Chapter 216: Prescription (2)

Lennok opened the wooden box and examined its contents.

Twenty round pills, each wrapped in subtle gold foil, were carefully stacked on the cushion inside the box.

“Based on my memory of examining your biological rhythm that day, I focused on meticulously improving your constitution little by little.”

“I see.”

“One on the night of each full moon. You can go over a month, but if the error exceeds a week, the side effects will be quite severe.”

She said so, then began to explain the precautions for taking the medicine, one by one.

“For about five minutes after taking the medicine, your body will transform to better receive mana, but then you won’t be able to move properly for a good three days. In the process of stimulating and manipulating your entire central nervous system to accept completely new stimuli, you might even lose control of your bladder and bowels.”

“……”

“One each month. After taking five, there will be a definite improvement, and after taking half, cell necrosis due to mana addiction will decrease by 80% or less. Ultimately, symptoms of mana addiction, including side effects, can be suppressed by about half. With individual effort and progress, even more is possible.”

“……That’s incredible.”

Lennok had gone through quite a lot for this very moment, but in reality, he had only entrusted his treatment to Yakson and provided the Malabes.

Yet, Yakson, with just one consultation, had created an elixir that could gradually improve Lennok’s constitution and presented it.

Lennok, too, had been dabbling in potion-making ever since he acquired Alchemy, continuously searching for the most suitable doping agent for himself, but he couldn’t even grasp Yakson’s method.

However, despite Lennok’s words, Yakson continued speaking without a change in expression.

“Keep in mind that this can only gradually change your constitution; it cannot solve mana addiction itself. After the treatment, there will be no problem with physical enhancement through mana, but it won’t eliminate all the side effects of addiction.”

“Understood.”

“Inside the wooden box, I’ve placed copies of your and Kaiser’s medical records. If you ever need to help Jenny, I hope you can find even a small clue there.”

As Lennok slowly nodded and placed the wooden box into his embrace, Yakson’s expression finally softened.

“Yes… you’re a good child. If I had a grandson, would he be like this?”

“……”

She would probably try hard not to forget what had happened today.

But even if she recorded this day’s memories in a diary by hand and preserved them as a video, she would never truly feel this encounter was her own during the rest of her life.

It was impossible for Lennok to fully understand her pain, suffering from the traces of a connection so close it felt graspable, yet forever out of reach, as she hid away in a secluded lake.

But someday, if Lennok could ascend high enough to unshackle someone else’s restraints.

If he could acquire hands gentle enough to unshackle both his own and others’ burdens without distinction.

Lennok, suppressing an expectation akin to regret, silently bowed his head.

“Thank you for your kindness. Someday….”

Lennok became aware of the weight of the words that had escaped him unintentionally and closed his mouth.

It was something too distant for Lennok to promise and speak of.

It was too hopeful a promise for Lennok, who couldn’t even guarantee the immediate future, to make.

All he could do now was to properly express his gratitude and reward her for what she had done and endured.

Thus, a farewell that held a different meaning from death came to an end.

The encounter between two sorcerers, who did not overstep their bounds, remained only in the memory of one person, becoming a perfect secret.

For the first time, Lennok successfully grasped the second clue to shedding his own shackles.

“Is it over?”

As Lennok walked into the bar and nodded, Jenny fidgeted with her cigarette, her expression gloomy.

“Well, I guess this is how it ends….”

She let out a short sigh but said nothing more.

Ultimately, Jenny herself knew well that she couldn’t do anything for Yakson, and that she lacked the right or the ability to do so.

She didn’t even ask what Lennok had obtained from Yakson.

Even after they became quite close since starting their business together, she maintained a clear boundary at crucial points.

Though it seemed like nothing, this sense of distance, which was surprisingly difficult to maintain thoroughly, was one of the biggest reasons Lennok trusted Jenny.

Lennok, taking a seat at the bar to catch his breath, took the drink Jordan handed him and smiled slightly.

“Are you already well enough to be out working?”

“I’m a doctor.”

Jordan, his complexion pale, smiled.

“I can tell whether it’s my dying day or not. Today, for that matter, isn’t a bad day.”

