Chapter 475: Observer of the World (2)
As the man bent down, an armchair appeared from thin air, supporting his body.
In front of the man, who sat naturally with his legs crossed, the boy slowly opened his mouth.
“I’d like to know for sure if the 6th Apostle is truly dead.”
“Yes. They were annihilated recently.”
“I see…”
The boy assented with a stiff tone.
The man looked at the boy and asked,
“Only a very few people, including the High Priestess, know about this within the cult. How did you find out?”
“……”
“Oh, and don’t you dare spew nonsense about close bonds or whatever among the Apostles. You know better than anyone that we don’t have such a thing, right?”
Though bound by the single doctrine of the Guido Cult, the solidarity or intimacy among the Apostles, referred to as ultimate combat forces, was in reality almost at its worst.
Originally, each Apostle was an avatar serving a different god from the Outer Sea.
It was no different from gathering followers who served different gods under a single cult.
They merely maintained the organizational form through their loyalty to the Pontiff, the cult’s master and propagator of its doctrine.
Without a strong central figure, many would not only fail to unite but would also want to fight among themselves to prove their superiority.
Despite the man’s sharp remark, the boy responded calmly.
“I saw it from the outside.”
“…You saw it?”
At the delayed question, the boy slowly closed his eyes.
“Very occasionally, when I regain consciousness, I recall what I was seeing.”
“……”
“I’m wandering in an endlessly stretching sea. A dark sea, so vast and enormous that nothing reflects in it… Every moment is unbearably painful, but there are fleeting instances when I feel uncontrollably at ease and joyful.”
The boy spoke quietly.
“I wander forever, chasing that single moment. Forever…”
“Phew…”
The man, with a tired expression, ran a hand through his hair and slowly took off his glasses.
The moment the thick lenses completely left his sight, the direction he was looking in began to split apart as if the space itself was fracturing.
Crack, crack, crack…!!
The boy’s body, where his gaze landed, shattered like glass, breaking apart, organs and all.
Facing the boy who didn’t even let out a groan despite the pain being more than a human could bear, the man said,
“Hughs… Do you think I don’t know what kind of beings the gods of the Outer Sea are, that I’m asking you this?”
“……”
“Let’s not waste time. What do you want to say?”
It wasn’t uncommon for an Apostle at the peak of madness to glimpse the memories of an outer god.
What the man wanted to know wasn’t how much the boy had seen of the outer god’s memories.
He wanted to know why this unprecedented genius, who had regained consciousness after decades, had called for him.
Even now, the cult branches across the continent were overflowing with believers who needed his help.
The Pontiff, who should be leading all this chaos and guiding the believers to paradise, was in a situation that could not be called sane by any stretch of the imagination.
He had too many things to do besides dealing with a completely mad Apostle.
The boy said,
“Just before the 6th Apostle died, while they were talking with a wizard named Victor, there was a reaction from that person.”
“…A reaction?”
“It was an intense inspiration, strong enough to pull my consciousness, which was swimming in the sea, back into place. You would do well to investigate that person.”
“……”
At the utterly unexpected words, the 2nd Apostle fell into thought with a cold expression.
The single being they all served. Was it mere coincidence that that person’s reaction appeared at that exact moment, and another Apostle observed it?
The man remained silent for a long time, then slowly nodded.
“…Alright. It’s far more unusual than I expected. Is there anything you want?”
The boy, as the 2nd Apostle remembered him, was a very peculiar individual even among the Apostles within the cult.
Even when sane, he possessed a complex disposition, not easily moved by a single reason.
It was valuable information, but it was unlikely he would have shaken off his madness and stood up just for this.
The boy also responded in a quiet tone.
“I want the same end as the 6th Apostle. Can you prepare a suitable stage for me?”
“…What?”
“The 6th Apostle, who had known that person for the longest time, was annihilated. That surely means that person had a direct will in it.”
“……”
“If that person has decided to vacate the seat of a used-up Apostle, then I wish to be next.”
The boy’s closed eyelids trembled slightly.
“Honestly, right now… Even having this conversation isn’t easy. I don’t even know if I’m speaking properly.”
“You’re taking a long way to say you want to commit suicide.”
The man let out a cold sigh.
“Understand that the 6th Apostle’s case was a very unique situation, and there was also a strong will from the High Priestess.”
“……”
When does an Apostle die and vanish? Where does the power of the outer god bestowed upon them go after their death?
How is the qualification to inherit the vacant seat regenerated?
