Chapter 425: New Magic System (5)

A confession that came out at a completely unexpected moment.

At Madrich’s remark, unhesitatingly mentioning that name in this very place, Lennok momentarily flinched.

“……!!”

“At least two. There are those who call themselves that. Seekers who possess wisdom comparable to Ascendants, constantly attentive to this world, wandering in search of the path to the next—”

Pzzzzzt…!!!

At that moment, intense static covering Madrich’s body swiftly enveloped and began to consume his throat.

A cascade of static, as if to forbid any further utterance.

A bitter smile appeared on his lips as he looked down at his own body with a slightly surprised expression.

“Indeed, I expected this. If the prohibition was a knot tied by its own power, the project’s secret would have already been conveyed to the central front long ago.”

“Madrich…”

“Using Military Spirit to share the penalty was apparently the only amusement allowed to me. I held out for a long time.”

Zzzzzzt!!!

The static covering his throat swiftly consumed and obliterated his limbs.

It swallowed his entire body below the neck, instantly covering Madrich’s face.

Madrich, looking down at his disappearing body, said nothing more and turned his gaze towards the sea.

“Once, I believed a new world existed beyond that sea.”

“……”

“Perhaps, that time I aimlessly wandered in search of the world’s end… might have been the answer I most longed for…”

Whoosh!!

He vanished into a handful of foam.

Along with the collapsed form of the Military Spirit Sorcerer, his presence was nowhere to be found.

Lennok stared blankly at the sight, then laboriously stood up.

Had he been waiting for him, knowing that bypassing the prohibition in this manner was futile, simply to ask and convey a single answer?

From where in his life had that transcendent will and conviction accumulated and been perfected?

Yet Lennok himself, whom Madrich admired, was still ceaselessly wavering and agonizing.

“Still…”

Powerless.

The secret of Alkaid, the project’s failure. The destruction of the central city.

His understanding and realization continued to grow, yet there were still so many areas beyond Lennok’s reach.

Where was the standard for the answer to the next step being complete?

It was something that only he, having taken another step forward, must acknowledge and accept, not anyone else.

He still didn’t know if he was ready.

Just trust himself and take a step forward.

Even the courage to face that outcome was part of the answer.

Madrich Onnion, despite being defeated by a fresh young wizard and having everything he believed in denied, had not forgotten his initial resolve.

Even if his power ran out here, was he entrusting the next step, believing someone would carry on that answer?

It was different from what Lennok had thought, but precisely because of that, he could understand and accept Madrich’s feelings.

“……”

He faced the horizon that Madrich had gazed at until his disappearance.

Recalling the end of the dream Madrich envisioned, Lennok slowly raised his hand.

As mana circulated, the seven Hierarchies rooted within him shook violently and churned.

Crackle!!!!

Struggling to advance further.

The moment his mental horizon widened, his capabilities increased one by one, and unwanted truths unfolded before his eyes.

He had known from the beginning how far he could reach.

At that moment, a brilliant blue light began to spread like a tsunami through the sandy beach as dawn broke.

It was a full half-day later that the dazzling blue light, so bright it was observed and recorded as an anomaly even in Vulcan, finally disappeared.

Creak, creak.

The sound of an old grandfather clock’s second hand moving.

Even that faint noise echoed like thunder in this quiet space.

A blackout space where no light was permitted, save for a faint ray of sunlight filtering through a window crack, despite it being midday.

A quiet cough echoed within.

“Onnion is gone.”

“He was a passionate man.”

Scattered, hushed voices barely formed a conversation.

“Thinking back, entrusting the judiciary to him was a wise decision.”

“Even if you pat yourself on the back, the fact that HR is a mess doesn’t change.”

“That’s a place that’s been out of my hands for well over 10 years.”

The voice, after a pause, held a faint sneer.

“Isn’t it common for fools to fumble and strike The Cradle?”

“Just the fact that it hasn’t fallen apart since the project’s failure is reason enough for respect. Shall we raise a toast to him after all this time?”

“Ugh, stop with the pointless talk and get to the point. The stench of decay is stinging my nose. It’s hard to stay here long.”

“I believe your great-grandson had a son more than 10 years ago, what are you…?”

Though he spoke casually, the mana pervading the quiet chamber was exquisitely pure.

An absolute sanctuary that permitted no impurities or disturbances whatsoever.

The barriers and security magic alone, which concealed and protected this gathering place, were enough to cover a medium-sized city and more.

The Upper House of the Central Council, which handled all administrative affairs of the mega-city.

And among them, old fiends who had held their council seats for decades and reigned at the center of power had gathered together, prompted by the death of Madrich Onnion.

“Cough…!! The air in this meeting room is quite stuffy after so long.”

“Should we neglect cleaning just because old folks don’t frequent it?”

They spoke in jest, but the person responsible for managing this conference room would never again set foot in the city after today.

The way the Senators had handled matters for decades was utterly ruthless, and their attendants understood this profoundly.

