Chapter 502: Mid-Term Settlement (3)
“A settlement and an exchange…”
He wondered if the man intended to pick a fight under the guise of an exchange, but the moment the man mentioned a settlement, Lennok changed his mind.
In this satellite city, Bailuts, if someone knew about Pandemonium’s mid-settlement, then their identity was clear.
That pot-bellied man, seemingly a drunkard, was undoubtedly a member of Pandemonium.
The other party had recognized Lennok as a participant in this settlement and proposed an artifact exchange.
“Interesting words.”
“Right? That artifact you have, too…”
“But I don’t need instructions.”
Lennok said, and immediately gripped the Compassion of the Archangel once more.
At the same time, light erupted from inside his robe, pouring down equally onto the heads of the ghouls fleeing in all directions.
Sizzle!!!
“Ughhh!!!”
A grotesque sight, as the flesh above their necks melted fluidly without them even managing a proper scream.
The inherent power of the artifact called Compassion of the Archangel wasn’t just spatial translocation of inanimate objects or magic.
It was a high-level Augmentation Magic spell, similar to what Irina Pesfield used.
Lennok himself had never properly used it due to mana addiction, but he was aware that it was lethal to beings like ghouls.
It was a Holy Spirit-type spell. Among them, Augmentation Magic was fundamentally designed to greatly boost the body’s metabolism, regenerative abilities, overall physical capabilities, and condition.
While this power was manifested through the spell’s force, its foundation lay purely in the target’s own life, energy, and nutrients.
However, for ghouls, who could no longer regenerate or recover on their own and survived by sucking the lifeblood of others, forced regeneration and accelerated metabolism proved fatally destructive.
Rapidly regenerating and accelerated cells were consumed within the ghoul’s body, melting away without recovery.
Ghouls, without even time to suck the lifeblood of others, simply perished on the spot, unable to regenerate.
“D-damn it!!”
“He’s a Holy Spirit-type sorcerer. There was no mention of this…!!”
“No, I still…!!”
Sizzle!!
The sight of bodies melting on the spot the moment Augmentation Magic was unleashed upon the charging ghouls.
A result that felt somewhat alien to the principles of spells Lennok had understood until now.
This was likely the very reason Pandemonium was investing in collecting Old World artifacts.
If artifacts operated through a different world’s order, distinct from the laws established in this world, then there might be entirely different solutions than those previously known.
Viewed this way, Pandemonium’s objective itself wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
Though the progress of their plan and how persuasively their concrete methods were designed remained unknown.
At the very least, being here today, collecting such artifacts and entering the mid-settlement, should be enough to get a grasp of things.
Lennok had, for that very reason, walked straight to Bailuts instead of resting.
“What, you already had a grasp of things? I made a useless offer, then.”
A raspy voice came from behind Lennok, who was tidying up his mana strings.
“He’s much more cunning than I thought. Just like that ugly black mask of his.”
He wiped his reddened nose, blew it, and then chuckled heartily at Lennok.
“My name’s Vernon. Was it Victor you were called? Heard you worked with The Clown, but I’m not good with names. My memory gets blurry when I drink, you know.”
His behavior was excessively out of place for someone appearing in the middle of such a desolate ghost town.
“You talk too much.”
Lennok said in an unenthusiastic tone.
“If you’re not going to explain, I’m leaving.”
“Hehehe, so the rumors about your arrogant nature weren’t entirely false, huh?”
Vernon just grinned, seemingly not offended at all by the somewhat sharp retort.
“Well, it’s not a grand story. From experience, those who gather for the settlement are often quite formidable. Useful items are often traded, you see.”
“…”
“It doesn’t have to be an Old World artifact. You need to save items to submit for the settlement, after all. What do you say?”
In short, he was saying that like-minded members would sometimes simply barter before the settlement began.
Indeed, a powerful individual capable of joining Pandemonium would likely possess various artifacts, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.
In the light, one would have to explain where artifacts were obtained and stored, but in a criminal organization like this, what did that matter?
Whether one killed and took it, plundered it from a corpse, or stole it from somewhere, no one would question it.
A proposal to trade solely based on the value of the items each possessed.
Lennok, though reacting sharply, wasn’t entirely uninterested.
He crossed his arms, adjusted his mask, and nodded.
