Chapter 541: Sealed Zone (3)

Lennok and his group immediately activated their communicators and relayed their new discoveries to Keegan.

“So, the mana particle exposure is a side effect caused by the anomaly within the zone…?”

Keegan’s voice betrayed significant shock.

“It’s true that despite our consistent inquiries about the exposure phenomenon, we never received an answer. I thought they were hiding something that happened inside the zone…”

“That’s not entirely wrong, Grimes.”

Purity said, hands clasped behind his back, subtly scanning his surroundings.

“The exposure phenomenon itself does arise from the process of spacetime distortion. To explain its cause, they would have had to disclose their spacetime research from District 25.”

“…I recall that you, Lord Azlan, have served several terms as a senator.”

“I don’t fully know what precisely happened within District 25, or what lingering effects still plague this city.”

Krod chuckled.

“However, I did know that there was a problem I personally had to resolve, and that its clue lay within this place.”

“…”

Purity’s pale eyes gleamed chillingly.

“My reason for participating in this operation isn’t elsewhere. Otherwise, why would I have personally stepped forward to recruit other team members?”

“So you only knew there was a clue, but didn’t know the specific cause?”

Purity nodded at Ilya’s words.

“Unrefined, half-baked knowledge and advice are worse than useless.”

“The problem is that, based on what we just discovered, we might have to change the objective of this operation entirely.”

Lennok said, leaning on his staff, looking at the display case that had been torn away by spacetime distortion.

“Entering the power plant to stop the exposure phenomenon is entirely different from stopping the spacetime distortion itself.”

“Hmm, indeed, it’s not a problem that can be solved by simply repairing cooling water or fuel rods.”

Felix also hummed in agreement with Lennok’s words.

As long as the exposure phenomenon is occurring due to spacetime distortion, it’s impossible to achieve the operation’s goal without resolving the root cause.

The issue is that directly manipulating the concept of spacetime is something only possible for monsters beyond the Hierarchy.

Excluding Lennok, who has figured out how to directly interfere with space, the possibility of resolving this would significantly decrease if Purity, an 8-level practitioner, weren’t here.

“Should we be glad that the situation isn’t entirely beyond our control?”

“If we retreat now, there’s no telling when we’ll be able to re-enter the Restricted Zone.”

Felix stated.

“It’s not too late to assess the situation after finding the power plant’s location and entering it to confirm the conditions.”

“I’ve checked the satellite images we received beforehand several times, but there’s no terrain similar to it anywhere near here.”

“That means we’ll have to go deeper into the zone to find the power plant’s location.”

“It would be best to split into four directions again, as we did before.”

Purity, who had been watching their conversation, added his opinion.

“Since we don’t know how long the zone’s internal exposure will continue to affect us, we need to explore as wide an area as possible, as quickly as possible.”

“…”

Of course, Lennok had no intention of giving up on this operation just because the objective had changed.

The Restricted Zone was one of the forbidden areas where traces of the Black Consumer Project remained most strongly.

If even the City Council had given up on it and quarantined it, there was a high probability that the secrets Lennok sought were preserved intact within.

The aftermath of the project that had brought ruin to the central city of Ars Nova.

To directly confirm that secret and provide a better answer, Lennok had to keep moving.

“Van, are you sure? If moving alone is too much, perhaps it would be better to have one of us accompany you…”

“No, Krod Azlan is right.”

Lennok replied, picking up his staff.

“It’s rational to spread out in four directions and explore the widest possible area, as before. There’s no reason to waste unnecessary time.”

“I heard your condition isn’t great. What if you overexert yourself acting alone…?”

“I agree, Van. This isn’t like the evacuation route. We don’t know what awaits us inside the Restricted Zone.”

Felix agreed, his voice heavy.

“I don’t think we should let the only person among us capable of handling a rear-guard role work alone anymore.”

“…”

“I’ll go with Van. Is that acceptable to everyone?”

At Felix’s words, Ilya immediately nodded.

“Sybrid Echo usually assigns me solo missions. I have no problem with it.”

She was a Transcendent-level ability user who could freely wield five ultra-vibrating spears and possessed formidable mobility.

She was a special agent specialized in hit-and-run guerrilla warfare, and capable of extricating herself from most situations.

In fact, she tended to display her strengths more fully when moving alone rather than with someone else.

Purity, who had been quietly listening to the three’s conversation, spoke with a slightly disappointed tone.

“It seems I’m already confirmed to move alone.”

“…Lord Azlan. Isn’t that obvious?”

“How sad. That no one worries about me, the eldest among us…”

“Excuse me, but who would worry about an 8-level superhu–”

“Well, as long as we can still communicate with the supervisor via the communicators, there shouldn’t be a major problem.”

