Chapter 1475: Hunting the First Apostle (9)
The Order Alliance currently had two objectives for the restoration ritual of the Great Connection.
First, to complete the Great Connection once more and fill the vacant Grand Spell Master positions.
Second, to lure in the Second Apostle, who would be targeting the restoration ritual, and have him face the Leader directly.
They needed to buy time until the Leader could descend into reality, so they had gathered all sorts of collaborators from within and outside the Alliance.
The battle would begin the moment the ritual started, and once the Second Apostle appeared, the collaborators would hold him off as promised.
But-
‘A complete miscalculation.’
To think the Cult would find the location of the restoration ritual and launch a preemptive strike.
A secluded garden path behind The Nest. A lawn littered with the bodies of researchers and priests.
The sight of a man with a composed, unreadable face looking around the blood-soaked garden.
It was self-evident that this was all the work of the single man walking before Lennok’s eyes.
“……”
The Second Apostle of the Guido Cult.
The most perfect of all Apostles, a monster completely unaffected by the madness despite being the First Apostle.
But Lennok knew how the Second Apostle, the Alliance’s prey, could be standing here now.
The Second Apostle was an incarnation of the end, a being whose presence and aura even Lennok couldn’t read, whose abilities were still beyond comprehension.
He must have used that unique ability to bypass the chaos in The Nest and get this far.
After all, when they met at the Duris Workshop, the Second Apostle had used his power to ‘avoid’ even Lennok’s Domain.
But, if that was the case-
“I know what you’re thinking. It wasn’t as difficult as you might imagine,” the Second Apostle said calmly.
“I anticipated that an attack would be effective when the Grand Spell Masters couldn’t move. Had the Stillness Spell Master been here, it might have been different, but it was impossible for collaborators unfamiliar with the Alliance’s facilities to block our attack at the source.”
“……”
“The Alliance’s chain of command is quite insular, so it’s not difficult to create confusion. Of course, it seems the Alliance had some insurance of their own, but……”
The Second Apostle slowly stopped in his tracks and turned his head slightly.
“That’s why I had to inflict a level of damage in a short period that the Alliance would find difficult to handle. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to make time to meet you like this.”
“Time…”
The Second Apostle explained that this whole affair—attacking The Nest, slaughtering the researchers, and causing a disturbance—was all to make time to meet Lennok.
It was a response that sounded utterly insane, but Lennok knew the Second Apostle was not speaking idly.
The very act of calmly walking into the enemy’s den to meet Lennok, knowing full well the Alliance was plotting to kill him.
It was exactly as Lennok remembered the First Apostle.
“So that’s why you deployed two high-ranking Apostles to deal with me.”
“The Third Apostle was a mighty general who took on the Cult’s adversaries during the Holy War. His personality has changed a lot, but he knows very well how to fight a Transcendent stronger than himself.”
“……”
“He intentionally created confusion to change the battlefield and naturally lured you to this location. If it had been a simple trap, you wouldn’t have fallen for it so easily, but…”
The Second Apostle slowly turned his body and said readily, “As you can see, there is nothing here. My reason for seeking you out today is different.”
‘Can I kill him?’
The moment he saw the Second Apostle turn towards him, Lennok instinctively calculated his chances, then quickly stopped.
Considering the abilities the Second Apostle had shown, just detaining him here would be an extremely difficult task.
Even if it were possible, Lennok would have to reveal a significant number of his own cards and resources in the process.
When he faced the Grand General of Brilliance in the Four Archangel Demonic Mirrors and when he defeated Jinwa in Paradise Lost, he had been able to secure victory because of the heaven-defying powers of the Seamless Robe of Heaven and Demigod Transformation.
So, what kind of power would be needed to face the First Apostle, who had received the Outer God’s power most strongly within the Cult?
Now that the Leader had declared he would face the Second Apostle, was there any reason for Lennok to push himself to act first?
Having thought that far, Lennok calmed his mana and raised his gaze.
There had to be another reason he had come to meet Lennok before this war. A reason he was standing here, knowing about the plan to hunt the First Apostle.
“The Leader said you would undoubtedly intervene once the restoration of the Great Connection began. He also said it was because the power of the Great Connection is related to your abilities.”
In this very moment, as the current head of the Cult took the time to have a private audience with Lennok.
