Chapter 1448: A New Phase (13)
The moment he killed Jinwa in Paradise Lost and met the gazes of the Outer Gods from beyond the Outer Sea.
Ironically, Lennok realized the time to end his long wait was not far off.
That, in the end, he could not truly discuss what came next without standing in the same place as the great failures.
Perhaps it was because he had always envisioned reaching that place he had sought at the end of his long journey.
He would become a Level 9 Ascendant and advance toward the answer.
After finishing his brief talk with Hylaea and returning to the chapel, the waiting members of Pandemonium turned to look at him.
“Adamant Thunder. Go on ahead.”
Maiya, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, jerked her head toward the chapel’s rear exit.
“Someone is waiting for you.”
“…”
Considering the reason they were all gathered here, he didn’t need to ask who was waiting for him.
Without a word, he pushed open the rear door. A small garden was situated behind the old cathedral. A balcony, overgrown with weeds from long neglect.
Upon it, a spirit body containing a young black dragon sat with its back to him, waiting.
Lennok watched its back silently before slowly walking forward.
“In ending the Gabihaeng, I wished to bring a conclusion to my long sins.”
The black spirit spoke without looking at him.
“I believed that even if it was a vile and virtueless karma, you could use it meaningfully.”
“…”
“If I could have departed without leaving any lingering attachments, that would have been enough.”
The young black dragon glanced back, looking up at Lennok with deeply sunken eyes.
An overwhelming presence, as if imbued with a profound intellect and ego on a different level than before.
That was why the moment their eyes met, he knew.
Myeong, awakened within the young spirit body, spoke.
“It was an unwise choice. You know that, don’t you?”
“…Yes.”
Lennok agreed calmly.
“At least, it wasn’t the kind of clean ending you might have hoped for from me.”
“…”
“But I do not intend to obsess over neat endings or the natural order of things. What I’m trying to do will, in some sense, be a defiance of this world’s set conclusion—an act of reversing heaven.”
Lennok met Myeong’s silent gaze and continued.
“I don’t believe there is any conclusion that can be reached through death or annihilation. Responsibility, atonement—those are things only possible for the living.”
“…”
“If you feel guilt for the Gabihaeng, I believe that atonement must be given for the sake of those who remain in this world.”
Lennok smiled faintly.
“The black wizard I remember wouldn’t run away twice using death as his escape.”
“As far as provocations go, that wasn’t a bad turn of phrase…”
For a moment, the black dragon’s expressionless face seemed to form a bitter smile.
Slowly turning, Myeong looked down at his own spirit body and spoke.
“My soul is already close to shattered fragments, making it extremely unstable. Not only can I not use my power properly, but there are also large parts of my memory that have been lost.”
“I figured as much.”
“The time I can maintain this level of reason is short, and I’ll have to spend most of my days as a mere spirit. If you’re fine with that, even so…”
Myeong spoke softly.
“For the time I have left, I will try to find a way to atone for the innocent lives lost by my hand.”
“Don’t worry, there will be plenty of time.”
Lennok smiled.
“That is precisely why I intend to become the next one.”
Afterward, Lennok had a brief conversation with Myeong about what had happened and then returned to the chapel.
A series of keywords he had heard within his consciousness just before waking Myeong with the Doctor’s help.
Transcendent Magic. The Second. The World’s Ten Laws. Demons and Heaven’s Gate.
Each word was too significant to ignore, so he had to ask directly, but Myeong couldn’t remember anything about them.
It wasn’t just that he had forgotten the keywords; a large gap had formed in a crucial part of his memory, and he needed time.
Lennok had no choice but to postpone it, deciding to ask again later when Myeong’s condition improved.
After successfully awakening Myeong, the process of calculating the gains from Paradise Lost proceeded relatively quickly.
It was enough to place Lennok’s contributions at the forefront and then discuss the extent to which the other members had contributed to the operation.
