Chapter 336: Private Meeting (2)

Stella looked intently at Lennok, then slightly bowed her head and asked.

“…What are you talking about? I told you the leader isn’t here right now.”

“The reason you sent Dylan away was unnatural.”

“What?”

“What you said wasn’t something that needed to be said after dismissing others. I can only assume you sent Dylan out because you were worried he might give me some leeway.”

“…”

“Antares, as I remember him, isn’t someone who acts without reason. Surely, forming this mercenary group wasn’t out of simple compassion, was it?”

Lennok slowly tilted his head, watching the silent Stella.

“That…”

“If so, with Felix, who is a core pillar of the mercenary group, now in a coma… wouldn’t he come here, even if late?”

A chilly silence hung in the air.

Stella, who had been staring directly into Lennok’s eyes, let out a deep sigh.

“Haa…”

Stella knew it too.

Her attitude of sending Dylan away, while a clue for Lennok to sense something amiss, wasn’t conclusive evidence.

Yet, the reason she didn’t bother feigning ignorance further was that she knew such wordplay was meaningless against a wizard of Adamant Thunder’s caliber.

She knew that when a wizard who had survived dozens of battles alone said something like that, it always contained a corresponding conviction and basis.

Even without Lennok telling her directly, he had already found his own reasons for Antares being present here.

Noticing Stella’s gaze briefly shifting towards the sickbed, Lennok nodded.

“I have no intention of fighting. If you’re not going to answer, I’ll find out myself.”

“No, it’s fine.”

She said that, then readily stood up.

“The leader will understand by now. I don’t want to pick a fight with you and get heated here… Let’s just let it go amicably.”

Stella faintly smiled as she placed her hand on the sickroom door.

“Instead, you should also overlook what I’ve been pretending not to know. Is that okay?”

“Alright. Shall we go then?”

As Lennok stood up first, Stella’s expression subtly changed.

“…You already knew where he was, didn’t you?”

Lennok merely smiled quietly instead of answering her disgruntled remark.

Dark night. The rooftop of the general hospital.

The garden, created for ambulatory patients, was impressive.

Mist-like raindrops slid down between the blades of grass.

Amidst the quiet sound of rain. A spacious terrace offered a clear view of the rainy night streets.

At its very end, someone sat with their head bowed, enduring the rain.

As soon as Stella reached the rooftop, she stepped forward and spoke.

“Antares. I brought him.”

“…”

“He’s a guest who came to see you. How long are you going to keep pushing him off on me? I don’t want to get on the bad side of such a terrifying wizard, either.”

“…I’m sorry, Stella.”

A quiet voice emerged from beneath his rain-soaked coat.

“I had something I wanted to think about alone for a moment. I’ve kept you waiting a long time.”

The tone was excessively subdued, so much so that it was difficult to even guess at the emotion behind it.

Even Lennok, listening, subtly twitched an eyebrow, but Stella merely shrugged indifferently.

“So stop being so melancholy and come inside to talk. If you catch a cold in that condition, you’ll be the laughingstock of the office for years.”

“No, let’s talk here.”

Antares smiled faintly and turned his head.

“Could you step out for a moment? It won’t take long.”

“…”

Stella’s lips twitched for a moment, but she only let out a small sigh and said nothing.

She patted his shoulder lightly, then disappeared down the rooftop stairs.

Lennok watched her receding back, then immediately stepped out onto the terrace.

Ignoring the raindrops beginning to fall on his coat, and without looking back at Lennok who stood behind him, Antares asked.

“I heard you don’t have much time. The Northern Continent?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Antares chuckled at Lennok’s indifferent reply.

“If it’s a large-scale event that requires a wizard like you to move outside the city at a time like this, it’s pretty much decided. Those who know would have already figured it out.”

“…What exactly is happening there right now?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard the full story yet?”

“…”

Lennok’s expression subtly creased at Antares’ words, which naturally shifted the topic.

Antares looked back at Lennok and chuckled.

“Then it would be better for you to hear the story directly when you arrive. Trying to figure out the situation beforehand will only make you anxious.”

“Are you saying there’s no need to rush?”

“The events unfolding in the Northern Continent have already moved beyond what human hands can resolve.”

Antares said that, then quietly looked down at the night city spread beneath his feet.

“It’s impossible to share the same perspective as the Transcendent beings who have defied human reason. If you wish, you can only confirm the outcome yourself… but it won’t even be easy to meet them.”

“Wait, if even you say that…”

Lennok’s expression completely changed.

He instantly understood the context of how far Antares’ current statement reached.

A monster that an 8-level superhuman would call a Transcendent. If such a formidable figure was involved in this incident, almost certainly–.

But Antares looked at Lennok, smiled, and shook his head.

“Don’t be impatient. The one who called you must have thought there was no reason to rush, which is why they only asked for your help now.”

“…”

“However, if you’re planning to head to the Northern Continent at this point, I can guess who you’re lending a hand to. There aren’t many ways to transport an Archmage thousands of kilometers to the Northern Continent.”

Antares withdrew his gaze from the ground and lifted it to the sky.

“The constellations will soon shift greatly.”

“…You really know a lot.”

After a long silence, that was all Lennok said.

Their one encounter before he officially clashed with the Cartel.

Many things had happened since, and a considerable amount of time had passed, but Antares remained unchanged.

Everything Antares said still pierced Lennok deeply, and Lennok merely tried to grasp fragments of truth within those words.

