Chapter 509: Mid-Term Settlement (10)
Lennok had sensed the anomaly from the very beginning.
The sharp gaze that had pierced him right after he stepped out of the parking lot at Sabrinah’s request.
At first, he had tried to test Sabrinah’s attitude, wondering if she was up to something, but the word spirit user simply wanted to extract information from Lennok.
Only after clearly discerning the direction of the gazes, which circled the theater but didn’t precisely target the two of them, did Lennok realize that someone else, distinct from them, was targeting Pandemonium.
He had matched his reaction to when Soryu and Sabrinah belatedly noticed and started to respond, simply because there was no reason to reveal that he had detected them first.
However, regardless of those circumstances, the colossal meteor falling toward the theater roof was something Lennok hadn’t anticipated.
KWAH-AAAAH!!
The meteor plunged through the dark night sky. Lennok narrowed his eyes behind his mask, observing the purple magical energy coiling around it.
‘Gravity magic. And a very powerful kind.’
It was different from Ballak O’Edon, the Level 8 gravity superhuman he had faced in the Hanghasa Labyrinth.
If Ballak manipulated gravity itself with mental power, the gravity magic now being manipulated through magical energy felt like it was manipulating the gravity of a specific object.
It was indirectly manipulating the concept of gravity to lift and drop an entire massive chunk of matter.
Lennok shifted his gaze, instantly pinpointing the owner of that magical energy among the superhumans gathered here.
‘It’s that woman.’
A woman protected quietly at the very back of the opposing group, her face obscured by a purple visor.
The full-face visor, modified from a motorcycle helmet, had sharp lines.
But what was striking was that instead of a face, only colorful magical light shone within.
KWOOOO…!!!
The meteor falling onto the theater was easily the size of a mansion.
If a rock of that size were to plummet from several hundred meters in the air, it wouldn’t be strange for the theater’s massive streamlined building to explode completely.
Yet, Lennok, as well as Sabrinah and Soryu, instinctively knew this but merely watched, doing nothing.
Even the superhumans who had surrounded them and watched them sharply paused slightly.
[Pandemonium, are you not going to stop the bombardment raining down on your main force?]
“Stop it?”
Lennok chuckled.
“Why would I do that?”
[….]
“My business is done. I don’t care if other people die or not. If they want to live, they’ll struggle on their own. And most importantly….”
Inside the theater, a monster remained, one that Lennok couldn’t even guarantee victory against.
The moment the meteor was about to pierce the theater roof like paper and plummet into the main hall inside.
PA-AAAAHT!!!
A pale flash of light erupted from inside the theater, accurately piercing the meteor’s core.
A chilling, grinding sound echoed as if eating away at its interior, and hairline cracks began to form on the surface of the meteor falling from the sky.
JEOP-JEOP-JEOP…!!
At that moment, the house-sized rock shattered into dozens of rectangular pieces, crashing down around the theater.
Raising a massive dust cloud, they violently pounded the ground.
KU-GU-GU-GU!!!
An enormous impact. But it was far from the devastation the meteor was originally expected to bring.
The flash of light from inside the theater had split the meteor into dozens of pieces in an instant, minimizing the impact and preventing the entire theater from exploding.
Soryu and Sabrinah, who had been looking up at the sky, didn’t seem surprised either, slowly raising their magical energy.
“Well, I somewhat expected this.”
“That woman is inside. She must have reached a level where ordinary physical force can’t even touch her.”
[…They’re crazy bastards.]
Someone among the visored figures, who had been silently observing the three, spoke.
“Who are you people?”
Soryu asked, gazing around with a cold expression.
“There’s no shortage of organizations hostile to Pandemonium, but I’ve never heard of a group that wears such strange helmets.”
[Enough. That’s far enough.]
Then, the black-magical-energy-emitting visor, standing at the center of those superhumans, opened its mouth.
The black visor stared intently at Soryu, then suddenly turned its back.
[If you’re not going to intervene, we don’t need you. We’re entering the theater. Handle yourselves.]
