Chapter 684: The Oldest Bloodline (6)
The Black Coffin, completed with fragments of Annihilation’s Tree and Glen’s corpse.
From within the heavy, deep darkness, something turned its head.
At the same time, Lennok felt Ermont gasp softly beside him.
“……!!”
A presence instantly filled the entire space, as if it had been there from the very beginning.
It wasn’t impossibly vast, nor was it so overwhelming that it could be grasped at a glance.
It was simply horrifying.
Just by projecting his consciousness there for a moment, an inexplicable chill ran down Lennok’s spine.
Lennok, too, realized what that meant and subtly furrowed his brow.
It’s become even more monstrous…….
He didn’t know what methods Myeong had used, but his presence far surpassed anything Lennok remembered.
It was as if the King of Hell, true to his epithet Nether King, had manifested here.
The boiling magical presence that always accompanied him slowly seeping out of the coffin, encroaching upon the surroundings.
“Ugh…… Damn it, I knew this would happen……!”
Ermont’s face turned pale.
“Master!!”
Baegon, too, seemed to notice it and desperately called out to him.
“These people are disturbing Master’s requiem!!!”
“[…….]”
“My power wasn’t enough to stop them. Please help me!!!”
“God damn it, I told you that’s not it……!!”
Ermont’s protest abruptly ceased the moment Myeong cast his gaze from the darkness.
Without a reply to Baegon’s and Ermont’s words, the gaze in the darkness lingered for a long time, roaming.
It was as if he wasn’t immediately perceiving the current situation, but rather recognizing it very slowly.
“……Can’t he see us?”
“Master. Can you hear me—”
“[Noisy.]”
Crack!!
“Gah!”
The first message resonated from the darkness.
But just that low voice resounding was enough to slam Baegon’s screaming head into the ground.
A miracle of pure will manifesting, transforming into tangible physical force.
Myeong ignored the screaming Baegon and muttered.
“[I’m tired of listening to unanswered echoes…….]”
“……”
“[Where is this, beyond what death?]”
Myeong’s voice muttered blankly.
A weary tone, somewhat alien to what Lennok remembered of him.
Even though Myeong’s power felt vividly palpable in the darkness, Myeong himself didn’t seem to properly perceive this side.
“Didn’t I tell you……”
Ermont whispered quietly to Lennok, prostrating himself flat on the ground.
A desperate gesture, as if he absolutely didn’t want Myeong to detect his presence.
Rubbing his cheek against the ground, Ermont spoke to Lennok rapidly.
“That, he’s been out of his mind for a long time, I tell you.”
“……Out of his mind?”
Lennok had found it strange, but had Myeong’s condition deteriorated so much that he was ‘out of his mind’?
An 8-level black wizard. And a monster who had surpassed the Hierarchy and reached transcendence long before Lennok.
If such a high-level wizard’s mind had suddenly developed problems, it must be due to some profound variable.
However, Lennok had never heard any signs or pre-context about it.
Perhaps even the fact that Myeong had taken on a disciple might be related to it.
“If we mess this up, we’ll all die here.”
Ermont said, quietly bringing a finger to his lips.
“I’ll distract him, you close that coffin again. Can you do it?”
“……”
“First, let’s send that back, then we’ll deal with this idiot.”
It seemed Ermont had completely changed his mind the moment Baegon opened the Black Coffin.
Ermont crawled on all fours, quietly shifting his position without waiting for an answer.
Lennok watched Ermont, then turned his gaze back to the twitching Baegon in the distance.
“M-Master……. Why are you doing this…….!!”
Baegon, covered in blood, desperately called out to Myeong.
He, too, was desperate, knowing that if it wasn’t for Myeong, there would be no way for him to survive.
“[…….]”
Myeong did not answer, even as he listened to that fervent plea.
He simply slowly emitted his powerful yet heavy presence, as if blankly letting all surrounding situations pass him by.
“You said I had talent……!! Didn’t you say you would take me as your disciple……. Please……!!”
“[Enough……. My head hurts…….]”
Myeong’s voice trailed off.
“[You’re saying useless things……. If you know about me, how dare you usurp my name—]”
At that moment, Myeong’s words stopped as he saw Ermont diligently crawling away beyond Baegon.
“[……I see. This time, it was this one?]”
The moment Myeong laughed, as if finally recognizing Ermont.
The darkness swirling inside the coffin surged like a wave and instantly covered the heads of all three.
ROOOOAAR!!
“[This time, it will end quickly……. Quickly.]”
“H-H-Heek!!”
A vortex of space-time, dyed black as if to instantly kill Ermont.
Ermont recoiled in terror, flailing his limbs as if in a seizure, then quickly gestured to Lennok.
Receiving his gaze, Lennok Flickered to leap, instantly moving in front of the Black Coffin.
He then grasped the coffin’s door.
“Quick, quick!!”
Ermont shrieked in a thin voice, but Lennok ignored him.
Instead of closing the coffin door, he merely threw the black droplet he held in his hand into the depths of the darkness.