“Show me.”
“Hm?”
“If you made an offer, you must want something, right?”
Lennok’s eyes gleamed coldly from behind the mask.
“First, I’ll check if there’s anything I need, then you can pick what you want.”
An arrogant, almost brazen declaration. Even Vernon, who had been laughing with his reddened face, looked slightly flabbergasted.
“…He’s a much more difficult fellow than I thought. Well, that’s not what’s important anyway.”
Vernon scratched his cheek, burped, and rummaged through his robe.
“You should be thankful I have far more experience dealing with lunatics crazier than you. Do you know how many weirdos there are in used goods trading? People who demand discounts right off the bat are gentlemen, but there are also psychos who just name their price and say they’re coming to pick it up, or deranged competitors who argue why you’re selling at this price.”
“…”
“Last quarter, there was even a guy who demanded a 400-year installment plan. What’s even crazier is that he genuinely believed he could pay it back in 400 years. No, goddamn it, if that’s the case, he should go borrow from loan sharks, why is he asking me for installments…”
Vernon muttered to himself as if years of resentment from used goods trading had piled up.
Listening to him, Lennok’s attitude seemed to categorize him as a highly conscientious intellectual in this line of work.
“Well, that’s not what’s important. Shall we move somewhere and begin?”
Vernon pulled Lennok inside the closed shop, then with an energetic gesture, set something down from inside his robe.
Thud!!
What he placed on the far left of the shelf, which looked like a display counter, was an old manuscript.
Faint magic flowed between the pages, making it seem like a powerful grimoire.
Vernon took a swig from his liquor bottle and said.
“This is the Glacier Magic Tower’s record of positional magic experiments. It details the research into unique ice-type magic.”
“…”
“It’s a Magic Tower’s historical document, rarely leaked outside. If you want to research elemental magic, there’s absolutely no better specimen than this.”
“A Magic Tower’s historical document…”
Vernon’s voice, as if he was already half-convinced he had him.
“At this point, if I were to say what I want, I fundamentally prefer conjunction artifacts like filters or purifiers…”
Thud!
Vernon’s words stopped the moment he saw the thick diary Lennok placed down.
The man, seeing the faint strands of electricity flowing from the diary, picked it up with wide eyes.
Vernon’s eyelids trembled uncontrollably as he rapidly flipped through the pages, unable to hide his agitation.
“Th-this is the Thorben Magic Tower’s Military Magic Research Log!! How did those war-hungry bastards leak such an item…!!”
A Magic Tower’s historical document that was a perfect upgrade to what Vernon had put out.
“As you can see, this isn’t enough for me.”
Lennok said, looking at Vernon’s back, which had instantly clamped shut.
“Bring out more.”
“…Ughhh!!”
Vernon, his face red, rummaged at his waist and pulled out a bottle-shaped respirator for the second item.
Inside, a bluish gas floated, swirling within the respirator.
“It’s a storage device that compresses mana into a gaseous state. You can conveniently use it by simply strapping it around your mouth.”
Vernon said.
“It’s an item capable of storing the average mana capacity of a Holy Rank Wizard. Such an item, combining both capacity and portability, is absolutely rare…”
Before he could finish, Lennok took out another item and placed it next to the respirator.
A crystal sphere where vivid blue mana converged in a spiral. The mana core glowed faintly with a gentle warmth.
An item Lennok had modified for his use from a mana core installed at Dyke Corp.’s factory site, which the Cartel’s execution squad had raided.
It was a mana storage device capable of holding enough mana for a single Domain, having even been used when killing Parden McQueen.
Hadn’t used it once since acquiring the Papyrus Argenteus, but it was undoubtedly an item that couldn’t even be compared to most mana storage devices.
Vernon also seemed to recognize the mana capacity of the mana core, as he instantly fell silent.
Lennok tilted his head, looking at Vernon.
“Is this all?”
“…”
“For someone who proposed a trade, you don’t seem to have many items.”
“No, it’s not over yet!!”
Vernon snapped his head up, eyes wide, and shouted.
His face, reddened by drink, had become clear and focused, as if he’d just been slapped.
Vernon rummaged inside his robe and consecutively placed artifacts on the shelf, and Lennok likewise matched them with items he possessed.