DUDUDUDU!!!
At those words, most of the dozen or so visored figures who had surrounded the entire theater vanished, and countless people began to rise from beneath the theater ground.
“Ughhh…!!”
“Gya-gya-gyaak!!”
Covered in dirt, their decaying bodies crawled and rushed towards the three.
Sabrinah, who immediately recognized the spell’s true nature, muttered.
“Necromancy. And it’s a very proper, orthodox kind…!!”
No sooner had she finished speaking than the corpses haphazardly raised their arms and slammed them onto the parking lot floor,
And the asphalt floor shattered like glass, its fragments exploding vertically.
KWA-AAANG!!
An incredibly powerful impact, hard to believe it was wielded by a corpse.
At the same time, dozens of corpses that had risen from various parts of the theater rushed at Lennok and Soryu, as if to tear off their limbs.
Realizing that the initial meteor bombardment had little effect, they immediately changed their strategy.
Not only did they split their forces into two, but they also used necromancy to heavily reinforce their numbers, attempting to pin the three down here.
“Pointless.”
CLANG!!
Soryu rubbed both his wrists, activating his magical energy first.
Soryu, having fully manifested his bloodline ability, placed one hand on the ground and drew out his power.
Simultaneously, a massive wave of ice erupted from Soryu, instantly engulfing the limbs of the rushing corpses and freezing them solid.
Just as the corpses, with superhuman strength, struggled to break the ice wave and burst out.
SHIIIK!!
Sabrinah applied magical energy to her fingertip and touched her lips, then shouted loudly.
[Freeze!!]
JEONG-EOONG!!
A word spirit ability, containing power beyond mere intention and resolve, activated. It amplified Soryu’s cold wave, holding the corpses in place.
“Well done.”
The reason the two exerted themselves to hold the corpses at this moment was obvious.
Lennok also immediately drew on his magical energy, activating Compassion of the Archangel.
He spatial-translocated several Mana Resonance Area Control Resonant Incendiary Bombs (MAPHI), which he had detonated in Logier’s maw, scattering them into the air and detonating them directly.
KWA-AAAAANG!!!
The solidly frozen corpses were swept away by the explosion’s shock, their limbs shattering and scattering.
And beyond the scenery of the shattering corpse fragments, four gleaming magical lights, as if waiting, flashed.
SHWA-AAAAAK!!
Four magical lights of different colors, fired from four directions, shot towards the three almost simultaneously.
A chilling, fierce assault, pressing in right before their eyes the moment their presence was confirmed by magic detection.
There was no time to coordinate or react. The three moved almost simultaneously.
“Soryu!!”
“I know.”
In the fleeting moment that Lennok used two consecutive Flashes to single-handedly receive two of the four offensives,
Soryu pulled out a fist-sized crystal ball from his pocket and threw it onto the ground, shattering it.
A dense, night-sky-like veil, seeping from inside the crystal ball, instantly enveloped Sabrinah and Soryu, absorbing the crisscrossing magical lights.
KWA-AAANG!!
One of the cursed legacies of the Kabahim Dynasty.
However, the other two visored figures, continuing their assault past Lennok, reacted equally nimbly.
DUDUDUDU!!!
Instead of dispelling or tearing through the veil, they intensified their magical energy and began to pour even more violent attacks onto it.
The visored figure emitting brown magical light scooped up a mound of earth, forming it into a gigantic fist, and slammed it down.
The visored figure with silver magical light relentlessly thrust a blade held in their hand into the veil.
Lennok, while facing the green and crimson visored figures rushing towards him, was slightly surprised by the completeness of their spells.
‘Their power and stability are quite high. Are all four of them both physical superhumans and spellcasters…?’
KWA-AAANG!!
Meanwhile, Soryu, who had somehow withstood the two visored figures’ assault from beyond the veil, coughed and pulled back the veil.
HWA-AAAK!!
A massive ice monument, emitting cold energy, rose from behind the veil.
Complex ancient characters carved into the surface of the ice monument glowed vividly, amplifying Sabrinah’s magical energy like mad.