Just as the Second Apostle had his reasons for meeting Lennok, Lennok, too, had something he needed to confirm with the Second Apostle.
“I thought it was a vague story, but it was true. Otherwise, there’s no way you would have moved personally.”
“Long ago, I met the Leader in person to discuss a truce between the Cult and the Alliance,” the Second Apostle said, as if recalling an old memory.
“It seems he got some sense of my true nature back then. That must be because the Leader is the creator and administrator of the Great Connection.”
“Because your ability is related to the Great Connection, the Leader, its administrator, noticed. What exactly is the connection?”
“Haha, are you hoping I’ll tell you that myself?”
The Second Apostle burst out laughing at Lennok’s nonchalant question.
“My ability isn’t anything so grand. It just happens to have an extremely antagonistic compatibility with the Great Connection.”
“……”
“This matter is the same. There’s no grand reason… The authority I possess is simply at odds with the Great Connection, so I have no choice but to prevent its completion, even if I don’t want to.”
“You speak as if you’re an Ascendant bound by your own answer.”
“On a macroscopic level, it’s not so different.”
The Second Apostle began to walk again.
“It’s just that I’m not following my own answer, but ‘another answer’.”
“……”
“The Leader knows I have no choice and intends to use that fact at the most critical moment. I have an idea of what he’s plotting… but I still felt I had to come here in person.”
The Second Apostle slowly raised his gaze and muttered, “Even if it’s bait, it was worth playing along at least once.”
“Bait…?”
The Second Apostle’s words felt ominous.
A detached tone, as if he was playing along despite knowing the Alliance’s true intentions.
But the Second Apostle didn’t elaborate further and just shook his head.
“You’ll find out soon enough without me explaining it. The war between the Cult and the Alliance has been going on for a long time, and our movements are, to some extent, within a range we mutually tolerate.”
“……”
“The conversation we need to have isn’t some pointless review of the past. It’s about something far more important… a matter of direction.”
The Apostle slowly turned his gaze and said, “I came to persuade you.”
“Persuade me?”
“If you don’t want to be devoured by the Leader, stay out of this.”
The Second Apostle’s eyes, looking at Lennok from behind his glasses, gleamed mysteriously.
“I can guess what kind of deal you made with the Alliance. They probably guaranteed you some rights over the Great Connection and the Alliance in exchange for your cooperation.”
“……”
“But that is a miscalculation born from not knowing what kind of person the Order Alliance Leader truly is.”
“You speak as if the Leader is going to use me as a disposable pawn.”
“Of course, he is not a man who goes back on his word. I have no intention of slandering him here.”
The Second Apostle smiled.
“But what if the Leader isn’t a single person in the first place?”
“……”
“The Leader is a Transcendent who knows how to use his duality to its absolute limit. He’s on a different level from a half-wit like Aronbaiger, the former monarch of Kabahim.”
His gaze shifted to the Fifth Apostle, who had appeared behind the garden and was waiting silently, as he spoke.
“Because he is not a being born of this world, it’s highly likely his interests lie in a realm humans cannot comprehend… A deal that is just by his standards may not be just for you.”
“I don’t think this is a very good place to discuss what kind of person the Leader is,” Lennok said with a deadpan expression.
“Is that why you went to the trouble of bringing other Apostles here, just to meet with me and have this conversation?”
“If it were anyone else, perhaps not, but I thought it was worth extending an invitation to you,” the Second Apostle replied.
“The Pontiff is concerned about you. Dangerously so… The other Apostles haven’t noticed, but I can tell. It’s vague, but I can definitely feel it.”
“……”
“The Pontiff I know is not one to be ashamed of his interest in the unknown. Yet, regarding you, there have been strangely no revelations. That inexplicability is instead a source of great curiosity for the Priestess connected to the Pontiff.”
“…So?”
“Go back. You are not someone who should die in a place like this.”
As he looked up at the blood-stained sky, the Second Apostle’s eyes turned momentarily chilling.
“The Leader is meticulous and insidious, so there are many aspects of his true intentions that I cannot guess. Even after coming this far, I couldn’t read the entire situation, so I had to step in myself.”
“……”
“In the end, it seems he still has no intention of appearing in person… Now, I have no choice but to go and meet him.”
