Chapter 729: The Wizard and the Magic Tower (6)
“A name…?”
Lennok’s expression subtly shifted upon hearing the completely unexpected answer.
Did that mean the shape of this inscription was someone’s name, written in characters?
What could it mean for the inscription, branded onto the heated necklace, to refer to a name?
“It wasn’t a necklace after all… perhaps more akin to a seal.”
Lennok muttered, lifting Ethan’s necklace.
“It’s an artifact designed to record only through a very specific method.”
Someone’s seal, capable of carving characters only when heated to extremely high temperatures and pressed.
The fact that an object originally intended to engrave marks elsewhere was being passed down in the form of a necklace.
[That’s cheating. Personnel directories are the least reliable network search results.]
“Yeah, I get it.”
Stroking the grumbling Davi, Lennok wrote the answer into the Blood-Thought Scribe.
Even without that, the Blood-Thought Scribe’s operating time wasn’t long, so he needed to act quickly.
Dipping his finger in blood to write as ink, Lennok fell into thought.
“But a name… I’m not sure what facts I can ascertain with just this.”
Though he was investigating the Black Consumer Project, Lennok didn’t know the names of all those involved.
Even if an unknown name appeared, it wouldn’t be much help.
Conversely, even if Kaiser or Olivera’s name appeared, it wouldn’t be of much use now.
However, the information that appeared on the Blood-Thought Scribe was completely beyond Lennok’s expectations.
[Ascendant Seonjong (善終). Displaying 1 search result for Faud Older.]
“…!!!”
The blood-written characters, scrawled in red blood within the notebook, rapidly appeared and began to fade.
[The Usurper Faud Older. The Calamity Star of Kundara. The Rebel Sovereign. Guardian of the Main Law.]
Personal details appeared sequentially, as if someone was listing information recorded long ago.
[9-Level Ascendant. Alias: Seonjong (善終). Exact age unknown. The name is a pronunciation of True Blood Script (眞血文字) in the common tongue; true name is unknown.]
…
[As the above indicates, a long-lived species born outside the continent. Presumed to be a noble whose very name holds power.]
The characters appearing on the page flashed into existence and vanished in an instant.
The recording device reacted as if this information shouldn’t be displayed for long.
Lennok himself found it overwhelming just to quickly scan and comprehend the meaning with his bare eyes.
[The seal inscribed with his name was personally crafted by him during his lifetime, possessing the powers of Reversion (再歸) and Rectification (更正).]
[Due to the karma of Outer Tribulation City, there is a risk of the name being traced, so refrain from reckless use after acquisition.]
…
Lennok said nothing, closing his eyes and sinking into thought.
Faud. He had heard that name before, right from this Blood-Thought Scribe.
He clearly remembered the answer the Blood-Thought Scribe had given him when he inquired about Kaiser’s body.
[After Faud’s rebellion, the higher-ups decided to change the storage location for Bajour’s body.]
[With the cooperation of Duke of Feared Blood (怖血公), the location was chosen, and Grimalder’s advice was sought to determine the storage method.]
“Faud’s rebellion…”
[Does that mean one of the Ascendants cooperated with the Black Consumer Project?]
Davi tilted her head, saying so.
[But among the currently existing Ascendants, there is no Ascendant using the name Faud Older.]
Currently, fewer than ten Ascendants have officially reached Level 9 on the continent.
Not all of their true names have been revealed, but conversely, if a name became known, it wouldn’t fail to spread.
9-Level Ascendants are unprecedented monsters on this continent, drawing the attention of billions.
Even the smallest rumor or clue spreads in a form akin to faith or belief.
Closing the Blood-Thought Scribe before its power ran out, Lennok slowly retraced his memories and recalled one more fact.
“…The project’s associates once said they would meet in Sector 6.”
When he had sought information from the Blood-Thought Scribe, he was told there would be a meeting in Sector 6 two months later.
Two months before he left for Machina. In terms of time, was it when Lennok had returned from Machina and was resting?
The scheduled meeting had long passed, but Lennok knew that and immediately rose to his feet.
[Hasn’t too much time passed for any traces or data to remain?]
“Sector 6 isn’t a zone just anyone can enter. It’s a restricted area created to store old documents and data.”
Lennok grabbed his coat and immediately left the lab, answering.
“If they attempted a meeting there, then someone among those involved must possess access authorization. By checking the entry records at the time of the meeting, I can identify the target.”
Checking Sector 6’s entry records shouldn’t take long.
He needed to handle it quickly before the causality of the facts he’d just learned became blurry.
Lennok mounted the Monster Bike that sprang from his shadow and immediately vanished beyond the street.
Lennok had obtained access authorization for Sector 6 during the Defense Force Rebellion Incident.
With the help of Pallard O’Con, the Deputy Director of the Agents, he had obtained access to the restricted area and investigated the location of military facilities in the undeveloped district.
His first and last memory of going on a mission with Aris. Even the matter of Croken Asylus, whom he had faced at the end of that operation.
Perhaps because too much had happened, even that now felt like a distant memory.
Whirrrrr!
