Chapter 424: New Magic System (4)

“Ugh…”

I clutched my splitting head and rose to my feet.

The salty sea air filling my nostrils only worsened my headache.

“Ugh…!!”

As soon as I stood, my stomach churned, and I vomited.

The remnants disappeared, washed away by the seawater through the cracks in the naval base floor.

A futile thought that I had inadvertently contributed to environmental pollution made me chuckle.

‘Always like this.’

It’s good to force my condition to optimal levels for combat, but the price for Lennok is equally harsh. My entire body throbbed and ached as if it would burst, and broken bones and joints from the fight with Madrich Onnion left a mess of bruises on my skin.

I moved my stiff, purplish fingers to pull out an analgesic ampoule. I injected another one into my shoulder, where needle marks were evident, and waited. Only then did the medication take effect, allowing me to move.

I rummaged through the treatment kit, took out ointment effective for bruises and swelling, applied it, then swallowed two antibiotics and took a deep breath.

‘It’s been a long time since I finished the medicine I got from Yakson. I need to find stronger remedies or elixirs…’

Though it effectively improved mana addiction, it didn’t fundamentally solve the problem of needing to rely on medicine to return to combat-ready condition. How far had he come without finding a way to resolve his lifespan, which might be running out?

To even glimpse a fragment of that method, I sought out Jindun’s Hanghasa Labyrinth, but even after realizing the world’s secrets and obtaining barrier magic, the penalty remained.

‘I’m checking all the rewards from real-time requests through Jenny, along with artifacts and elixirs. If I still can’t find a way… Is it truly a pandemonium in the end?’

Lennok, who had been catching his breath leaning near the ruins of the collapsed naval base, struggled to his feet.

Just before losing consciousness, I contacted Olivera Ron Maize and left behind Ice Jade, the ultimate technique of the Domain I had personally sealed. I had severed Madrich Onnion’s Mind Imprint to a degree beyond recovery, so passing those remnants to her shouldn’t be difficult.

It was unavoidable, as I had agreed to her cooperation in opening my right Mystic Eye in return… but I had to personally confirm how the situation concluded.

If Olivera Ron Maize had conspired with Madrich Onnion behind Lennok’s back, then Lennok would have to bear the consequences himself.

Swoooooosh!!

The coastline near the naval base, where the seawater surged in.

Lennok, who had been laboriously scanning his surroundings while leaning against a rock on the nearby sandy beach, soon found the person he was looking for.

Olivera Ron Maize stood on the calm water as if a ghost, her back to him, gazing at the distant horizon.

Lennok stared intently at her transcendent form, walking on water without using any magic.

[You look awful.]

Her voice was calm. Olivera Ron Maize spoke without even turning her head.

Though he appeared utterly battered, for now, it could be attributed to the injuries sustained from the battle with Madrich Onnion.

Lennok ignored her comment and asked,

“Madrich Onnion?”

The condition for the deal, offered in exchange for revealing The Seven Debts Jewels Mystic Eye, was to subdue Madrich Onnion and deliver a portion of the Military Spirit he possessed into Olivera Ron Maize’s hands.

It’s not easy to care about an opponent’s life or death in a battle where lives are on the line. Moreover, Madrich Onnion was originally one of the impossibly powerful individuals for the current Lennok to contend with.

Although he had been injured after a long war and secluded himself for decades, the combat power Lennok experienced firsthand was on a level that couldn’t simply be explained away with such excuses.

Olivera Ron Maize lightly flicked her veil.

[He’s over there. He’s waiting for you.]

“…Waiting? What about the Prohibition Edict?”

Now that Madrich Onnion’s power had been completely stripped from its source, hadn’t it been said that Lennok could speak directly to him without interference from the Prohibition Edict that bound him?

[Madrich Onnion himself refused.]

She answered with her hands behind her back.

An unmistakable weariness was mixed in her voice.

“…”

[I only held him because there was something I wanted to confirm at the end. We weren’t meant for a beautiful conclusion.]

When she turned, a thick veil was now firmly draped over her face.

[Since you kept your promise, I will now take responsibility for the repercussions of all this.]

Madrich Onnion was not simply a powerful Military Spirit Sorcerer. He was once the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in a mega-city, a head of a judicial institution, and a significant figure who wielded immense influence everywhere as an executive of Achilles security company.

If one had directly killed such a formidable figure, it was natural to worry about retaliation or future repercussions from those who knew him.

Olivera Ron Maize had stepped forward, agreeing to personally bear the responsibility and repercussions in exchange for recovering Madrich Onnion’s Military Spirit at the end.

[It’s not difficult. Attributing justification and reasons is always the responsibility of the one who bears the burden.]

Olivera Ron Maize murmured with a hint of a smile as she passed Lennok.

[You captured Madrich Onnion at my request, and his death was entirely my will and decision. Do you understand?]

It was impossible to conceal the fact that Lennok had fought and defeated Madrich Onnion. So, she intended to take sole responsibility and redirect the animosity towards the Cartel?

Lennok, who had been leaning against the rock with his head bowed, let out a short laugh.

“I feel sorry for Virgil. Should I send him a blood pack as a gift later?”

Even if Olivera Ron Maize herself claimed responsibility, the troublesome practical work would fall to Virgil O’Reiden, who assisted her.

It would be interesting to see how high that resourceful vampire’s blood pressure would rise, but a vampire’s lifespan, longer than a human’s, shortening wasn’t a good sign either.

At Lennok’s playful retort, Olivera Ron Maize let out a faint smile.

[You’re unusually generous. But such worries are a luxury for O’Reiden.]

“Why?”

