Chapter 656: The Right to Ascension (6)
Lennok’s Domain, the Dragon-Toad Fortress, was a realm of possibility achieved by transcending Hierarchy after earning the title of Meister.
It was a singular turning point, where his entire workshop was the artisan’s answer, twisting the horizon of his capabilities to their absolute limit.
However, Lennok had observed the fortress-shaped Domain before his battle with Orokhnier not merely to test his previous achievements.
“Mini Ascension Gate activated.”
Fwoosh!!!
A colossal gate of light tore open in the space above the fortress-workshop, the Dragon-Toad Fortress.
This was the pinnacle of creation, reached only by obtaining the activation code and core blueprints, and then gathering every last possibility from the crafting-type Domain.
Crack!!
The Mini Ascension Gate opened, overlapping with the platinum spacetime, and an overwhelming deluge of information began to pour out from beyond the rift.
Banging and shattering, crushing and distorting, whispering and shouting.
All the silence and clamor that remained like an echo from a destroyed world erupted like an indistinct cry.
Patz-tz-tz!!
From the edge of the colossal aerial fortress, a blend of dragon and toad, Lennok surveyed the entire platinum spacetime.
‘I know how dangerous an Ascendant’s Mind Imprint can be.’
Lennok concentrated, watching the formless concepts pouring from beyond the Mini Ascension Gate fill the Ideological Domain.
‘First, I need to forcibly lower the environmental conditions there.’
Through various experiences, Lennok knew what an absurd monster an Ascendant was.
It wasn’t enough to simply say they had acquired the qualification; they were Transcendent beings who had risen on their own to complete their own world.
This was not a concept that could be explained by saying they were mad or had found an answer.
Especially the Ascendant’s world itself, their Ideological Domain, was a zone of authority that could determine the fate of all life within its space.
That’s why Lennok forcibly deployed the Dragon-Toad Fortress and opened the Mini Ascension Gate, to suppress the power of that Ideological Domain.
‘Interfering with spacetime manipulation within the Ideological Domain should be enough. As for the rest…!!’
Lennok forcibly drew out his potential as a craftsman through the crafting-type Domain.
He forcibly created and opened the Mini Ascension Gate, which normally would have been impossible to craft at this stage.
The Mini Ascension Gate was a disaster in itself, spewing out random information from the Old World in a rampage, even beyond Lennok’s control.
But that indiscriminate information from the Old World, unleashed in this way, could consume the spacetime within the Ideological Domain and interfere with spacetime manipulation itself.
“Ah, I see. You’re forcibly opening the Ascension Gate to set the conditions of the battlefield…!!”
Orokhnier, too, seemed to grasp Lennok’s intention immediately, letting out a faint gasp of admiration.
“To devise such a quick countermeasure with only the information given in a short time. Have you had a similar experience, perhaps?”
“Perhaps.”
Lennok ignored Orokhnier’s words, closed his eyes, and swiftly began to form hand seals.
While the Domain was deployed with the priority of opening the Mini Ascension Gate, the capabilities of the Dragon-Toad Fortress didn’t end there.
The answer of an artisan who, through Lennok’s intuition and senses, not innate dexterity or physical strength, had opened another horizon.
Meeting the Mini Ascension Gate opened above the moving fortress-workshop, it began to draw out its abilities to the extreme right here.
“Davi.”
[Alright!!]
System messages rising from various parts of the workshop intermingled with Davi’s shout, sending a dazzling radiance soaring into the sky.
Information from the Old World pouring down from above the Mini Ascension Gate was filtered at the particle level, recognized, and then data was reproduced.
By combining Davi’s powerful AI and processing capabilities with the crafting ability of the workshop’s domain, a living army was created.
[872 Arcane Energy Converging Cannons. 192 High-Velocity Fusion Dispersal Missiles. 41 Low-Resonance Rapid-Fire Turrets. 125 Multi-Directional Mobile Golem-Soldiers assembled.]
[Targeting lines aligned. Impact zone formation complete. Commencing bombardment as production completes.]
[Power descent sequence ready. Here we go!!]
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!!!
Hundreds of golem-soldiers, clad in heavy armor, rose from various parts of the fortress and leaped down.
Mobile artillery resembling sharp spires were assembled in real-time, spewing powerful lasers.
Kwoooosh!!!
A rain of countless missiles and lasers exploded from all directions of the fortress.
Through it all, the charging army of golem-soldiers and turrets blurred, and the platinum Ideological Domain turned into a sea of fire.
From the center of the aerial fortress, something was relentlessly assembled and refined, produced in the form of golem-soldiers and turrets, then unleashed.
Lennok’s mobile workshop, floating in the air, ceaselessly poured out barrages.