Sabrinah, her face pale, made hand seals with both hands behind Soryu and bit her lip until it bled.
This exchange, which seemed somewhat excessive, was it to buy time for the word spirit user to prepare her incantation?
Realizing this, the visored figures leaned their bodies towards Sabrinah with a sharply changed momentum in that fleeting moment.
With blood flowing freely from between her lips, Sabrinah unleashed her word spirit ability once more.
[EVERYONE, DON’T MOVE!!!]
KII-EEING!!!
At that moment, the movements of all seven people, who had not rested for a single second, stopped almost simultaneously in place.
A strange trajectory, as if an invisible someone had grabbed them by the collar in mid-air and pushed them back, rather than by their own will.
[This… is astonishing. Power that’s hard to believe is just word spirit magic.]
The crimson visored figure, who had been facing Lennok, spoke for the first time.
[Mere spell incantation wouldn’t produce such powerful restraint. It’s an amplification mechanism triggered by blood, a temporarily created spell catalyst. And…]
She glanced at her rigid, unmoving fingertips and quietly chuckled.
[Did you use a Geas, putting yourself and your allies entirely under the scope of the word spirit ability? What immense courage.]
The crimson visored figure’s words were not wrong in the slightest.
No, rather, it felt as if she knew excessively much about Sabrinah’s word spirit abilities.
Amplification of spell incantation through blood. And the power of the temporarily erected monument using Soryu’s ice.
Furthermore, by setting the condition that not only herself but also Soryu and Lennok could not move with a Geas.
Sabrinah had succeeded in casting a word spirit ability that stopped everything moving in that place.
The monument erected behind her back must be the ‘word spirit artifact’ that Sabrinah had briefly mentioned.
Considering that word spirit abilities, despite their power and versatility, generally have a very low success rate, this situation was proof that Sabrinah herself had walked a very fine line.
Simply by asking Soryu to buy her a moment to prepare her incantation, Sabrinah had managed to bind the movements of both herself and her opponents in this place.
Since lifting the word spirit ability was entirely up to her, it was as good as instantly seizing the initiative.
Sabrinah was starkly demonstrating how a master-level word spirit user could seize control of the battlefield.
“…”
Of course, Lennok was unaffected by Sabrinah’s word spirit ability, but instead of informing Soryu and Sabrinah of that fact, he quietly listened to her words.
Lennok’s specific target resistance ability was a very powerful and anomalous magical talent.
Possessing such a talent alone could allow someone to identify and track the identity of a spellcaster like Victor.
Though he was currently acting with Soryu and Sabrinah, their relationship could turn hostile at any moment.
There was no reason to break this standoff and offer his power.
Wiping the blood flowing from her torn lip, Sabrinah asked coldly.
“What do you want?”
[….]
“How much do you know? No, who are you guys, to begin with?”
While interrogating her opponents, Sabrinah made no mention of The Doctor, the Intermediate Settlement, or the members.
Since she didn’t know how much the other side knew about Pandemonium’s Intermediate Settlement, she judged there was no need to prematurely give away information.
[There’s something I want to ask first.]
The crimson visored figure, who had been standing rigidly, quietly looking down at her own body, spoke.
[Dain was an expert in stealth among us. How did you notice him?]
“Why do you think we’d answer that?”
Sabrinah retorted coldly.
The visored figure slowly wiggled their visor.
[It wouldn’t be bad for you. I don’t necessarily want to kill you here.]
“What?”
[My mission is simply to stall you from joining Pandemonium’s main force. If you want to live, wouldn’t it be better to just casually chat with me and then part ways?]
“…”
Her relaxed attitude was hard to believe, given that she seemed to be aware they were part of Pandemonium and were scheduled to meet today.
The other visored figures who appeared beside her also showed no complaints about her words, simply observing the three’s movements quietly.
Lennok listened to the visored figure’s words with interest, then replied.
“If you wanted to hide it completely, you shouldn’t have been so perfect.”
[What do you mean?]
“You people thoroughly cleared out this satellite city before coming here.”