He passed through the maintenance forces guarding the restricted area like a ghost, easily crossing the barrier spread throughout the zone.
An infiltration so effortless it rendered the thorough security and vigilance meaningless.
It was made possible simply by the fact that he possessed access authorization directly certified by the city government.
Inside the zone, inorganic concrete buildings stood densely lined up.
The interior of the buildings, designed solely for data storage, was filled with the smell of old paper.
As soon as he entered Sector 6, Lennok, who had been fully operating his mana sensitivity, shook his head.
“No traces at all… I had a faint hope, but it’ll be hard to find anything with mana sensitivity.”
Since the meeting date of the project’s associates, as told by the Blood-Thought Scribe, had long passed, it was extremely difficult for Lennok to track their traces.
No matter how sensitive Lennok was to mana, the mana of those who had left long ago had already dissipated and vanished.
If a battle had occurred here, he might have been able to find something through bloodstains or combat logs.
If the associates’ meeting had been conducted in such a manner, they wouldn’t have met in Sector 6 in the first place.
To track such traces, a high-level psychometry user, not Lennok, was needed.
Lennok, cleanly giving up on lingering regrets, immediately headed to the server room that managed the restricted area’s entry records.
He even calmly nodded towards the guard approaching with a firearm in the distance.
“You’re working hard.”
“…?! Who are you?”
“You’d know if you looked it up.”
At Lennok’s relaxed reply, the guard took out a terminal on the spot and cross-referenced the data.
[Yap.]
Davi immediately manipulated the profile displayed on the terminal. Changing the screen was a simple task for a Cybernetic Spirit.
Beep-boop!!
Confirming the list and position marked with a green authorization stamp, the guard saluted with a relieved expression.
“You were the new Supervisor, sir. My apologies.”
“I’m planning to update the server room’s records. Is anyone inside?”
“Data inspection is currently underway. Shall I call them out?”
“No. I’ll speak to them directly. You may go.”
“Understood.”
The guard bowed his head respectfully and left first.
Watching his retreating figure, Davi spoke, sounding surprised.
[You’re surprisingly well-behaved. I thought you’d just knock them out or disguise yourself to get in.]
“There’s no need for unnecessary trouble when I have access authorization.”
Lennok retorted, sounding incredulous.
“The guard let it slide this easily because he knows I possess the authority.”
Once he had smoothly entered the restricted area, the issue was one of official position, not of authorization.
If he could trick the guard sufficiently, there was no need for violent methods.
Burst open!!
As soon as he opened the server room door, a wave of hot air spread out into the corridor.
The server room was operating so actively that the heat from the processing units wouldn’t dissipate easily, even with the air conditioning running full blast.
The moment Lennok stepped into the server room, gazes converged on him.
Operators who had been furiously typing on keyboards, and administrators who were conversing amidst piles of data printouts.
Immediately, one of the administrators approached and asked.
“What brings you here?”
Their attitude clearly showed discomfort with an outsider’s presence.
They overtly glanced at his face and attire, gesturing to other administrators.
Realizing this, Lennok also immediately frowned with a displeased expression.
“Check my profile yourself. Do I have to explain everything for you to understand?”
…
As the administrator slightly flinched at his curt reply, Davi asked, dumbfounded.
[You said there was no need for violent methods?]
‘It’s a bluff to alleviate suspicion.’
Lennok replied, walking pointedly past the administrator towards the server room screen.
“Wait, just a moment!!”
Other operators hastily followed, blocking Lennok’s path.
Exchanging troubled glances, they spoke cautiously.
“Well, even with access authorization, you need separate approval to view server room data. The documents stored here have been officially marked for disposal, so…”
“I’m not here to view documents.”
Lennok nodded curtly in a blunt tone.
“I intend to check the entry records for the past few weeks, so you’d do well to cooperate.”
“…E-entry records?”
Seeing the even more flustered administrators, Lennok spoke.
“You’re aware of the unpleasant incident that occurred in Sector 59, aren’t you?”
…
No one answered, but their reactions were clear.
Some seemed oblivious, while others’ faces hardened as if they had instinctively grasped something.
“I intend to secure the restricted area’s entry records as evidence to apprehend a suspect in that incident. Is that sufficient explanation?”
[Vicious…]
Those managing the same restricted area couldn’t possibly be unaware of the commotion that occurred in Sector 59.
Davi shook her head in disbelief at Lennok, who casually used his own actions as a plausible excuse.
However, the administrators, drenched in sweat, dared not doubt Lennok’s words, which alluded to the restricted area’s confidential affairs.
“Uhm, perhaps… could you tell us which department you’re from…?”
“If all administrators promise to cooperate with the investigation, I’ll reveal my badge.”
…
Despite their displeased expressions, Lennok’s very demeanor prevented them from probing further.
They knew that if a special investigative agency was dispatched to investigate a restricted area, they couldn’t refuse the investigation.
Yet, the reason they were so reluctant to allow access to the restricted area’s entry records.
It was because they feared offending the sensibilities of the high-ranking officials who had visited Sector 6.