[Because he must already feel that his time is drawing near.]

“…”

Olivera Ron Maize turned her back on the silent Lennok.

Behind the coastline, past the collapsed naval base, stretched an endless sandy beach. Even the scenery of the towering skyscrapers clinging to the faint edge of that horizon.

Even from this far-off southernmost tip of the continent, the cityscape of the mega-city remained, holding its ground. How many had struggled, shedding blood and lives, to seize hegemony and order in that city? That unyielding landscape plainly showed it.

[Before long, everything that makes up that city will be reorganized once again.]

Her robe fluttered as she swayed her shoulders, arms crossed.

At the same time, her very form began to slowly fade from her spot.

[Everyone will want to leave a mark before the end draws near. Efforts not to fade into an echo will bear fruit in one way or another.]

Swoooooosh!!

As her voice faded, the sound of the waves grew louder.

[Until then, I too must do what I can.]

“…”

At her strangely suggestive words, Lennok asked no more questions and walked on.

A small sandy beach located at the very edge of the coast.

Between the horizon where dawn was just breaking, the back of a young man, facing away from the sea, came into view.

A precarious figure, as if he might vanish beyond that horizon at any moment. Even after living for over a century, was his heart still that of a young man?

Lennok, watching Madrich Onnion’s back, struggled to sit down on the beach.

“If you go to the shaman who operates in District 21, you should be able to get proper treatment.”

It was the Military Spirit Sorcerer who spoke first.

Madrich Onnion slightly turned his head, letting out a small laugh, and said, “Spiritual techniques always leave after-effects, no matter how well you recover… Keep that in mind if you don’t want to go insane later.”

“Why did you refuse the deal?”

Lennok asked instead of answering.

“Weren’t you still dreaming because you, too, were so obsessed with life?”

“It seems you still don’t know what that woman is researching.”

“…”

Madrich Onnion shook his head, looking at the silent Lennok.

“It’s better not to know… Just know that the reason she abandoned even the project she staked the city’s fate on lies in that research. And that I have no intention of prolonging my life in such a manner.”

Did that mean Olivera Ron Maize wasn’t someone who could always be an ally? Lennok thought he knew she was dangerous, but what Madrich Onnion mumbled had a subtly different nuance.

“Such things were frequent during the long war. Now, it’s merely my turn.”

Madrich Onnion looked at Lennok, then turned his gaze back to the sea.

“The dream I pursued wasn’t mine alone, and even if I fail here, someone will still believe this to be the right answer. Therefore, I have no intention of using my life as a price to unravel the secrets bound by the Prohibition Edict.”

It was ironic. With his passion, having led new projects at Achilles even after stepping down as Chief Justice, Lennok had thought he would surely accept the terms of the deal.

Given Madrich Onnion’s power and influence, wouldn’t he somehow find an opportunity for a better situation if he just stayed alive? Lennok had thought he would accept this deal, aiming for that very outcome, but Madrich Onnion was accepting his own end far too meekly.

“Your arrogance, trying to surpass the hope we once shared alone, enrages me… Nevertheless, I want to ask.”

Madrich Onnion asked,

“Why did you harbor such a Mind Imprint?”

“…”

“Why did you choose such an answer? I cannot understand it. I’ve watched countless geniuses and monsters present their own solutions, but what you desire is not a complete answer.”

Madrich Onnion spoke again, his expression unreadable.

“It’s more like a question that chases its own tail, returning to the beginning. In this world, where both sides of cause and effect are sealed, do you truly believe that can be the answer?”

Both Lennok and Madrich Onnion knew. The landscape of the Domain slumbering within a wizard’s mind was a miracle that could not exist unless Lennok himself had, to some extent, envisioned the form of an answer.

Regardless of Lennok himself still searching for an answer, he knew that its form was faintly taking shape within his mind.

The 8-level Military Spirit Sorcerer had seen that landscape directly, understood what it meant, yet paradoxically, he did not understand.

It must have been because he couldn’t tell if what Lennok’s chosen landscape signified was truly possible in this world. Lennok, too, knew this better than anyone.

His mouth opened naturally before he even realized it.

“…Well. I don’t necessarily calculate or think it through before deciding something like that.”

From the moment he awakened his Domain and fully perceived its potential, Lennok had never imagined showing it to anyone else.

He would only unleash this Domain at a moment of certain victory, or when cornered to the point of no tomorrow.

Because if others perceived the existence of the Mind Imprint within him, no one would be able to treat him as a fellow human.

But the Military Spirit Sorcerer before him, wavering as if he might disappear at any moment, was for a brief time a being free from all such calculations and wariness.

Perhaps that’s why he was able to speak the words he had kept deep in his heart.

“I merely follow what my heart tells me.”

“…Is that so.”

Madrich Onnion smiled.

“How ironic. Even a wizard as complete as you, in the end, becomes more honest with his own desires than with calculations.”

“…”

He wasn’t wrong.

The various desires swirling within Lennok’s heart. Breaking free from this tiresome cycle, advancing to the next stage of the world, becoming a great wizard and gazing upon its end.

Unraveling the secrets of all these matters and revealing the truth.

He believed the sole possibility to satisfy all those desires lay here.

No further questions or answers were needed.

Madrich Onnion, who had been deep in thought with his eyes closed, spoke.

“Even before the project failed, Alkaid was always being chased by something.”

“…What?”

“He seemed wary of someone unseen, and fearful. As if there were beings who thought just like him…”

Silence fell.

At that moment, when even Lennok failed to perceive the pause and listened blankly to his words.

Madrich Onnion opened his eyes and said,

“Alkaid is not the name of a single person.”