Chapter 1460: Hall of Ascension (6)

I still remember the moment at the end of the Subjugation Operation when I looked into Kaiser’s regressions with him.

How he had broken, fallen into corruption, and shattered after tens of thousands of failures.

The torrent of immeasurably intense rage and sorrow, and the erosion of his spirit.

Among them was a branching point so incongruous that Lennok still remembered it.

[A pleasure to meet you, Kaiser Bajour. I am Yuseong, the Left Prime Minister of the Empire’s Imperial Palace Cabinet.]

[I am interested in the editing of Talents you discovered at the end of your endless failures.]

[Would you be interested in making a deal?]

Left Prime Minister Yuseong. The Imperial Palace official who had approached Kaiser in the past and proposed a deal.

The very person who had recruited and brought Jinwa, who was just beginning to make a name for herself as a Spell-Word user, into the Empire.

Lennok had glimpsed his existence in the memories of Kaiser and Jinwa, which was why he remembered him.

He’d thought he might one day encounter him on the day he finally headed for the sunken Imperial Palace.

He had even tried to commit his face and voice to memory completely, not forgetting a single detail—

But he had never expected to meet the man himself here.

“Personally, I’m quite fond of films.”

“……”

“A story with a predetermined ending always brings a sense of comfort to the heart.”

Across the empty seats, the long-haired young man walked slowly with his hands clasped behind his back.

Ignoring Lennok’s impassive gaze, Yuseong lifted the film reel inserted in the projector and muttered.

“I made them into films hoping the memories here would remain in that sense, but I’m not sure if you found them to your liking.”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say. Are you implying you’re the one who turned the Hall of Ascension into this?”

Lennok said in a cold voice.

“You speak as if you’re the administrator of this hall.”

“Not anymore, but I did hold a similar role for a short while in the past.”

Yuseong said nonchalantly.

“A long time ago, I wore many hats I didn’t want… which gave me many opportunities to handle various records and historical materials. This moment is much like an extension of that.”

“……”

So, not now, but he once held a position like that of this hall’s administrator?

If he used that experience to intervene at this very moment and appear before me—

“It seems this conversation might get a bit long. Shall we step outside for now?”

Yuseong turned with a smile.

“I wish to see your face. It’s too dark to see each other’s faces while we talk.”

“……”

Without even waiting for a reply, Yuseong headed out of the theater.

Lennok silently watched Yuseong’s retreating back, then slowly began to follow him.

Regardless of Yuseong’s intentions, there was room to consider what he’d said about Pyeonram’s whereabouts.

Yuseong’s explanation that Padme Kiesa was still alive and being held at the Second Gate.

The moment he heard this, the words Lapis had told him naturally came to mind.

‘Lapis said there was a way to confirm if Pyeonram was alive or dead, and at the same time, she mentioned the assault on the Second Gate would soon begin.’

What if those strangely disjointed words were actually meant to imply that Pyeonram’s whereabouts were related to the Second Gate?

What if there was a reason she could only vaguely hint at it to Lennok, but couldn’t say it directly?

The moment that thought occurred to him, Lennok had an intuition that the information Yuseong provided was not false.

“I’m not sure why you’re looking at me like that.”

The wide corridor of an art museum, bathed in magnificent yet silent lighting.

Standing before the corridor lined with countless paintings, Yuseong smiled with his hands clasped behind him.

“You look like you have something to say. Do you perhaps know me?”

“Let’s stop with the pointless probing, shall we?”

Lennok replied as he stepped out into the carpeted corridor.

“If you were someone who belonged to the Imperial Palace, this wouldn’t be our first meeting.”

According to the records, ‘his’ time in the Imperial Palace was not long, but his actions were not forgotten, right up to the moment the Empire fell.

Just like the Three Grand Dukes and the Grand Generals, any Transcendent loyal to the Empire would surely know of the past Lennok.