The fact that the members, excluding Ermont, didn’t have much desire for the artifacts obtained in this operation was also effective.
[What, you called because of the artifact distribution? I told you I was busy. The Yefnen’s necklace I got last time is enough for me.]
Freya’s shrill voice grumbled over the phone.
[Do you have any idea what the name of the best designer in the Imperial Palace is worth? It’s something money can’t buy. Tell the Tower Lord he can have the rest!]
“I understand that an ice crystal that resonates with ice-type artifacts and relics was mixed in with this haul. If Adamant Thunder agrees, I will take just a few of those.”
“I have no interest in ordinary weapons or equipment. I’ll take a map that can track the traces of the demon worshipers.”
“Hey, why is everyone so lacking in greed?”
Ermont looked around at the other members, bewildered.
“We risked our lives to go to Paradise Lost, didn’t we? For the sake of the dead Conjunction Spell Master, we should definitely take our fair share.”
“I told you, I’m not dead yet. Are you going to keep saying such unlucky things?”
“Uh, um…”
The Corpse Ghost Spell Master, who had been squatting in a corner of the chapel, cautiously raised his hand while glancing around.
“I-I don’t know what, but I-I worked h-hard too…”
“What, you brat?”
“H-Hieeek…!!”
The other members stared incredulously at the Corpse Ghost Spell Master, who covered his head with both hands and hid.
“Corpse Ghost Spell Master, did you just raise your hand to ask for a share too?”
“For someone who stutters, this guy is surprisingly assertive. He’s a real greedy one, unlike how he looks.”
“His shamelessness in trying to get a free ride at the end isn’t bad. Are you interested in joining Pandemonium?”
“N-No… I-I was just, just in c-case…”
The Corpse Ghost Spell Master peeked his head out from behind a chapel pew.
“I-If there were any unwanted a-artifacts, I was wondering if I-I could have some…”
“…”
“I-I’m allowed to just ask, right… Hehe…”
“Really, you’re hopeless.”
Ignoring the awkwardly smiling Corpse Ghost Spell Master, Ermont casually walked up to the pile of artifacts.
“Then, for the sake of a fair settlement, I’ll take the shares the other members have forfeited on their behalf—Urgh!!”
Zip!!
A wire wrapped around Ermont’s ankle, and his body was instantly hoisted upside down.
As the other members started kicking Ermont, who was dangling from the chapel ceiling, Hylaea, who had been recording in a ledger for some time, approached Lennok.
“Adamant Thunder. I’ve recorded the artifacts and goods the other members want, so take a look. If there’s something you want, you have priority.”
“I believe I said I wouldn’t get involved in the distribution of relics. For a criminal organization, you’re quite thorough about these things.”
“It’s the opposite. It’s because all sorts of criminals are gathered here that we have to be clear about these things.”
Hylaea shrugged.
“We aren’t a group bound by camaraderie like your magic tower. Things could go wrong at the slightest disagreement, so the settlement has to be thorough, don’t you think?”
“…”
Just as she said, as soon as the settlement was over, some members scattered, gathering their items or preparing to leave the cathedral.
Even if they weren’t leaving Vulcan immediately, they had no intention of staying long or lodging in this old cathedral.
Maiya, who had been talking with the Doctor with a small bag slung over her shoulder, caught Lennok’s eye and approached him.
“Adamant Thunder.”
“Are you planning to leave right away?”
“Not yet. It’s been a while since I’ve been in Vulcan, so I plan to meet some acquaintances before I go.”
Maiya shook her head, her face expressionless.
“Since being exiled from Machina, I haven’t stayed in Vulcan for long. There’s someone I want to see before I leave for the Central Front.”
“So you’re heading back to the Demonic Realm of the Central Front.”
“I thought exploring Paradise Lost would tell me more about the central cities, but the gains weren’t as much as I’d hoped. In the end, I’ll have to find what I want in the Demonic Realm.”
“Didn’t you have a hard time beyond the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors? It seems like it would be worth trying a different method by now.”
