Chapter 715: House Robbery (8)

The moment Lennok plunged the pocket watch’s second hand into his temple, Kaiser’s Regressive Magic activated.

Crash!!

Peshia’s image, visible before his eyes, distorted, then shattered into countless fragments, scattering.

Beyond the cracks, as if a window were shattering, Peshia stood with a shocked expression, turning back towards him.

The factory landscape still floated above, as if the explosion from moments ago had been a lie. It was falling, but still far from crashing.

Rumble!!

Conversely, the launchpad structure surged upwards again from beyond the theme park. The ignited propellant flared, violently shaking the entire restricted area.

A sense of déjà vu, as if he were re-experiencing something that had already happened, but in a slightly different way.

“Illusion…?! No!!”

If it were a typical illusion, it wouldn’t even be able to deceive Peshia in the first place. If Adamant Thunder were an illusionist capable of deceiving Peshia, the battle would have been over long ago.

Peshia, who instantly doubted and rejected that possibility, quickly sifted through her memories to find a clue.

Peshia’s precognitive aptitude was confirmed, followed by the ringing in her ears that echoed just before Tatiana called Lennok.

Zing!!

That sound had regularly repeated up until the moment she was certain she had suppressed and defeated Lennok.

A disturbing noise, similar to a bell, that had echoed every time the cult’s priestess appeared.

Peshia’s eyes sharpened as she instantly pieced together the faint clues from her memory.

“A Revelation, then!!!”

“To be precise, I forcibly rewound and amplified your precognitive ability,” Lennok said, lightly brushing himself off and standing up.

“You seem to use it well enough, but the more ambiguous an aptitude, the easier it is to confuse foresight with reality.”

In the battle against Amrita Fraubel, the 10th Apostle who stole the priestess’s abilities, Lennok had once engaged in battle by mimicking her Revelation ability.

The memory of securing victory at the end of a battle that traversed between reality and future, mimicking the Revelation ability in his right Mystic Eye.

His understanding and interference ability regarding precognition, built up while dealing with Amrita, already surpassed Peshia’s.

Therefore, Lennok used his Mystic Eye, forcibly overloading Peshia’s precognition.

Immediately after, he alone, from beyond the precognition, had used Kaiser’s Regressive Magic to return to reality.

This was only possible because Peshia’s precognition wasn’t truly genuine, but rather a degraded version using spirit abilities.

While maintaining the precognition overload, Lennok himself couldn’t attack Peshia again, but the outcome yielded a harvest greater than that.

“With this, I’ve sealed your precognition. Knowing the possibility of confusing it with reality, you won’t be able to use it in combat anymore.”

When the operation first began, there were two objectives.

Recovering the satellite engine to save the wizards, and capturing Peshia Grisbern alive.

At this point, with Peshia’s return being faster than expected, complicating the plan, he had to rattle Peshia to achieve both objectives.

Lennok, recognizing that fact, immediately after the initial engagement, activated Kaiser’s pocket watch to disorient her and cause confusion between foresight and reality.

By succeeding in that, he had even blocked the precognition Peshia had displayed.

Since Peshia now understood that Lennok could deliberately confuse reality and foresight, she would no longer be able to use that owl-shaped ability.

But Peshia seemed even more enraged by the existence of the pocket watch Lennok used, rather than by the fact that her ability was blocked.

“Wielding his memento like that, to toy with me… How dare you touch our memories…!!!”

Peshia, her eyes leaking ominous light, trembled and shook her shoulders, then bit down on the spear shaft.

Supporting herself with both hands on the ground, standing on all fours, Peshia crouched low.

At that moment, the bloodshot owl spirit shattered, and a reindeer spirit with bizarrely large antlers surged forth.

Rustle!!

A low, ghostly wail flowing beneath her feet, the beast, entwined around her limbs, whispered.

“I’ll kill you.”

Bang!!

Through the ruined theme park’s souvenir shops, Peshia’s form scattered green luminescence.

With a monstrous, ten-antlered reindeer floating behind her back, she galloped across the ground on all fours.

While it seemed inefficient at first glance, her speed and changes in direction were a step ahead of sound itself.

Thump thump thump!!

With the long spear gripped in her mouth, every time she leaped on all fours, evidence of her surpassing sound scattered like shockwaves.

From its mere aftermath, rusted commercial buildings and dust-covered statues crumbled, instantly catching up to Lennok’s fleeing form.

“You talk a good game, but you’re too busy running away.”