“Why don’t you share some of your luck with these friends here?”

Lennok said, gesturing to the mercenaries who were resting at a nearby table.

With the deepening conflict with the Cartel, this building had lost its function as a bar.

Customers who used to ignore bullets and come for drinks complained, but with Sebastian’s help in redirecting that manpower, they were finally able to create space for the Krimgal Mercenary Office.

Jordan slowly raised his glass and said,

“I already bought a round for them before you arrived. Isn’t that obvious?”

Of course, the greatest contribution to guarding the base, including Jenny and Jordan, came from Dray and the forces of the Krimgal Mercenary Office.

The skill of their leader, Dray Krimgal, and the executives Weian, Kidel, and Aike, was impressive, and even the other mercenaries surpassed the average skill level Lennok had seen during his time as a freelancer.

Of course, if someone with skill comparable to Lennok’s directly intervened, they couldn’t be stopped, but they certainly had enough power to report any anomalies on the spot.

It was only natural for Lennok and Jenny to cooperate in maintaining the security network they had established around the 49th district.

“What are you talking about so entertainingly?”

Dray, who had just returned from duty, grinned and sat next to Lennok.

Even though he was in a position to directly command the security network he had established as its head, he made a point of taking time to patrol the streets outside and socialize with his unit members.

As a former soldier, he seemed to put a lot of effort into maintaining the morale of his subordinates.

Lennok naturally handed him a nearby glass and asked,

“How’s work?”

“Well… it’s certainly not easy.”

Dray smiled slightly and shook his head.

“The 49th district itself is quite vast, and besides Jenny’s temp agency, it’s full of various businesses, isn’t it? So we’re trying to weave the security net as tightly as possible without offending them, but it’s difficult.”

It was not easy to avoid getting caught in conflicts in the outskirts of Vulcan, where the smell of blood never faded.

There was no need to explain the difficulty of detecting and guarding against dangerous individuals in a place where order was barely maintained, and outlaws and criminals abounded.

Dray, well aware of this reality, meticulously lowered the intensity of the perimeter as it stretched away from the bar, rather than strictly separating public and private matters.

“The good news is that we have quite a few experienced guys for this kind of work, so they don’t have trouble adapting.”

“You said your office recently expanded, so it seems you’ve found some good talent.”

As Jenny said, this field is so saturated that once a name becomes known, its fame spreads rapidly.

If Dray had hired such capable individuals, it would be normal for Jenny to have heard about it, but it seemed she hadn’t received such information.

Lennok realized something from her words and asked Dray,

“They’re soldiers. Right?”

“…You’re incredibly sharp. That’s right.”

Dray, with a slightly surprised expression, nodded, and only then did Jenny slap her knee.

“That’s why I haven’t heard any of their names! Did you bring people from the same unit as you, Dray?”

“A mercenary group made up of special forces veterans—just hearing that is reassuring.”

As Lennok knew, Dray was a former member of a special unit called the Viper Battalion.

If Dray had brought comrades from a similar background, there would be no need to worry about the necessary organizational skills or mission execution abilities.

“Not all of them are from my exact unit… most of them are friends who ended up here for similar reasons as me. Since I managed to settle down first, we just happened to get the chance to work together.”

“I see… it seems the military’s situation hasn’t been great lately, has it?”

Dray gave a bitter smile at Lennok’s words.

“Well, hasn’t the situation been like this for a while now? Units that are no longer useful on the front lines get discarded and discharged. Even friends who managed to hold out until now are starting to look for a way to survive.”

Vulcan’s military strength was still formidable, but it wasn’t the right size to maintain its full form while not engaged in war.

Instead, the dozens of military units waiting for orders on the western front felt somewhat like an over-resourced force.

Was the City Government planning to gradually downsize the military units that had consistently been flagged for budget issues?

“Now that you mention it, soldiers were involved when we dealt with the Cigar Bang Gang problem too… It definitely feels like it’s gotten worse in recent years.”

At that time, Beck Clinton, an executive of the Cigar Bang Gang, was supplying weapons in exchange for providing materials to retired soldiers who had postponed their discharge.