But Antares shook his head at Lennok’s words.

“I know a lot. But knowing and doing are distinctly different. Even if you can guess how the end of this world will come… there’s not much you can do.”

“Are you saying you’re waiting for the right moment?”

“No. At least in this world, omniscience and omnipotence are never of equal standing.”

In the dim rain, their eyes met simultaneously.

“At least, that’s the conclusion I’ve reached.”

“…”

Omniscience and omnipotence, he said.

Those were not words for Lennok to discuss, who had not even glimpsed the fragments of ascension.

But Antares seemed to at least vaguely grasp those concepts.

“Stella said you and your mercenary group traveled the continent for a long time.”

Lennok pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, put the filter in his mouth, and bowed his head slightly.

Hiss!!

The cigarette quickly got wet in the rain, yet the spark Lennok flicked easily caught on, beginning to emit smoke.

“You said you would witness all the mysteries of this world with your own eyes and reach an answer.”

“…”

“Antares. What you sought and desired was closer to omniscience than omnipotence. Do you believe there’s a way to save this world through knowledge?”

“I didn’t have such grand goals from the start. I still don’t.”

Antares replied.

“I merely tried to find what I could do with the time given to me… No, perhaps I just believed it was possible?”

“…”

Lennok, looking down at the burning tip of his cigarette, slowly raised his gaze.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!!

The downpour intensified.

The intensity of the rain beating on his coat also grew stronger.

Looking up at the water pouring from the murky sky after such a long time, Lennok said.

“Before heading to the Northern Continent, I intended to ask about your intentions. And what you’ve been moving for since leaving this city.”

“…”

“But what you just said seems to be the answer to that question.”

“It’s not hard to tell you my purpose and reason. But… knowing it now won’t change anything.”

“Because knowing and doing are different?”

“Very wizard-like. You learn too fast.”

Antares chuckled at Lennok’s unenthusiastic remark.

“Yes. To be precise, the process of realizing what you don’t know is the journey to finding the answer. Or perhaps, the time spent pondering itself can be the answer.”

“That’s just talking nonsense.”

“The moment you skip the process and confirm the result, the path to reaching it is practically set. The moment you perceive and observe, it comes into existence.”

Antares turned his gaze.

“Changing a predetermined outcome is something even Transcendent beings are not permitted to do. That’s why we revered the act of defying fate by giving it a noble name.”

His eyes shone clearly even in the rain.

“Ascension, you see.”

“…”

“I glimpsed the future my desired answer depicted and confirmed the outcome. I have no regrets… but I don’t think you have a reason to choose the same path as me.”

Antares smiled, looking at the silent Lennok.

“Because your potential will be greater than what I had. You might find an even better answer than I did.”

“You’re awfully confident.”

Lennok said in a heavy voice.

“How can you speak with such certainty?”

“Because when you look back on the path you’ve already traversed, things you didn’t see before become visible.”

Antares slowly stood up and replied.

“There are things one can only know after transcending Hierarchy. A premonition that you can’t be sure of, but vaguely perceive… When you reach this age, you tend to believe in superstitions.”

“…”

So, unless he reached 8th level and shared his perspective, he couldn’t give a proper answer.

Antares had spoken in a roundabout way for a long time, but Lennok understood that there was a reason for his Zen-like statements.

It was likely out of concern for the side effects or repercussions of the ‘omniscience’ power he had clearly pursued.

Is knowledge power, or is ignorance bliss?

Though he dismissed it with a trivial remark at the end, Antares seemed to have clearly reached some conclusion between those two contradictions.

“I think I’ve said all I wanted to. Could you go down first? I still have something to do here.”

Antares said that, gesturing towards Lennok.

But instead of moving obediently at his words, Lennok’s gaze shifted to Antares’ arm.

“Looks like the blood hasn’t completely washed off, has it?”

“…”

His left hand, slightly hidden from Lennok’s view behind his back.

Thick, black, dead blood clung to his palm, refusing to wash off even in the rain.

There was no need to ask where those blood clots came from.

Antares let out a hollow laugh and slowly turned around.

“Oh, dear. If you noticed from the start, why didn’t you say something? I was just moping in the rain for nothing.”

“Isn’t it more awkward to think I wouldn’t know by now?”

Lennok retorted indifferently and asked.

“Who was the opponent?”

Lennok clearly understood what a monstrous level an 8-level ultimate ability user was.

Even if they couldn’t directly understand and manipulate space, they could wield space derived from their own power, an ultimate state of a superhuman that interferes with spacetime as a result.

Lennok found it difficult to gauge how strongly refined the body of a physical ability user who had surpassed Hierarchy and truly broken the limits of their species was.

If Antares was still suffering from the after-effects of battle, it was impossible to know how strong an enemy he had faced.

But Antares quietly shook his head at Lennok’s words.

“I did face an 8-level Druid, but that’s not why. It’s been quite a while since I stopped getting injured in fights.”

“…What?”

It’s been a while since he stopped getting injured in fights—could such words freely come from the mouth of a living human being?

To possess such monstrous strength and body, yet still have to try and hide meant–.

“Yes. Since I don’t know how the situation will change in the future, it’s probably best to tell you this much.”

Antares turned his head, his eyes calmly subdued.

“I confirmed my answer in advance and paid the price. There isn’t much time left. So… I’m going to do what needs to be done before then.”