Lennok smiled, seeing the visored figure suddenly fall silent.
“The murderous intent that constantly lingered throughout the city suddenly shrank significantly, but near the parking lot, there was strangely little change. Wouldn’t that be because someone was arbitrarily adjusting the aura of the entire area?”
[Hmm, that’s….]
“There are probably two possibilities.”
Lennok said leisurely.
“Either your organization hurriedly coordinated, so much so that they couldn’t agree on the operation, or this ‘Dain’, who just died, was a genius who mastered stealth only in theory.”
[….]
“Probably both, right? That’s why he didn’t know he needed to appropriately reveal himself by matching the surrounding auras and the situation.”
Everyone present naturally leaned in to listen to his casual remark.
Lennok felt the sudden, blatant attention and added.
“Sometimes, you need to reveal yourself to be hidden. It’s the complex yet paradoxical subtlety of stealth. For someone who has mastered stealth to this extent not to know that means they haven’t used it much in real combat.”
The visored figure said nothing more.
“An armed organization with systematic training and organizational power, capable of teaching and having superhumans, who already have a special field, master stealth from scratch. It’s obvious where such infrastructure and investment could come from.”
Lennok subtly wiggled his finger as he spoke.
“You came from Vulcan. Didn’t you?”
Silence fell.
After a long pause, the crimson visored figure raised their gaze and spoke to Lennok.
[What was your name again?]
Between the tense atmosphere and the sharp night air.
This current standoff, a 3-on-4 situation, superficially seemed manageable.
Yet, it made them hesitate to move, as they couldn’t prematurely guess the opponent’s thoughts.
[You shouldn’t do anything unnecessary. Once the main force’s business is over, we have no intention of holding you.]
“Their goal was the person left in the theater from the start….”
The Doctor, or the new statue he brought, must have been their objective.
Indeed, it seemed undeniable that information about the Intermediate Settlement had leaked.
The very fact that they heard about the Intermediate Settlement, which was top-secret within Pandemonium, and raided this place, was problematic.
It was proof that the opponent was also a formidable armed organization, possessing both excellent intelligence and superior personnel.
It wouldn’t be strange if they knew a certain extent about the purpose of this operation or the composition of the members.
‘What worries me most is that they cleared out the Bailuts area beforehand.’
Lennok’s eyes gleamed coldly behind his mask.
It was obvious what it meant that they had cleared out the obstacles in the satellite city beforehand, even risking being discovered by Pandemonium members.
‘They’re not just trying to interfere with Pandemonium’s operation. There’s a high possibility they came prepared for an all-out war.’
What could be the objective of the visored superhumans?
The eight-armed idol, The Doctor’s presence, or the Old World artifact?
Or it could simply be to weaken Pandemonium’s forces.
As long as they didn’t know how much information the other side held about Pandemonium, rash action was impossible.
From their words, it seemed that the opponent’s members were also engaging the theater’s members.
Unless The Doctor gave a separate signal, it was best to wait and see for now.
Soryu and Sabrinah also seemed to share this thought, merely watching them with expressionless faces.
If anything, it was the visored superhumans who had conversed with Lennok who seemed more tense.
“Sabrinah. I have a question.”
“Hey, don’t say my name.”
Soryu ignored Sabrinah’s sharp retort and spoke.
“I don’t know about unauthorized armed organizations in the Eastern Continent. Do you have any guesses?”
“I do.”
Sabrinah answered, crossing her arms.
“Judging by their reaction, it seems Victor’s conjectures were mostly correct. In that case, I can make an educated guess.”
“Where?”
The two openly deduced the opponent organization’s identity in front of its members.
“One of the special agencies newly established by the Vulcan City Government after the Prohibition Edict was lifted. Among them, the superhuman unit that trains superhumans with new ability developments. I’ve heard about them.”
Sabrinah stared intently at the visors as she spoke.
“Special Agency Aegis. They’re famous for operating with all their members thoroughly concealing their identities. Those helmets are probably for that purpose.”
[….]