He heard that those soldiers were living in a satellite city whose development had been planned but then canceled, but there was no way of knowing what had become of them.

It wasn’t an immediate important issue, so Lennok changed the subject for now.

“It’s good that the office has grown, but it seems hard to manage that much income.”

It was good that Dray had brought a significant portion of his office’s strength to this job, but the amount Jenny and Lennok were currently paying was, in fact, slightly insufficient compared to their labor costs.

For manpower of this scale to function normally as an organization, there would need to be a massive or continuous source of funding, or, like the Antares Mercenary Group, all members would need to be high-level mana users who also undertook semi-freelance outsourced work.

Dray, perhaps stung on a sensitive point, lowered his head slightly.

“Well, you’re not wrong. For now, the newly joined members also know they’re lacking, so they’re content with living expenses, but as I’m responsible for them, I’ll need to provide better treatment.”

“That’s right. I understand.”

“……”

Dray glanced at Lennok, who was nodding indifferently, then turned his gaze away.

It was good that the office had grown with the addition of discharged soldiers, but in the current situation, it was difficult to secure reasonable salaries for his comrades.

From Dray’s perspective, it would be beneficial in the long run, but how long could his comrades endure the work intensity while receiving their current pay?

Amidst such concerns, it was natural for Lennok and Jenny’s business to catch his eye.

Jenny’s resourcefulness, which he had known for a considerable time, went without saying, but what truly impressed Dray was Lennok’s capability itself.

Dray knew well how famous the requests he had successfully completed had become, far beyond his initial days as an unknown freelancer.

His decisiveness, never delaying work for a moment, and his keen intuition, fundamentally piercing through the core of complex matters.

His judgment, which surpassed his abilities as a wizard to gauge work efficiency itself, was hard even for Dray to keep up with.

Lennok’s disposition, possessing such talent yet never being arrogant and carefully assessing his opponents, was enough to bring firm trust to everyone who knew him.

He tended to be uninterested in others, but he was capable enough to understand people with merely a fleeting insight and judgment.

Even appearing cold and ruthless, he was known for fulfilling his responsibilities if a reasonable price was offered, and for maintaining at least minimal courtesy towards his acquaintances.

The fact that he was still operating alone despite undoubtedly having received countless scout offers must have been proof that he was anticipating a moment like this, standing on his own.

Therefore, it wasn’t so difficult to imagine the opposite scenario: not Lennok coming under Dray, but Dray working for Lennok.

Was it perhaps because Dray secretly envisioned that very scene that he chose to involve himself in this current affair, refusing other requests pouring into his office?

It was a matter he couldn’t confirm right now, but Dray had no intention of forgetting the thought that had risen in his heart for the time being.

Jenny looked up at the two of them, then, as if something occurred to her, she rose from her seat.

“By the way, the ‘thing’ Van brought has recovered to a state where it can roughly speak. I don’t want to leave such a crazy bastard around for long, so let’s quickly deal with it and get rid of it.”

“…You speak so casually about such a brutal thing.”

As Dray, who knew well what the ‘thing’ meant, made a grim expression, Lennok also rose from his seat.

“Let’s finish it quickly. He should be able to talk by now.”

One of the few drawbacks of the Charm of Earth’s Embrace was that once activated, the artifact’s ability could not be withdrawn at the owner’s will.

Lennok didn’t know how a wizard like Madria Falcia solved this drawback, but for him, there was nothing he could do but wait until the mana preheated in the artifact ran out.

“Girard Ozette is one of the Cartel executives who was directly involved in managing their businesses. Even if he seems out of his mind on the surface, there’s definitely useful information in his head.”

“It might deal a considerable blow to the Cartel.”

“If possible, it would be good to know about the internal affairs of the higher-ups. Especially information about the top four executives who stand at the pinnacle of the organization’s management. We have no choice but to extract every bit of information he knows. If that’s not enough….”

“If not enough?”

Lennok’s eyes gleamed coldly.

“This was never a task that could be prolonged. We have no choice but to seek out people who can directly speak with the executives.”