“It’s a custom weapon from the Machine city, Machina. I couldn’t get the blueprints, but…”
“Gearsight’s custom weapon blueprint. It’s an item modified from Machina’s own.”
Vernon’s mouth gaped open.
“…Attaksha Workshop’s wrist guard. Although it doesn’t quite match Black Palace Workshop’s item…!!”
“Here’s Black Palace Workshop’s glove.”
Vernon began to sweat profusely as Lennok took off his glove and placed it down.
“Heavenly Spirit Scoop. It protects the user with a spell barrier in an emergency…”
“Enakphil’s five fingers, which allow the user to escape. I have a few spares as well.”
A deep silence fell.
“Telomere’s ritual tool. A high-grade artifact that assists the power of elemental spells…”
“The Innovation Bead Book, said to be gifted to rosary candidates of Blaiver Tower. It’s an item that significantly improves the speed and manifestation state of heat magic.”
“…”
Lennok placed down items that were similar to, or better than, every item Vernon presented for trade.
Vernon swallowed hard, his hands trembling faintly.
As if he intended to pull out an item he shouldn’t at this point, he squeezed his eyes shut, thrust his hand into his robe, and placed something down with a thud on the shelf.
“It’s a casting talisman directly crafted by the Grand Abbot of Stania Monastery!! It bestows a powerful blessing on the user semi-permanently…!!”
“A protective talisman directly crafted by an 8-level Peak Talisman Sorcerer. They say it contains a spell called Immovable Barrier.”
“Goddaaaamn it!!!”
Vernon, spitting out a vulgar curse, yelled at Lennok.
“Are you messing with me right now?!”
“I meant for you to bring out more valuable items for exchange.”
“I don’t know, goddamn it!!”
Vernon said that, then flopped down on the spot and started yelling at the top of his lungs.
“Enough, just tell me what you want!! Hurry up and trade me the artifact I want!!”
“…”
Vernon, as if his mind had been addled by alcohol, began to throw a tantrum.
Lennok looked at Vernon with a somewhat pitiful gaze, then silently reached into his robe.
“Is this the kind of purifier you were talking about?”
Vernon’s eyes widened as he looked at the long, pipe-shaped tube that emerged from the end of Lennok’s robe.
“Oh-ho-ho!!!”
The moment Vernon shot up and tried to grab it, Lennok simply tossed it behind him.
Vernon’s body tilted in that direction, then fell back, and Lennok, who had casually caught it with his mana strings, asked.
“Speak.”
“Y-yes, that’s it!! Where in the world did you get that?!”
It was one of the tobacco filters Lennok had bought at a high price from Plumber’s Orchard during a time when it was difficult for him to produce tobacco on his own.
It was an artifact, but it had no spell-related augmentation or auxiliary functions, so he hadn’t expected anyone to be interested in such an item.
Vernon shot up, drooling, and glared at the filter in Lennok’s hand.
“A purifier said to have been produced in top secret in limited quantities in the giant city’s underworld…!! It’s sold at very high prices to alcohol connoisseurs after it was revealed that it could filter drink flavors into over 56 varieties…!!”
“…”
“If you don’t need that item, let’s trade it for my artifacts, no, if you need it, I can even trade an Old World artifact, what do you need?!”
If he was this desperate, it was likely Vernon’s request wasn’t merely a hobby.
Perhaps it was something related to alcohol, or a condition necessary for an ability. Thinking that way, it was understandable why the purifier held such great value for him.
The only problem was that Vernon didn’t have any artifacts Lennok particularly needed…
Lennok, who had been deep in thought for a moment, soon came up with an answer and turned his head.
“Giving up an Old World artifact means you covet this purifier enough to abandon this settlement, right?”
“Yes!”
“Then let’s do this.”
Lennok said, putting the purifier back into his robe.
“I heard that depending on the Old World artifact or information submitted for this settlement, a certain remuneration is given back.”
“…That’s true. So what?”
“Describe exactly what that remuneration feels like.”
Lennok adjusted his mask and smiled faintly.
“If you promise to let me use that remuneration in a way I desire, depending on the circumstances, I’ll agree to the trade.”
After concluding the agreement with Vernon, Lennok immediately headed to the meeting place with him.
Guided by Vernon, they arrived at a massive theater, unusually large even among the desolate buildings of the satellite city.