“However, I didn’t know that a new agency, less than two years old, had already expanded its scope of activity outside the city. A satellite city like this isn’t even equivalent to a few combined districts compared to Vulcan.”
Sabrinah was right.
Lennok still remembered encountering superhumans with similar visors just before he left for the Hanghasa Labyrinth.
Special Agency Aegis. He had already guessed they were a type of special force established after the Prohibition Edict was lifted.
“A special agency from Vulcan, huh….”
Soryu turned sharply to Lennok, nodding with a cold gaze.
“There’s no benefit in dragging this out. Let’s move.”
“Agreed.”
Lennok also readily agreed.
[Wait, I clearly said to just wait…!!]
The visored figure’s communication wasn’t finished.
The moment Lennok subtly wiggled his previously stopped finger, all the magical threads attached to his fingertip erupted.
CHA-RA-RA-RA-RAK!!!
Hundreds of magical threads released from all directions coiled and rotated around the parking lot, tearing up all the asphalt from the ground and tossing it into the sky.
KWA-AAANG!!!
Asphalt fragments surged into the sky like a storm, obscuring their vision and raging.
The Aegis members gritted their teeth at the storm of foreign matter clinging to their visors from all directions, obstructing their view.
[These bastards…!! Pursue them!! Don’t let them join the main force!!]
“Argh!!”
Soryu grabbed Sabrinah by the nape of her neck, threw her body forward, and sprinted towards the theater.
JEOP-JEOP!!
Simultaneously, a path of ice erupted from the ground, sliding under Sabrinah’s stomach and propelling her forward, while Soryu sprinted madly beside her.
A perfectly clean reaction, showing no concern for Lennok’s safety whatsoever.
It was natural, as Soryu already understood what kind of specialized sorcerer Lennok was.
It wasn’t just an agreement that they needed to take care of the word spirit user.
Everyone simply knew, without needing to say it, who could more than pull their weight no matter where they were placed.
[…!!!]
The four agents, instantly meeting each other’s gaze, quickly divided their personnel and rushed forward.
The gray and green visors pursued Soryu and Sabrinah, while the crimson and brown visors marked Lennok.
The crimson visored figure, blocking Lennok’s path, gritted their teeth.
[How on earth did he deploy this many magical threads…!!]
“I thought it was quite obvious, but you didn’t know?”
Lennok chuckled, mimicking clenching and unclenching his fist.
“Even if your body is stopped by a word spirit ability, it’s not difficult to cut off the magical energy that has already been activated.”
Sabrinah had grabbed the asphalt of the surrounding area with magical threads just before activating her word spirit ability, then bound her body with the threads as if she were affected by the spell, stopping herself.
As soon as Soryu gave the signal, he cut the magical threads, flipping the entire parking lot ground and securing an escape route for the two to leave first.
Regaining their composure after realizing that Lennok had already prepared his moves from the time they were deducing their identities, the crimson visored figure clenched their fist tightly.
Lennok’s eyes gleamed sharply at the visored figure’s reaction.
It was different from knowing a good deal about Pandemonium’s plan and Sabrinah and Soryu’s abilities, even if they couldn’t counter them.
There was a strange reaction, as if they were ignorant of Lennok’s own abilities.
“You didn’t know about my ability. Then the story becomes rather simple.”
If Aegis had found out about Pandemonium’s settlement through a special ability like precognition, they wouldn’t have failed to be wary of Lennok’s ability.
But the reaction they were showing now indicated that their caution towards the magical threads Lennok was manipulating was slightly lax.
What did it mean that information about Lennok, who had decided to participate just before the settlement began, had not been conveyed to them?
The fact pointed to only one conclusion.
Lennok’s smile beneath his mask turned cold.
“There’s an internal mole in Pandemonium.”
[…!!!!]
Since they wouldn’t have failed to be wary if they knew about the specialized sorcerer’s existence, this situation itself was a coincidence caused by a disparity in information.
Therefore, wasn’t this situation caused by someone who had received advance information about the participation and passed it on to Aegis?