
Just as the others froze, stiffened by the unexpected situation, Lennok spoke.
“It doesn’t seem like she’s lying.”
“She doesn’t even seem to be trying to hide it,”
Croken, standing beside Lennok, retorted.
“Her core hierarchy is completely severed, yet every single fragment of her is more substantial than that of an average Transcendent. It means she’s not bound by any shackles.”
“…”
“The only ones who feel this strange just by being alive are usually Ascendants. From the looks of it, she wasn’t even human to begin with.”
Croken’s bright yellow pupils stared intently at the girl standing beside the glass display case.
“No, rather… she’s a wench closer to a monster that devours humans.”
“I don’t think that’s something I need to hear from you of all people.”
The Grand General, Pan Ord Inepin, replied calmly.
“Is it really okay for the monster furthest from being human here to point that out? I, at least, tried to get along with humans back when the Empire was still standing.”
“…”
“The other nobles weren’t interested in outside affairs, but I know you. Generals like us were dragged into various wars and had many opportunities to encounter Transcendent beings from all over the continent.”
Lifting her eyes to meet Croken’s gaze, Inepin said,
“Cheondun, War God… You were famous as a long-active war mercenary, but that wasn’t the truth, was it? That’s why you followed Antares on the Pilgrimage Path, unbecoming as it was for you.”
“What are you trying to blabber about?”
“The Pilgrimage Path is an ascension ritual to attain transcendence as a warrior… it’s akin to an ascetic practice of endlessly repeating the journey walked by the savior of the First World.”
Inepin said nonchalantly.
“From the very beginning, that was a ritual for humans, or beings that were once human. Did you really think something would change just because you set foot on the Pilgrimage Path?”
“…What did you say?”
For a moment, hearing those completely unexpected words, Lennok’s expression shifted slightly.
The journey walked by the savior of the First World… As far as Lennok knew, that was none other than—
Fwoosh—
There was no time to continue the thought.
The moment Croken, his face expressionless, crossed his arms and tilted his head, a tangible killing intent rained down upon Inepin.
Simultaneously, a circular crater formed around where Inepin stood, and her body sank deep into it.
KWAAAAANG!!!!
“Ugh…!! W-Wait a minute!!”
“Asylus, the Cradle is collapsing! In here…!!!”
A chilling killing intent, so potent that even the other members watching paled in an instant.
Their skin didn’t just tingle; it began to split as if cut by a knife—proof that the killing intent had transcended mere will and was actually affecting reality.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!!!!!
A terrifying pressure crushed down on Inepin’s body, raging as if it would tear her flesh to shreds at any moment.
However, even under Croken’s descending killing intent, Inepin merely furrowed her brow slightly, showing no pain.
“This is no longer a level of will-thought a living being can possess. In a way, it’s impressive.”
Standing in the center of the crater, Inepin glanced up at Croken.
“To be this powerful even with your curse bound in the Infinite Void… isn’t this getting dangerous?”
“Monster, my patience isn’t that great.”
Croken sneered.
“If you’re going to keep spouting nonsense, I’ll peel your skin off right here. Shall we see if you can maintain your sanity even after casting off that human guise?”
“You hit the nail right on the head, don’t you? Sorry, my apologies.”
Fwoosh!!
With a single step, Inepin’s form escaped the crater and rose up.
She plunged her fingers into the wounds on her arm, which was lacerated by the killing intent as if hacked by a knife, and gripped the inside as if churning it.
Each time, Inepin’s arm grotesquely deformed before instantly repairing the wounds and returning to its original shape.
Squelch, squelch!!!
“…”
The members watching this up close, their faces pale, slowly backed away from her.
Although she gave off no particular presence or aura, the implication that she was a tremendous monster was overwhelming.
According to Croken, even this form was just a human mimicry, and her true body was likely some kind of unfathomable monster.
Did the Central City of the past truly accept even high-ranking non-human monsters and entrust them with the role of guarding the Imperial Palace?
However, even knowing that the gazes upon her had changed, Inepin paid it no mind.
“As you may know if you’ve heard the news from the Central City, it hasn’t been long since everyone’s shackles were released. It feels like I’m talking to someone for the first time in a very long while, so I may have gotten a little excited.”
Inepin brushed her hair back and looked at Lennok.
“Isn’t it ironic that things turned out this way only after the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors collapsed and the Grand General of Brilliance perished? He died of a chronic illness even before the Central City fell, but I never expected to hear that sad news again now.”
