Chapter 542: Sealed Zone (4)

Parden McQueen. The Cartel’s first director.

The very individual who had conspired with an organization called Ten Counts to betray the Cartel, and who Lennok had faced when the plan was exposed.

The rogue monk Lennok had killed, the member of the directorate who had been Lennok’s first opponent in the Domain.

A man who had understood the meaning of the Kaleidoscope’s Domain, and in the end, unable to accept its direction, had turned to a handful of ash.

He was someone with whom Lennok had no good memories during all the time he had known him.

However, upon encountering McQueen, Lennok felt not animosity or shock, but rather a far more powerful curiosity and interest.

“He doesn’t recognize me. Why?”

Why was Parden McQueen, whom Lennok had killed with his own hands, alive and well inside this Sealed Zone?

Why was he speaking so casually, as if he didn’t remember Lennok, and why did his face show such an ambiguous expression upon seeing him?

A complex expression, as if he remembered nothing that had happened before.

McQueen walked right up to the still-standing Lennok and stared intently at his face for a long time.

“No matter how I look at it, you don’t seem like a team member assembled for this operation…”

“I haven’t properly heard about the operation yet.”

Lennok replied with an expressionless face.

“I lost my way to the power plant. It would be helpful if you could tell me exactly where this place is.”

“…A superhuman from Vulcan doesn’t know where the particle accelerator power plant in Ramahal District is?”

“…”

Lennok subtly averted his gaze, watching McQueen’s expression narrow with suspicion.

In contrast to his somewhat sluggish response, Lennok’s mind was racing at a frantic pace.

‘Ramahal District. I get the gist of it.’

Before all districts of the megacity were reorganized by number, each district apparently had its own unique name.

The Ramahal District McQueen mentioned must refer to the pre-reorganization name for District 25, which was designated as a Sealed Zone.

Starting from that fact and tracing back, Lennok could deduce more about McQueen’s appearance.

Sandals from a discontinued brand, no longer produced.

Fewer tattoos than Lennok remembered, and fewer fine wrinkles.

A demeanor somewhere between detached and resigned, unlike when he had met his demise.

And finally, the way he treated Lennok as if he were seeing him for the first time, even after looking at his face.

‘Right. I suspected as much.’

Considering what was happening in this Sealed Zone, there was only one answer.

Parden McQueen, standing before Lennok’s eyes, was not a fake or an illusion.

Nor was he a forgotten memory, or a deceased person revived in some unknown form.

Lennok was simply encountering Parden McQueen from decades ago, from a time before he had even met Lennok.

The landscape of the power plant, left behind decades ago, distorted by the spatiotemporal rift that occurred in the Sealed Zone.

What was preserved within it was not merely ordinary objects or scenery.

The people gathered at this power plant during the incident that led to District 25 being designated and quarantined as a Sealed Zone.

The Sealed Zone had fully preserved their strength, existence, and even their memories.

As a formidable individual who had completed his Hierarchy and reached Level 7 decades ago, his external appearance showed almost no change.

However, at this point in time, he was himself from a period when he hadn’t even met Lennok, let alone remembered him.

‘Survivors of the Sealed Zone. Food aid shipments. Inconsistent details and secrets… was this all because of this?’

The failure of the Black Consumer Project. Vulcan’s deepest, darkest secret.

Lennok had always wondered about its true extent, but he hadn’t imagined it to be this stark and devastating.

The cause of the exposure phenomenon. The hidden truth of spatiotemporal research. Even the grand causality encompassing all these mysteries.

Was this entire situation someone’s intention?

“…The streets of this district are currently being controlled by the superhumans participating in this operation.”

McQueen, who had been staring at Lennok with suspicious eyes as he struggled to shake off his thoughts, spoke.

“It’s been over three days since civilians and others unrelated to this incident were all evacuated.”

“…”

“This isn’t a place where an ordinary person could get lost and wander in. I believe some form of identification is required.”

“Very well. That’s not difficult.”

Lennok nodded readily.

At his unhesitating answer, McQueen’s eyebrows twitched.

“Oh? So, would you care to present it?”

The atmosphere slowly heated within the desolate silence.

A sharp, piercing tension, as if they were about to draw on their mana and clash, filled the air.

As Lennok reached into his pocket, McQueen gripped his staff and took a step back.

“Here it is.”

A pristine white business card was produced between his gloved fingers.

Without using any mana, he slowly offered it to McQueen.

“W-wait a minute…!!”

McQueen, who had taken the business card with an expressionless face, confirmed a signature written at the bottom and his eyes widened.

“How do you have a business card with her signature…!!!”

It was the business card Lennok had personally received from Olivera when he was appointed as an external advisor to the Cartel.

Lennok had shown Parden McQueen the business card bearing her direct signature.

“I have come directly on orders from Lady Olivera Ron Maize.”

His gaze could not waver.

As if it had been decided from the very beginning that he would meet McQueen himself to convey this fact.

Lennok stared at McQueen with deep-set eyes and spoke slowly.

“As an external advisor to the head office, I will be thoroughly reviewing and reorganizing the command structure of this operation.”

