Chapter 285: Apostle’s Advent (2)

The day after the Fortress Head Decision Battle concluded.

Due to the commotion that erupted at the mansion, the entire fortress became like a house of mourning.

The shock felt by the fortress residents, realizing they had almost been sacrificed, was immense.

While the fortress residents recognize themselves as members of The Triad, most are ordinary people who live their daily lives within the fortress.

It was fortunate that they recognized the Ilwon and a part of the Ibon Family as the culprits; if not for the Samyeong Family’s presence, uncontrollable chaos would have spread.

“Speaking of which, it’s truly a relief we won the Proxy Battle.”

Soo-ryun, who had just finished explaining the situation to the fortress residents, let out a sigh.

“I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened if the Fortress Head position had fallen to the Ibon Family.”

The reason the fortress’s order was still maintained was the announcement that Oren, the Samyeong Family Head, had newly secured the Fortress Head position.

If the Samyeong Family Head, who risked disadvantage to save them, inherited the Fortress Head position, the fortress could continue to exist by punishing the Ibon Family Head.

Family heads and their households continued to strive to convince the fortress residents of this fact.

However, despite Soo-ryun’s words, Lennok slowly shook his head.

“The fortress will change, one way or another.”

“What do you mean?”

“Palgung Fortress was able to maintain its current status by hiding its weakened power through its closed society. With this incident, the incompetence and lack of power of the family heads have been clearly exposed, so rumors will spread outside in an instant.”

“……”

“Not only will they be removed from their positions in The Triad, but the City Council, which allowed this kind of continued existence, will also interfere. You’ll have to endure considerable changes.”

The fortress’s ability to rule as a hidden titan, as a member of The Triad, was ultimately a result of the formidable power of the Eight Families’ heads coinciding with the City Council’s approval.

However, this incident directly revealed that even among the fortress’s high-ranking officials, there was dissatisfaction with the City Council’s policies, making it difficult to maintain the current closed social order.

Unlike the Cartel, which possessed an absolute leader in Olivera, Oren, the new Samyeong Family Head, was not a strong enough individual to transcend such earthly matters.

Interference from the City Council, as well as other organizations in the shadows, was inevitable.

“I see… I understand what you mean. Perhaps it was destined to be this way ever since the previous Fortress Head died.”

Soo-ryun nodded with a complicated expression.

“Although we bear the grand title of the Eight Families, in reality, we were merely acting like nobles in a closed society, blocking communication with the outside world.”

She looked out at the scenery beyond the mansion with complex eyes and said,

“Even if not now, someday, the moment would have come when all of us would be driven out beyond that street.”

“Is there a need to think that far?”

Lennok chuckled, rising to his feet.

“It was created out of necessity, and it’s just changing. If you’ve decided where you stand in that process, there’s no reason to fear change.”

“……”

“Oren will be a decent leader. Even if he can no longer safely protect the fortress, he should be able to take responsibility for the residents who lived under their protection.”

Beyond that, it was not Lennok’s place to interfere.

The internal affairs and future of the fortress were areas Lennok had neither the right nor the interest to meddle with.

Watching Lennok’s retreating back, Soo-ryun asked,

“Where are you going?”

“I need to finish what I started.”

Lennok replied, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket.

“I wanted to wait until Oren regained consciousness, if possible… but I don’t have much time.”

“That…”

“There must be a reason why they specifically fled to the Ibon Family’s main residence. It would be more effective for us to act first before they make their move.”

“…Why are you helping us so much?”

Soo-ryun asked with a complicated expression.

“All the work you had to do is finished. Just as you promised me and Chen, you won the Proxy Battle and made Oren the Fortress Head. Even if you just took your reward and left, no one would say anything to you…”

“……”

Perhaps it was because Lennok viewed the essence of this matter from a completely different perspective than others.

The identity of the Guido Cult mentioned by Pandemonium’s leader.

The investigation began with a suggestion to find the cult’s secret location if he sought space-time magic, but now he was seeing much more.

The reason Missionary Walter had put in so much effort for such a long time, aiming for access to the fortress’s internal facilities.

It was undoubtedly to acquire the Old World ruins within the fortress, where space-time was distorted, as Oren had shown him.

And those ruins were highly likely to be connected to the now-nonexistent Old World.

Pandemonium, seeking relics of the Old World, and the cult, seeking the space-time of the Old World.

Lennok had to confirm and remember where both organizations were ultimately headed, the moment he had the chance.

He had already come too far to dismiss it as unrelated to himself and turn a blind eye.

To confirm the truth and provide an answer before the end of the world approached.

Ultimately, this journey was also aligned with his own quest to break free from his shackles.

“Well,”

But instead of telling Soo-ryun all those circumstances, Lennok laughed it off.