Even at this point, after reducing The Nest to a half-ruined state, was the Second Apostle still wary of the Leader?
But now, Lennok thought he understood why the Second Apostle would say such things even after successfully attacking The Nest.
The reason the Second Apostle didn’t consider it a victory, despite succeeding in attacking the Alliance’s research facility and halting the restoration ritual.
It was because, in the first place, this Nest was-
“I’ll admit that not everyone in the Cult is impossible to reason with,” Lennok said, having been silently staring at the sky.
“You are undoubtedly the most exceptional of all the Apostles I have seen. But… that’s why you also know how not to tell the truth.”
“……”
“You’re right. There are surely things the Leader hasn’t told me. But in that regard, how is the Cult any different?” Lennok retorted.
“Why do you all follow the Pontiff so devotedly, to the point of risking your lives? What is the Pontiff’s ultimate goal in this world?”
“……”
“Did you say you can’t know the Order Alliance Leader’s true intentions? The Pontiff hasn’t even properly shown his own ultimate desire yet.”
Lennok, gazing at the Second Apostle with cold eyes, spoke in a low voice.
“He yearned for it so desperately that he went through two ascensions to reach this world… yet he keeps everything hidden within coincidence. Look at the result.”
“……”
“This bloody battlefield… these monsters that rejoice in devouring humans… is this truly what you all believe to be righteousness?”
He wasn’t here because he coveted the reward the Leader offered, nor because he was curious about the true nature of the Great Connection.
He simply intended to confirm the true intentions of both leaders at the turning point of this war between the Cult and the Alliance.
He had merely judged that siding with the Alliance for now was more advantageous for that purpose.
The Pontiff.
He was once undoubtedly like Lennok, yet now he was so very different. For what purpose was he watching this world?
To finally put an end to this long-running journey, Lennok needed to know more about coincidence.
And the current Lennok possessed both the power and the prestige to make that possible.
“Yes… I knew you would say that. It’s a shame.”
The Second Apostle, who had been listening to Lennok, smiled bitterly.
“You are exceptionally sharp, even for a wizard. So much so that whenever I see you, the image of the Pontiff faintly overlaps… I suppose that’s not just my imagination.”
“……”
“I tried to persuade you, even by force, but it didn’t work well. It seems proselytizing doesn’t suit me.”
“I’m surprised. I would have thought you were a former missionary.”
“Haha… I used to be told I was quite the goody-two-shoes.”
The Second Apostle burst out laughing and turned away.
He silently looked up at the sky, then, after a moment of silence, he spoke.
“The war has already begun. That much became clear the moment the Leader failed to move, even after I came this far. Today was merely a prelude to confirm that.”
“……”
“In the end, stopping the ritual is only possible after the ritual has begun, and the Leader knows that I have no choice but to intervene… That is proof that the Leader also suspects the ‘contradiction’ I possess.”
The First Apostle’s voice, as he looked back at Lennok, sank to a chillingly cold level.
A frigid tone, as if he had only now steeled his resolve after meeting Lennok here.
“Therefore, if he wishes it, it seems I will have no choice but to play along.”
“…Yes. I know.”
The clash between the Order Alliance Leader and the Guido Cult’s First Apostle. Lennok had no intention of changing or overturning this massive tide by his own will.
Neither the Alliance nor the Cult could be called his allies.
He accepted the Leader’s proposal not because he agreed with the Alliance’s cause, but because he judged it to be the most meaningful course of action for himself.
Since he had not decided to join the war for the Alliance’s sake, he had no intention of leaving this battlefield for the Cult’s sake either.
He knew the Second Apostle was a monster, to the extent that he would destroy The Nest and make time for this proposal, but the Leader was a Transcendent who was no less formidable.
Either way, Lennok intended to see the end of this fight to the very last.
Fwoooosh!!!
A fierce wind blew, and a pair of dazzlingly brilliant wings unfurled across the blood-red sky.
Beyond a spatial fissure that bloomed as all of spacetime split apart, a massive wing descended, reaching down toward the ground.
In the instant he felt the Fifth Apostle, who had been standing far away, begin to walk toward him, the Second Apostle’s presence began to fade.
“Let me say one last thing before I leave.”
The First Apostle, closing his eyes as he watched the massive wing descend from the sky, spoke.