But its true value lay not in the fortress’s firepower, but in the fact that the entire fortress was designed as a workshop for a single artisan.
Whoosh!!!
The Ascendant’s body was swept away and melted by the immense wave of heat unleashed from Lennok’s workshop.
But his consciousness and presence did not vanish; instead, they converged once more into platinum metal, transforming into a human form.
“An ideal reached by a Meister, who made his entire workshop his answer. Truly a sight befitting the pinnacle of this city.”
Orokhnier, gazing up at the Dragon-Toad Fortress from the heart of the dazzling platinum field, smiled.
“If you’ve decided on a large-scale battle in my Domain, judging my abilities and choosing to face me head-on… Excellent.”
As Orokhnier raised his hand, platinum metal surged from beneath his feet, beginning to form the shape of a colossal fortress wall.
“I shall gladly indulge in such entertainment.”
The Mass Manipulation Magic, which had made Hermes Orokhnier an Ascendant, shifting between the boundaries of matter and non-matter, was activated.
A transcendent ‘Law’ that surpassed Hierarchy, gained qualification, and elevated the spell to the level of an ability, manifested here.
[Ideological Domain: Platinum Star of Soaring Harvest (Baekgeum Bisaekseong)]
[Mass Hierarchy Unique Ability]
[Creation: Walls of Ideltra]
[Formation: 17th Legion of the Mantra Dynasty]
Whirrrrr!!!
Beyond the fortress walls, stretching thousands of meters across the vast field, platinum soldiers emerged, and howitzers comparable to the fortress’s cannons took shape in various places.
[Deployment: Barrage of Annihilation]
[Material Calculation Preparation: Ideological Domain Judgement]
[Mass Hierarchy Authority Domain Proxy Calculation Complete.]
“Arise.”
Soldiers surged forth from the magic circle at the center of the fortress, forming their ranks and preparing for war.
Crunch!!!
A war proxy who, in a human body, had acquired military might surpassing an entire legion.
The chancellor of a fallen kingdom, who had created armies with his level 9 Mass Manipulation Magic and annihilated various civilizations, stood at the edge of the fortress, wielding his will-thought.
[Chiiiiiik…!!!]
Hundreds of golem-soldiers, fallen from the aerial fortress, crashed directly into the platinum fortress wall.
Their bodies and the magical cannons mounted on the walls spewed fire, and dazzling pillars of light soared skyward.
Kwoooosh!!!
“Hahahaha!!!”
As Orokhnier’s will-thought flashed amidst his maniacal laughter, the melted and shattered fortress walls and army rapidly regenerated.
Not just recovering their original forms, but the walls grew even taller, and the soldiers’ armors became even more ornate.
The magical cannons mounted on the outer perimeter of the walls increased in size, and rocket-like projectiles densely filled the sky of the Ideological Domain.
Across the platinum field, armies occupying the ground and fortresses arose, surrounding Lennok’s workshop and madly launching mass-manipulated weapons.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!!!!
Thousands of magical lights converged as if to a single point in the air, clashing. They tore space itself apart, unleashing a radiance that enveloped the entire Ideological Domain.
A concentrated barrage that interfered with, melted, and collapsed real space. Its firepower had long surpassed the scale and range that human technology could project.
The platinum commander fully exerted his power in this large-scale battle.
The Ascendant’s power, capable of waging war single-handedly, erupted without restraint against the fortress-workshop.
“Every single cannon port of this fortress is a manifestation of an ideal that doesn’t actually exist…!!”
Orokhnier exclaimed repeatedly, as if unable to contain his admiration.
“Old world military technology, present-day matter, future Mind Imprint… To wield thoughts drawn from beyond possibility as weapons!!”
Orokhnier recognized that Lennok’s workshop, transformed into the shape of a fortress, and the thousands of barrages and golem-soldiers it unleashed, drew upon a future that didn’t yet exist.
A miracle that pulled possibility itself into reality, something not even formed or existing yet, but perhaps to be reached someday.
Orokhnier, at this very moment, realized that the ideal point of that Domain stretched beyond the past or present, reaching even into the future, and he could not help but be filled with admiration.
“A power that not only creates, but wields by simply believing it will be created…!! Yes. It must be this, if it isn’t this, then I!!!”
Enduring the crossfire pouring from all sides and the relentless assault of golem-soldiers, Orokhnier raised his magical power.
In response to his will, Orokhnier’s entire Ideological Domain responded, transforming reality.
He bent and curved the sky and earth together, creating the shape of fortress walls and artillery out of every visible space, rolling them down.
Thump-thump-thump-thump!!!