“If you’re thinking of joining my company, I might tell you then.”

“What?”

Leaving Soo-ryun, who asked back with a blank expression, Lennok immediately turned his back.

To conclude this matter, some preparations were necessary.

The street leading to the Ibon Family’s main residence.

What should have been a bustling downtown area, filled with all sorts of people, was instead filled with chilling silence.

“……”

It was only natural for residents who realized who the culprits of this incident were to distance themselves as much as possible from the fortress center.

Lennok, slowly walking while trailing smoke, suddenly turned his head.

Chen and Manson slowly emerged from a corner of the alley.

“Oren?”

“He made it through the night and is now asleep. The internal organ damage in his abdomen is severe, so he’ll need complete rest for several months.”

“The doctor said he fought for a long time even after his stomach was half-eaten before finally passing out, didn’t he? What a stubborn old man.”

Manson rattled on, then tilted his robot head and asked Lennok,

“…But are you really going alone?”

“Taking the injured ones will only be a hindrance.”

Lennok smiled.

“Don’t drag your feet and just watch quietly.”

Not even 24 hours had passed since the aftermath of the Proxy Battle, in which Chen, Manson, Soo-ryun, and all of the Samyeong Family’s attendants had participated.

Few were fit to be deployed to the front lines without Lennok’s level of mana recovery.

Not only was mana depleted, but the injuries sustained in the process were also significant.

In a situation like this, they were more likely to be a hindrance.

“Hmm, I’m not usually someone who gets told that… but it’s hard to deny.”

Manson nodded, crossing his arms, and Chen wore a gloomy expression.

He knew that, regardless of his injuries, his skill wouldn’t be of help in a battle between Level 7 superhumans.

“…If Oren regains consciousness and disarms the fortress’s external barrier, it might be possible to call my friends. If we wait a little longer until then…”

“Then the City Council’s interference will begin too.”

“……”

“If we don’t deal with it before they get involved, we’ll be implicated as accomplices, and things will get troublesome.”

“Considering the tempers of those old geezers, that’s certainly true.”

Lennok glanced at Manson, who kept interjecting, making him shut up, and then said,

“If the cult’s existence is confirmed, the chances of ending up without charges are low. To avoid the City Council’s intervention, it’s best to finish quickly and just present the results.”

“Does that conclusion mean you’re going to storm the Ibon Family’s main residence alone?”

Chen shook his head, saying that.

“I can’t understand the thoughts of high-level wizards…”

“It’s the opposite, you idiot. It’s because they think and act like that that they can complete their Hierarchy.”

Manson said, stroking his hard metal jaw.

“I guess I should try to do more crazy things in the future too.”

“……”

Lennok sighed at Manson’s nonsense.

“If the situation gets tough, I’ll just gauge their power and stop there, so don’t do anything useless and wait where I told you.”

“That…”

“Even after finishing the fortress matter, cleanup might be necessary.”

Lennok smiled.

“You know what I mean, right?”

“…Alright.”

Chen nodded with difficulty.

“I’ll ask you later about trying to scout our older sister behind my back.”

“……”

He thought he had done it secretly, out of Chen’s sight, but had he been found out already?

If Soo-ryun was a skilled individual, Chen might have been thinking of drawing her into his own business too.

Chen looked at Lennok’s face, chuckled, and then turned his back.

Manson grabbed Chen’s shoulder and waved as they disappeared.

Lennok watched the two of them silently for a moment, then resumed walking.

Walking down a quiet street, Lennok suddenly opened his mouth.

“You should turn back around now too.”

“……”

“Like I said, you’ll only be a hindrance. And you have no combat ability.”

“…I know.”

From the alleyway, a young man with a slimmer build than Lennok emerged from the shadows.

“You probably saved me in the last Proxy Battle as well, Van. I suspected as much.”

A pale complexion, trembling hands and feet.

A weak disposition, visibly intimidated at a glance.

But his skill in handling shadows was genuine.

Asi, Oren’s nephew, and a shadow sorcerer second only to the family head within the Samyeong Family, who had also participated in the Proxy Battle, stood there.

Lennok scanned his body with an indifferent gaze.

“Then why are you being stubborn?”

“…I’m not skilled in combat, but I am confident in handling shadows.”

With that, a large shadow curtain rose behind Asi, engulfing the surroundings.

“I don’t have my uncle’s talent, but…”

Asi swallowed hard and continued,

“I can conceal what the wizard is trying to do from outside gazes.”

“……”

The meaning of Asi’s words was clear.

Asi roughly understood what Lennok was about to do.

“You’re planning to use your Domain… and it will undoubtedly be a disaster that cannot be publicly revealed.”

Asi trembled under Lennok’s sharp aura, yet still spoke.