Even if the Cartel’s Chairman couldn’t move, the matter wouldn’t be resolved without negotiating directly with the organization’s highest-ranking executives.

If he found the answer here, Lennok’s standing would dramatically skyrocket to an incomparable level, but….

He could only hope that his second meeting with Girard would help his future plans.

Jenny immediately opened the door leading downstairs, and Lennok followed her.

Leak

Jenny’s bar building was three stories high.

On the surface, it seemed like there were no hidden spaces apart from the bar on the first basement floor, but the reality was different.

Opposite the passage from the bar to the office.

Behind an old mirror hanging on the wall, an emergency exit leading to the underground waterway was revealed.

“With Dyke Corp.’s help, I had him pass through their factory grounds multiple times. Ultimately, I confined him to the 49th district, but… there’s no way his location will be physically discovered.”

Jenny stopped in front of a flickering emergency light in a control room after walking down a long corridor leading to the waterway. Aike, the bald giant leaning against the door, yawned, then grinned when he saw her.

“You’re finally here.”

“Inside?”

“Killian went in first. That guy, it turns out he’s quite feral. I almost got jealous.”

“……”

Well, not only his appearance, but his personality was half thuggish from the start.

Lennok sent Jenny up first and then entered the abandoned control room.

There was a control room that originally operated the waterway facilities, and inside the glass window, a warehouse with discarded pipes.

In the chair arranged inside the warehouse, Girard sat, his limbs tightly bound, his head bowed low.

The restraints on his arms and legs were specially made for mana users; they tightened around his limbs, digging into his veins, and interfered with the function of mana.

Wearing them for too long would likely cause necrosis of the hands and feet, quickly rendering the limbs unusable, but it was an indispensable choice for keeping a powerful individual bound alive.

Killian, who had been watching from afar with a bored expression, nodded at Lennok.

Lennok stood next to him and asked,

“Any particular signs yet?”

“None. He seems to have regained consciousness, but he doesn’t seem to have any intention of resisting. But is this really the right way?”

Killian said, raising a hand to point at the syringe stuck in Girard’s shoulder.

“As you said, I injected him with a regeneration-enhancing ampoule that generally works on mana users, but there’s no reason to treat a dying man.”

“His mana is thought to have properties that generate immense power the more he is injured. Rather than creating a struggle, it’s easier to heal him and make him talk.”

“Huh, hard to believe. That such a bizarre type of property alteration exists….”

Killian shook his head with a bewildered expression, but Lennok read something else behind his words and turned his head.

“You seem to be aware of mana property alteration. Have you been undergoing personal training all this time?”

Certainly, when Killian and Lennok dealt with the Cigar Bang Gang together, Killian was ignorant of such a state of mastery.

For him to understand Lennok’s conversation so casually, he must have accumulated quite a lot of experience.

“Well, yeah. Working in this line of business, information just comes to you naturally… and it also somewhat aligns with the techniques I learned in my hometown.”

“Are you saying there’s a separate enhancement technique used by werewolves?”

“It’s hard to explain in detail, but it’s similar. Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ve reached that level myself, but… I can understand the fundamental principle of overcoming limits by imposing conditions.”

Killian replied indifferently.

“I don’t want to pursue self-destruction like that… but must I become a monster like that someday?”

“You won’t need to. Even I think Girard’s case is very unique.”

Lennok replied as he opened the glass door leading to the warehouse.

“Basically, mana property alteration is just a stepping stone to reaching the 6th level; it’s a process that should naturally flow.”

“……”

“If you fail to overcome such a limit and impose restrictions or conditions on yourself, twisting the mana property alteration, you’ll get similar results to this.”

“Only a monster like you would speak so easily….”

Killian grumbled, but Lennok paid him no mind and crouched down in front of the bowed Girard.

“But even so, this guy’s method of amplifying physical strength based on the degree of injury is anomalous. Most people use mana for their own aspirations or self-improvement, and the way they manifest it is generally similar. Yet, to achieve this kind of twisted property alteration with mana alone, not other energy sources like willpower or mental strength….”

At that moment, Girard, who had been bowing his head as if dead, darted his teeth towards Lennok’s neck like lightning.