From the edge of the Ideological Domain, where space itself was distorted and warped, even poorly aimed shells struck the fortress precisely and exploded.
Shaking and shattering every scene and sensation within his sight.
“…No.”
At the point of impact of that barrage, the aerial fortress hovered.
Lennok, seated deep within the Dragon-Toad Fortress, slowly raised his gaze.
“This isn’t enough yet.”
At that moment, the head of the fortress, resembling a dragon and a toad, gaped open, spewing forth a pitch-black mass of concentrated magical power.
[Shadow Moon (Eumwol)]
The moment the colossal black sphere, which absorbed even light, fell from the fortress’s head.
The platinum barrage aimed at the Dragon-Toad Fortress curved towards the Shadow Moon as if space itself were distorting.
Guluck…!!
The Shadow Moon rotated, blackening as if swallowing all light and heat in that spot, shining with a somber glow.
Immediately after the fist-sized black sphere slowly fell onto the Ideological Domain’s fortress wall.
[Energy charging complete]
[Gate Open (Gaemun)]
Kwoooong!!
The sphere swelled insanely, transforming into a colossal gate of shadow on the spot.
Heavy metallic grinding sounds resonated relentlessly, as if the void beyond the shadow served as a gateway.
[Unauthorized modification of seabed barrier mining equipment]
[Strategic Automaton: Heoyeok (Empty Service) activated in 0.46 seconds]
Kiiiing!!
At that moment, something launched at incredible speed from the void beyond the shadow gate towards the fortress wall.
It shattered the platinum fortress wall head-on, completely tearing apart its contents.
Kwoooosh!!!
A massive shockwave echoed even beyond the spacetime of the Ideological Domain.
[Ahhhhhh!!!]
The platinum army, which should have no will, was crushed and scattered, letting out silent screams.
Orokhnier’s body was also half-annihilated by the aftermath, but he reformed his body elsewhere in real-time and regained consciousness.
“An arm…?!”
What emerged from beyond the shadow gate was a colossal mechanical arm, tens of meters long.
With its fist tightly clenched, the arm itself was hundreds of meters long, a giant arm too immense to be called merely a giant’s.
It was the arm of a giant, created by modifying the enormous mining equipment installed near the Heart-Star Vault of the seabed barrier.
Simply summoning and pushing forth the arm of a non-existent modified weapon, its sheer weight shattered and crushed the fortress wall head-on.
“What kind of weapon are you using to shatter the Walls of Ideltra with mere impact…!!”
And from beyond the cracks of the shattered fortress wall, the Dragon-Toad Fortress plunged straight down, breaking through the pouring barrage.
Kwakwakwakwa!!!
Clad in platinum flames from the barrage hitting its entire body, it tore through the distorted spacetime and plummeted diagonally.
Concentrated artillery and missile explosions ceaselessly spewing fire at each other.
The collision of golem-soldiers and platinum soldiers, their bodies shattered and crushed.
Whoooooosh!!!
Echoing shouts and explosions, without distinction, merged into a deafening roar that threatened to burst eardrums.
The workshop, transformed into a dazzling platinum asteroid, crashed into the center of the fortress, tearing through the world beyond the Ideological Domain and completely collapsing it.
Kwoooosh!!!
Endless flames burning and fueling heat.
The evaporating and scattering platinum radiance and the fortress-workshop of the Dragon-Toad Fortress.
Amidst the collapsing and crumbling debris, intense lightning and pure white magical energy clashed.
Lennok and Orokhnier, who had by now burst out from the center of the workshop, transcended the space and distance between them, intertwining their magic and Mind Imprints.
The clash of thunder and platinum that erupted from their fingertips enveloped the vast field of the Ideological Domain, transforming into a dazzling crown.
Quazzzzzzz!!!
Lennok, charging relentlessly while unleashing a barrage of lightning-type unique magic without a moment’s pause, and Orokhnier, ceaselessly generating and pushing forward his platinum army, collided.
Witnessing Lennok’s faltering figure at the center of this clash, Orokhnier let out an exclamation of admiration.
“Even with a body lacking physical ability, you can acquire such mythical martial power. It’s astonishing. But…!!”
[Mass Hierarchy Unique Ability]
[Creation: Dragon-Star Air Force of Chan Draka]
[Formation: Plague Bullets of the Manhunter]
He summoned platinum shields and pushed them into the thick lightning bolts that struck like claws, then formed colossal artillery batteries behind him to concentrate firepower.
Behind Orokhnier, dozens of massive engineering artillery platforms had risen, silhouetted against the horizon, pouring crossfire onto Lennok.
Fwoooosh!!!
The concentrated radiance of pure white magical energy instantly distorted vision, spewing out firepower that extended beyond the Ideological Domain.