“…”
“It’s quite funny, really. Now I don’t even know who’s dead and who’s alive. Did all of that lose its meaning the moment the Emperor left?”
“Listening to you, you’re quite talkative…”
Lennok said, standing with his arms crossed.
“I doubt you came here just to chat.”
“Well, that’s true. To be honest… I really didn’t expect Jinwa to be defeated.”
Inepin’s expression changed strangely.
“She was a legendary figure who rose to the position of Grand General despite not being a noble or a True Blood. Besides her abilities, she was extremely skilled in social maneuvering and self-preservation.”
“…”
“I thought that woman would have surely prepared various insurance policies for the future, so she would never die inside Paradise Lost… I was wrong.”
Staring at Lennok, Inepin asked.
“Or perhaps, you were simply superior to all the measures she had prepared?”
“Superior… you phrase it like we’re wild animals.”
Lennok sank into thought.
“It wasn’t like that. Perhaps it was because Jinwa had truly reached the threshold of the destination she desired.”
“…”
“She might have become an Outer God with just one more step, and even knowing she had failed, she couldn’t let go of her lingering attachment. That’s why she couldn’t come back.”
Even as she was defeated by Lennok and annihilated by the Ultimate Lightning, she had come to the very brink of achieving her goal.
Perhaps, even up to the moment she confronted the Outer Gods, Jinwa might have still had a way to escape.
After all, the meticulousness Lennok had faced from her in this Paradise Lost was truly astounding.
But even knowing the Outer Gods had chosen Lennok, she couldn’t abandon her attachment until the very end.
She had watched the Eightfold Lightning Firmament until the end and finally crossed a line from which she could not return.
Whether her soul was annihilated in the sea of lightning, or she was completely taken over and devoured by the Outer Gods.
He hadn’t watched her until the very end, but it was certain that Jinwa had met one of those two fates.
“An interesting answer.”
Inepin nodded.
“With those words alone, I can tell what an exceptional Transcendent you are. You already understood Jinwa on a deep level.”
“…”
“I hope she found the answer she sought, even on the other side of her end. I wasn’t that close with Jinwa, but it’s sad when effort goes unrewarded, isn’t it?”
“…Yes.”
Indeed, could Jinwa find her answer even beyond her end?
It was an unanswerable question, but Lennok realized he was still thinking about her nonetheless.
The memory of the past he had confronted in the final moment that decided victory and defeat, as he branded her heart with the Ultimate Lightning.
Because he had witnessed how she had strived harder than anyone else, even if it was in the wrong direction.
In this world, effort isn’t always followed by reward. Desire isn’t always met with reward at its end.
He had simply come to painfully realize the fact that not even Ascendants could escape that law.
“If it’s you, of all people, you’d be qualified to take everything Jinwa left behind.”
Saying something that would have made Jinwa fly into a rage, Inepin casually stepped aside from the display case.
It was a stark contrast to how she had appeared and stood blocking the Quill of Oaths, making everyone tense.
Meekly stepping slowly to the side of the display case, she nodded at Lennok.
“Take it. The Quill of Oaths is yours now.”
“I intended to do so even without your permission.”
Lennok replied as such and slowly opened the display case where Inepin had been standing.
The form of an old quill pen, floating inside the case and scattering an iridescent light.
Gazing at it intently, Lennok slowly reached out and grasped the quill.
Scritch.
“…”
The moment he gripped it, a purple light flowed from the quill’s nib, drawing a line in the air.
As soon as it was in Lennok’s hand, it looked as though it intended to write in the air as if it were paper.
“As you may have guessed, the reason I came here was actually because of this.”
Inepin, watching him from the side, said.
“The Quill of Oaths is an item Jinwa created long ago under the Emperor’s command. It’s a relic that amplifies Jinwa’s Spell-Word art with the Emperor’s authority, raising it to a level comparable to the World Edicts.”
“The Emperor’s authority?”
“The wielder of the Quill of Oaths can activate Spell-Words even without being a Spell-Word user. Basically, it’s at the level of turning sentences into Spell-Words, but depending on talent and aptitude, even greater things are possible. Want to try?”
Instead of answering, Lennok held the quill in thought for a moment, then moved his hand.
The purple light dripping from the tip of the quill was soon crookedly etched into the air—
“Pfft!”
