Chapter 286: Apostle’s Advent (3)
“Damn it…!!”
She scratched her shoulder wildly, then whipped her head towards Walter Martinez.
“How long?”
“Excuse me?”
The Ibon Family Head yelled harshly.
“How long until you open the barrier and proceed with the ritual!!”
“Ten minutes is sufficient.”
Walter Martinez replied.
“The important thing is to deceive the barrier’s security even for a moment. If we can just send a signal through the ruins, we can consider it a success.”
“A signal?”
“Yes. It’s one of the best ways to utilize the remaining Old World ruins like this.”
Walter Martinez chuckled coldly, disregarding Ibon’s gaze.
“A faint crack, one of the few, in this closed-off world… in other words, it’s like a communication window to the outside.”
“Gasp, gasp…!!”
Asi didn’t stop his hands, even as he streamed with cold sweat.
The shadows extending from beneath his feet relentlessly spread upwards, encircling Ibon’s towering 8-story mansion and concealing it from view.
Monochromatic ripples, emanating from Asi’s small frame, constantly pulsed with light, amplifying the spell and adjusting the flow of mana.
His condition didn’t look good.
Although he had stepped forward to help Lennok, he himself had contributed to evacuating the Fortress residents alongside Oren at the manor where the Proxy Battle took place, hadn’t he?
Only a day had passed since then. It was nowhere near enough time for his mana to fully recover.
Lennok, who had been silently watching him, pulled something from his coat.
It was a healing ampoule he had received as payment for assisting an Agent in the past.
An enhancer created by filling it with potion diluent Lennok himself had made.
“It’ll sting.”
“…Ugh!”
He stuck the ampoule into Asi’s arm and waited for the potion to inject.
Lennok looked directly into Asi’s eyes and said.
“It’s something that elevates your spirit and boosts recovery.”
“Hoo, hoo…”
Asi’s ragged breathing slowly began to stabilize.
Lennok watched Asi, then reached into his coat again.
He placed a few pill packets and two ampoules at Asi’s feet and stood up.
“The pills will help mana recovery, and the ampoules will aid stamina. They don’t have severe side effects. If it gets to the point where you can’t bear it, give up and pull out.”
Asi didn’t respond anymore.
He simply pulled something from behind his back with a strained hand and handed it to Lennok.
A cloak that seemed to embody raven wings. It was Oren, the Samyeong Family Head’s, ceremonial garb, which he always wore.
“…”
Lennok silently took the cloak and draped it over his shoulders.
The cloak, reacting to his mana, naturally melded into the outer surface of his coat, transforming into a calm, ink-black color that reflected no light.
Only after watching the transformation to the end did Asi lower his head deeply again.
Instead, shadows flowing from beneath his body began to cover the entire sky like a dark curtain.
Swooosh!!
Lennok also immediately stood up and turned his head.
Ibon, who boasted the most powerful prestige and reputation among the Eight Families.
On this street densely packed with various styles of tiled-roof houses, an 8-story mansion, conspicuously taller than the rest, stood before Lennok’s eyes.
“Hooowooo…”
Standing before the mansion’s gate, Lennok silently took a deep breath.
He stared at the tobacco in his mouth, then spat it out.
The new tobacco he pulled from his coat, however, had a completely different appearance.
Defiler 3.0, a top-grade painkiller sold at Plumber’s Orchard.
It was a commercially available product, a different version from the Defiler 2.0 he used previously.
“Cough!!”
[Ugh, it looks disgusting….]
Only then did Davi, peeking out from his coat, frown, but Lennok’s hand didn’t stop.
He injected the green liquid, which was different from the ampoule he’d given Asi earlier, directly into his shoulder.
Pshuk!!
In addition, he chewed and swallowed mana enhancers and responsiveness boosters he always carried, just in case.
He administered a few more ampoules to adjust his physical condition.
Finally, after forcing down two elixirs from finger-sized test tubes, Lennok dry-heaved a few times before standing up.
“…It always tastes like puke, no matter when I take it.”
[I remember it wasn’t this bad last time.]
“I’ve been experimenting with various things to maintain efficacy while reducing side effects.”
Lennok wiped his mouth with his coat sleeve and gave a weak laugh.
“Good medicine tastes bitter.”
[That idiom isn’t in my database.]
Lennok cleanly ignored Davi’s words and slowly raised his mana.
