Chapter 553: Monster of the Past (5)
Watching Felix rapidly close the distance from the side of the corridor, Kaiser reached behind him.
The cart that had held dozens of glass bottles he’d been pulling moments ago.
Kaiser pulled out a glass bottle filled with sloshing red blood and unhesitatingly threw it to the floor.
Crash!
With the sound of shattering glass, blood spread across the corridor floor. The moment Felix unhesitatingly stepped into the blood and charged forward—
With a sharp twist, one of Felix’s legs snapped backward, and his massive body instantly toppled to one side.
Thud!
“…!!”
Even as the giant’s torso scraped against the corridor wall and crashed into it, Felix didn’t let out a single groan.
He merely glowed with a determined look, as if he had somewhat anticipated this situation, and sprang up, rolling to his feet.
His leg wasn’t broken or incapacitated.
The instant he stepped on the blood, Felix’s leg was forcibly reversed, as if time itself was rewound, completely shattering his balance.
And Felix already had an idea what the cause was.
“Kaiser Bajour. You said you directly manipulate time.”
Whoosh!
The moment the face of his hammer cleaved the air and struck, a powerful shockwave burst forth towards Kaiser.
Kaiser immediately pulled out another vial of serum and threw it into the air.
Crash!
As the serum was tossed into the air, the shockwave dissipated and vanished.
Immediately after, Felix landed in front of Kaiser, gripping his hammer with both hands, and slammed it down.
“How dare…!!”
Gileon, who had interjected between the two, thrust one of his Ironclad Wings forward, taking the hammer’s strike.
Boom!
Gileon, standing in the way of the hammer, and behind his Ironclad Wing, Kaiser silently watched Felix.
Felix pushed the hammer even more violently towards Kaiser and said,
“If Van personally witnessed your power, which was even then called ‘beyond specifications,’ there’s no doubt about it. Now I understand how you use that power.”
The bird-headed giant, gripping the hammer tightly, motioned with his eyes towards the cart behind Kaiser.
“The serum you just used. You extracted your blood beforehand to make that, didn’t you?”
“Oh, really?”
“I’ve faced a few superhumans with unique mana or constitutions. Most of them used their own blood or bodily fluids as a medium for their abilities. Back then, I couldn’t understand why they had to go to such lengths, but…”
Whooosh…!!
Felix spoke, enduring the hot blast of wind rising from the broken corridor below.
“They found their abilities hard to control, so they extracted them beforehand and used them like consumables. The magical value contained within that blood must be incalculable.”
“…”
A serum made from Kaiser’s blood. Lennok also realized its meaning and glanced at Olivera.
The inexplicable serum she had used immediately after stabbing her own heart. It would be strange not to connect the two.
The power of Defying Heaven contained in Kaiser’s serum. Olivera had used that power to forcibly nullify fatal wounds that were almost instantaneous.
‘It seems she used it to neutralize the injuries she sustained just before…’
While he wasn’t entirely unwilling to find out the full extent of its range and efficacy, or how well it would work on someone other than Kaiser…
[Master, the entire network packet structure is changing. It’s like they’re replacing all the lines themselves.]
Davi’s urgent voice came through Lennok’s earphone.
[We haven’t lost the progress itself, but they’re raising firewalls in real-time, so the time it’s taking…!!]
“…”
At this point, who could have detected Davi’s hacking and responded?
Between the collapsing ground, Lennok, and behind Gileon’s Ironclad Wings, Kaiser’s gaze met his.
“As expected, it was your power shaking the anchoring device’s network.”
Kaiser smiled with a slightly pale face and shook his head.
“I never thought anyone would hack into my independent network system to this extent in such a short time. Thanks to that, I’m out in the field after a long time.”
His complexion was distinctly worse than before. His breathing seemed somewhat labored, and his mana flickered 불안하게.
Whatever method he used, Kaiser also pushed himself considerably to maintain control of the anchoring device.
Considering the number of those serums, he probably extracted a large amount of blood in a short period.
But despite this, Kaiser did not avoid Lennok’s pursuit and confronted him here.
This was because Kaiser also intended to confirm his suspicions with his own eyes.
“I’ve confirmed the reaction, that’s enough. This is as far as we go for now.”
Kaiser gripped the cart handle with a slightly trembling hand and abruptly tipped it over.
At that moment, dozens of serums packed inside the cart shattered simultaneously, scattering a bucketful of blood.
It completely covered Felix’s entire body as he swung his hammer through the Ironclad Wing.
Squeaaak…!!
With a sound like space itself twisting, Felix’s massive body was helplessly pushed back.
However, Dorye’s mana, emanating from beyond the hammer’s face, resisted Kaiser’s mana, preventing Felix’s body from being reversed.