Ermont, watching from behind, burst out laughing unconsciously.
“My, what unimaginably terrible handwriting. The rumor that geniuses have bad handwriting must be true—”
「Press the black wizard’s forehead to the ground」
THUD!!
“Gwek!!”
Ermont, who had slammed his head into the ground on the spot, flailed around in an unsightly posture.
Watching him, Lennok slowly and deliberately continued to scribble in the air with the quill.
「Stick the black wizard’s arms behind his knees」
「Fold the black wizard’s legs and stick them to his shoulders」
“W-Wait a minute. I can’t get up… Someone, please help me!!”
Crouched down with his whole body folded into a ridiculous posture, Ermont squirmed and shouted.
At the screams of Ermont rolling around on the floor, the others forgot the situation and snickered.
“Don’t want to. Why should I?”
“You look good like that.”
“Since it’s come to this, how about you crawl on the floor for the rest of your life?”
“I-I was wrong. A-Actually, I’m not very good at writing either.”
Only then did Ermont start glancing at Lennok and begging for forgiveness.
“Don’t geniuses have something in common? Let’s find significance in discovering our shared trait and generously let this slide—”
“The performance is certainly close to her Spell-Words as I remember them.”
Ignoring Ermont’s words, Lennok looked back at Inepin.
“But it seems there are more conditions or restrictions. Does the Spell-Word not take effect easily unless it’s a target I know well?”
“In a way, Spell-Words are the spellcraft most closely related to a Geas. It’s fundamental to use them with conditions and restrictions.”
Inepin said, as if finding it fascinating.
“Normally, such a simple sentence wouldn’t work well on a high-level spellcaster… but that Black Edict bloodline seems to have very weak resistance to spellcraft. Is it because his innate soul is unstable?”
“You can tell Ermont’s origin?”
“Well, that’s not particularly important. Let’s continue our earlier conversation.”
Turning back to Lennok, Inepin explained.
“Soon, a banquet for the Grand Generals will be held somewhere on the Central Front. Various Transcendent beings, as well as the recently awakened Grand Generals, will attend.”
“…A banquet?”
“It’s necessary to gather once to fill the vacant Grand General position.”
Inepin said casually.
“You’ll have to attend.”
“…”
Silence fell.
A banquet where the various Grand Generals who were loyal to the Imperial Palace of the Ars Nova Empire would gather in one place.
Inepin’s message that someone must take on the duties of a Grand General to fill the vacant position.
Because everyone finally understood the meaning of the words she had spoken as soon as she first appeared here.
“…I think some additional explanation is needed.”
Glancing at Croken, who was leisurely stroking his chin, Lennok asked.
“I’m not from the Empire. Why must I attend the Grand Generals’ banquet?”
“As you probably know by now, the Grand Generals of Ars Nova have always taken on the role of protecting the Imperial Palace against invasions from outer dimensions. That’s why so many of the Empire’s Transcendent beings went into seclusion simultaneously after the Unification War ended.”
“…”
“The Emperor is gone and the Empire has fallen, but the duties of the Grand Generals have not disappeared or been lost. In fact, you could say the situation has become even more dangerous in that regard.”
Inepin said.
“To stop the demons from outer dimensions that will invade through the sunken Imperial Palace, the existing positions of the Grand Generals must be continuously filled. And, if a vacancy in a Grand General’s seat usually occurs…”
Inepin stared into Lennok’s eyes.
“The Transcendent who killed a Grand General is given first priority. Regardless of whether they were former or current.”
“…”
Does this mean that even though Jinwa had renounced her position as the Whispering Grand General when she left the Empire, the priority is activated because Lennok killed her?
If so, the vacant seat Inepin mentioned probably refers not to the Whispering Grand General’s, but to the Grand General of Brilliance’s.
No, in the first place, is it even true that Lennok was given priority because he killed Jinwa in Paradise Lost?
Perhaps, there was also the possibility that she knew Lennok had already killed another Grand General—
“If it’s you, there’s no need to question your qualifications.”
As if she knew Lennok well, Inepin asked.
“You can choose for yourself. What will you do?”
“I refuse.”
“The reason?”
“If the duties of a Grand General were so noble, there’s no way Heavenly Sight or Jindun wouldn’t have cooperated with the Empire.”
Lennok said calmly.
“I have no intention of being pushed by uncertain duties and regulations to accept a title I don’t even want. In the first place, the Central City I’ve seen so far wasn’t that kind of place.”