It had been a long time since he’d felt this level of exhilaration after his confrontation with the Cartel.
Lennok himself strictly refrained from artificially boosting his condition like this, unless absolutely necessary.
He believed that if he couldn’t compress his processes enough to fully deploy his Domain with his own abilities, he would eventually lose the chance to make his own choice in a life-threatening moment.
But he still needed time, and fortunately, he had prepared for a long time to set the stage like today.
No matter what awaited him inside that mansion, Lennok was confident he could survive and return, no matter who he faced.
“Shall we go?”
He slowly stretched his limbs, loosening up.
As he massaged his shoulders and circulated mana, a violent hum, like an engine, began to rumble within his body.
Wee-iiiing!!!!
Davi muttered, sounding disgusted.
[Isn’t this cheating?]
The dignified mana flowing within him powerfully squirmed according to his will, slowly seeping out through his skin.
The mana, flowing out like smoke, seeped through Lennok’s coat, permeating the street.
Swooosh…!!
His figure, moving forward while emitting a blue aura and dense smoke, far surpassed the presence a human could possess.
Everyone waiting at the Ibon family’s main residence swallowed hard.
“…He’s coming.”
KWAANG!!
The massive iron gate crumpled like paper, then shattered and fell into a corner of the courtyard.
Before they could even be startled by the ear-splitting noise, a flash of light that had been flickering outside the mansion slowly walked into the inner courtyard.
Wooooong…!!!
The wizard, clad in a thick black coat, silently surveyed the mansion and smirked.
A towering 8-story mansion.
At least hundreds of Ibon’s retainers were perched on the spacious tiled roofs between the floors, looking down at Lennok.
From bladed weapons like swords, spears, and blunt instruments, to gunpowder weapons like guns and cannons, they were lined up, all barrels aimed at Lennok.
A total war, where the family’s entire might was mobilized to face a single wizard.
“I’m not too late, am I?”
[Indeed, you are utterly arrogant, wizard.]
The Ibon Family Head’s faint telepathic message echoed from beyond the mansion.
[How far do you think your petty tricks from the Proxy Battle will get you?]
“…”
[Even the Samyeong Family Head, with his proud shadow magic, knelt before me… If you thought your wicked ways would work here too, you are gravely mistaken.]
“Is that so?”
[After tearing all your limbs off, I’ll throw your torso to the vagrants in the street. I’ll personally ensure bloodshed today, just to see your pleading face then.]
“Vagrants, what a terrible lie.”
Lennok scoffed.
“You sacrificed your own body to the cult in pursuit of youth, and you still have property left to share with others?”
The Ibon Family Head was silent for a long time, then replied coldly.
[Kill him.]
Wooooooo!!!
With that command, hundreds of warriors leaped from the tiled roofs of the mansion and simultaneously charged at Lennok.
Instead of reacting immediately, Lennok calmly watched the charging warriors.
Their level was by no means inferior to the Samyeong warriors. In terms of sheer numbers, they already surpassed all other Eight Families combined.
Among the warriors charging at Lennok, observing some with different attire, it seemed they had already smoothly absorbed the Ilwon Family’s forces.
It wasn’t hard to discern the Ibon Family Head’s aim.
Each individual was a considerable mana user.
Even if Lennok didn’t lose to them, they were by no means weak enough for him to simply trample over.
Ibon was waiting for Lennok to expend a significant amount of mana dealing with them, just as Oren had, before he arrived before her.
In a battle between superhumans, the depletion of mana and mental power is an absolutely crucial factor.
If there’s no weapon to wield regardless of condition, one is bound to lose in a battle of attrition.
‘Or it wouldn’t be strange if all of this was simply a time-wasting tactic.’
To the Ibon Family Head, who was willing to sacrifice the entire Fortress population as ritual offerings, the prestige of her family or the Fortress likely no longer mattered.
If necessary, she would pursue her desires even at the cost of abandoning all her family’s forces.
Both knew there wasn’t much time left.
The important thing was to break through all these obstacles as quickly as possible and uncover Walter Martinez’s objective.
He needed to find out here and now why the Guido Cult was so interested in those ruins.
Warriors who covered hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye, extending their blades.
And the rear guard, supporting them with all sorts of long-range firearms.
Tututututu!!
A barrage of explosions and a curtain of bullets covered the entire sky, pouring down to obliterate a single person.
But Lennok merely twitched his fingers, even as he watched the storm of blades and gunpowder approaching him.
