Chapter 480: The Land Running on the Sea (2)

The Apostle Selection Ritual, conducted in strict secrecy by the Guido Cult.

Jindun’s legacy, presumed to be hidden in the Far Eastern Branch.

And the existence of a mirror that reflects the will to exist, mentioned in the thesis on existence projection rate.

All three reasons involved in this matter were things Lennok could not easily overlook, so Lennok was willing to cooperate as much as possible for the necessary tasks.

However, it was only natural for Lennok to become more cautious upon hearing Piyo’s words about copying him.

It wasn’t strange for Piyo, a mutant wizard, to participate in the operation, but what could they possibly need Lennok’s physical information for?

Piyo, noticing Lennok’s somewhat unenthusiastic expression, took a step back.

“Ah, if ‘copying’ bothers you, ‘mutation’ is fine too. Either way, since I’m involved in this operation, it’ll be much easier to use this method as the main strategy.”

“Mutation, you say…”

Come to think of it, Piyo’s inherent magic was said to be of the mutation type.

“You don’t seem to believe it. Alright, just watch closely.”

Piyo shrugged and stepped back, lightly stretching her body while rapidly drawing up her magical energy.

Whoosh!!

As she grabbed her hair and spun it around, the area above her neck transformed into the shape of a massive dog’s head.

“…!!”

Piyo’s appearance, with a normal human body below the neck, but a Rapperd’s face above it.

“I’m a mutant wizard, a spellcaster who changes the form of objects or living beings.”

“…”

“Simply overlaying a random skin for appearance isn’t difficult, but for perfect disguise, I need to know the target in more detail.”

As Piyo dusted her hands and stood up, her face returned to normal.

“…Next time, please use a more normal method.”

Rapperd, who had been watching the scene with a sour expression, sharply turned his head away.

Judging by Rapperd’s reaction, it hadn’t been a very pleasant experience for him.

“But anyway, since it’s a spell that mutates appearances, it’s hard to use without the target’s biological information.”

“I see…”

Lennok, realizing why Lapis had included Piyo in this operation without any hesitation, nodded.

If Piyo could freely transform into Lennok and other Watchers, the possibilities for infiltration would dramatically increase.

This wasn’t just about making the appearance look plausible, but about mimicking internal skeletal structure, aura, life signs, and even physical abilities through mutation.

Lennok chuckled and readily offered his wrist.

“I understand what you’re thinking, so give it a try. But there’s a high chance it won’t have much effect.”

“Hehe, what do you take me for? No matter how skilled a wizard, if they allow it, everything works out with mysterious spells’… Guek!!”

Crackle!!

The moment Piyo smacked her lips, grabbed Lennok’s wrist, and tried to draw out magic, all of Piyo’s hair stood on end, and her entire body convulsed.

“Ge-gek, gege-gek…!!”

Piyo, trembling as if struck by lightning in the crown of her head, opened her eyes wide and stumbled backward, shaking.

“…”

At the utterly unexpected turn of events, Rapperd, who was watching from the side, gaped, and even Gapseon, who had been observing the coastline with his hands behind his back in the distance, turned his gaze.

Lennok quietly shook his head, looking at Piyo, who had collapsed with her tongue hanging out.

“I told you it wouldn’t work.”

Lennok’s transcendent talent, which he had personally set, enduring the associated penalty.

Among them, his talent for target-specific resistance far surpassed his own Hierarchy.

Resistance that prevented him from being targeted by all kinds of curses, targeted magic, or various target-specific spells.

It was only natural that Lennok, who had obtained talent related to that to the extreme, could not be detected by other spellcasters’ scans.

A spellcaster of Piyo’s caliber might be able to forcefully manipulate Lennok’s biological information, but the more she tried, the greater the backlash would be.

“…Damn it, this is ridiculous!!”

Piyo sprang to her feet and shouted.

“There have been cases where mutation was impossible, but never a case where it couldn’t even be measured!!”

This was different from the vampires Lennok could affect by offering his own blood to remove his resistance.

As Lennok didn’t know how much information Piyo needed for her mutation, it was almost impossible for him to voluntarily remove his resistance.

“It seems that collecting information for mutation is also a type of mutation spell, is that right?”

“…That’s right.”

“Then it’ll probably be useless no matter what you do. Give up and let’s begin.”

Giving Evan’s physical information itself posed no risk to Lennok.

He wasn’t giving his real blood like when he was examined by Alejandro Murphy, and Evan’s appearance, scent, skin, and magical patterns were all arbitrarily created dummies.

However, Lennok conveying that information to Piyo through a spell was difficult in itself due to his target-specific resistance.

“Damn it, this won’t do…”

Piyo furrowed her brow and muttered.

“I was planning to disguise myself as Evan to draw attention and buy you time to get inside.”

“…”

Was she planning to transform into Evan’s exact likeness to create a perfect alibi and timing for Lennok?

If she could even mimic Evan’s aura and magic through mutation, it would be more than enough to deceive the cult’s priests.

