Chapter 498: Between Immortality and Mortality (6)

“……!!”

Lennok, his mind instantly clearing as if cold water had been thrown on him, shot up from his spot.

He hadn’t been distracted while working, nor had he let his guard down through mana detection.

The opponent had truly appeared at the moment Lennok perceived him and spoken.

Had he penetrated the several-kilometer radius of Lennok’s mana detection in an instant?

Or had he literally manifested here as if summoned? It was impossible to tell which.

But even considering all possibilities, it was undeniable that the opponent was a monster with absurd power.

“Why, don’t you continue?”

The man smiled faintly, looking at Lennok.

“If not, would you mind moving aside now?”

“……”

“If life and death flow according to nature’s course, shouldn’t we show respect to each other after crossing to the other side?”

A man in a suit wearing thick glasses.

Despite an impression that was somewhat sensitive and sharp, the hollow smile on his lips was striking.

But Lennok twisted his mouth, perceiving the alien mana flowing from beyond the man’s appearance, rather than his looks.

Standing right before him in the shape of a human, yet an unbearable awkwardness, as if he couldn’t feel they were the same life form at all.

Was this how it felt when a monster capable of tearing the sky and overturning the earth wore a human mask and spoke?

The quality of his presence was fundamentally different from the avatars embodying the will of the apocalypse Lennok had encountered until now.

One of the top Apostles of the Guido Cult, counted on one hand even within the organization.

Almost certainly one of the elite special forces of the Cult, assigned a single-digit number.

Was this man the ‘friend’ the Pontiff had spoken of?

Despite Lennok’s complex thoughts, the man walked calmly forward.

“Well, I still thank you for leaving behind a corpse like this, at least.”

He gazed at Lennok for a moment, then quietly bowed at the waist.

Cradling Amrita’s body, which lay sprawled on the ground, the man smiled.

“She was a very devout child even before becoming an Apostle. If I don’t send her off comfortably on her journey, won’t the name Guido be put to shame?”

“……”

“It seems the other side is getting sorted out, too. What should I do…?”

He turned his head towards the empty sky, but Lennok knew what the man was looking at.

He was contemplating whether to perceive and intervene in all the battles and their progress unfolding in various places on the outskirts of this isolated island.

Looking at the Apostle, Lennok quietly took out an elixir and an ampoule from his pocket.

A dosage several times greater than what he’d normally use for combat.

Even for Lennok, whose constitution had improved somewhat, the side effects were daunting, but now was not the time to worry about such things.

This Apostle, who arrived as an ally of the Cult at the very end of the ongoing events, was a monster more powerful than any being Lennok had encountered on this island.

The precarious balance, which had barely been maintained under the assumption of no external intervention, would shatter the moment such a being intervened.

If he couldn’t hold the man here, it wouldn’t be strange if all the Watchers, including Lennok, were annihilated.

The air quickly intensified with tension.

The man, who had been staring at Lennok with an unreadable expression, suddenly chuckled.

“Never mind. No matter how I think about it, the picture isn’t good.”

“……What?”

“Being able to recover Amrita’s and Isel’s bodies is enough, isn’t it? I’ll concede what’s left on the island to your side.”

“……”

Lennok fell silent at the Apostle’s words, which he couldn’t believe even after hearing them directly.

It was that difficult to readily believe what the man had just muttered.

Had he come all the way to the Far Eastern Branch, traversing the Sea of Understanding alone, only to abandon all the remaining forces here?

Monstrously skilled Agents selected as Apostle candidates from each branch, the Captain of the Knights who served Archbishop Nidri.

The Cult’s army, Correction Knights, and high priests who had plunged into battle without hesitation alongside them.

And even this massive island that sped across the sea, forming the Far Eastern Branch itself.

The Apostle before him was saying he didn’t care to hand all of it over to the Eyes of Blue.

“Hmm, it seems difficult to understand. But this wasn’t a decision I made alone.”

The Apostle smiled at Lennok’s reaction, who kept his senses sharp without letting his guard down.