“The Leader is not one person. The duality he possesses always makes him look in two directions at once.”
“……”
“I do not know what he told you he wanted, nor what he promised you… but it will not be just one thing.”
Fwooooosh!!!!
The moment the Apostle made contact with the wing that descended from the sky, a blindingly pale light enveloped the entire world.
When he closed and opened his eyes, the presences of the Apostles that had been rampaging throughout The Nest had vanished as if by a lie.
The existence of the Second Apostle, who had left immediately after his conversation with Lennok ended, despite having successfully attacked the Alliance’s innermost facility.
But Lennok knew why the Second Apostle had left so readily, even after saying he was going to meet the Leader.
It was because, in the first place, the location where the Leader would descend was not The Nest, but-
“Adamant Thunder. There you are.”
A gentle wind blew from behind, and Kalion landed.
Walking over with a faint smile, he swept back his blood-soaked hair.
“I definitely saw you holding back two Apostles… I had to search for a while to find you. I’m glad you’re safe.”
“What about the other collaborators?”
“They’re injured, but their lives aren’t in danger. The ones who didn’t make it were the researchers working here.”
Kalion looked around and muttered with a bitter expression.
“But, ironically… it seems the Alliance had already prepared for even that sacrifice.”
“…Yes.”
Come to think of it, all the clues had been there from the start.
Why the Chroma Spell Master had been in such a hurry to start the restoration ritual for the Great Connection. Why he had guided the collaborators to The Nest as soon as their meeting was over.
The decisive reason why the Cult had attacked The Nest, slaughtered the researchers, and then retreated without any lingering attachment.
The reason why the Alliance’s high-ranking Spell Masters, led by the Fairy Conjunction Master, had been strangely passive during this attack.
The true nature of the unease that Lennok had felt, but had been unable to resolve due to the Cult’s attack.
It was that, from the very beginning, this massive research facility was solely for luring the Cult-
“It was bait. All of it.”
Paaat!!!!
At the same moment he spoke, the galaxy that had spread across the sky receded, and a pillar of majestic blue light, so bright it hurt the eyes, shot up from the horizon.
Upon its appearance, it spread out in all directions as if to stitch the entire sky together, a magnificent form that ‘connected’ everything in sight.
Watching the sky change in real-time, Lennok spoke.
“The place where the Great Connection’s restoration was taking place… was never this Nest to begin with, was it?”
“…Correct.”
Kalion slowly nodded.
“The restoration ritual for the Great Connection has already begun elsewhere. The Alliance used The Nest’s researchers, high-ranking Spell Masters, and collaborators as bait to hide that fact completely.”
“……”
“They were certain the Cult would make a move, so they threw away an entire research facility. It’s insane… but that’s why it was effective. I myself only realized the truth after all this commotion was over.”
A reckless idea that defied common sense—to use the Alliance’s most important research facility as bait, handing it over to the Cult to buy time.
Had they really discarded the lives of over a hundred researchers for the success of the restoration ritual without a second thought?
Absurdly, the moment Lennok realized this, he also understood the reasoning behind that decision.
What if the reason the Fairy Conjunction Master had been so strangely tepid was that he was already participating in the restoration ritual?
What if he had been out here to hide from the Cult the fact that the other Grand Spell Masters couldn’t move once the ritual began?
Chewing on that fact, Lennok silently watched the pillar of light soaring from beyond the sky.
He simply realized that this whole affair had been flowing at an uncontrollable speed from the very beginning.
“A summons came from headquarters. They said they would explain everything at the location where the real ritual is taking place.”
After giving a silent nod to the corpses scattered about, Kalion turned with a hardened expression.
“But, before that, we have to take care of what needs to be taken care of.”
“Take care of what?”
“The Nest was a top-secret research facility known only to a handful of personnel within the Alliance.”
Kalion asked, “So, what do you think it means that not only was its location leaked, but the Cult also summoned Apostles to attack it?”
“…You think there was an information leak on our side.”
“That’s right. It was also the reason the Alliance used The Nest as bait and discarded it.”
Kalion’s expression turned frigid as he looked at the ruins of The Nest.
“There’s a traitor among the collaborators who colluded with the Cult. They say they’ll root out the betrayer here and now before we move.”