“That wizard Onnion faced, was his name Adamant Thunder? Send me his profile, please.”

“Oh, so now you’re interested in how the lower echelons are running things?”

“He’s gotten old, but he used to work with us.”

The voice, rustling papers, replied.

“If he stepped over that person, it means he could also replace them. We’ve always done it that way, haven’t we?”

“I understand there’s a council member in the Lower House who’s in close contact with that Adamant Thunder kid. I believe they’re from the Audit Office.”

“That’ll make it easier to talk. Call them separately later.”

The head of the judiciary, an 8-level Military Spirit Sorcerer who had served as Chief Justice.

He was undoubtedly a great superhuman and an admirable figure, but once, they too were designers who discussed the future with him on equal terms.

Acknowledging and filling the empty space left by a death, rather than dwelling on the death itself, was an old habit of these elders.

While the council members muttered and chattered amongst themselves, the elderly man in the innermost corner, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“Contact was made through an old acquaintance once Onnion’s death was confirmed.”

“What, were we really gathered to talk about work?”

“Aren’t we all like kites with broken strings now? We didn’t even intervene when the Prohibition Edict was lifted, so now you want to pretend to work?”

From the moment the city began to swell on its own, even without their direct intervention, the responsibility of leading the city had long turned into fatigue and burden.

In this era, where war had ended and only a state of tension persisted, no one had time to waste on useless honor.

For those who had lived for goals and missions greater than themselves, all that remained now were idle regrets and boredom.

Time flows, and everything changes.

Once, they might have dedicated themselves to positively guiding that change, but even that dedication had long since devolved into an apathy bordering on corruption.

“So, with whom did you make contact to be so agitated?”

“Kebaek [계백].”

Silence fell.

Not because they failed to understand the answer, but precisely because they understood it too well.

“……I didn’t know that monster still had intelligence. Can shouting at a natural disaster even be considered communication?”

“Watch your words. Calling a Transcendent who challenged Ascension a monster…”

9-level Ascendant, Kebaek [계백].

Even at the Senator’s words that direct contact had been made with an Ascendant, no one welcomed the news.

Not all Ascendants challenged Ascension with superior intellect and perfect ideals.

Just as qualification isn’t always granted only to suitable vessels and talents.

There also existed those who, overwhelmed by uncontrollable power and authority, transcended Hierarchy as if hounded by the annihilation of their existence.

And among them, the Ascendant known as Kebaek was undeniably almost the worst failure to be recorded in the continent’s history.

A natural disaster that, having lost even the human intellect and body it was born with, scattered only its transcendent power across the entire continent.

Hadn’t the Senators themselves known how futilely all attempts to give meaning to this lost transcendent power had dissolved into nothing?

“It’s a monster that devours civilizations. It operates in a realm entirely opposite to ours.”

“That it contacted us is laughable. I never dreamed it would hide a cellphone in that pitch-black swamp.”

Even as mocking voices came from all directions, the one who first introduced the topic didn’t flinch.

“You know Onnion was directly receiving orders from the Elder Council, don’t you?”

“……”

“It seems someone from the Elder Council moved Kebaek. They directly announced matters related to him. It’s not something to just laugh off.”

The mocking voices ceased at once.

Elder Council.

A select few founders who had been involved since the city’s inception, beyond the council’s Hierarchy.

Although they had all retired and secluded themselves, their names and influence were not gone.

Especially considering that even those who held key positions among the Senators could not directly contact the Elder Council.

“Even the Elder Council can move an Ascendant… I heard it from your own mouth, but I can’t quite believe it.”

“If Kebaek really has started to move, it’s not something we can just ignore. But why now?”

If Onnion had been acting under the Elder Council’s directives, and things became difficult with his death, it was only natural for the Elder Council to be displeased.

Yet, no one could understand why this series of events culminated in moving a mad Ascendant.

“It seems they believe that to continue the purpose of the project he was working on, such a significant figure needs to be moved… I don’t know the full details either.”

“Ugh… So, which city is that monster heading to?”

It was a rather unsatisfactory answer, but that wasn’t the important part.

If Kebaek was advancing towards another city at the Elder Council’s summons, shouldn’t the current administration’s direction be drastically altered to match?

Being manipulated by those no longer in public office was unwelcome, but everyone knew that uncontrollable, massive chaos easily led to war.

But the voice that first uttered Kebaek’s name denied all those possibilities.

“Not a city. They say it’s heading to the Well of the Compendium [편람의 우물].”

“……!!!”

The Senators, realizing the meaning, stood up abruptly in shock for the first time.

The name of a location that even the old fiends, who hadn’t been greatly swayed by the mention of an Ascendant, couldn’t help but be dismayed by.

Because the Well of the Compendium was also a type of ideological battlefield where another Ascendant resided.

“Not everyone desires a happy ideal and continued existence. Some might simply want to see the world collapse.”

The voice muttered in a mournful tone.

“It seems the Elder Council wants to see a war of Ascendants before the end approaches.”