Chapter 1462: Hall of Ascension (8)

A sharp flash of light erupted, and the bodies of Lennok and Yuseong were thrown in opposite directions.

Lennok rolled across the shattered stone floor, while Yuseong slid to a stop, regaining his balance and sharply raising his gaze.

At the center of the trembling battlefield stood a Manipulation Spellcaster in a fluttering black robe, wearing an obsidian mask.

Their other companions, who had been away from the battlefield, spotted the figure a moment later and gasped in shock.

“Wait a minute, that mask is…!!”

“I’ve seen it in the power rankings. Don’t tell me!!!”

Sizzzle…!!!!

Amidst the deep darkness that clung to the figure like a shroud, the only thing that stood out was a glass-colored gauntlet.

An old dagger, having pierced the gauntlet, was rapidly melting and being absorbed into the body.

The obsidian-masked figure swayed slowly, as if absorbing countless memories on the spot.

“Black Art…!!!”

Felix, gripping his hammer tightly, spun around with a hardened expression.

“So, you were alive even after the Subjugation Operation…!”

“The Manipulation Spellcaster from the Demonic Conflux, the one called Victor, right?”

“I can feel the Mana Threads directly touching space. It’s him, no doubt.”

The others, who had recalled the name a moment later, exchanged quick glances.

“How did he get into this Hall? Did he tear through space to get in? No, why is he even here in the first place?”

“Did you forget Pandemonium is in Vulcan right now? They probably summoned him.”

“No, we made an agreement with them!! So he secretly followed us into this Hall?”

“I don’t understand what his intentions are for showing up now….”

Soo-ryun, gripping her glaive, narrowed her eyes and looked down at the battlefield.

“That man just appeared out of nowhere and took the attack for Van. It seems he had other plans from the start.”

“What?”

“At least this time, it seems he didn’t appear to obstruct or harm Van.”

Everyone from the tower knew that Victor had stolen the glass-colored gauntlet from Anathema’s temple and fled.

That was why they were on guard the moment they saw him, but this time, he had appeared in Vulcan with a completely different stance.

Just as the others were warily scanning their surroundings, faced with this incomprehensible situation.

Lennok stood before the swaying Incarnation Body, rapidly organizing his thoughts.

‘I succeeded in bringing out the Incarnation Body to take the memories instead… The important part starts now.’

This Victor was the Incarnation Body Lennok had summoned. It was the essence of Incarnation Spellcraft, which he was operating for the first time since the end of the Subjugation Operation.

He had brought out the Incarnation Body, which had gone berserk after eating Jinwa’s fruit during the Subjugation Operation, because the problem with the fruit had been resolved when Paradise Lost collapsed.

He had intended to deploy it at the right opportunity, but it wasn’t an ability he had originally planned to use in the Hall of Ascendants.

It was only at the moment Yuseong tried to inject Ban-gung’s memories into him that he recalled there was an ‘identity’ more suitable to receive them than Adamant Thunder.

However, even though he had succeeded in summoning the Incarnation Body and bringing about the situation he wanted, there were more than a few problems.

‘The reaction of the Incarnation Body that accepted the memories is unusual. What is happening inside it?’

Rumble…!!!!

Immediately after snatching the memories Yuseong had intended for Lennok, something inside the Incarnation Body began to change drastically.

It was a strange sensation, as if the very mana flowing within the Incarnation Body was twisting to an extreme and reversing its flow.

Even though Lennok was not experiencing it directly, but rather perceiving it through the Incarnation Spellcraft, it felt chilling.

Was the Incarnation Body reacting so violently just from absorbing a fragment of Ban-gung’s memories?

The Incarnation Body swayed silently, twitching its gauntlet like a creaking machine.

But at this moment, the most alarming thing was not the Incarnation Body’s reaction.

‘The Left Prime Minister. How much is he seeing?’

Yuseong had been pushed back by the shock when Lennok infused transcendence into the summoned Incarnation Body.

Having stood up without a single scratch, he was now staring intently at Victor with a frighteningly expressionless face.

“This is incomprehensible.”

[…….]

“When you first appeared, you had the feel of Yorta… but now you seem different.”

The man who had not lost his smile until now stared intently at Victor with narrowed eyes.

Yuseong slowly caressed the needle in his hand and, after silently observing the Incarnation Body, slowly opened his mouth.

“Absurdly, I feel a strong aura from you, similar to someone I know.”

Slowly straightening his sleeves, Yuseong spoke to the Incarnation Body.

“I never thought the incarnation of a failed savior would still remain in this world.”

“What did you say…?”

The mercenaries froze for a moment, as if they had heard something they couldn’t understand.