But Yuseong’s answer was different from what Lennok had expected.

“On that point, my opinion certainly differs from yours.”

Yuseong shook his head.

“I define an individual not by their genes or soul, but by the medium of memory. Biologically speaking, the human species has almost no meaningful individuality.”

“……”

“The moment he discarded his own memories, the person I knew died. You and he are entirely different beings.”

Yuseong asked calmly, looking at Lennok.

“Above all, isn’t that what he himself wished for?”

“…I see.”

A man who knew of the past Lennok, yet regarded the current one as a completely different being.

He had seen many who missed him, hated him, or were indifferent to him, but this was the first time he’d seen such a reaction.

That alone made him realize that Yuseong was somehow different from the other Transcendent beings of the Imperial Palace he had met so far.

“I’ve seen you in the memories of Ascendants.”

Lennok said, taking a slow step forward.

“It seems you traveled the world for a long time, collecting talents needed by the Empire. Was that your role as Left Prime Minister?”

“That’s not wrong, but it’s been a long time since I put down the title of Left Prime Minister.”

Yuseong replied calmly.

“It would be strange to still hold the title of Prime Minister when Ars Nova has already collapsed. Though the old ministers don’t seem to think so.”

“……”

“However, it is also true that I have been doing similar work for a long time. I don’t know in which memory you saw me, but…”

Tilting his head slightly, Yuseong smiled warmly.

“The end of Kaiser Bajour and Jinwa was so impressive that even I cannot forget it. It’s been a while, but I couldn’t help but be lost in nostalgia.”

“…Nostalgia, you say.”

He knows.

He knows full well whose memories Lennok saw him in, yet he’s calmly feigning ignorance.

That alone was enough for Lennok to intuit that the young man before him was by no means a benevolent being, and he began to draw up his mana.

“It’s heartbreaking when old acquaintances fail to achieve their goals and are broken. Perhaps it’s even more so because I remember the moments they shone so brilliantly.”

Yuseong spoke as if recalling a memory from the very distant past.

“Even the moment they met their end as Ascendants… might remain in this hall. I suppose that’s why I’ve become a little sentimental.”

“There’s no need to speak in circles.”

Fzzt!!

Lennok said, drawing electricity between his fingers.

“Why have you appeared before me now? Do you also want the memories of the past Ascendants recorded here?”

“Not at all. If I had to say, it’s quite the opposite.”

Yuseong said, looking up at a metaphysical painting hanging in the corridor.

“Originally, this hall is not a place outsiders can frequent. It’s like a mirror projecting the memories of the stars engraved upon the World Tree, so one cannot enter without an object that transcends the world’s standards, like Heaven’s Gate.”

“……”

“The births and deaths of past Ascendants. It is a sanctuary that remembers the moments when a transcendent amount of information is projected onto the world, so outsiders are prevented from carelessly looking into the memories.”

Slowly turning back to Lennok, Yuseong stated deliberately.

“Among them are ‘dangerous memories’ that should no longer be revealed to this world.”

“Ah, I see.”

Finally understanding what Yuseong was trying to say, Lennok chuckled.

“There are memories I’m not supposed to see, so, ‘get lost now’?”

“I’m trying not to be too rude.”

Yuseong smiled warmly along with him.

“It is time for you to leave.”

Fwhoooom!!!

The moment Yuseong finished speaking, the air surrounding the two of them heated up sharply.

Despite not using any mana, their colliding will-thoughts began to generate physical heat.

“If you’re still alive after holding the title of the Empire’s Left Prime Minister, you can’t be the type who’s not confident in a fight.”

Crackle!!

Lennok asked, clenching his fist and erupting with azure lightning.

“So, shall we see what you’ve got?”

Fwaaat!!!

His vision flickered azure and blurred at supersonic speed.

In an instant, Lennok and Yuseong’s movements accelerated to their limit, veering diagonally.

Their figures clashed and tangled at incredible speed in the center of the vast hall.