At the center of that barrage, Orokhnier smiled, looking at Lennok enveloped in lightning’s radiance.
“This is not enough.”
“…”
“The depth and power of your Mind Imprint, which single-handedly recreates the firepower of a fortress, and your bizarre capability to forcibly draw out the functions of the Ascension Gate, are all phenomenal, but…”
Orokhnier’s smile slowly faded.
“This isn’t the answer I’m looking for.”
The crafting-type Ideological Domain, the Dragon-Toad Fortress.
A turning point of possibility where, having reached the position of Meister through his unique intuition and talent, he finally obtained the answer as an artisan.
Having worked as an artisan in the Machine City for quite some time, a powerful Mind Imprint capable of transforming the entire workshop into a fortress had been born.
Undoubtedly, it was an ability with enough depth and structure to maintain its form even within an Ascendant’s Ideological Domain and devise countermeasures.
Nevertheless, it was also an undeniable fact that the output of the Dragon-Toad Fortress was only sufficient for a collective battle on par with Orokhnier.
“The Walls of Ideltra are a concept with the sturdiest defenses among the records of my Mass Manipulation Magic, but that is not what’s important.”
Orokhnier said.
“If your answer is the recreation of the contempt of failed civilizations and an army that has reached the pinnacle of collective warfare… then the outcome will ultimately be the same.”
“…”
“That method will never kill me. It will merely be an unending war within this space, forever. That will be the end.”
“If this is the end, what do you plan to do?”
“I must fulfill the purpose for which I was summoned into this world.”
A chilling sneer formed on Orokhnier’s expressionless face.
“In response to the desire of the avatar who summoned me, I shall shatter all possibilities of the Third World.”
“…”
“In my lifetime, I destroyed five civilizations, annihilated hundreds of nations, and brought down countless cities.”
Orokhnier gazed at the platinum army rising from his fingertips.
“I will recreate what I have always done, until the moment I find meaning in this world.”
Kwooooooong!!!!
Even at this moment, his Mass Manipulation Magic, as if possessing a will of its own, ceaselessly produced soldiers and weapons.
Behind the quietly standing Ascendant, non-existent buildings and streets formed, transforming into the shape of a city.
The remnants of life and technology, matter and civilization that Orokhnier had already destroyed.
He remembered them through his Mass Manipulation Magic and was fully manifesting them within his own Ideological Domain.
“So come.”
Orokhnier slowly raised his hand and gestured towards Lennok.
“If you wish to protect this world, convince me that you have a greater meaning than that.”
Lennok let out a small, involuntary laugh at those words.
“Protect… I have no interest in such noble reasons.”
Whoosh!!
Even as he walked through the pure white flames, Lennok’s body remained untouched.
Only streaks of lightning, flashing as if plunging into the wizard’s Domain, fluttered and spread around Lennok.
Lennok quietly murmured, awakening the rotating Mystic Eye with its magical radiance.
“What I think about is always closer to a much smaller, more fundamental desire.”
It was far from a thirst for knowledge or a desire to understand something.
Lennok was simply tired of the fear that approached from the unknown.
He was simply tired of being tormented by the fear of death and the despair that there would be no tomorrow.
The fact that he had little time left due to the Talent’s Bane.
The brutal reality that the world’s end might come even faster than that.
And the transcendent talent, entwined with the inescapable penalty that bound him.
He stood here because he couldn’t endure without giving meaning to all the situations and questions that surrounded him.
The safety of the Machine City, the disaster of an Old World Ascendant descending, the pain of battle—compared to these, they were mere processes, not the end.
He endlessly sketched his unending yearning across the infinite universe.
If he had to find meaning beyond the answerless void, he could only place his hopes on his own possibilities, yet to come.
In this world where there was nothing to rely on but himself.
If only his own existence could bring him solace.
“Ouroboros magic system, activate.”
Kiiiiing!!!
Simultaneously, a colossal golden spiral exploded and wrapped around the Mini Ascension Gate floating in the sky.
Dazzling radiance, rotating in two spirals, chased its own tail, beginning to form the shape of a colossal snake.
A truly overwhelming and massive radiance of Mind Imprint, which had not been felt at all in the fierce battle the two had just waged.
Orokhnier faced the golden snake’s radiance and, for a moment, twisted his lips.
“A magic system? With a new form of magic like that…!!”
Crack!!
At that moment, the landscape of the Ideological Domain, which had stormed without losing its light for a single moment, began to shatter.
The golden snake rotated, overlapping and superimposed on the landscape of the Domain.
At the sight of the platinum spacetime, fragmented and breaking, coiling around a single wizard and being absorbed.
Orokhnier was speechless.