Chapter 462: Where Promises Intersect (3)

I had anticipated unforeseen variables arising from working with Pandemonium in this situation.

But I never imagined problems and variables would keep erupting until the very last moment.

If Lennok hadn’t somehow taken over the Clown’s task and shoved Kebaek beyond the Well, everyone would have been swept away by the furious serpent’s magic, and no one would have been safe.

No, even at this moment, Lennok was still wondering why Pyeonram’s movements couldn’t be felt.

‘Pyeonram, having regained her memories, was more moderate than I expected. It was nothing short of a gamble to proceed after confirming that… but things went too smoothly.’

Although she had just woken up and was engulfed in inexplicable rage, Pyeonram began to try and persuade Lennok once she started regaining her memories.

That she could make such a choice in a situation where the Well had opened and Kebaek had invaded the jungle itself was proof that she wasn’t inherently volatile.

Lennok had gambled on that fact when he forcefully proceeded with the plan, but he never dreamed that the Clown and Reiya would also survive.

No matter how rational an Ascendant Pyeonram was, it was hard to logically accept.

Naturally, his thoughts turned not to Lennok or Pyeonram, but to other external factors.

The existence of an unknown helper who made the Clown hesitate to execute his plan until the very end.

There was a high probability that this variable was connected to the unusually quiet jungle landscape.

The Clown, who had been listening to Lennok with his cartilaginous body wriggling, chuckled slyly.

“…Khehehet, you remembered that? This is why I can’t speak carelessly in front of smart friends.”

“…”

“Well, it’s nothing special. When preparing an operation of this scale, it’s natural to prepare for various variables. Considering uncertain variables during personnel recruitment before starting the operation…”

“Cut the unnecessary talk.”

If he listened to the Clown’s nonsense any longer, he wouldn’t be able to grasp the situation or do anything at all.

Feeling Davi shriek and wrap his tiny claws in a small plastic bag, tucking them to the other side of the robe, Lennok asked.

“Where is Pyeonram? I thought it would be difficult to handle the aftermath once Kebaek burst out of the Well, but surprisingly, nothing happened.”

When Lennok forcefully took over the plan and pulled Kebaek into the Well, he had no intention of recklessly throwing away his life.

Immediately after shoving Kebaek into the Well, he planned to evade Pyeonram’s full power attack, which she would unleash after fully recalling her magic, using Enakphil’s five fingers.

Then, he would snatch one of the elephants he had captured in advance and escape directly out of the city.

Once he put some distance from the Well, Pyeonram wouldn’t be able to pursue Lennok to stop Kebaek, no matter what.

Contrary to what might have seemed reckless, Lennok thought there was a high possibility he would survive the Ascendant’s jungle, precisely because of Kebaek’s presence.

However, all those plans became useless the moment Lennok’s consciousness simultaneously Translocated outside the Outer Sea.

Considering Pyeonram’s nature, he had prepared himself for significant injury or loss, even if not death, but she had woken up surprisingly unharmed, hadn’t she?

At Lennok’s rather obvious question, Reiya glanced at the Clown and smiled awkwardly.

“Hmm, well… hey, you bastard, why am I explaining this?”

“…I don’t know anything, yayiou.”

“Don’t know what…!!”

With an indecipherable onomatopoeia, Reiya ruthlessly stomped on the Clown’s broken thigh with her high heel as he averted his gaze.

CRUNCH!!

“Fuck, you knew all along and didn’t say anything!!”

“Guek, guek.”

“I risked my life unintentionally, do you really want to die, you bastard!! Why did we start the operation early when you knew support was coming in the first place!!”

“…Support really came?”

Given the tranquil jungle landscape, it was puzzling but not incomprehensible.

Once Kebaek was shot out of the Outer Sea, no one could stop Pyeonram.

Lennok would have lost consciousness the moment he escaped using Enakphil’s five fingers, the Clown was already a mess, and Reiya had almost no combat ability.

The 6th Apostle, who had been in close combat with Pyeonram, would have turned to ash before the Ascendant who had regained her magic.

At this point, unless there was intervention from a third party, there was no way the enraged Pyeonram would have been calmed down and sent back beyond the Well.