Kra-ka-ka-boom!!!!

With an ear-splitting roar, a thunderbolt struck down as Lennok’s and Yuseong’s hands crossed.

An overflowing amount of light surged from the exploding lightning. They exchanged blows within a light too bright for the naked eye to see.

[Blueshift]

[Severance]

[Divergent Thunder]

Fwa-fwa-fwa-fwa-BOOM!!!!

Lightly gathering mana and releasing it from his fingertips, he completed and unleashed dozens of lightning spells.

The lightning conjured by Lennok’s hands chased tails of light, carving sharp lines through the air as it struck down.

Along with a blue concentric circle, a bolt of lightning fired at point-blank range pierced Yuseong’s shoulder at incredible speed.

[Swift Thunder]

Jjeooooong!!!!

It wasn’t the sound of flesh being pierced and exploding, but a resonance as if space itself was cracking and vibrating.

The point-blank firepower of the Swift Thunder, having surpassed its limits, had reached a level where it directly crushed space.

Chwaaaaak!!!

Unable to withstand the recoil, Yuseong’s body was pushed back as if sliding, stopping after several tens of meters.

The entire left side of his body wasn’t just crushed, but looked utterly gruesome, as if it had been seared by fire the moment it exploded.

However, even as he looked at his upper left torso from which acrid smoke was rising, Yuseong didn’t let out a single scream.

He merely stared at the wound blankly before bringing his unharmed right hand to his crushed left shoulder.

Pat-

In that instant, with a single gesture from Yuseong, his crushed left shoulder healed and returned to its original form.

Landing on the ground, Lennok, who had been walking toward Yuseong, stopped upon seeing this.

He hadn’t reversed the body’s time or replaced its components with something else.

It was Yuseong’s ability to perfectly heal the wound Lennok had seared with lightning, right on the spot.

“…I heard Jordan learned medicine from you as an outer disciple, but this is beyond imagination.”

Realizing this, Lennok’s gaze grew deep and heavy.

“Healing a wound caused by my magic should be a difficult task even for an Ascendant.”

Lennok’s lightning magic was a spellcraft thoroughly specialized for lethality through long research. The moment it hit, it killed the nerves, burned the mana circuits, and even forbade regeneration.

It inflicted an agony that literally melted the nervous system; hadn’t even the Priestess of the Guido Cult been unable to endure the pain and gone into seclusion?

Even Jinwa had been unable to recover from a wound inflicted by his lightning magic and had to replace her body, yet Yuseong was healing the wound with his own hands.

Even considering that Lennok had consumed a considerable amount of mana to operate his Singularity Reactor, it was by no means an easy feat.

It was a healing art that had reached a literally transcendent stage, reviving dead nervous systems and restoring cells.

Proof that in the domain of healing, Yuseong had reached a level surpassing even Ascendants.

“This is already beyond what can be explained by the level of skill or artifice. Is that the ability you possess?”

“It’s a little different from what you’re suggesting.”

Slowly rising to his feet, Yuseong straightened his collar and said.

“My body ceased to function long ago. What I do is not so much healing as it is repairing a broken object.”

“……”

“I have no intention of fighting. Even if not today, we are destined to meet in a lower place.”

Yuseong, who had even restored his own burnt-away clothes, turned and smiled.

“So, for today, why don’t we leave it at this and I take my leave?”

Kwang!!!

Before a reply could be given, Yuseong’s arm and Lennok’s hand collided in mid-air.

At the same time, something held in Yuseong’s fingertips pierced through Lennok’s shields and barriers, grazing his cheek.

A sinister presence, like a hidden weapon so fine and sharp that even Lennok’s senses could barely grasp it.

Seeing the sharp needle in Yuseong’s hand, Lennok activated his Quasi-Authority. He realized the causality at the needle’s tip had been severed and his expression hardened.

‘That’s…!’