Purity cleared his throat and subtly averted his gaze at Ilya’s dumbfounded reply.

“Let’s proceed with the search until we find terrain similar to the power plant’s satellite images.”

“What if we go too deep into the zone and lose contact? What should we do then?”

“Inform us of your intent to enter right before contact is lost, and then proceed.”

Lennok replied.

“Reporting every time communication cuts off would take too long. It’s better to leave it to individual judgment.”

“I concur.”

“What if we encounter survivors in the Restricted Zone?”

Silence fell.

“As long as we can’t definitively say whether a survivor is friend or foe, I don’t think we need to set guidelines here.”

Purity said, hands clasped behind his back, holding his staff.

His faint smile seemed unusually bright.

“Wouldn’t it be better to act according to the situation on site?”

“That’s not wrong, but…”

“Then let’s begin immediately.”

Finally, they shared their current location through their four communicators, divided the necessary equipment, and moved out.

In front of the abandoned supermarket, only faint noise flowed from the distorted cracks caused by the spacetime distortion.

“…”

Lennok glanced at Purity’s receding back and immediately followed Felix.

Lennok and Felix immediately turned into the main street intersection of the western commercial district.

Given the abandoned supermarket nearby, it was natural that a residential area or facility had once been located in the vicinity.

Using their mana detection, finding traces was not difficult.

The cold street, piled high with decades of dust and ashes, formed a desolate center.

Buildings on the street were damaged, looking as if they could collapse at any moment due to the side effects of the exposure phenomenon occurring all around them.

Even the asphalt of the road they walked on was so ravaged it crumbled into powder.

Felix, shouldering the Hammer of Advent, gazed around and spoke.

“Van, look here. Someone’s dead.”

“…”

The corpse was striking enough to be immediately noticeable even without Felix pointing it out.

Perhaps it had been partially trapped in the spacetime distortion, its entire body was a gruesome sight, reduced to mere bone fragments.

Yet, a single, still-living leg remained, preventing the body from completely turning to dust.

A bizarre scene where life and death coexisted, skipping decades of time.

Felix asked.

“…Do you think there are any survivors?”

“No.”

Lennok replied.

“Even if survivors existed, they would have long since left the Restricted Zone. The supervisor himself would know that better.”

After a moment of silence upon hearing that reply, Felix said.

“Indeed… You also thought the supervisor was a survivor from District 25.”

“If the supervisor didn’t come to mind after seeing this phenomenon, that would be stranger.”

Spacetime distortion. And Keegan Grimes’s face, where youth and old age coexisted.

In fact, it would be more suspicious if the other team members hadn’t yet connected those two elements.

“So this operation itself is made up of those from the Restricted Zone… A heartbreaking situation.”

Felix also quickly composed himself and began actively scouting the surroundings.

“…Indeed, as we’ve entered the zone, there’s more evidence of stronger spacetime distortion. Look there.”

Among the weathered, ancient buildings of the street, an increasing number of structures or walls now gleamed unnaturally new.

Landscapes frozen in time, barely moving from decades past.

Such sights, which had only appeared intermittently on the zone’s outskirts, now clearly increased in frequency and scope.

A perfectly preserved botanical garden in a corner of the ruined street.

A television screen, working perfectly, outside a broken, old display case.

Landscapes that hadn’t lost their color and time appeared more strongly as they moved deeper into the street.

“…We’ve arrived.”

Before their eyes stretched a clean, bustling commercial district, shining brilliantly as if it had just been built and then abandoned.

“A contradiction, where desolation contrasted with a vibrant commercial district across a hazy boundary line.

From here, there was no way to avoid the spacetime distortion. At least, they would have to give up exploring if they didn’t directly enter the distorted area.

Felix gripped his hammer with a tense expression.

“What happens if we fully enter the time-distorted zone?”

“No major problems will occur immediately.”

Lennok replied.

“Transcendent-level practitioners who have mastered the seven hierarchies possess strong resistance to external environmental changes. While they can’t interfere with spacetime, they also aren’t easily swayed by its changes.”

Was that why all team members for this operation were composed of Transcendent-level individuals or higher?

“However, you must be careful if you stay in the distorted space for too long. If your internal mana can’t withstand the rapid changes during the return to normal time, and begins to undergo exposure…”

“Alright. I understand. No need to say more.”

Felix said, sending an entry signal to Keegan via his communicator, and began to walk.

“Then let’s go.”

Shimmering!

A myriad of crystals seemed to clash and fall, causing a ringing in his ears, and the surrounding scenery slowly transformed.

Beyond the cold, desolate ruins, the inside of the time-frozen distorted space was not only warm but humid.

It wasn’t just the weather; it felt as if the warmth of people who had actually existed in this space still lingered.