The answers to all these questions, ironically, were not with the Apostle themselves, but with the Pontiff and the High Priestess.
“You, who have isolated yourself within the cult, are different from him. He was someone who deserved a peaceful death.”
“I see… I understand.”
The boy assented readily.
The man looked down at the boy, then stood up, letting out a small laugh.
“Still, I understand your intentions well. I’ll convey to that person what you desire.”
“……”
“It seems a suitable position might open up given the current situation.”
“Where?”
“The mega-city of Vulcan.”
The 2nd Apostle, adjusting his glasses, had an infinitely cold gaze.
“The northeast branch manager was also dispatched there and martyred. I need to find out what’s happening in Vulcan.”
Click, click.
Rebatenon university. Aris Richellen’s laboratory.
In the quiet laboratory room, only the clicking sound of a cyber-spirit typing on a keyboard echoed.
Davi, perched on the laptop and typing away without rest, complained.
[Master, is what you’re writing now correct?]
“What do you mean?”
[Even I can’t understand what it’s about as I transcribe it.]
Davi said that and hopped onto Lennok’s head, who was reading a book.
[If it’s this hard for me, then other dull organic beings won’t understand it at all!]
“I deliberately phrased it to be obscure. It’s actually good that you don’t understand it well.”
[What does that mean?]
Lennok put down the book and replied.
“Doesn’t it mean that the words are so twisted that even a cyber-spirit’s logic circuit can’t properly interpret them?”
At that, Davi bit Lennok’s hair and tugged hard.
[I don’t have a logic circuit. I only have superior intelligence that transcends organic beings!]
“…You’re joking, right?”
Sometimes, Lennok genuinely worried that if he disappeared and Davi was left alone in this world, a dystopia worse than the present would unfold.
Davi grumbled and nodded.
[Enjoying black humor is a characteristic of higher intelligences. Master, you need to hone your sense of humor more!]
“That’s not black humor, it’s just black.”
Lennok chuckled and shook his head.
“Anyway, I’ve properly written about the practicality of the entropy energy theory, so it’s fine. This part is strictly for the appendix.”
[It’s a bad habit of humans to focus on dessert without even writing the main course.]
Lennok grabbed Davi’s cheeks and stretched them playfully, then replied,
“I’ve had the theories and content for the main body decided for a long time, so I’m just focusing on the original intention of this paper.”
[Original intention?]
“A message.”
Lennok said,
“For the people who, after reading this paper from beginning to end, will understand why I wrote it.”
The words were grand, but with some time left until the expo, it was merely an idle plan.
Lennok put down the book, stood from his chair, and stretched.
“The dean asked to see me briefly before the expo. I should go now. I vaguely heard that candidate evaluations are needed even within the university…”
[It seems there were complaints from children of noble families that proper procedures must be followed since you’re representing Rebatenon university.]
“How do you know that?”
Davi tilted her head, as if Lennok’s question was strange.
[Well… I hacked it?]
“……”
While Lennok trusted Davi, he couldn’t deny that sometimes he felt this audacious cyber-spirit needed rules befitting her abilities.
As he pondered whether to teach Davi a “act first, report later” manual right then, his phone started ringing from the locker in the lab.
Lennok frowned slightly.
“Did I leave my phone in my coat… Davi, who is it?”
Davi said without even looking at the phone,
[It’s the Lighthouse Keeper.]
“…What?”
Lennok, who had stood up, quickly rummaged through the coat in the locker and answered the phone.
[…Mr. Evan?]
Lapis’s voice, faintly heard over the communication network.
It sounded a little subdued, unlike usual.
[It’s been a while. Could we talk briefly about what I mentioned before? It’s important.]
Lennok naturally sealed off his surroundings with silence magic and subtly shifted his gaze.
“It’s been a while. I received your message the other day.”
[I’m glad it was helpful. Have you heard what happened in the jungle, by any chance?]
Lennok hesitated for a moment, then affirmed.
There was no need to pretend ignorance about the Well of the Codex and have her explain something he already knew.
“It seems there was quite a large conflict.”
[Indeed… You had already heard about the situation, after all.]
Lennok asked again,
“If it involves Ascendants, it must be related to the Lighthouse’s goals. Why didn’t the Eyes of Blue intervene in this matter?”
Of course, since Lennok participated in the jungle incident as Victor, if Lapis asked for assistance, he would have to make an excuse and withdraw.
But not asking Lapis about this could seem suspicious.