“The reason I joined Pandemonium was to reverse the failure of the Ascension Gate. There is no other reason.”
Maiya stated flatly and looked at Lennok.
“We are only cooperating due to our individual circumstances. If it weren’t for the Director, we wouldn’t have gathered. They and I are not allies, and I doubt they think otherwise.”
“…”
“There were no issues with the personnel for this operation, but if you plan to cooperate with Pandemonium, it would be best to keep this in mind.”
Maiya’s eyes glinted coldly.
“In the operations I’ve participated in, there have been several instances of internal strife where we had to kill each other.”
“For a passing remark, that’s quite detailed advice…”
Lennok let out a small laugh.
“You’re a member of Pandemonium, yet you’re warning me about it?”
“You killed Hermes, who was trying to replicate the failure of the Ascension Gate, and you saved my home city.”
Maiya said.
“I follow the Director for my own personal wish, but at the same time, I believe I owe you a debt.”
“…”
“It feels like only yesterday that I suggested you enter the Demonic Conflux at Machina’s train station… Time flows so quickly.”
Seeing the silent Lennok, Maiya gave a dry smile.
“I’ll contact you if I ever need the prestige of Vulcan’s Tower Lord. I’ll be going now.”
Without any lingering attachment, Maiya picked up her bag, stood up, and disappeared out of the cathedral.
The Enforcer left without so much as a goodbye to the Doctor or the other members.
Lennok silently watched the spot where Maiya had left before slowly turning away.
He knew Maiya held some fondness for Adamant Thunder because of the events in Machina, but he hadn’t realized it was to this extent.
It was proof of just how strongly the various causalities related to the failure of the Ascension Gate had bound her life.
“You seem to have much on your mind.”
The Doctor, who remained where Maiya had been, let out a low laugh as his fur-ball-like body wriggled.
“I can guess what Maiya said, but don’t pay it too much mind. As long as the head is sound, it won’t be a major problem even if the limbs move on their own.”
“Are you trying to say the members of Pandemonium respect the Director’s prestige that much?”
“That’s not entirely untrue, but many are also driven by their personal greed and wishes.”
The Doctor said leisurely.
“If you’ve met the Director, you know. He is a being who presides over a very vast concept… an Answerer who has risen to a seat greater than a god’s in a human body.”
“…”
“Whatever the concept, if it ever existed, he can pull it into this moment and deliver it. Do you know how irreversible that authority is?”
He did know.
What kind of great deed the Director had accomplished in the Second World.
What answer he had chosen to ascend to the Third World—Lennok had never forgotten it either.
The memory of the Second World’s existence, perhaps the greatest gain Lennok had acquired in the machine city of Machina.
Using the authority of inevitability, what miracles he could bestow upon the other members—hadn’t Lennok realized it himself after finishing the business in Kabahim?
“Artemeyer. Are you also following the Director to reverse the failure of the Ascension Gate?”
“No. Regrettably, I have no lingering attachment to that failure.”
The Doctor let out a hollow laugh.
“It’s true I designed the Ascension Gate, but I lost interest after learning why it failed. Water only has meaning when it flows from high to low; the reverse is useless.”
“Do you mean that it’s possible to ascend from the Second World to the Third, but the reverse is impossible?”
“To be precise, it’s closer to meaningless.”
The Doctor replied to Lennok’s question.
“The possibilities and causalities that exist in the old world were fundamentally distant from the truth I seek. That wasn’t the answer I wanted.”
“…”
“I simply wish to confirm if the origin of all these things exists. If the end of the world is like a set conclusion, then isn’t inevitability the concept most closely related to it?”
“Conclusion and inevitability…”
“After a long wait, inevitability has arrived. Before the final act, the stage will open, and everyone will begin to move accordingly.”
The Doctor smiled brightly.
“Soon, the Director will return to the mortal world. Until then, I plan to watch over this place as well, so I look forward to working with you.”