However, Lennok wondered who exactly provided the support that calmed the Ascendant and sent her away so smoothly, causing Reiya and the Clown to react this way.

Before he could ask, the Clown chuckled darkly.

“Uhuhuhu… Reiya, if I told you, people like you wouldn’t do your best.”

But his tone was completely different from his earlier cheerfulness, heavy and subdued.

“You and that friend could run yourselves ragged because you thought we were the only ones assigned to the plan. Isn’t that right?”

“…What did you say?”

Even at Freya’s chillingly subdued words, the Clown didn’t flinch.

Instead, his eyes glinted wildly through his ruined, collapsed facial structure.

“For a donkey who only thinks of loafing around instead of doing his job, a whip is more necessary than a carrot.”

“…”

“I was fortunate in many ways. I was given a hint, but I never dreamed it would actually happen. Put your hand on your heart and think. Even if I had told you honestly, would you have believed me?”

To the silent Reiya, the Clown continued to sneer relentlessly.

“Or, for someone who’s constantly borrowed my illusions to deceive people, do you have anything to say- “

CRUNCH!!

At that moment, a shock erupted that shook the entire jungle ground where the three lay sprawled.

The Clown and Reiya’s bodies floated slightly from their spots before falling back down.

“Kyaaak!!”

“Kkaegeck!!”

Reiya teared up, clutching her waist, and the Clown’s body splattered into a bloody mess.

He looked like he could die any moment, barely clinging to life. No, it was actually miraculous that he was still alive and babbling.

But Lennok’s attention was entirely focused not on the dying Clown, but on the massive shock that had just rattled the ground.

It wasn’t merely the aftermath of physical destruction; it was a tremor imbued with clear intent. He understood the nature of this déjà vu.

Why hadn’t he noticed until now?

The reason he hadn’t realized it until this moment, despite thinking he had never forgotten this presence.

It was because the monster, vividly etched in Lennok’s memory, was stretching its presence throughout the entire jungle.

It was perhaps natural that Lennok, having come to his senses within the trees, hadn’t been able to see the forest for a while.

But realizing it only now was a greater shock to Lennok than anything else, and at the same time, it was the key that made him understand the entire situation.

Without such a presence, without that level of support, he wouldn’t have believed that this matter had been resolved and settled so quietly.

THUD!!

At that moment, the jungle landscape surrounding the three shook violently.

The ground all around them began to collapse and invert.

KWA-KWAAAAAANG!!!

It was a shock that seemed to split half of this massive jungle and overturn its entire foundation. The scene visible through Lennok’s mask was no different.

Beyond the barren ruins, hundreds of trees and bushes simultaneously moved as if sprinting across the ground, filling the empty space,

While broken roots and piles of rocks undulated like waves amidst the colossal tremor, disappearing between the fissures in the ground.

A roar loud enough to burst eardrums continued endlessly, then abruptly cut off as if a lie.

SNAP!!

With a chilling sound like ligaments tearing, the tree the Clown was leaning against broke like a flimsy straw.

As the air around them echoed with a heavy, oppressive weight, something slowly emerged from beyond.

Beyond the pre-dawn forest mist.

But its long, protruding snout and dark scales were strikingly clear even through the fog.

As a brilliant yellow light flashed, a massive body naturally emerged, parting the mist.

A muscular form that seemed to have gathered and molded all concepts of power existing in the mortal realm.

An overwhelming physique and oppressive presence that never became familiar no matter how many times he saw it. And finally, a tail as rigid as rebar, whipping out of the mist.

Lennok, staring blankly up at its profile, muttered, forgetting he was wearing a mask.

“Croken Asylus…”

Lennok finally understood why the Clown and Reiya had acted that way when mentioning support.

The final reinforcement of Pandemonium, and the one who single-handedly flipped half of this jungle upside down.

The man who finally confronted Ascendant Pyeonram and concluded the matter was someone among the major figures Lennok knew who he thought would never participate in such an event.

THUD!!

Croken didn’t even turn to look at Lennok’s murmur.

He simply walked past the Clown without a care, grabbing the Clown’s mangled body by the scruff of his neck with his tail and swinging him.