If an truly unpleasant incident was connected to Sector 6, the responsibility for leaking that information would also be passed on to the administrators.
“W-we’d rather give you document viewing access. If you need any information, please, look there…”
“No, it’s fine.”
Lennok said, lightly tapping the screen.
Crack…!!
“I’ll do it myself.”
Now that he was here, it would be easy to overturn the independent network through Davi’s hacking.
Ignoring the other administrators who approached in a panic, just as he was about to use his Cybernetic Ability—
“That’s enough. Everyone, leave.”
A quiet voice echoed from the server room door.
An old man with a hunched back. His two eyes, clouded and murky, looked this way as he leaned on an old staff.
Confirming the presence of the old man standing with an unreadable expression, the administrators bowed their heads in surprise.
“Secretary Lucifos!!”
“What brings you here…!!”
Disregarding the flustered administrators, the old man called Lucifos shook his head dismissively.
“I will speak to this person directly.”
“B-but…”
“Do my words sound like nonsense?”
…
So great was the power of the old man, the Secretary, that the administrators couldn’t even properly answer and quietly left the room.
The operators also exchanged glances, then quietly walked out of the server room and disappeared.
Thud!!
The old man, Lucifos, who had personally closed the door with his wrinkled hand, looked at Lennok and gave a benevolent smile.
“My apologies. The administrators have been completely replaced, you see. Their work is a bit overly cautious. I hope you’ll be understanding.”
“I understand.”
Lennok calmly nodded, placing a hand on the monitor.
“Is there any further procedure I need to follow to obtain the entry records?”
The appearance of an old man named Lucifos at this very moment could not be a coincidence.
If he had been observing the situation and chose to intervene precisely now, there was likely a reason, or he intended to propose a deal.
In such cases, it would be easier to handle if he simply demanded money.
But Lucifos waved his hand dismissively at Lennok’s words and let out a hearty laugh.
“I hope you won’t misunderstand. I didn’t come here to obstruct you, or to gain any personal profit.”
Leaning on his staff, Lucifos laboriously sat down on a nearby chair, waving his wrinkled hand.
“Don’t hesitate. Take the data you need. I’ll just watch here.”
…
Lucifos’s words felt subtly odd.
But instead of dwelling on it, Lennok focused on finding the data in the server room.
What he needed were the entry records from the period when the meeting in Sector 6 had taken place.
If the project’s associates had agreed to meet in this sector, at least one of them must have left an entry record here.
At the very least, they would be someone still active in this city, possessing enough authority to access the restricted area.
Beep-boop!!
‘Found it.’
Lennok, rapidly scrolling through dates and searching the entry record logs, instantly pinpointed the date.
Although the data was encrypted, it wasn’t difficult to request decryption codes using Lennok’s access authorization and narrow down the scope.
Thus, the estimated entry record data was partially extracted, and from that point, it was decrypted purely by Davi’s processing power.
Entry records for Sector 6.
Lennok, who succeeded in finding the date and log, cross-referencing names and times, paused his hand.
[Second Secretary under the Elder Council]
[Lucifos Phillion]
…
Because the name of the Secretary, who had just moments ago offered Lennok a benevolent smile, appeared right next to the date Lennok was searching for.
From behind Lennok, who silently stared at the screen, an aged voice spoke.
“So. Did you find what you were looking for?”
Completely contrary to his previously benevolent and seemingly troubled demeanor, his tone was stiff and stern.
A frigid aura, as if a needle wouldn’t draw a single drop of blood, instantly enveloped and spread throughout the server room.
Lucifos, leaning on his staff with both hands, rose from his spot.
The image of him struggling to even walk was gone; instead, he casually tapped his staff and walked down.
“I had a suspicion, and indeed, you weren’t involved back then.”
Lucifos glanced at the screen Lennok had been viewing and spoke.
“If you had been, you wouldn’t have failed to recognize me, nor would you have bothered with such formalities.”
…
“Nevertheless, I probed your reaction because I found it hard to believe that a mere outsider could delve so deeply into the project’s secrets.”
Lucifos’s eyes shone coldly.
“The meeting from a few weeks ago. May I ask how you came to know about it?”
Secretary Lucifos.
And the very person involved in the project, who had spearheaded the meeting between the associates in Sector 6.
The person Lennok had been searching for was right behind him, waiting for the moment he would reach the answer.
“…On the contrary, I think I should be the one asking for an explanation first.”
Lennok slowly turned, his face expressionless, and asked.
“How did you know to come looking for me? Were you waiting for this moment?”
Lennok’s decision to visit Sector 6 had been made less than two hours ago.
It was difficult to comprehend how he could have recognized Lennok’s purpose and circumstances and come to meet him in such a short time.
It would be impossible unless he had been waiting in Sector 6 for weeks, or had overheard the information right next to Lennok.
But Lucifos shook his head at his words.
“Blood-Thought Scribe Zyble. It’s a recording device too difficult to handle with human knowledge and foresight. Don’t you think so?”
…
Seeing Lennok’s silence, the Secretary smiled confidently.
“A long time has passed, but it likely hasn’t changed. It was like that even when I was its administrator.”