But the moment Lennok heard Yuseong’s words, he intuitively knew that he had not seen through Victor’s true identity.

‘Success.’

The Incarnation Body was not Lennok himself, but a spiritual entity created based on a martial artist from the First World.

Because he couldn’t replicate Lennok, who possessed Targeted Resistance, he had to use the martial artist as a model when he learned Incarnation Spellcraft in Yorta.

Therefore, Yuseong had vaguely grasped the Incarnation Body’s existence and essence, but he had judged its master to be the Pontiff, not Lennok.

He had believed that such a Transcendent, who sees far more than others, would paradoxically fail to grasp Victor’s true identity.

Based on that judgment, Lennok had played his gamble of summoning the Incarnation Body right in front of Yuseong, and he had succeeded in deceiving the Left Prime Minister.

It was a somewhat risky gamble, but it confirmed one thing for sure.

Even the Emperor’s closest associates did not properly know about the relationship between Lennok and the Pontiff.

Having confirmed that fact, Lennok manipulated the swaying Incarnation Body to slowly turn towards Yuseong.

[Ever since a moment ago, you’ve been alone….]

A modulated voice flowed from the obsidian mask.

He would investigate the changes caused by absorbing Ban-gung’s memories later. For now, he focused on the present.

Victor, regaining control of his senses, which had become subtly twisted and distorted by the reversing mana, turned and spoke mockingly.

[-You’re quite the talker. What are you muttering about?]

“……”

[My business here is done, so I have no reason to listen to your nonsense for long.]

Readjusting his obsidian mask, Victor slowly shrugged.

[It seems you still have business here. Shall I step aside for you now?]

“There’s no need for that. The moment you took that person’s memories, it became a pointless endeavor.”

Slowly massaging his wrist, Yuseong took a step forward and spoke.

“I do not wish to confront the Cult now, but you must return the memories you took. They have a designated owner.”

[And if I refuse?]

“This is not a matter of choice.”

Swish!!

Transcending sound, Yuseong accelerated, landing gracefully in front of Victor.

The moment he opened his clenched fist near the obsidian mask, a sharp needle shot towards Victor’s neck.

But just before it could pierce the flesh, it stopped dead in front of Victor’s mask, as if caught by an invisible hand.

Creeak…

Yuseong smiled upon seeing the black Mana Threads binding his right arm and five fingers.

“I heard you were proficient in manipulating Mana Threads, but this is a level that cannot be dismissed with mere words.”

[I’d be disappointed if that’s all your impression amounts to.]

Slice!!

A sharp edge mixed with the Mana Threads that bound Yuseong’s arm, digging into the flesh and severing it.

Watching the severed pieces of Yuseong’s fingers and flesh patter to the ground, Victor asked.

[Now, will you say that again?]

“Excellent.”

Yuseong smiled brightly.

“However, this is a level that even the violent Grand Duke I know could manage.”

Flick!!

In less time than it took to blink, Yuseong’s severed arm was cleanly reattached to its place.

Grabbing the black robe, Yuseong lunged forward as both men drew upon their full magical power.

BOOOOOOM!!!!

Victor’s form, which had vanished by leaping through space, reappeared behind Yuseong, pressing down on his waist.

Yuseong, having planted a needle in the ground as a support, rotated his body and struck Victor’s side.

THUD!!

CRACK!!!

With the gruesome sound of crushing bones and joints, Yuseong’s and Victor’s hands crossed rapidly.

In a fleeting moment, they changed direction and trajectory over a hundred times, spattering blood and tearing flesh.

Victor leaped over debris, wielding it like weapons, while Yuseong used the needle in his hand to sever the Mana Threads.

In an instant, thousands of Mana Threads spread wide across the entire museum, moving as if playing an invisible instrument.

“Damn it, what kind of control is that!!!”

“He’s not human…!!!”

Swish-swish-swish!!

The Mana Threads connected all around them repeatedly contracted and expanded at incredible speed, assisting Victor’s movements.

Victor’s body, moving along the Mana Threads, accelerated to supersonic speeds, consecutively touching other intricately woven Mana Threads.

Following that movement, bundles of Mana Threads rotated and latched onto various parts of Yuseong’s body, manipulating his movements and restraining his form.

Thud!! Crunch-

Like a puppet being controlled by strings, Yuseong’s own hand grabbed his neck, tightening as if to break it.

But even as he was being choked by his own hand, Yuseong smiled with a pale face.

“I’m no stranger to the complexities of Trait-type Spellcraft, but Manipulation Spellcasters are truly difficult opponents to face.”

Squeeze…!

Even as he tightened his grip on his own neck, enough for veins to pop, Yuseong spoke calmly.