CRACK!!

“…It’s impossible without the fundamental imagery forming one’s inner self being twisted.”

Girard’s biting force, amplified by mana, was considerable, but even that attempt was blocked by Lennok’s shield, and his front teeth shattered meaninglessly.

Spitting out broken teeth, Girard laughed.

“I wondered what nonsense you were spouting as you came in; you’re quite the philosopher, aren’t you? Should I perhaps engage in a serious discussion about the meaning of human existence with you?”

Killian looked disgusted at his face, which was covered in blood but seemed to feel no pain.

“There’s no harm in that.”

Lennok replied with a faint smile.

“To overcome oneself, one must first confront oneself. I believe confronting a twisted person like you can help one look at oneself objectively… as long as one doesn’t get swept along with them.”

“……”

At that calm retort, Girard fell silent for the first time.

Lennok, undeterred, recovered the prayer beads loosely hanging around Girard’s neck and put them on his own wrist.

Girard watched with a disgusted expression as the prayer beads naturally adjusted to Lennok’s wrist and shrunk, then let out a chilling laugh.

“…Kheheheheh!!! That’s why you shouldn’t deal with wizards for too long. I made a stupid mistake again. I never imagined you’d possess such an outrageous magical tool.”

Indeed, his words were plausible.

Regardless, Girard was a powerful 6th-level practitioner who had achieved mana property alteration, albeit in a somewhat unusual way.

Yet, the fact that he was captured alive without putting up any real resistance was possible precisely because he never imagined Lennok would possess such a powerful binding artifact as the Charm of Earth’s Embrace.

Of course, Lennok’s meticulous planning and successful execution in a single attempt were his achievements, but without such a powerful artifact, Girard would never have ended up in this state.

“If an item like that appeared on the market, there would undoubtedly be an uproar on this side, but there was no sign of it… It’s not something that moved within Vulcan. It’s a rare treasure brought from outside the city.”

Girard’s deduction was sharp, but Lennok ignored him and wiggled a finger in front of him.

“There’s not much I want to hear from your mouth. If you cleanly deliver only the information we want, we can let you go, allowing you to keep your life.”

“Ahahahaha!!!”

Girard burst into laughter at Lennok’s words, tears streaming from his eyes.

His heavy eye makeup smudged, leaving him looking strange, but more grotesque than comical.

“That was the funniest joke I’ve ever heard from you.”

“First. The list of executive board members comparable to you, and their residential information.”

“You’ll be able to handle one or two guys you don’t like yourself, then.”

Girard replied languidly.

Lennok held up his second finger.

“Second. The four top executives who reign at the apex of the Cartel. Personal information of all four, including Virgil.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

Girard couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Seriously, did you really believe you could defeat the Cartel?”

“……”

“The executives have been loyal followers of the Chairman for decades. Every single one of them is a monster who has transcended time, and they are all individuals who have succeeded in confronting themselves. The last time an executive-level cadre was deployed in actual combat was at least 10 years ago… Do you really think it’s possible?”

Girard’s long, distorted eyes gleamed strangely.

“Let’s be honest. All you can do is use your asymmetric power, Van, to negotiate the business structure with us. Isn’t that why you’ve been working so hard, in essence?”

He wasn’t wrong.

No matter how much Lennok had achieved growth beyond common sense, propelled by his powerful talent and insight, he was not yet at a level where he could truly contend with monsters beyond his league.

If even an executive-level cadre like Virgil was someone Lennok couldn’t easily guarantee victory against, then what level would the Chairman, who stood at the pinnacle of the Cartel, truly be?

Realistically, a complete victory against the Cartel was impossible for Lennok.

However, he knew well that such a monster moving directly would inevitably attract scrutiny from other organizations or forces like the Agent, and only by exploiting that gap could he gain an advantage in negotiations.

But instead of refuting Girard’s words, Lennok grabbed him by the hair and drew forth his mana.

WOOOOOOSH!!

“A very wizard-like approach.”

Girard laughed.

“Are you going to try to crush me with your dominance? Unfortunately, it won’t be that easy, that….”