“Hwooooh…!!”
As the bird-headed giant let out a low roar, veins bulged in his neck, and Felix’s body vanished from the spot.
Whoosh!
Felix’s shoulder, having instantly moved behind Kaiser, rotated diagonally.
Just as the heavy hammer was about to crush Kaiser’s legs and his other hand was reaching for his throat—
Gileon tore off his broken Ironclad Wing and kicked it directly into Felix’s face.
Crumble!
In that brief moment, as the Ironclad Wing crumpled and interfered with Felix’s shoulder muscle rotation,
Kaiser plunged the last serum he held in his hand directly into his own neck.
Thunk!
“See you at the next divergence point.”
As Kaiser finished his smiling murmur, all the blood spilled on the floor rose like a wave, engulfing and swirling around his body.
Immediately after, the hammer narrowly grazed his lower back.
Poof!
His blood scattered in all directions as if bursting from the force, but Kaiser’s form was no longer there.
“…!!!”
Felix finally realized that Kaiser pulling the cart filled with serums was for this very moment from the start, and he frowned.
Gileon, looking at his broken wing, bit his lip and turned his gaze behind him.
The entire ground had collapsed, and Lennok and Olivera had also descended into a deep sinkhole.
“Olivera, cooperate.”
Gileon quickly spoke to Olivera, who was dusting off her robes with a noticeably lighter demeanor.
“There’s no time. If mercenaries enter the power plant, it’ll be even harder to hunt them down.”
[There’s no need for that.]
At Olivera’s calm reply, Lennok, who had also been wary of her movements, turned his gaze.
Instead of answering Gileon, she smiled faintly, her arms crossed.
[Time and place have both conspired. You played it well, but you were out of luck.]
Her peculiar attitude was contrary to the murderous aura she had shown Lennok moments ago.
What Olivera’s changed demeanor meant became clear very quickly.
The moment Felix tried to force his way in and slip through the opening—
A bright yellow light burst from the end of the corridor, exploding and pushing Felix’s body out.
Boom!
At the same time, the massive stone statue burst through the corridor, and the Super-Vibration Spear glided through the air between them.
McQueen, battered all over, shrieked as he emerged from beyond, with the blood-soaked figure of his pursuer fiercely racing behind him.
The woman, familiar to both Lennok and Felix, was suspended at the tips of two spears.
“Ilya…!!”
“Magart-nim!!”
Ilya, who had landed, avoiding Arjumarta’s relentlessly slamming fists, looked around with a startled expression.
“I thought this was underground, but how…?”
“We need to find Kaiser.”
Felix shook his tingling hands and asked, enduring the pain.
“There’s no time. If we don’t secure him quickly…!!”
“I lost him while fighting Parden McQueen.”
Ilya bit her lip and shook her head.
“I’m sorry. Van-nim even created an opening for us…”
Lennok, who had glanced around with an expressionless face, quickly spoke.
“Since we’ve found Ilya, I’ll give the next directive on Purity’s behalf.”
“We should scatter and enter the power room to find Kaiser, then.”
“It won’t be easy… but I’ll do my best.”
Parden McQueen, the apostate monk, walking out from behind Arjumarta; Gileon, with one Ironclad Wing spread; and Olivera, arms crossed, looking down at them.
Ilya, gripping her spear, and Felix, lowering his stance with his hammer raised, stood facing these superhumans, each exuding formidable mana. Just as they prepared themselves—
Lennok shook his head.
“No, securing Kaiser’s person is delayed for now. We retreat here.”
“…What?”
“Van-nim, what do you mean…?”
“Look at their reactions. Do they look like they’re ready for a fight to the death?”
Lennok rubbed his forehead with a tired expression, looking at Olivera.
“They’re stalling for time. There must be a powerful variable that could instantly overturn the current situation.”
“A variable, you say?”
“Perhaps the monster of the past who participated in Kaiser’s operation isn’t just them—’
Whoooosh!
Above the startled Felix and Ilya’s heads, a sudden chilling aura descended, completely enveloping the surroundings.
At the same time, eerie wails of ghosts echoed from all directions.
[Aaaaaah…!!!]
[Die, die, die, die…!!!!]
A gloomy fog settled over the clear midday sky, and unknown vengeful spirits flew everywhere.
With the sudden environmental shift near the power plant, Felix and Ilya both realized why Lennok was in such a hurry.
The superhuman forces, who had been guarding and patrolling the outside of the power plant under Kaiser’s orders, began returning to the main base.
Proceeding into the power plant now to find Kaiser would be nothing short of suicide.
As Lennok said, they needed to escape immediately and find another way.