Ping! (Sound of something being thrown or hitting something and resonating, like a small projectile or a shockwave)
The only black magic Lennok had stolen and learned from Myeong, gathering all the black magic in this place and throwing it.
The droplet, which solidified and coated space itself, bounced off the depths of the darkness, creating a massive ripple, as Ermont’s and Baegon’s screams and pleas intertwined.
“Adamant Thunder, what are you doing!!”
“Master!!!”
Despite the shouts echoing from behind him, Lennok was still thinking about something else.
Baegon isn’t that dull or foolish.
A Saint Wizard-level or higher, who had completed his Hierarchy and obtained a Domain. Furthermore, a talented sorcerer who could skillfully use black magic in direct combat.
Could such a person truly be so certain of being Myeong’s disciple based purely on a misunderstanding or illusion?
It was more plausible that there were circumstances or evidence that provided such certainty.
And yet, Myeong, whose consciousness alone had manifested, didn’t even seem to remember Baegon’s existence in the depths of the darkness.
There was a secret Myeong had hidden within that gap of perception.
“I hope you’ve sobered up a bit.”
The moment Lennok threw the black droplet into the depths of the darkness.
He felt the dark void, which had seemed ready to crush Ermont, begin to recede.
The black wizard’s gaze, like a blade hanging at his throat, wavering as if about to snap.
Finally, it stopped squarely in front of Lennok.
“[……Van?]”
Unlike the blank tone from earlier, the reply now held a degree of lucidity.
It seemed that upon perceiving the black magic Lennok had thrown and his presence, Myeong had awakened from a long, profound dream.
Baegon’s face distorted horribly as he intuited this fact, while Ermont let out a sigh of relief.
“Eeeek……!!! Aaaagh!!”
“You don’t look so good.”
Lennok asked.
“Are you alright?”
“[…….]”
Myeong, after a long silence, slowly replied.
“[Yes……. Have I returned…….]”
“……”
“[It’s alright. Still……. Yes, still alright…….]”
Myeong muttered as if reassuring himself, slowly answering.
It was as if he was only now gradually regaining his senses.
A wavering, as if he still hadn’t fully grasped where he was.
Lennok watched Myeong’s reaction and nodded towards the fallen Baegon.
“Your disciple summoned you directly, using the power of the Black Coffin. I have a few questions about that fact.”
“[……Disciple?]”
“Master!!”
Baegon desperately crawled and called out to Myeong with his broken limbs.
“This person interfered with the plan, which regrettably forced me to summon you……. I apologize!!”
“[…….]”
Lennok looked into the silent darkness and asked.
“You were gathering the power of an Outer God to create the Black Coffin. What is the exact purpose of this object?”
“Adamant Thunder and the old black wizard are interfering with Master’s plan……!! Please punish them immediately!! I will help you!!”
Baegon’s shouts overlapped loudly with Lennok’s voice.
Ermont, who had been bowing his head, let out a deep sigh and muttered.
“Damn it, seriously…….”
At that moment, a jewel ejected from Ermont’s hand, transformed into a gigantic cube, and dropped onto Baegon’s head.
CRASH!!
The gemstone cube’s shape changed on the spot, transforming into a massive prison enclosing Baegon.
CLANG!!
“Uuuaagh!!!”
“Let’s keep quiet for important moments, shall we?”
Lennok smoothly ignored the commotion and spoke to Myeong.
“I know you’ve been traveling the world, seeking out extraordinary talents. This one must be one of those geniuses.”
“[…….]”
“If he’s a disciple you’ve taken, I’m willing to let him live. But in return, I want to hear about the purpose of this Black Coffin.”
Machina, the Machine City. Beyond the memories of the failed Ascension Gate.
Through the memories of Ascendant Hermes Orokhnier, Lennok had heard what ultimate answer and salvation the Director sought.
The Grand Master of Magic, who dreamed of an answer that didn’t exist.
The Old World’s God-slayer, who aimed to shoot down a god.
The culmination of the grand scheme that launched Kebaek as a bullet from the Well of the Codex.
Lennok already knew what the Director sought and why he still wished to leave his will in this world.
Only, the means and process were so obscure and vast that it was difficult to even tentatively guess their direction and structure.
Nevertheless, having glimpsed the destination once and returned, everything Pandemonium did now appeared in a different light.
If they were gathering the power of an Outer God in Pandemonium’s operations to prepare some new plan.
And if Myeong’s existence and power were directly intertwined with this plan.
Wouldn’t that be evidence that the Director himself had moved to prepare a new ‘bullet’?
A small conjecture, born from Leisen Azamaha’s existence, now solidified into a conviction that reached the main branch of Pandemonium.
Lennok’s eyes deepened.
“Is this Black Coffin also related to Pandemonium’s ultimate goal?”
“[…….]”
Instead of answering, Myeong turned his gaze from Lennok and silently looked around.
The heavy darkness, representing his consciousness, swirled within the coffin, slowly perceiving the surrounding scenery.