Screech!!

She twisted her wrist, bouncing off the ground. Following her inverted shadow, the spear in her mouth rotated.

Drawing dozens of eerie crescent-moon slashes, she scattered them indiscriminately.

Thump thump thump!!!

Amidst the rain of flashing light, as Lennok evaded, Peshia laughed.

“It was the same when we first met. Are you no different from other wizards when it comes to testing the waters?!!!”

Crash!!!

He compressed dozens of shields and rotated them to deflect the slashes. A dangerous technique that amplified deflection by specifying the impact area.

But even so, they were shattered, unable to withstand even three of Peshia’s slashes.

Grrrind!!

Though the shields protecting his entire body were instantly pared away, Lennok remained unperturbed.

For a wizard to engage in close combat, they must know not to cling to spells they’ve already cast.

The judgment to discard even elaborate magic for a fleeting exchange. High-speed incantation comparable to a physical superhuman’s reaction time.

If these two things weren’t present, he wouldn’t have stepped onto the battlefield in the first place.

Lightly shaking his hand, Lennok, who had instantly layered dozens of shields, replied, “Don’t worry. Neither of us has much time.”

He raised his gaze, looking at the fiercely glowing launchpad in the distance.

Pungent smoke streamed from beneath the launchpad, vibrating as if alive, scattering flames.

Rumble rumble rumble!!

Burning its internal propellant, the air trembled as if it would burst forth at any moment.

At this point, the satellite jointly produced by Deadrise and the Magic Tower had entered launch preparations.

But ironically, the most crucial Phoenix Hall, needed to operate the satellite, was currently in Lennok’s hands.

If the satellite were launched as is, it would be tantamount to discarding expensive trash into the atmosphere.

Conversely, while Lennok had to defeat Peshia before the satellite launch began, for Peshia, it was a time attack to reclaim the Phoenix Hall and insert it into the engine before launch preparations were complete.

From the moment this battle began, neither of them had much time left.

“Let’s begin.”

He injected mana, implanting Will-thought into his mind. Simultaneously, he brought forth different Mystic Eyes in both his eyes.

Zing!!

The purple Mystic Eye rotated, beginning to visualize the Domain of possibilities beyond his sight.

At the same time, with his right eye, he borrowed the power of Revelation stolen from Amrita.

Lennok’s hands moved, bursting forth with different eye-lights, and he layered azure thunder over the pouring green spear strikes, carving them away.

Thump thump thump!!!

The twisted, rotating lightning and the deer spirit intersected, digging directly into the ground.

Neatly arranged paving stones, streetlights, and stone pillars turned to dust and vanished, splitting and tearing apart the old commercial district.

Crunching!!

Lennok’s thunder overwhelmed Peshia’s tactical fight head-on, and he battered her, driving her into the ground.

Contrary to before, the overwhelming exchange rate didn’t even allow for a proper offense-defense.

As if foreseeing the reindeer’s speed and agility a step ahead, he unilaterally crushed and exploded her in the gap between future and present.

“Ugh!!”

By the white lightning that flashed beneath her feet, her ankle twisted and exploded, and the impact sent her form piercing through the commercial buildings.

But even with her bloodied body, Peshia burst into laughter instead.

“Hahahaha, good!! Let’s get serious now!!”

[Woooosh!!!]

The reindeer that had floated behind Peshia was replaced by a bear spirit.

But its form was no ordinary bear, but a three-headed black bear, dripping blood all over its body.

Peshia’s counterattack, possessed by a monstrous beast spirit.

Crrunch…!!

Following the swing of her spear-wielding hand, the air was crushed, scattering tearing sounds.

She then completely trampled Lennok’s counterattack head-on, driving his body vertically into the Gyro Drop.

Crraaash!!

The support pillars of an attraction that could withstand hundreds of people simultaneously snapped like straw from the sheer impact.

While Lennok, having summoned an Apostle’s Carapace Shield, gasped for breath, the spear-wielder’s form, laughing like a ghost, plunged down into that spot.

[Ghost Art: Howling Star]

Crraaash!!!

Before the shockwave had even faded, a surging rush of flashing magical power.

Electrodes, flames, and spear blades clashed and intertwined, followed by acceleration that surpassed every moment.

Peshia’s movements almost instantly caught Lennok, who was retreating to reduce recoil.

Aside from her reaction speed and agility, what was truly remarkable was the spear strike that crushed and burst the air with every swing.