Considering that Lennok also thought it was a good plan, she must have been quite skilled in using her mutation abilities…

“Alright, then how about this!!”

Piyo, who had sprung to her feet, put some distance between herself and Lennok and took a stance.

She seemed very familiar with unarmed combat, her low stance and spacing appeared incredibly seasoned even to Lennok’s eyes.

At the same time, Piyo made a hand seal with her other hand and began casting a spell on herself this time.

Woong…!!

The form of an unknown spell inscription floated above her forehead.

Piyo quickly finished her incantation, took her stance again, and spoke.

“Mutation-type unique spell, [Mimicry of Natural Enemy]. It’s a spell that mimics the opponent’s strength through direct combat.”

Only then did Lennok understand the meaning of Piyo’s words and let out a wry laugh.

“So, you want to have a spar right here?”

“Originally, it’s a spell created to overcome crises by mimicking the opponent’s characteristics or strengths in urgent situations.”

Piyo grinned and tapped her forehead.

“It’s less efficient than directly receiving biological information, but it’ll satisfy the minimum requirements for mutation, right?”

Whoosh!!

As she sharply swept her foot across the ground, the sand on the beach flew up, creating a cloud of dust.

“One of the top combat wizards in the Eyes of Blue. Let’s take this opportunity to confirm your skills.”

At Piyo’s audacious words, Lennok couldn’t help but let out a light laugh.

Many had challenged Lennok to demonstrate his skills before, but this was the first time someone requested a duel for this reason.

“Alright.”

Lennok, dusting off his feet and stepping into the sandy area, spoke.

“We don’t have much time, so let’s set a few conditions.”

He drew out magical energy and poured it into the sand beneath his feet.

“This duel is solely for the purpose of collecting biological information for mutation. From what I understand of Mimicry of Natural Enemy, avoiding attacks won’t help, will it?”

Piyo grinned and nodded.

“Exactly, Evan. So don’t just run away trying to win, okay?”

“I won’t move more than three steps until the spell ends.”

Lennok said, kicking at a nearby pile of sand.

“…”

“…”

“No, you don’t have to go that far…?”

At Lennok’s absurd declaration, Piyo and Rapperd, and even Gapseon, fell silent.

What Lennok had just said sounded far more preposterous than Piyo’s talk of opponent mutation magic.

Lennok’s words were a declaration that bordered on arrogance, not just confidence.

In a battle between superhumans, what did it mean for one side to impose a penalty on themselves by not moving from their spot?

A declaration that couldn’t be made without the conviction to utterly crush the opponent head-on, and difficult to make even with such conviction.

It was only natural that the atmosphere grew strange at Lennok’s calm words, which were practically a provocation.

However, Lennok had not uttered those words without any calculation.

‘It’s what I always do.’

Having lacked proper mobility for quite some time, Lennok was accustomed to fighting without moving.

Not moving didn’t feel like a significant restriction, so it was preferable to use that fact to finish the necessary task as quickly as possible.

After all, if he hadn’t felt Piyo’s mutation spell had efficacy, he wouldn’t have even started.

“…Well, fine. I was the one who suggested it first. I’ll take that as permission, then?”

Piyo quickly composed her expression and drew up her magical energy.

The moment she took her stance and lowered her center of gravity, Piyo’s left arm transformed into a massive bat wing, flapping.

The single wing whipped the air, sending sand swirling in all directions.

“Then here I come…!!”

Whoosh…!!!

The moment Piyo’s fully spread wings seemed to obscure her form, she was already swinging her fist right in front of Lennok’s eyes.

A single punch that couldn’t be faster than magic perception but precisely targeted the gap in the sensory field.

Lennok met Piyo’s punch with a several-meter-high sand barrier raised beneath his feet.

The barrier, solidified by dynamically mixing magical energy between the grains of sand, possessed a hardness tougher than most steel plates.

But Piyo, seeing Lennok’s defense, swung her hand directly through instead of moving around it.

Thud-thud-thump!!!

The punch, extending like a cannonball from her shoulder, briefly twisted against the barrier, then pierced straight through and stopped right in front of Lennok’s nose.

Its fierce momentum not only threatened a wizard but was enough to crush and penetrate a shield’s outer wall with its aftermath alone.

Crunch…!!

Piyo smiled awkwardly.

“Hey… are you really not going to dodge?”

Instead of responding, Lennok intently observed Piyo’s fist, which had come right up to his face.

That punch, which had instantly pierced a sand barrier tougher than steel, had transformed from a human fist into something like a mace.

“So, it can transform into non-living things too. Weaponizing the entire body might not be impossible after all.”

“Continuing…!!”

A large cannon barrel popped out from the inner forearm of the mace-shaped arm, and a light flashed from within the muzzle.

Bang!!

Immediately after, the sand barrier exploded from within, fully exposing Lennok’s body.

Before the obstruction between the two completely disappeared, Piyo leaned forward, rotating her magical energy directly.

Kagaga-gak!!!

The arm, transformed into a beast’s head, tore at the shield, and a whip-like spine protruding from her back aimed at Lennok’s rear.