“External advisor, hmm…!!”

“First, I would like you to guide me through the facilities near the power plant. Would that be acceptable?”

McQueen, decades ago, was a loyal subordinate and right-hand man of the Cartel, diligently assisting the chairman with all his heart—unlike the time when he had just betrayed Olivera.

At such a time, if someone presented a business card directly signed by Olivera and requested a tour of the power plant, he would not be able to refuse.

Lennok had specifically targeted McQueen’s nature, intending to conveniently receive guidance to the facilities and terrain around the power plant with his help.

As if Lennok’s prediction was not wrong, McQueen seemed to lose some of his composure the moment he saw the business card with Olivera’s signature.

“Indeed, the design of the business card and the company name are those of the head office, which have not yet been officially announced…!!”

“That would be clear proof that I am an insider.”

Was the company name ‘Cartel’ not yet officially launched at this time?

Lennok quickly adjusted his act and background story to match McQueen’s words.

“Speaking of which, I have matters to discuss with the executives of the head office regarding that.”

“…You expect me to trust you with just this business card and guide you to the power plant?”

“If you don’t trust me, there’s no need to force yourself to.”

Lennok replied calmly.

“However, I have presented the evidence to prove my identity, as you requested.”

“…”

“If you know Lady Olivera’s disposition, you’d also know that she doesn’t readily hand out such signatures to others.”

“What will you do if I don’t guide you?”

Lennok was not flustered by McQueen’s sharp question.

“Then I’ll have to find a way to get into the power plant facilities on my own. My task doesn’t disappear.”

“…”

Perhaps Lennok’s relaxed answer, showing almost no interest in McQueen, became the turning point for his decision.

Having seemingly made a difficult decision in response to the wizard’s words, which lacked any animosity or hostility, McQueen slowly returned the business card he was holding to Lennok.

Lennok smirked as he received the business card back.

“Thank you for trusting me.”

Naturally, Lennok felt no hostility or murderous intent towards McQueen not because he intended to become allies with him now.

It was simply because if he had killed an opponent once, he was confident he would never be defeated under any conditions or circumstances.

Moreover, McQueen from decades ago was still unaware of his own desires and couldn’t even properly wield his Domain.

It would be stranger to feel an enemy in the past McQueen, whose spells, combat power, and judgment were all cruder than when Lennok had single-handedly fought and killed him.

It was this near-indifference that instilled a faint sense of trust in McQueen, making him believe Lennok was not an enemy.

“I’m not guiding you to the power plant because I trust or believe you.”

McQueen said coldly, turning his back.

“It’s just that I have no choice but to take you to the power plant to verify the evidence you’ve presented, so we might as well go together.”

“…What did you say?”

Verification, he said. There could only be one way to determine the veracity of the lie Lennok had just uttered.

The moment Lennok immediately questioned McQueen’s words, a premonition of ill omen arose in a corner of his mind.

McQueen, who had completely averted his gaze from Lennok, began to walk.

“The Chairman is residing inside the power plant. If I take you there, she can verify your words immediately.”

“…”

At that moment, Lennok realized that the lie he had concocted to deceive McQueen had instantly turned into a worthless scrap of paper.

Seeing how the current McQueen correctly recognized and addressed her, there was no doubt.

Olivera from decades ago had also participated in the operation near the power plant at that time and remained isolated within this Sealed Zone.

If he were to enter the power plant now and face the past Olivera, he would almost certainly be exposed.

However, this was merely a temporary deception. There were plenty of other methods.

Lennok’s eyes quietly sank as he watched McQueen’s back.

‘Should I kill him?’

This was someone Lennok had already ended once. Would anything change if he killed him again now?

The moment he took action, he would inevitably become an enemy of the other past existences living in this district.

But if the lie he had fabricated to deceive McQueen was exposed, the outcome would ultimately be similar.

In that case, it would be more rational to simply deal with McQueen cleanly here and find the power plant on his own.

Explaining what was happening in this Sealed Zone to the other team members during that process wouldn’t be bad either.

The decision was not difficult.

‘One swift strike from behind, disassembling him without resistance.’

He quietly drew the twisted dagger gifted by Soryu from within his coat.

It was a custom-made magical weapon designed to pierce, embedding curses and spells within its twisted blade.

He subtly manipulated his mana, imbuing the twisted blade with magic designed to extinguish McQueen’s life.

To leave no room for resistance through spells, he reverse-engineered and deployed his future self’s Liberation Protocol and Domain Boundary Pattern.

The moment McQueen resisted, they would interlock like a key, disassembling him piece by piece from the roots of his mana.

“Perfect timing. What is Lady Olivera doing right now?”

As he naturally replied to McQueen, he levitated the dagger into the air.

“I don’t know. For a while, she’s been busy with external maintenance of the power plant and updating the security system…”

“It’s much easier for me to speak to her directly. Please take me to the power plant as quickly as possible.”

“Even so, whether she meets you isn’t up to our will.”

As they conversed, the twisted dagger silently approached, almost brushing against McQueen’s cloak.

Lennok’s mana manipulation, deployment speed, responsiveness, and reaction time held an overwhelming advantage.