After Myeong, having regained consciousness, fell into a deep sleep, and the final discussions about the settlement were concluded.
Following Aris’s advice that it would take time to summon his colleagues, Lennok rested for a night before returning to his magic tower.
Things had moved so hectically since his return to Vulcan that he hadn’t even had a chance to explain the details to his tower colleagues.
He had planned to explain exactly what had happened with Pandemonium and the events in Paradise Lost in the conference room, but—
“…Chapman?”
“Well… that’s what he’s saying, anyway.”
Weian said, looking at Lennok with an awkward expression.
“He said you’d know right away if I told you, but I have no idea what he’s talking about…”
“…”
Lennok, sitting at the head of the conference table, closed his eyes and touched his forehead.
Lost for words, Lennok thought for a moment before asking.
“Ask him why he chose Vulcan.”
“He said he thought you guys would come this way?”
“While he’s talking with Weian, why can’t he communicate with me?”
“He says it’s because your sensory receptivity is the strongest among us… No, seriously, do you actually know this crazy ghost?”
“…”
Because Lennok’s sensory receptivity is stronger than Weian’s or the Spell Master’s, the Spell Master’s own receptivity can’t communicate with him?
In the first place, the only reason the Spell Master, with only his consciousness awakened, could even talk with Weian was likely because he was forcibly interfering with Weian’s consciousness.
It would be natural to assume he couldn’t do the same to Lennok.
But he never imagined the Spell Master would contact Weian in a comatose state.
He knew their sensory receptivities had something in common, but he never thought they would connect in this way….
“Van, but this ghost seems a bit unhinged. The more I listen, the more absurd stuff he says.”
Weian said with a grimace.
“Things like I’m wasting my talent because my intelligence is low, and if I’m going to use it so stupidly, I should just give him my body…”
“…”
“H-He suddenly started spouting a bunch of weird medical terms… No, how am I supposed to memorize all this?! What? I have to make your body?”
As the rambling Weian began talking to himself with something invisible, Lennok, who had been staring silently at the conference room ceiling, spoke.
“It seems I’ll have to contact Artemeyer again.”
“Artemeyer? Who’s tha— Ah, I get it already! I told you not to yell!!”
[Leave it to me.]
Davi, who understood Lennok’s reply as if by magic, moved, and the conference room door opened as familiar faces filed in.
“Van! You look a bit better now. Did you get some rest?”
“Dylan, it hasn’t even been two days since Van got back. What do you mean, rest?”
“He single-handedly brought down Paradise Lost and returned. There’s no way he’s fine. It wouldn’t be strange if he’s already rotting on the inside.”
“I’ll contact the Tower Lord’s physician right away. Shouldn’t we have him get a check-up first?”
“I’m fine for now, so let’s deal with the matters we need to discuss immediately.”
Lennok raised a hand.
“I heard there are a few urgent matters to report to me. I’d like to hear about those first.”
Having made the decision to ascend to Level 9, Lennok also had a few things to take care of.
The moment of transcendence that Lennok had to prepare for and face to become an Ascendant.
The precedents of various Ascendants that he needed to check first before gaining a new transcendence.
To obtain that information, he would need more ways or means to directly contact the Central Front in some fashion.
“Let’s make this quick. As Van said, there are two agenda items to discuss here.”
While Lennok was pondering this, Jenny walked up to the conference room podium and expertly picked up the microphone.
“First, about how to decide the adult form of the Guardian Spirit Beast.”
“Adult form?”
“I’ll explain separately, but he said he wanted our opinions rather than deciding on his own. And second.”
Jenny held up her fingers.
“After the subjugation campaign ended, the Vulcan city government began construction on the magic tower’s second branch as promised. They asked us to select the management personnel and send them a list.”
“Wait, does that mean…”
“It’s better to say this here and now.”
Jenny said.
“From now on, the magic tower, just like other factions, will directly advance into the Central Front.”