The smile vanished from Girard’s confident face in an instant.

Lennok’s mana aggressively penetrated Girard’s body, seizing control of his mana down to the particle level, finally extending that mana to his bone marrow.

“Ugh, aack…!!!”

Unlike before, when he had responded so leisurely, Girard struggled, veins bulging all over his body, but Lennok replied by forcing the mana flowing through his body to reverse.

CRACK-CRACK!!

“!!!!!”

Black blood streamed from Girard’s five orifices, his body stiffening, unable to even scream properly.

Normally, simply changing the flow of mana would not cause internal injuries.

However, Lennok had used his own mana to halt the flow of Girard’s mana, forcibly causing an internal collision between the mana particles, triggering small explosions.

This was the operating principle of the Stasis Demonic Eye, which he had acquired from Eolara.

Even without manifesting the Demonic Eye, performing similar feats with mana manipulation was not difficult for Lennok.

Lennok understood very well how to inflict pain beyond limits upon a mana user.

The immense pressure generated internally crushed and burst his internal organs, instantly wringing out all the blood vessels in his body like a rag.

As his bodily functions broke down, the fuel that constituted his body began to leak out like sap.

“Kah, haaa…!!”

At this level of injury, Girard’s physical abilities should have dramatically enhanced due to the property alteration of his mana.

Despite the situation making it unsurprising for him to break his restraints and lunge at Lennok, he could only tremble helplessly, unable to move at all.

As if perfectly seeing into Girard’s mind, Lennok muttered,

“You can’t, can you?”

“……”

“Since I exploded the mana itself inside your body, no property alteration or anything else can occur. No matter how twisted the axis of your will is, it will ultimately be nothing without fuel.”

Lennok grabbed his bowed head, lifted it, and met Girard’s gaze, speaking,

“You don’t discuss victory when you’ve already entered negotiations. You truly know nothing.”

“Cough!”

“You have to struggle and strive to win, only then can you even negotiate. Killing you here right now is for a similar reason.”

By systematically destroying the Cartel’s affiliated businesses, Lennok had acutely realized how deeply the Cartel had infiltrated this city.

And also how incredibly difficult it was to achieve a complete victory with a business started by just one wizard and one broker.

However, no matter how difficult and formidable the opponent before him, one must accurately aim for the goal.

Only then could he at least seize the fruits located below that goal.

Only then did Girard, realizing that Lennok genuinely intended to kill him, laugh like a madman.

“Kukekekekeke!!!!”

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!!

He frantically twisted his fingers, struggling as if to break free from the restraints at any moment.

He began to exert himself to the utmost, attempting to amplify his physical abilities while also trying to escape this place by crushing his hands entirely.

Killian, watching his violent movements from afar, sprang to his feet, but Lennok merely watched his final struggle with a cold face.

Girard’s movements, twisting all five fingers, wrists, forearms, and limb joints to escape the restraints, slowly died down.

His remaining mana, which had been burning his body, was finally depleted, and Lennok, confirming that he had completely lost the will to resist, nodded.

WHOOSH!!

He turned his back without an ounce of hesitation and walked out of the warehouse.

“…?”

A bewildered Killian quickly called someone else to guard Girard and followed Lennok out.

Killian, catching up to Lennok who was striding back towards the bar, asked,

“Van, aren’t you going to kill him?”

“Why, when he opened his mouth?”

“Opened his mouth…? When?”

To Killian’s bewildered question, Lennok replied calmly,

“A high-ranking executive of an organization like the Cartel would almost certainly carry measures to maintain secrecy within their body. Considering the anomalous mana I felt when I tore through his body with mana, and the tattoo embedded in his tongue, there’s likely a specific ‘measure’ inside his body for location tracking and prevention of secret leaks.”

Even if Lennok could block location tracking with the Charm of Earth’s Embrace he used and the barrier he set up nearby, the case of secret leaks was different.

“You knew that and still interrogated him this way?”

“A skilled individual like Girard would have plenty of ways to communicate without speaking aloud. Furthermore, based on Girard’s words and actions, he tends to view the organization and himself as separate entities. The probability of this kind of intimidation working was quite high.”