“Th-otherwise… there would be no reason to go to such lengths…”

“Knowing that, you still deliberately came to me with an offer.”

Lennok chuckled.

“Didn’t you think I might kill you to silence you?”

“I-if that were your intention… I wouldn’t have woken up from the Proxy Battle already…”

Asi said, sweating profusely.

“I merely cast a curtain; I cannot peek inside. All that is possible within my Domain is a mere…”

“…Domain?”

Lennok asked back.

“You know how to use Domain?”

“…Yes.”

Asi slowly nodded.

His face was stiff with tension.

“I haven’t properly imprinted my Mind Imprint yet, but a little…”

“Quick, start.”

“That’s easier said than done. It’s not something that just happens in a snap. Without delicate adjustments, it would fail one hundred out of one hundred times…”

“I can’t hold out much longer. Quickly—!”

Walter sighed deeply at Ibon, who cut him off, clutching her shoulders violently and scratching herself.

“It’s no use…”

The side effects of the cult’s grace, which had made the Ibon Family Head young, were appearing faster than expected.

Originally, she should have rested for a long time, slowly transforming her body into something inhuman.

But due to the injuries she sustained while fleeing from the Proxy Battle, the balance of mana in her body had collapsed, causing her physical body to break down.

Proof that the cult’s technology was still insufficient to perfectly modify a Level 7 superhuman.

However, instead of voicing such thoughts, Walter raised his head and smiled faintly.

At the end of his gaze, Tae-oh, the Ilwon Family Head, was suspended, bound by dozens of blood tendrils.

“Since that’s the case, let’s do our best with just the two of us, Ilwon Family Head.”

“You broke your promise…!!”

Tae-oh, struggling while suspended in mid-air, shrieked.

“You clearly said you would save my father if I cooperated!!”

“……”

“And for that, for that, I sacrificed my family’s blood relatives and waited… How could you deceive me, Ibon Family Head!!”

Tae-oh wasn’t merely fooled by sweet lies.

The murdered former Fortress Head. Was it not the Ibon Family Head’s persuasion that she could revive his body that made him cooperate with her, sacrificing everything?

He believed that she, who had regained youth with the cult’s help, surely had a way to revive his father.

But to think that far from reviving his father, she would even try to use his own body.

Walter leisurely stroked his chin and smiled.

“Actually, I didn’t break my promise. As you can see, the Ilwon Family Head’s father’s body, which he so desperately wished for, is moving perfectly right here, isn’t it?”

“Shut up!! Just let my father rest now!!”

Despite Tae-oh’s wails, Walter shook his head with a troubled expression.

“Nothing is easy. According to calculations, things should have been over the moment we obtained the former Fortress Head’s body…”

Had he not gone through such a long detour just to open the barrier surrounding the space-time-distorted ruins?

He thought the barrier would open using the security code left in the former Fortress Head’s body, but the barrier system, which the Ascendant had supposedly left as his last work, was not so easily pliable.

That was probably because the barrier itself was a creation made through the City Council’s mediation, not for the fortress’s safety.

It was proof that the City Council had their eyes on the existence of these ruins.

Ultimately, he tried to legitimately acquire the qualification by holding a Proxy Battle, but everything was disrupted by the presence of a single wizard.

“But it’s not impossible.”

Walter said that, slowly extending his hand towards Tae-oh’s body.

“With the newly designated Samyeong Family Head unconscious, we can temporarily revive the Fortress Head’s qualification by supplying a large amount of blood to this body.”

Tae-oh, his face pale, writhed frantically, but it was useless.

“I wanted to refrain from using this method, as it would completely destroy the body… but now is not the time to be picky.”

Instantly, a small hole was pierced in Tae-oh’s abdomen, and a tremendous suction force began to draw all the blood from his body.

“Agh, aaaahhh!!”

The terrified Ilwon Family Head let out an indescribable scream, but Walter soothed him with a gentle voice.

“Don’t be so scared. All the other blood relatives of the Ilwon Family were sent off in the same way, weren’t they?”

Tae-oh’s screams rapidly subsided. Walter’s low voice continued over his quickly lifeless, wide-open eyes.

“You were the one who sacrificed all your family members to save your father, weren’t you?”

At that moment.

Wooooong!!

A powerful magical shockwave, shaking the entire mansion, crashed down.

Rather than a direct strike, it was an overt display of force, overtly pressing down on the nearby streets themselves.

The identity of the opponent was clear.

“…!!”

“It’s… him.”

Ibon shot up from her seat, glaring into the air.

Instantly, her eyes pierced through the wall, looking down at the area below the mansion’s main gate.

A single man, trailing white magical steam from his entire body.

The wizard, dressed in a coat, looked up at her, his blue eyes flashing with an intense light between them.