Thump!!

‘Heavy…!!’

Even while defending with the Apostle’s Carapace Shield, he could feel the fragmenting shell faintly deforming.

Tremendous brute strength, unbelievable for a human.

Though lacking the agility of when she used the deer spirit, the power of each strike felt akin to a siege cannon.

Her monstrous strength was so immense that every time she unleashed a brown shockwave, it felt as if the surrounding gravity warped.

Crackle!!

Setting the impact point almost by prediction, it was dangerous even when he suppressed her offense and defense by mixing in counterattacks.

But even so, Lennok endured until the precarious moment, continuously keeping a close eye on Peshia’s spirit.

More than the attacks themselves, he seemed more concerned with the changes in the spirit floating behind her back.

Peshia, too, seemed to notice it immediately, and her eyes gleamed.

“Your reaction after the spirit shift was incredibly fast. I thought it was because of your eyes, but it wasn’t.”

Clatter!!

The spear shaft, held short at her side, spun violently in Ghost Princess’s hand.

The spear blade, distorted like a spiral vortex, exploded into a single flash of light.

Caught in the aftermath, the Viking ride next to the Gyro Drop completely collapsed.

Rumble rumble rumble!!!

Peshia landed on a fragment, more than half of its back ripped away in a single go, and asked, “You… you know my abilities, don’t you?”

“…”

Instead of replying, Lennok slowly rose, rubbing the corner of his eye.

Different spirits used for pursuit and frontal combat, Spirit Possession Arts that changed physical specifications and used a myriad of combat styles.

Just as Peshia said, Lennok already knew about this martial art.

“A long time ago, in this city, I picked out a few promising individuals and taught them this technique.”

Peshia furrowed her brow as if recalling a memory, and mumbled, “Who could it be…? There weren’t many fools stupid enough to fight someone like you, yet learned well enough for their abilities to be estimated…”

“You don’t seem like the type to prefer taking disciples.” Lennok slowly stretched his body and spoke.

“It’s surprising you even thought of transmitting your martial art to others.”

He quickly patted various parts of his body, checking for any broken or crushed areas.

Though this was his second time meeting Peshia, Lennok didn’t think she was a good teacher or martial artist.

The type with absolutely no interest in passing on her martial arts or teaching insights.

She was a warrior who indulged in momentary interest and pleasure, pursuing volatile joys without considering the aftermath.

By immersing themselves in fleeting inspiration, there were geniuses who achieved superior accomplishments than others.

The Ghost Princess Lennok had seen was a madwoman positioned at the extreme end of such tendencies.

Peshia Grisbern was not a good martial artist. She was merely a superhuman strong beyond imagination.

She wouldn’t have been a good teacher either. Instead, she would have been a superhuman capable of teaching powerful techniques.

Why someone like her, who would likely have no interest in others except those she intended to kill, had taken on a disciple.

Peshia laughed. “It wasn’t something I wanted to do. When he was alive…”

Her voice simultaneously dropped, becoming abruptly somber.

“…He often made us do things like that.”

With the gaze of a beast about to pounce, Peshia gazed fixedly at Lennok.

With abnormally dilated pupils, her eyes flashing as if possessed, she slowly mumbled.

“Ah, right… I remember now. There was one big, older guy. He used a spear, just like me.”

“…”

“Even though he was old, he learned quickly, so I shoved a few ancestral spirits into him. It was him, then.”

Peshia gave an eerie smile.

“Beck Clinton. You fought him, didn’t you?”

Without waiting for a reply, she tilted her head on top of the Viking ride.

“I thought he had gotten scared of the Central Front and ran away, but he joined some petty organization called the Cigar Bang Gang and was siphoning off funds from our main corps.”

An eerie killing intent flowed from behind her back.

“What a shame. If you hadn’t killed him, I would have personally sliced off his flesh, piece by piece.”

“…”

Why Beck Clinton, despite starting out from Deadrise, ended up in the Cigar Bang Gang.

Was it because he had betrayed the corps in the first place and embezzled and siphoned off the supplies they left behind?

At the moment Lennok gave a bitter smile at the belatedly revealed truth.

“If you know my abilities, there’s no longer any need to hide while fighting.”

Immediately after Peshia muttered coldly, the spirit behind her back doubled.

[Crrreaaak…!]

Next to the monstrous bear form, a colossal bald eagle spirit surged forth, spreading its wings wide.

Its two eyes bloodshot, its grotesque beak agape, human teeth growing from within.