The fact that he, an executive board member of an organization, appeared alone to confront Lennok.

And his audacious remark that the Chairman might not even know his face, conversely coupled with an aloof attitude as if he didn’t care, allowed one to somewhat guess his disposition.

His personality was quite individualistic and independent, fitting his bizarre tastes.

He was the type who didn’t hold much affection for the organization, meticulously assessing mutual benefits based purely on business relations.

For such individuals, if one concealed one’s true intentions and applied appropriate pressure, there was a high possibility they would disclose organizational information without much difficulty.

And Girard, having just heard Lennok’s final words, finally opened his mouth in a way Lennok could understand.

“His last struggle just now felt oddly timed and out of place with my statement, and compared to the mana I left in his body, it was quite clumsy and prolonged. Crucially, considering that the sounds he made while twisting all his joints had a certain pattern….”

Only then did Killian understand Lennok’s words, his mouth agape.

“Th-then you’re saying he secretly conveyed information using the Herington code?”

“……”

Is that what they call Morse code-like cipher systems here?

In any case, as Killian said, it was highly likely that Girard had chosen a cipher using sound.

Communicating information and engaging in negotiations in this way allowed him to deny having revealed anything verbally, and also prioritized the show of merely struggling by twisting his joints.

Hadn’t even Killian, whose senses were far sharper than Lennok’s, been so engrossed by the fierce display that he hadn’t listened to the sounds Girard was making?

However, Girard, judging that Lennok would be able to catch the pattern of the sounds he made and memorize and decipher them all, dared to commit this audacious act of information leakage.

“A sound-based cipher. Or, if you know the pattern, it’s not difficult to input it into existing ciphers on the network.”

Lennok immediately brought Jenny to the computer in the office, recorded the memorized sound patterns, and then deciphered them using the Herington code, as Killian had mentioned.

“It’s done.”

“‘Business meeting on the 14th. Shareholder meeting on the 16th, new building demonstration for 89 businesses on the 17th…’”

Jenny, mumbling the deciphered code in a daze, said,

“My God, this is the event schedule and locations for the Cartel’s corporate affiliates collectively participating. That crazy bastard….”

“You couldn’t find any trace of Girard?”

The bald man, listening to the voice echoing over the communication, silently bowed his head.

Sun-tanned brown skin.

Numerous ornate rings and bracelets clinked loudly on his thick, rough fingers as he clasped his hands.

“His life signs completely ceased at the very spot where the battle ended. Only a restraint artifact, and quite a high-level one at that, could achieve such a feat. Tracking using magical formulas seems impossible.”

Instead of replying, the man turned his gaze towards the incident report that appeared on the holographic display.

“He passed through the outskirts multiple times with Dyke’s help… Then what needs to be done is simple.”

With a snap of his fingers, the hologram flickered before the man’s eyes.

“I’ll have to move the Execution Squad. Issue a directive to Avid.”

“…Even though Executive Director Yonsen is currently assigned to other duties?”

“Tell him my name; he’ll understand well enough. This is urgent.”

The man said so, then suddenly looked down at his forearm.

His body, adorned with various tattoos and ornaments, vividly displayed a glorious past stained with honor and disgrace.

But the skin bearing the tattoos was wrinkled, unable to defy the passage of time, and his precious treasures gradually lost their luster.

How much time does it take to abandon a lifetime of loyalty?

He had no intention of clinging to the vain hope of immortality; if there was anything he desired, it was….

The man closed his eyes.

“This is an order directly approved by Parden McQueen, the CEO of the Cartel. Track and secure Girard Ozette, who was captured by the wizard Van. If that is not possible….”

“…You may kill him….”

He could be silenced forever.

Although he had drawn Girard into this matter to leverage his authority over the affiliated businesses, the man had never trusted him in the first place.

He always wore a playful smile, as if everything was amusing, but he was the kind of person who would be the first to switch sides if the balance of power shifted.

He thought the magical binding he had embedded in Girard’s body for moments like this would buy him some time, but he couldn’t be careless.

He must not let the Chairman discover his betrayal yet.

He needed time.