“I, too, originally came with the intention of erasing all life from this place today, but…”

“……”

“It’s been a long time since that person directly answered a summons. You could say that alone gives you qualifications.”

The Apostle fearlessly called Lennok by his other name.

Only then did Lennok realize that the man before him knew everything that had happened on this island until now.

And how the Apostle, who hadn’t been on this island moments ago, had understood what had transpired.

“You knew everything, even the Pontiff’s conversation…”

“This is a bit embarrassing. Actually, I don’t know everything.”

The Apostle chuckled.

“I merely hear what decisions have been made a little earlier than others.”

That meant the Apostle before him not only served as a mere avatar of his God but also shared the Pontiff’s memories and will.

While even such powerful Apostles suffered from madness, how strong must one’s original power be to reach such a state?

The Apostle’s eyes, looking at Lennok, now sharpened without any attempt to hide it.

“Evan, Watcher of the Eyes of Blue. Now, are you the new Apostle Evan? Well, either way, it doesn’t matter.”

The Apostle said so and slowly turned his back.

“The catastrophe that occurred during this Selection Ritual has been relayed to Apostles across the continent through the outer gods. The internal division that will now sweep through the Cult will be uncontrollable.”

“……”

“We do not urge heretics who do not believe in the doctrine to join. Although that person seems to intend to recognize even your existence, the one who killed Amrita, as a new Apostle, my thoughts are different.”

Behind the thick glasses, the Apostle’s eyes turned cold.

“Pantheon’s paradise comes only to those who truly understand its meaning. In that sense, you fall short of the standard.”

“……”

“However, for our gods to show such great interest in a mere human, it’s truly a first in hundreds of years. Did you know?”

The Apostle smiled.

“What exactly lies dormant in your heart, and whether you are qualified to be an Apostle of the Godless Sea… I’ll keep an eye on you whenever I remember.”

The exchange between Lennok and the Pontiff. Because he had been informed of the Pontiff’s decision and the full story during that process.

The Apostle was saying he would withdraw without taking any action here.

The meaning of the Pontiff’s words, that he would recognize Lennok as a new Apostle.

It was tantamount to the Pontiff saying he would accept even the deviation of a mad Apostle who did not believe in God, as simply another Apostle.

Was it strange to accept such an arrogant and presumptuous decision rather than be surprised by it?

“I see…”

Whether Lennok wanted it or not, whether he accepted it or not, once the Pontiff’s approval was given, that name would fill one of the vacant Apostle positions.

The existence of a new Apostle who neither followed the outer gods and the Pontiff nor believed in the Cult’s doctrine.

Conflicting interests that ran counter to the Cult’s original purpose. A declaration that even the current situation, which was virtually hostile, didn’t matter.

As Lennok contemplated its meaning, the Apostle, still holding the body, bowed his head slightly.

“Poor Isel… She always suffered from losing her High Priestess position due to her own mistake. It’s a relief that in the end, she did her best to fulfill her wish before she departed.”

“……”

“Although her end wasn’t good, she must be satisfied that she regained the Power of Revelation, which she so desired, for a moment.”

Through his glasses, the Apostle’s eyes seemed to flicker with a hint of sadness for a moment.

“For that fact, I offer my thanks. I have nothing more to say.”

The Apostle’s body, which had turned its back, began to disappear from that spot as if being slowly cut away.

A strange sight, as if crossing an invisible spatial gate.

Lennok silently watched his retreating back, then suddenly spoke.

“Just one question.”

“Anytime.”

“Which number are you?”

“Heh.”

The man let out a peculiar exclamation of admiration, turned back to Lennok, and grinned.

“I’m the 2nd. Rookie.”

Leaving only those words, the 2nd Apostle’s presence vanished without a trace.

Lennok watched the man, then quietly put the ampoule he held back into his pocket.

The 2nd Apostle to manifest on earth according to the Pontiff’s will since the Guido Cult was formed.

Lennok, who had gathered information through repeated contact with them, was well aware of the significance the 2nd Apostle held within the Cult.