“They treat themselves and their opponents like tools, which makes it difficult to guess their thoughts. They are rarely of sound mind.”

[You have a long tongue.]

“Against an opponent who is not of sound mind, one must use a method that does not seem sane.”

Flick-

Yuseong’s fingers, which were choking him, moved, using the needle in his hand to slice his own neck.

Gripping his severed head in one hand, Yuseong’s form vanished from the spot like a ghost.

“What the—”

KRA-BOOOOM!!!!

Before the others could even be surprised by the bizarre counter, Yuseong’s body appeared in mid-air and slammed Victor hard into the ground.

In the blink of an eye, he had pinned Victor’s body with needles and then, with a chilling nonchalance, reattached his severed head to his neck.

[It’s quite amusing, showing that you’re not human in such a way.]

Victor, pinned to the floor by Yuseong’s hand, said with a sneer.

[Are all the leaders of the Empire capable of such ridiculous displays?]

“As I said, you must return the memories you took.”

Yuseong, unhesitatingly placing his hand on Victor’s obsidian mask, said.

“That is not a power you can handle. Surely you don’t think you can become an Ascendant through those memories?”

[…….]

“They are memories that will not fit anyone but a single person. Stop this reckless act that will only harm your own body.”

[Thanks for the concern.]

Victor leisurely tilted his head and twisted his shoulder.

His left arm, held firmly under Yuseong’s, twitched, and in that instant, the glass-colored gauntlet on his hand pulsed.

From within the heavy armor of the gauntlet, a pale darkness swirled and began to converge rapidly.

[But that method was in my hands from the very beginning.]

“…Wait.”

Kiiiiiiing-

The flawlessly clear and pure darkness dyed the glass-colored gauntlet a jet black, changing its color.

In an instant, the now-blackened gauntlet reached out and slowly, gently touched Yuseong’s chest.

A Black Line erupted from within Yuseong, splitting space with a horrifying tearing sound and crushing his body.

CRACKKKKKKK!!!!

“Ah, ugh…!!”

Unable to even react, Yuseong’s body was pierced by the black gauntlet and slammed into the ground as if being crushed.

The spreading darkness instantly corroded Yuseong’s body, breaking it down and rendering it non-functional.

“This is, a Forbidden Armament…!!!”

Yuseong’s expression was tinged with bewilderment for the first time as he felt the ‘destruction’ consuming his entire body.

“Is this an item made from that person’s bloodline? I didn’t think such a relic still existed—”

The glass-colored gauntlet was a Forbidden Armament created using the bloodline of the Ascendant Ban-gung.

Aside from Lennok, it was, quite literally, a tool that could best wield Ban-gung’s power.

Immediately after absorbing the memories, the glass-colored gauntlet had become capable of projecting Heavenly Abasement Spellcraft merely through ‘contact’.

It partially manifested the potential for destruction that ‘he’ had used as his Root Mindscape, using the Forbidden Armament as a tool.

Literally, the power to destroy everything it touched, to forcibly break it and render it non-functional.

[Your regenerative ability is disgustingly persistent. I didn’t even regulate the power, and you’re still holding on?]

Crunch!!

He grabbed the neck of Yuseong, who had collapsed like a stiff wooden block, his entire body stained with deep darkness.

Victor, having subdued him in the blink of an eye, lifted him by the collar and looked at him.

[It doesn’t matter. You won’t be able to babble on any longer.]

KRA-BOOOOM!!!

Slamming Yuseong’s body into the ground, Victor kicked him, sending him sliding away.

Yuseong’s body, stiffened and stained with darkness, rolled helplessly and fell before Lennok.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!!!

Victor, readjusting his obsidian mask as he turned, and Adamant Thunder, who stood up with an expressionless face, brushing off the dust.

At the center of the slowly collapsing Hall of Ascendants, the two spellcasters stared at each other in silence.

“……”

From the broken stairs above, the mercenaries watched the two with hardened expressions.

The fact that Adamant Thunder and Black Art had clashed once during the Subjugation Operation was well known at the magic tower.

He was the Grand Mage who had returned after killing the Ascendant of Paradise Lost, and the Manipulation Spellcaster with the most unusual talent in Pandemonium.

While Adamant Thunder was superior in personal skill, the consensus was that the gauntlet Black Art possessed was a powerful artifact, strong enough to close that gap.

If another fight were to break out here, no one could guarantee the outcome.

Just as the superhumans from the magic tower were watching the situation with tense expressions, Lennok opened his mouth.

“Mila, start opening an escape route.”

“……Van.”

“It seems I have a problem to solve with this thing.”

Rumble…!!!

The form of the black gauntlet, attached to the Incarnation Body’s left hand, was dyed a jet black.