Centered on the needle, the surrounding flow of mana and atmosphere was being completely cut off. Is its purpose to sever the flow of spellcraft or mana, rendering them useless?

Instantly intuiting the needle’s function, Lennok closed the distance with Yuseong instead of pulling away.

He simultaneously foresaw the possibilities through his Kaleidoscope and the Golden Rule, finding the correct answer with transcendent intuition.

Kaaaang!!!

Dududududu!!!!

He detonated a small bolt of lightning in his hand, pushing back Yuseong’s movement and changing Lennok’s own direction.

Yuseong took out several thin needles from his robes, drove them into the floor, and slid backward.

Using the needles embedded in the floor like lightning rods, he dispersed the electricity, widening the impact area and reducing its power.

One pressed forward, the other was pushed back—a relentless series of fierce clashes.

Kwang!!

In the instant he took a breath, he overwhelmed hundreds of exchanges to break through his opponent’s defenses.

And as he exhaled deeply, he drew in the surrounding mana and drove a lightning bolt in at the exact moment the defense was breached.

A bolt of lightning, spinning counter-clockwise as if being sucked in, was about to pierce and explode through Yuseong’s right side.

At that moment, Yuseong’s figure vanished like a ghost and reappeared behind Lennok in the blink of an eye.

Lennok turned to look at Yuseong, who was adjusting his sleeves without a single wound, and said.

“It seems you have several interesting abilities besides medicine. Do you still have no intention of getting serious?”

Combat ability excellent enough to exchange blows head-on with Lennok, even if only for a moment.

Transcendent medical skill to the point of being able to heal wounds even after being struck by Lennok’s lightning magic.

And a movement technique so effective it could evade even a wizard’s senses.

He was clearly a monster befitting the title of the Empire’s Left Prime Minister, but Yuseong himself did not attack Lennok aggressively.

Even the needles he had bothered to take out were used mainly to receive the pouring lightning rather than to attack Lennok.

“I’m not being needlessly complacent.”

Yuseong said, smoothing his sleeves.

“However, fighting you now is something I too would like to avoid… so I was looking for a more plausible method.”

“So you only ever intended to pull a trick from the start.”

“I understand. As you are now, it would be difficult for you to be convinced by my words.”

Saying so, Yuseong smiled and slowly placed his hand on the wall of the museum’s staircase.

“Therefore, if I cannot convince you with the reasons I’ve explained, I will have to call someone else who can be.”

“…What?”

Clank…!

In that instant, following Yuseong’s hand, one side of the museum’s staircase flipped over and rotated entirely.

The entire corridor where the two stood dismantled as if rotating, revealing a hidden space.

And within it, an old ark, bound and sealed by layers of heavy chains, revealed itself.

“…!!!”

Outwardly, the ark looked old and shabby, with no discernible aura or spirituality.

But the moment Lennok saw it, he felt his five senses and his spirituality stand on end, heightened to their absolute limit.

An indescribably eerie sense of déjà vu, as if Lennok knew very well what was contained inside.

“Back when I was in charge of managing this hall, I sealed the extremely dangerous memories separately. Fortunately, I was able to find it before it was too late.”

Standing before the old ark, Yuseong turned toward Lennok and said.

“This is one of them. It may be one of the most valuable, and most dangerous, memories in this hall.”

“…That’s.”

“The memory containing the moment the greatest Manipulation Spellcaster in the continent’s history realized his own origin and was completed as a Level 9 Ascendant.”

The moment he heard those words, Lennok felt his breath catch in his throat.

A memory he had thought might exist in this hall, a place that collected the births and deaths of all past Ascendants.

Because he could intuit that it was none other than Yuseong who had brought that very memory out before his eyes.

“I’m serious when I say I don’t want to fight. Because there was never any need to in the first place.”

Yuseong smiled softly and aimed one hand at his own temple.

“I will now insert this into your brain and return you to the ‘you’ that I remember.”