Chapter 662: Karma (4)

WHOOSH!!

Under Davi’s manipulation, the Night Raven’s sleek form deftly cut through the airflow, instantly surpassing subsonic speeds. It quickly pierced through the air defense network, which was now restored and functioning normally, soaring into the dark sky above the Machine City.

Lennok felt a barrage of missiles and other artillery pour down from behind, but even that onslaught was a step too late. In a mere moment, he leaped instantly across the sections of the mechanical barrier, arriving back at the ruins of The Workshop Tower, which was half-collapsed.

WHUMP!!

The Night Raven’s dark form rapidly decelerated with a few powerful wingbeats, alighting upon the ruined Workshop Tower. Lennok stepped down from its end, his feet touching the ground, and glanced down at the scene unfolding below the tower.

“More people than I expected.”

Yellow exclusion zones and countless police cars formed lines, blocking the roads. Below, police officers and scholars bustled about, busily collecting evidence, preserving the scene, and conducting investigations. Even those appearing to be superhumans had been mobilized, desperately trying to ascertain the circumstances of the battle.

Lennok’s eyes gleamed sharply as he observed the psychics groping around the ruins with their eyes closed.

“…Psychometry?”

Psychometry, a mental superhuman ability.

Among innate superhuman abilities, mental powers were an exceptionally rare domain, and it was Lennok’s first time seeing so many of them gathered in one place. This was because, among psychic abilities dependent on mental power, those directly manipulating the mind had incredibly contradictory principles and systems.

Hardly anyone could utilize them effectively enough for practical combat application.

The fact that so many psychics were gathered in one place was proof of how seriously the Hermes incident was being treated.

Lennok, who had been scrutinizing the psychics, shifted his gaze.

“I might be exposed soon. Let’s move quickly.”

Even with the stealth function activated, having approached The Workshop Tower, they would soon realize where Lennok had escaped and pursue him. Moreover, if several people were still inside The Workshop Tower, it would be difficult to leave no trace.

It would be better to quickly take care of business and disappear.

Lennok sent the Night Raven flying far from The Workshop Tower, then pulled on a discarded work jacket found nearby and began to walk. Picking up a construction helmet from the vicinity and putting it on completed a plausible disguise.

“Good work.”

“You’re working hard.”

He naturally received greetings from the laborers he passed by. Seeing Lennok walking against the flow of laborers descending the tower, someone asked, as if a thought had occurred to them:

“The Metropolitan Police Agency issued an emergency summons. Are you sure you don’t need to go?”

“…It was just for a simple registry update.”

Lennok replied after a slight pause.

“I’ve already handled it and am on my way back.”

“Ah, I see?”

Of course, the reason the Metropolitan Police Agency had issued an emergency summons wasn’t for a registry update, but because of Lennok’s escape. There was no reason to stir up anxiety by informing the laborers of that fact.

Just as Lennok was about to pass them with a comforting lie, seemingly unfazed, he heard a telepathic message, several voices overlapping simultaneously.

“…”

Lennok glanced back. The dozen or so laborers he had just passed were staring at him with expressionless faces.

[Adamant Thunder of Vulcan. I’ve heard many rumors, but I never knew you were someone who couldn’t be tied down to one place.]

The laborers’ mouths opened simultaneously, each speaking the same words in different voices.

Their gaze had turned vacant. Their eyes unfocused, their breathing and heart rate plummeted. It was a bizarre sight, as if the laborers were simultaneously being controlled by someone.

“I see.”

Only then did Lennok faintly grasp the other party’s identity, and he smiled.

“I wondered why there were so many rare psychometrists here… Was it one person’s doing all along?”

From beyond the unconscious, manipulating the laborers’ minds—the magnitude of that will was so immense that even Lennok could immediately perceive it. The psychics investigating this scene were not different individuals after all.

One psychic, not even physically present at the scene, was manipulating their pawns to directly investigate the site.

“But the psychics I saw weren’t faking their abilities… They were arbitrarily dividing their abilities and using others like puppets.”

A sharp smile formed on Lennok’s lips as he looked at the laborers.

“An ego and output capable of forcibly sharing abilities with others… This person had already transcended Hierarchy and specialized their lineage in that direction.”

[Hoo-hoo.]

No matter how powerful a psychic ability, it was impossible to share one’s power and arbitrarily divide it among others.

At least, it was a miracle not permitted under the concept and definition of ‘psychic ability.’

Then the being wielding this power now must be a monster who transcended the hierarchy of psychic abilities and pioneered a new path.

An 8-level psychic. And a psychometrist directly interfering with the mental system.

A monster, easily one of the top five Lennok had encountered in the Machine City, was watching him from beyond the unconscious.