Since she had sent a message, holding back an explanation for later, Lennok needed to show a corresponding reaction.
[Because there was nothing to gain.]
“Nothing to gain?”
[Mr. Evan, you might not know much since you haven’t dealt with Pandemonium often, but there’s already a saying going around the continent.]
Lapis paused for a moment, then continued,
[Don’t intervene in what the One Who Walks Backward does…]
“……”
[It’s essentially a cynical piece of advice that says it’s merely meddling in something whose outcome is already decided.]
The One Who Walks Backward. It was merely a metaphor, but Lennok immediately understood its meaning.
He clearly remembered that the words Ermont muttered, lying collapsed next to the Director at the end of the labyrinth, were similar.
It must undoubtedly refer to the Director of Pandemonium, and someone who succeeded in glimpsing their true nature must have let these words slip.
[Although I didn’t directly get involved in this matter myself, I keenly felt what that saying meant.]
“What do you mean?”
[The great disturbance that occurred in the jungle started and ended at the Director’s hands, and I also witnessed the conclusion.]
“……”
[Whether by my own will or by external forces, at least for now, I couldn’t confront them directly.]
The young Lighthouse Keeper didn’t fully explain what had happened, but Lennok understood what Lapis was saying.
At the moment Kebaek used himself as a bullet to charge at the End of the Outer Sea.
The Director must have also continued to move somewhere in this world, crossing paths with the Lighthouse in the process.
Was it also because of the Director’s presence that Lapis’s tone felt somewhat subdued?
It wasn’t strange for Lapis to feel an inexpressible, peculiar sensation upon direct confrontation with him.
Lennok, too, had a similar thought the moment he suddenly encountered the Director at the end of the labyrinth.
The leader of the massive criminal organization known as Pandemonium.
A mysterious person whose true nature couldn’t be confirmed, even though they clearly existed and breathed in the same world.
No one truly knew their name, identity, face, or even what kind of life they had lived.
At least Ermont, an ancient black wizard who competed with Lennok in the labyrinth, seemed to guess his identity, but there was no opportunity to press him on that fact.
‘The last Geas embedded in Kebaek’s body was also the Director’s…’
At least it was clear that he had lived since the Central City was intact, spreading his influence across various parts of the world.
Even the massive event where two Ascendants clashed and one burst out of the world was merely part of the Director’s plan to reap what he had sown.
Because Lennok was clearly aware of this, he deliberately refrained from investigating the Director.
At a point where he hadn’t deeply penetrated Pandemonium, approaching the Director prematurely carried too great a risk.
“Phew…”
As he let out a low breath and leaned back in his chair, the old chair in the lab made a noise.
Lennok quietly opened his mouth, lightly dismissing the noise echoing in the quiet lab.
“I understand that you’re in a position of catching up to Pandemonium. If you haven’t wavered, I think that’s enough.”
[…Of course, it should be.]
Over the communication network, Lapis sounded as if she was giving a bitter laugh.
The Eyes of Blue was an organization created from its very inception to prevent the opening of the heavens and find better alternatives.
It was undeniable that, having started as a latecomer, it lacked technology and talent compared to Pandemonium.
Still, it had managed to attract talent from across the continent, centered around the Lighthouse, and was attempting to advance to the central front, gathering influence and reputation.
Lapis, without delay, got to the point.
[There’s something I want to show you, Mr. Evan.]
At her calm, subdued words, Lennok immediately replied.
The location written in the message he received from the well. It was an unusual place name that remained in Lennok’s memory.
“Pajeop Valley?”
[…Yes, to be precise, it’s about the innermost part of the Eastern Tramah Mountains where the valley is located.]
Lennok tilted his head slightly at that and asked,
“Didn’t you say you were making progress by breaking through a bridgehead towards the central front?”
The Lighthouse Keeper Lennok knew was not someone to make empty boasts.
If she personally stated in a message that she was making progress, it would mean the operation was practically on the verge of successful completion.
He naturally assumed she called him to discuss what would happen next, so this was a bit unexpected.
But Lapis immediately refuted Lennok’s thoughts.
[No, we succeeded in securing a path towards the central front. When I sent the message, the operation was virtually over.]
“…What?”
[The reason I contacted you today, Mr. Evan, is none other than…]
Lapis said that and fell silent for a long time.
After a long period of silence, Lapis’s voice, as if she had made up her mind, was heard again over the phone.
[I’ve regained my grandmother’s authority, and I’m ready to show you the ultimate path the Eyes of Blue will take.]