WHOOSH!!

The Clown’s ruined body, launched like an arrow, slammed directly into the base of a tree on the opposite side.

“Kehek…!!”

Seeing the Clown faintly trembling and letting out a groan-like scream, Croken finally stopped and lowered his gaze.

His bright yellow pupils glowed chillingly as he looked down at the Clown’s pulped body.

“It was a wasted trip.”

“Khak… ahahak…!!”

Perhaps unable to endure the oppressive aura emanating from Croken, the Clown’s body shivered.

It was absurd to even withstand Croken’s presence in his near-death condition.

But Croken seemed utterly uninterested in such circumstances.

“The serpent has returned to its nest, handle the rest yourselves.”

“Haaak…!! A-Alright, just get this off…!!”

“Tell the Director it was a failure.”

“F-Failure, sir…?”

Even as he was suffocating to death, the Clown jerked his head up, but Croken didn’t reply further.

THUD!!

He simply turned around and walked out of the jungle without hesitation.

“Th-There…!”

Reiya opened her mouth, her face pale, but received no answer.

Instead, Croken, as he was about to pass the slumped Lennok at the edge of the clearing, paused.

At his unusual reaction, the Clown and Reiya simultaneously held their breath.

“…”

Croken, turning his gaze for the first time, quietly looked down at Lennok, who wore his mask.

Lennok also met his gaze, staring back calmly.

After a moment, Croken’s lips twitched slightly upwards as he averted his gaze from Lennok.

Contrary to his seemingly amused expression, Croken merely muttered dryly as he passed Lennok.

“Crawling on all fours isn’t very amusing.”

“…”

“See you next time.”

The moment he seemed to step into the mist, Croken’s massive form had vanished without a trace.

The oppressive presence that had just weighed down the entire area felt like a mere hallucination.

“Gegeck.”

Only then did the Clown let out a strange groan and exhale a long breath he had been holding.

“Whew… I really thought I was going to die. That man probably doesn’t even care how the plan proceeds.”

“Oh, so that’s why you didn’t say anything until the end, huh?”

Reiya, who had belatedly come to her senses, resumed their argument, her voice sharp.

“No, there’s no need to mention support from someone who might or might not come, and who might or might not be on our side!! Do I have to explain everything for you to understand?”

“Ooooh~ So that’s why your anger seemed so well-controlled in front of him, huh? What, a mad illusionist suffering from mania?”

Reiya’s face broke into a triumphant sneer.

“To me, it looked like excellent rage control, not rage dysregulation, huh? Huh?”

“No, that’s…”

“If you can’t control it, you’ll have to keep calling Asylus~ Don’t make any more bullshit excuses and go see your attending physician regularly from now on, don’t fuss about tearing your heart out or whatever the hell!!”

“This fucking… that’s not it…”

The Clown also seemed to want to protest, feeling wronged, but he had been so overwhelmed by Croken that he had nothing to say.

Reiya looked delighted, mocking the Clown, who was trembling, his body a rare bloody mess.

She incessantly ridiculed the Clown with cheerful shouts, as if she hadn’t just been overwhelmed by Croken moments ago.

Lennok, slumped in the distance, watched her scolding the Clown with a curious expression.

‘I’ve thought this before, but she has a peculiar personality.’

The Clown wasn’t just pretending to be crazy; he was, by all accounts, completely insane.

No sane person would tie their abilities and Hierarchy to the luck of a dice and use them.

While he did control the madness that came to illusionists in his own way, that was merely a part of maintaining rational thought.

It couldn’t be normal to casually offer human hearts as sacrifices and play with people like toys.

Reiya must know this, yet she provokes him without hesitation, not even considering the danger to her own life.

Or perhaps, because Reiya doesn’t find the Clown difficult, they somehow manage to get along well.

“You two seem to get along well.”

“What?”

“Victor, I should be saying that, actually.”

At Lennok’s murmur, Reiya shot back with an annoyed expression, and the Clown slightly averted his gaze.

The Clown’s eyes, chuckling, had once again become sharp.

“I’ve never seen Croken show such interest in someone he’s just met. You truly are… a man of many secrets.”