Every time its fingertips touched the air, the surrounding space was eroded and helplessly shattered.

Watching the ‘corrosion’ that hadn’t subsided even after the fight was over, Lennok raised his mana.

He had thought a problem might arise the moment he injected Ban-gung’s memories into the Inc_arnation Body.

Any side effects from this point on would be a problem for Lennok to solve himself.

“I’ll follow right after I’m done.”

“……”

Mila, after looking at Lennok and Victor with a hardened expression, slowly stepped back.

“Alright. I’ll contact the Corpse Ghost Spell Master right away and tell him to open the gate.”

“Mila, this way.”

“The upper staircase is relatively intact. It would be better to make contact from there.”

The other companions immediately followed Lennok’s words and moved up the stairs to begin preparations.

Felix took a terminal from his pocket and handed it to Mila, who quickly operated it to establish a connection.

“I’m sending a signal to the Corpse Ghost Spell Master in charge of Heaven’s Gate to reopen the path back.”

The mercenaries moved busily to finish the task as quickly as possible while Lennok and Victor faced off on the lower level.

“He said he’d respond if he could read our signal, right? It worked before. First, let’s test if we can establish communication—”

[Kyaaaaaaak!!!!!]

At that moment, a scream from beyond the terminal made Mila’s hand freeze.

At the unexpected scream, Lennok and the other companions immediately turned their gaze to her.

The holographic scene displayed through the terminal. The underground hangar of the satellite city where the Corpse Ghost Spell Master remained.

Heaven’s Gate, which had been floating in the hangar, was vibrating madly before the spellcaster and rising up.

RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!!!!

[W-wait…!! I-I didn’t do anything!! I swear I didn’t do anything…!!]

Through the screen, the panicked Corpse Ghost Spell Master flailed towards Heaven’s Gate as it smashed through the hangar and rose, but it was no use.

[…I curse you.]

Through the terminal, a somehow familiar will-thought echoed clearly, and at the same time, an intense power exploded.

It gathered and absorbed the flesh of the ghouls and mutants scattered across the satellite city, constructing a body.

It shattered the underground hangar in one fell swoop and shot up, taking the form of a grotesque monster of flesh.

[…I curse you.]

KRA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

The other companions, watching the scene through the hologram, forgot the situation at hand and stared with their mouths agape.

“Wh-what is that!!!!”

“Shit, it’s a monster!!”

“Wait, Heaven’s Gate was that kind of monster? Didn’t they say it was a dead corpse?”

Heaven’s Gate is the shadow of the moon. A relic of the Old World made from the egg of a dead Outer God.

They had heard it was a fragment of a corpse that had long since died, but could it have been alive all this time?

At that moment, Yuseong, who had been collapsed on the ground, stained with darkness, opened his mouth.

“The memories that leaked outside the Hall… have found a new body.”

“What?”

“Did I not tell you there were… dangerous memories that should not be looked upon?”

Slowly raising his gaze, Yuseong looked at Lennok and smiled faintly.

“The memories you looked into in the cinema… have regained their ego from the backlash and awakened.”

[…I curse you.]

Only then could Lennok remember when he had heard this repeating will-thought.

The Ascendant Yega.

The final grudge left by the Ascendant who was murdered by his past self, which he had heard while watching the film in the cinema.

The moment Lennok looked into that memory, had the Ascendant’s memory gained an ego and escaped the Hall?

And at the same time, it had used Heaven’s Gate, which connected the Hall and reality, as a vessel to begin its awakening in the real world.

The other companions, realizing what was happening, glared at Yuseong.

“You bastard, you knew from the start! Were you just watching, deliberately letting this happen!”

“It was not intentional… but this is not the time to be taking your anger out on me.”

But even with Dylan’s hand gripping his collar, Yuseong smiled nonchalantly.

“It is difficult to explain… but that being holds a very deep grudge against your Tower Lord.”

“……What?”

“Now that it has awakened in reality, isn’t it obvious where it will head?”

RUMMMMMBLE!!!!

[Kyaaaaaaak!!!!]

Before he could finish his words, the flesh monster on the other side of the terminal began to move with the Corpse Ghost Spell Master’s scream.

The Ascendant who had met death at Ban-gung’s hands awakened, having gained a body filled with endless hatred and resentment.

Without hesitation, it began to advance past the satellite city, heading towards Vulcan.

At the same time. The underground cavern of Adamant Tower, located in District 49.

Something white stirred within the cavern, which was shrouded in thick clouds.

The Guardian Spirit Beast, looking around as if just waking from a deep sleep, eventually turned its gaze outside the tower.

[……Awoo?]

With a puzzled voice, it tilted its head.