“…”
“Ars Nova brought about its own destruction by trading its fate with Vulcan’s Black Consumer Project… I don’t see what meaning there is in becoming the guardian of a self-destructed Empire now.”
A quiet stillness where not even a breath could be heard.
The other members, with tense expressions, watched Inepin as she listened to Lennok’s words.
Because they didn’t know how she would react now that her offer, made to fill the Grand General’s seat, had been rejected.
In the worst-case scenario, they might have to fight for their lives right here against another Grand General whose identity was a complete mystery.
However, even after hearing Lennok’s words, Inepin didn’t get angry or show any displeasure.
“Hmm.”
Instead, she just looked up at Lennok with an amused expression and smiled.
“You… you really have lost all your memories, haven’t you? You’re a very different person from the one I knew.”
“…”
Lennok didn’t answer, merely staring intently at Inepin.
Meeting his gaze, Inepin meekly took a step back.
“Well, fine. I did think you might not accept. Still, you’ll have to attend the banquet.”
“Why is that?”
“There’s one more ability to the Quill of Oaths that Jinwa made under the Emperor’s command.”
Inepin said.
“Writing in empty air creates a Spell-Word, but you can also use the quill to revise phrases or passages that are already written.”
“Revising phrases or passages is possible…”
Lennok immediately understood the implication and retorted.
“It’s not just for correcting sentences, is it? Can it also modify the meaning… or even the concepts contained within those sentences?”
“Yes.”
Inepin’s eyes shone strangely.
“To be precise, it’s possible to change the wording of a contract to change the very content of the contract itself. The Emperor had Jinwa create this quill for that purpose.”
“…”
“Now I trust you understand what I’m getting at.”
Slowly crossing her arms, Inepin said.
“Since the quill’s owner has been decided, you’ll have to attend the banquet yourself and fix our ‘contract’. You can do that, can’t you?”
“…”
Only then did Lennok understand what Inepin wanted and why she had appeared in Paradise Lost.
She needed to revise a ‘contract’ made among the Grand Generals using the Quill of Oaths, and she had been waiting for someone who could do it.
And also the fact that a place for the six Grand Generals to gather would soon be arranged to discuss that contract.
The Pandemonium members listening from behind also understood the situation, their expressions subtly hardening.
“I’m not sure if it’s alright for you to decide such an important matter on your own.”
Maiya asked.
“If it’s the six Grand Generals of Ars Nova, they should be a transcendent group composed entirely of Ascendants.”
“It doesn’t matter, since it’s not only Grand Generals attending the banquet. Guests of a comparable stature are scheduled to attend as well.”
Inepin said nonchalantly.
“Besides, this man is a Level 9 Ascendant too, isn’t he? I don’t think he’s lacking in qualifications.”
In that moment, everyone stared intently at Lennok’s face as if on cue.
As if they wanted to confirm the truth of Inepin’s words.
That was likely because the others weren’t sure what level Lennok had currently reached either.
“…”
However, Lennok neither agreed with Inepin’s words nor denied them as he usually would.
Instead, he simply remained silent with an expression as if deep in thought.
At Lennok’s attitude of openly ignoring the question, Inepin looked momentarily dumbfounded before turning to leave.
“Well, I don’t want to fight here, so think it over.”
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE…!!!!
In time with Inepin’s steps, the ground began to heave and shake violently.
As if something truly massive had silently landed here and was now about to depart.
A transcendent weight that shook the collapsing Paradise Lost and shattered the very ground just by existing.
Turning her back on the group, who were staggering to keep their balance, Inepin said casually.
“I’m not forcing you, but we need that Quill of Oaths. Wouldn’t it be nice if the quill’s new owner graced the occasion with their presence?”
“Does that mean it doesn’t matter if I don’t attend?”
“Hmm… I don’t know.”
Standing on the trembling ground, Inepin rested her chin on her hand.
“I don’t mind, but the others might not feel the same. There are a few people attending this time to fill the vacant Grand General seat.”
“So there will be beings who will force me to attend so they can receive the position of a Grand General?”
“That’s the thing, I’m not sure.”
The final words Inepin left as she departed contained a fact so unexpected that even Lennok was surprised.
“Among the attendees of this banquet are a few Ascendants from the Old World. Who knows how they handled these kinds of problems in the First and Second Worlds?”