If he exploited a psychological opening during their conversation, he could instantly kill McQueen before he could even gather his magical power.

At that fleeting moment, when McQueen’s mouth, vocal cords, and heart simultaneously opened and vibrated, and his blood flow slightly accelerated, faintly disturbing his sensory perception.

Lennok slid the blade into that natural, imperceptible gap.

The twisted blade pierced through McQueen’s spell defenses and breathing, aiming to penetrate a vital spot and halt all life-sustaining activities. At that very moment…

“She’s been spending all day researching and experimenting with Kaiser, hasn’t she?”

“…!!!”

Lennok’s mind, previously immersed in the flow of his thoughts, snapped back to reality at an incredible speed.

Simultaneously, he halted the dagger, which had been launched with full force, mid-air, without McQueen noticing.

At the precise instant the dagger’s blade, which had reached just before piercing McQueen’s carotid artery behind his neck, slightly pushed back, unable to overcome its own momentum.

The rogue monk took another step forward, and the blade narrowly missed him, brushing past.

Lennok immediately reached out, snatched the halted dagger from the air, and tucked it back into his coat.

“…?”

Perhaps feeling something amiss at the sudden movement, McQueen snapped his head around and glared at Lennok.

“…What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

Leaning on his staff, Lennok asked, not a drop of sweat on his brow.

His demeanor was incredibly calm, unbelievable for someone who had just been about to instantly kill McQueen.

McQueen stared intently at Lennok’s face for a long time with sharp eyes, then slowly turned his gaze away.

“No… It’s nothing.”

“More importantly, I’d like to hear more details about the Chairman.”

Lennok opened his mouth again, simultaneously beginning to walk beside McQueen as if nothing had happened.

“With Kaiser… what research are they doing now?”

Did McQueen realize that he had almost met his second death just now?

Ironically, it was the last words he grumbled that saved McQueen’s life—a life that was as good as dead.

Kaiser.

The name Lennok had heard and remembered countless times, yet whose truth he had never fully approached, remaining a secret.

The man who had died with the failure of the Black Consumer Project and was ultimately buried amidst the project’s secrets was here now.

Trapped as a memory within the Sealed Zone, isolated in a timeline where he had not yet met his demise.

Kurbas Dam.

Keegan Grimes’s 1st-class administrator’s office.

The room, converted into a massive conference hall, was immersed in an icy silence.

Screens transmitted images from the transmitters attached to the four team members’ equipment.

Among them, the real-time video feed from Van’s transmitter had utterly suffocated everyone.

The sight of the rogue monk with bronze skin and complex tattoos covering his entire body.

High-ranking city government officials often had some knowledge of the attire and appearance of major figures operating in the underworld.

What about when that opponent was once one of the highest-ranking executives of the Cartel, who had been part of the Triad?

“Are you certain?”

The attendant, who had quickly cross-referenced human resources data from various individuals, replied immediately.

“Considering the physique, the attire at the time, and the similarity of facial features, it is undoubtedly him.”

“The Cartel’s former first director, Parden McQueen. He is presumed to be the individual who directly died at Adamant Thunder’s hands several years ago.”

“…Is there a possibility they are seeing illusions or hallucinations?”

“For a high-level wizard like Adamant Thunder, that is virtually impossible… Look.”

The attendant said, pointing to the videos being transmitted from different screens.

The screens attached to Purity, Felix, and Ilya weren’t even properly displaying images.

Only faint, blurry figures or unrecognizable landscapes flickered amidst countless static.

“Due to the influence of the barriers and magic circles spread around the Sealed Zone’s boundary, even the transmitters are struggling to function.”

“…”

“The fact that Adamant Thunder’s screen is relatively normal can only mean that he himself intervened…”

Pop!

No sooner had he finished speaking than Lennok’s transmission screen gradually blurred, then began to show only static-filled shadows, like the others.

It was merely Lennok deciding to deal with McQueen and naturally stopping the transmission, but to those unaware of that fact, it would mean something entirely different.

“Hmph…”

Keegan sighed deeply and began to pace busily around the conference room without saying a word.

After pondering in thought for a long time, Keegan slowly began to speak.

“Do you understand what it means that the transmitter just turned off?”

“Pardon?”

“Adamant Thunder was aware that the screen was transmitting. He forcibly maintained the connection to directly show us Parden McQueen’s appearance.”

“…”

Keegan desperately tried to infer what Lennok wanted from them by having him use his powerful mana manipulation, characteristic of a high-level wizard, to forcibly maintain the transmission and confirm the reality inside the Sealed Zone.

If he wanted external help by revealing the secrets within the Sealed Zone… if he had something in mind.

“He doesn’t want a solution.”

Keegan, who had been ceaselessly replaying Adamant Thunder’s actions, affiliations, and surrounding circumstances in his mind, slowly raised his head.

“Rather, he wants to pose a question.”

“…Pardon?”

“Sometimes, asking directly is the fastest and most efficient way.”

Keegan did not answer the attendant’s question, instead abruptly standing up from his seat.

“Contact the Cartel. I need to establish a hotline with the directorate.”