Crackle-

“Lord Magat, have you entered the distorted space?”

Purity’s voice prompted Felix to immediately raise his communicator.

“Yes, Lord Azlan. Communication is still holding.”

“I’m contacting you in advance, as it may become difficult to reach me from now on.”

“…”

“I also tried to contact Lord Ilya in advance, but it seems she has already gone deep into the area, so be careful.”

Purity said in a slow voice.

“If the communicators are still functioning normally, Supervisor Grimes may receive our personal feeds with a time delay, but it will be difficult for us to communicate back and forth.”

“It will be difficult unless we find an area within the zone where time is flowing normally again.”

Krod continued.

“Essentially, we should consider that possibility low.”

“I’ll confirm one last thing: as soon as you find the power plant’s location, return to a point where contact is possible. If others haven’t returned by then, re-enter in the direction your team members advanced. We’ll repeat this process as long as our stamina allows. Is that acceptable?”

“Of course.”

“Good. Then, I wish you good luck.”

Click

Lennok, who had been listening to their conversation while looking at Felix, opened his mouth.

“Ilya’s entry speed is faster than I thought. Considering her cautious personality, that’s unexpected.”

No answer.

“…”

Swoosh!

Feeling a flicker of dread from that fact, Lennok sharply turned his head.

Felix, who had just been next to Lennok, receiving the call, was gone.

No, even using mana detection, there was no trace or reaction, as if he had evaporated from the spot.

“This is…”

Had Lennok been attacked, or had something happened to Felix?

If he had to guess, the latter, as Felix had no target-specific resistance ability, but Lennok thought it was neither.

If someone had acted precisely at the moment they fully entered the distorted space, they shouldn’t have even given Purity a chance to make contact.

It was highly probable that this situation had nothing to do with anyone’s intention or plan.

Thinking so, Lennok naturally leaned on his staff and slowly walked through the dazzling commercial district of the Restricted Zone.

‘Inside the distorted space, there’s no need to worry about exposure. The problem is rather the location of the power plant.’

A splendidly warm landscape.

But within it, a terrible silence, devoid of any sound, only intensified the sense of unease.

A silence so profound it felt as though his ears were stuffed.

Lennok’s eyes grew cold.

‘It’s a coincidence, but not a mere coincidence. What if the spacetime distortion has exceeded a certain limit, and is even affecting the events that transpired at that time…?’

At that moment, quiet footsteps echoed behind Lennok.

Thump.

Not the sound of shoes, nor bare feet, but the soft noise of fabric treading on the ground.

It wasn’t Felix, Ilya, or Krod.

It was an entirely different presence, yet one that filled Lennok with a strange sense of déjà vu, of familiarity.

Before Lennok could turn around, a stern voice, like a command, descended upon him.

“Slowly turn around and state your affiliation and name.”

“…”

“You are an unconfirmed participant in this incident. If you cannot reliably vouch for your identity, I will have no choice but to consider you an enemy and attack you on the spot.”

A voice he had heard before.

A mana signature he remembered.

Not a survivor of the Restricted Zone. It was someone Lennok definitely knew.

But even as Lennok felt it so clearly, he couldn’t easily turn around, overwhelmed by a feeling that he couldn’t quite grasp as certainty.

Not because an acquaintance of Lennok’s was alive and well, roaming the Restricted Zone.

Nor because that person had become hostile to him without his knowledge.

All the clues—the voice Lennok was hearing, the aura emanating from that body, the life signature etched in his memory—all belonged to someone who absolutely should not exist.

“Can you not hear me?”

As Lennok remained unmoving, the voice grew increasingly rigid and cold.

“I’ll give you three counts. If you don’t make a decision by then…”

“…”

“I, Parden McQueen, will have no choice but to take responsibility and eradicate you from this place.”

That was it.

Lennok could no longer bear it and immediately turned around.

Standing across the desolate street was an old monk, clad in a worn traditional Korean robe.

In one hand, he held a long, yellow monk’s staff, and his bronze skin was densely covered with inscrutable tattoos, giving him an odd appearance.

But the mana flowing from his body and his characteristic ascetic aura belonged to an opponent Lennok could never forget.

Parden McQueen, the first director of the Cartel.

A renegade monk from Stania Monastery, who had descended to the secular world with Olivera Ron Maize to become her right-hand man.

And who had ultimately betrayed her, meeting his death directly at Lennok’s hands—a 7-level Transcendent-level sorcerer.

The opponent to whom Lennok had delivered the final blow by first deploying his Domain.

The deceased, who should have turned to a handful of ashes, stood there now as if it were only natural.

Looking intensely vibrant and alive, as if he had been rejuvenated by decades.