Boosters bursting from below her legs propelled her forward, and a membrane wing erupting from behind her shoulder rotated, changing direction in mid-air.

She freely changed parts of her body into forms of beasts, firearms, and polearms, demonstrating mastery over rapid direction changes, acceleration, explosions, and recoil control.

This was proof that she had honed inhuman combat methods for a long time, across both rational calculation and instinctive intuition.

It was surmised when she was said to have perfected her Hierarchy with mutation spells, but Piyo herself was probably an extremely skilled warrior.

It would be absurd for a mutant wizard who had to transform their own body to fight to have weak combat abilities.

Thud-thud-thud!!!

Raucously swinging punches split into three blades in mid-air, then dissolved,

And the moment a gun barrel erupted from her elbow and spat fire, the air currents violently surged, creating a small storm.

In every movement, as she struck the shield and sought openings, impossibly bizarre and violent trajectories were successively realized.

A unilateral situation that made it unbelievable Lennok was standing still and deflecting all the offensives.

“Got you…!!”

The moment Piyo’s hand elongated like lightning, seemingly grasping and twisting Lennok’s collarbone.

Thud-thud-thud…!!

A fist-sized clump of sand covered and stopped Piyo’s fingers, which had transformed into sharp claws.

Perfect counter-action, virtually impossible without prior knowledge.

Piyo’s expression contorted as she realized she had inadvertently attacked an intended opening, and Lennok chuckled.

“Now it’s my turn.”

At that moment, the entire sandy beach seemed to tilt with a powerful impact.

Kwoooosh!!

A massive sand wave erupted from under Piyo’s feet, precisely snaring her body and dragging her down beneath the ground.

The sandy beach, gaping like the mouth of a living beast, writhed and swallowed the superhuman’s body like quicksand.

“Ugh! What is this?!”

Startled, Piyo quickly kicked her feet, summoning air currents to propel her body upwards, but as if waiting, the entire sand dune rose, coiling around her.

As the column of sand rose on the coastline, the wind erupting from Piyo’s entire body rotated, growing larger.

It began to swell to a size that seemed capable of spreading to the very edge of the sea.

The scale had suddenly grown so large that Rapperd began to glance uneasily at the horizon in the distance.

“Dreyfus, are you alright?”

[What utterly incredible magical manipulation ability.]

Gapseon replied, his gaze fixed on the raging sand column.

[To be precise, it’s not even magic belonging to a specific system. Can he really bring the combat situation to this point just by manipulating the flow of particles…]

Rapperd, already aware of Lennok’s skill, didn’t seem very interested in the duel, but Dreyfus was different.

As an 8-level master wizard, he could clearly witness how technically excellent the exchanges between Piyo and Lennok had become.

Piyo’s senses, her skill in manipulating magical energy and its aftermath rivaling any wizard despite being a pugilist, were self-evident.

But even more astonishing was the fact that Lennok was repelling Piyo’s offensives purely with sand as a catalyst.

Considering the rumors that Evan was a fire-elemental wizard, it meant he was fighting without properly using his innate magic.

And Lennok himself hadn’t broken his promise of not moving from his spot even once.

At this point, could continuing the duel while maintaining the combat situation, as Piyo had suggested, even be feasible?

Piyo wouldn’t be unaware of that either.

As if confirming that thought, a flash sparkled amidst the sand column, and at the same time, a strong gust of wind swept through, spreading out on both sides to form the wings of a great bird.

A gigantic bird, which had rapidly descended using the propulsion of an inverted flight from sky to ground, raised its head and stared at Lennok.

Screech!!

It clamped its sharp beak shut and, still descending, pressed Lennok down with its wind pressure.

Sandstorms raged from all directions, completely obscuring their vision.

What appeared beyond the settling dust was Piyo, who had returned to her original form.

The inscription etched on Piyo’s forehead, where she held a hand seal with both hands, was glowing brightly.

“Mimicry of Natural Enemy, first condition met! Then I’m coming right away!!”

Flash!!

At that moment, Piyo’s body burst forth with dazzling light, and right in front of Lennok, she began to transform into Evan’s face and physique.

A strange atmosphere, somehow expressionless yet with features difficult to clearly discern.

Was this how Evan’s face would feel if someone else looked at it directly?

Of course, in Evan’s case, it was merely an arbitrarily created identity, but she hadn’t really expected to succeed.

“Ooooh…!! I’ve only just received basic physical information, but the magic rotation speed is incredible…!!”

“…”

Even Lennok was curiously observing Piyo, who had mimicked Evan’s appearance.

“Alright, this much should allow me to more surely… even without using a mutation spell right now…!!”

Piyo, looking down at her fingertips with a slightly excited expression, was about to take a step forward towards Lennok with a triumphant smile, when suddenly.

Thud!!

She tripped over her own feet and face-planted into the sand.

“…”

“…”

A strange silence immediately fell all around.

Piyo, her face covered in sand, blankly looked up and tilted her head.

“…Huh?”