The presences of Ermont and Baegon. The fragments of the ruined Annihilation’s Tree and the colossal form of the Black Coffin.
And finally, Lennok’s own figure standing before him again.
“[……There are a few misunderstandings.]”
Myeong, who had been silent, spoke.
As if finally regaining his senses, the voice from within the darkness became clearer.
“[First, Van, I do not take disciples. The black magic I possess is the product of a cursed bloodline passed down through generations of my family……. There’s no reason to increase the number of innocent victims.]”
“Victims?”
“[The oldest family ends with my generation. I declare it here and now.]”
At that moment, Ermont’s expression, who had been standing silently, subtly twitched.
Myeong, as if sensing Ermont’s reaction, spoke with a strangely amused tone.
“[Also, I’ve withdrawn my hand from Pandemonium’s affairs……. What’s being done in the name of Pandemonium’s operations now is not my concern.]”
“Then what is?”
“[Is further explanation even necessary?]”
At that moment, the jet-black mass of darkness beyond the Black Coffin began to writhe greatly.
Screeching sound!!
Like an unpleasant creaking illusion of space-time, something slowly rose from beyond.
The jet-black dark substance transformed into the shape of five long, slender fingers.
Hundreds of chains, shedding thick shadows, densely filled the thick forearm that allowed no speck of light to pass.
Myeong, who had loosely lifted his long, sharp fingers like a devil’s hand, slowly pointed at Baegon, who was gagged and struggling inside the cube.
“[It’s time to make that worm pay for all the nonsense he spouted.]”
“……!!!!”
Baegon, his complexion turning ghastly, desperately tried to shout something, but no sound came out.
Or perhaps, even if they could all hear him, Myeong considered it worthless?
“[The task I permitted you was certainly not such deception.]”
Myeong said with a sneer.
“[What should I say to a worm who, consumed by a petty mission, fails to discern his opponent before discussing usurpation?]”
“……!!!!!!!”
“[Tools that have outlived their usefulness should be replaced in time, but my own failing has caused this unnecessary commotion.]”
The devil’s hand reaching out from within the coffin slowly approached the fallen Baegon.
As if distance was distorted, the hand’s length didn’t increase at all, yet the sentence of death gradually drew closer.
“I-I’m sorry!! I’m sorry, Master!!!”
Baegon, snot and tears streaming down his face, pleaded wildly in a hoarse voice.
Screams bursting through even the soundproofing of the cube.
“Save me!! Please save me…….!!!”
“[Everything you considered a blessing…….]”
The moment the finger, risen from the darkness, lightly tapped Baegon’s chest.
“[I shall reclaim it here and now.]”
As if reacting to that light knock, black mist began to be pulled from the black wizard’s core.
“Guhk!! Gu-gu-guhk…….!!!”
Baegon writhed his entire body, emitting inhuman shrieks.
His skin shriveled and cracked, and putrid blood oozed out like coagulated discharge.
A ritual of execution where limbs twisted, soul withered, and existence itself was torn to shreds.
Eventually, Baegon’s form vanished, leaving only a jet-black, rotting skeleton in his place.
Click, click…….!!
As if still unable to die, the skeleton’s jaw clattered, convulsing.
Was the pain of a soul, inaudible to the ear, leaking out as unheard screams?
Myeong smiled coldly.
“[Yes. Now you make a pleasant sound.]”
“……”
“[That scream was the only word you were permitted when you called me.]”
The black, shriveled Baegon could not reply.
Instead, he crumbled into ash on the spot, becoming a handful of dust.
“……Hoo.”
Ermont finally let out a sigh of relief, visibly relaxed.
He had belatedly confirmed that Myeong had no intention of holding him accountable.
If Myeong had intended to hold Ermont responsible, he would have squeezed Ermont’s existence along with Baegon’s when dealing with him.
But Lennok was more intrigued by the skill Myeong had just displayed than by Ermont’s reaction.
“So, it converts pure will into a concept of existing death, then?”
Myeong had just deprived Baegon of everything and squeezed him dry without using any magical power.
He had merely extended his will, lightly tapping as if to make him shed his body.
But that alone had forced Baegon’s soul and body beyond his own will, to a fate worse than death.
Lennok, who had faced countless monsters and geniuses, and conversed with Ascendants several times, understood how extraordinary this level was.
Even what it meant for Myeong to show him this now.
He’s not in his right mind……. He might have already gained the qualification.
When Lennok last saw Myeong, he had already reached the level of manipulating time as a result.
The mastery of extending the gap in consciousness by wielding black magic to its extreme, filling it with immeasurable meaning.
But Myeong, whom he faced again after some time, was attempting to surpass even that and gain qualification.
The qualification only legendary Transcendent beings throughout the world’s history had been permitted.
“No, there’s something to confirm before that.”
Lennok shook his head and slowly stepped back.
Myeong’s series of monologues and reactions. Baegon’s and Ermont’s attitudes.
At the end of all those causes and effects converging, one question naturally arose.
“Myeong. Are you……. not one person?”