Lennok took two old pencil cases from his pocket and threw them to Felix and Ilya.
“It’s enough that we’ve confirmed Kaiser severely overextended himself to thwart our plan. For now, we retreat to replenish our depleted strength and…”
Lennok pulled out the Compassion of the Archangel from his pocket, gripping it with both hands as he drew up mana.
“We’ll circle the sealed zone’s perimeter and search for Krod Azlan.”
Enakphil’s five fingers, an emergency escape artifact that forcibly teleports the user to safety.
But Felix took it and immediately shook his head.
“Van, using an item like this in front of an 8-level Peak of Extremes wizard is suicide. We’ll all be torn apart by spatial friction while still alive.”
What did it mean to use such an artifact in front of an 8-level wizard like Olivera and Gileon, who possessed the ability to delaminate space?
They didn’t even need to stop the three from trying to escape with Enakphil’s five fingers.
By merely interfering with the phenomena occurring during spatial transfer and altering their trajectory, the three’s bodies would evaporate amidst intense frictional heat.
But Lennok listened to his words and still shook his head.
“I can stop their interference. I’ll give the signal, so be ready.”
“What…?”
Lennok didn’t wait for an answer and immediately snapped his fingers.
[Hoooh…!!]
At the same time, Davi, who had been grunting in his pocket, puffed out his cheeks fully and spewed brilliant mana from his spirit body.
A massive explosion erupted from the underground power room where the anchoring device was located.
Kwaaaang!!!!
“…!!!”
Davi overloaded a portion of the internal network inside the firewall he had breached, paralyzing the connection functions.
At the same time, he siphoned all the power from the power room’s facilities into the device, causing the device’s power to surge uncontrollably.
The complexions of the ancient superhumans, who had been watching Lennok, dramatically changed at the sight of the flames erupting from beneath the ground.
Amidst the waves of spatial collapse caused by the damaged anchoring device, Felix and Ilya plunged Enakphil’s five fingers into their hearts.
“How dare…!!”
Gileon quickly activated his ability to block the three from escaping, but Lennok, as if he had been waiting, immediately pulled out an old wooden rosary from his pocket and infused it with mana.
Flash!
The artifact gifted to him by Lapis, the Lighthouse Keeper, the Charm of Earth’s Embrace.
It was an artifact used by the previous Lighthouse Keeper, possessing the ability to isolate and halt space.
In the fleeting moment that Gileon’s power and the Charm of Earth’s Embrace clashed and neutralized each other, the three leaped through space and out of the power plant.
Whoosh!
“Cough!”
Lennok, covered in dust and sprawling on the ground, coughed.
“Did we fail to resolve the spacetime dissociation phenomenon…?”
The moment he realized Kaiser was forcibly blocking Davi’s hacking.
Lennok had decided to completely destroy the anchoring device rather than forcibly seize control of it.
If lucky, destroying the device might resolve the dissociation phenomenon itself, and even if not, it would at least buy them a moment’s time to escape.
However, it seemed this wasn’t enough to resolve the phenomenon occurring in the sealed zone.
Ilya and Felix scrambled to their feet and looked around.
Their gazes simultaneously turned to the sky above the power plant, and their faces instantly paled.
“…!!!!!”
The two, without a word, exchanged glances and gathered their equipment.
Felix lightly grabbed Lennok by the scruff of his neck, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and sprinted away.
Thump, thump, thump!
Lennok’s body, draped over Felix’s shoulder like laundry, swayed wildly, and his face instantly turned pale.
“Ugh, Felix…!! S-slow down…!!”
“Van, you were right. We had to escape from that power plant as fast as possible.”
Felix spoke in a stiff voice, frantically putting distance between them and the power plant.
“Look at the sky. If we had been even a moment late, we would have already…”
“…”
Hearing that, Lennok clutched his churning stomach and, with difficulty, raised his gaze upward.
Above the now blurry sky of the power plant, waves of vengeful spirits flickered.
Amidst them, a faint ripple accompanied the slow emergence of a massive ghost ship.
Kwooooh!
As if gracefully cutting through the white mist of vengeful spirits, the majestic ship floated effortlessly in the sky.
Innumerable military spirits on board panted, rowing and pulling chains, preparing to drop anchor and halt.
The overwhelming scale made it hard to grasp its true nature even with one’s own eyes.
Lennok already knew whose power this ghost armada was.
None other than the formidable foe Lennok himself had faced and brought to a final conclusion, and the Domain possessed by an 8-level Military Spirit Sorcerer, the Wraith Legion.
“Madrich Onnion has returned.”
Creak…!!
With an utterly eerie sound, the sky had turned murky.