“Shall we begin?”
[Ready.]
It seemed the Ibon Family Head had also prepared significantly to succeed in this endeavor, but Lennok hadn’t been idle either.
Despite knowing that it was an environment where Davi’s help would be difficult to obtain, unlike other sectors of the megacity, he had managed to find several useful elements while moving around the Fortress.
[Sewer system overload. Fortress central pipe network fully opened. Water flow acceleration biased.]
Kugugugugugu!!!
A massive roar began to echo from beneath Lennok’s feet.
Davi’s voice rang out as if declaring.
[Eight large sewer pipes confirmed 89% damaged. Backflow detected. Brace for impact.]
KWA-AAAAANG!!!
Immediately after, the ground beneath the mansion’s inner courtyard collapsed, and an enormous volume of water burst forth from underground.
Lennok raised both hands towards the immense torrent bursting forth directly in front of him and quickly formed hand seals.
A large-scale spell, potent enough that Lennok, who usually omits most incantations, meticulously carved out each hand seal to invoke it.
Mana, responding to his strong will and the spell’s rules, seized the bursting water stream and slammed it down towards the mansion.
Water-elemental Unique Magic Property Transformation: Multiple Overlap Flow Manipulation: Great Aquatic Form [Ten Thousand Waves of Azure]
The essence of water-elemental manipulation magic, obtained through research with Aris.
A colossal tsunami, easily over ten meters high, relentlessly swallowed the dry land.
Swaaaaaash!!!
It wasn’t just a simple wave, but the power of Unique Magic, imbued with mana and clear intent, crushing and bursting the very space with physical force.
The warriors charging at Lennok were swept away without even being able to resist the immense pressure, which was unimaginable as a mere natural phenomenon.
“Whoa-aaah!!
“A, a tsunami from the ground…!!”
“Where did all this water come from!!”
A few exceptional individuals among them managed to keep their balance and began to swim in the fast-flowing water, but
as Lennok’s revolver flashed, they sank into the water, spraying blood.
The courtyard had become a flood, centered around the mansion. Walking casually over the surging water, he accurately targeted those trying to regain their composure.
Bang, bang, bang!!
The important thing wasn’t to eliminate everyone who showed killing intent towards him.
If he selectively dealt with only those trying to regain their wits and rally their groups amidst this chaos, the rest would inevitably be swept away and buried by the indiscriminate waves and crowd.
“H-he seized control of the Fortress sewer system and burst it…!!”
Only then did someone, understanding what Lennok had done, hastily swim and mutter.
“He’s insane… How could he do something like this against the Eight Families…!!”
Kwa-jik!!
“It’s not difficult.”
“Arrrgh!!”
Lennok, having stomped the swimming man’s head under the surface with his boot, said.
“The Fortress’s sewer system operates autonomously within the barrier. It was easier to tamper with than the megacity’s sewers, which share the city government’s robust network security.”
Lennok realized this immediately after the Proxy Battle, when Walter Martinez manipulated things to seize the Fortress Head’s nomination authority.
If he hadn’t realized that the Fortress’s internal spell security was relatively lax, such an attempt wouldn’t have existed in the first place.
It was then possible to speculate that the security managing the Fortress’s public facilities might also be relatively vulnerable.
That’s why Lennok deliberately spent a day hacking and manipulating the entire Fortress’s internal sewer system to burst a geyser right above Ibon’s mansion.
It didn’t matter how many warriors or how much effort the Ibon Family Head put into preparing the mansion’s defenses.
Once he flipped the board as he wished, Lennok was confident he would never lose the initiative.
Wee-iiiing!!
Water-elemental Unique Magic.
[Turbid Current Reversal]
Lennok’s mana relentlessly burrowed into the water mass beneath his feet, rotating violently.
The water manipulation that had ground up the flesh Walter Martinez had brought forth was perfectly recreated here, mercilessly twisting the people still floundering.
Tudududududuk!!
“…!!!”
Silent screams echoed all around, and a red mist of blood rose from the puddles beneath his feet.
The friction created by dividing the water flow itself into multiple streams and rotating them in different directions.
Even warriors with robust bodies found it difficult to resist within the waves where there was nowhere to stand.
The bodies of those struggling in the water floated lifelessly to the surface, one by one.
Lennok calmly began to walk towards the mansion, using the backs of those who had surfaced as stepping stones.