A winged beast.

The moment Lennok perceived that dissonance and raised his mana, Peshia’s form vanished from that spot.

Crash!!

As she gripped the long spear with both hands and spun it, fierce winds erupted, lifting Peshia’s body into the air.

Gliding through the air as if swimming on the currents, flying through the void, a super-high-speed spear blade lashed out madly.

Clatter!!

Using the scattered wooden planks of the Viking ride as footholds, she swung her spear, changing direction dozens of times in mid-air.

The patterns of her offense and defense, executed by reversing altitude and direction, instantly multiplied by dozens, and the raging biting winds churned and clashed with magic.

Splash!!

Beneath Lennok’s feet, now pushed back to the theme park lake’s edge, the ground cracked, crumbled, and sank.

Floating on the lake was a rusted roller coaster track, forming a geometric shape.

Thump!!

Every time Peshia, inverted on the rail, moved, Lennok, standing opposite, took a step towards her.

Whoosh…!!

Every time Peshia moved her spear, the surrounding winds swirled around her, shaking the entire area.

‘Lift control. A method of drawing in and manipulating atmospheric currents, then.’

Senzing at the storm raging over the lake, Lennok’s eyes turned cold.

“I know that Deadrise originated from Kaiser, and eventually split off.”

Lennok said that and calmly touched his eyelids.

It had been a long time since he had opened both Mystic Eyes simultaneously, so it took longer to adapt than he expected.

The Mystic Eyes themselves, strictly speaking, were abilities close to innate superhuman powers.

But Lennok was closer to a case where he poured his transcendent magical talent into his optic nerves, artificially awakening the desired Mystic Eye.

Separately from activating the Mystic Eye, manipulating superhuman abilities required different skills than magical talent.

Until now, he had focused on controlling the Mystic Eyes that reflected different concepts, but once he got the hang of it—

“If it’s flight ability, I happen to have a decent item myself.”

“…What?”

Clank!!

Bursting from Lennok’s back, the Iron-Plated Wings flapped powerfully, propelling his body upwards.

Creating enormous ripples on the lake’s surface, Lennok’s body surged, instantly adhering to the curved roller coaster rail above his head.

And Peshia’s doubting expression stiffened the moment she recognized the wings Lennok unfurled.

Because she knew that those Iron-Plated Wings he used were the equipment of Gileon Milrose.

“Familiar, are they?”

“Whose belongings has this bastard been…!!”

Peshia muttered, as if spitting. As she crouched, sharp currents swirled around her.

But Peshia’s expression, which had seemed ready to pounce at any moment, subtly changed, and her momentum instantly plummeted.

As if some thought had just crossed her mind.

“…You. Who are you?”

Peshia, lowering her spear, asked in a subdued voice.

“His memento and Milrose’s wings. If you carry two traces from that time… Are you involved with them?”

“Well…”

Lennok mumbled that and began to choose his reply carefully.

Because by alternately showing Kaiser’s and Gileon’s equipment, from the moment he caught Peshia’s attention, he had somewhat expected this reaction.

If a wizard of Lennok’s caliber carried artifacts from Deadrise’s core leadership, no matter how experienced and seasoned a warrior Peshia was, she couldn’t help but waver the moment she confirmed Kaiser’s memento.

If he used this well, he might be able to uncover the hidden secrets of Deadrise, which were still shrouded in mystery.

To elicit a reaction, he would need to take risks and act somewhat aggressively.

Assurance rather than a counter-question. Reproach rather than empathy.

“But you all effectively betrayed Kaiser in the end, didn’t you?”

Lennok, having quickly come to a conclusion, laughed coldly.

“Is there any reason for me to explain who I am, or what happened?”

“…”

Peshia didn’t reply, her face contorted. But only her hands, gripping the spear shaft as if to shatter it, hinted at her emotions.

“…Perhaps.”

A quiet affirmation, unbelievable for the Ghost Princess Lennok had faced until now.

But Peshia’s words didn’t end there.

“But we haven’t forgotten. Lord Bajour’s ascension has already been succeeded by a rightful heir, more so than anyone else.”

“Rightful heir?”

“If you are one who inherits his will, you are mistaken. You, more than anyone, should return to Deadrise.”

Was it that Lennok’s aggressive stance had somehow drawn her in?

Peshia then slowly took a breath and whispered,

As if this secret should not be heard by anyone.

“Kaiser’s son is leading the main corps.”