Was he not said to be a monster possessing overwhelming practical ability and popularity simultaneously, even within the religious organization spanning the entire continent?

Lennok had only heard of the 2nd Apostle through the Cult’s priests, and never imagined he would appear in person and confront him here.

His appearance, words, actions, and departure—not a single aspect didn’t trouble Lennok.

But instead of dwelling on the meaning of the 2nd Apostle’s words, Lennok took a deep breath and turned around.

Though losing Amrita’s body itself was painful, the original objective had not failed.

‘The encryption of the Apostle spell succeeded. For now, that alone is enough.’

While he couldn’t directly block the will to prevent the avatar of the apocalypse Amrita served from being reborn, it was a certain fact that he had succeeded in sealing Amrita’s Scale spell itself.

As Amrita’s body was no longer in Lennok’s hands, he couldn’t directly manage the encrypted seal, but it would at least be clear that Amrita’s Scale spell could not be used within the Cult for the time being.

Perhaps he could even use that information as a valuable hint to sell.

Thinking so, Lennok took out a few bottles of mana potion he had made himself, gulped them all down, and began to walk.

He had originally planned to just let everything go and rest, but what guarantee was there that a monster like the 2nd Apostle wouldn’t appear again and overturn things?

Under the 2nd Apostle’s concession, this island had effectively come under the ownership of the Eyes of Blue.

Even if it meant pushing himself a little, it seemed better to help the other Watchers and quickly sort out the situation here.

“Cough!”

As he drank the potion like water, he naturally choked.

Lennok’s delicate body didn’t easily permit even rapid ingestion.

With a slightly embarrassed cough, Lennok quickly controlled the rising mana and unleashed it all around him.

Behind Lennok, as he disappeared into the island, only the quiet sound of a dropped potion bottle shattering echoed.

“Urgh…!! What, why did the Scale spell suddenly…!”

Crack!!

A sharp dagger plunged into the back of the bewildered priest’s head as he formed a hand sign.

Blood drops gathered and dripped from the blade of the dagger, which had pierced the back of his head and emerged between his eyebrows.

The priest’s eyes rolled back as he stared blankly at the blood dripping from his head, then he convulsed and collapsed, spewing blood from his mouth.

“Hmph! See, why do you keep trying to run away?”

A frivolous voice chuckled from behind the fallen priest.

A young man with a pale, powdered face approached with a grin and pulled the blade from the back of the priest’s head.

The dagger transformed into a single playing card and was stored away the moment he gripped its handle.

“If you lose a gamble, you should just die quietly. I don’t know why you keep struggling. This is why I don’t like sitting at the same table as religious fanatics.”

Splosh!!

Carrying the profusely bleeding corpse, he walked through an alley flashing with colorful lights and neon signs.

He calmly passed by the idiots sprawled everywhere, drunk or drugged, and opened the entrance to a nearby makeshift trash incinerator.

When he inserted a chip he’d won at the gambling den, a circular opening large enough to fit a person opened.

Hiss!!

The young man threw the corpse into the smoking hole and dusted his hands with a sense of relief.

But then he propped his chin, seemingly regretting what he’d done, and fell into thought.

“Hmm, it’s been a while since I caught one of their believers, though… Should I have experimented a bit?”

“If you conduct human experiments without permission in Torquepaz, you’ll just waste money for nothing.”

A monotone voice came from behind the young man.

“I wouldn’t recommend it.”

The faint figure of a spider, as if draped in a spiderweb against the empty night sky, appeared, looking as though it could vanish at any moment.

Its upper body was that of a human woman, but her eyes were obscured by a thick blindfold, making it difficult to discern her features properly.

“……Agneta, it was you.”

The young man, who had paused for a moment, turned his powdered face and grinned.

“I didn’t expect you to seek me out first. What’s the matter?”

Agneta continued speaking with an expressionless face despite The Clown’s appearance.

“I have something to say about the wizard named Victor who participated in the Well of the Codex operation, and the Director. Do you have a moment?”