“If you push a psychic ability that reads sensations from matter to its limit, manipulating the minds of ordinary citizens wouldn’t be difficult,” Lennok added, gazing into the laborers’ eyes with interest.

“If you only reveal your existence after the whole incident is over, you’re not under Ex Machina, are you? It’s safe to assume you’re a big shot from Machina’s underworld.”

[Uh-huh… That’s right. It’s been a long time since I escaped Ex Machina’s control.]

The laborers laughed in different voices, affirming Lennok’s conjecture.

[Shall I reintroduce myself, Van? I am Aoshu Spero. A humble psychometrist, and a coward who couldn’t converse with you without resorting to such methods.]

“What are you doing here?”

[I made a deal with Ex Machina and am investigating the scene in cooperation with the Metropolitan Police Agency, and I’ve vaguely figured out what you’ve done in this Workshop Tower.]

Aoshu asked in a strange voice, speaking through the laborers’ mouths.

[Perhaps because of your abilities, specific memories aren’t revealed, but I can see where the repercussions extend. And when this farce should end.]

“…”

[I’ll buy you some time. But it won’t be long.]

The laborers winked and wore a cheerful expression.

[Do what you need to do in the meantime.]

An indescribably bizarre sight: gruff men all winking at Lennok simultaneously.

Lennok, who had remained silent, unable to reply, asked,

“Why are you helping me at this point?”

[Well… I don’t know what you’ll think, but I’m grateful to you.]

The laborers slowly turned and replied in unison.

[Because thanks to you, I could see familiar faces, including Maiya.]

Aoshu smiled quietly.

[Though our paths diverged, the memories of working together for the city remain unchanged. Don’t you think the more one transcends humanity, the more sentimental they become?]

“Not the time for such talk.”

[Oh, too bad. I thought a wizard of Adamant Thunder’s caliber would understand.]

The laborers walked down the stairs without hesitation, waving their hands.

[Goodbye. I hope we never see each other again. Truthfully, even now…]

At that moment, sticky blood trickled from beneath the noses of the dozen or so laborers.

[…I’m dying to devour your memories and brain matter.]

“…”

Lennok silently watched the psychic’s presence vanish like the wind, leaving behind a chilling wish.

Aoshu Spero, the mental psychic who had left the enforcement agency to become a big shot in the underworld. Lennok had thought he was capable of a normal conversation for a monster who had transcended Hierarchy to reach 8-level, but it seemed he was even more insane than that.

Indeed, there’s no way one could live a normal life while wielding mental psychic abilities. Moreover, if such abilities were cultivated to a level that transcended Hierarchy, it wouldn’t be strange if their way of thinking was completely warped.

‘Are such beings hidden in Machina’s underworld, watching over the city…?’

Their very power and danger were proof of Machina’s golden age. And also evidence of its decline, having lost its former status and honor. Were they also manipulating the remaining time in their own ways?

Lennok might encounter the monsters dwelling in Machina’s underworld someday, but it wasn’t today. He had no choice but to trust Aoshu Spero’s favor and proceed with the plan.

As soon as the laborers’ presence completely disappeared, Lennok approached the wall of The Workshop Tower. This was the passage where the elevator, built for accessing the levels of The Workshop Tower, was located.

Without hesitation, he called the elevator and stepped inside.

WHIRRR!

Lennok had taken this elevator up to the top floor to meet Hermes. Had he not battled fiercely with Sidesquad agents in that process, smashing the passageway, and reaching the very end of the throne room?

But Lennok still remembered a faint sense of incongruity from back then.

“The elevator levels and the altitude I perceived with Magical Perception were different. I just brushed it off, thinking it was a design error…”

Could such a fundamental mistake or error exist in a tower personally designed by the Furnace General? He must have designed it so only he could reach it.

Lennok muttered to himself, pulling out a small hammer from his pocket.

It was the pendant-shaped artifact that Narcissa had asked Lyman to maintain. Lennok had repaired this artifact and confirmed it was a shape-shifting maintenance tool used by the Furnace General.

Hadn’t someone from the Sidesquad assassinated Narcissa to steal this relic, and then offered this hammer to the Idol of Two Heads and Eight Arms to learn about the Heart of the Dragon-wyrm?

A hammer personally used by the Furnace General. If it was an object with the function to transform into a suitable shape for its target every time it was swung—

It could easily be used as a key.

CLANG!!

Holding the hammer, Lennok struck the elevator’s control panel, where the buttons were. With the impact, the entire control panel, which he had just repaired, crumpled and caved in.

“…”

[Master, is this right?]

Even Davi asked Lennok, with a slightly dumbfounded expression.

Lennok coughed, slightly embarrassed, and restored the control panel to its original state.

“I thought it could be a key to reach the hidden floor… Did I think too simply?”

[The elevator will collapse before you even find the hidden floor.]