Gileon silently watched the ghost ship floating above the power plant, his face grim.
It was the power of a Domain he had witnessed countless times during this civil war, but the eerie aura peculiar to Military Spirit Sorcery still didn’t quite sit right with him.
An 8-level Military Spirit Sorcerer. A judge of the spirit realm who commands thousands upon thousands of spirits as if they were his own limbs.
The Domain used by Madrich Onnion, at least in its appearance, was undeniably overwhelming compared to other sorcerers.
Creak!
The wailing cries of ghosts flying and screaming in the sky.
Strange, pained screams layered with various harmonies, eventually beginning to sound like a single voice.
[Utterly pathetic. I’m already busy enough, and you were being bothered by mere bugs, were you?]
Madrich’s languid voice, without even disembarking from his ship, boomed across the sky.
[Where is that scoundrel Kaiser? I need to hear directly when this tedious operation is finally over.]
The answer came not from the collapsed sinkhole and underground corridor below the power plant, but from an entirely different location.
Whoosh!
“It won’t be long, Onnion, so don’t worry.”
Kaiser, perched on an outer transmission tower of the vast power plant facility, rose and replied.
His appearance was a complete contrast to moments ago when he was battling Felix in the underground corridor near the power room.
Kaiser, now standing, held dozens of tightly packed electrical cables in his hands.
“It took too long to back up the spacetime anchoring device data. Now, all that’s left is to reconfigure the device and restore the test results.”
“Kaiser…!! What in the world have you been doing all this time?”
McQueen said, barely concealing his irritation.
“If you had just held them a little longer, we could have captured all three of them at once. You knew that, yet you gave them an opening because of your actions, didn’t you?!”
Until Madrich Onnion returned, the entire situation on the battlefield would be completely reversed.
Kaiser knew this, yet he used his spell to evade combat, giving his opponents time to react.
If he had just stalled a little longer and waited for Onnion’s return, he could have resolved all the chaos at once.
But Kaiser, listening to McQueen’s words, merely shrugged with a grim expression.
“This entire operation could have been rendered useless. You still don’t know what power that wizard possesses.”
“What in the world is that…!!”
“I’ve been thinking about why that wizard is still here, stalling for time.”
Kaiser replied, constantly letting out weak coughs.
“The longer this drags on, the more advantageous it is for us, so if they’re holding on, there must be a reason, mustn’t there?”
“…”
“As expected, they were hacking into the entire control system of the anchoring device, which was designed to prevent external interference. They were aiming for this, even willing to clash with Olivera.”
“…Are you saying that wizard has already mastered the manipulation of the Cybernetic World?”
Kaiser, pale and rubbing his temples, gave a hollow laugh and nodded.
“It was already beyond my ability to stop, so I had to give up on maintaining the status quo and focus entirely on backing up the anchoring device’s data. If I hadn’t located the origin point of the hack to the wizard’s own body at the very end, the entire Ramahal District might have suffered a blackout…”
“…”
Leaving the speechless McQueen behind, Kaiser dropped the cables and leaped down from the transmission tower.
He landed nimbly from the top of the tens-of-meters-high tower, then pointed his chin in the direction Lennok had vanished, his hands in his pockets.
“Power comparable to Olivera’s. A unique cybernetic interference ability that can intervene with power plant facilities. Do you believe all of this is a coincidence?”
“…”
[They were a lightning magic user who had reached the peak of their art.]
Olivera, who had been listening with her arms crossed, spoke as she lowered her veil over her face again.
[I don’t know if it’s possible, but it wouldn’t be strange if they had transcended the concept of lightning and also mastered the manipulation of cybernetics.]
“Exactly.”
Kaiser nodded.
“It’s a setup that looks like they sent someone specialized in countermeasures, having seen through our current situation. This points to only one conclusion.”
A monster possessing both the talent and capability to directly confront Olivera’s power, while also assisting Kaiser’s research and intervening with such excellent intellect and intuition.
What did it mean that such a monster was someone even they, who had lived for decades, had never seen before?
“That wizard is probably—”
Kaiser started to say, then abruptly fell silent, as if his words were caught in his throat.
Like someone about to speak but hesitating before an important fact.
He naturally changed the subject.
“…His name was Van, wasn’t it?”
Even though he had more or less figured out Lennok’s true identity and secrets, Kaiser ultimately did not share that information with his other comrades.
“Track that man down and bring him to me before the research is completed again. Can you do it?”
[Would it be acceptable if I brought him back dead?]
Whooosh…!!
The ruined power plant, battered by the chilling wind.
Kaiser’s eyes gleamed meaningfully as he stood before the four silent superhumans.
“It doesn’t matter. Because it would mean he was nothing more than that.”