Its design and size were quite distinctive compared to other structures in Bailuts.
Its streamlined, curved roof, resembling a dolphin, was impressive. It must have been planned as a major landmark when the city was designed.
Given how conspicuous it was, it might not have been an easy choice for a meeting place, but the members gathered seemed not to care.
The back entrance to the theater’s main hall.
Lennok, following Vernon past a spacious warehouse corner behind the back entrance, stopped.
Screech!!
An eerie killing intent erupted, precisely aiming for the nape of his neck.
Bloody ocular light twisted this way and that in the air before stopping right behind Lennok.
Immediately after, Vernon snapped his head around, checking the direction the killing intent had come from.
His expression showed annoyance rather than surprise or shock.
“Oh, for god’s sake…! Can’t you just chill? The smell of blood is ruining my drink!”
“Hehehehe… My apologies.”
Squish…!!
With those words, another man emerged from the back of the warehouse, dragging a corpse behind him.
An elderly man with a vacant expression. His appearance was not just shabby but ragged, yet the blade he loosely held gleamed with a chilling coldness.
“I thought he was surely a fine swordsman and tested his aura, but was I mistaken…?”
Vernon snorted and rebuked the old man.
“What swordsman against a Specialty-type sorcerer…? You must have gone completely blind from indiscriminately killing people.”
“Hmm… If not, well, nothing I can do about it then.”
The old man muttered in an unenthusiastic tone, slowly sliding the blade he held back into its sheath.
But Lennok focused less on the natural movement and more on the fact that not a single drop of blood stained the blade.
Even though he had been indiscriminately killing people just moments ago, there wasn’t a trace left on the weapon he used.
Wouldn’t that only be possible if the old man, despite his utterly shabby appearance, was a swordsman who had reached a profound state?
The old man quietly flashed a reddish gleam at Lennok.
“He definitely feels like someone who’s killed quite a few people, but it’s strange…”
“…”
“Hehehe, if he’s not a swordsman, then never mind…”
The old man poked the corpse he had killed with the tip of his scabbard, lifted it, and then walked out of the theater warehouse.
As he walked, the corpse was dragged, leaving a vivid red trail of blood on the warehouse floor.
Vernon spat out the liquor he had in his mouth and cursed.
“…You crazy old man, there’s not much time left, where are you wandering off to?”
“It’s quite enjoyable hunting fresh human flesh after a long time…”
The old man let out a sinister chuckle as he slowly walked away from the warehouse.
“Don’t interfere…”
“Damn it, he’s still an unpleasant fellow.”
Vernon grumbled and spat phlegm.
“Alright, that old geezer always acts like that. He’ll be back when it’s time. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come here in the first place.”
Vernon, scratching his head with an annoyed look, suddenly turned his back.
“Let that old Blood Demon do whatever he wants, whether he dies or not. We’re going in.”
They entered the theater through the complicated back entrance, warehouse, and dressing rooms.
The grand main hall of the theater, where thousands of spectators would simultaneously look down at the stage.
But the seats were piled high with only hazy dust and an unidentified grey ash.
Nevertheless, what first caught Lennok’s eye was not the utterly desolate audience seats, but the spacious stage located in the direction they faced.
In that place, where all sorts of props and stage equipment should have been, a gigantic statue of a god, sculpted like a giant, stood.
Gooooh…!!
A figure with two heads and eight arms.
Unidentifiable ancient characters were densely engraved on the impressive stone statue, which had a wickedly distorted face like a demon and a muscular upper body.
The engraved characters illuminated, spreading a faint glow across the giant statue’s entire body.
The appearance of the statue was truly unfitting for being hidden in the middle of such a theater.
While Lennok paused briefly at the alien sight, looking up at the statue, five presences began to be felt from the shadows of the theater.
Four humans, and one bizarre doll-like figure that seemed to imitate a human.
And surprisingly, two of them were individuals Lennok already knew.
“…”
The two individuals, a man and a woman, were perched respectively on the VIP seats of the theater and on the ceiling lighting rig.
Soryu, the royalty of Kabahim, cloaked in coldness, and Maiya Lenslit, the enforcer of the Machine City.
Powerful individuals he had encountered in Kaiushyu and the Hanghasa Labyrinth. Two formidable people who had left a strong impression on Lennok were here.